Many of the thoughts echoed here are my own. Going into the season, I was somewhat pessimistic as Oklahoma (my home state) and Texas were in an extreme drought. This really tempered my enthusiasm, but after the wild day on March 12 I started to hold out some hope for the season.
Then as things really went nuts through March and April, I really felt better. I chased several times in March and April, and although we hit tornado warned storms on each occasion, we failed to get footage of any tubes.
However, as May fell apart and June collapsed, I have gotten a sinking feeling of despair. After a great start, things sure went south in a hurry.
I recently did a simple study of tornadoes that have occurred from 2000 - 2005 and some surprising numbers came to light. I compared the number of tornadoes that had occured in 17 different states for this time period and found some interesting trends. During this time period, my home state of Oklahoma finished 9th in the number of tornadoes that had occurred. Eastern and northern states such as Alabama and Minnesota had more tornadoes during this time span. I have mentioned for several years, that I feel that Tornado Alley may be shifting more to the east (& now I suspect north as well). Now I know that a five year study is not a real representative sample and it may represent more of a short term "hiccup" rather than a real pattern, but I found it interesting nevertheless. Any thoughts from anyone else?
On the positive side, I did order the WxWorx system in May and got to try it out on the supercell around Cheyenne, OK on May 30th and I was amazed at how much this system helped me out. I found the data gleaned from this tool to be incredible. I do not have a wireless data plan (and it would probably have not worked anyway in this particular region) and the ability to have access to the type of data delivered by the WxWorx system is incredible.
So although, this season has been rough (many miles, no tornadoes), I cannot feel too bad. On all chases this year but one, I have managed to be on storms with tornado warnings, but I just haven't been able to pull in the elusive tube. Although, I would like to think something may still pop in the next couple of weeks, I am not optimistic and it is frustrating. (I have not had any tornadoes since Mulvane in 2004). But overall, I have had the opportunity to be on some great storms this year and so I can't call the year a total "wash" (but a tornado or two would sure help out!).
![Stick Out Tongue :p :p](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)