Hi all,<\/p>\n
It is May, and I am back out on the Great Plains and acting as tour director for Tempest Tours.\u00a0 I made the drive from L.A. to Arlington, TX, from April 30 to May 2, and then met the Tour 2 guests in Oklahoma City on the 4th.\u00a0 We have a group of six, and Bob Smith (from Yreka, CA) is my driver.\u00a0 The weather pattern is not good for severe weather on the Plains this week, but should improve later this weekend.\u00a0 The problem is the lack of moisture, as the low-level flow from the Gulf of Mexico is not good at all.<\/p>\n
On the 4th, we had an easy drive from OKC to Enid, had a BBQ dinner at Phil’s, and watched the Sharks beat Detroit and the Lakers get embarrassed by Dallas.\u00a0 On the 5th, moisture was ugly, with only mid-40 dew points in southeastern Kansas.\u00a0 But that is where we headed as a front was moving through and storms were expected.\u00a0 After a visit to Wakita, we hooked ourselves to a cell that was diving southeastward from north of Independence, KS, towards Picher, OK.\u00a0 It was fairly high-based and had a tiny hail marker from time to time on radar.\u00a0 At sunset, near the OK\/KS border near Picher, it looked to have some organization with perhaps a weak mesocyclone.\u00a0 We had a good view on its east side as the setting sun glowed through the precip—–images to come, someday!<\/p>\n
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