This is how Storm Chaser Gene Moore defined Caprock Magic:
“Chasers used to call it “Caprock Magic” and it was thought to be a gift to us by the god’s. This magic place whose sole purpose was to delight us with rotation. Through much of the 70’s the dream was kept alive with renewed outbreaks of convection that aligned itself with the topographic feature. For the first decade of OU chasing our fortunes seemed to stem from how kind or unforgiving this alignment of the rocks were to us. To intensify the folklore was a spectacular storm day that occurred in 1970 at Greenbelt Lake. A supercell parked on the Caprock and produced tornadoes for hours. In this situation the tornadoes rotated around the outside of a massive wall cloud/mesocyclone. Some of us were fortunate to see such a storm in 1975, a day when the dew points were high, but the surface temperatures were in the low to mid70’s. Convincing some of us that the Millers Parameter’s concept of more is better was not quite right. Large tornadoes did form in lower surface temperatures with humid conditions. The Caprock kept its reputation into the early 80’s before it begin to fade. That said, at the time to speak of this magical spot with doubt was blasphemy.

So, just how special is the Caprock and will it turn marginal days into rotating free for all’s. Fact is, more is going on than the alignment of the rocks. It’s helpful to step back from the more specific write up’s about the area and look at the overall synoptic character of the region. Otherwise one will be burned hard waiting at Silverton when the upslope is flowing into New Mexico, or the dryline is further west. There are many times when storms that were credited with the Caprock actually fired on the LLJ (low level jet) that climatologically orients itself north-south through the panhandle. On days where higher based storms form west of the Caprock escarpment they may encounter deeper moisture (about 1500 ft) east of that region. Also, on days where a moist LLJ is oriented in the eastern Texas Panhandle the storms will drastically intensify upon reaching the western boundary of this synoptic feature.

Another feature to watch for is the mixing east of the dryline. This often occurs with a shallow dew point at AMA mixes east in the late morning hours. Later in the day too much credit is given to this mixing action when it is more likely associated with the synoptic passage of a midlevel wave. That is, the best drylines are almost always in a (convergent) trough of low pressure, beware the one’s that are not. If you run an automated mapping program look to see if the trof and dryline are coincident. Unlike warm/cold fronts don’t try to force the dryline into the surface trof if it is not there.

Originally the Caprock was looked upon as an upslope feature, later writing and documentation included the dryline. I think the more dependable upslope is likely in Colorado. The best way to be successful with the Caprock is to become familiar with the types of situations where it works best. I tend to like the more subtle days later in the season where winds aloft are not excessively strong. High powered synoptic system generally don’t see minor topography and storms are driven to form where convergence is maximized. Days where a lee trof are in place and last minute moisture is flow SE into the Texas panhandle work well. Also days where the AMA sounding show shallow moisture likely to mix out around noon; yet deeper moisture is evident with low cumulus coming up from CDS. Finally, there is a consideration that the Caprock can work to some extent as a high level heat source and thermals will first start west of the escarpment, then move into the deeper moisture. The old chaser term “baking on the dryline” came from sitting in the panhandle waiting on the Caprock. If you become familiar with the area it can be great fun, otherwise bring sunscreen.”