Texas Tailblogger

Severe Weather Next Week?

2010-02-24T23:09:00.002-06:00

Latest GFS runs are indicating that a more zonal storm system track will develop next week for the southern plains...including the Panhandles and West Texas. The southern branch of the jet looks to really become active while the arctic air kept at bay. This will be something to watch as the region makes a rapid transition from winter to spring next week. Details certainly to sharpen up as we start the new week and herald in March. Stay tuned!

Final Snowfall Totals - Panhandles

2010-01-29T21:58:00.003-06:00


PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
839 PM CST FRI JAN 29 2010

...SNOW TOTALS...

LOCATION                      SNOWFALL    COMMENTS
                               IN/S/

GRUVER                         14.0        900 AM   1/29
DUMAS 1 S                      13.5       1208 AM   1/29
HARTLEY 4 ESE                  13.5        700 AM   1/29
STRATFORD                      13.0        857 AM   1/29
GRIGGS 2 W                     13.0       1211 PM   1/29
GUYMON                         13.0        200 PM   1/29
VEGA                           13.0        706 PM   1/28
ROMERO 8 SSW                   12.3        900 PM   1/28
DALHART                        12.0        714 PM   1/28
BORGER                         12.0        545 PM   1/28
HARTLEY                        11.5        938 PM   1/28
DUMAS                          11.0        910 AM   1/29
TEXHOMA                        11.0        902 AM   1/29
SUNRAY                         11.0        900 AM   1/29
SIMMS 9 ENE                    11.0        942 PM   1/28
BEAVER                         10.0        904 AM   1/29
AMARILLO 7 SW                  10.0        700 AM   1/29
AMARILLO 6 W                   10.0        900 PM   1/28
BOISE CITY 2 E                 10.0        900 AM   1/29
AMARILLO 6 WNW                 10.0        538 PM   1/28
TEXLINE                         9.0        900 AM   1/29
AMARILLO 5 SSW                  9.0        100 AM   1/29
AMARILLO 4 WSW                  9.0        553 PM   1/28
CANYON                          9.0        708 PM   1/28
SPEARMAN                        8.5        640 PM   1/28
MIAMI                           8.0        911 AM   1/29
BOYS RANCH                      8.0        500 PM   1/28
FOLLETT                         8.0        130 AM   1/29
CANADIAN                        8.0        912 AM   1/29
PAMPA                           8.0       1000 PM   1/28
KEYES                           8.0        901 AM   1/29
PERRYTON                        8.0        908 AM   1/29
AMARILLO 4 SSW                  7.5        705 AM   1/29
AMARILLO 6 ENE                  7.1       1130 AM   1/29
HEREFORD                        7.0        900 PM   1/28
GATE                            7.0        905 AM   1/29
AMARILLO 5 SW                   7.0        705 PM   1/28
SANFORD                         7.0        900 AM   1/29
LIPSCOMB                        6.5        118 AM   1/29
AMARILLO 10 E                   6.0        847 AM   1/29
DAWN                            6.0        745 AM   1/29

Roads Open Again In The Panhandle

2010-01-29T14:09:00.000-06:00


NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
113 PM CST FRI JAN 29 2010

...THIS PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT IS ISSUED AT THE REQUEST OF
THE AMARILLO TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION REGARDING ROAD
CONDITIONS...

INTERSTATE 40 IS NOW OPEN WEST TO TUCUMCARI NEW MEXICO AND EAST TO
OKLAHOMA.

U. S. 87 NORTH FROM AMARILLO TO DALHART IS NOW OPEN.

U. S. 287 NORTH FROM AMARILLO TO THE OKLAHOMA STATE LINE IS NOW OPEN.

1/29/2010 Winter Storm Update - 9 AM (15Z)

2010-01-29T08:03:00.003-06:00

The winter storm for OK and TX is almost over with, but not quite yet. It is snowing lightly here at my house where I've received around 6" of snow. Currently 15F. A nice band of light to moderate snow has developed fairly rapidly from the OK PH down to near Clovis, NM. It appears that this is due to a weak deformation zone which was advertised by the models.

Such dynamics need to be watched carefully as they sometimes catch forecasters off guard with a narrow band of heavy snow. At this point, I expect 1-2" across the PH today and perhaps even 3" in some spots where the narrow band of heavy stuff develops. . It will be interesting to watch this evolve over the next 2 hours.

Across the Panhandle, the total accumulations so far are up to 13" in some spots, in particular just west and north of Amarillo. Totals are listed below. Most importantly, and something not being well advertised so far, is a serious, devastating ice storm that impacted a ~50-75 mile wide swath from east of Plainview, TX to Childress into W and SW and S Oklahoma according to what I am reading this morning. Many towns are suffering massive power failures with some spots like Altus having up to 1.5 inches of glazed ice coating everything!!!!! This of course is bringing down everything including trees, radio towers, and even store awnings!

Here is a sampling of the ice storm reports from Oklahoma:


ALTUS, OK
            WIDESPREAD TREE AND POWER LINE DAMAGE ACROSS JACKSON
            COUNTY AND EXTENDING WEST INTO HARMON COUNTY. DEPUTIES
            ESTIMATED 1 TO 1.5 INCHES OF ICE GLAZE ON ALL ELEVATED
            SURFACES. AT LEAST 200 POWER POLES DOWN IN JACKSON COUNTY
            ALONE. MANY SECTIONS OF THE MAIN POWER FEEDER LINE FROM
            HOLLIS TO ALTUS ARE DOWNED. A MAJORITY OF TREES SUSTAINED
            AT LEAST SOME DAMAGE.

HOBART, OK
            AT LEAST 1 INCH OF ICE GLAZE ON ELEVATED SURFACES...THE
            GLAZE SEEMED TO BE THICKER TOWARDS HOBART. TREES AND
            POWER POLES SNAPPED OFF. 4 DOUBLE H-SHAPED POWER POLES
            SNAPPED OFF ALONG HIGHWAY 183 BETWEEN SNYDER AND HOBART.
            NO POWER IN THE COUNTY FROM HOBART SOUTH.

MANGUM, OK
            ABOUT AN INCH OF GLAZE ON EVERYTHING. MILES OF POWER
            LINES DOWN. ALMOST EVERY TREE HAS SUSTAINED SOME KIND OF
            DAMAGE AND SOME HAVE BEEN SNAPPED OR DOWNED. AWNINGS HAVE
            BEEN SNAPPED OFF STORE FRONTS.


LAWTON, OK
            TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN COUNTY WIDE. GLAZE AROUND 1
            INCH THICK IN NORTHERN PARTS OF THE COUNTY. POWER OUTAGES
            CONTINUE...ESPECIALLY IN NORTHERN AND WESTERN COMANCHE
            COUNTY. DOUBLE THICK POWER LINES SNAPPED AND CAUSED
            ADDITIONAL DAMAGE. A SECTION OF INTERSTATE 44 CLOSED DUE
            TO POWER LINE DAMAGE. A 2 MILE STRETCH OF HIGHWAY 7 ALSO
            CLOSED AS THE ROAD WAS COVERED WITH NUMEROUS POWER POLES
            AND LINES. LAWTON WEATHER RADIO TRANSMITTER WAS BROUGHT
            DOWN BY ICE ACCUMULATION.

The last I heard about the Texas impacts were Childress was pretty much without power. Shelters were being setup and some National Guard units were assisting. I beg and plead with officials in both states to activate ALL available resources to assist the communities hit the hardest. There's also the fact that many motorists are stranded too out on roads and highways. They need rescue too.

Overall, this is going to become a HUGE news story over the next few days. To get more information, Google tv stations and newspapers in Oklahoma and Texas. There are some incredible photos on there as well as information.

For an excellent site for report details and even live webcams in Oklahoma, CLICK HERE. Check out Altus' cam. Wow!

Well, as I write this, the National Weather Service websites are not responding. So, I can't post any snowfall report totals. I'll post those later.

And yes, I got to eat a little crow about my forecast of 10-16" across the PH with some spots to 20". I watched the satellite water vapor loop late last night and this morning. That strong dry slot in the mid levels was a major sucker punch for me. In fact, it raced all the way into Missouri and I believe Indiana. This cut just south of the Panhandle mid day Thursday.

This in effect interrupted and curtailed moisture flow into the area. As soon as it punched in, the entire radar echoes of heavy to very heavy snow started dwindling and weakening. No doubt that this was a major factor in keeping snowfall totals tame compared to what was expected. Had this not been a factor, I have no doubt my forecast would have verified. Oh well...the joys of forecasting winter storms!! :-) Kudos to the weather mets on Channels 4 and 7 who called it accurately...as well as the NWS guys.

So, time to round up another hearty breakfast, grab some coffee, and watch this last gasp of snowfall move across the area. Looking at the models as we get well into February, they aren't looking favorable for any additional winter storms for the southern plains. In fact, it looks like we will get some good precipitation events and stay well above freezing.

Another update later this afternoon!

1/28/2010 Winter Storm Update - 4 PM (22Z)

2010-01-28T15:42:00.006-06:00

Snow continues with 3-4" accumulation here. 20F air temperature.

Despite the brief respite courtesy of a rather prominent dry slot, a new area of moderate to heavy snows blossomed between Lubbock and Hobbs, NM. In addition the drys lot area is starting ti fill in again with increasing precip as well. This trend should continue into tonight as the main upper system approaches. It will be fun to watch how heavy it gets and if we can bust the 10" mark in Amarillo.

Also, check out the live TXDOT cameras...especially out west near Vega:

http://amaits.dot.state.tx.us/AMA-ITS/default.htm

As of 2pm CST (20z), here are the official totals around the area so far (with reported times):


NWS AMARILLO    3.0   130 PM

VEGA            7.0  1109 AM
DALHART         7.0  1134 AM
STRATFORD       6.5   118 PM
DUMAS           6.0  1244 PM
CANYON          5.0  1129 AM
SPEARMAN        5.0   132 PM
HEREFORD        5.0  1253 PM
FRITCH          4.0  1250 PM
BORGER          4.0  1251 PM

1/28/2010 Winter Storm Update - 12noon (18Z)

2010-01-28T11:57:00.002-06:00

Since 10am, precip has switched between sleet and snow, but finally a total changeover by around 11am. It is now HEAVY snow with LARGE flakes. It is convective in nature as evidenced by a couple rumbles of thunder I've heard in the past 30 minutes. THUNDERSNOW!! :-)

Strangely, radar is now showing a LARGE dry air slot in the precip shield south of Plainview working northward. Could this bust my forecast of 12-16" across the area? I'm starting to think it just might. The radar trends also show a general weakening and dissipation of what was a massive precip shield. Will this dry slot work into Amarillo? Tough to say at this point, but current trends suggest it will.

HOWEVER, water vapor analysis still show the center of the upper low spinning around the far SW corner of New Mexico and SE Arizona. As it continues to approach, the precip should redevelop along with a trowel/deformation zone later this evening. The question is if the moisture will be enough with this big dry slot working in. What a forecasting headache. LOL!

Nonetheless, a pretty strong winter storm....but maybe not the more prolific amounts as previously thought. Stay tuned for further developments! Pic below I just took.

1/28/2010 Winter Storm Update - 10am (16Z)

2010-01-28T09:50:00.002-06:00

Precipitation continues to expand in coverage and intensity all across the region. Looks like the heaviest so far on radar has been just along and west of I-27/287 and generally along and south of I-40. Estimated precip amounts in that area are up to 5 inches....due in part to the heavy sleet cores skewing the algorithms. Still, very heavy sleet totals likely there.

Here at my house, the transition to snow started at about 9:30am and as of now probably about 75% snow with the rest sleet. So, my prediction wasn't too far off. :-) The 12z upper air sounding indicated abit more of a warm layer between 850 and 700mb....right around 6-8K feet. At least for my house and Amarillo, it will be snow here on out.

Air temperature is now down to 22F. Radar continues to show things intensifying and growing in areal coverage. Just got through with a shower and a very hearty breakfast. Will work on getting some pics up in a bit. Next update in a couple of hours.

1/28/2010 Winter Storm Update - 7am (13Z)

2010-01-28T07:13:00.003-06:00

Moderate to heavy sleet ongoing. 27F outside. Streets covered in a nice layer the icy pellets right now. Also, saw distant lightning flash. Concern with the warm layer aloft and how soon it cools to change everything over to snow. I saw a few snow flakes mixing in just now, so perhaps that will happen in the next couple of hours. Awaiting the 12z upper air sounding from Amarillo to get a more accurate picture of the vertical temperature profile.

Major Snowstorm & BLOG RESUSCITATION!!!!!

2010-01-26T23:31:00.000-06:00

After a very long hiatus, this blog is now active once again. Danged Facebook. :-)

I'll be blogging about the upcoming massive snow storm forecast to slam the Texas Panhandle on Thursday. Some model forcasts are showing 18" possible for the area. STAY TUNED!!!!!

May in Autumn?

2009-09-25T07:04:00.000-05:00

Latest model guidance is showing a strong consensus for a significant severe weather outbreak next week across the plains including the Panhandles. A powerful upper trough digs and moves across with a strong mid and upper jet streak rounding the base across the southern and central plains. With a good surge of moisture expected, this will help sharpen the dryline as well as provide the necessary fuel. This is a pattern we completely missed this past spring. We had August in May and now April in October. LOL!!!

Normally in fall, the upper air pattern favors a strong east coast trough. It is starting to look as if this October might be different and could be very active. Time will tell of course, but we are starting off pretty good. :-)

Stay tuned!

Space Shuttle Discovery!!!

2009-09-20T19:58:00.002-05:00

Amarillo had a special guest today. The shuttle Discovery, riding piggyback on a 747, stopped at Rick Husband International airport in Amarillo today. They refueled en route to it's home in Florida. I was fortunate to have special access via my flight school's hanger to sit right up front and get great pics and video. It was VERY cool indeed. :-)

I couldn't help it. :-)

Jason Boggs is trying to hitch a ride on the shuttle. :-)

This plane ferries the support staff as well as flying ahead to test for weather.

I thought this was kinda funny. :-)

Long Overdue Update

2009-09-13T00:26:00.004-05:00

As I've gotten more immersed into the online social networking world called "Facebook", I've really ended up neglecting this blog. To be honest, I've found myself in a state of transition moving further away from stormchasing as a passionate hobby. For anybody who keeps up with my posts here may recall one of the reasons I wanted to move to Amarillo. That is to be able to spend my vacation and free time pursuing other interests aside from stormchasing. After all, one has to satisfy their mid-life crisis, right? :-)

I've pursued my CHL (Concealed Handgun License) which should arrive in the next 4-6 weeks. Recent posts talked about this and the Glock G23 which will be my conceal carry. It's also a fun gun to shoot on the range. And speaking of fun, I've also obtained a new target rifle to do some entry level competition eventually and in general to have fun punching paper. It's a Savage 17HMR target rifle (93R17 BTVSS) with Leupold VX-I 3-9x40 scope. There will be more toys in the future though as I get more into the shooting sports.

As if that weren't expensive enough, I've taken the plunge into aviation by starting flying lessons. I originally wanted to get started with a Sport Pilot certification as it requires only 20 hours training and half the cost of a Private Pilot. However, to do so, I'd have to fly 5 hours solo in a sport rated plane (max 1,350 lbs gross weight and speed limit). There are none to rent around Amarillo. Yikes! I just assumed there would be. I could go elsewhere like Dallas or OKC, but I would still not be able to rent one here after I get the license (business opportunity anybody?).

So, I've decided to go for the full Private Pilot license instead...which I would have gotten eventually. I'm starting my ground school training in a week or so when I receive the DVD kit. Yep, you can do that all at home. Passing the FAA written test is all that is required for that. Then the fun (and expense) begins with flight training. Being that will likely cost around 6 grand over a period of 4-6 months, I'll likely wait to start that until after the first of the year....perhaps starting next summer when the weather is more stable. We'll see how that goes (hopefully not having to wait so long). I'll have plenty to keep me busy until then. I've got MS Flight Simulator X coming in next week with yoke, throttle and rudder controls, so I expect that to keep me busy and get some self training in the meantime....as much as that will allow. :-) I did take my introductory flight with a trainer last Friday though.

You know, it's amazing how much time and money one has when not blowing it all on stormchasing. LOL!! I'm not giving it up completely. What I will be severely curtailing are the long marathon trips and chasing too many marginal setups. After all, this is the Texas Panhandle. With an average or above-average year for storm activity, I expect to have enough opportunities to witness the full fury of mother nature in all her glory.....2008 and 2009 not counting of course. :-)

The bottom line is I should have plenty to satisfy my appetite for pursuing and admiring supercell thunderstorms. That sort of passion and appreciation never dies. But the tens of thousands of miles driving, dealing with thousands of chaser hordes, and all of the bullshit drama that goes with that...is something I won't miss one bit at all. In fact, those sorts of problems will only continue to grow and get worse. Stormtrack, which I don't participate in anymore, is an excellent "barometer" in that respect. Another reason to start looking for other more rewarding and satisfying hobbies.

I also see diminishing business opportunities as competition for supply increases at an exponential rate for a nearly constant demand. I've seen and experienced far too many cutthroat practices already. It just ain't worth it. I can spend the same amount of time doing something else with far fewer headaches and bullshit and yet make substantially more money. That comes with being 44 years old too I guess....and a couple of "shots across the bow" concerning one's health (nothing too serious). Life is too short. ;-)

So, as far as weather is concerned, Amarillo officially set an all-time rainfall record for the month of August. It was around 9.4 inches I believe. It just missed the all-time rainfall record for ANY month by about an inch. Everything is lush and green all across the Panhandle. Hopefully we won't experience another drought over the winter thus setting up another extreme wildfire season early in 2010. With a moderate to strong El Nino setting up for this winter, this should make things interesting around here as far as winter weather goes. It could be a real doozy. Maybe that will translate into an active chase season around here in 2010. Something to watch!

So, that about wraps it up for me. I'll try to update here a little more often. However, feel free to add me as a friend over on Facebook where I am much more active.

http://www.facebook.com/SteveMillerTX

Awesome Lightning Video

2009-08-09T21:52:00.000-05:00

Watching Discovery Channel this evening, they had a special on lightning with some incredible video. Check it out!!

CHL Class Completed

2009-08-08T18:48:00.004-05:00

I spent the entire day today completing and passing the Texas Concealed Handgun class which permits me to apply for a Concealed Handgun License (CHL). I'll send off the application next week after getting fingerprints done. I got 100% on the written test and 242 (out of 250 possible) on the handgun proficiency (shooting test). I could have scored much higher had one shot not just missed the silhouette part...kinda embarrassed about that one. ;-)

So, after sending it in, I should receive the license in 60-90 days...maybe a little longer if the DPS is still backed up as bad as they were the first half of 2009...thanks to the #1 firearm salesman of the year....Obama. :-)

The instructor was extremely knowledgeable and by far an expert. Heck, he is even directly involved in shaping the CHL laws here in Texas. He is definitely one of the top experts on firearms.

(rant: on)

However, his tact leaves alot to be desired. It really sucked. He's a cross between a drill sergeant and a cranky old grandfather. He's the type that no matter what you or anybody else says or does, it's wrong or inferior and falling well short of his standards or way of doing things. There was alot of preaching with a wooden ruler smacked over your head every time you opened your mouth (figuratively of course). Everybody in the class was intimidated to the point everybody was hesitant to answer or ask a question. I didn't take the $120 class to get beat over the head like some Catholic school child on the letter of the law. I expected to get some good, solid clarity (as in crystal clear) as to my rights, responsibilities, and liabilities as a CHL holder. Call me crazy, but I thought that was the intent of the class?

That in my book is NOT "instruction". Again, his wealth of knowledge and expertise isn't the problem, but he failed miserably in bestowing that upon us...his "students". It's a HUGE responsibility in so many areas both to the individual and the entire CHL community as a whole to be an effective instructor. Knowledge and expertise doesn't mean shit to anybody if you are an ass about it.

I myself will take the lessons learned today and seek additional resources and information to make sure I clearly (as in crystal) understand the different scenarios I may encounter in which I need to draw my handgun and use it. I'm taking that responsibility on myself and not letting this be an excuse for not fully knowing AND understanding the law by applying it to different case scenarios. Don't misunderstand, I did learn enough to understand the more obvious scenarios. But as in life, everything isn't always clear cut. I'm the type that needs that type of discussion to gain a higher level of confidence to REMOVE any doubt or hesitation in defending myself. Any hesitation or doubt could get me or somebody I am protecting killed.

Did you know that it takes LESS than ONE SECOND for somebody to clear 21 feet with a knife and stab you? Yep. So, I feel it necessary to be able to react quickly and decisively at an instinctive level in order to survive. After all, that is what they "instruct" at police and law enforcement training? Again, call me crazy. I will definitely be getting more training myself to get to that level.

Yes, I did perhaps learn some things today that other instructors "might" not have known or covered. But, other instructors "likely"would have been far more effective. Getting active participation from those you are teaching by creating a comfortable and respectful environment seems the way to go...I dunno...I'm just crazy like that. I think it's important enough to do it right AND to the best of your ability.

He kept answering such questions with "well, we covered that today in looking at the law...go back and read". Well, Sparky, I've been around long enough to know that the law can be interpreted in different ways and in various shades of gray. Discussing real life scenarios and how to legally react reinforces the laws, instills confidence, keeps CHL carriers out of legal hot water, and quite possibly somebody getting killed.

Anyway, it wasn't made much better by taking the class in a small "shop" behind a used car dealership with NO friggin' air conditioning in the 100F heat today. It was absolute misery in there even with fans. That is totally uncalled for and absolutely rude and inconsiderate in my opinion. After all, a man of his stature and level of expertise, recognition and authority should insist on at least reasonable classroom conditions in which to run and all-day class about something he claims to be passionate about. Again, call me crazy.

Overall, in hindsight, I wish I would have taken the course with another instructor. I will seek out some others for an advanced defensive class which I've intended to take...money of which this particular instructor and associated gunshop will never see one penny of from me....ever. I'm also wanting to buy some more guns for target and competition purposes of which I will probably fork out even MORE money on for coaching/instruction....not to mention the ammo and other supplies. The folks I dealt with today certainly won't ever see any of it. And I'll make damned sure others will steer away as well. I will not reward bad, rude and unprofessional behavior resulting in piss-poor customer service. I can be an ass too! LOL!!

I'm not naming names of course because I've got enough shit to deal with. However, email me privately and we'll chat. :-) Most fortunately, I believe my case is very isolated as I've not known anything but good reviews and comments about many other instructors. There has to be a bad apple in every bunch I guess.

(rant: off)

The bottom line is that I DID learn enough to pass the test and score well on the shooting portion. I learned some nifty tidbits as well like using a hollow point could be construed as intent to kill (rather than stop) the attacker thus having implications in possible civil action against you (depending of course on the "Castle Law" in Texas). I will submit my application to the State Of Texas next week. Mission accomplished. I guess that is really what it's all about. So, I'm a happy camper...just had to vent abit. :-)

I might head to the range tomorrow to practice some shooting fundamentals and techniques I have learned. With that, I'll also be using my Crimson Trace Lasergrips I just put on my Glock G23. It will be fun messing around with it and getting it sighted in properly. Plus, it will actual help in me refining my shooting fundamentals and technique to refine my accuracy that much better. It's also a nice extra "exclamation point" to any would-be attacker of your intentions. Sure, there is alot of debate on using laser sights, but I think they can be useful.

Alright, enough about guns and CHL. There isn't alot to talk about weather wise. After all, it's summer. There aren't any tropical systems affecting the region either. Pretty much boring right now. However, we are getting through August, so some significant changes will be coming down the road as we get into September. I might get some of my Hurricane Ike video loaded up soon in time reflect on that disaster's one year anniversary in September. I've got some HDR projects in the works too that I've put on the back burner temporarily. So, time to start messing around with that again on some of my best photos.

Ya'll stay cool out there!

Glock G23

2009-07-30T22:29:00.000-05:00

Well, since my last post, things have calmed a little bit, but still alot in the air. It's simply ending up with a horrible new boss recently. The one I really liked who originally hired me got promoted. But, that's the way my career path has been the past few years, so I'm getting used to it. LOL!! I'll try to tough it out, but I am pursuing a "plan B" at this point which includes leaving Amarillo to find greener pastures. Stay tuned.....

Anyway, I've finally taken the plunge and purchased a Glock G23 pistol. Thanks to some very knowledgable buddies of mine at work (you know who you are), I narrowed it down to this one. The main purpose is for self-defense and a concealed carry weapon. As a .40 caliber, it is more powerful than a 9mm round, but short of a cannon as is the .45 caliber. It is perfect for my needs and for my price range, the best pistol out there in my humble opinion. I also enjoy the peace of mind now should I ever have to neutralize a threat. That could be man or animal. After all, I do end up in some crazy places in some desolate areas of the Panhandles region. Plus, with all of the gear I carry, I'm certainly a desirable target for burglary and theft. And of course, I'll sleep more soundly at night. :-)

I've put 50 rounds through it this evening at the range. It is very comfortable, balanced and natural feeling. In fact, right off the bat, I centered 10 of the first 13 rounds at 15 yards...pretty decent grouping if I say so myself. :-) It is a very accurate weapon. In the future, I'll be adding some accessories to it like a laser and tactical flashlight.

I'm now ready for my Concealed Handgun License (CHL) class in within the next couple of weeks. After completing that, I should expect to get my CHL in about 10-14 weeks and maybe sooner if the Texas DPS can recover from the huge influx of requests the first half of 2009...which equaled what they did all of 2008. Hmmm...could it be because of the Big 'O' in the white house and his loony band of idiots in Congress? btw...know who the #1 gun salesman of the year is right now? Barack Obama. LOL!!!

Outside of self defense, I'm looking forward to recreational use as well. The G23 will easily convert to a 9mm which is cheaper when compared to the .40 ammo. So, going to the range and plinking will be more affordable. I'm also interested in exploring some competitive shooting as well. A couple of groups exist in Amarillo for that purpose should I decide to pursue that down the road.

So, a happy gun owner now. Next up is joining the NRA. That'll be sure to most assuredly establish myself as a right wing extremist whacko nutjob amongst various liberal circles. LOL!!

Possible Big Changes Coming Soon

2009-07-23T23:19:00.000-05:00

I wish I could say that about the weather, but unfortunately I'm not. Details later down the road, but it's safe to say I won't be blogging for awhile. Check back in a month or so. I'll be back though blogging away when things settle down. :-)

Best Of - 2009

2009-07-19T09:56:00.002-05:00

The past few days have been a very welcome relief from the stifling heat wave. NW flow aloft has dominated the weather pattern for the Panhandles region which for this time of year is a great setup for convection. We've had some pretty impressive non-tornadic supercells too producing some large hail and damaging winds. One reason they have not been tornadic is the storm motions are generally southward with low level inflow from the E or SE. The bulk of a storm's inflow source is it's own precip-cooled air. We need S or even SW inflow into these storms to increase the tornadic potential. Additionally, lower dewpoint spreads would help too. As has been the case for 2009, surface dewpoints here on the high plains have been pretty meager.

As I sit around waiting for a sign on satellite to trek towards Dalhart today in anticipation of more chasing, I thought I'd put together my best pics of a meager and frustrating season. It didn't help to have a good part of May end up with an upper air pattern you'd expect to see in August.

So, I start off with a pic I took on May 3 at Wildcat Bluff Nature Center near Amarillo which surely was an omen for May's chase potential:

2009 started off pretty quirky for the Panhandles. After a near-record for lack of snowfall for the winter, we make up for it with a blizzard on March 27-28th. Up to 13 inches fell across the region with strong winds up to 40mph.

True to the spirit of the Panhandle, one week later on April 4th, we were experiencing major wildfires. I "chased" the big wildfire in Wheeler county.

On April, 16th, a very intense hailstorm occurred around Tulia, Texas with one of the most impressive hail dumps I've seen.

On April 26, I chased the high risk in western Oklahoma and bailed on the storm that would produce some nice tornadoes that many other chasers saw. I mean, it's a high risk, right? ;-) I opted for newer development in SW OK which was a major disappointment. Later on, I surveyed the damage from the earlier tornadoes and discovered the remnants of a trailer home.

I would finally get an opportunity to intercept a major tornadic supercell on April 29th. I couldn't leave work early, so had to make some quick, rash intercept decision to try and get to the outflow boundary near Plainview, TX. As I tried to head south on 70 instead of I-27, big storms erupted slinging out baseballs and causing me some delay. This is one of them...an impressive left-splitter:

So, some bad intercept decisions kept me away from a very impressive tornado near Cedar Hill, east of Plainview. Thank goodness for telephoto lenses!! :-) Still, an impressive sight of a tornado up on top of the caprock.

Despite the anemic August-like upper air pattern, a combination of a sharp, stationary dryline and cool front sagging south into a pretty unstable atmosphere, some caprock magic unfolded and produced a real beast of an HP tornadic supercell around Pampa and Miami. Again, work delayed me from reaching the storm in time to see the visible tornadoes, but I still got to witness some jaw-dropping merry-go-round structure of this beast. I'll have some better HDR images of it soon online.

On June 2, I grabbed a good image of a very intense core dump and associated rain foot south of Pampa.

My best lighting photo opportunity to date materialized on June 5 across the eastern Texas Panhandle from around Panhandle to Pampa. Check out these stunning images of a most surreal environment. I've never seen so many storms this intensely electrified!

Then one day as I was driving around on June 7, I saw the most bizarre contrail I've ever seen. The sun was setting just right for maximum effect.

Another potentially big chase day on June 13 resulted in some great storm structure...but no tornadoes...again...despite several tornado warnings. This storm was near Plainview.

A couple of days later on June 15th, yet another potential tornado day went pfffft, but yielded some beautiful structure and stunning sunset in the NE Texas Panhandle. Some HDR photos are coming of this too.

Lastly on June 27, a severe thunderstorm erupted over Amarillo and dumped up to 3 inches of rain in about an hour. Being that it is pretty flat, drainage is a major engineering challenge. The first pic is of the storm over Tanglewood developing towards Amarillo with an impressive rain/dust foot. If I ever get time, I'll edit some video of this event and post it.

Some other great images may still come in 2009, especially this fall, but they are usually rare. I'll post any that I catch though. Just like the past few days, anything can happen in the Panhandle. It's why I love living here. :-)

$1,000,000,000,000

2009-07-13T21:14:00.001-05:00

Congratulations, Obama and Demorats, on setting one of the most dubious milestones in our country's history. This country is now ONE TRILLION dollars in the red. What's even more sinister is that the end of the ballooning deficit is nowhere in sight. We could actually double that figure.

How much is a trillion? Some comparisons.....

You could have 1 million millionaires.

A trillion seconds = 31,546 years.

Here is what a pile of 100 packets of $10,000 each ($1 million) looks like:

A $100 million:

$1 BILLION:

and now...TADAAA...$1 TRILLION (and the pallets are DOUBLE STACKED!!!)

(source: http://www.zee.me/blog/2009/03/what-does-one-trillion-dollars-look-like/)

And now....guess who OWNS a large portion of this debt? China. Yep. I guess it was just a matter of time that "Made In China" would eventually become "Owned By China".

Thanks Obama and Demorats for that "Change" you talked about.

FryingPan-handle

2009-07-09T22:26:00.002-05:00

The Panhandles region today ended up in Ma Nature's frying pan...and I think she forgot and left it on the stove. LOL!! Records were smashed, no doubt. A sample of temperatures with the leader...Buffalo, OK.


BUFFALO OK           115 (highest Oklahoma temperature in 15 years)
CANADIAN TX          112
MESA VISTA RANCH TX  111
BEAVER OK            111
PERRYTON TX          111
GUYMON OK            110
HOOKER OK            110
SLAPOUT OK           110
GOODWELL OK          107
PAMPA TX             106
AMARILLO TX          106

Right now, at 10:30pm, Buffalo, OK is STILL reporting 97F!! I hope everybody's A/C units can endure the next few days.

Tomorrow looks like another scorcher without a doubt. I'm afraid that just like today, the models are underestimating the intense heat. Thus, the forecast high of 102F for Amarillo seems too conservative. We shall see what happens. Ugh. This just adds further insult to injury after a dismal 2009 chase season around these parts.

But, as they say, it's at least a DRY heat. LOL!!! It definitely beats the intense heat with high dewpoints I had to endure back in North Central Texas. Today, the dewpoints were generally less than 50F whereas back in my old stomping grounds, it was mid and upper 60's with the about the same air temperature.

Hopefully, the models are correct in weakening the ridge and even teasing us with a couple of weak fronts next week. This should "cool" us back into the 90's and with any luck, some cooling outflow from thunderstorms.

Is it October yet? ;-)

Amarillo Smack Down

2009-06-28T10:45:00.001-05:00

A "pretty good storm" spread havoc across Amarillo yesterday. Downburst winds of up to 70mph and 3-4 inches of rain in an hour resulted in serious flooding and a few trees down. Residential streets turned into whitewater rapids. Major intersections into swimming pools. It's a problem living in a "flat" city.

I started off watching it form and intensify over the Lake Tanglewood area SE of Amarillo proper. The core dump over this area created an impressive rain/dust foot which I caught in the first image below. Yep, I was out in the middle of it. :-) In addition to the wind damage and major flooding, a couple of roads were caved in or buckled. Yowsa!!

http://www.amarillo.com/stories/062809/new_13832189.shtml

http://myhighplains.com/content/video/?watch=1&cid=63761

http://myhighplains.com/content/video/?watch=1&cid=63731

My photos (video to come later):

2009 - Turn Off The Lights

2009-06-21T06:52:00.004-05:00

After a huge forecast failure in NW OK close to the KS border...AND perusing the models this morning, I'm turning off the lights and shutting the door on 2009. I'm happy to to do so on a very bizarre and frustrating season for me. I managed to get on many tornado-warned storms with VERY little to show for it. I've come to the point of being convinced that if you take a non-tornado producing storm south of the Kansas border and then place it in Kansas, it will spin and produce multiple, gorgeous tornadoes....especially when I'm not around it. LOL!!

My stormkiller reputation has been reaffirmed this year much to my own chagrin. Yep, I killed the "Caprock Magic" single-handedly. For 2009, it was more of "Caprock Illusion"....or "Delusion"...or "Elusion". Take your pick. :-) So for both 2008 and now 2009, it's been a pretty dull season out in these parts compared to what you would typically see. My odometer can testify to that. I'm experiencing Deja Vu from the North Central Texas curse. It always seemed the really good events were 500 or more miles away. What few setups did materialize, something would happen to totally screw up what looked to be a prime setup.

The biggest problem this season was the very dry airmass over the region. I think a large part of this was due to the massive dry air dumps into the GOM basin early on combined with the serious drought in the region. The total winter snowfall total for Amarillo through early March was less than two inches which was a near-record pace. Only the blizzard of March 27 produced any appreciable amounts with up to 13 inches of snowfall. Even with that, we were below the average of 17 inches. It was also our first truly appreciable moisture in several months since about late September based on my memory.

Sure, there were good severe weather events in other parts of tornado alley, but in areas with lower elevations....relatively speaking. The moisture depth was all too often rather shallow. Even with good return flow, the moisture couldn't make it on top of the caprock. It would quickly and easily mix out by early afternoon (or sooner) if any did make it up here. Not surprisingly, and as I often pointed out early on in the season, the dryline would mix east well into Oklahoma or central Kansas. Whenever the dryline would back up to the NM border, the dewpoints ahead of it would be below 50F with large dewpoint depressions.

So, for the naysayers out there who don't believe that extreme severe drought conditions west of I-35 combined with massive GOM dry air dumps doesn't affect the season, 2009 should hopefully be enough to at least consider it as "plausable"....especially with 2006 as another very similar year. This of course begs the question and debate as to the La Nina pattern affecting us. Was the drought the overriding cause of a dismal Caprock severe weather season...or was it just a small contributing factor and symptom of La Nina which screwed with the upper air pattern thus choking the season out here? The very bizarre and unusual upper air pattern in May that resembled July/August certainly didn't help the cause.

Fortunately, we are getting TONS of rain out in these parts. After nearly turning into the Sahara Desert for almost 9 months with very little if any rainfall, we are now prety much soaked all across the Caprock....especially around Tulia area and the eastern Texas Panhandle. These areas are very lush and green with water standing everywhere. All of the playa lakes are brimming with water and the air is moist and sticky with humidity....and TONS of bugs. My windshield alone has splattered a million critters....easily.

Will this trend continue this summer and into the winter? I certainly hope so. I hope we see a much "wetter" winter with fewer episodes of the massive dry air dumps deep into the tropics that we saw so much of this season thanks to frequesnt deep SE US upper air troughs and cyclones. We need them over the SW US as we would normally see in the winter and early spring.

With all of that aside, I'm looking forward to watching the tropical season crank up. I do not have any plans to chase any landfalling hurricanes in Texas. Part of the reason is having a new full time job, so taking time off will be almost impossible. Plus, it's an expensive venture which is difficult to make enough money through media busness to justify it. I'm needing a new vehicle as well as new camera gear....not to mention relocating to Panhandle, TX this fall (hopefully). Since experiencing the eyes of Gustav and especially Ike last year, I don't really have the level of desire to do so again as I did being a virgin hurrican chaser this time last year. :-)

I'm also just starting to play around with HDR which I have been wanting to do for awhile. In fact, I'm "behind the times" in this regard. I'm looking forward to producing HDR versions of my best storm photography over the years. My main goal is to achieve a more natural exposure balance in the often extreme lighting levels within storm environments. I will also do some more "artistic" versions with more extreme tone mapping. Stay tuned for that as this will be on the top of my "to do" list this season.

I'll also be doing some more work on my website as well. I made alot of positive changes, but want to dig deeper into some ideas I've had but with little if any time to devote to it. Chase reports in particular need alot of work. Another effort will be to transfer this blog to something other than this google blogger. I'm still having to jack around captcha crap everytime I do something because my blog is still marked as a spam blog. Despite submitting a request SIX times now to have it reviewed and returned back to a normal blog, I've not heard a peep from the google idiots. With this and some other crap in having to deal with them, I'm more than ready to abandon them.

Will I EVER do a highlights DVD? I keep thinking I will. Maybe this year will be the year to do it. It's just so much work for what I want to do and how to do it. Who knows? If I actually get started and make any appreciable progress, I'll let you know. :-) I at least want to work on some individual video clips for posting on YouTube. Watch for that as well.

Other than that, I'll be working on setting up the annual Tailchaser SDS party for August. We used my apartment clubhouse last year which worked out great. I'll likely do that again this year. It's always a blast with friends watching the season highlights and just hanging out. It's tough to have the time to do that during the busy chase season.

Outside of chase-related activities, I'll be getting a new or newer vehicle this year. My Honda Element has nearly 140,000 reliable miles on it and still going strong. But, it needs some maintenance done on it which could get pricey. It makes sense to use that on a new vehicle down payment. The dilema I face is whether I should keep it? It's been such an awesome litttle vehicle..AND it's paid off, I hate to sell it. It would make for a great second vehicle. I've considered making it my official chase vehicle and fully rig it out and get the maintenance up to snuff for next year. It would make it easier with a non-chase vehicle to get into work too. ;-) So, I'll be lamenting and pondering that as well over the next few months.

The other big plan is moving from the SW side of Amarillo to the little town of Panhandle. It would shave 40 miles per day off my current commute. This also translates into a time savings as well. Coming back from weeknight chases in the E TX PH or W OK, it's a 30 minute savings in time as well as 30 minutes of a morning. That translates into an extra hour of sleep. :-) Plus, doing any lightning photography would be simply driving a few blocks and setting up the camera. I've checked out the town pretty well and love it. It has all of the basic amenities I would ever need including cable internet, nice grocery store, gas stations, post office, etc. In fact, it even has a nine-hole golf course! :-) For chasing, it's in about as strategic of a location as you could hope to have.

Other than that, some photo excursions are in store (hear that Jason Boggs? Get your camera ready!). There are so many cool things to go explore and point a lens at including New Mexico. With the HDR being added to my skill sets this year, I'll be looking forward to it. Hopefully I'll get the new Rebel DSLR by then. :-)

So that's it from me for at least a week or two in this blog unless some bizarre setup creates a local chase opportunity. Lightning photography is still an option as would be any NW flow event storms (whcih I see no opportunity for in the crystal ball). I'll put together a "best of 2009" photo slideshow down the road. Maybe in a week or two in my next blog entry. So for now....shutting the door and turning off the lights for 2009....

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Chasing Today

2009-06-20T11:37:00.000-05:00

It's amazing how things can change in 24 hours. Overnight and this morning, a large are of prolonged light to moderate rain across the western half of the TX PH and W TX into Kansas had created a large rain-cooled airmass in these areas. The interesting aspect is that this area was pretty much stationary with a sharply delineated cloud shield. The result is a large, sharp baroclinic zone between the coll airmass and "warm sector" immediately to the E and S where strong insolation is ongoing and expected to continue.

Already, strong cumulus congestus field is setting up in the E TX panhandle along this boundary area from about Wheeler to Clarendon. Additional agitated cumulus is showing up in NW OK. With boundary layer dewpoints from 68-73F all across the area when combined with very strong insolation cooking this tropical-like airmass into the upper 80's and 90's, the instability will be pretty good today. Most important is the expected 0-3km CAPE values which will be quite high.

Aloft, 500mb winds from the SW at 30-45 knots above southerly 20-30 knot 850mb winds and SSW 700mb winds 30-40 knots are favorable for some nice supercell modes today...in particular any storm that gets deeply rooted along any boundary and moves slowly or with a strongly deviant motion. Above 500mb, the winds are fairly weak, so storms will be more HPish.

So, after not planning on chasing today, this is a nice turn of events and another reason why one should not count the season over until it truly is. :-) However, the models are pretty certain that the season for me at least will be over after today. The summer upper ridge, which made a very annoying premature appearence in May, will setup over the weekend and settle in for awhile.

So, I will be chasing today...my finale to the 2009 chase season.

6/13 & 6/15 Pics

2009-06-18T21:45:00.003-05:00

6/13 North of McAdoo, TX. Classic wall cloud on a tornado-warned storm. (Storm #1).

6/13 Plainview, TX. (Storm #2) Impressive storm structure hovering over the city. You can see what remains of the earlier double-bell shaped updraft. Also note nice beaver tail and the wall cloud on the horizon.

6/13 Plainview, TX. Same storm with ominous wall cloud over Plainview.

6/13 Plainview, TX.

6/13 W of Lockney, TX. Storm but now approaching Lockney.

6/13 W of Lockney, TX. Note the very weak funnel. Wall cloud was pretty agitated and looking it's most threatening.

6/13 W of Lockney, TX. Dig that green core!

6/15 W of Lipscomb, TX. (Storm #1) Awesome structure of tornado-warned supercell. Nice LP variety. Earlier, I saw a nice white funnel halfway to the ground as I approached from a distance.

6/15 NW of Lipscomb, TX. Excellent LP supercell now. Although no longer tornado-warned, was still producing large hail.

6/15 Booker, TX. (Storm #2).

6/15 N of Follett, TX. Last gasps of storm #2.

6/15 N of Follett, TX. I love Panhandle sunsets!!

Great Chase Monday

2009-06-16T22:43:00.001-05:00

Just now getting around to processing all of my pictures from Monday 6/15 and Saturday 6/13. We speaketh not about Sunday's fail. ;-)

The 6/15 chase resulted in some spectacular structure, one nice funnel half way to the ground from one storm and a thin whispy funnel from another one. No pics/video as I was busy trying to get positioned and setup in case an actual tornado formed from the strongly rotating wall clouds. As is my season for 2009, no such luck getting a tornado out of the deal (these aren't Kansas or Colorado storms after all...lol). But, the consolation prize of gorgeous storm structure certainly made up for it.

6/13 was a great chase as I did everything right including being right under the eventual tornado-warned storm north of McAdoo before it even showed up on radar. Nice storm structure with a big honking wall cloud was the result and about three small, needle "shear" funnels. Merging storm clusters killed it though.

However, I made a run towards the newere storms around Plainview and Silverton. The Plainview storm had one of the thickest, sharpest rock solid anvils I've ever seen. As I got some backlighting on it, I could make out a vertically duel bell-shaped updraft base in the distance. It was quite the spectacle..but hazy. I had to get closer for a decent shot. Naturally, the storm structure lost it's best appearance from earlier as I got closer. Still, some great structure and an ominous wall cloud dragging the top of Plainview. Those folks were lucky I was there to weaken the storm. :-)

Overall, I've improved my cell data connection with a new antenna, but discovered my cellular amp is on the fritz. That will need replacing for next season. I also had some serious re-connection problems with my stream. It "looked" like everything was ok, only to discover it had disconnected and would not auto-reconnect. I discovered this on Monday. Argh! I'm not sure what the problem is, but I'll have planty of time to fix it before next season.

Did I say "next season"? Yep. I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that it is just about over with. The models keep wanting to build a ridge over my "playground" and usher in summer just in time for it's official arrival this weekend. However, I'm not ready to close the book on the 2009 season and shelve it (or throw it in the trash where it blongs...lol). Some hints that the upper ridge might not set in as strong as earlier advertised. We shall see.

Pics coming within the next couple of days.

Quickie Forecast - 6/15

2009-06-15T07:24:00.000-05:00

Pampa, Texas. :-)