Monday, May 7, 2012

Post date: May 7, 2012 1:36:40 PM

0830 CDT: Good morning to all! We ended up getting to experience some strong winds, heavy rain, powerful lightning and some small hail... Not a crappy day at all! We ended up grabbing some dinner, checked into the hotel in Lenexa, KS and called it a day. No tornadoes for us, but a good "chase indoctrination day" for the newbies in the group.

For today, things look marginal at best. I will be interested in hearing what the plan is, because what marginal chance there is for us looks to be way down in Texas. Will we go for it? I'll find out in a while...

1050 CDT: We're heading out of Lenexa now, headed for...

...wait for it... wait for it...

ARKANSAS. Yep. Apparently we have a chance for a light show tonight in SW Arkansas, so that's where we're headed.

1400 CDT: We just took a drive through the demolition zone of Joplin, MO, which was my first look since being here for the EF-5 of May 22, 2011. It was a sobering thing for me, to say the least. On the one hand, it's hard to fathom how much destruction one tornado can wreak... and believe me, there was a lot... but it's also hard to fathom how quickly they appear to be rebuilding. These are strong people, and they are working hard to return to normalcy. Incredible.

1555 CDT: Now we're just north of Fort Smith, AR... targeting a severe-warned cell that is presently near Mena, AR.

1730 CDT: Looks like we might have to core punch this sucker in order to get to the south side of it... Gonna get busy pretty soon, so I'll check in with you guys later. Ta ta for now!