The following entries are all storm chases and interceptions performed in the Midwest United States from May 15, 2003 to May 27, 2003. This log is based on a joint effort of a storm chasing team. Members were myself - Chris Collura (Florida Skywarn storm spotter code B036 - KG4PJN), Jeff Gammons (Florida - KG4PJA), and Jason Foster (Maryland - N3PRZ) for the main chase team. This is jointly with the Weather Information Network or "Weathervine". The main chase vehicle was a 2003 Chevy Blazer 4x4 rental SUV with a total of 5,800 miles driven during this trip.

Communications employed were HF and VHF HAM 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. A portable weather station also was developed by myself to be used in this chase trip. I flew into Dallas, Texas on May 15, 2003 to pick up my SUV rental and meet with Jeff and Jason arriving the same day. The chase may involved large expanses of the US Great Plains sometimes in the worst driving conditions imaginable, often 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 15 - Arrived in Dallas met up with Jeff Gammons and Jason Foster and picked up rental vehicle, a Chevy Blazer SUV, and headed north on I-35 to Gainseville, Texas. Caught some very strong wind gusts west of town with power flashes and powerlines down. Winds gusted to over 60 MPH with light rain and lightning. Booked into Budget Inn and prepared vehicle with weather station and equipment. Tomorrows target set for southern OK.

May 16 - Today was a promising day with an intense upper air low, dryline, and surface-low setup. We left Gainseville and headed north on I-35 into Oklahoma, then east on 70 into the area near Antlers Oklahoma. Storms fired along the dryline and quickly became severe. One HP supercell developed NW of Antlers but was later lost to the mountainou areas to the NE. We left the cell and headed south into Arkansas on 259 / 70. Another fast-moving severe thunderstorm was penetrated between Broken Bow, OK and De Queen, AK. We finished chasing and drove back to Gainseville, TX on 82.

May 17 - Travel day. Today we left Gainseville, Texas and headed north on I-35 through Oklahoma. We stopped briefly to document the damage path from the violent tornadoes in Moore a week prior to today. We continued north into Kansas anticipating activity in Western Kansas in a few days. We stayed in Enid, Oklahoma for the night and will head for Kansas tomorrow.

May 18 - Bust day. This was a very marginal day with possible severe storms in western Kansas. We left Enid, Oklahoma and headed west into Guymon, Oklahoma. Unfortunately, we were stopped there for speeding west of town. Headed north into Kansas setting up near the Colorado border west of Tribune. Waited until past sunset but cap never broke. Only high clouds marking passage of an upper level shortwave.

May 19 - Today we had a long road trip from Garden City, Kansas with a target through central Oklahoma near the I-40 region west of I-35. We arrived in the target area and were rewarded with two beautiful supercell thunderstorms, one near Velma, Oklahoma and another near Cortney. The first storm produced strong winds and very large hail and a large, rotating wall could with funnels. The second storm was near Cortney and was a supercell for a short while. We finished with a trip back into Texas to spend the night in Mckinney, Texas.

May 20 - Today was a down day where we spent the day in Mckinney, Texas. Later this week looks more promising as yesterday did. We did witness some strong to severe thunderstorms to our west very early this morning near 4 AM. Most likely, we will head west either tonight or tomorrow for eastern New Mexico anticipating storms starting Thursday. Down time stinks, but hey, weather is weather.

May 21 - Today was a travel day. We left Mckinney, Texas before noon and headed west on 380 then to 287 through Witchita Falls. We then headed up 83 then west on 412 back to Guymon, Oklahoma for the night. There is a good possibility of storms starting tomorrow. We stopped along the way to visit a museum and ghost town outside of Wheeler, Texas.

May 22 - Today was a chase day with very marginal severe prospects. We left Guymon, Oklahoma, checked data at the public library, then headed north through Goodwell, Kansas and awaited initiation. At 7 PM, some scattered cumulus developed east of Goodwell, so we headed to the east and encountered a multi-cell cluster of thunderstorms near Studley, Kansas. Two small low level mesocyclones evolved and separated from the west side of this cluster. One became LP and low-topped with a beautiful structure before weakening. We headed back west to Goodwell and spend the night there.

May 23 - Today was another better chase day playing upslope convection in southeastern Colorado. We headed south then west and encountered our first storm north of Pueblo, Colorado. This was a photogenic severe storm with a high-base with snow capped rocky mountains as a backdrop. As the storm weakened, we headed back east and penetrated some high-based multicell severe storms near Fowler, Colorado just in time to witness a land spout. We finished chasing and spent the night in Lamar, Colorado.

May 24 - Today was a chase day starting with a long road trip from Lamar, Colorado to a primary target in the eastern Texas panhandle. The first storms to fire invlolved three small LP supercell storms near Wheeler, Texas. One of these storms became dominant and evolved into a multicell cluster. Another violent HP supercell was found on the western side of this line near Pampa, Texas which came very close to producing a tornado. The storms weakened later in the evening and we spent the night in Amarillo, Texas.

May 25 - Chase day in southeastern New Mexico. We left Amarillo, Texas and headed south through Lubbock, Texas. We then headed west through Hobbs, New Mexico to check data. Convection began farther west near Carlsbad, New Mexico near the Guadeloupe Mountains. One cell developed east of Carlsbad which became the key player in convection for the day. Convection, some thundestorms briefly supercellular were observed before evolution to an MCS. We headed south back into Texas, Passing throug Wink, then to Interstate 20. We finished and headed east to spend the night in Midland, Texas.

May 26 - Down / travel day. We left Midland, Texas around mid-day and made our way back to the Dallas / Fort Worth area to spend the next night in Irving, Texas near DFW airport. There were no storms today in our range without missing our departures tomorrow.

May 27 - Departure Day. Today was not a chase day, the day was spent packing up our gear, checking out of our hotel in Irving, Texas, turning in the rental vehicle, and flying back to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

1). May 15, 10:30 PM - Severe thunderstorm conditions encountered west of Gainseville, Texas just west of Interstate 35. This storm was part of a cluster of severe thunderstorms, some supercells. Our storm was a weaker cell that passed just south of our location. Frequent lightning, light rain, and winds gusting to over 60 MPH. Powerlines were blown down by the storm and numerous power-flashes were observed. A 2003 Chevy Blazer was used to chase the storms. Documentation was a camcorder. The storms were caused by an upper-level disturbance, surface heating, and outflow boundary activity.

2). May 16, 4:30 PM - Observation of a severe / tornadic HP supercell type storm northwest of highway 2 between Antlers and Clayton, Oklahoma. The storm developed near the dryline boundary and southeast of an advancing surface low-pressure system with strong upper-level low. This storm was not penetrated, but a large wall cloud was observed with the storm, with 20-30 MPH inflow winds. The storm was abandoned after passing through the Kiamichi mountains. The radar-indicated tornado was not encountered with this storm. A 2003 Chevy Blazer was used to chase the storms. Documentation was a camcorder. A PDS (Particularly Dangerous Situation) tornado watch was in effect for this area until 6 PM CDT.

3). May 16, 6:00 PM - Penetration of a fast-moving severe (multicell) thunderstorm near De Queen, Arkansas along highways 259 and 70. Brief wind gusts to 60-MPH, pea to dime sized hail, torrential rains, and frequent lightning was observed as the storm was penetrated. A low-pressure system, surface heating, a strong upper-air low, and advancing dryline caused the storms. A 2003 Chevy Blazer was used to chase the storms. Documentation was a camcorder. A PDS (Particularly Dangerous Situation) tornado watch was in effect for this area until 6 PM CDT.

4). May 19, 6:30 PM - Observation and penetration of an extremely severe thunderstorm near Velma, Oklahoma. The storm was a supercell thunderstorm that developed on the south side of a line of severe thunderstorms. Very large hail was observed with this storm, around golfball sized, driven by winds over 60-MPH. The storm also produced frequent lightning and extremely heavy rains. A large rotating wall cloud was observed on the south side of the storm as it developed an inflow notch. The storm went HP, then classic, cycled mesocyclones several times, then evolved to LP with "stacked-plates" before weakening after nearly 3 hours. This storm had an incredible hail roar, and the anemometer on the Weatherlab station was broken by hail. A strong cold front, dryline, upper-level trough, and surface heating caused the storms in a sheared environment. A 2003 Chevy Blazer was used to chase the storm. Documentation was still photos, audio recording, and a camcorder. A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect for this area until 10 PM CDT.

5). May 19, 8:30 PM - Observation of another severe HP supercell type thunderstorm in Love County, Texas near Cortney just north of the Red River. This storm was a supercell storm which quickly became under-cut from outflow from the north. The storm produced vivid lightning, a large wall cloud, and 30 MPH inflow winds from our observation point. The storm core was not penetrated. A strong cold front, dryline, upper-level trough, and surface heating caused the storms in a sheared environment. A 2003 Chevy Blazer was used to chase the storm. Documentation was still photos and a camcorder. A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect for this area until 10 PM CDT.

6). May 22, 7:30 PM - Observation of a small but fully rotating LP (and low-topped) supercell storm near Studley, Kansas north of highway 24. This storm was not penetrated but assumed to be a strong thunderstorm. The storm had a tight, LP structure with low-top and rotating low-level meso with the "stacked-Plate" effect, just very small! The storm lasted for about an hour and a half after becoming detached from a multi-cell storm cluster. A 2003 Chevy Blazer was used to chase the storms. Documentation was still photos and a camcorder. Surface heating, a convergence boundary, and high speed / directional shear environment with limited moisture caused the storm. A severe thunderstorm watch was also valid for the area until 11 PM, CDT.

7). May 23, 6:00 PM - Observation of a severe high-based thunderstorm north of Pueblo, Colorado just west of Interstate 25. The storm was a multicell high-based cluster of severe thunderstorms developing near the front-range. The thunderstorms developed some rotation briefly, but quickly became outflow dominant. The storms were very striking visually. Their cores were not penetrated, but 30-MPH winds and lightning was observed on their south side. An upper level disturbance, up-slope convection, and surface heating caused the storms. A 2003 Chevy Blazer was used to chase the storms. Documentation was still photos and a camcorder. A severe thunderstorm watch was also in effect for this area until 7 PM, MDT.

8). May 23, 8:00 PM - Observation and penetration of a cluster of strong and severe thunderstorms near Fowler, Colorado near highway 10. These were high-based severe thunderstorms that produced frequent lightning, heavy rains, copious amounts of hail to 3/4", and winds near 60-MPH. The storms also produced a small landspout type tornado during an updraft phase. An upper level disturbance, outflow boundary, up-slope convection, and surface heating caused the storms. A 2003 Chevy Blazer was used to chase the storms. Documentation was still photos, audio recording, and a camcorder.

9). May 24, 5:30 PM - Observation of a small LP supercell northwest of Wheeler, Texas. The storm was part of a cluster of thunderstorms with three LP supercells! One of the three storms took superiority and evolved into a line cluster of severe thunderstorms. The call was not penetrated, but did produce hail and strong inflow (30-MPH) winds. Strong winds aloft, a outflow boundary, an upper trough, and surface heating caused the storms. Documentation was a camcorder and still photos. A 2003 Chevy Blazer was used to chase the storms. A severe thunderstorm watch was valid for the area until 9 PM, CDT.

10). May 24, 8:00 PM - Observation and penetration of an extremely severe HP supercell type storm near Pampa, Texas. This storm developed on the southwestern end of a thunderstorm cluster (tail-end charley) with an incredible and rapidly rotating structure. The storm also produced a funnel / possible tornado north of Pampa. The storm occluded and cycled as it back-built to the southwest over Pampa. During a fuel-stop, we were forced to wait out the storm under the gas station canopy. Golfball sized hail was observed with very large isolated baseball sized pieces smashing the canopy! Radar indicated a tornado with this storm the whole time, but only a low, rotating wall cloud with funnels was observed. When hail sized became acceptable, we continued south on highway 70 to get ahead of the storm, which evolved back to a multicell cluster. Torrentail rains, frequent lightning, and 60-MPH winds were also observed with these storms. Strong winds aloft, a outflow boundary, an upper trough, and surface heating caused the storms. Documentation was a camcorder, audio recording, and still photos. A 2003 Chevy Blazer was used to chase the storms. A severe thunderstorm watch was valid for the area until 9 PM, CDT.

11). May 25, 7:30 PM - Observation of severe thunderstorms near Carlesbad, New Mexico and farther to the east and southeast. Initial development just east of Carlsbad quickly became severe. The storm was not directly penetrated, but hail to one half inch, 30-MPH winds, and heavy rains was observed on its northern side along highway 62. The storm briefly evolved to HP supercell mode producing copious amounts of large hail and some small funnels. The storm quickly evolved to an outflow dominant MCS thereafter. Documentation was a camcorder and still photos. A 2003 Chevy Blazer was used to chase the storms. The storms were caused by upslope winds, surface heating, and an upper-air disturbance. A severe thunderstorm watch was valid for the area until 11 PM, CDT.

This concludes the Midwestern United States Chase Log. The summary includes a total of 10 severe thunderstorms, 1 strong thunderstorm, a funnel cloud / possible tornado, and 1 well-documented landspout type tornado (both tornadoes most likely F0 rating). The main chase vehicle conducting all chases was a 2003 Chevy Blazer. Two other vehicles were used in some chases, a 2003 Toyota 4-Runner (Amos Magliocco) and a 2002 Chevy Suburbin (Scott Eubanks). This information was prepared exclusively for the National Weather service and the team of Skywarn storm spotters.