May 22, 2000

	We started the day KNOWING that nothing would happen.  We all made 
plans for the day: laundry, naps, film developing, vehicle maintenance.  We 
first had our annual business meeting, where in we discussed where we are, 
where we want to be, and how we intend to get there.  Basically, we will be 
reformatting our mission statement, with more of an emphasis on public 
education and safety programs.
	I don't know who realized it first, as about 5 computers were running, 
checking data, watching "just in case", but we started seeing signs of 
convection in the northeast, towards the Tulsa area.  After a minimal amount 
of discussion, we went mobile... deploying in record time, and were soon 
zooming down the road to the NE.  The first cell popped up quickly, managing 
to birth three overshooting tops before it died out.  The another formed 
slightly behind it, and exploded into one of the most gorgeous LP Supercells 
ever to be see by man.
	By now, we had comitted to the storm, and couldn't break off, even as 
we chased it further and further into Arkansas.
	Darkness caught up with us, and we said farewell to our storm, and 
came to the realization that we had wondered some 200 miles from Norman, 
where we were currently based.  The trip home is always a long one, but 
spirits were high. We had had our first active chase as a fully deployed 
team, and we had done well.
	Another victory: our young French camera man has been converted from 
an objective observer to a stone cold storm junkie.

Nancy Bose

MESO     (www.mcwar.org)