The CHS Chase Team succeeded in its quest to view the elusive tornado.  On their first day of chasing with Pioneer Productions, the chase team delivered.  Pioneer Productions had previously chased with many of the leading storm chase figures as well as prominent scientists in the field such as Project VORTEX, Doppler-On-Wheels, Dr. Howie Bleustein, Dr. Chuck Doswell, and Allen Moller, and several university chase teams - none of which delivered a tornado.  On its first day out with Pioneer, the CHS Chase Team caught a small "needle" funnel north of the town of Buffalo, Oklahoma near the Kansas border.  According to two separate Pioneer crews the CHS Chase Team was the best team with which to chase.

Enroute to Norman, the crew stopped to observe a few geological formations and were given a brief lesson by teachers Pat Schneider and Don Wheeler.  After arriving in Norman, a tour of the tornado ravaged area from the May 3 storms was in order.  The photos found on "Day 1" bear witness to the incredible damage that occurred in the area.  Although portions of the damage path received F5 damage (winds of 261-318 mph), F4 damage was the worst witnessed by our chase team due to roads blocked to the general public.

Click on the links below to view a day-by-day account of the five day trip.  Although originally scheduled for a two week window, some of the students had become incredibly "homesick" and were ready to call it a day.  But with a successful chase, a satisfied Pioneer Productions crew, and the severe weather threat coming to an end, the chase team returned to Monroe.