Day 5 in Review

"On the Right Track"

The SWIFT team started Day Five (Chase Day Three) with a visit to the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by Dr. Bill Bunting, Chief of Forecast Operations, NWS/NOAA Storm Prediction Center, who gave an insightful presentation on the history, purpose, operations, and tasking of the Storm Prediction Center. Dr. Bunting's presentation offered perspective into the process behind the production and distribution of SPC products, the organization and skills required to monitor severe weather nationwide, and the future of storm prediction. The conversation gave valuable information to the team, and also answered questions that aided in furthering our understanding of severe weather. 

After departing the SPC, the SWIFT team headed for the Texas panhandle in hopes of witnessing supercell storms. The SPC convective outlook called for an enhanced risk in their early products and high levels of CAPE and adequate bulk shear values gave an optimistic outlook. As the team made their way through Oklahoma, it became clear that we could need to push further west in order to have a better chance of witnessing discrete storms. The best location appeared to be around Tucumcari, NM, although lack of CIN was promoting excessive amounts of lifting, leading to contaminated storms. Nevertheless, the team picked a cell to pursue and chased that storm for the next several hours. Due partially to the low CIN, the storm evolved into a much larger form, making visibility of specific features difficult. 

Throughout the late afternoon and evening, the team continued to put themselves in the best position to observe the now very large, rotating super cell, eventually punching close to the center to obverse the forward flanking downdraft. While no tornadoes were reported throughout the day, the team encountered serious rain, small hail, and violent winds. Cameron made his first official NWS report by tweeting our observation of numerous downed powerlines. 

As the chase day concluded, the team found themselves in the midst of a haboob, tinting the air orange and turning the surroundings into a scene from Mars. While the dust itself was not the severe weather we had hoped to witness, it was certainly a first for many on the team. 

After enjoying calzones and a Celtics win over the Cavs, the team ended the day with a meaningful discussion of the day's events and reflected on how to better ourselves through increased communication. Despite not witnessing the ultimate goal, today was a productive day for the SWIFT team and we are excited about an optimistic SPC outlook for tomorrow. 

                                                                                                                                                    -T.R. 

SWIFT team at SPC, Norman, OK.