DOWs 2 and 3 left Norman around noon while the chase vehicle left early to pick Josh (Dr. Wurman) up from the airport. We drove SW to Altus where we stopped for gas and used Burger King's data ports to look at the latest obs. We decided to push on westward and a nicely backlit anvil was soon overhead.

DOW 2 first deployed about 15 miles west of Matador, right under the updraft. The storm appeared to be weakening somewhat and there wasn't much in the way of CG (cloud-to-ground) lightning. We experienced pea to dime sized hail as we drove south of Dougherty on 28. The hail increased in size with occasional golf balls falling as we detected weak rotation aloft 12 miles to our north. We drove up the Caprock, which in a DOW is not an easy thing to do. Our speed quickly diminished to 35 MPH, giving us plenty of time to admire the updraft to our SE.

We had two cells to choose from, each within close proximity of each other with a thin layer of stratus connecting the bases of the updrafts. We drove through the core of the western storm and encountered very heavy rain and more small hail. No tornado was detected and we decided to call it a day...after all, it was Curtis' birthday.

We stopped on the north side of Lubbock and was able to view the full anvil and mammatus off to the south. It was almost 10 PM as we pulled into Plainview in the desperate hope of finding a real restaurant to celebrate at. We found a nice Mexican place that stayed open late for us. The employees even came out and sang Curtis a lively rendition of "Feliz Cumpleanos" (Happy Birthday), complete with music. As we left the restaurant we noticed DOW 3's azimuth motor was smoking. An oil plug had fallen out and water had leaked into the coils. For the time being, DOW 3 was dead in the water and we had no idea if the motor was shot or not.

The lightning was very intense driving north to Amarillo for the night. To test stories I've heard from people in similar situations, I unplugged our scanner antenna and placed my finger on the end of the coax. I could actually feel the charge building up in the antenna. It was a similar sensation to holding a 9 volt battery to your tongue. Pretty cool! We stayed at the Super 8 Motel on the east side of Amarillo, close to The Big Texan. Though not recommended due to it's slow phone lines it does have a Waffle House next door.

• SPC storm reports from May 26, 2001

A moderate risk day. Most of us got up early; some to repair DOW 3's damaged motor (thank you duct tape!), some to eat at Waffle House. After the usual data analysis party in Curtis' room we headed out around 11AM with Liberal, Kansas as the initial target. As we drove north of Perryton on I-83 and crossed the TX/OK boarder, we were stopped by a police seat belt checkpoint. The DOWs had no problem but the same can't be said for the IMAX film crew. Sean (complete with his bright red mohawk) didn't stop the truck fast enough for Billy-Bob police officer. The cop got upset at him and once the two other officers heard this they came over and made Sean pull the truck off to the side of the road. Matters got even worse when they checked his drivers license and saw that he was from Los Angeles. The crew got a good talking to, a bit harassed, and were soon on their way (thankfully without a full body cavity search).

The whole lot of us ate at Subway in Liberal and used Bob's cell phone to download the latest data. Towers were firing off to our north and the team drove 5 miles out of town to scan. We detected NW to SE oriented cells popping up to the NNW with strong 70+ dBz reflectivity NW of Garden City. Dewpoints were in the low 60s and supercell shear was in place with profilers showing WNW winds blowing at 40 to 45 knots at 6 KM. A severe thunderstorm watch was in place for SW Kansas until 9 PM. We scanned a nice hook near Garden City and multiple reports of a tornado were called in with the northern cell. Thick mammatus was overhead and we could see scud and cloud base to the NW near Climel. Three hooks were evident on the radar screen, each showing signs of outflow. The haboob from hell was being born.

As were scanned from the north side of Pierceville a very impressive roll cloud moved past us with a wall of dust about a mile inside. The outflow engulfed us as we drove back south, making a futile attempt at beating the rush of damaging winds. Driving west toward highway 83 we got a breathtaking look at the side of the outflow. Soon the severe dust storm (called a haboob...I kid you not) was so bad we couldn't see the road in front of us. We drove on with zero visibility as power flashes illuminated the dark red sky and dust and pebbles slammed into our side. DOW 3, 2 miles to our north, measured 40m/s (about 80 MPH) winds just above the surface. They drove past a complete mile of telephone poles snapped in half. White knuckling the wheel we were on edge, driving through a possible gustnado, noticing leaves and debris in the air. We looked off to our side and saw a helpless bird attempting to take flight, only to be slammed head first into the ground. It was an interesting feeling to be driving 75 MPH with an 80 MPH tail wind. As I rolled down the window and stuck my hand out I barely noticed a breeze. Dust covered everything in the DOW and our "check engine" light turned on due to a clogged air intake. The National Geographic crew had their side window blow-in, likely caused by missle-like pebbles swirling through the air. Cattle raising is big out here and there's feed lots everywhere. These are typically a mile or two wide and are used to fatten-up cattle before they're butchered. The lots are filled with hills of manure and driving past one is not very pleasant. The air in the haboob had a very "pungent" smell due to the "poop-dust" kicked up by the strong winds. It'll be interesting to see how many us contracted ebola and/or foot and mouth disease.

We entered Liberal, KS (the official home of Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz) around 6:45 PM, with the "haboobage" right behind us. We got some rooms at the Liberal Inn, carefully watching the sign to see if it was going to be blown over. Thankfully we didn't run into Al Gore or Clin-TON, though we did hear some woman complaining about a spot on her blue dress down the hallway. During the peak winds the ceiling of the hotel was making a funky creaking sound. Across the street from the inn was the Wizard of Oz museum, complete with an elf village, located on a yellow cobblestone street apply named the Yellow Brick Road. We had a great steak dinner at Cattleman's next door and even sicked Bob on Service J who was eating in the booth next to us. The IMAX crew treated us to two cases of beer and we watched The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonsai And The 8th Dimension. The haboobish winds eventually blew through Oklahoma and all the way south to the Gulf of Mexico. Widespread damage was reported in Oklahoma with a max wind gust of 94 MPH reported at Quail Springs Mall in OKC. So ended an exciting day in which we had the pleasure of being in a funny named phenomenon called a haboob.

• SPC storm reports from May 27, 2001

The best thing about the haboob was that for a half day or so the skies were moth free...it had carried many of the flying insects down into far southern Texas. The central and southern plains have been inundated with moths and black beetles this season. As I drove DOW 2 at night there were so many moths smacking into the windshield that it sounded like rain.

Leaving the hotel around 11:30 AM we headed south to Dalhart where we gased-up and looked at data while eating at a Dairy Queen (these are the biggest thing in Texas). There was some debate whether to stay put in Dalhart or drive west. The majority ruled and we drove west and stopped at a small gas station near Nara Visa in NE New Mexico. On the way we drove past what had to be the world's largest feed lot. Thankfully the wind wasn't blowing the feeeeeceeeees toward the highway. Within minutes we had massive chaser convergence with about 7 cars stopping to sneak a peek at the DOWs. Blasting Metallica (a la Twister) we answered the typical questions and let people sit in the captain's chair.

Late in the afternoon we drove up an escarpment south of San Jon (off of I-40) and DOW 3 scanned the heavens for almost an hour, hoping for something to initiate. We were parked next to a farm field and the inquisitive cows seemed interested in what we were doing. They must have become bored because all at once they stampeded away. Most of us were standing around in the high grass off the side of the road when Herb stumbled upon a rattle snake. In pure Herb/IMAX fashion he made a lasso and snared the snake as it slithered through. I passed the time by taking photographs of a beautiful abandoned house (1, 2, 3).

The only cells visible on radar were some return trip echoes in east central Colorado...way too far to chase. Several factors were working against us that afternoon. First, synoptic scale subsidence caused by a short wave ridge was keeping air from rising. Second, an increase in cloud cover kept surface temperatures low insuring that we wouldn't break through the strong cap that was in place.

We drove to Amarillo to spend the night and, after many failed attempts this year, finally ate at the world famous Big Texan. Founded in 1959 they offer a free 72 oz. steak if you can eat it, along with a salad and dinner roll, within 60 minutes. They have a stage at the front of the large dinner hall (complete with longhorn heads hanging on the walls) where you attempt to conquer The Big Texan alongside a big clock that counts down your time. Just who, you ask, has an appetite hearty enough to handle 72 ounces? Plenty of folks, young and old, thick and thin. Over 4,670 since 1959. More than 27,560 have tried. About two women each year successfully eat the steak. Frank Pastore ate the complete steak dinner in 9 1/2 minutes. The oldest person to eat the steak was a 69-year-old grandmother; the youngest person was an 11-year-old boy, whose eyes weren't bigger than his stomach. Klondike Bill, a professional wrestler, consumed two of the dinners in the one hour time limit back in the 1960s. There were 3 old cowboys walking around, serenading the patrons with such prairie tunes as Lucile and Home On The Range. Needless to say, I didn't attempt The Big Texan (it'll cost you $72 if you're unsuccessful) and the 7.2 oz steak I did get was more then enough.

By the way, the Red Roof Inn off of I-40 in Amarillo has excellent internet connections.

• SPC storm reports from May 28, 2001

The computer model party began early with Bob, Curtis, David, and Kevin discussing the target area for what would become a very active day. The Storm Prediction Center had forecasted a MODERATE RISK for the TX panhandle and had contemplated upgrading to a HIGH RISK, though it never came to fruition. There was a moisture convergence maxima near Clovis, lots o' shear, and strong easterly winds ushering in high 60 dewpoints up the Caprock. We calculated classic storm motion out of 250 degrees at 20 knots.

Skies were cloudy in Amarillo but cleared nicely as we drove south of the Palo Duro Canyon state park. We scanned for 2 hours at a picnic rest area until 3 PM. Cells continued to percolate to our north and west, sending tower after tower up, leaving the updrafts behind. At 3:07 PM the SPC issued a PDS (potentiality dangerous situation) tornado watch box for the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles until 9 PM. We soon left to intercept a storm that explosively developed southwest of Plainview, close to Littlefield.

This cell spit twice before it finally had a decent structure. The right split became the dominant cell and we deployed on it at the intersection of Farmers Market (FR) 400 and 125, just north of the Swisher County line. The cell appeared LP-ish (Low Precipitation) with the area of interest 35 KM just south of west. Around 5:30 PM we detected a nicely shaped hook develop while we got a glimpse of the sides of this massive thunderstorm.

Between 5:40 PM and 5:50 PM both DOWs showed an increase in organized rotation at most levels. We soon had the normal ass chaser convergence with many tour group vans driving by along with the normal yahoos. As I was videotaping off the side of the road I was attacked by Texas sized mosquitoes and little biting flies. I also lost my 5W ham radio battery in the dense grass.

By 6:30 PM the rotating updraft inched closer to the ground as it moved into higher dewpoints. The storm took on a very classic look to it with the strong updraft to the left of the rain shaft. As we undeployed (due to concern we were too close to the area of rotation) we noticed the strong smell of burning electrical components. We quickly shut off the breakers and soon realized our transmitter was fried. Dual Doppler analysis of this monster storm was now impossible.

As we drove north, strong RFD (rear flank downdraft) winds were soon blowing large amounts of dust into the sky, commonly mistaken for tornadoes, and a wall cloud emerged. We witnessed a circulation of dust only one kilometer to out west. DOW 3 scanned the area and saw small rotations of about 20 m/s (~ 40 MPH)...most likely dust devils. The road network was poor and we were forced to drive off the Caprock, east of the state park. Just before we did this DOW 3 measured moderate surface rotation off to our west as the beast took on a more HP (high precipitation) look.

As we wound our way through the park we experienced quarter sized hail, occasionally as large as baseballs, along with extremely close CG...one of which came VERY close to hitting the DOW (1, 2, video - 440 KB). If you look closely at the second lightning photograph, you'll notice small "beads of fire" in the dissipating lightning channel. Somehow our cracked windshield remained in tact. We were unable to beat the meso to Turkey and as the rain let up were got a nice side view of it, which now had a classic "Michelin Man" wavy appearance.

We drove through Turkey around 8:07 PM with strong westerly winds and a very brownish looking sky due to the dust. DOW 3 detected a tornado 10 KM to the ESE of Turkey with 80 m/s (~ 160 MPH) winds, which had dissipated by 8:15 PM. The storm continued with its eastward progression, toward the town of Childress, and the setting sun made the west sky a pretty shade of dark orange. We drove through a thick dust cloud being drawn into the updraft which was falsely reported as a tornado.

At 10:30 PM we stopped for a quick bathroom break in Paducah, TX where many chasers were calming down (including Warren Fadely). This is where DOW 2 and DOW 3 said there good-byes with Curtis, Kevin , and I embarking on the 3 hour drive to Ft. Worth to have DOW 2's transmitter fixed. We goofed around too long there; as we pulled out DOW 3 detected a tornado with 140 MPH winds about 12 miles east of Quanah moving ENE. Damned bladders! DOW 3 also later detected several small F0 tornadoes and reported them to the National Weather Service in Norman, who mentioned the "Doppler On Wheels" in their tornado warning statement.

We stayed with the cell until about 1 AM, taking many photographs of the awesome cloud-to-ground lightning show (1, 2). The sky definitely looked upset. We were on the cell for almost 9 hours, from about 4 PM to 1 AM! I drove DOW 2 into Ft. Worth and pulled into the La Quinta Inn around 3:45 AM, exhausted and tired from the exciting day.

• SPC storm reports from May 29, 2001

Applied Systems Engineering (ASE), the company that designed and built the DOW transmitters, opened at 8 AM and Kevin, Curtis, and I were on their doorstep to greet them. With a whopping 3 and a half hours of sleep we were barely functional enough to have breakfast at Cracker Barrel. ASE borders on a goat farm...who were a bit more friendly than the cows we've seen. The transmitter was fixed by 1 PM and we were in Waurika, OK at 3:30 PM to meet up with DOW 3 and the chase support vehicle.

We noticed a field of Cu (cumulus clouds) going up along some boundary above us with Td's in the mid 70s and surface temps in the 80s. It was another MODERATE RISK day. At 4:30 PM the crew scanned the skies while in Lone Grove, OK just west of Ardmore. The field next to us was covered with wild flowers, attracting a large amount of butterflies. A tornado watch box was issued for the Red River Valley from 40 miles east of Ardmore into Arkansas. By 6 PM storms began to fire in and near Wichita Falls, TX with at least one storm showing a hook. At 7 PM spotters reported a possible funnel 5 miles NW of Henrietta and a tornado on the south side of Wichita Falls 20 minutes later.

We setup shop south of Wichita Falls, on State highway 172. We saw a chunky scud-funnel near the interface between the updraft and downdraft and detected cyclonic rotation to the south of the precip core while the storm exhibited a classic structure. While driving through Windthorst we spotted a short high-based funnel dangling from the anvil (pretty rare). That's about it, the storm was a beaut' and though many people reported funnels and even a few tornadoes, from our radar's we never saw anything more than brief areas of concentrated rotation...no tornadoes.

• SPC storm reports from May 30, 2001

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