Things To Do During A RIDGE

[cdcollura]

Good day,

I hate when this happens...

Now since we are entering a "death ridge" pattern that most likely will hose up a good portion of our month of May for chasing - Again - I decided to put on here some things to do during a ridge.

Problem: This PESKY MAY RIDGE EVERY GOD DAMN YEAR ... Luckily, I decided NOT to mess with 2-3 week long "block" time windows, or ChaseCations as they are called after getting BURNED many times over last year and the year before (in May).

Above: Sorry ... Not going to see ^^^ THIS ^^^ anytime soon ;-(

Solution: Here's MY ode to the "Hudson By Vortex" pattern ... If a big setup comes along, I go, if not, I say put here in OH / FL.

Now, I know a lot of people are already out there, or - even worse - Just got out there to the central US.

I know HOW YOU GUYS FEEL ... It stinks, especially seeing all that you MISSED up until a week ago (May 7).

I've been there myself, and it's hell, and such a tease ... Back in 2003, my group and I got out there on the evening of May 15, 2003 and were there until May 27. From May 17 until the end were dealt with ridges and moisture problems (only marginal NW flow / upslope if lucky). May 16 was a good setup gone to crap.

Oh, and on May 15, we were landing in DFW just as the Stratford, TX wedge was ending. Saw lots and lots of great video being "rubbed in our faces" during the 2-week long ridge ;-(

Suggestions ... VVV See Below VVV

Suggested "to-do" activity #1 - Carlsbad Caverns (New Mexico).

Suggested "to-do" activity #2 - Tornado Museum (Wakita, KS).

Suggested "to-do" activity #3 - Monument Rocks (Near Oakley, KS).

Suggested "to-do" activity #4 - Theme Parks (DFW, OKC, Etc).

Suggested "to-do" activity #5 - Ghost Town (Mobetee, TX).

There is MUCH MUCH MORE ... Ofcourse we are much better CHASING - But weather is weather, and I decided to provide some activities for all under the termal ridge (stay HYDRATED too)!

Or, if you wanna save gas and time / catch something ... Just change your darn airline ticket and come home earlier / later. Most airlines charge you NO MORE THAN $75 TO $100 to change an airline reservation.

Normally, if coming back earlier, you may save 10 times this fee in gas and accomodations.

If coming back later, the extra $$ spent can put you in the midst of a high risk after the ridge!

 

[Mike Peregrine]

I'll add a few for some things closer to this neck of the woods:

*Drive along I-29 through Holt County, Missouri to see the floodwaters. You WILL be amazed. It's like driving across an enormous lake right now. Get off at the Squaw Creek exit just south of Mound City, Missouri, turn west toward Squaw Creek NWR. Drive past the refuge and then turn west again toward Fortescue/Big Lake/Rulo, NE. You won't be able to get far on this road, but it will give you some amazing views.

*Visit Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha ... always a crowd pleaser.

*In Kansas City, visit: Steamboat Arabia Museum (old wrecked steamboat from the 1800's that was dug up from the Missouri River bed - very interesting ... you'll get a real feel for life on the frontier); Cabellas/Kansas Speedway (this area of town in Kansas City, Kansas on I-70 has really taken off and is very cool these days - tons to do/see); Zona Rosa (great shopping/food); The Plaza (great shopping/food); Negro Leagues Baseball Museum/Jazz District (wonderful music and BBQ); WWI Museum/Liberty Memorial (spectacular view of the city and very interesting); Union Station. Coming next year: Schlitterbahn is building a new, absolutely ENORMOUS water park. Everyone here has their jaws dropped at how much land this thing is going to cover. A new Legoland Theme Park is also going in at the Speedway, but this will take some time to complete. It will also be huge and a very big attraction to KC when it's done.

*If you like to camp, I really love Indian Caves State Park in SE Nebraska. It's right along the river, so you'll get some great views of flooding right now. Plus there are some remains of an old village that used to be along the river that was wiped out by scarlet fever. Very interesting place. Waubonsee State Park in SW Iowa is nice too. Both are in the bluffs along the river.

PS - If it was me and I had the gas money, I'd head to the Front Range too ... Colorado is just too awesome in the spring.

 

[Terry Tyler]

if your a chaser in colorado...

check out the lazlow massacre, or ledlow...im not sure...well your down there, you might as well check out the royal gorge...they got a sky-coaster and theres a 'cowboy town' not far from the entrance...i think its called wild bills or somethin like that...they have good food, and its a wonderful atmosphere...they serve beer, and they have a play like thing...with cowboys, and they do a hanging and a gunfight and a majic show, so its all straight...even for the family...

heres a picture from cowboy land...

its also home to the highest suspension bridge in the world...

and if your not checking out southern CO...check out central CO...we got 49 fourteeners if you like hiking mountains, and there is mt. evans...its the highest road way in the world, and you can see clouds and what not up there...

also there is NCAR in boulder and some other cool attractions i may have not mentioned...im from that 303, you know...

and dont forget about the garden of the gods and the air force academy...i dont really care about the AF academy, but it has some decent architecture to the chapel...if your going 25 south...you cant miss it...

 

[Shane Adams]

I just work as much as possible and sock away the dough so when the pattern finally breaks again, I'm well-funded and ready to rock.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Shane's got the answer!

 

[Mike Ridgeway]

Everytime the "Death Ridge" sets up shop for a few weeks, I always think about the chase tours and what they do. While I'm sure they make good use of their time, it would really upset me (not the chase tour's fault) that I'm not seeing what I paid for....severe weather. And for those who chose mid to late May as their chase vacation, I'm sure they were thinking they had picked the best time of the year to go!

Mike Ridgeway

 

[Dan Robinson]

Another thing to consider, especially for eastern US chasers, is chasing east of the Mississippi if you are determined to see storms Particularly Illinois through Ohio has Plains-like terrain and storms riding down the east side of the ridge. At least you'll be chasing. Lightning, shelf clouds and hail would be all you could expect, but that's all you'd probably see in the Plains during a ridge anyway. Same subjects for a third of the mileage. Supercells are not unheard of in these areas either.

If the rest of the season is 2006-like, that's what I'm planning on doing. But for now, it's back to work financially recovering for the next trip.

 

[Joel Wright]

This past week Jeremy Ludin and I were forced into finding something else to do rather than chase. The active pattern shut down pretty quickly early in the week. We ended up heading into New Mexico and went north through Colorado. We climbed Pikes Peak and then headed up north to South Dakota and checked out Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument, and then the Badlands. Pretty neat stuff.

Even though we would have rather been chasing, it was still nice to see some things we haven't seen before.

Here's a pic halfway to the summit at Pikes Peak Colorado..

 

[Stan Rose]

Hey Joel, next time your in our neighborhood, get some exercize and climb the Peak via the Barr trail ! Just kiddin, seriously that's a nice shot of PP and Crystal Resevoir, even if it is from the highway!
This thread is a bit of a mistake, IMHO. Chasing is about Chasing, not trips to national parks. Yes, there are rare days inthe midst of death ridges that demand diversions, but calling the upcoming pattern a 'death ridge' is not only premature, it's incorrect at this time. While i'd much rather be chasing an isold sup on a dryline in the panhandles, I don't think you can honestly consider yourself a 'chaser' if you don't get something out of chasing marginal or even weak setups. Some of my most interesting chases (if not horribly andrenalin-filled) have been such. One that comes to mind was an isolated LP sup in NE in 2001 that produced numerous funnels, simply because it was on a boundary. The winds aloft were garbage, 20 mph at best! The person in the pic was in SL tours, the only other people on this particular storm. That's what the tours do on less-than-perfect days: they chase! And that's what i'm gonna do!

 

[Terry Tyler]

While i'd much rather be chasing an isold sup on a dryline in the panhandles, I don't think you can honestly consider yourself a 'chaser' if you don't get something out of chasing marginal or even weak setups. Some of my most interesting chases (if not horribly andrenalin-filled) have been such. One that comes to mind was an isolated LP sup in NE in 2001 that produced numerous funnels, simply because it was on a boundary. The winds aloft were garbage, 20 mph at best! The person in the pic was in SL tours, the only other people on this particular storm. That's what the tours do on less-than-perfect days: they chase! And that's what i'm gonna do!

i strongly agree...your talking to someone who has been chasing storms for 3 years and has yet to bag...

honestly...to me...its really not so much about the tornado anymore...but experiencing the storms and seeing something new and exciting everytime i go out...

 

[Angie Norris]

I just work as much as possible and sock away the dough so when the pattern finally breaks again, I'm well-funded and ready to rock.

Same here! However, I'm so storm deprived at this point, I'm quite willing to chase ANYTHING that even thinks it wants to be convective.

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

Hey Joel, next time your in our neighborhood, get some exercize and climb the Peak via the Barr trail ! Just kiddin, seriously that's a nice shot of PP and Crystal Resevoir, even if it is from the highway!
This thread is a bit of a mistake, IMHO. Chasing is about Chasing, not trips to national parks. Yes, there are rare days inthe midst of death ridges that demand diversions, but calling the upcoming pattern a 'death ridge' is not only premature, it's incorrect at this time. While i'd much rather be chasing an isold sup on a dryline in the panhandles, I don't think you can honestly consider yourself a 'chaser' if you don't get something out of chasing marginal or even weak setups. Some of my most interesting chases (if not horribly andrenalin-filled) have been such. One that comes to mind was an isolated LP sup in NE in 2001 that produced numerous funnels, simply because it was on a boundary. The winds aloft were garbage, 20 mph at best! The person in the pic was in SL tours, the only other people on this particular storm. That's what the tours do on less-than-perfect days: they chase! And that's what i'm gonna do!

I'd rather be doing about anything else than chasing crapper storms, even if they are producing funnels. I've seen enough of the "norm" to be very much over it, even if it means I'm less of a chaser. The only time I like them now is if they are good lightning producers.

Maybe there are some better images/angles of this storm you are talking about, but if not, I'd rather be sight seeing. There's probably a big difference in if a person lives here and can chase all year, and is "over" some storms, than those that have to travel here and have never seen all that much.

I have a love/hate relationship with these more marginal setups. Some do indeed produce some very worthwhile storms. So I say I'd rather be sight seeing but no, I'm always out there looking for the stupid exception on those days. Here are two(many of my best storms are on more marginal days lol....but after soooo many crappers that I can't stand):

http://www.extremeinstability.com/04-7-12.htm
That day had 15-20 knots at 500mb but a ton of instability and a boundary the storm anchored on and turned ssw. That's why I end up chasing every freaking marginal setup(well many anyway).

http://www.extremeinstability.com/04-5-28.htm
I'd say that was a pretty marginal day as well, this time because of the lack of real good low level moisture. Shear was ok, not strong, but nice turning.

So now I try and only chase when there is *some* low level moisture(at least above 50 td lol) WITH some good turning, or when there is a ton of instability, *some* mid-level flow(20 knots) and a nne to ssw boundary in central NE. 98% of the time it was never worth it and only crapper/uninteresting storms formed. It's that damn 2%.

So yeah, *some* of the marginal setups are worth it, most are not.....unless one can enjoy crapper storms.

 

[mrobinett]

Ooooh ooooh, I know! If you havent left yet, STAY HOME!!!
Thats the situation Im in right now, my chase vacation starts Monday.
Might just pass this year, Im considering chasing brushfires intead, theyre EASY to find!

 

[Dan Robinson]

I don't think you can honestly consider yourself a 'chaser' if you don't get something out of chasing marginal or even weak setups. Some of my most interesting chases (if not horribly andrenalin-filled) have been such.

For me it is a finances thing. If I wanted to chase garden-variety thunderstorms that had a 2% chance of producing photogenic plates or tornadoes, I could do it here in West Virginia or maybe a little ways into Ohio. No need to put 5,000 miles on my car and spend $1,500 in gas and hotels to do the same thing on the Plains. If I had a bottomless chase budget, sure - I'd love to just road trip the entire season. But alas, I am one of the many whos bank account has a hard limit. I have to save my money for SW flow and deep moisture.

 

[Shane Adams]

I've witnessed convection everyday this week around the DFW area....obviously the windfields are crap because they just float around aimlessly raining all over the place, forcing DFW drivers into "auto-retard" mode (people here automatically brake when raindrops start to around 30mph). There have been brief moments when I thought "damn I shoulda brought my gear with me this trip" but then another half hour goes by and it looks like crap.

I tend to agree with H.....I've seen enough "holy crap!" stuff to where the marginal storms just don't do it for me anynore....sure, I look at them and it's cool and fun, but nothing I'd spend money on, take time off from work for, or spend hours driving for. I like my "tornado or bust" chase style, it stacks the odds heavily against me...which makes every victory so much sweeter.