April 16, 2006
Bloomington, IL
      This is the lastest start I've ever had to a chase season. Considering how active the past month had been, I was feeling pretty confident. The setup wasn't perfect, but it was reasonable given the time and place. I left Lafayette in the late afternoon and headed for BMI to meet with my friend Kevin. We had lunch at the Panera in Normal and partook of their wireless internet. Before too long, a cell had developed to our west, looking fairly respectable. We shot north of town to watch it. Very shortly thereafter, we were asked to leave. So we moved further west to get in closer. At the time, it seemed like a fine idea, but it ended up not being so.

We watch to the west.	The cell approaches. View is to the southwest.

      We thought we were well-positioned in the inflow, but as the storm approached we began to get rain. Then small, spongy hail. Then larger hail. When the hail began to reach 1/2", we decided to relocate. We headed south and then intended to go east. That was a mistake in retrospect. I was behind Kevin and by the time I got to the intersection, I was on the phone with ILX to report 1" hail. I didn't realize Kevin had turned so I kept going straight and got back into the clear -- only to find out that I had no east option. I turned around and had to go right back through the core of the storm. This time the hail was more intense (although the size was about the same). At one point, I could barely see beyond my hood and I had to rely on my GPS to tell me if the road was turning up ahead. As I got to the intersection of Main and Rabb Streets, the hail subsided and I joined Kevin under the awning of the Mobil gas station. While we were there, someone from the public reported 3" hail. Baloney. We were both a little shaken by our ordeal and ended up waiting there quite a while. By this time, the storms had become very messy, and we were never able to really get back into the action. Sigh. At least I got some good rainbow pictures on the way home.

Level II reflectivity image from KILX at 1930Z. Check out that sweet hook. Now guess where I am!	Level II radial velocity image from KILX at 1935Z. Now there's a nice lil couplet. Too bad I was right under it. Thankfully, according to personal correspondence with the ILX WCM, it didn't produce.
The rainbow east of BMI on the way home.	Easily the best rainbow pictures I've ever taken.

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