The following entries are all storm chases and interceptions performed in the Midwest United States from May 13, 2004 to June 1, 2004. 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". Additional members were Raul Benitez and Kersten Mc Clung. The main chase vehicle was a 2004 Dodge Caravan rental. We had a large group and great vehicle this year. States chased: CO, IA, KS, MO, NE, OK, and TX. Total mileage: About 8,600 miles!

Communications employed are 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 are 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 13, 2004 in the early morning to meet with the other chase team members, pick up the rental vehicle, and head to our first "target area". The chase involved large expanses of the US Great Plains sometimes in the worst driving conditions imaginable, in very remote regions. Total mileage is yet to be determined.

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 13 - Arrived in Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), Texas with my neighbor, Raul Benitez and met with the remaining chase team members Jeff Gammons (from West Palm Beach, FL), Jason Foster (from Baltimore, MD), and Kersten Mc Klung at the rental car center. Looked at data before picking up the rental vehicle targeting the area from Wicita Falls, Texas and points to the southwest based on upper air and surface analysis. At about 11 AM, we packed the vehicle (a 2004 Chrysler Town And Country) and headed northwest towards our primart target. At least two severe thunderstorms were encountered, one near Throckmorton County, Texas and the other near Abenine later in the chase. Copious amounts of marble sized hail were produced by these storms. Tornado prospects were possible but never happened because storms quickly became outflow dominant. Wrapped up the chase near Abeline, Texas and returned to Denton, Texas for the night where we met up with Amos Magliocco (from Indiana). The Sprint data connection worked great along the I-35 and I-20 corridors, making on-the-road internet and location updates possible!

May 14 - Down day (no storms). Today was basically a vehicle preparation and travel day. Cold front passage and cold air advection prevented any chase possibilities in the Great Plains. The vehicle was set up with all elecrtonics and weather equipment. We left Denton, Texas after having lunch with Stephen Miller (KD5FMI) and Robert Hall and headed up I-35 into Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. We stopped at OU in Norman on the way to see the Storm Prediction Center and spoke to Blake Naftel there. We then found a hotel north of Oklahoma City to spend the night and prepare for Mark Roscovich's "Storm Track" picnic on Saturday (the next day).

May 15 - Travel day and a stop at Rocky's (Mark Roscovich's) ranch for the Storm-Track picnic in Peidmont, Oklahoma. Began our journey northward on I-35 anticipating storms in south central Nebraska the next day. Traveled to Bellville, Kansas for a hotel stay-over by 10 PM.

May 16 - Today was a great chase day with a cyclic tornado-producing supercell encounter from Buffalo County, Nebraska to near Rockville, where two brief tornadoes (of four known) were observed and documented. We forecasted and left Bellville for a target area near North Platt, Nebraska. We passed some elevated showers and stopped in Broken Bow looking at more data during a fuel stop. Storms began developing south of this area near Buffalo County. We raced south to this area and watched a cluster of thunderstorms evolve into a supercell storm which moved NE near 40 MPH. We were able to keep up with it during its entire 5 hour lifecycle, watching it evolved from classic and HP appearance. It was a cyclic storm and produced two tornadoes we were able to observe near Rockville, Nebraska. The storm moved along a 91 mile-long path and weakened to a multicell cluster of severe thunderstorms there after. Overall, a great chase day with 2 documented tornadoes.

May 17 - Another chase day with a tornadic supercell near Russell, Kansas. We targeted the area around Hays, Kansas after looking at data and eating breakfast at Kearney, Nebraska. We reached Russell, Kansas in time for initiation. After a couple of hours one severe storm evolved into a supercell thunderstorm with a vigorously rotating wall cloud. The storm was tornado-warned at this point and tornado sirens went off near the small town of Dorrance as it moved east of Russell. The storm came very close to tornadogenesis but occluded after a few cycles. The storm was followed until it weakened near the town of Wilson, with a path of about 35 miles and a two hour lifespan. The storm produced frequent lightning with close hits, one nearly a direct hit taking out some electronics on the vehicle! We stopped in Ellsworth to eat then traveled to Newton, Kansas to stay for the night.

May 18 - Today was a typical "cap bust" day! We left Newton, Kansas and stopped for breakfast then headed towards the area west of Wichita, Kansas anticipating good heating, a boundary, and good upper air support. The cap never was overcome by the heating and by 7PM we realized a "bust" was in progress. We called off the chase early and spent the night in Park City, Kansas.

May 19 - A very painful bust day to say the least. We departed Park City anticipating good upper level dynamics and a surface low / convergence area in eastern Nebraska / Western Iowa. We headed north early with a quick stop in Newton, Kansas to pick up some forgotton items on my behalf. We continued north stopping in Nebraska City, Nebraska to look at more data and wait for something to initiate. We headed into Iowa and stopped again near Audobon waiting for initiation. Cumulus began organizing bit never broke the cap. We headed back south, then southeast to Stuart, Iowa where some pretty interesting HCR (Horizontal Convective Rolls) were observed overhead. One cumulus tower took on a "mini supercell" stucture there but quickly petered out because of the strong cap. Realizing a 300+ mile drive was followed by a bust, as convection was inhibited by the cap and any storms that did develop were well to our north, we called off the chase and spent the night in De Soto, Iowa.

May 20 - Today was a great chase day which began with a very long road trip from De Soto, Iowa to just northeast of Denver Colorado with a driving distance of nearly 800 miles! The end of this trip was awarded with a beautiful supercell thunderstorm which was followed from its point of initiation near Weld County, Colorado northeastward to the northeast of Washington County. The storm began as a small LP supercell then evolved to HP and produced a large tornado near Akron, Colorado. We ended the chase and spent the night in Sterling, Colorado after this great and long chase day!

May 21 - Back to northeastern Nebraska for another great chase day. We targeted the area in NE Nebraska and did a long drive from Sterling, Colorado and were in the target area by about 6PM CDT. Changed Raul Benitez's airline reservation to leave from Omaha, Nebraska instead of Dallas. First convective initiation was encountered southeast of Oniel, Nebraska at about 7:30 PM with two supercell thunderstorms that quickly developed in that area. Both were intercepted, first the northern split-storm, which produced a funnel cloud then the southern storm, which also produced funnel clouds and continuous lightning as it evolved into an MCS well after dark east of Norfolk, Nebraska. We headed east after chasing and looked for lodging in far western Iowa near Interstate 29. Could not find any lodging in Iowa down to near Omaha. Finally found lodging 65 miles west of Omaha in Schulyer, Nebraska to spend the night. Drove Raul to Omaha airport in severe thunderstorms then returned to Schulyer to sleep for about 3 hours (tomorrow is another chase day)!

May 22 - Outbreak and high-risk chase day in south-central Nebraska. Today was an extremely volatile and dangerous setup. We left Schulyer, Nebraska and headed south stopping in York to look at data and await break of the capping inversion. During initiation, we headed west on I-80 towards highway 281 and headed south as a line of storms fired to the southeast of on-going convection to our west. We headed east on highway 6 east of Hastings to intercept the storm and had to back out because the storm split and golfball sized hail began hitting us. We headed back west, then south to highway 4 to go back east. The southern split storm became a monster tornadic supercell producing multiple large tornadoes. A large wedge type tornado occurred south of the storm core, and was observed very faintly from behind the storm headed east. Damage was observed along the way (tornado path), including a demolished two story house! After that, we navigated along back-roads to get to the southeast side of the supercell. Several funnels were observed and another large wedge type tornado (possibly?) to the northeast of Beatrice, Nebraska along highway 77. Sure enough, a small town northeast of Beatrice (Hallam) had severe damage according to preliminary reports. We spend the night in Beatrice after all activity passed on to our east. Damage assessment required tomorrow ... What a day!

May 23 - Today we took a day off from chasing and spent an extra day in Beatrice, Nebraska to do vehicle maintenance and repair damage to the Weatherlab III weather station. After taking care of some minor issues, we decided to go with BNVN manager Doug Kiesling to survey the damage in Hallam and verify the tornado track. The damage swath was a MILE WIDE in some places, and a depressing scene of destruction loomed over what little was left of the town of Hallam. 95 percent of the town was totally disintegrated! We documented the damage with permission from authorities / residents and left due to the 8PM curfew. Tomorrow may be another chase day so we spent another night in Beatrice.

May 24 - Today was a big chase day in three states in a another high risk setup. We left Beatrice after fueling up, forecasting, and stopping for supplies. We targeted our first storm after initiation neat Falls City, Nebraska. This was to become a prolific tornado producer, but we made the unforgivable sin of leaving our storm as we abandoned it after we followed it into Missouri near Oregon. It produced several wall clouds, some rotation, but quickly went HP so we headed west really fast to target and intercept another supercell near Bellview, Kansas. This storm had awesome structure, but became disorganized after producing a few funnel clouds (this storm did produce tornadoes, but we were still too late arriving on them). Convection began developing to our southeast, so we raced to south of Topeka where we punched an HP supercell storm core. Emerging near it's rain-free base, we found lowerings and funnels, but its tornado prompting the warnings either already happened or not at all (it was radar indicated). We learned that the supercell we left behind in Missouri produced over a dozen tornadoes (I hate when that happens - Always stick to your first storm until it is gone)! Overall, three supercells today, at least not a bust. We spent the night in Emporia, Kansas after dinner.

May 25 - Travel and chase day back in Texas for a severe thunderstorm near Abeline. We left Emporia and headed for our first target area near Lawton, Oklahoma. Storms began developing near Seymour, Texas so we raced southwestward across the Red River into Texas. We finally arrived to what was left of the storms just west of Abeline, Texas. The storm was a severe thunderstorm close to Dyess Air Force Base after dark. After chasing the storm, we wrapped up the chase and headed back north to Whicita Falls, Texas for the night.

May 26 - Today was a complicated chase day with technical problems with some equipment, a traffic stop, and interception of a left-split mini-supercell storm with a possible anticyclonic mesocyclone near Altus, Oklahoma. We left Wichita Falls, Texas and headed north on 277. Jeff Gammons, driving, was pulled over and cited for going only 5 MPH over the speed limit! After the traffic stop, we continued across the Red River into Oklahoma. We stopped just north of the state line to check data and handle technical problems. The data check prompted us to track west back into Texas and wait for initiation near Quanah, Texas. After driving around several times, we headed north on state road 6 where Amos Magliocco also was pulled over for going just above the speed limit! We finally targeted our storm near Altus, Oklahoma around 8 PM. The storm quickly intensified and split. We passed the north split, which had a pretty impressive LP structure, but had its precipitation core on the south side and may have been a "anti-mesocyclone" at one point. The south split quickly weakened and the north split began racing northeast at 45 MPH so we gave up on it. We spent the night in Elk City, Oklahoma.

May 27 - Chase day in Texas for a multicellular cluster with embedded supercells. We ate breakfast in Elk City, Oklahoma expecting only a marginal setup today. The new outlook came out from SPC just as we were wrapping up breakfast and leaving the hotel. Looking at more data, it looked more and more like a chase day south and east of Abeline, Texas. We left Elk City, Oklahoma and headed back into Texas. We checked data again in Haskell, Texas. We first encountered convection near Stamford, Texas but it quickly weakened. We continued east of Abeline on I-20 targeting a line segment of thunderstorms with embedded supercell storms. Our storm we decided to intercept was a severe thunderstorm southeast of Stephenville, Texas along highway 281. This storm started out as an embedded supercell but quickly evolved into a line bow segment that blasted us with strong winds. After the interception, the storms raced eastward and we ended our chase, heading back north and east in I-20 towards the DFW area. We spent the night in Denton, Texas.

May 28 - Travel day. Today was a long roadtrip from Denton, Texas to Beatrice, Nebraska. No storms were possible today in our immediate chase area, so we forecasted at a cafe with WIFI and decided to target Nebraska for a major weather event. We left Denton, Texas and traveled up I-35 through Oklahoma and Kansas then I-135 into Nebraska. Trip time was 9 hours, and we arrived at Beatrice, Nebraska in time for Dinner and spent the night there.

May 29 - High risk chase day ending with the interception of a tornadic supercell near Concordia, Kansas. We left Beatrice, Nebraska after forecasting and headed to Hebron, Nebraska and waited at a truck stop on the south side of town for a few hours. Initiation occurred around 4 PM, and we headed back to just west of Beatrice to stay ahead of the developing convection. The storms appeared to be multicellular with embedded supercells at first. We turned our attention towards the southern most cell west of Concordia, and decided to head towards it via highway 77 then west on highway 36. We reached the "monster" HP supercell north of Concordia near the small town of Cuba just in time to witness at least one or more large tornadoes. The supercell produced some of the most impressive mammatus I have ever seen, and had inflow winds over 60 MPH well away from its main updraft. The storm had a 60 mile track and laster more than 5 hours. By 9:30, the storm evolved into a weaker line of thunderstorms and we ended the chase. We traveled to Emporia, Kansas for the night but not before driving in 50 MPH southerly winds and some small hassles with our hotel reservations.

May 30 - Today was not a chase day. Convection and storms shifted eastward and we decided to stand-down on chasing today. We ate breakfast then left Emporia, Kansas and did a bit of sight-seeing near Enid, Oklahoma. We spent the night in Enid, removing and packing up the equipment atop the chase vehicle.

May 31 - Down day. We left Enid, Oklahoma and went to Ardmore, Oklahoma to spend time to kill at Murray Lake National Park to go jet skiiing and horesback riding. We saw the "Day After Tomorrow" movie in Ardmore and spent the night there. This is the last chaseable day of our trip.

June 1 - Travel day. We left Ardmore, Oklahoma at about 9AM and headed back south into Texas to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport (DFW). We all left from DFW back home (Baltimore and Florida). Amos Magliocco visited a few friends near Dallas and also started his way back to Indiana. This concludes our 20 day trip in tornado alley.

1). May 13, 4:00 PM - Penetration of severe thunderstorms just west of Throckmorton, Texas along highway 380. The thunderstorms were part of a multicell cluster of severe thunderstorms with short-lived embedded HP supercell storms. Winds near 60 MPH, heavy rains, and hail up to 3/4" was observed with these storms. This was the first storm intercepted this trip out. A low pressure trough, advancing dryline, and cold-front coupled with surface heating caused the storms. A tornado watch also was in effect for this area until 7PM CDT. Documentation was still photos and a camcorder.

2). May 13, 6:30 PM - Indirect Penetration of severe thunderstorms southeast of Abeline and southwest of Cisco, Texas along highway 36. The thunderstorms were formerly HP supercell storms that evolved into a multicell cluster of severe thunderstorms. Winds near 50 MPH, heavy rains, frequent lightning, and hail up to 1-inch was observed with these storms. Hail was found accumulated in drifts along the side of highway 36. A low pressure trough, advancing dryline, and cold-front coupled with surface heating caused the storms. A tornado watch also was in effect for this area until 7PM CDT. Documentation was still photos and a camcorder.

3). May 16, 7:00 PM - Observation of an extremely severe thunderstorm and two tornadoes from Buffalo County, Nebraska northeastward to the area northeast of the town of Rockville, Nebraska. The storm produced very large hail (not observed), frequent lightning, and two tornadoes which were observed near Rockville, which had the tornado sirens blairing. 65 MPH RFD winds were also encountered on the south side of the storm "bears cage" prior to intercepting the tornadoes. This storm produced a total of 4 small tornadoes, two of which were observed on this cyclic supercell. The storm was caused by surface heating, a low pressure system, strong winds aloft (directional and speed shear), and a surface boundary. Documentation was still photos, audio recording, and a camcorder. A tornado watch was in effect for this area until 7PM CDT.

4). May 17, 7:30 PM - Observation of an extremely severe thunderstorm from near Russell, Kansas eastward near I-70 to near Wilson, Kansas. The storm produced very large hail at least 2 inches (not observed), frequent lightning with nearly direct close hits, and RFD winds near 60 MPH. The storm was a vigorously rotating supercell thunderstorm with a rapidly rotating wall cloud. The supercell mesocyclone caused the "stacked plate" effect to be visible on the eastern side of the updraft. The storm was caused by a surface heating, a low pressure system, strong winds aloft (directional and speed shear), and a surface boundary / dryline punch. Documentation was still photos, audio recording, and a camcorder. A tornado watch was in effect for this area until 10PM CDT. One CG lightning hit was so close that electronics were damaged by it. The Weatherlab dewpoint sensor was burned out, and a laptop battery was destroyed by the static field. The anemometer assembly was also damaged by the strong RFD winds.

5). May 20, 8:00 PM - Interception of a extremely severe supercell thunderstorm and tornado in Well and Washington counties, Colorado. The storm was first observed from its point of initiation over Weld County and quickly acquired LP supercell status. The storm was observed becoming increasingly better organized and had the classic "saucer" appearance due to the rapidly rotating mesocyclone. The storm cycled several times and blasted us with 60-70 MPH RFD winds at one point. The hail, at least 2 inches in diameter, was not intercepted. The storm produced continuous lightning as it entered Washington County and dropped a large tornado northeast of the small town of Akron, Colorado. After nearly 5 hours and about 70 miles of travel, the supercell evolved to LP again south of I-76 and gradually shrunk (dissapated). Documentation of this storm was a camcorder, still photos, and audio. The storm was caused by surface heating, upslope lift, and upper air trough, and weak surface low (high directional shear). A tornado watch was also in effect for this area until 11 PM MDT.

6). May 21, 7:30 PM - Observation of a very severe thunderstorm to the southeast of Oniel, Nebraska. The storm was a northern supercell thunderstorm in a cluster of two thunderstorms. Both storms developed explosively. The northern cell produced a rotating wall cloud with a funnel observed. Large hail to 3/4 inches, moderate rain, and 40 MPH winds were observed with this storm. We passed south of the storm's mesocyclone between it and the southern storm. The storm was caused by a low pressure trough / system, surface heating, and directional wind shear (jet stream aloft). Documentation was still photos and a camcorder. A tornado watch box was in effect for this area until 11 PM CDT.

7). May 21, 9:00 PM - Observation of an extremely severe thunderstorm to the east of Norfolk, Nebraska. This storm was a supercell thunderstorm on the south side of a thunderstorm line (tail end charlie) which became well organized sporting the "stacked plate" structure ahead of its RFD shelf cloud before slowly evolving into an MCS, which continued eastward for hours. The supercell storm had CONTINUOUS CC and awesome anvil "flicker" lightning during its highpoint, as it produced a large lowering and possible tornado northeast of Norfolk in Wayne County, Nebraska. Giant hail up to golfball sized was observed falling sporadically in a field a few hundred feet away. As this storm evolved to and MCS, it continued to produce 50+ MPH winds and continuous lightning, funnel clouds, and numerous rotating wall clouds were observed (the line of thunderstorms also contained embedded mesocyclones). These storms were caused by a low pressure system, surface heating and boundaries, and directional wind shear (jet stream aloft). Documentation was still photos, audio, and a camcorder. A tornado watch box was in effect for this area until 11 PM CDT.

8). May 22, 7:30 PM - Interception and observation of an EXTREMELY severe, tornadic, and dangerous supercell thunderstorm from east of Hastings, Nebraska to north of Beatrice, Nebraska. This storm was a monster supercell thunderstorm that began as a classic supercell and evolved to an HP supercell at least 30 miles across. The storm produced at least 6 cyclic tornadoes. The first was a large wedge barely visible west of the storm (we were too late because we aborted a northern divert around the core of the supercell). The tornado path was crossed where power poles were snapped, grass scoured off the hillside, irrigation equipment was mangled, and worst of all, a two-story house was ripped apart by the previous tornado. The storm produced inflow winds up to 60 MPH even 5 miles to the southeast of the storm. The storm had hail to 4 inches (but only sporadic golfball sized hail was seen as we tried hard to avoid the core at all costs). Lightning was continuous. Multiple funnel clouds formed around the storms RFD flank. The supercell acquired a full "stacked plate" appearance, but this time, it stretched across the entire sky. A large wedge-type tornado (possibly) was observed about 15 miles northwest of Beatrice as the storm passed by. A faint, low roaring (train) sound was noted with this feature. Later, preliminary reports of damage came in from that general area, which we were only a mile or so away from at the time of the possible tornado! This storm was part of a severe weather outbreak caused by a dryline punch, upper air support (jet stream and wind shear), strong low pressure system, and intense surface heating. Documentation was still photos, a camcorder, and audio. A PDS (Particularly Dangerous Situation) tornado watch was also in effect for this area until 11 PM CDT.

9). May 24, 4:30 PM - Observation of a tornadic supercell storm from near Falls City, Nebraska to northwest of Oregon, Missouri. This storm produced funnels and rapidly rotating wall clouds. We indirectly penetrated the storm, and experienced 50 MPH winds, heavy rains, frequent lightning, and hail to 3/4". The storm had hail up to baseball sized (core not penetrated and hail not observed at that size). This storm was abandoned due to poor road networks and went on to produce many tornadoes (not observed). A low pressure system, daytime heating, outflow boundaries, and wind-shear (jet stream) caused the storms. A tornado watch was in effect for this area until 10PM CDT. Documentation was still photos and a camcorder.

10). May 24, 6:30 PM - Observation of another severe tornadic supercell thunderstorm south of Bellview, Kansas. This storm was a classic (with an LP characteristic) supercell that was formerly tornadic (before intercepting it) and produced funnels and rapidly rotating wall clouds. The storm core was not penetrated but had inflow winds to 40 MPH from a few miles to the southeast. The storm weakened shortly after, but not before having an impressive visual apperance! A low pressure system, daytime heating, cold-front, dryline, and wind-shear (jet stream) caused the storms. A tornado watch was in effect for this area until 10PM CDT. Documentation was still photos and a camcorder.

11). May 24, 8:30 PM - Penetration and observation of severe thunderstorms south of Topeka, Kansas along highway 75. This storm was also a tornadic supercell that evolved to HP. It's core was penetrated where 60 to 70 MPH winds, torrential rains, frequent lightning, and hail to golfball sized was observed. The south side of the storm had a wall cloud, some funnels, but no major tornadoes. A low pressure system, daytime heating, outflow boundaries, and wind-shear (jet stream) caused the storms. A tornado watch was in effect for this area until 10PM CDT. Documentation was still photos, audio, and a camcorder.

12). May 25, 8:30 PM - Direct penetration of a severe thunderstorm near Dyess Air Force Base in Abeline, Texas south of Interstate 20. The storm was a severe thunderstorm and possibly a weak supercell storm. Torrential rains, winds gusting to 60 MPH, 3/4" hail, and frequent lightning with close hits. This storm had a small wall cloud along its rain-free base on its southern side. Winds were strong out of the east north of the storm core and light westerly south of it (possible mesocyclone). The storm was caused by a cold front, surface heating, and an upper level trough. Documentation was a camcorder. A severe thunderstorm watch box was in effect for this area until 10 PM CDT.

13). May 26, 8:00 PM - Obervation and indirect penetration of a very severe thunderstorm near Altus, Oklahoma. The storm was a strange left-split LP supercell type storm with golfball sized hail (not penetrated) and an anticyclonic mesocyclone. Conditions encountered with this storm were frequent lightning with some close hits, heavy rains, small hail, anf 50 MPH winds. The storm was caused by an outflow boundary, stationary front, surface heating, dryline, and an upper level trough. Documentation was still photos, audio, and a camcorder. A tornado watch box was in effect for this area until 9 PM CDT.

14). May 27, 7:00 PM - Observation and penetration of severe thunderstorms just southeast of Stephenville, Texas along highway 281. The storm was a bow-segment of a multicellular storm cluster containing embedded supercells (mesocyclones). The storm had a striated appearance with an inflow-notch and rain-free base for a short while, then it quickly evolved into a bow / line segment with destructive straight-line winds. On the south end of the cell in the line, winds suddenly increased to 80 MPH (or more) with sideways rains. Frequent lightning with close hits was also observed with this storm. The storm also contained large hail, but that area was avoided. Documentation was still photos and a camcorder. Wind damage was observed with this storm and the damage report relayed to the skywarn network (on HAM frequencies). The storm also produced a brief tornado (not observed) in addition to wind damage. The storm was caused by an advancing dryline, daytime heating, and strong upper level disturbance. A severe thunderstorm watch box was in effect for this area until 8 PM CDT.

15). May 29, 7:30 PM - Interception and observation of an extremely severe and tornadic supercell thunderstorm near highway 36 and west of the small town of Cuba north of Concordia, Kansas. This storm was a "tail end charlie" storm and produced multiple large wall clouds and / or tornadoes at the same time during its highpoint. Inflow winds 5 miles from the storm updraft exceeded 60 MPH, and were more than enough to cause wind damage to trees and structures. Hail in this storm was at least baseball sized, but the dangerous core of this storm was avoided at all costs. Frequent lightning with close hits was also observed in light anvil precipitation. The enhanced mammatus clouds from the supercell anvil resembled "sea anenome tentacles" rather than the typical "womens breast" appearance. A strong low pressure system, dryline punch, warm front / boundary, speed and directional shear (strong wind / jet stream aloft), and surface heating caused the storms. Documentation was a camcorder and still pictures. A PDS (Particularly Dangerous Situation) tornado watch was also in effect for the area until 10 PM CDT.

This concludes the Midwestern United States Chase Log. The summary includes a total of 15 severe thunderstorms and about 6 tornadoes (or large funnel clouds). The main chase vehicle conducting all chases was a 2004 Chrysler Town And Country. A 2004 Toyota 4-Runner (Amos Magliocco) was also used. This information was prepared exclusively for the National Weather service and the team of Skywarn storm spotters.

The picture above was taken by Dave Lewison and shows a group shot of some of the chasers in front of Mark Rascovich's ranch home in Piedmont, Oklahoma. Mark "Rocky" Rascovich, host for this event, is the fifth person from the left in the very front row. Myself and our chase group is the next row just behind.

During the late afternoon and evening of May 22, 2004, one of the most extreme tornado outbreaks occurred in southeastern Nebraska history. An over-sized violent supercell thunderstorm, more that 30 miles across and literally containing DOZENS of mesocyclones tore across Nebraska from east of Hastings to north of Beatrice. This storm was like no other, and produced at least six large tornadoes, many of them wrapped in precipitation.

During the latter part of that supercell storm's life cycle, the widest tornado in recorded history unfortunately took a direct hit on the small town of Hallam, Nebraska. This was a monster wedge tornado of F4 strength, with winds of 206 to 260 MPH, and a width of 2.5 miles (YES, TWO AND A HALF MILES WIDE)! 95 percent of Hallam was completely destroyed and most likely will never be rebuilt. Miraculously, few deaths occurred with the storm.

Above is an annotated picture of a video frame-grab taken 5 to 10 miles southwest of Hallam, Nebraska on May 22, 2004 at around 8:30 PM CDT. The possible wedge tornado can clearly be seen in this lightning illuminated picture.

This is something that storm chasers do not like to see, destruction of populated areas. Our sympathies go out to all victims of this disaster. The pictures below are in addition to the chase log pictures for this storm. Photo credits are to Jeff Gammons, Jason Foster, and Garry Wellman (arial surveys).

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