Saturday, May 31, 2008

Back in OK Soon

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.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Heading Back to TX

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...

Monday, May 26, 2008

Last Day of Chase Vacation

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.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

A Couple of Brief Tornadoes in KS again Today

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

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

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.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Nice Storms in Eastern Nebraska

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

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

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.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Historic Tornado Outbreak

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

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

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Tornadoes in Kansas

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

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...

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Lots of Lightning

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

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.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Quick Update

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...

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.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

High Plains Chasing Late this Week

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.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Widespread Severe Storms Possible across Southern Plains

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.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Upcoming Storm on May 13th

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.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Chase Currently Underway

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.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Severe T-storms Return to the Plains

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.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Night Tornado in Oklahoma

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