August 3, 2004

This was a highly anticipated chase day several days out. The main trick was figuring out where the boundary would set-up in the afternoon hours. The ETA computer model changed the location of the frontal boundary somewhat drastically each run. Given the storm track from previous days was through northeast Nebraska, I figured this day would not differ too much either. It seems the "ring of fire" moves little once the pattern is entrenched. After a morning rendezvous with fellow chasers James, his companion Steve, and Kyle we were on the road a little before 1pm. We took the short drive to Wahoo for lunch and then made a library stop. After examining the surface chart we figured we would not need to go any further north but maybe drift west a bit to get closer to the surface circulation center. We proceeded west about 50 miles and stopped in the neat small town of Osceola to wait for the action. The bank thermometer reached 98°F and the dewpoint was about 75°F making for a rather uncomfortable afternoon. Fortunately, the courthouse offered rather cool air conditioned atmosphere. After about an hour we decided to get out of town to get a better look at the sky in all directions. I noticed rapid moisture convergence in the sky and figured we were about 45 minutes and 20-30 miles from the action. We went west a few miles to get out of the low cloud deck. A wheel vibration was getting worse so we pulled off on a county road to give it a look. Sure enough, a lugnut was broken on the left front of James' new ride and the others were loose. A quick tightening and discussion with a local farmer and away we went, back east to explore the deepening convection. The first severe warning was issued about 15 minutes later for a cell about 30 miles to our northeast. We simply maintained an eastward heading on Hwy 92. The sky started to become ugly near Wahoo where some rotation was noted, albeit rather briefly. We managed to stay on the southern flank until we hit the extreme western outskirts of Omaha. The rain was falling so hard that we couldn't read the road signs and ended up taking the wrong fork of U.S. 275 and went into the core of wind, rain, and small hail. The highlight of the day was witnessing road sign "advection". Fortunately we didn't get struck by flying debris. The lowlight of the chase was when some dumb driver decided he/she would stop in the middle of the road despite the fact there was a shoulder wide enough to park a semi on. Nebraska drivers! The storm was entirely outflow dominant and the chase was essentially done. We did note some flanking towers to the west and opted to take the long way home to explore. Not much to see. We did notice significant tree and crop damage between Wahoo and Fremont.