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<br />The Leoti and Scott City cloud-top planes were launched at 3:46 to aid in seeding. By 4:11, the <br />Syracuse plane was on the storm cells and joined the Lakin plane in hail suppression as the <br />storms tracked over eastern Gray County. The storm fell below the hail limit at 4:15. The Lakin <br />and Syracuse planes were instructed to perform rain optimization seeding on the cells until they <br />exited the target area into Ford County by 4:25. Because no further storm development' occurred <br />within the target area, the Leoti and Scott City aircraft flights were deemed observation flights. <br /> <br />May 15th, Program Operations Day #5 <br /> <br />Initial storm development occurred around 1:40 p.m. over western Baca County in Colorado <br />heading east By 2: 10, the storm cluster was just a few miles east of Stanton County maintaining <br />a somewhat weak state with slow growth. The Lakin, Syracuse, and Leoti planes were scrambled <br />at 2:20, 2:35 and 2:38 respectively to meet the storm as it came into Stanton County. Hail <br />suppression seeding started at 3:05 by the Syracuse plane and shortly thereafter by the Lakin and <br />Leoti planes as the storm tracked east through Stanton, Grant, Haskell, Seward and Gray Counties <br />before moving into Ford County by 5:50. <br /> <br />Another cluster of storms developed along a SW /NE oriented zone where two gust fronts <br />converged over Wallace County around 6:00 p.m. moving east The Lakin and Syracuse planes <br />were launched again at 6: 10 and 6: 27. Rain optimization seeding was performed over Wallace <br />County by the Lakin plane as the storm exhibited relatively moderate growth and no hail <br />indications. As the storm moved into Logan County by 6:56, both planes remained on patrol of <br />the storm. The Leoti plane was scrambled at 7:35 followed by the Scott City cloud-top plane <br />around 7:45 to aid in hail suppression seeding once the storm neared the Gove County line. At <br />7:55, another storm developed over Gray County. The Syracuse plane and Scott City cloud top <br />planes were instructed to move to gray and investigate the storm for possible hail suppression <br />seeding. Hail suppression seeding started over Gray County at 8:08 followed by a short period of <br />rain optimization seeding by the Syracuse plane until the storm exited Gray County into Ford by <br />8:47. Meanwhile, the Leoti and Lakin planes continued hail suppression seeding on the Gove <br />storm until it too exited the target area into Trego County by 8:49. <br /> <br />Strong thunderstorms developed along a cold front numing from Baca County in Colorado to <br />Texas County in Oklahoma on east into Central Kansas. Early storm development over Baca <br />indicated that storm motion was northeast and would potentially move into either Stanton or <br />Stevens County. All WKWMP seeding aircraft were launched around 5:40 p.m. in anticipation of <br />these storms moving into the target area. As it turned out, the storms turned southeao-t into <br />Oklahoma posing no threat to the target area. All planes returned to their respective airports <br />around 7:20. <br /> <br />Acknowledgment: The Western Kansas Weather Modification Program IS funded, In part, <br />through the State Water Plan, administered by the Kansas Water Office. <br /> <br />Walter Geiger, Program Manager <br />Western Kansas Weather Modification Program <br />