May 25, 2009 Northern TX Panhandle

Chase prospects for May 25th looked a little better than previous days, down
in the TX Panhandle.  We began the day in Fort Morgan, and scooted southward.  I was
targeting the eastern TX PH, where CAPE values were expected to exceed 2500 J/kg
--- not bad at all.  Still, the forecast shear was marginal, but maybe enough
for a supercell.  As we neared the NW TX PH near Stratford, we viewed a strong
but high-based storm to the southwest.  It had frequent lightning and looked
quite nice with the sun lighting up the fields of yellow flowers in the
foreground.  But, it was undercut by its own cold outflow and was somewhat
linear.  We could see a new storm updraft to the east, in the target area, so we
headed that way along Road 281.  The cell looked like a supercell on radar and
from behind, with frequent wall clouds and scary lowerings beneath an impressive
updraft tower.  Our road (U.S. 83) southeast to Canadian put us right behind the
cell, and right then and there the storm went into fizzle mode.  The updraft
shriveled as it spun out to our northwest, from a spot northwest of Allison.  At
sunset we found a nice hilltop north of Canadian to watch a storm with laminar
banding and decent lightning, and a little later were on another hilltop south
of town.  The Irish Inn in Shamrock was our home for the night.