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Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 06:12:08 GMT
From: "Dr. Erik Rasmussen" <eras@mrd3.nssl.ucar.edu>
Message-Id: <200006200612.GAA26606@mrd3.nssl.ucar.edu>
Status: RO

Everyone,

I'm composing this on an unfamilar computer, so forgive the typos please.

After reviewing the MRF and the NOGAPS, and seeing that there is not
likely to be flow > 40 kt in the upper trop for the next week or so
in the STEPS domain, I have made the following decision.  I am returning
the six mobile mesonet vehicles to Norman for "mothballing", and releasing
our motel rooms and 12 volunbteers.  It is my intent to follow the weather
daily in conjunction with Opc Center.  If it appears that we are re-entering
a supercel;l REGIME, I will re-man the vehicles and return them to GLD for
the duration of the episode(s).  This will allow us to opearate through
the duration of STEPS, instead of just through 1 July as originally planned.
This decision was made in sonsultation with Jerry Straka, my co-PI for
the supercell/tornadogenesis studies.

We have gathered a lot of nice precipitation verification data, which I
will now endeavor to transcribe and make available to the STPES PIs./

Unfortunately, we have not gathered any supercell data, and this was
our motivation for participating.  We are under very tight budget constraints
in our grant and at NSSL, and cannot justify continued operations in GLD
with no prospoect of obtaining the data we need.

We are fully supportive of the idea of STEPS '01, and as I indicated abpve,
we will return to GL:D tdurinmgg STEPS this year if prospects improve.

One final point that I hope you will appreciate regarding my decision:
We rely on a group of unpaid, dedicated volunteers.  Many of these people
help us with mobile mesonet obs every year as unpaid volunteers.  I have
notw taken these people to the limit with this lousy weather pattern.
I cannot ask them to do more; I am not compensating them.  I hope to
rely on them again in the future.  So a major part of my decision has to
do with preserving the remanantmnant of morale, both for this year and future
years.

Thanks for your understanding, and I hope we can return to GLD for a few
more data collection missions yet in STEPS.

UII will be at the 9 AM Tue briefing, but the MM vehicles will be departing
GLD at about 9 AM as well.  We can discuss this decision and our future
plans at the briefing.

Regards,
Erik