May 14, 1999 - Storm Chase
Team 1: Marc Foster,
Rob Ferguson, and Putnam Reiter
Target Area: Southwest Oklahoma
Departure Time: 16:00
Return Time: 21:10
Miles Driven: 210
Drove to Lawton this afternoon, headed on to Snyder by 17:00. Got north
of Snyder and sat there for a few hours. Watched some CU go up, but mostly
mid-level stuff. Some elevated convection developed in central OK,
prompting a tornado watch. Activity eventually died out and the watch was
canceled. Left Snyder around 18:50 and headed to Lawton. Returned home
around 20:00.
Evening sounding revealed a convective temperature of 97F in central
Oklahoma. Thermodynamics were strong with LI of -8 and CAPE of 2827 at
Norman. It is also worth noting that Fort Worth had a convective
temperature of 105F.
Observations:
Engaged Storm: No
Funnel: No
Hail (larger than 0.75 inches): No
Tornado: No
Wall Cloud: No
Wind above 58mph: No
Lessons Learned:
Not really a 'chase' thing, but should better look at mid-level
temperatures. Probably would have gone either way. Atmosphere tried
several times, with one cell that developed near Childress and eventually
died as it moved through southwest Oklahoma.
