5/12/02

Sometimes, you just get the itch to git, and I think that this morning, we
awoke with a desire to move further south even BEFORE we looked at the
models.  However, if there was going to be severe weather anywhere in good
country to chase it in, it would be Texas.  Eastern KS, Eastern OK,
Western AR aren't even close to being our 'zone', and Texas is a pretty
cool place to be even when the weather isn't too cooperative.  We realized
that we were, as Brian put it, really only "chasing humidity", but it was
the best call available to move southward into Texas, somewhere near the
Dallas/Fort Worth area.  So, we drove 320 miles from Witchita, KS to
Denton, TX.

In southern OK near the Red River, we got ahead of the front. We woke up
in Witchita to a cold, drizzly morning.  These conditions persisted until
southern OK when we finally got to the warm side of the front.  In the
space of 10 miles, the temperature rose 10 degrees and the dewpoint rose
15 degrees, causing the car's windows to fog over instantly.

It was not without some trepidation that we moved across the Texas border.
Last year at this time, the Texas/Oklahoma borderlands were beset with a
plague of giant black beetles that still haunts our memories. There were
places where these beetles literally blanketed the parking lots and
building walls.  However, this year we've only seen two so far.  

We pulled up at a gas station in Denton waiting for something to pop. What
many of us consider to be an incredible coincidence (though some say it
happens all the time), we ran into a long time Internet buddy, chaser
Shane Adams and his partner Shelly, grabbing munchies in the same gas
station we had holed up in.  An even greater coincidence was that moments
after we all met up, Steve Miller from Tulsa pulled in.  It was a lot of
fun sharing drinks, data, ideas and such under what was sadly a
impenetrable cap. possibly more fun than if something actually HAD popped
up.  Shane and Shelly chased with us a while before all the cells that had
once showed promise simply died out.  Thanks to Shane, Shelly and Steve
for adding to what would have been a total bust day without the pleasure
of meeting up with them.  

Sitting in a church's parking lot, the 6 of us, plus Shane and Shelly,
waited for the front to produce some storms, but they never materialized
(although some weak ones had formed behind the front).  Accepting the
bust, we agreed it was time to eat and then find a place to stay.

We stumbled onto a small town with a single small restaurant, so of course
we had to try it.  Tioga, TX is home to Clark's Outpost... very good food
and friendly service you only get in small towns.  Eventually, we made it
to Whitesboro which seems to have one hotel (luckily, lots of vacancies).

On a somewhat humorous note, we did eventually catch a cell.  As we were
unpacking the van, a small cell rolled in giving us a nice night lightning
show and a brief hail shower.  We then relaxed in the rooms in Whitesboro,
TX to watch the Weather Channel 20th Anniversary Special (which we HIGHLY
recommend watching if you can catch a rerun of it; it's a great
program).

Tomorrow will probably be a down day for us.  This is a good thing every
so often, as it allows us to catch up on rest, and do some of the less
glamorous tasks like laundry, equipment checks, etc.  We will probably be
updating the web page with pictures we have taken so far too.   

Nancy, Brian, Chris, Allan, Josh, and Grizz
www.mcwar.org