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<br />Unfortunately, at 5:54 p.m. the cloud top aircraft had to <br />return to its baae for fuel as i.t had been carrying an e:x:tremely <br />heavy load of airframe ice causing excessive drag and high fUel <br />consumption; also, it was nearly out of dry ice. At that point <br />storms had become established E-W across north-central Finney <br />County. By 6: 10 p_lIl. all available aircraf.t. were working the storm <br />that first built north of Ingalls. In closer inspection this storm <br />complex had at least two primary storm cores, both with about the <br />same intensity and cloud top heights. The orientation of the two <br />cores was north-south, one behind the other, making effectiva <br />seeding of the entire systsm impossible at cloud base. Seeding <br />continued as it moved southeast through Gray County, just north of <br />Cimarron and further southeast into Ford County, passing on the <br />southwest edge of Dodge City then further southeast to near <br />Bucklin. Seeding ended in For.d County at 7:05 p.m., The aircraft <br />were then sent to check out other storms in northeastern Grant and <br />southwestern Finney countiefl, however, upon arr.:i,val no significant <br />updrafts could be found, so the flighta were terminated. <br /> <br />At 10:20 p.m. two planes were scrambled to weak clouds for <br />rainfall augmentation. The clouds were coming into Western Kansas <br />from Colorado. Shortly after the two aircraft had launched and <br />flown well out toward the intended cells, cloud tops and <br />intensities had lowered to the point that further effort would be <br />wasted. Flights were terminated at lO:4a p.m. Total flight time <br />this date was 20.6 hrs. <br /> <br />Early' reports indicate extensive crop-hail damage in Gray and <br />Ford counties from this storm. <br /> <br />, <br />~y 28th, OPERATIO~AL DAY #11: By 3~18 p.m. a north-south oriented <br />area of thunderstorms and ra:l,nahowBrs had moved sufficiently near <br />the Colorado state line to warrant scrambling all planes to meat it <br />near Wes~an, in Wallace County. ~t 3:48 p.m. the radar system and <br />aircraft-tracking equipment both went out at Lakin. It was not back <br />on line until 6:08 p.m. However/ during this time it was reported <br />that thestor~S,we~eBeeded as the primary area moved to the east- <br />southeast into Bouthern"Wallace. Three cloud bass aircraft and the <br />cloud top aircraft weraseeding it across southern Waliace until <br />5:40 p.m. at Which time the cloud collapsed; one plane was released <br />to refuel and resupply and anoT-her to transport the electronics <br />technician from Scott City to Lakin for radar repairs. <br /> <br />By 6:15 p.m. there was new storm intensification in north- <br />central Greeley, near Tribune, requi.r:lng the other two cloud base <br />planes to get airborne. The cloud top plane was able to work in <br />Greeley County until 6:41 p.m., at which time it had to land for <br />fuel. Rapid naw storm growth builT. south i nte a line into extrf:!me <br />north-central Hamil ton. Due to the high storm intensities movements <br />were more BE and SSE toward Kendall. however, by 7:40 p.m., as <br />storm intensities decreased, movements became more ESE and the <br />severe storms passed through northern Kearny and Finney counties. <br />As this line was originally forming, it was just a small part of a <br />much larger NE-SW line severe storm development running well into <br />