05.19.10
Chase #9
Saw what appeared to be a brief tornado north of Stinett yesterday (never actually saw it on the ground, but it was extremely close to the ground and it was just over a hill, so likely was an actual tornado), after chasing a monstrous, breath-taking HP beast from its first moments as an updraft to well after dark, after it split and was producing a ton of lightning. But that’s for another post.
Today, conditions are somewhat similar, only improved. The low is setting up over the Texas Panhandle with a warm front expected to lift up through central Oklahoma and a dryline expected to tighten along the Texas Panhandle / Oklahoma border. Dewpoints ahead of the dryline should be in the mid- to upper 60s.
A trough over the Central Plains / Colorado / Wyoming will provide lift for storms to develop along the dryline, near the low, and along the warm front. CAPE is expected to reach 2000 to 3000 J/kg in Oklahoma ahead of the dryline, while there will not be much of a cap.
East/southeast winds near the surface will veer to southwest aloft, providing wind shear for supercells to form (NAM shows best helicity in east central Oklahoma).
Initiation should be early today, so we’ll be leaving in the next 30 minutes or so for probably the Clinton to Lawton area.