SDS Session & Potential Snow Storm

Jay McCoy's house was the scene for the first annual West Texas SDS Therapy Session held in Amarillo. We had a jolly good time. :-) Also in attendence were Kanani, David Drummond, Graham Butler, Jason Boggs and Chris Nuttall. Lots of great video was viewed, stories exchanged, gearhead orgasms, and snackable goodies aplenty. And of course, plenty of humor was to be had...usually at the expense of others. :-) We have declared that this should be a bi-annual event both before and after the season. We may have to start muscling in on the Tulsa Gang's turf. ;-P

One of the things we did at the session was to perform a thorough risk assessment of all there. Here is what we concluded:

1) After hearing their stories, Jay and Kanani are declared magnets for "bad experiences" and "bad luck". It is advised to remain at least 1/4 mile from their location for safety reasons. Their vehicles will now be painted entirely with dayglow orange. A large lighthouse lamp will be converted into the most enormous flashing amber light ever before seen and mounted on their vehicle. They are sure to be visible as far away as the CFDG headquarters in Norman. We want to make sure they are clearly visible. The Spotter Network software is being modified to clearly identify them with a unique icon and a "red circle of avoidance" similar to a no-fly zone on aviation maps.

2) David Drummond is a lighting and tornado magnet. He too should be given wide berth wherever possible. Riding shotgun with him is considered taking your life into your own hands. In fact, your insurance carrier may cancel you if they find out (but, always stay within a mile of him with the camcorder running at all times!). If that weren't bad enough, his gaseous bodily emissions are on the federal EPA list of known toxic and deadly compounds. As with Jay and Kanani, he too will be targeted on the Spotter Network and affixed with the large, amber lighthouse lamp on his vehicle. He actually seemed pretty keen on that idea.

3) With the 2007 season entered into evidence with supporting Spotter Network logs overlayed on radar loops and satellite (they seemed pretty serious with the evidence part...kinda like the prosecutor in a murder trial), yours truly has been classified as a destroyer of all things convective. Not only is any other chaser never going to ride with me again, they won't even come within 50 miles. I get my own special designation on the Spotter Network map with a 50 mile diameter ring around my icon. All chasers, including the NWS and SPC, should deem this as the "safe zone" for any severe weather. Think of it as the calm eye of a hurricane...except you don't want to ever be inside of or near it. Instead of a large amber lighthouse lamp, my vehicle will be fitted with a NWR transmitter with a 50 mile radius signal alerting residents that the storm will shortly be dissipating.

4) The others were deemed safe with no apparent threats deteremined.

:-)

Now onto some weather news. The models are still varying in their solutions, but it appears that there is a distinct possibility of a major snow event in the Panhandle, W or SW Texas later this week. There's not enough model consensus as to the track and intensity of the forecast upper level system advertised to plow into New Mexico and closing off into a potent upper low and heading eastward across Texas. Some arctic air should plunge into the region just ahead of it though to make it a winter storm.

Hopefully, we will get some model consensus tomorrow as the system gets better into the radisonde network. One thing I'll be watching for the Panhandle area is the possibility of a sharp and distinct deformation zone to the NE of the upper low. I have seen too often that such a setup results in intense, heavy snows well beyond what the models advertise. It will be fun to watch!!