Capture the Storm

Easter Sunday Tornado

2011-04-25T08:54:00.001-05:00

Quick shot of one of the tornadoes seen north of Baird, TX 4/24/11.

Iowa Tornado

2011-04-11T16:33:00.006-05:00

Quick update on this weekends storm chase. Chased 4/8 - 4/10 from Oklahoma to Wisconsin - over 3000 miles in 3 days. Here are some bad pics from the Mapleton, IA tornado from Saturday evening. Hopefully a detailed report within a week or so.

Hello 2011 Chase Season

2011-03-08T10:13:00.002-06:00

Its been a long while since I've posted on here but with storm season quickly approaching I thought I would revisit. I still have some chase accounts from 2010 that need to be added which includes a couple of Oklahoma tornadoes last May 19th. An okay setup is is taking shape today across the Arklatex region and since I'm now located in southeast TX, it has my attention. Still undecided on playing some storms on the dryline in east/northeast TX later today but my instinct says stay out of the bad terrain and save some gas money.

Report - May 10, 2010 Oklahoma Outbreak

2010-05-11T12:24:00.017-05:00

May 10 was a well forecast and hyped event that ended up panning out as advertised. A compact 50mb trough was forecast to eject quickly through the southern plains during the evening with rapid low level moisture return beginning May 9th into the 10th. Deep moisture had spread over much of the warm sector in Oklahoma and southern Kansas by midday Monday with upper 60’s dewpoints present. Deep layer shear was more than sufficient for supercells and strong low level shear suggested tornadoes were a good bet with any storms from near the sfc low in KS down the dryline through much of Oklahoma. The morning of the 10th my dad and I ventured north of OKC a bit to wait and see how things would develop. We were eyeing the north central part of OK where an instability axis was pointing in towards and 0-1km shear was a bit better for early in the day. The HRRR model runs were consistent with development in north central Oklahoma as well earlier in the day. With 50kt storm motions, we decided to go for this northern target thinking it would be in better chasing terrain and road network than points further south and we could stay out of the metro areas near OKC (which ended up getting hit late in the day). We made our way into Enid at roughly 2pm to watch some growing cumulus in northern Dewey Co. These storms quickly became severe tracking northeast towards Alfalfa Co. We made our way towards Nash OK where we got our first view then continued north out of Nash heading for Sand Creek. By this time our storms was tornado warned and exhibiting strong mid level rotation but seemed a bit high based and still needed some time. By the time we reached SR11 southwest of Sand Creek, we watched as the storms quickly developed a RFD cut and displayed rapid cyclonic motion. Soon a small tornado rotated out of the side of the mesocyclone just west of us.

(All video stills, got some good video)

As it lifted we jumped east on SR11 with the storm developing extreme rotation over our heads as it raced east at nearly 50kts. I got my first view of a developing multiple vortex tornado out my window south of the road as it began tossing debris from trees into the air then turned into a large multiple vortex tornado a couple hundred yards behind us. I filmed out the back window as most of this was happening with my dad driving east stuck in heavy chaser convergence. Small vortices would dance around the main circulation from time to time while the storm was doing damage.

Once we got east a bit, we watched as the once rain wrapped tornado cleared out and the tornado had a stout appearance just south of Wakita, OK.

We continued east towards I-35 and decided to leave this storm due to motions and rain wrapping around the meso. Next we dropped south to the next supercell which was producing a tornado east of Billings but we could not see it from the north and a core punch didn’t sound too good with baseball hail falling. We pulled into a gas station near Billings to take a look at the hail damage.

Meanwhile, more storms had been forming near the OKC metro and back home around Norman. We opted to drop south and try to get ahead of these in eastern OK but that never worked with the hills, trees, and road network. I was on the phone with Cassie most of the day who was on campus in Norman and had to take shelter because of the tornado that tracked in south Norman along highway 9 doing substantial damage. Overall, a tough but successful chase with storm motions and a major outbreak for the state.

Report - April 22 eastern TX panhandle Tornadoes

2010-04-27T12:48:00.008-05:00

For about a week or so, a large upper trough had been forecast to slowly eject out over the plains 4/22-4/23 with ample moisture return finally making its way northward before the system could impact the plains. Morning analysis showed deep moisture (low 60’s) along the edge of the caprock in the eastern TX panhandle with low clouds slowly eroding. The chase crew left Norman around 10am and headed straight west on I-40 towards the panhandle. A short stop at taco bell in Shamrock and a some data checking and we moved a bit further west towards McClean around 1pm or so. Some storms were already firing in sw KS and northern TX/OK panhandles with growing cumulus southward in the south TX panhandle and along I-27. One confluent zone in Armstrong county was creating enough surface convergence for some growing Cb. We moved south to Clarendon and watched some attempts before a couple of storms formed. It didn’t take long for the storms to exhibit mid level rotation. We went north out of Clarendon and watched as the northern of the two storms quickly became tornadic and produced a large barrel tornado off in the distance. We stopped and watched the end of this tornado as another formed in the new wall cloud as a cone and was on the ground for some time. Sean Waugh, yelled out as another tornado from the storm to the south rapidly produced a tall stovepipe tornado off in the distance near Goodnight, TX. We watched both tornadoes from a distance. The leading storm’s tornado eventually dissipated while the southern storm (Goodnight) kept churning growing into a tall stovepipe/cone before roping out after nearly 20 minutes on the ground. We bailed north to catch up with the leading storm on I40 then eventually retreated west again to catch up with the cell near Alanreed TX where it produced 2-3 tornados north of the interstate. After the show was done we made our way back east towards OK as most of the storms became linear in nature. All of these pics are video grabs.

Report - April 22 TX panhandle, Apr 23 se NE

2010-04-23T22:07:00.007-05:00

Chased yesterday in the Texas panhandle and intercepted 5-6 tornadoes. Shot most of my footage on video camera and don't have my desktop for uploading my HD video. Only took a few shots with the camera, here are a few of the first tornadoes from south of Jericho, TX.

We continued the chase marathon with a trip to Nebraska today where things didn't exactly pan out that great. A few severe storms and a nice lightning show near Beatrice were the highlights of the day.

2010-04-22T22:41:00.001-05:00

Report - witnessed 6 tornadoes in TX panhandle.

Report - April 21, 2010 south TX panhandle

2010-04-21T20:38:00.004-05:00

Kiel Ortega, Tiffany Meyer and I intercepted a few severe warned storms around Floyd county TX and encountered some good hail with 1 stone measuring 2.75" south of Quitaque. Good overall for a first 'real' chase of 2010. More chasing coming up in the next few days as well.

1/29/10 Ice & Snow

2010-01-29T18:57:00.003-06:00

We ended up with about .5" ice, 1" sleet, and 6" snow.

Ice Storm Update

2010-01-28T16:49:00.003-06:00

2010-01-24T11:04:00.001-06:00

Testing

Christmas Snow

2009-12-26T15:23:00.007-06:00

BUST

2009-06-06T20:35:00.003-05:00

Only fitting on a day after a great chase. We sat in western Iowa along I-80 for a couple of hours this afternoon before dropping down into the town of Atlantic, IA to get some Mexican food, a beer or two, and a room for the night at Turkey Creek Lodge. One last chase day tomorrow in the same region before we head back to Norman and back to work.

REPORT: June 5, 2009 Goshen Co. Wyoming

2009-06-06T08:15:00.016-05:00

My dad and I watched the entire life cycle of the Goshen Co. WY supercell and tornado yesterday afternoon. Incredible chase for sure, here's a brief summary.

Chasing into Wyoming for the 2nd time in my career.

We got bored waiting for the cap to break and did some sight seeing in Pine Bluffs, WY.

Dad point to the wall cloud saying 'that's where its going to be'

Sure enough, not long after, a few funnels came down and then the main tornado dropped.

We enjoyed watching tornadogenesis from a distance but I had to move up the road for a closer view. The tornado became partially rainwrapped but we still managed some shots.

We continued north where the weakening rain-wrapped tornado crossed the road near the north of us. It emerged out of the rain again while roping out giving us some great shots.

I'll get some video up sometime next week once we get back from our chase-marathon.

Tornado in WY

2009-06-05T22:06:00.002-05:00

Got on a great tornado earlier near LaGrange, WY. I'll get some pics and vid stills up ASAP.

Heading Towards Wyoming

2009-06-05T11:44:00.002-05:00

This afternoon's chase will take us to ne CO, se WY, sw NE region. Currently on the way to Pine Bluffs, WY. Looks like a better threat for some nice supercells in that area today.

REPORT: June 4, 2009 Elbert County CO

2009-06-04T20:44:00.005-05:00

Update from the Front Range

2009-06-04T17:47:00.003-05:00

We're on a couple of severe warned storms west of Limon, CO. Got some nice shots of Pikes Peak as well as some structure shots. Heading towards Limon currently on a SVR storm.

Back on I-70 towards Colorado

2009-06-04T10:18:00.002-05:00

Was doing some tests on the blog earlier with the cell phone but not having great luck with posting pictures to the site via phone. Back to the chase today, we're back on I-70 near Hays currently and will head for a initial target between I-76 and I-70 just east of Denver. We might be a little late but hopefully storms may stay a bit more isolated with better shear finally making its way back to the plains today and throughout the next week or so.

2009-06-04T09:04:00.001-05:00

Test

REPORT: June 2, 2009 TX

2009-06-03T18:16:00.002-05:00

We ended the first half of our chase trip yesterday in western TX chasing a couple of SVR/TOR warned storms along an old outflow boundary. I think the boundary moved too far south of the better vertical shear therefore causing the storms to become quite HP in nature and fail to produce any tornadoes. Here's a short video of some of the highlights:

The second half of the chase vacation will start tomorrow and last through the weekend. Hopefully this leg of the trip will offer more tornadic potential. Check back for more updates and reports from the road.

Chase Trip Update

2009-06-02T08:13:00.001-05:00

We chased around north central KS yesterday evening getting on a few severe warned storms early that had a decent look and even some rotation before quickly lining out and becoming a mass of crap. Stayed overnight in Newton, KS and now we are on our way south and will get to OKC then head west along I-40 towards the TX/OK border. Not much high hopes for today but maybe we can catch a surprise in the TX panhandle.

REPORT: May 31, 2009 South Dakota

2009-06-01T09:34:00.006-05:00

We got on a few severe warned storms in se SD yesterday. The first was an isolated cell near Lake Franics Case just to the north of Platte. Seen here is a shot of the high based storm growing.

We continued to stay on it for a while and it had a small lowering that was reported as a 'wall cloud'. Not sure about how accurate that was though. Here is a shot.

We decided to bail on that storm as it became a bit more outflowish and decided to target the tail end of a severe line north of I-90 near Huron. Driving up on the storm near Mitchell the updraft was fairly impressive and the storm became tornado warned displaying some decent rotation and and intereting lowering back in the rain. We were trying to get into better postion so no pics were taken but I might get a video still up later. The storm quickly became outflow dominant and we decided to just call it a day and headed towards Sioux City, IA to get some sleep.

This morning we are targeting the nearly stationary frontal boundary in southern NE. Currently on the road driving towards Lincoln, NE or somewhere near there. More later...

Update from Plankinton, SD

2009-05-31T14:50:00.003-05:00

We're currently watching the first cumulus clouds of the day on I-90 near Plankinton, SD. Got to see some South Dakota countryside and went by Lake Andes earlier. We expect to see at least some isolated high-based storms within the next few hours.

Good morning from Cedat Bluff, IA

2009-05-31T09:20:00.004-05:00

Woke up at the Motel 6 in Cedar Bluff, IA this morning and now we are hitting the road. Initial targets this morning are north central NE to south central SD. We'll make it up to Sioux City Iowa and then decide to go west into NE or continue to I-90 in SD. More later from the road...

On the Road

2009-05-30T15:26:00.002-05:00

My dad and I are currently on the road heading towards Omaha, NE where we'll stay the night. Tomorrow holds a few different options but I have a feeling we'll end up in South Dakota near the cold front. Things look hopeful for at least a supercell or two early on in initiation before a larger complex forms.

Upcoming Chases

2009-05-29T16:02:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow I'll be heading north to get into position to chase on Sunday and Monday. Looks like a stay in Omaha, NE on Saturday night then north (Sioux Falls?) for Sunday's chase. Monday will be somewhere in IA/NE/KS along a stationary front and hopefully another chase day will come on Tuesday in the southern plains along the cold front or dryline before returning home to Norman that night. I'll be updating daily with forecasts and reports.

REPORT: May 26, 2009 north TX

2009-05-27T19:49:00.006-05:00

Brandon McClung and I chased around the Fort Worth area and got on some marginal, but photogenic, supercells that produced some 2" hail and strong winds.

Along I-20 on the west side of Fort Worth. People taking cover from ~1" hail.

Some 2" hail scattered along the road south of Decatur, TX.

Structure shots north of Decatur.

Some chase opportunities seem to be on the horizon going into early June. A possible chase marathon coming up soon for me.

May 15th Video from near Pampa, TX

2009-05-24T18:41:00.004-05:00

May 15th was one of my favorite chase days so far this year. A slow moving tornadic supercell tracked across the northeast TX panhandle displaying beautiful structure and dropping numerous EF0-EF2 tornadoes.

(Many sections of the video were highly contrasted to view some of the tornadoes)

A few marginal chase days may be coming up on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Not sure if I'll be chasing yet as it will likely be day-to-day decisions.

May 13th Videos Up

2009-05-18T21:29:00.001-05:00

From my birthday chase on the 13th.

-Landspout near Fay, OK-

-Close call in Anadarko, OK-

REPORT: May 15, 2009 TX panhandle

2009-05-15T19:34:00.002-05:00

Awesome chase day! We were on the Roberts/Gray Co. TX cell for most all of its life. Initially got a good view on HWY 60 southwest of Miami where a nice meso was cranking. Viewed a brief tornado off to the west a few miles with a high based funnel and associated ground circulation. Moved southwest and watched a rapidly rotating wall cloud produce another short lived elephant trunk type tornado somewhere just east of Hoover. Rain began wrapping around the meso and obscuring the view but another funnel/possible tornado was seen somehwere near 60 south of Hoover. I was only shooting with the video camera when the tornadoes touched down so I'll get some vid grabs up later. Here are some of the structure shots I took though.

Some video grabs of the brief tornadoes. I'll hopefully get some video up from 5/13 and 5/15 chases here soon.

Chase Plans for Today

2009-05-15T11:15:00.002-05:00

We are currently on the way to Woodward for an initial stop then will decide on what to do from there. Marginal shear today will be the problem with keeping storms discrete for long.

REPORT: May 13, 2009

2009-05-14T09:24:00.002-05:00

SHORT: Nice birthday chase. Got on a brief landspout west of Watonga. Well defined funnel with intense ground circulation. Saw some good structure and then came into Anadarko during the tornado/macroburst watching multiple power flashes and had to take cover on the west side of town while sitting through insane winds! Widespread major damage in town. Took us forever to get through town because of downed trees, powerlines, sheet metal, roofs, and just about everything else. A few pic of the landspout funnel and associated ground circulation...

Preliminary ratings from OUN:
Landpout - TORNADO - DEWEY COUNTY OK - 1E FAY 700PM-702PM THIS BRIEF TORNADO WAS OBSERVED BY STORM CHASERS AND REMAINED OVER AN OPEN FIELD. THE PRELIMINARY RATING IS EF0.
Anadarko - TORNADO - CADDO COUNTY - NEAR GRACEMONT TO ANADARKO 922PM-940PM THIS TORNADO LIKELY DEVELOPED NEAR GRACEMONT AND MOVED SOUTH ALONG AND JUST EAST OF HIGHWAY 8. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE WAS NOTED ALONG COUNTRY CLUB ROAD IN ANADARKO WHERE SEVERAL HOMES HAD SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE. THE PRELIMINARY RATING FOR THIS TORNADO IS EF2...ALTHOUGH THIS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE PENDING FURTHER REVIEW OF DATA. MOST OF THE DAMAGE IN ANADARKO WAS LIKELY THE RESULT OF STRAIGHT LINE WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH A LARGE REAR FLANK DOWNDRAFT

Stuff

2009-05-09T13:33:00.002-05:00

Currently I'm working on finishing the setup for my new car. Will finally get my Verizon internet setup and WxWorx working here soon for the remainder of the season. With finals next week, I will be somewhat limited to when/where I can chase but it doesn't look like I'll miss much. There is a possible setup on Tuesday 12th that I will probably end up chasing but the pattern looks somewhat quite and not conducive for an large outbreaks in the next week or so.

REPORT: May 5, 2009 northwest TX

2009-05-06T13:07:00.012-05:00

Another decent setup on the 5th led us down to an initial target of Throckmorton, TX. A dryline was forecast to mix east to near ABI and points south with a slowly retreating warm front setting up in north TX. The cap held strong and we sat in Throckmorton getting a nice sun burn. A few Cu started to bubble just south of there and Brandon McClung and I started to ease south towards Albany, TX. An initial storm went up between Albany and Breckenridge but quickly died. However this first attempt was enough to weaken the cap sufficiently for a second storm to fire back west of Breckenridge a half hour later or so. We made our way underneath this storm just east of Breckenridge where it quickly became severe warned producing quarter sized hail. A rotating wall cloud quickly came into our view before rain wrapped around the back side and the storm began its southward movement. We retreated east with plans of going south but our road options sucked due to a bridge being out on the best south option. We continued east even more and finally dropped south beating the storm to Strawn, TX where it produced baseball hail. Our view from the I-20 south of Strawn was great with impressive shots of the updraft....

A nice wall cloud was located just to our northeast as well. It had decent broad rotation but could never tighten up enough for tornadogenesis.

We followed the storm south of I-20 a few miles where multiple occlusions occurred with strong RFD's cutting around the back of the storm killing any decent shot at a tornado. We let the storm pass and got in behind it to shot some late evening structure.

Overall, it was another good May chase in Texas. I got to meet some chasers from Saskatchewan, Canada along with fellow Oklahoma chaser Michael Ratliff.

Another North Texas Chase Today

2009-05-05T08:17:00.003-05:00

We're heading south again to a starting target of Wichita Falls, TX. Many factors with the retreating warm front, convection currently over Oklahoma, and strength of cap will play into the target area decision so I'd just rather get down there and see how things play out. More Later....

Past Weeks Videos Up

2009-05-03T14:04:00.000-05:00

April 26, 2009

April 29, 2009

May 1, 2009

REPORT: May 1, 2009 Gorilla Hail

2009-05-02T09:16:00.000-05:00

We chased northwest Texas yesterday with the high hopes of seeing some monster hail and weren't let down. Racing south out of Seymour, TX a supercell had started to develop in Knox County just to our west-southwest. This storm quickly became tornadic dropping a small tornado before we could get to it. We stopped south and west of Munday, TX to observe a well-defined meso. The storm was a prolific lightning producer and I tried to get a few daytime strikes and managed to get one faint return stroke.

This storm continued its strange storm motion to the south (and at time moving to the ssw) and we followed it along ending up near south of Rule, TX. We viewed what was possibly a rain-wrapped tornado near somewhere near Rule but cannot confirm this. Following the storm to Highway 6, we decided to ease north just a bit to see if we could find a swath of larger hail. Most were around quarter to golf ball sized but we ran a across a few baseballs as well.

We continued to search for larger stones when I spotted a monster laying in the grass. Golfball were still being chunked out of this storm but I couldn't resist jumping out there after this one.

We continued to follow this storm to near Stamford where we viewed some intense motion and RFD picking up dust.

A brief tornado may have occurred with this feature but we could not confirm it. We bailed of of this storm and headed to one north of Throckmorton, TX only to find it also dissipating. Ended the chase at Chili's in Wichita Falls with other from OUN and seeing some fellow Colorado chasers.

REPORT: April 29, 2009 TX panhandle Tornadoes

2009-04-30T08:40:00.000-05:00

I started the day off near Ralls, TX (just east of Lubbock) watching early convection fire along an old outflow boundary to the south of there. A couple of severe warned storms were ongoing early but I had my main focus on more leftover outflow boundaries in the Plainview to Childress area. Before long, a few towers started to erupt on another boundary in my target area and I intercepted a few of them in the Floydada area. We were in between two nice rotating supercells near Whiteflat, TX when I noticed the one to my west about 10-15 miles quickly producing a large barrel tornado.

It slowly transitioned into a tall, dusty looking stovepipe with more intense circulation just near the ground.

Quickly changing over to a stovepipe cruising through the windfarm before it got wrapped in rain and roped out.

The crazy late April week of chasing may continue today with a marginal setup in the southern plains. I'll be looking for and outflow boundary or just playing the slow moving cold front in central Oklahoma somewhere. Things may once again fire off a front tomorrow in Oklahoma before it crashes south for the weekend.

Storm Chances this Week, Website Stuff

2009-04-28T08:44:00.000-05:00

We went ahead and called off today's chase in southwest TX / eastern NM. Hopefully it was the right decision and plus I have a lot of stuff back here in Norman I need to take care of. That said, there are multiple chase opportunities coming up this week. Wednesday presents a nice dryline stretching from western KS back south into the TX panhandle. Morning cloud cover/precip may make this a difficult forecast though. Thursday and Friday will be centered around a slow moving cold front in the southern plains.

Sunday's chase in western Oklahoma was a great success for us and other chasers who were on that particular storm. Other than that the high risk for tornadoes across much of Oklahoma was a bust. I'll have video up hopefully within the next week or so of that event.

Went ahead and said goodbye to capturethestorm.com. I'll be instead sticking with the blog and posting videos to youtube (both are free). Visit both sites frequently as I'll update here very frequently since my original site is no longer around.
http://www.youtube.com/user/capturethestorm

Western Oklahoma Tornadoes April 26, 2009

2009-04-27T08:55:00.000-05:00

Just a few quick video grabs of the nice tornadoes Cassie, Brandon McClung, and I intercepted yesterday.

A small rope tornado touches down north of Roll, OK.

Rope tornado rotates around new tornadic circulation.

Beginning of next larger tornado.

It grows as we race towards it.

More shots of nice tornado ripping across the countryside.

Local Storms on Easter Sunday

2009-04-13T12:36:00.001-05:00

Tested the new camera out again in southwest Oklahoma.

Lightning, Upcoming Events

2009-04-12T09:25:00.000-05:00

We ventured out just west of Norman last night to try and shoot some lightning out of a round of thunderstorms. A few pics here...

Not sure what is going on here?

Out of focus but you get the idea.

A chance at some hail under the upper low exists today in southwest OK and northwest TX. May wonder out that way if low clouds clear out soon.
Next week has some interesting looks to it still and Thursday through Saturday all have potential.

More Updates

2009-04-11T18:18:00.000-05:00

Our chase on Thursday was pretty much a bust. Not much to show for except maybe some pea sized hail. Our group was going to head toward west TX today but bailed out on that plan as well. Probably should have as I am watching some nice storms near my favorite place in the plains to chase (Andrews-Gaines-Dawson Counties). Tomorrow holds at least some promise for some hail and possibly structure near the Red River and parts of western north TX and southern OK. I'm also watching our next possible system that will effect much of the plains next Wed-Fri (15-17) and possibly beyond. That's about it for now, I'll post again tomorrow if there are plans to chase anything.

Thursday's Chase

2009-04-09T07:44:00.001-05:00

Today we'll be heading towards the OK/KS border to start things off. A small threat of tornadoes may develop in vicinity of the sfc low early in the day and I'd like to be in position early if that materializes. Other than that, the main show will come a bit later in parts of southeastern Kansas and northeast Oklahoma where storms are forecast to fire near the retreating warm front and dryline. Here, a more classic setup may unfold with the possibility of some long lived supercells with giant hail and a few tornadoes. More later....

Upcoming Storm Chances

2009-04-06T14:23:00.001-05:00

A couple of chase opportunities are on the horizon. First would be Thursday 9th somewhere in KS/OK with a fast moving system that may or may not have enough moisture to work with. Another chance would be Saturday 11th somewhere in west or southwest TX assuming moisture return can make it there in time. I'll be watching both of these days very closely!

Also, I'll try to post more often with forecasts, in the field updates, and reports once the brunt of the season gets here.

Recent Storm Reports

2009-03-27T17:11:00.000-05:00

March 23rd
http://www.capturethestorm.com/32309.htm

March 26th
http://www.capturethestorm.com/32609.htm

Another KS Tornado in 09'

2009-03-23T23:06:00.000-05:00

Earlier today our group viewed the brief tornado that occurred west of Ark City, KS on the near the Cowley/Sumner Co line. An intense circulation tightened up over Hwy 166 and produced a very rapid rotating wall cloud/meso that was dragging the ground north of the road. A brief tornadic circulation made it to the ground just south of Geuda Springs where we viewed it from the south.

I'll have a report and with pics and video up within the next few days. Right now getting ready for an intense line to overtake me here in Norman.

Next Chase coming Monday 23rd

2009-03-21T10:37:00.000-05:00

Looks like a go for Monday! I have two areas of interest including in Nebraska under a cold 500mb closed low and the other down the dryline somwhere in southern KS or OK. I feel both areas have the capability of producing tornadoes but only time will tell which one to choose. More later as the day approaches.

A few Video grabs of KS Tornado

2009-03-08T09:47:00.001-05:00

We decided to give things a shot in central KS and things worked out pretty well. Started the day off in Wellington and didn't have to wait long for storms to get going. Watched early on as storms struggled but then the Reno Co. storm began to take over. We drove north along Whiteside Rd until crossing KS-61 and stopped to evaluate things. Here we noticed at least 2 brief tornado spinups. After that, raced east on a bad route right through Hutchinson observing some power flashes and quarter sized hail in town.

Tornadoes in Kansas

2009-03-07T21:09:00.000-06:00

We viewed at least 2 tornadoes west of Hutchinson, KS around 4pm this afternoon. We got great pictures and video of a multi-vortex tornado of them as it came to within 200 yards or so of us. I'll have some pics and video grabs up later tonight or tomorrow followed by a full report in a few days.

Website Updates, Southeast Storms

2009-02-18T19:32:00.000-06:00

After getting back from the National Storm Chasers Convention in Denver this past weekend and my latest Dynamics test, I'm now getting geared up for spring. Some updates are coming to my website within the next few weeks including chase accounts form 2-10-09 and 5-22-08 as well as a Google Map of tornadoes I've encountered. Also, the car might undergo some storm related repairs and modifications this weekend.

Currently, there are multiple severe weather reports coming in from the parts of the southeast US. Here is a radar grab of 4 potential tornadic supercells in Georgia.

Carter County Tornado

2009-02-10T20:29:00.002-06:00

We viewed a large tornado and multiple power flashes near Gene Autry in southern Oklahoma on Tuesday evening. NWS crews are out surveying the damage right now and there will be more info coming soon about this tornado.

Here is one of the video stills from near Gene Autry, OK in northeastern Carter Co. We are still trying to pull some contrast out of other video and pictures.

Some better shots here near Ardmore: http://lonegrovetornado.bravehost.com/

Ice Pics

2009-01-27T17:14:00.001-06:00

On way to work...

National Weather Center

Top of NWC looking north

Ice Ahead, Storm Chaser Convention

2009-01-25T12:52:00.000-06:00

Obviously its been a while since I've posted anything on here but since spring is right around the corner I thought I might try to get things started again. Looks like a chance for the first real winter weather event here in central OK this winter. Unfortunately the dominant precip type looks to be in the form of freezing rain. Latest HPC forecast for Monday-Tuesday shows high likelihood of accumulating ice during this event.

I believe the highest ice totals will be in parts of eastern OK, Arkansas, and Missouri but we could be in for some major problems in central Oklahoma as well.

I'll be heading to Denver in mid February for the 11th annual Storm Chasers Convention. This will be my first time attending and I'm looking forward to seeing some of the speakers along with other chasers. http://chaserconvention.com/

Tornado Footage to air on Storm Chasers

2008-09-26T14:16:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted here but I was contacted by Discovery Channel during the summer about some tornado footage I shot back on April 23, 2008. They were interested in the film for a show called Storm Chasers which will begin in late October. Anyways, they decided to show my footage in Episode 4 which will air on Nov. 9 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. There might be more footage used in later episodes but that has yet to be determined.

Some Updates

2008-06-22T19:22:00.000-05:00

Got most of my chase reports and accounts done. Might do more this summer when I'm bored.
I have some non-tornado pics from 2008 up here: http://www.capturethestorm.com/photos2008.htm

Not much else going on weather wise for me. High plains will likely see storms for a few days to come. Hopefully one or two more chases before summer comes to an end.

Back to the High Plains

2008-06-18T09:25:00.000-05:00

Me and Sean Waugh are headed to Liberal, KS this morning and will re-evaluate from there. Hoping for a nice lone supercell.

June 15th Update

2008-06-15T10:38:00.000-05:00

A few days of NW flow events for the plains will take place today through at least Wednesday 18th. I'll watch closely and head out locally (TX panhandle/OK) if it looks good enough. Right now either Monday or Tuesday could be a go.

On website, I'm way behind on chase logs but will try to update them here within a few weeks as things look to be slowing down. Also, I'll probably add some short video of some of the other chases.

Sitting in Wichita, KS

2008-06-12T13:16:00.001-05:00

Looks like one last opportunity for a while.
A cold front is moving through the southern plains and is forecast to stall just north of the OK/KS border later this afternoon. Good moisture and instability in place as well as deep-layer shear. Some supercells are possible later this evening mainly across southeast KS but I'll likely stay in the Wichita area and wait for a tail-end storm hopefully go before dark.

Tornadoes Across much of IA/NE/KS/MN

2008-06-11T22:36:00.000-05:00

Today was a tough chase with some rain-wrapped mesos but I managed to get at least one tornado in northwest IA and got some good storm structure pics as well. Very sad situation in northwest IA as well as tornado hit boy scout camp killing 4 and injuring many more.

One Last Update

2008-06-11T13:02:00.000-05:00

Sitting in Missouri Valley, IA, just north of Omaha currently. Upper level clouds are starting to thin east of cold front. There's a nice overlay of CAPE & 0-1km helicity in this general region. Stronger dynamics might exist further north across northern IA this afternoon while stouter CAPE profiles might be nice around se NE, sw IA, ne KS. Probably sit here a while and wait for new mesonanalysis runs. If clouds clear out and sfc heating gets going north of here, I might go to Denison, IA and re-evaluate. Another option would be to wait here and play something further south of Omaha later this afternoon.

Stopped in Lincoln, NE

2008-06-11T10:45:00.000-05:00

I was gonna head to Omaha then north but leftover convection has left lower temps in northwest IA along with an area of lower dewpoints. Winds back nicely to the southeast north of here all the way to the sfc low in SD but right now I just don't see anything worth hauling up north just yet. Skinny tongue of CAPE nosing though eastern NE into se SD right now but strong cap holding tight. Helicity and low level flow looks good just about everywhere up here as well. I might be seeing a couple of leftover boundaries on vis sat, radar, sfc obs: one south of Sioux City, IA stretching west to east and possibly another from southwest IA northwestward through Omaha. Hopefully the picture can become more clear pretty soon.

Decent Chance for Tornadoes Today

2008-06-11T07:34:00.000-05:00

I'm still in York, NE early this morning looking over latest stuff. If the convection in western/northwest IA could clear off soon, I would like that area later this afternoon. Another problem in that area later today is that all back roads will be muddy as crap. Much of Nebraska will have plenty of time to recover from early morning storms that rolled through but directional shear may not be as good as spots further northeast. If I decide to head north, area from Sioux City-Fort Dodge-Spencer IA looks good for starting. Another plan may just be to sit here for a while, maybe move to Lincoln, NE. More later...

North Again!

2008-06-10T11:40:00.000-05:00

Leaving for York, NE here this afternoon. I'll likely stay there tonight and decide where to go on Wednesday. I'm eyeing a northern target of se SD, western IA, ne NE, or sw MN. If this area does not look like its gonna happen tomorrow, I'll likely just stay put in York for a while and try the area of southern NE, north-central KS. More from Nebraska tonight or early tomorrow AM.

Next Chase Wednesday 11th

2008-06-08T12:01:00.000-05:00

I can't make it out today to TX panhandle/western OK so I'm already watching my next chasing opportunity coming by mid week. GFS/NAM/ECMWF all in general agreement of bringing nice trough through the central and northern US on Wed. A bit far out for details but the overall pattern looks nice.

12 wRF/NAM forecast Wed. evening

500mb

850mb

Still No June Tornado

2008-06-06T14:30:00.000-05:00

I still have seen no tornadoes in the month of June since I have started chasing. The past two chases in Nebraska on the 4th and Kansas on the 5th I came very close but no luck.

Looks like some interesting setups on the GFS and NAM for the next week so hopefully I can end my drought.

Back on the Plains

2008-06-04T11:47:00.001-05:00

Currently in Salina, KS looking over stuff for what seems to be a tough call on where to go today. Will likely stay here a bit longer before I make a decision though. I'll stay somewhere in KS tonight and get ready for an active day tomorrow.

May 23rd Videos Up

2008-06-02T14:23:00.000-05:00

Videos from the 3rd and 4th Tornadoes of this day.
All videos are shot in HD but compressed for YouTube.

Reports from May 21st through the 26th are still a work in progress. I should have at least a few done by tomorrow evening. Another couple of chase days look to be coming up starting Wed and Thursday.

Back in OK Soon

2008-05-31T14:45:00.000-05:00

I'll be heading back into Oklahoma the morning of June 1st. Looks like an active period awaits me when I return back there as well. A few days off to update website then a couple of chase days possible come mid-late next week.

Heading Back to TX

2008-05-27T18:08:00.000-05:00

I'm currently driving to Houston, TX for a couple days back home and a wedding I have to attend. Hopefully I won't miss too many good chase days while I'm gone. I'll get home on the last day of May and be ready for anything after that.

Our 6-day chase vacation was awesome. We chased and traveled through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado while on the plains. We viewed at least 6 tornadoes throughout the week, two of which were strong tornadoes including an EF-4 in western KS on the 23rd. It will likely be a while before all of my chase reports are up online but check back in a week or so. Will post again later...

Last Day of Chase Vacation

2008-05-26T09:10:00.001-05:00

Today is our last chase and we will likely target areas near Dodge City and south to the OK/KS border. Right now I'm in DDC and will likely hold tight for a while and then decide if we need to move south at all.

A Couple of Brief Tornadoes in KS again Today

2008-05-25T21:53:00.000-05:00

One of two weak tornadoes we viewed today. This was just southeast of LaCrosse, KS.

One last chase day tomorrow to cap off six straight chase days in the plains. Heading back to Norman on Tuesday and will watch for some local storms.

West on I-70

2008-05-25T12:20:00.000-05:00

We are driving west on I-70 right now just west of Salina, KS. Looking to go to either Hays or Wakeeney then maybe drop south to Ness City or Dodge City. May sit tight along 70 though, not sure yet.

Getting Ready for another Chase Day

2008-05-25T08:44:00.001-05:00

Not an easy forecast today but I'll likely head down back into Kansas for today and be in position to chase down there again tomorrow.

Nice Storms in Eastern Nebraska

2008-05-24T23:13:00.000-05:00

Saw a few decent storms in eastern Nebraska today. Got some great supercell structure shots and viewed a funnel/brief tornado southwest of Norfolk, NE as well.

I'm currently in Lincoln Nebraska and will try to get some more rest before chasing again tomorrow in this general area.

Eastern Nebraska Target Today

2008-05-24T13:29:00.000-05:00

Currently sitting in Hebron, NE looking over latest stuff. I will likely try to stay in southeast Nebraska and hope for some isolated storms to fire and try to catch the tail-end storm. Not sure if we will be chasing tomorrow or not, we'll be making that decision later tonight or tomorrow morning.

--For those trying to contact me--
AT&T has horible coverage in this area so I have no cell signal

Heading into southeast Nebraska

2008-05-24T10:00:00.001-05:00

Currently north of Salina, KS driving north with an initial stop in Hebron or York Nebraska. If the RUC model is close to correct, could be a decent chase day.

Historic Tornado Outbreak

2008-05-23T22:02:00.000-05:00

I viewed 4 tornadoes this afternoon and evening including a large long-track wedge in Gove county that we followed from start to finish for nearly 40 minutes. Next tornado was a large wedge that developed right on top of us on 147 southwest of Cedar Bluff Resevoir. This developing wedge was within 100 yards as it moved parallel to us as we raced north on 147 trying to get to safety. Wasn't able to get east of it but just glad we got out of there safely.

EDIT: here are just a few pics of the destrucitve tornadoes we viewed today. More pics and video in the next few days...

Friday morning

2008-05-23T11:44:00.000-05:00

Sitting in Wakeeney. Looking over latest data. More later....

Tornadoes in Kansas

2008-05-22T22:37:00.001-05:00

My dad and I viewed at least two tornadoes in western Kansas this afternoon and evening. A difficult chase but an action packed day. Currently in Hays, KS again and will crash here tonight where we will get ready for another chase day in this same general area.

Heading into Kansas

2008-05-22T09:49:00.000-05:00

We're about to leave Burlington and drive east into Kansas. Probaly will stop in Oakely or Wakeeney and go from there. Should be an interesting day...

Lots of Lightning

2008-05-21T23:09:00.000-05:00

We chased a few severe thunderstorms in northeast and eastern Colorado this afternoon. Most were high based and produced some strong winds and a great lightning display near and after dark. Currently, we're in Burlington CO where we'll stay the night before heading into Kansas tomorrow. More from the road tomorrow...

In Sidney, NE

2008-05-21T12:46:00.000-05:00

Sitting in Sidney, NE looking over latest data. Still thinking of playing southeast Wyoming or possibly northeast Colorado. Cirrus clouds are beginning to clear and I would expect something to get interesting by 4pm or so.

Quick Update

2008-05-20T19:39:00.000-05:00

Made it here to Hays, KS and will leave early tomorrow morning and leave for Sydney or Scottsbluff Nebraska where we may get another hotel room before crossing the border into eastern Wyoming. Area from Cheyenne to Lusk, WY looks good for some nice supercells Wednesday afternoon. After that, a stay in the Nebraska panhandle then an early morning leave back into northern Kansas for a nice looking setup on Thursday. This is may all change so stay tuned for day-to-day updates.

About to Depart...

2008-05-20T10:39:00.000-05:00

Plan is to leave here just after noon and make it to Hays, KS where we will spend the night. Off to southeast Wyoming or extreme northeast Colorado on Wednesday before a stretch of possibly big chase days on Thursday and Friday. More from Kansas later.

High Plains Chasing Late this Week

2008-05-18T14:47:00.000-05:00

A large upper trough is forecast to develop in the western US beginning around Tuesday and lasting throughout the weekend. Evolution of the upper air pattern and associated surface features will be hard to accurately forecast more than a day or so out but the overall pattern suggest a few days of severe weather beginning Wednesday or Thursday. My plan as of now is to leave Tuesday evening and get to eastern Wyoming or northwest Nebraska by Wednesday evening where there is a chance of severe storms. More to come on Tuesday or Wednesday when I'm on the road. I 'll be updating often throughout the weekend as to what my chasing plans are and any reports as well.

Widespread Severe Storms Possible across Southern Plains

2008-05-13T07:53:00.000-05:00

Looks like another fairly significant severe weather day across much of se Kansas, eastern Oklahoma, north Texas and points eastward. Main threat will likely be large hail but a few tornadoes seem likely. I'll definitely be chasing this event so stay tuned for updates.

Upcoming Storm on May 13th

2008-05-12T09:23:00.000-05:00

After a tough chase on the 10th where i intercepted a brief tornado in northern Latimer Co. OK, there seems to be another setup I'll be chasing on Tuesday. Won't go into details much but it appears it could be a decent chase day. Not sure of tornado potential but some nice supercells are definitely possible.

Chase Currently Underway

2008-05-10T11:08:00.001-05:00

I'm in Sallisaw, OK right now looking over latest data. Warm front is slowly lifting north and will hopefully be near I-40 later this afternoon. Its gonna be a difficult chase today with storm motions and terrain but I bet there may be a decent number of tornadoes reported across the southern plains into the southeast.

Severe T-storms Return to the Plains

2008-05-05T07:41:00.000-05:00

Thunderstorm chances increase early this week as a storm system approaches form the west. The high plains of western Kansas southward through west Texas will be the focus for the highest risk of severe storms on Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th as a dryline sharpens up during the afternoon hours. The upper storm system kicks east on Tuesday night into Wednesday and t-storm chances spread east with it. I can't chase today due to finals but Tuesday and/or Wednesday look like the bigger days right now. On Tuesday, I would not be able to leave until 3pm or so due to finals but I may head west toward the TX panhandle if it looks like its worth taking the risk. Wednesday will mark my last day of finals and a chase to go along with it although I'm not too impressed with the setup right now.

Night Tornado in Oklahoma

2008-05-02T10:02:00.000-05:00

Sean, Brandon , and I witnessed a night time tornado and observed multiple power flashes in Osage county Oklahoma last night. I'll hopefully have pics and a full report up sometime soon.

EDIT.... Better pic here: http://learn.ou.edu/pages/personal/72118/5108_osage1_large.JPG

Focus on Thursday, May 1st

2008-04-27T12:51:00.000-05:00

Looks like a potential outbreak of severe weather if the latest GFS and ECMWF runs are anything close to accurate. Anywhere from eastern Nebraska/western Iowa south to northeast Oklahoma are areas of interest. I won't go into much detail until the NAM gets ahold of things.

Tornado in west TX

2008-04-25T19:51:00.001-05:00

Report from Wednesday's chase here:

http://www.capturethestorm.com/42308.htm

First attempt at Lightning

2008-04-22T07:36:00.000-05:00

A pic from the house of a storm that went up late yesterday evening. Looking south from Norman...

Threat for Supercells in OK/KS Late this Evening

2008-04-21T11:10:00.000-05:00

Looks like at least a decent shot of storms very late today anywhere form Clinton, OK northeast to about Wichita, KS. Marginal shear profiles but high instability will likely exist over much of this region later today. Any storm that is able to form late this evening (if any) will likely exhibit supercell characteristics and contain large hail. I might head to Guthrie or El Reno later today and decide what to do from there.

Thursday 17th

2008-04-18T08:47:00.001-05:00

Me and Sean observed a few marginally severe storms in central OK yesterday.

Looks like at least a small chance of a chase in the southern plains sometime during the middle of next week. After that, April might be done with and May is just around the corner...

Southern Plains Storms - Thursday 17th

2008-04-16T15:03:00.000-05:00

Fairly nice 500mb trough will cross through the southern plains tomorrow, 17th. Decent gulf moisture is making its way back north today and will continue to advect into tomorrow. Surface low, along ne-sw oriented cold-front, forming in the TX panhandle will move east then northeast through central OK on Thursday. This may help back sfc winds to an east-southeasterly direction ahead of quickly approaching cold front. 850mb winds are generally out of the sw today and much of tomorrow contributing to a warm layer that will prevent thunderstorm develop until later in the afternoon Thursday when the 500mb trough moves east. Depicted by the NAM/WRF, there is some low-level directional shear but mostly unidirectional from 850mb on up. Chase target tomorrow, if I choose to go out, will likely be in the Norman-Chandler-Shawnee area as a starting point.

http://www.wxcaster.com/weather.php3

Update

2008-04-14T15:54:00.000-05:00

Thursday 17th setup doesn't look too promising.

Early next week (April 20-23) looks very interesting with a nice western US trough looking to develop in that time frame. Good gulf moisture looks to be in place across the plains as well. Future model runs should help pinpoint what days will be the focus.

Upcoming Pattern

2008-04-10T18:11:00.000-05:00

Looks to be fairly slow for the plains for at least the next week. Longwave trough moves east and sets up over eastern coast resulting in northwest flow for the plains and surface highs likely making it all the way into the gulf shutting off moisture for a while. There are some hints of moisture return and western US trough beginning around Thursday April 17th on the GFS and ECMWF.