Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! This morning kicked off with scattered phone calls to VORTEX2 mamas; the number of phone calls increased exponentially after the weather briefing when Herb made an announcement. A lot of people were at the weather briefing today in anticipation for Monday's play. After learning today would be a travel day to position us for Monday, Herb gave a short speech to everyone that essentially went: "I know we all get a bit busy out here, but everyone needs to remember to call their mothers today. Do we have any mothers in the room?" A few women raised their hands and we all clapped. A cute start to the day.

Afterwards the probes were released to position ourselves for Monday's play, and we had about a 5 hour drive to our destination. A few of us walked to dinner (half a mile away) then got caught literally running back to the hotel in pea-sized hail and lightning. We'll be getting up early tomorrow to check pods, instruments, and our vehicles in general before what promises to be a big chase day. The current SPC outlook calls for a moderate risk of severe storms and has strongly worded discussions like "Supercells with strong tornadoes and very large hail are expected Monday."

"Probability of severe weather within 25 miles of a point.
Hatched Area: 10% or greater probability of significant severe within 25 miles of a point.
A significant event includes any of the following:

Tornadoes rated EF2 or greater,

Thunderstorm Wind Gusts at 65 kt or higher,

Hail 2 inches or larger in diameter"

(SPC)

Wish us luck and safety....