The following entries are all storm chases and interceptions performed in the Midwest United States from a period from May 22, 2001 to May 28, 2001. This log is based on a joint effort of a storm chasing team. There is myself - Chris Collura (Skywarn storm spotter code B036), Jeff Gammons, and David Cornwell for the main chase team from Florida. This is jointly with the Weather Information Network or "Weathervine". The main chase vehicle was a 1996 Chevy Blazer.

Other documenting chasers were Jeff Lawson and Amos Magliocco from Denton, Texas, Eric Nguyen from Norman, Oklahoma, as well as other chasers from the Texas Tailchasers chase group. These chasers joined us for several vital chases while providing some important target area suggestions and forecast help. Jeff Lawson and Amos were in a 1998 Toyota 4-Runner. The Weathervine team chased from May 14 to May 25, I myself, rented a 2001 Chevy Cavalier and chased until May 28.

Communications employed were HAM radio, CB radio, FRS hand-held radios, and cellular phones and / or modems. Extensive camera and video equipment was also on board along with GPS and a laptop computer for navigation. The main chase duties were shifts in navigation using the GPS, radio communications, driving many miles, and preparing forecast data. The Chevy Blazer logged over 8000 miles total, with an additional 1434 miles logged on the Chevy Cavalier. I flew into Dallas, Texas on May 22 to meet Dave and Jeff who drove out on May 14. The chasing involved Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas sometimes in the worst driving conditions imaginable, in very remote regions.

All chases and observations are in chronological order and a chase number is assigned to each entry. Please bear in mind that all observations adhere to modern storm analysis standards and do not include all storms that occurred in a given area for a particular chase period. The chase log is also augmented with a small chart at the conclusion the log showing types of observations.

Any kind of storm such as a thunderstorm, tornado, waterspout, tropical cyclone, and extratropical storm can be chased or observed. I have tried to keep this log of any storms that I have observed as accurate as possible, while using terms and expressions to abide by those used by most meteorologists and storm spotters today.

Storm chasing and observation can be extremely dangerous and may result in serious injury or death. I have received intermediate and advanced training for storm spotting in 1996. I strongly urge anyone who is to try their hand at storm spotting to get training before doing so. You must also have a good understanding of meteorology and storm dynamics. "If you don't know what you're doing, Don't do it!" Contact your local National Weather Service office for information on storm spotting and about training to become a Skywarn storm Spotter. It is also advised that chasing in the Great Plains is to be done only be experienced people as a group.

May 22 - Off day. Arrived at Dallas / Fort Worth airport to meet Weathervine storm intercept team members Jeff Gammons and Dave Cornwell. Continued to New Mexico to spend down time (not chasing) in Carlsbad Caverns. Spent the night in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

May 23 - Off day. Spent day exploring Carlsbad Caverns and New Mexico Desert. Returned late evening to Midland, Texas for possible storms the following day in south-central Texas. The pictures of Carlsbad Caverns are available in the OUTDOORS section of this WEB site. The link for the new mexico desert will take you there but that section is separate from this chase log.

May 24 - Verified possibility of storms in South-Central Texas near a stalled cold front. Did forecast in Midland, Texas for a target area south of Abeline. During the afternoon, drove to Edwards County observing developing storms near Junction and Interstate 10 by late afternoon. Three supercells and spectacular storms with lightning observed the entire evening near Junction and Rock Springs. Spent the night in Junction, Texas.

May 25 - Prepared for storms in the same locations as on May 24. Storms developed well after dark and were not intercepted. The afternoon was spent renting a car for the rest of my trip as Jeff Gammons and Dave Cornwell had to return after being in the Great Plains since May 14. I picked up the rental car in San Antonio and returned to Edwards County for possible storms. After dark, raced northwards to Abeline, Texas to meet Amos Magliocco, Jeff Lawson, and Eric Nguyen. Foercasted possible targets in Northwestern Texas for the following day. Spent the night in "Stag Beetle Infested" Abeline.

May 26 - Forecasted with Amos and Jeff for possible target area in Texas Panhandle area. Headed north through Aspermont where a large chaser convergance was taking place at the Allsups convenience store on the south side of town. Target area still verified in TX panhandle. Headed north through Jayton, Texas for a fuel stop where we witnessed a dust devil going through town. Reached final target area and intercepted an LP supercell near Macadoo, Texas. Spent the night in Aspermont, Texas. Eric Nguyen needed to spend the night in Norman, Oklahoma. Still many black stag beetles, but not as many as in Abeline.

May 27 - Forecasted primary target far north of us in Liberal, Kansas. Proceded north with a fuel and data stop in Wheeler, Texas, meeting with Eric Nguyen, who spent the night before in Oklahoma City. Continued north through the Texas Panhandle, then through Beaver county, Oklahoma into Liberal, Kansas by late afternoon. Verified target in Liberal with many chasers converging, including Tempest Tours, Steve Miller, Jeff Persoff, and Jim Politte. Encountered first storms near Meade, Kansas and chased for many hours afterwards as the entire chase group would split up and regroup while intercepting several HP supercells and gustnadoes. System pulled away as huge MCS as the entire band of chasers regrouped for the night in Woodward, Oklahoma.

May 28 - Not an off day, but needed to drive from Woodward, Oklahoma to Dallas, Texas to return the rental car and prepeare for the trip back to Florida. Felt a little sad to turn my back on an entire area in moderate risk for severe weather.

1). May 24, 6:30 PM - Observation and direct penetration of a severe thunderstorm near and along Interstate 10 in Edwards County, Texas east of Junction, Texas near Highway 377. The storm was part of convective initiation and started out as a field of towering cumulus. One cumulus tower broke the capping inversion and grew into a small, low-topped thunderstorm with a rather high base. The storm grew larger with time and evolved into a full-fledged High-Precipitation (HP) supercell which was penetrated during its development stages along Interstate 10 east of Junction. The storm core had torrential rains, hail up to 1 inch (quarter sized), frequent lightning with close hits, and winds up to 55 MPH. The storm caused the temperature to drop from the mid 90's to the mid 50's. A 1996 Chevy Blazer was used to chase the storms. Documentation was still photos, camcorders, and an audio log of the chase. Surface heating, unstable air aloft, and forcing along a stalled stationary frontal boundary caused the storms. This storm was one of several in a cluster of supercells. A severe thunderstorm watch was also in effect for the area until 11 PM CDT.

2). May 24, 7:30 PM - Observation from a few miles distance of a small but well-defined classic supercell thunderstorm 25 miles to the east of Rock Springs, Texas in Edwards County along highway 377. This storm was a classic supercell, with a sculpted, round, saucer-like updraft base with all precipitation falling away from the updraft on it's down-wind side. The storm produced frequent lightning but our chase team contacted no storm periphery. A 1996 Chevy Blazer was used to chase the storms. Documentation was still photos, camcorders, and an audio log of the chase. Surface heating, unstable air aloft, and forcing along a stalled stationary frontal boundary caused the storms. This storm was one of several in a cluster of supercells. A severe thunderstorm watch was also in effect for the area until 11 PM CDT.

3). May 24, 8:00 PM - Observation and indirect penetration of an extremely severe thunderstorm 5 miles or so northwest of Rock Springs, Texas in Edwards County along Highway 377. The storm was an extremely well developed HP supercell with distinct structure and appeared like a "Mother Ship" or stack of flying saucers! The storm showed a TVS signature on radar for about 25 minutes with a dbz strength of 71 and a VIL of 78. Winds to 50 MPH and light rain were all that was encountered on the fringes of this extremely dangerous thunderstorm. Frequent lightning was also observed. This storm was very well documented, and produced several funnel and / or wall clouds as it was observed from its eastern side. A tornado warning was also issued for Rock Springs and tornado sirens sounded for the small town, which was nearly missed by the supercell core. Hail was estimated by radar at baseball to grapefruit sized (4 inches or so). A 1996 Chevy Blazer was used to chase the storms. Documentation was still photos, camcorders, and an audio log of the chase. Surface heating, unstable air aloft, and forcing along a stalled stationary frontal boundary caused the storms. This storm was one of several in a cluster of supercells. A severe thunderstorm watch was also in effect for the area until 11 PM CDT. Lightning photography behind this storm continued until about 10:30 PM.

4). May 26, 6:30 PM - Indirect penetration and observation of an LP (Low Precipitation) supercell near Macadoo, Texas in the west portion of this small town in Dickens County. The storm was one of the initiation cells forming ahead of a bulge in the dryline. The storm quickly reached LP status with powerful 30-knot inflow winds, a sculpted updraft base with striations, and a well-defined "vault" region. The storm began to weaken after other cells developed south of our location. The LP storm was indirectly penetrated and mainly light rain, small hail, and 30 to 40 MPH inflow winds were observed. This storm did produce large hail, but it was not penetrated. A jet stream aloft, dryline bulge, and upper air disturbance caused the storms. A 2001 Chevy Cavalier was used to chase the storms. A tornado watch was also in effect for this area until 9 PM CDT. Documentation was still photos, camcorders, and an audio log for the chase.

5). May 27, 7:00 PM - Observation and direct penetration of severe thunderstorms and gustnado-like tornadoes ahead of a powerful MCS in northwest Kansas near Meade, Kansas to Clark County. The chase began near Meade, Kansas and continued through Clark County along highway 160 and highway 283. The first HP supercell developed north of Meade and split into two storms. The left split moved south as a right-moving HP supercell. The right split continued to move to the southeast. Both of these cells became HP supercells with wall clouds and produced gustnadoes along their shelf clouds. Eric Nguyen and myself penetrated the right split as the MCS line caught up with the two cells. Dust was raised by the storm outflow forming a huge wall of dust ahead of the left-split storm. Eric Nguyen and myself measured winds near highway 160 at 68.1 MPH before anemometer failure. Estimated gusts were much higher, exceeding 80 MPH! Heavy rain, frequent lightning, and hail were also observed with these storms. The storms were followed southward into Oklahoma along highway 160 where numerous downed trees and power lines were encountered. A roadblock ended the chase west of Woodward, Oklahoma as downed power lines made the road impassible. The storms developed well ahead of a dryline and were enhanced by a low-pressure system over Colorado to the west. Low level advection allowed Gulf of Mexico moisture to enter this region and storms were enhanced by upper-air dynamics. A 2001 Chevy Cavalier was used to chase the storms. A tornado watch was also in effect for this area until 11 PM CDT. Documentation was still photos and camcorders.

This concludes the Midwestern United States Chase Log. The summary includes a total of 5 severe thunderstorms, several funnel clouds, and a well-documented gustnado type tornado. The main chase vehicle conducting and leading the first 3 chases was a 1996 Chevy Blazer. The secondary vehicle was a 2001 Chevy Cavalier and was used in two chases. A third vehicle, a 1998 Toyota 4-Runner SUV, was used as a third vehicle in several of the chases. This information was prepared exclusively for the National Weather service and the team of Skywarn storm spotters.