Saturday, July 29, 2006
2006 REVIEW: Communications
I this section, I'll be reviewing three pieces of equipment; cell phone and service, my HAM radio, and my CB/WX Radio.
REVIEW: Sprint PCS with Samsung A920
This year, I had decided that mobile internet would be a worth-while investment. With my return to Sprint after issues with Verizon's local service, I explored the realm of wireless internet from cell phones. I had shopped around on the cards for quite some time and then decided to look into phone-as-modem plans. I went into my local Sprint store and asked them about hi-speed internet access plans and phones. They referred me to the Samsung A920 phone and told me about a plan add-on for phone internet which required no additional contract and costs only $40/month. I splurged and paid the full $300 for the phone, but managed to make about half of it back in selling my old phone on eBay. I added the data plan in March and have used it off-and-on since.
The perks of this add-on plan was the lack of contract. Since this was simply an add-on, I am able to add and remove this from my base plan at will with no cancellation fees which was a huge drawback to the card data plans. With this phone, I get speeds the same as any data card. The drawbacks are that my phone is tied up while in use, so phone calls don't get through.
Sprint's service area as always had a hole along I-70 from Denver east to Salina, Kansas. When I rejoined Sprint, I knew this was an issue. Fortunately Sprint has a good roaming plan and makes getting some kind of service almost anywhere a reality. However, on my way home from a Kansas chase in May, I discovered I had full service along I-70 from Salina to home. Sprint added towers along this major route which now meant data access was available. My last trip along 70 showed the data hadn't been activated, but by next season, I expect full data service all the way out I-70, which is a HUGELY invaluable asset for chasing in that part of the country. In fact, Sprint has added almost complete coverage for Western Kansas (north to south) which includes data access. Another HUGE addition to the data arsenal. This will almost elimate the need for Wifi stops anywhere in Western Kansas as I will have the ability to get data from my cell phone and laptop from anywhere in West Kansas.
Service in other areas was good as well. I never had any major issues with no voice coverage, but digital (data) service was hard to come by in rural areas of Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. Once I got east of the Mississippi, I had almost continuous digital coverage all the way to Ohio.
Overall grade: A-
Pros: Added service in Kansas, added service along I-70 in Colorado, phone-as-modem plan, DSL metro-area speeds, great digital coverage east of Mississippi, good plans for money
Cons: Spotty coverage in Nebraska, Northeast Colorado, South Dakota, Western Oklahoma, and Northern Texas
REVIEW: Yaesu - FT-8800R
After my car accident and the theft of my Yaesu FT-1500, I elected to put out the bucks for a better, higher end mobile transceiver. I was not disappointed. Between the radio and antenna, I shelled out just under $500 for the rig. I was sold on features which included the dual band monitoring and the detachable faceplate. The performance, range, and features made this a very worthy investment.
I found myself getting most use out of the dual band. This enabled me to monitor the Skywarn simplex as well as NOAA WX Radio or another channel. I found I used this near the Front Range to monitor both the simplex as well as a repeater nearby. When chasing locally in the Metro area, I found myself monitoring a pair of local channels to listen in on conversation from those out in various parts of the city making general chat about whatever weather they were under. This worked well on a couple of occasions where I was able to track down various hazards with help from other HAMs.
I found my range was better with the higher-end antenna I purchased. I was able to hit simplex pretty good up to 10 miles away depending on terrain. Close range simplex was perfect.
The detachable faceplate made mounting a piece of cake. It also allowed me the chance to mount my rig in a hidden place and take out the faceplate very easily. With the location of the mount, I had to get an external speaker. This proved to be a nice idea, but was very disappointed with Radio Shack's mini-speaker. While great for size, it didn't seem to hold up well to the radio's power and I ended up shorting out three speakers (only paid for one as I had them replaced). With the third one, I decided enough was enough and bought a cheapo truck-stop external which was twice the size, but worked twice as well. With the speaker issue finally done, I was able to enjoy crisp conversations that I could understand even with music blaring and windows down.
The radio was probably a bit overpriced for me as I find I don't use the 70cm band much. There are also a ton of features I have yet to familiarize myself with, so I paid for a lot of radio when I use very little. However, the dual band montioring allowed me to rid of a scanner as I am able to tap into those channels on this rig and still monitor the chaser chatter.
Overall grade: A
Pros: Detachable faceplate, dual band, dual channel, backlit mic, access buttons on mic
Cons: More radio than I need
REVIEW: Radio Shack 40-Channel TRC521 CB/WX Radio
I bought this CB/WX radio mainly for the WX radio features it provided. This radio has an alert feature which goes off when NWS issues tone alerts and notifies me of the alert without having to listen to the radio the entire time. The radio has access to all 7 channels and with the antenna, was able to do pretty well in coverage. I did find I had longer coverage on my HAM and did find myself having to use that on a couple of occasions to hit distant towers that this radio couldn't quite reach.
The CB portion of this seldomly gets used, and seeing the price I paid was pretty close to what a WX radio runs, I was happy to have this as an extra feature. During my speaker issues, I was able to use this as a backup for car-to-car chats. On a couple occasions, chasing partners in other vehicles lost their HAMs; fortunately we had CBs to use and were able to stay in touch within a couple miles. It worked as a backup a couple times and was glad to have it. Beyond that, the CB feature rarely was used except for monitoring of truckers on the interstate. And of course, yapping with truckers.
Overall grade: B
Pros: Easy mounting, NWS alerts, backup to HAM
Cons: Not as strong to NWS radio as HAM, no channel changer on mic, its still a CB
Next review will cover photography gear (video cameras, still cameras)
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Wednesday, July 26, 2006
2006 REVIEW: The Vehicle
To kick my reviews of 2006 off, I am going to start with the most important piece of equipment in storm chasing... the vehicle. As you all know by now, this year was the first year for the 'White Lightning', a 1996 Chrysler Town & Country minivan which I purchased in January after crashing out my Tracer a couple days before Christmas.
With the exception of the transmission, I had absolutely NO problems with the van at all! In fact, I was quick to wonder how on Earth I chased so long in a sedan! The ride of this van was smooth, comfortable, and roomy. Shortly after making my purchase, I began to rework the interior to suit my needs. With the excellent shape the van was in, I was quick to decide to shell out the extra money for custom mounts for radios and other gizmos. There was going to be no dashboard drilling in this vehicle. I did remove the storage below the radio and did make permanent mounts with holes that were well out of sight.
The seat arrangement underwent some work as well. I removed the third row bench seat completely and went back and forth with one of the two second rwo Captain's chairs pending on the number of people chasing with me. When one of the two middle row Captain's chairs was removed, it left room for a single bedding area where I placed a foam pad under a sleeping bag and laid it out on the passenger's side. There was plenty of room for gear behind the second row chair and still allowed for a comfy napping area.
Mounting locations in the vehicle made for easy installation and placement of all my gear. While we did have a major drawback when trying to install the Jotto Desk the first time, we were able to repair the mistake and later found a much more convienient place for the desk. Using the metal plate which covered the bottom of the front seat mount, we drilled the desk's mounting bracket to the metal seat plate and was able to easily mount the desk. It still left room for a front seat passenger even as the computer was sitting over their lap.
Effieciency of the van was about expected. I averaged about 22 miles per gallon over the course of my 17,000 miles of chasing with a best single trip average of 25. The 15 gallon tank and additional 5 gallon reserve took at most $40 to fill and would drive well over 300 miles before its next fill up. Maintanance was somewhat costly due to engine configuration, but once done, it ran like a dream. The transmission did fail and need replacement quick in the van's life, but with the purchase of the lifetime warrenty, I should be relieved of any further $1800 bills resulting from needing a new transmission. With the exception of that, I had no other issues with the van.
The van was definately the best new purchase of 2006. Without a doubt, made the lengthy trips much easier to handle and much more enjoyable for those coming along with me. I hope to run 'White Lightning' for several more seasons and enjoy the great deal I got out of her. She got me home and back this season, and I look for her to do it again in coming seasons.
Overall grade: B+
Pros: Extremely roomy interior, excellent performance, comfortable on long trips, good handling, bedding area, mostly vertical windows
Cons: Transmission failure, small electical problems, expensive to maintain, window tinting
Next review due out will cover communications (cell phone, HAM radio)
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Sunday, July 23, 2006
Was on my way home this evening from a cookout and stopped to shoot some awesome lightning from Belleview and C-470 looking north and west. I was hearing thunder several seconds after the bolts, so I imagine most of these were hitting within a few miles of me in Morrison. Many of the better bolts hit between shots, but I managed these four. Two of which rank in the top for the year! All these shots are posted as they were pulled from the camera. They were reduced in size for the web, but were not cropped, retouched, or edited in any other way. Enjoy!
Wow!
Mega-wow!
With those, I've updated my lightning photos for the year with these four. My good buddy, Verne Carlson, also nabbed some great shots from this place in Coal Creek Canyon! Another treat for us chasers tonight!
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Friday, July 21, 2006
A storm north of Boulder looked like it was going to give us one of those after-dark lightning shows.. I left my apartment at quarter til midnight for Red Rocks Community College to set up. All I saw from this storm was the sign it held up as it vanished over Boulder.. "Ha ha! You now have less than 6 hours to sleep before you get to get up and go to the airport." Goodnight! :o)
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Thursday, July 20, 2006
A major statistical change today as I was creating my new spreadsheet to more accurately document and record chasing miles. I discovered I screwed up my mileage cacluations from 2005 by over 1800 miles. My old method of doing this was to record the miles in my chase, then add them up as I went along. During the busy May period, I wasn't recording my mileage as I went, and thus had to go log-by-log to get the results. Somewhere in there I apparently goofed and ended up well over calculating my mileage. Turns out, I only drove 14733 miles as opposed to the 16602 I had recorded. This of course dropped my career mileage down. There was also a 10 mile difference in my calculations in my 2004 miles. In all, the difference was 1859 miles. My index odometer and log pages will reflect this change. Indivigual logs will not be updated with this correction.
Some other stats I've played with.. I went back to get the 1630Z SPC Day 1 for all my chases from 2003 through now. A total of 91 of 99 of my lifetime chases fell in this range.. here are a few numbers...
50 Slight Risk Chases, 20 tornadoes on 7 tornado days with 12 busts.
23 Moderate Risk Chases, 10 tornadoes on 7 tornado days with 5 busts.
3 High Risk Chases, 17 tornadoes on 2 tornado days with 1 bust.
15 See Text/None Chases, 0 tornadoes in 0 tornado days with 1 bust.
To see what I consider a meteorological bust (and the guidelines I've created), click here.
In other news, SPC dropped the 5% tornadoes due to cloud cover over the target area. While it would've been nice to get out, I see it may've been a blessing in disguise to get stuck working tonight as I'll save myself the money and time. Will still keep my eyes peeled for lightning chances after dark.
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Unfortunately, I was unable to get out of my evening shift tonight due to no one to cover me. With that, I will be unable to get out for this afternoon's venture. Models are hinting at storms developing (with better tornado chances) along and north of U.S. Hwy 18 in Wyoming, then congealing as they move south. That kind of target may have been a bit too far to reach with the time I could've gotten out anyway. Had I the day free, I would probably head for an anrea between Wheatland (169 mi from DEN) and Douglas (227mi from DEN), probably more inclined for an area along Hwy 18 (Lost Springs, Manville, Lusk) and points eastward.
SPC's graphics seem to be showing a trend of tornado/hail potential being further north coinsiding with earlier development, then as the storms merge, turn into more of a wind threat which is shown in the 30% further south towards Nebraska.
My best bet for today is going to fall after dark where I may try and get on some storms if they stay within the Interstate Triangle. Lightning is going to be my hope if that's the case as I'll be off shortly before sunset.
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Wednesday, July 19, 2006
With the passing of a front comes not only heat relief, but the chance for severe weather and what may be the first real chance to chase since June. SPC and local NWS offices are touching on tomorrow as a chance for severe weather with possible tornadoes in Eastern Wyoming and Western Nebraska. I'm looking at this cautiously as the middle of the week presents work issues which I need to work around in order to go. Jon V and I have discussed plans for tomorrow and will finalize them in the morning if I get clear of my evening shift tomorrow. With the uncertainties that exist, it'll be last minute. Both Jon and I have to remain on campus til after noon, so with luck, we could get out as late as 1pm and hopefully allow us enough time to get into position for the early tornado chances. Forecasts are indicating these storms will congeal into a mass and move into Northeast Colorado and Northwest Kansas through the evening, thus giving way to the usual nighttime barrage of wind, hail, flooding, and lightning.
Will worry about getting the time cleared before diving into the forecasts for tomorrow. If I can get lucky, I'll try and get on stand-by for my shift so if things aren't looking promising, I can still work. Otherwise it'll just be nice to get out again.
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Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Quieter weather around Colorado this evening as opposed to last night's barrage of severe weather in the Elbert and Lincoln County areas. With that said, not much weather to speak of, but wanted to throw an update anyway. I've been in the process of writing a review of the 2006 season among other more personal things. This isn't my annual chase review, but a review of the items of chasing seaosn for me; vehicle, equipment, hotels, etc. I made a brief one of these back in March after my Marchathon venture into the Southeast U.S. I had used this as a guide to get myself better preared for May and June. And now, with the season pretty well on its final legs, I'm going through all my gear and writing my reviews of how it performed for me. These aren't buy it or not reviews and are based soley upon how I used them, so don't expect in-depth equipment reviews. Remember, I am cheap in my equipment purchases, so I ultimately get what I pay for. None-the-less, I'll be posting an extensive list of my gear and how I thought it performed and how I would change for upcoming seasons.
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Severe weather fired last night along the Front Range and parts of the Eastern Plains. Storms which fired near Strausburg briefly held tornado warnings when a boundry collided with the storms which were already rooted on another boundry. No reports of tornadoes came from either storm as the warnings were issued based upon radar analysis. The storms held severe warnings for quite some time and were even flash flood warned when exit 354 west of Limon took on four feet of water from the storms. Had I not needed to be up at 6:30 this morning, I would've been more inclined to get out there and check them out. I figured the tornado warned cells weren't going to produce, but the late evening storms lasted well after dark and probably would've provided some killer lightning shots. Not to mention 4 feet of water at the 354 exit would've made for good sights had there been some light to illuminate it all.
Heat returns for the next couple of days before a decent change moves in cooling us down and wetting us up again. A monsoonal pattern is once again suppose to grace us for a few days which will not only aid with the cooler temps, but precip and storm chances. I would imagine a similar series of days like the first week in July where slow-moving storms create more flooding concerns rather than severe weather. None-the-less, its a pattern change I am really looking forward to.
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Saturday, July 15, 2006
The heat is on! I want to post the current temperatures from around the Denver Metro Area as of 1:00 this afternoon..
Centennial Airport: This is Getting Retarded (94)
Buckley Air Force Base: Even More Retarded (95)
Downtown Denver: Really Retarded (98)
Jeffco Airport: Beyond Retarded and Most Retarded in the State so Far (99)
DIA: Just as Retarded as Jeffco (99)
Forecast for rest of today: Prepare to get so retarded you can't see straight!
Forecast for Sunday: If you thought today was retarded, wait til you see Sunday!
Forecast for Monday: In case you missed retarded on Sunday, we'll do it again Monday!
I imagine either DIA or Jeffco hitting the century mark at the 2pm obs. Today's record is 100 which has stood since 1902. We'll beat that by at least a degree or two and as I said, will probably tie it as of the next hourly observation. Tomorrow's record was set last year with 102, which kicked off the string of 100 degree days in which we had a record-breaking five days in a row with 100 degrees or higher, including a tie of the all-time record of 105 on the 20th. I think its feasable to tie or break that record here in the coming days. Today is possible, but we still have 6 degrees to go.
Today was a storm spotting training class in Boulder which was scheduled nicely outside of chasing season. My only complaint with most trainings are their timing in the year. While I appretiate the wanting to have info fresh in your mind, its hard to get chasers into training sessions in early parts of the chasing season. Today's was a nice break from the norm. Unfortunately I was left at work with some scheduling juggling I had to do mid-week which moved my usual Friday shift to today, thus leaving me working during the session. More than anything, I was hoping to see some of the guys today. Ah well, the real world calls.
Forecast models are indicating perhaps a change in the overall pattern which would bring us back into a monsoonal-type setup and cooler temps to the region. None of the models are making this dream a slam-dunk, but it does bare watching. Til then, we have to get through the next few days. Fortunately, I do not see the string of five-in-a-row being broken as we'll drop into the 90s by Wednesday at the latest, so I guess if there is any good news, that would be it.
As I typed this, the 2:00pm ob at DIA came out showing a degree drop, now only 98 as opposed to last hour's 99. Centennial held at 94, Buckley jumped to 97, downtown's holding at 98, and Jeffco is the first location in the state today to break the 100 degree mark! Yeehaw for summer! LOL
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Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Summer returns with a vengance as temps back in the 90s to near 100 came quickly on the heals of last week's cool and wet pattern. Looks like this hot pattern will hold in the area through at least next week with isolate chances for storms at best. I know I speak for several people when I say I would love a repeat of Monday's lightning storm.
Yesterday, several damaging tornado were reported back in my homestate in and around Dayton; less than 100 miles from my hometown of Circleville. I received several emails in regards to these tornadoes as one hit the town of Centerville, just to the southeast of Dayton. To clarify here, I lived in Circleville, not Centerville, but I would imagine there isn't much difference between the two towns. None-the-less, my Roundtown did escape another episode in yesterday's event, so nothing to worry about on that front.
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Tuesday, July 11, 2006
The monsoon shoved out its grand prize tonight with a freak storm which rolled in from Boulder and into Northwest Denver. My late start probably prevented me from shooting 200 digital photos tonight, but out of the 130 plus I did shoot, I nabbed some great shots, including an INCREDIBLE shot which ranks in my top 5 all-time. I'll update my website with the log update tomorrow, but I have posted the pics and the log here.
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Sunday, July 09, 2006
Cold, rainy, and dreary... something rarely seen in Colorado, but has definately been the norm this weekend. After several days of monsoon storms and flooding, a quieter weather pattern overtook the Denver area and left the southern part of the state in the severe stuff, including a pair of tornado warnings for the Pueblo County area on Friday and today. Some serious flash flooding occured in the Douglas County area as well claiming three homes near Westcreek over the weekend. Fortunately no one was injured in that.
I spent most of the weekend actually having a life; paired up on Rockies games and went and saw a movie with my lady and friends. Nice to get away from the weather even as it impacted the weekend plans. Chasing has definately come to a close as far as I can tell, leaving just the photojournalistic stuff behind which has been the rule with the last couple chasing logs. Late August begins the small window of chasing for the fall season in which things will close til the next Spring.
Many of my chasing friends have gone into bloglessness, and you'll probably see a decrease in posts on my end as well, but seeing as I do spend a lot of time during all seasons with the weather, you know you'll continue to see updates from me even through winter as I pray for a March 2003 repeat!
So with that, I'm going to head off and enjoy an at-home movie. Tomorrow's slight risk in Kansas doesn't have me jumping into the van. I opted into a full day of work and don't think tomorrow's prospects warrent the trip out there. Especially after the week we've had. God knows we've needed the rain, and God also knows how happy I am to see highs in the 60s in July. I get one more cool day tomorrow before summer returns. I want to enjoy it!
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Thursday, July 06, 2006
Yesterday ended Denver's storm-streak at three as no significant storms made it off the mountains and onto the Plains. Colorado Springs had some storms yesterday, but that's about as close as the biggest stuff got. Our pattern has changed a bit which has lead to the decrease of storm coverage. Tuesday's Wheat Ridge storm would've likely been nothing more than what we had last night had it not been for that outflow boundry which trucked in. We were missing such a trigger last night and thus we stayed quiet. A drier pattern has been in the models for several days now, but when that's suppose to occur continues to move back in time. We could still expect slow moving storms through the weekend before this pattern does move out from the area. I imagine today to be a repeat of yesterday with little if any storms over the Urban Corridor. Will keep keeping tabs on tomorrow and Saturday as well as this pattern seems to be coming to an end.
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Tuesday, July 04, 2006
THREE-IN-A-ROW! First time in my chasing history I've chased storms in the Denver area three days in a row. Today's storm came late after I had packed it in for the night. Storms moving in from Wyoming kicked an outflow boundry up against the foothills and sparked a dumper over western portions of the Metro area and happily closer to home for me. My lady and I headed out from Lakewood and intercepted the storm along I-70 at Kipling where I documented more flooding in the Metro area. About a foot of water covered Kipling at I-70 after over an inch of rain fell within 45 minutes. The biggest event of the night came on our way to the flooding when a lightning bolt dropped in between some trees and picked off a transformer less than 10 feet from the van. A shower of orange and blue sparks littered the road as the transformed blew up overhead. It was incredible! Unfortunately, I didn't have video running at the time, but fortunately Dania can testify as both her and my hands were tingling from the close encounter. Anywoo, I posted the log and you can view it here. More storms expected tomorrow, but I will be at work tomorrow, so my odds of going four-in-a-row are going to rely on a storm taking on the Southwest Metro area while I'm driving pies. So with that, I'm going to retire for the evening to the sound of fireworks. Happy 4th all!
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Monday, July 03, 2006
Play it again, Sam! Day 2 of Denver's monsoon season played out again in just about the same areas. Today's event was more widespread than Sunday's, but not as intense where I was. Weekday traffic was light due to tomorrow's holiday, but still presented problems and limited my travel into areas where most of the bigger issues were occuring. Traffic on I-25 south out of Denver was at a crawl due to the flooding near Castle Rock. Also reports that the Denver Lightrail System was shut down due to flooding issues near Downtown. I stuck around the areas from near Lone Tree and north along Parker Road to I-225 in Aurora. Upwards of 3 inches of rain fell within the two hour period. Most of the flooding I observed was very minor, including some road ponding, flooded drainage areas, and a new development in which the main road was completely submerged. You can view the chasing log and its pictures here.
Will go for three-in-a-row tomorrow as another round of monsoonal storms is expected to move across the Front Range. With the holiday, traffic should be light across the city which should allow for a bit more flexibility in getting around and hopefully give me better chances to get into the better areas. Will check the forecasts tomorrow morning to finalize the details. Will likely head off as storms initiate from the Front Range.
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I completed the chasing log from Sunday and have it up and ready to check out. Today's chances remain about the same; weak shear will limit hail potential today, so heavy rains with storms will be the biggest threat. I'm on campus til noon and may stick it out here til storms start to fire before venturing out. With today being a Monday, traffic may be a bit more of a concern today as opposed to yesterday, but seeing as we're in an unofficial four-day weekend with the 4th being tomorrow, I should get lucky for Monday traffic. Will keep you posted should I head out.
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Sunday, July 02, 2006
Day 2 of the weekend had much better results storm-wise, and the 132 miles I added to my chasing total for the year will put me just shy of 30 miles of the 17,000 mile mark for this season. Storms fired further east than I thought today as I left my place in Lakewood shortly around 4:30 and headed south and east towards the Castle Rock area to get under some severe-warned/flash flood warned cells. Using my Sprint PCS phone for data, I had NWS radar updating constantly from the road. I elected to return to the Denver area where I met with Jon Van de Grift in Parker and he jumped in with me after a close lightning strike set my butt on fire. The bolt was so close, that I felt the electricity in my body as my left arm got real hot. The bolt hit a nearby structure less than 1000 feet away and sent me nearly diving head-first into my van. Once we left Parker, we headed into Southeast Denver where we observed some urban flooding along University Blvd. We stopped to film passing cars before darting onto E-470 to check out some nearby creeks. We hopped off on a mud road to check out a creek which had swallen up a bit, then reversed back through the mud while fishtailing all over the place to get back to pavement. After about 5 minutes of removing the thick mud from the bottom of our shoes, we headed back to Parker where I dropped Jon off and headed home.
Tomorrow holds a lot of the same potential in the Denver area and points east. With storms firing as far as Sterling and Julesburg, I may spread myself a bit more tomorrow for action further out east. With no plans or time constraints limiting my chasing tomorrow, I'll probably be content to venture out a bit further. Afterall, I ran over 130 miles and stayed mostly within the Metro area. I could make Limon and back on those.
Tuesday is my last free chasing day before returning to work on Wednesday. Models showing yet another chance for flooding storms. Weak shear may limit severe potential overall, but heavy rains like we saw today will definately be a possibility.
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Saturday, July 01, 2006
The next several days continue to hold severe potential across the Front Range areas of Colorado.
Today, storms are expected to fire shortly after noon and move slowly off the mountains and onto the Plains. Severe weather in the form of hail and high winds are the primary threats, however, slow storm motions and ample moisture will allow for heavy rains and the potential for flooding. Tornado chances are almost nonexistant, so will not be playing for those today. I have evening plans, so my range will stay pretty close to the Urban Cooridor today.
Sunday, much of the same can be expected tomorrow. Storms will again move in from the mountains and onto the Plains with hail and flooding the biggest threats. Monday and Tuesday should also have repeat setups before the ridge rebuilds over the area. Models are still hinting at the potential of a monsoon setup later in the week which would give way to more storm chances from Thursday on. Will watch for that as the event gets closer. My focus is on severe chances over the next few days.
My plans for today are to remain close to home til storms start to fire and will probably do what I did last Saturday in getting on a cell which is moving in my direction. Will likely follow it across town and perhaps onto the Plains, but seeing as the threats are for hail, wind, and rain, the better shows will be in the urban areas, thus I may give up the storm as it moves east of town unless it shows some signs worth sticking it out for.
Much of the same plans in the coming days as well, however, lack of any later plans will allow me a chance to play into the evening and possibly after dark, so lightning chances may open themselves up after today. Again, will play it by day and see how things are evolving.
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