May 13 - Arrival day and supercell chase day in NW Texas! Straight from Dallas-Fort Worth, headed west-northwest on 287 passing Witchita Falls and reached Quanah in time for storm initiation. Headed south on Highway 6 watching the storm build to the west, become supercellular, and split. The right split was followed south through Cromwell where it reached its peak. The storm was both classic and HP depending on its cycle and evolution. At least 2 small tornadoes were observed with this storm. About 150 storm chasers "converged" on this storm, from "Yahoos" to the DOW trucks, making Highway 6 a traffic jam! The storm weakened near Haskell, Texas along 380 and the chase ended with another storm developing behing the original storm, a cluster by that time, dropping hail on us in Haskell. The chase ended with a drive back to Witchita Falls to spend the night. Great first day!

May 14 - Down day and time to set up the vehicle with equipment. Left Witchita Falls and headed through Lubbock, Texas to Brownfield, Texas to stay the night anticipating chase prospects in SE New Mexico the following day.

May 15 - Marginal chase day in New Mexico west of Roswell. Cool and moist upslope setup allowed us to chase in this area. We left Brownfield, TX and headed west on Highway 380 to Roswell, New Mexico. We targeted convection developing near the front range 10 to 15 miles west of Roswell along Highway 380. The storm briefly became supercellular, with a wall cloud and beaver's tail, but never had the parameters to sustain itself. We finished the chase, ate dinner in Roswell, then headed to Amarillo, Texas via Highway 70 to position for the next day s chase possibilities.

May 16 - Down and travel day. Today did not present good chase prospects, so most of the day was spent traveling from Amarillo, Texas to Colby, Kansas via Highway 83 as good chase prospects were anticipated the next day. On the way, we did stop at the rock monuments and windmill farms for photo opportunities.

May 17 - Today was a good chase day with a small tornado intercepted south of Cozad, Nebraska. The day began in Colby, Kansas. We waited there checking data at the "Oasis" off I-70, then left for Hoxie, Kansas to wait some more. At 3:45 PM we headed north on Highway 23 through Mc Cook, Nebraska then east on I-80 out of North Platt. The storms were targeted east of North Platt and a supercell storm on the south end of the line segment was targeted south of I-80 near Cozad. South of this area a dusty tornado was observed before being cut off by outflow. The line segment was followed southeastward on Highway 6 through Mindon, Nebraska. The line segment contained embedded supercell features. The chase ended by driving back southeast to Salina, Kansas for the night.

May 18 - Chase day with supercell thunderstorm intercepted southeast of Topeka, Kansas. We started in Salina, Kansas and headed towards the general area of eastern Kansas targeting good moisture (dewpoints) and instability. We waited in Emporia, Kansas for initiation and went after the developing thunderstorms near Topeka. The storm became an HP supercell with incredible structure at time of observation. This storm evolved to multicell and back-built southward into southeastern Kansas near Burlington. The chase ended in Lola, Kansas with the night spent in Chenute, Kansas.

May 19 - Today was a typical cap "bust" day in Northeastern Oklahoma. Anticipating good directional shear and instability, we left Chenute, Kansas and headed for Tulsa, Oklahoma stopping in Bartelsville, Oklahoma for data on the way. The capping inversion never broke, and the enhanced cumulus waned by 6 PM. We left Tulsa by 6 PM and headed north to Wichita, Kansas for a weather channel interview in the morning the next day and possibilities farther north in South Dakota.

May 20 - A very long chase on a marginal chase day with very little in the way of storms found. The chase started in northern Wichita, Kansas northward on I-35 then Hoghway 81 through Kansas and Nebraska into South Dakota. There were two targets forecasted, SE North Dakota and SE Montana. There was many delays in Nebraska due to almost continuous construction. Unfortunately, there was simply not enough time to make them as we got to a late start as the Weather Channel Interview fell through. Both targets produced supercells. We ended up in south central South Dakota and headed west on I-90 targeting a severe thunderstorm near the SD / NE central border near the Missouri River. The storm went LP, then high based / low topped and weakened. This VERY frustrating chase ended by tracking back south into O'Neill, Nebraska for the night.

May 21 - Today was another beautiful setup gone to crap in a nasty and painful "bust". We forecasted and left O'Neill, Nebraska at about 11 AM targeting Norfolk, Nebraska. Some small cumulus started appearing as we met up with Eric Nguyen, Scott Currens, Scott Eubanks, Tony Laubach, and others. We remained in Norfolk until about 4 PM then headed southward into the area north of Interstate 80 east of Wahoo, Nebraska. We waited there under great upper level dynamics, a surface low, warm and cold front boundaries, but a strong "cap" of warm air aloft that just held strong. We accepted the fact that we "busted", despite tornado watch 311 issued for the area, ate in Lincoln, Nebraska and resorted back west on I-80 spending the night in York, Nebraska. Tomorrow we will head west to play upslope in a day or so in Colorado.

May 22 - What was supposed to exclusively be a travel day turned out to include an unexpected interception of severe thunderstorms en-route to our Colorado Target. We left York and stopped in Grand Island for food and vehicle maintenance. We proceded west on I-80 stopping in Kearney to check out the Archway Monument museum. We continued west on I-80 towards Cheyenne, Wyoming and intercepted some severe storms near Bushnell and Kimball, Nebraska. We continued observing the storms as we worked our way south and southwest clipping extreme Southeastern Wyoming and entering the Palmer Divide area of Northeastern Colorado. We documented the storms, even stumbling across a missile silo where some military personell politely asked us to leave. We finished with the storms then continued south and southwest through rural Colorado alongside Bison and Antelope. We settled for dinner and the night in Greely, Colorado at a pretty interesting (in a deviant way) Motel 6.

May 23 - A moderately successful chase day in Eastern Colorado / Western Kansas. The day began sort of uptight leaving the "suspicious" motel in Greely, Colorado. We did manage to visit NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) in Boulder, Colorado before heading out of town to chase near Limon. A high-based LP supercell was encountered southwest of Limon, and followed eastward towards Kit Carson where it weakened after a "just in time" fuel stop. We headed east on Highway 40, then north on Highway 21 into Goodwell, Kansas for the night. Another electrically active severe thunderstorm was observed while in Goodwell.

May 24 - A long and busy chase day with at least four severe thunderstorms, all of them supercells intercepted. The day began by leaving Goodwell, Kansas and heading west then north to near Akron, Colorado. The first storm, an LP supercell couplet (two cells, one clockwise, the other counter-clockwise) was encountered northwest of Last Chance, Colorado after initiation. A second supercell, embedded in a squall line, was encountered near Akron before heading south to yet another supercell south of Joes, Colorado with a large rotating wall cloud. These storms weakened, so attention was directed to the southern "tail end charley" cell on the cluster of storms. This required going south, then east on 70, then south on Highway 29 back in Kansas to target rotating storms west of Tribune, Kansas. We were pulled over and verbally warfned for speeding north of Tribune, Kansas. West of Tribune, then across the Colorado border near Towner, a violent HP (high precipitation) supercell was encountered near dark. This storm occuluded and bowed-out as it moved southeast sending a violent severe storm through Syracuse, Kansas. We backed off back east to Tribune, Kansas, then south on Highway 29 to wait for the storm to pass near Syracuse, Kansas. After the storm passed, we continued west to Lamar, Colorado for the night.

May 25 - Today was another great chase day with three supercells intercepted. We left Lamar, Colorado and headed southwest through Trinidad, and took Interstate 25 out of the mountains and headed south. We entered the warm sector ahead of a cold front near Raton, New Mexico and stopped to observe a developing LP supercell southwest of Springer, New Mexico. This storm was a well-developed LP supercell storm, but did not get very well organized. A new storm EXPLOSIVELY developed ahead of the cold front to the northeast of the LP storm and went from fair-weather cumulus to a full-fledged classic supercell in only a half hours time! This storm wrapped up and had some of the most rock-hard "cauliflower" updrafts I have ever seen. The storm became undercut by the cold front but persisted for a while as it evolved to an LP storm, became elevated, and dissapated. Attention shifted towards storms near Tucemcari, New Mexico. Southeast of this area, another supercell storm explosively developed and became a mature storm in about twenty minutes. This supercell also became undercut by the cold air surging southward, but turned right maintained supercell status (classic and LP) for some time. Giant hail (nearly baseball sized) was observed with this storm along with incredible storm structure northwest of Logan, New Mexico. The hail was encountered again at a gas station, but smaller, in Logan. This was the last storm of the day, so we headed west into Clovis, New Mexico for the night.

May 26 - Today was a down day. We left Clovis, New Mexico and toured the Carlesbad Caverns national park area southwest of Carlesbad, New Mexico area. No storms developed this day. The evening was spent in Roswell, New Mexico positioning for possibilities in NE New Mexico again the next day.

May 27 - Today was a fun chase day with a cyclic supercell encountered near Las Vegas, New Mexico. The day began leaving Roswell, New Mexico after forecasting our target area in Las Vegas, New Mexico. We arrived in our target area in time for initiation. The storm quickly became an LP supercell, then classic, and ultimitely HP near Interstate 40. This storm was spectacular, and its hail core was also documented. We wrapped up the chase and headed to Amarillo, Texas for the night. The next day should be a Kansas chase day.

May 28 - Two supercells were intercepted on this chase day, one in eastern Colorado, and another in SE Colorado and chased into the Oklahoma Panhandle. We left Amarillo, Texas after forecasting and deciding between chasing or attending the Storm-Track picnic. We decided to chase, so we headed to east-central Colorado near Kit Carson. Storms initiated and a small supercell was intercepted southeast of Burlington, Colorado. This storm came close to producing a tornado, but occluded and weakened near the Kansas border. We headed back south and west to Lamar, Colorado through the northern portion of linear storms south of the area. Upon leaving Lamar, headed south, the southern end of the line of thunderstorms evolved into another supercell (Tail End Charley) which was intercepted at sunset and chased into the night. This storm was one of the most beautiful and majestic a supercell can be. After this storm weakened late, we blasted south through the Oklahoma panhandle and back into Texas. The night was spent in Amarillo, Texas. The next day should be a final chase day.

May 29 - Today was another chase day where two supercell storms were intercepted from near Abbott, New Mexico then northward near Trinidad, Colorado. The day began by leaving Amarillo, Texas and heading west to the area near Abbott, New Mexico where the first storm fired. This storm briefly wrapped-up as a supercell but quickly became outflow dominant. The second storm was intercepted near Trinidad, Colorado by quickly re-positioning northward then east of Trinidad. Hail covering the ground was encountered behind this storm. After finishing the chasing, the night was spent in Trinidad, Colorado. The next few days may be very interesting, so the return date of May 30 was moved up to June 1.

May 30 - This day was supposed to be a travel day, but the trip was extended and this day was a very interesting chase day with nearly five supercell thunderstorms intercepted, one of which produced a funnel cloud and another producing a tornado. We looked at data in Trinidad, Colorado and realized the place to be was just east of Trinidad. Convective initiation occurred at about 3 PM so we headed east on Highway 160 east of town. About three supercells developed and trained off the high terrain but were short-lived. The second supercell of the three produced an impressive rotating wall cloud. Amos Magliocco (KC5VPD) who was also caravaning with our group accidentally hit a deer that darted in front of him causing damage to his vehicle. A fourth supercell was encountered farther east and produced a striking wall cloud and funnel north of Branson, Colorado. The final supercell was a violently rotating storm that crossed Highway 160 southwest of Pritchett, Colorado where giant hail and a tornado was observed. Another chaser in our group, Jason Persoff, needed to be pulled out of a ditch after his car slidded into it. After following this storm to near Springfield, Colorado we ended the chase and headed farther south to set up for the final chase day's target area spending the night in Dalhart, Texas.

May 31 - Today was an exciting chase day in western Texas with two supercells interecepted, one of which produced giant hail and a tornado. We left Dalhart, Texas after forecasting and headed to our primary target area north of Lubbock and south of Plainview. Storms began developing north of the area, and one HP supercell was observed just before it weakened. Another storm fired near Clovis, New Mexico, and moved into Texas. This storm became an LP, then a classic supercell northwest of Lubbock. A weak tornado was observed with this storm, and baseball sized hail was encountered damaging the chase vehicle. The chase continued southeast of Lubbock where the storm "gusted out" and the chase ended in La Mesa, Texas for dinner. We began the long drive home after dinner heading east on I-20 through Dallas by midnight.

June 1 - Departure and travel day. Today was strictly a travel day spent on a long roadtrip back to Florida. Ongoing driving from the previous chase day through Longview, Texas on I-20, then taking I-49 through Louisiana, then I-10 through Mississippi, Alabama, and into North Florida. We traveled down I-75 passing Gainseville then picking up the Florida Turnpike to drop the rental vehicle back in Orlando and pick up my personal car at the airport parking lot. This concludes the trip for chase expedition 2005.

1). May 13, 3:00 PM - Observation of an extremely severe thunderstorm west of Highway 6 between Crowell and Quanah in Texas. The storm was encountered just after initiation and rapidly intensified into a supercell thunderstorm. The storm split, and the southern cell (right moving storm) was targeted. This storm was to go through several cycles and produce small tornadoes during this period, eventually evolving from a classic supercell, to an HP storm, with the "stacked-plates" effect, then occlude and evolve to a multicell cluster. The storm contained 3" hail, which was not observed. The storm also produced torrential rains, frequent lightning with close hits, and inflow winds to-50 MPH. A violently rotating wall cloud was observed with the supercell during its classic stage near Crowell, and a possible tornado was observed with it. Another dusty weak tornado was observed east of Knox City while taking refuge under a car port with the permission of a friendly local. In this area, hail to 1" was also observed with part of this storm along with frequent lightning, 60-MPH winds, and heavy rains. The storms became multicellular and weakened by about 8:00 PM. The storms were caused by a strong upper-level disturbance, dryline bulge, weak surface low, and pre-existing boundary. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storm. Documentation were digital stills and camcorder. A tornado watch was also in effect for this area until 9PM CDT.

2). May 13, 9:30 PM - Observation of a severe thunderstorm in Haskell, Texas near Highway 287 along Highway 380. This storm was part of a multicellular cluster of strong a severe thunderstorms developing behind previous activity closer to the dryline boundary to the west. Frequent lightning, heavy rains, hail at least 1", and winds to 35-MPH were observed at a gas station with this storm. The storms were caused by a strong upper-level disturbance, dryline bulge, weak surface low, and outflow boundary. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storm. Documentation was a camcorder.

3). May 15, 5:00 PM - Observation of a severe thunderstorm west of Roswell, New Mexico and just northwest of Highway 380. The storm began from upslope convection and was about 10-15 miles west of Roswell. The storm began as multicell thunderstorms, rather high-based, then one cell acquired supercell characteristics in the cluster. The storm produced hail, but this was not intercepted. A weakly rotating wall cloud and beaver's tail appeared on the storm during its highpoint. The storm also produced frequent lightning. The storms were caused by upslope wind flow, a low-pressure trough, and an upper-level disturbance. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storm. Documentation was a camcorder and digital still photos.

4). May 17, 6:30 PM - Observation of a severe thunderstorm and tornado south of Cozad, Nebraska from just south of Interstate 80 in Lincoln County eastward and southeastward into Minden, Nebraska. The storm involved was the "Tail End Charley" storm on the south end of a line segment / cluster of severe thunderstorms. The supercell storm on the southernmost end of this line was semi-linear but contained rotation and was able to produce a weak dusty tornado on its updraft side 5 miles or so south of Cozad. The storm continued to back-build and adopted inflow winds gusting over 50-MPH at one point with the "stacked-plates" effect visually. The storm core had hail to 3 inches and 70 MPH winds (not intercepted). The storm developed ahead of a cold front and dryline "punch" interaction, and was triggered by surface heating and an upper-level disturbance / jet stream aloft. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storms. Documentation was still digital photos and a camcorder. A severe thunderstorm watch was also in effect for this area until 9 PM CDT.

5). May 18, 8:00 PM - Interception of an extremely severe thunderstorm southeast of Topeka, Kansas near Highway 75. The storm was an HP supercell producing golfball hail (or larger) and funnel clouds. A large wall cloud was observed with this storm, with tiered shelf cloud structure. The hail was not intercepted. The storm produced heavy rains and frequent lightning. The storm evolved to a multicell cluster with bow-echo and was followed to Burlington, Kansas. The storms developed ahead of a cold front and outflow boundary coupled with surface heating and an upper-level disturbance. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storms. Documentation was still digital photos and a camcorder. A severe thunderstorm watch box was in effect for the area until 10 PM CDT.

6). May 20, 8:30 PM - Observation of a severe thunderstorm developing near the Missouri River in south central South Dakota about 45 miles south of Interstate 90. The storm was a small LP type supercell that evolved to a high based / low topped elevated storm and subsequently dissapated. The storm was observed mature from about 75 miles away. The storm developed from surface heating and an upper-level disturbance ahead of a low pressure system. Documentation was still digital photos. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storm.

7). May 22, 7:30 PM - Interception of a strong to severe thunderstorm near Bushnell, Nebraska. The storm was high-based and elevated but produced pea to dime sized hail as we penetrated its small precipitation core during the weakening stages of the storm. The storm was part of a multicell cluster of elevated strong and severe thunderstorms. The storms were caused by surface heating, upslope winds, and an upper-level disturbance. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storms. Documentation was still digital photos and a camcorder.

8). May 23, 6:00 PM - Observation and interception of a severe thunderstorm southwest of Limon, Colorado and followed eastward to near Kit Carson, Colorado. The storm began as a rotating LP supercell with a high base. The storm tried to intensify, but weakened near Kit Carson. Marble sized hail, 60-MPH winds, frequent lightning, and heavy rains were observed with this storm. The storms were caused by surface heating, a low pressure trough, upslope wind flow, and an upper level disturbance. Documentation was still digital photos, audio, and a camcorder. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storms. A tornado watch was also in effect for the area until 2 AM CDT.

9). May 23, 9:00 PM - Indirect penetration of another severe thunderstorm in Goodwell, Kansas. This storm was part of a multicell cluster of severe thunderstorms. Moderate rain, frequent lightning, and winds gusting to 60-MPH were observed with this storm. Some signs were blown down in Goodwell from the wind gusts. Documentation of this storm was a camcorder and still digital photos. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storms. The storms were caused by surface heating, a low pressure trough, outflow boundaries, and an upper level disturbance. A tornado watch was also in effect for the area until 2 AM CDT.

10). May 24, 4:00 PM - Observation of a strong to severe thunderstorm northwest of Last Chance, Colorado. The storm was a small LP supercell storm (cyclonic), and eventually merged with another left-split LP storm (anticyclonic). When the two storms merged, the RFD "slot" became enhanced and a horseshoe updraft base became relevant. The storm weakened after that. Frequent lightning, 30-MPH winds, light rain, and pea-sized hail was observed with the storm. The main core was not penetrated. The storms were caused by a low-pressure trough, upslope winds, surface heating, and an upper-level disturbance. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storm. Documentation was a camcorder and still digital photos. A tornado watch was in effect for the area until 9PM MDT.

11). May 24, 6:00 PM - Indirect penetration of a severe thunderstorm near Akron, Colorado off Highway 34 and Highway 63. Winds gusting to 50-MPH, heavy rains, frequent lightning, and small hail was observed with this storm. The storm also spawned some small funnel clouds on its updraft side southeast of Akron. The storms were caused by a low-pressure trough, outflow boundaries, surface heating, and an upper-level disturbance. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storm. Documentation was a camcorder and still digital photos. A tornado watch was in effect for the area until 9PM MDT.

12). May 24, 7:00 PM - Penetration and observation of another severe thudnerstorm southeast of Joes, Colorado near Kirk. The storm was an HP supercell storm with a very large wall cloud. The wall cloud was observed rotating before becoming rain wrapped. Attempting to flank the storm to the north, part of its core was penetrated, and 60-MPH winds, torrential rains, frequent lightning with close hits, and hail to 3/4" was encountered. The storms were caused by a low-pressure trough, outflow boundaries, surface heating, and an upper-level disturbance. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storm. Documentation was a camcorder, audio, and still digital photos. A tornado watch was in effect for the area until 10PM CDT.

13). May 24, 9:00 PM - Observation of an extremely severe and possibly tornadic thunderstorm near Towner, Colorado west of Tribune, Kansas, then south through Syracuse, Kansas where its core was encountered. The storm began as an HP supercell, producing continuous lightning and funnel clouds. Near this storm, torrential rains, frequent lightning, and 3/4" hail was observed in the forward-flank region (well northest of the core). The storm evolved to a bow segment and blasted through Syracuse, Kansas, where winds gusting over 80-MPH were encountered, with frequent lightning, violent rain, and hail up to 1/2" inch. The storm cause flooding and some trees down. The storms were caused by a low-pressure trough, upslope winds, surface heating, and an upper-level disturbance. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storm. Documentation was a camcorder, audio, and still digital photos. A tornado watch was in effect for the area until 5AM MDT.

14). May 25, 4:00 PM - Observation of a severe thunderstorm developing southwest of Springer, New Mexico west of Interstate 25. The storm was an LP supercell storm. Its core was not penetrated. Frequent lightning and a wall cloud was observed with this storm. The storm was caused by upslope wind flow, an upper-level disturbance, surface low-pressure, and surface heating. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storm. Documentation was still digital photos, and a camcorder. A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect until 9PM MDT.

15). May 25, 6:00 PM - Observation of a very severe thunderstorm northeast of Springer, New Mexico west of Interstate 25. This storm was an extremely rapidly developing storm with rock-hard explosive thunderstorm development. The core of this storm was not penetrated, but its inflow side was viewed for the life of the storm. Several rotating wall clouds were observed with this classic supercell. After the cold front undercut its updraft, the storm slowly evolved to an LP storm, became elevated, and weakened. Winds over 50-MPH were onserved near the edge of this storm. The storm was caused by a cold front, an upper-level disturbance, surface low-pressure, and surface heating. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storm. Documentation was still digital photos, and a camcorder. A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect until 9PM MDT.

16). May 25, 9:00 PM - Interception and direct penetration of an extremely severe thunderstorm southeast of Tecumcari, New Mexico and south of Interstate 40. This storm also explosively developed and quickly became a classic supercell, then evolved to HP when undercut by the cold front it developed along. In the HP stage, the hail core was sampled (penetrated) where hail over 2 inches was observed (near baseball hail). Torrential rains, frequent lightning, and winds over 60-MPH were also encountered with this storm. The storm also produced a few rotating wall clouds and small funnels before being undercut. After penetrating the storm core, the storm moved south and southeast to near Logan, New Mexico, where the storm evolved to LP. Marble to quarter sized hail was observed again at a gas station in this area before the storm weakened. The storm was caused by a cold front, an upper-level disturbance, surface low-pressure, and surface heating. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storm (Weathervine team) as well as a 2002 Ford Taurus (Scott Blair) for the hail observations. The hail size was reported to the National Weather Service office. Documentation was still digital photos, audio, and a camcorder. A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect until 9PM MDT.

17). May 27, 5:00 PM - Interception and direct penetration of an extremely severe thunderstorm from near Las Vegas, New Mexico to near Interstate 40 and Highway 3. The storm initiated in the mountains near Las Vegas and quickly became supercellular near Interstate 25. The storm began as LP, then evolved to classic, producing many wall clouds and funnels during its lifetime. The storm acquired the "stacked plates" structure and pea to dime sized hail fell from its anvil. The storm came very close to producing a tornado near Interstate 40 during its HP evolution. Inflow winds over 50-MPH were found in this area. The core of this storm was also penetrated, where golfball sized hail (or larger) fell thick and covered the ground up to several inches deep (completely white like snow)! The core also had frequent lightning and winds to near 70-MPH. The storm subsequently evolved to a bow-segment then became outflow-dominant and weakened. The storm was caused by a low pressure trough, an upper-level disturbance, upslope wind flow, and surface heating. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storm (Weathervine team) as well as a 2002 Ford Taurus (Scott Blair) for the hail observations. Documentation was still digital photos and a camcorder. A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect until 8PM MDT.

18). May 28, 5:00 PM - Observation and indirect penetration of a severe thunderstorm southeast of Burlington, Colorado. The storm was a classic supercell thunderstorm and had a well-developed RFD and rotating updraft. Several wall-clouds and funnels were noted with this storm before it weakened. Inflow winds were southeast at about 40-MPH into this storm. Copious amounts of pea to dime sized hail, winds near 60-MPH, heavy rains, and frequent lightning was observed with this storm. The storm was caused by a low pressure trough, an upper-level disturbance, upslope wind flow, and surface heating. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storm. Documentation was still digital photos and a camcorder. A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect until 9PM MDT.

19). May 28, 9:30 PM - Observation and penetration of a very severe thunderstorm southeast of Springfield, Colorado and followed into the central Oklahoma panhandle after dark. This was a supercell storm that began as the southernmost cell on a line of thunderstorms. The storm back-built and separated from the line and became organized (the "Tail End Charley" storm). This supercell began as a classic supercell and evolved to HP before becoming outflow dominant after several hours. Marble sized hail to about 1" was observed on the rear-flank of this storm. The hail covered the ground and roadway in some places. Torrential rains and frequent lightning was also observed with this visually striking storm, which even took on the "stacked plates" appearance for some time after dark. The storm was caused by a low pressure trough, an upper-level disturbance, outflow boundaries, and surface heating. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storm. Documentation was still digital photos, audio, and a camcorder. A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect until 9PM MDT.

20). May 29, 4:00 PM - Interception of a severe thunderstorm along Highway 56 east of Abbott, New Mexico. The storm was a supercell storm that quickly became outflow dominant and evolved into a line segment producing 50-60 MPH outflow winds. The storm also produced pea to dime sized hail, frequent lightning, and very heavy rains. A large wall cloud and some funnels were produced by the storm before the storm updraft region became undercut by the outflow. The storm was caused by a low pressure trough, an upper-level disturbance, upslope windflow, and surface heating. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storm. Documentation was still digital photos and a camcorder. A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect until 8PM MDT.

21). May 29, 7:00 PM - Observation of another supercell storm north and east of Trinidad, Colorado east of Interstate 25 along Highway 160. The storm weakened when it was reached, but a large hail swath was encountered behind this storm along Highway 160. Marble sized hail covered the ground in areas and flash flooding was also observed. The core of this storm was not penetrated. The storm was caused by a low pressure trough, an upper-level disturbance, upslope windflow, and surface heating. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase the storm. Documentation was still digital photos and a camcorder. A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect until 8PM MDT.!

22). May 30, 4:00 PM - Observation of three severe thunderstorms, each short-lived classic and / or LP supercells, near Highway 160 east of Trinidad, Colorado. Each of these storms developed in the high terrain and moved to the east and northeast. Frequent lightning, hail up to dime sized, 40-MPH winds, and moderate to heavy rains were observed with each of these storms. Their cores were not directly penetrated. The second of these storms produced a large and rotating wall cloud. The storms were caused by a low-pressure system, upper-level dynamics, up-slope wind flow, and surface heating. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase them. Documentation was a camcorder, still digital photos, and audio. A tornado watch was in effect for the area until 9PM MDT.

23). May 30, 7:00 PM - Observation of another severe thunderstorms, a classic / LP supercell, 3 miles south of Highway 160 north of Branson, Colorado. This storm produced a dramatic vault and large wall cloud, and a persistant funnel was noted under the wall cloud for about 5 minutes. The funnel did not touch down. Frequent lightning, hail up to dime sized, 30-MPH winds, and moderate rains were observed with this storm before it moved northeast and weakened. The small core of this storm was not directly penetrated. The storm was caused by a low-pressure system, upper-level dynamics, up-slope wind flow, and surface heating. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase them. Documentation was a camcorder and still digital photos. A tornado watch was in effect for the area until 9PM MDT.

24). May 30, 9:00 PM - Observation and indirect penetration of a tornadic supercell southwest of Pritchett, Colorado along Highway 160. This was a classic supercell with an incredible vault structure and produced a brief tornado north of the highway. Frequent lightning, hail larger tham golfballs, 60 to 70 MPH winds, and heavy rains were observed with this storm. A violently rotating area was notes within the wall cloud and main mesocyclone with "tagging" rain curtains just south of the vault region. This area produced a brief tornado before becoming wrapped with precipitation. No damage was noted as the storm occurred over a sparsely populated area. The tornado was reported to the National Weather Service as well as the Storm Prediction Center. The storm moved due east from near Kim, Colorado and weakened just west of Springfield. The storm was caused by a low-pressure system, upper-level dynamics, warm / stationary frontal boundary, outflow boundaries, and surface heating. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase them. Documentation was a camcorder and still digital photos. A tornado watch was in effect for the area until 9PM MDT.

25). May 31, 6:00 PM - Observation of an extremely severe thunderstorm northwest of Plainview, Texas. This storm was an HP supercell with a spectacular "stacked-plate" mesocyclone and vault appearance. This storm also was tornadic, but no tornadoes were observed. The storm produced several funnel clouds. Frequent lightning was also observed with this storm. The storm was caused by a low-pressure system, upper-level dynamics, stationary frontal boundary, advancing dryline, and surface heating. A 2005 Dodge Caravan was used to chase them. Documentation was a camcorder and still digital photos. A tornado watch was in effect for the area until 9PM MDT.

26). May 31, 8:00 PM - Direct penetration extremely severe and tornadic thunderstorm northwest of Lubbock, Texas. This storm was originally an LP supercell that was enhanced by an outflow boundary from stgorms farther north. The storm had a vigourously rotating wall cloud. The storm evolved from LP to a classic supercell, and became HP during occluding cycles. This storm also produced a weak tornado very close to the chase team, then the storm occluded, causing the storm core to be penetrated. The storm contained winds over 70-MPH, torrential rains, frequent lighting, and vigourous golfball-sized hail with isolated baseball sized hail. The chase vehicle, a 2005 Dodge Caravan, was damaged along with the Weatherlab weather station mounted on its roof. The storm was caused by a low-pressure system, upper-level dynamics, an outflow boundary, advancing dryline, and surface heating. Documentation was a camcorder, audio, and still digital photos. A tornado watch was in effect for the area until 9PM MDT. The hail and tornado interception was also reported to the National Weather Service.

This concludes the Midwestern United States Chase Log for the first trip in May 2005. The summary includes a total of 28 severe thunderstorms and 4 tornadoes (or large funnel clouds). The main chase vehicle conducting all chases was a 2005 Dodge Caravan. This information was prepared exclusively for the National Weather service and the team of Skywarn storm spotters.

June 9 - Arrival day. This was not a chase day as I arrived into Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) airport late evening, made car rental arrangements, and found accomodations in Dallas for the evening. The next day was to be a chase day in Oklahoma / Texas.

June 10 - Chase day. This day had some good and bad points. The good point was lots of shear and boundaries, the bad thing was instability (based on timing of the disturbances). Today involved forecasting very early, leaving Dallas, Texas, then picking a target of Woodward, Oklahoma. Once in Woodward, it appeared convection was developing very early in the day and was not very organized. Some severe thunderstorm clusters were found near Wheeler, Texas then later near Amarillo, Texas. One storm west of Amarillo briefly became supercellular, with a rotating wall cloud. The day ended with a drive back to Oklahoma City from Amarillo to visit friends and spend the night.

June 11 - Today was a better chase day around and south of the Amarillo, Texas area once again. I left Oklahoma City and headed back towards Amarillo, Texas, then south towards Happy, Texas on Interstate 27. After meeting up with Stephen Miller (KD5FMI), Scott Blair (KD5KOW), Amos Magliocco (KC5VPD), Scott Currens (KE5AIV), and Eric Nguyen (KD5HPZ) near Hereford, Texas, we headed for a storm that fired west of Amarillo. The storm became supercellular with rotating wall clouds and funnels before being cut off by a tornadic storm to the south. Stephen Miller and I observed the storm for some time as it came close to producing a tornado. The storm to the south produced some small tornadoes as observed by Amos Magliocco, Scott Blair, Scott Currens, and Eric Nguyen. Steve and I were too late for that storm as severe flash flooding was encountered southeast of Amarillo after all storms evolved to multicell clusters. The night was spend with Stephen Miller and myself in Canyon, Texas. The big day was to be the next and final chase day.

June 12 - BIG chase day. Today was a day many chasers dream about, with a violent cyclic supercell producing just about every type of tornado you can have! Stephen Miller and I forecasted and left Canyon, Texas for the area near and east of Plainview. The setup was complicated by boundaries, but had great shear, instability, and a dryline bulge. First storms developed southeast of Hereford, briefly becoming supercells, but then coming off the boundary and weakening. Another supercell, farther south and more "anchored" on the boundary, rapidly developed as Stephen and I raced towards it west of Spur, Texas. This supercell produced at least EIGHT (yes, 8) tornadoes over nearly a two hour period, including ropes, elephant-trunk, cone, stovepipe, multiple-vortex, and wedge variants! Unfortunately, the multi-vortex tornado did do some damage near the Spur, Texas area. This storm was the high-point of my tornado chasing career. After this storm weakened, another supercell developed to its south west of Aspermont, Texas. This storm was also violent, and rotated hard with its wall cloud, but only came to produce a funnel or two. Stephen Miller and I ended this day with dinner in Stamford, Texas before he headed back to Mc Kinney and myself for the DFW area. Got stopped in Weatherford, Texas for speed trap (80 in 65) on Interstate 20, then proceded back to Dallas for the evening.

June 13 - Travel day. Today was a travel day where the rental vehicle was returned at about 3 PM and my flight back to Orlando, Florida was 5:50 PM. I did manage to check out the Six Flags park in the morning. All and all, except for the speeding, this trip was one to remember! This concludes the SECOND trip for chase expedition 2005 (June).

1). June 10, 1:00 PM - Interception and penetration of a severe thunderstorm north of Wheeler, Texas along Highway 83. The storm was part of a multicell cluster of strong and severe thunderstorms. Frequent lightning, very heavy rains, dime-sized hail (1/2"), and 60-MPH winds were encountered with this storm. The storm was caused by surface heating, an upper-level disturbance, surface low-pressure, and outflow boundaries. A 2005 Chevy Corsica was used to chase the storms. Documentation was a camcorder. A tornado watch was in effect for the area until 6 PM CDT.

2). June 10, 5:00 PM - Interception and penetration of a severe thunderstorm north of Amarillo, Texas near Highway 87. The storm was also part a multicell cluster / line of strong and severe thunderstorms. Frequent lightning, very heavy rains, hail up to nickel-sized (3/4"), and 55-MPH winds were encountered with this storm. The storm was caused by surface heating, an upper-level disturbance, surface low-pressure, and outflow boundaries. A 2005 Chevy Corsica was used to chase the storms. Documentation was a camcorder. A tornado watch was in effect for the area until 6 PM CDT.

3). June 10, 6:00 PM - Observation of a severe thunderstorm west of Amarillo, Texas just south of Interstate 40. The storm was a small supercell storm that developed a rotating wall cloud before weakening as outflow from storms to its northeast undercut it. Frequent lightning, heavy rains, funnel clouds, and 40-MPH winds were encountered with this storm, although its core was not penetrated. The storm was caused by surface heating, an upper-level disturbance, surface low-pressure, dryline, and outflow boundaries. A 2005 Chevy Corsica was used to chase the storms. Documentation was a camcorder. A tornado watch was in effect for the area until 6 PM CDT.

4). June 11, 5:00 PM - Observation of a very severe thunderstorm west of Amarillo, Texas just north of Interstate 40. The storm was a classic supercell storm that developed many wall clouds, some with violent rotation and funnels, and occluded several times before weakening as storms developed to its south. Inflow winds up to 40-MPH and frequent lightning were encountered with this storm before it became linear and outflow dominant. Its core was not penetrated. The storm was caused by surface heating, an upper-level disturbance, surface low-pressure, and dryline / boundary interactions. A 2005 Chevy Corsica was used to chase the storms. Documentation was a camcorder and digital still photos. A tornado watch was also in effect for the area until 9 PM CDT.

5). June 11, 7:00 PM - Observation and indirect penetration of a severe thunderstorm west of Vega, Texas near Interstate 40. The storm was an HP supercell that was tornado-warned but weakened when we got to it. The storm produced winds up to about 45-MPH, heavy rains, frequent lightning, and dime to nickel-szed hail. The storm also became outflow dominant with a dramatic shelf-cloud associated with its gust front on the southeast side of the storm. The storm was caused by surface heating, an upper-level disturbance, surface low-pressure, and dryline / boundary interactions. A 2005 Chevy Corsica was used to chase the storms. Documentation was a camcorder and digital still photos. A tornado watch was also in effect for the area until 9 PM CDT.

6). June 11, 9:00 PM - Observation of a severe thunderstorm east of Happy, Texas east of Interstate 27. The storm was another supercell storm but did not really do much, neither were we able to get to it as farm-road 1881 was closed due to an overturned sheriff vehicle and flash flooding problems. The storm was not penetrated or reached, but a low wall cloud was observed with it. The storm was caused by surface heating, an upper-level disturbance, surface low-pressure, and outflow boundary interactions. A 2005 Chevy Corsica was used to chase the storms. Documentation was a camcorder and digital still photos. A tornado watch was also in effect for the area until 9 PM CDT.

7). June 11, 10:00 PM - Observation and encounter with another severe thunderstorm in Canyon, Texas. This severe thunderstorm was part of a multicell cluster or severe thunderstorms. Heavy rains, vivid and frequent lightning, 50-MPH winds, and nickel-sized (3/4") hail was observed as the storm passed over the motel in Canyon. The storm was caused by surface heating, an upper-level disturbance, surface low-pressure, and outflow boundary interactions. A 2005 Chevy Corsica was used to chase the storms. Documentation was a camcorder and digital still photos. A severe thunderstorm watch was also in effect for the area until 5 AM CDT.

8). June 12, 4:00 PM - Observation of a small severe thunderstorm southeast of Hereford, Texas. This storm was a small supercell storm that developed ahead of the dryline near a boundary. The storm produced a wall cloud and funnel, but weakened as it came off the boundary. This storm later did intensify briefly and produce a small tornado / funnel (not observed) until a new supercell storm developed south of it. The storm was caused by surface heating, an upper-level disturbance, surface low-pressure, and dryline / boundary interactions. A 2005 Chevy Corsica was used to chase the storms. Documentation was a camcorder and digital still photos. A tornado watch was also in effect for the area until 8 PM CDT.

9). June 12, 6:00 PM - Observation of an extremely severe, dangerous, and tornadic thunderstorm near Spur, Texas. This storm was a cyclic supercell (mostly classic by nature) that became a prolific tornado producer. The storm quickly exploded near Crosbyton, Texas and moved eastwards with a large rotating wall cloud. The storm produced two tornadoes during its first cycle, one a large "stove-pipe" / "elephant trunk" tornado. The storm cycled again farther southeast and produced both a large "cone" tornado and when a "wedge". The storm then cycled again and produced a multiple-vortex tornado (or tornadoes) close to Spur, Texas, with airborne debris visible. The storm occluded and cycled again while maintaining a long-lived "stove-pipe" that slowly evolved to an "elephant trunk" tornado visible through the RFD precipitation AFTER the mesocyclone occluded. The storm also produced 70 to 80-MPH+ RFD winds, inflow winds to 60-MPH, golfball sized hail (we did NOT penetrate the core of this storm), heavy rains, and frequent lightning with many close hits in the same place less than a second apart! A loud hail roar was also noted with this storm as well as a "train sound" from the tornadoes. At one point, this storm appeared as an "upside-down wedding cake" visually. The storm weakened after its inflow was cutoff by another supercell south of it. The storm was caused by surface heating, an upper-level disturbance, surface low-pressure, and dryline / boundary interactions. A 2005 Chevy Corsica was used to chase the storms. Documentation was a camcorder and digital still photos. A tornado watch was also in effect for the area until 8 PM CDT.

10). June 12, 8:00 PM - Observation of another very severe thunderstorm southwest of Aspermont, Texas. This storm was a supercell storm which produced a rapidly rotating wall cloud and funnels. The storm was south of the better jet-stream dynamics / shear in place for the former tornadic storm near Spur and Crosbyton. The core of this storm was not penetrated, but isolated quarter to golfball sized hail was falling out of the storm anvil ahead of the inflow notch. Frequent lightning with close hits, and 40-MPH inflow winds were also encountered with this storm. Visually, the storm had a "stacked-plates" appearance. The storm was caused by surface heating, an upper-level disturbance, surface low-pressure, and dryline / boundary interactions. A 2005 Chevy Corsica was used to chase the storms. Documentation was a camcorder and digital still photos. A tornado watch was also in effect for the area until 8 PM CDT.

This concludes the Midwestern United States Chase Log for the second trip in June 2005. The summary includes a total of 10 severe thunderstorms and at least 8 tornadoes (or large funnel clouds). The main chase vehicle conducting all chases was a 2005 Chevy Corsica. This information was prepared exclusively for the National Weather service and the team of Skywarn storm spotters.