The following is the log I took for this particular chase, and a rather interesting one at that!Storm Intercept Log by Rodney D. Price
Childress, TX (CDS) June 3, 1995Matt Foster (NWS, SHV) driver, 35mm
Rodney Price (KTKA-TV) tape log, 35mmStarting Mileage: 25413.0 @ Pittsburg, KS (0806 CDT, 6/3/95)
Ending Mileage: 26468.0 @ Pittsburg, KS (1703 CDT, 6/4/95)Time: Mileage: Location/Remarks:
(CDT)
_____ ________ _________________0806 25413.0 Leaving Pittsburg. R-
1130 25543.4 TUL. I-44 & 75. Update from WSFO, TUL.
(Thanks, Mr. Plate) SW bound to OKC.
Heading to MDT risk area.
Fcst values: Helicity ->200; Cape->1500 J/kg.
Focus: Outflow Boundary (O.B.) acrs SW OK,
which hopefully will move north.1310 25650.0 OKC, W bound I-44 & I-40. (entered OKC @ 1300)
Patches of blue sky, thin OVC. MDT risk stil intact.
Ci/Stcu/Ac.1349 25661.0 Yukon, OK. Gas fill-up. (WXK-85 OKC)
MDT risk area: Alva, OK - OKC - Duncan - Henrietta, TX.
OKC SA: 1755 OVC 75/67/05014/29.961438 25712.9 Weatherford, OK. Cool, NE winds here.
Few breaks in clds from SE-NE (approx. 60 deg. up)
TSTMS SW-NNE (W. horizon), R+ producers.
Matt talking to WSFO, TUL...I just called KTKA.
S bound on S.H. 54 is the plan.1505 25733.0 W on 152. Over ham radio freq, hearing V.O.R.T.E.X
operations. Still N of O.B.1514 25740.0 S on 54 (from 152/54 intersection). NE winds.
1523 25747.0 Near 54/55 junction. TSTM NW, weird appearance.
Gusty ENE winds, and unknown bowl-shaped cld @ 310.1610 25786.0 54/62. W bound to LTS. No watches (that we know of)
Stcu OVC, but warmer...1622 25799.0 Sunshine!
1623 ------- MKC WW 032123
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 533
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY MO
423 PM CDT SAT JUN 3 1995.A..THE NATIONAL SEVERE STORMS FORECAST CENTER HAS ISSUED
A TORNADO WATCH FOR
PARTS OF NORTHEAST NEW MEXICO
PARTS OF TEXAS PANHANDLE
EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING
UNTIL 1100PM CDT.
(public statement removed)
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 85 STATUE MILES EAST
AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF RATON
NEW MEXICO TO 40 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CHILDRESS TEXAS.
(more public stuff removed)
C...TORNADOES AND A FEW SVR TSTMS WITH HAIL SFC AND ALF TO
4 IN. EXTRM TURBC AND SFC WND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW
CBS WITH MAX TOPS TO 550. MEAN WIND VECTOR 23030.
D...WELL DEFINED DRY LN ACRS NERN NM ACRS SRN PTN TX
PANHDL.STMS DVLPG RPDLY ALG DRY LN AS AIRMASS VERY UNSTBL
TO E OF LN. STG DIR SHEAR FVRBL FOR SUPERCELL AND TORNADO
FORMATION IN THIS AREA.
E...OTR TSTMS... CONT...WW 530..WW 531..WW 532..
...HALES1632 25809.0 LTS, A.F.B. Anvil blowoff from tstms W are visible.
1649 25812.0 Altus, OK WT# , until 2300. NE NM, TX PANH.
85 E/W 40 NNW RTN - 40 SW CDS.
W bound on 62.1712 25832.0 W of Duke, OK. Tstms W (cell SW of Memphis, TX)
Darker appearance. Entering Harmon County, OK.
Tstm mvmt: NE @ ?.1718 25838.3 5/62 intersection. Tstms still W, with back edge of
cirrus (from anvil) is located to our SW.1727 25846.7 62/30. Tstm becoming right mover, according to
ham traffic.1731 25849.0 2W Hollis, OK. Pictures taken (P1/P2, RDP)
Backedge appearing...mvmt: E @ ?.1734 25851.8 TX border. Tstm likely svr. Mid-level inflow band
observed.1743 25860.0 Getting close to 62/83. To the SW, rainfree base
noted, HP characteristics, hvy rain SW-NW.
Few drops on windshield, low-level inflow stronger.1745 25862.7 62/83 intersection. Now S bound.
1748 25865.5 More pictures (P1/P2, MWF)
Poss. RFD notch seen...poss new meso dvlping..unknown.1752 25869.8 Red River. Large, low wall cloud SW.
1753 25871.0 [Tape Side 2]
HP supercell, wall cloud on SW flank. ESE winds incr,
and new tstms dvlping NE.1757 25874.4 Low-lvl inflow much stronger now.
1802 25878.8 CDS. W on 287. Rainfree base not as impressive as
earlier. Tstm "exploding" NE. Inflow band just N
of CDS, with lowered appearance W.1805 25881.3 287/F.M. intersection. (approx. 2 WNW CDS)
Al Moller here...chaser convergence. Tstm getting
closer, with "greenish" look.. Hvy rain, close CG.1808 25881.4 Getting the hell outta Dodge..core very close!
1810 25881.4 Same...Ragged lowered base.
1812 25883.6 3/4 mi E of 287/F.M. intersection.
Inflow strengthening, 20-25 mph. Slow E mvmt.
No tubes, but watching closely.1813 25883.6 Same...pictures (P3, RDP - P3/P4, MWF)
1817 25885.6 CDS..again, at truckstop near Walmart. Tstm mvmt
E-ESE. Rotation poss, but uncertain.1822 25885.6 Same..(P5, MWF). Another poss rotation attempt, NW.
1823 " " " "..(P6, MWF) Looking NW, noticing rapid cld mvmt,
with apparent RFD dropping. Small clear spot, with
rapid cld decent/ascent motions.1824 " " " "..(P4, RDP) of the rapid decent/ascent.
1834 ------- MKC WW 032334
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 536
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY MO
634 PM CDT SAT JUN 3 1995.A..THE NATIONAL SEVERE STORMS FORECAST CENTER HAS ISSUED
A TORNADO WATCH FOR
PARTS OF SOUTHWEST OKLAHOMA
PARTS OF NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS
EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING
UNTIL 100 AM CDT.
(public stuff removed)
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUE MILES NORTH
AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF ALTUS
OKLAHOMA TO 45 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF FORT SILL OKLAHOMA.
(more public stuff...outta here!)
C...TORNADOES AND A FEW SVR TSTMS WITH HAIL SFC AND ALF TO
4 IN. EXTRM TURBC AND SFC WND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW
CBS WITH MAX TOPS TO 600. MEAN WIND VECTOR 24030.
D...VERY STG SUPERCELL NW CDS MOVG 27015 WITH STG INFLOW.
CONTD HI PTNTL FOR TORNADOS WITH THIS STM. OTR SVR TSTMS
DVLPG INTO SWRN OK IN CNVGNC OF VERY UNSTBL AMS.
E...OTR TSTMS... CONT...WW 530..WW 531..WW 532..WW 533..
WW 534..WW 535..
...HALES
1835 " " Leaving CDS. Cld tags point to continued inflow.
Very dark appearance NNW-WNW. Cool outflow from the
west at this location.1840 25886.4 1/2 - 1 mi N of CDS, stopped. Sirens in CDS.
Wall cloud NNE, but R+ N-NE allowing
for poor contrast.1842 25886.6 62/83 & FM 3181, now E bound.
1843 25887.0 Stopped, approx. 1/2 E of intersection. Poss funnel NNE.
(P7, MWF) Really difficult to tell, nothing threatening
to our W.1845 25888.5 FM 3181/2530. N bound. About 4N of CDS, southerly
inflow again, but poor viewing area.1855 25891.6 Back @ FM 3181/2530. Inflow incr. a bit, where we
talked to 2 O.U. chasers, who call the storm "flaky."1857 25891.6 Same..(P8/P9/P10/P11, MWF. F3.5 1/25 spd.) Poss.
new storm SW of CDS.1904 25895.2 1S FM 2530/ U.S. 287. We've traveled S bound, and
are now encountering outflow.1910 25896.9 Deadend FM 2530.. Traveling back now...encountering
R+, and incr winds (near SVR criteria..50-55 mph, perhaps higher)1920 25900.0 Back at 287.
1930 25903.7 S of CDS, 62/83. After driving through partially
flooded 287 in CDS, making our way S of town.
Radar indicated poss tornado in Briscoe/Floyd Co.1951 25919.8 FM 1440. W bound, after brief navigational error...
(hint...I screwed up)2005 25928.2 Cee Vee, TX. A lot of V.O.R.T.E.X. traffic on radio.
2034 25946.3 Approx. 1N FM 1440/FM 94.. Poss gustnado WSW of our
location, distance at least >5 mi. Also seen by
V.O.R.T.E.X. (P12/13, MWF..P5 RDP)2100 25964.0 CDS (Again).
2315 26061.8 Vernon, TX..overnight stay...(Author's note at end)
0919 26061.1 June 4...Leaving Vernon.
1703 26468.0 Pittsburg, KS.
Total length of chase: 1055 miles
Author's note:
After trying to reach LTS (we barely made it over Red River), we heard
of reports of damage by a tornado there. Note the special ob from
Altus, Oklahoma at 2207 CDT.LTS SP 0307 M50 BKN 100 BKN 250 OVC 1/16T+RW+A 3319G71/987/T ALQDS
MOVG E FQT LTGICCCCG HLSTO 3/4=Also flooding rains closed the road ahead of us (about 15 miles or so)...
not willing to turn Matt's truck into a boat, we drive back, reaching Vernon,
where this log notation started. We stay overnight, and call The Weather
Channel. (Brad Edwards, OCM, previously Chief Meteorologist at KTKA, was on
the air at the time.) I talked to Sharon Resultan, and gave her the
information we had about the tornado at Altus. They were reporting about a
tornado near or in Altus, but had received no reports of damage. She relayed
message to Brad, who mentioned the damage report in his next segment on the
air, and even mentioned my name too! Brad called me back as soon as his
shift was over, and I gave him the rundown of events...Back to Chase On!
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