May 6, 2007 turned out to be pretty disappointing overall.  We had great expectations for this day, as the previous two days produced lots of tornadoes over Kansas and Oklahoma.  A moderate risk for severe thunderstorms had been issued by SPC, and already early morning thunderstorms were blowing up over western Oklahoma and southern Kansas.  

 

We headed southwest out of Salina Kansas around mid-morning.  We passed through the devastation left by the Greensburg EF5 tornado all along route 183 south of Greensburg.  The damage scene there was something out of Hollywood.  It's almost indescribable.  

 

By the time we reached northwest Oklahoma, the severe thunderstorms had aligned themselves into a solid band of thunderstorms with little hope for tornadic activity.  

 

 

We decided to try to intercept the southernmost part of the line, as it would have the best chance to produce some "tail-end charlie" tornadoes.  Anytime a storm looked promising it quickly become undercut and "shelfy" looking.  We stayed with the line the rest of the afternoon into the evening hours, hoping something would come of it.  

 

Soon sunset was approaching and it looked like the day was about done.  We were in western Oklahoma by this time, northwest of Hobart.  As the sun was beginning to set behind the line of thunderstorms, it appeared as an eerie ball of red behind the dense rain shafts falling beneath the thunderstorms.  It made for a spectacular looking sunset.  Probably the best one I've ever witnessed.

 

 

After the sun set we decided to head west into the eastern Texas Panhandle.  As we punched through the line of storms we ran into a brief period of ping-pong ball sized hail near the Texas/Oklahoma border.  We soon punched through and stopped a few miles to the west near Shamrock Texas for some lightning pictures.  The back side of the thunderstorms now to our east over western Oklahoma was putting on an impressive lightning display.