STORM TRACK: July 31, 1986 (Volume 9 Issue 5)

OK, so where did all the tornadoes go this year? There have been 425 tornadoes in the last six months which is 55 below normal. Are we entering a climatic change? Has El Nino ruined our hobby forever? I wouldn't be alarmed just yet.

Each year, around the first week in June, a strong ridge builds over the Rocky Mountains strongly capping the atmosphere over the Southern Plains for the rest of the summer. This year began a bit differently when an upper low became stationary over Iowa in mid-May, remaining there for more than a week, then retrograded southwestward to Texas. The effect was to stabilize the atmosphere.

Many storm chasers spent their annual vacation time visiting friends, or discovering new places. Some extended their love of the sky to it's surroundings and photographed the desert flowers, or old abandoned wooden homes -- in antique gray -- next to broken windmills -reflecting off nearby ponds.

"Chasing storms this year was frustrating" said one disgruntled storm chaser. "It's been slim pickins the last three years", said another. For many who did not see a tornado this year, they'll be back next year -shrug off the frustration over the winter ahead. For some, it may be the end of an era, they won't return. And yet, you really can't be too critical of mother nature. Think of it as another poor chase year, in the random nature of events which will pass.

True, storms were few and far between on the plains this year. Those chasers lucky enough to find those occasional severe storms in May can count themselves lucky. May 6th through 16th was the tenderloin of the season in Texas. The editor and his assistant were fortunate to witness four tornadoes near Canadian, Texas on Map 7th. That was it -the day to remember. However, most chase days were filled with sunshine -where I sat in my car along the roadside trying to coax mother nature.