A tornado watch has been issued for eastern Kansas and it looks like Oklahoma will be under a watch soon. I’m going to load the gear and head to the north. I think we’re still a few hours away, but I need to get into position. Follow me on Twitter or on my Facebook fan page. My tweets will also appear there.
The live radar is running, so if you want to see what I’m seeing, go there. I’ll Tweet if I get the opportunity to stream live video sometime tonight.
Stay safe.
2:20 am
The chase day begins early here.
I’ve just taken another look at the models for a chase today. With what I’m seeing right now, the target area is around Lindsay, OK, about 3 hours southwest of Tulsa. I’m hoping I won’t have to go that far south.
I’m still not real impressed with the setup, but I’ve not been impressed before and ended up having a good run.
I’ll look at the next set of models in about 3 hours or so.
6:17 am
I’ve looked at the latest data and, at this point, I’m sticking with my target area. I’ll continue watching for changes this morning while I get the gear ready.
This is the latest SPC outlook.
The greatest risk today for the moderate area shown will be large hail and heavy rain. In the Tulsa area, we could see over 2″ of rain today.
The moderate risk for tornadoes is nestled in the SW corner of the state. I’d sure like to refine that risk area before I head out.
Locally, the onset for severe will probably be late afternoon and early evening. Looks like I’m going to have to drive to the storms today to get into anything early enough.
More later.
8:16 am
This is why I don’t usually go with my first target area. Things are already changing. The tornado risk area has been enlarged. I’ll be monitoring the models for another couple of hours.
11:04 am
The truck is ready. Gear is sitting by the door. I’ll be heading out within the hour. I’m still thinking about heading in the direction of Lindsay and then adjust while I’m on the road.
I’m not expecting this to start really boiling until early afternoon at the earliest. So, I’ve still got some time to get into position.
The site radar is now active. I’ve been having problems with the watch/warning module of my reporting software crashing, so I’ve disabled the graphic on the Live Radar page until the provider gets it fixed. For the most recent watches and warnings, go to: http://www.weather.gov/. The radar images and bulletins on the Live Radar page will be current.
12:59 pm
Grabbing a quick oil change. Be on the road shortly.
1:22 pm
Let the chase begin. You can follow me through the day on my Twitter feed.
There’s a slight risk of severe thunderstorms today here in Oklahoma. With that, there’s also a risk for tornadoes. It’s not a major risk right now, but worth keeping an eye on.
Timing will be an issue for chase opportunities. Much will depend on how things shape up through the day. For now anyway, late afternoon and early evening is the likely window. The downside to that? Storm development after sunset. The highest temps and dewpoints will occur after 5PM in SE Oklahoma, the potential theater. I’m not real confident that we’ll see the elements come together early enough.
In Tulsa, we’ll see rain develop through the day. With highs in the low to mid 60s and dewpoints in the 50s, we could see some severe thunderstorms, but the chance for storm structure supporting major storm development is pretty slim.
It’s a wait and see game. I’m hopeful, but not confident. If that makes sense.
I’m getting gear ready to load, just in case an opportunity presents itself. I’ll be checking the models through the day, but it’ll likely be mid afternoon before I make the final decision.
Update: 5:30 pm.
The line of showers and thunderstorms are just now beginning to move into the Tulsa area. No chase today.