So You Wanna Be A Stormchaser...

Good Day! I thought I'd take advantage of the lull in severe weather to talk about what it takes to become a storm chaser. Over the past ten years, many people have become interested in chasing storms, especially after the release of the 1996 blockbuster movie "Twister". This has been both a boost and a burden to this rather unusual hobby/business. These people have come from all walks of life, with widely-varying degrees of experience and ability.

Storm chasing is exciting, rewarding, educational and potentially extremely dangerous. It is not an interest you can simply jump in to without doing some research, especially if you wish to do it correctly. The hazards are numerous and range from getting too close to a tornado, being hit by lightning, hydroplaning on rain-soaked highways or crashing your vehicle into other storm chasers. These dangers are just a few of the bigger risks, and every chase situation presents different challenges and perils.

There are many reasons why people become involved with storm chasing. Personally, I simply love to watch severe weather. Tornadoes are the icing on the cake, but there are many aspects to severe thunderstorms which are beautiful and exciting. Watching a storm develop from a puffy cumulus cloud into a towering monster is one of the biggest thrills I can imagine. Seeing large hail pelting a cornfield, watching 100 mph downdraft winds rake a farm or small town, waiting in anticipation for the gust front to overwhelm you as the storm approaches, and enjoying flash after flash of powerful, deadly lightning are examples of my weather turn-ons. Not everyone chases for the same reasons. Some do it for the photographic opportunities. Some are adrenaline junkies. Others do it to test their forecasting abilities, or simply to have fun. While chasing, I see plenty of people on the roads who have no business being there, attempting to get a thrill. Storm chasing is not an activity you should undertake without first engaging in some mental and technical preparation. I equate it with rock climbing or skydiving. You could kill yourself, or others, if you decide to chase without learning about the hobby from the safety of your reading room.

If you truly wish to become a storm chaser, I've got a few recommendations. First off, you should probably contact me, (weatherbuff@gmail.com), or one of the other experienced chasers on this web site. We will be happy to explain how to get into the hobby. There are some great books available as well, like "The Storm Chasing Handbook" by Tim Vasquez. It's loaded with valuable information for the beginning chaser. It will tell you pretty much everything you need to know in order to make a decision on whether this is the hobby for you. Another option is to contact an experienced storm chaser like myself or any of the other people on this blog and come on a one-day chase with us. The costs for a short chase are usually pretty low and you can gain a wonderful perspective on what it takes to become a chaser.

The peak of the storm chasing season on the Great Plains/High Plains of the United States generally runs from late March through late June. However, severe thunderstorms are possible just about any time during the warm months. In addition to a good working knowledge of weather, the tools required for storm chasing vary widely depending on who you ask. The most important tool, (and I'm sure my fellow chasers would agree), is a good, reliable vehicle. Turning your ignition key and listening to your engine refusing to start is not a good sound while a tornado is bearing down on you. Beyond that, there are many decisions to be made on which equipment you wish to surround yourself with. Chase philosophy is unique to each chaser, and as you gain experience you'll develop your own as well. Personally, I rely on a fair amount of technology, (lap top computer, wireless internet, satellite-delivered data, GPS), along with my formal meteorological training from Mississippi State University. I also believe in a balance between model data and actual data like hourly weather observations and satellite images.

Essentially, there is much to learn before you actually take to the open road in search of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. If you wish to become a successful chaser, and have a good time doing it, take my primary recommendation. That is, contact an experienced storm chaser and get the facts first. I'm always willing to explain the benefits and perils of chasing to anyone who is interested! ~Steve.

September Already?

Wow, did this Summer fly by or what? Here we are at Labor Day already! Well, storm chasers actually look forward to this time of year. There is something called the "Fall Max" which is a return of some moderately severe weather to the Great Plains. I'll explain why we have another few weeks of severe thunderstorm potential in the Fall. Most severe weather is due to interaction with the Jet Stream, which is a ribbon of fast-moving air that circles the Earth at high altitude. The Jet Stream is formed along the border of cold, Canadian air to the north and warm tropical or continental air to the south. In between these two differing air masses, we find the Jet Stream, which is also called the Polar Front. During the Summer, the Polar Front is pushed far to the north as air from the tropics moves northward. In the winter, the Polar Front is usually positioned across the southern US. Most of the country is under the influence of cold, polar air. When Spring arrives, the Front begins to move northward. As this boundary between cold and warm air moves over the Gulf States, the interactions of cold and warm air, plus the high upper-level winds along the Front help to generate severe thunderstorms across the Southern Plains. As the Polar Front moves north with the return of warm weather, severe thunderstorms break out in the Central Plains, and then later in the Summer, over the Northern Plains. The Fall Max occurs as the Polar Front begins its southern trek with the return of Fall months. This means the chance of severe weather increases again from north to south. So, storm chasers get a last taste of the kind of weather we seek before the cold snows of Winter move in. As a matter of fact, October is one of Denver's biggest hail months! ~Steve.

It's been pretty hot and dry around Denver lately! Looks like we've got a chance for some supercell thunderstorms and severe weather tomorrow, (Tuesday July 10). I'm going to keep an eye on things and may head out in my Dodge Ram chase vehicle to check things out after work tomorrow.

Yesterday's (Sunday July 8) storm activity was somewhat severe, but not really "chaseable". In storm-chasing circles, we look for "supercells" which have a very specific structure and properties that set them apart from ordinary thunderstorms. Their radar signature, look and "feel" are quite different from "air mass" thunderstorms. When we chase, supercells are the Holy Grail we seek. Yesterday's activity was "pulse" in nature. Every thunderstorm has an updraft and a downdraft. With pulse-severe storms, the updrafts and downdrafts are not in syn ch, meaning that one is intense while the other is weak. The storm oscillates and can generate brief severe weather, but it quickly dies as the mechanics interfere with one another. Pulse severe storms are not chaseable because by the time we get to the storm, it has usually weakened or dissipated.

Supercells are another matter entirely! Their updrafts and downdrafts are oriented in such a way that they work together to feed and ventilate the storm. Supercells can last for hours and generate incredibly severe weather. This includes large hail, winds in excess of 60 mph, deadly lightning and tornadoes. Stormchasers look for chase environments conducive to supercell development. For any thunderstorm, you need moisture, heat, lift and instability. For supercells, the additional ingredient of "shear" is needed. Wind shear comes in various forms. At the basic level, there's "speed" shear and "directional" shear. Speed shear is an increase of wind speed with height. Directional sheer is a "veering" of wind with height. Ideally, that would mean winds from the southeast at the surface, south or southwest at the mid-levels and west higher up. This give a spin to the thunderstorms and causes their updrafts to be separated from the downdrafts so they don't interfere. This way, the storm can sustain itself, sometimes for many hours.

That's the long explanation of why I didn't go chasing yesterday! The photo you see with this post is of a "classic" supercell, taken by my friend Helen Kelly. She was with us on Tour 7 this year and took this shot in northern Nebraska. This storm has just blown through the cap and exploded into a supercell in less than 30 minutes! Click HERE for a link to her photo albums from our chase!

Tour 7 Stormchase

Hello! Sorry for the delay in posting this. We are just back from Tour 7 with Roger Hill and Silver Lining Tours. What a week! Lots of great storms, huge hail and close lightning! Our tour covered five States and about 3,200 miles in six days. I was in charge of Van 2. We had guests from the UK, Canada, California, Arizona and Washington. We only had two bust-days out of six, which is typical for a six-day tour.

Day one we blasted north from Denver to South Dakota to catch some expected supercell activity. Unfortunately the "cap" was +16 C which is virtually unbreakable. We spent the day milling around the Murdo, SD area and staying out of the 95-degree heat as much as possible. Some electrical problems plagued the lead chase van, so the down time allowed us to make repairs on the road.

Day two found us in Kansas, chasing puffy cumulus clouds. Another bust day due to the intense capping inversion. However, we took advantage of the situation to explore the destruction of Greensburg, KS which was hit by an EF-5 tornado on May 4 of this year. I'd seen pictures of the damage, but the photos do not compare to actually being there. Two photos are included here.

Day three was spent in Nebraska with some wonderful supercells. (Details and photos coming soon.)

We visited western Nebraska on day five where we located several supercells coming out of Wyoming. (Details and photos coming soon.)

Day five was perhaps the most exciting of the entire tour. We awoke in Chamberlain, SD to overcast skies and two tornadic supercells bearing down on the town early in the morning! Our group was set to depart at 9:30 a.m., however we ended up rushing through breakfast to head out and catch the storms. We holed up in the barn of a local farmer to escape the giant hail being dumped by one supercell that passed just off to our north. Chase tactics for storms with large hail are different. We usually let the hail core pass us by, then venture in behind it to collect the hailstones. We tramped through a field and collected 3.5 inch stones...bigger than baseballs! Windows and windshields were broken in the town. Had we driven through the storm, all of our windows in the vans would have been shattered. The storms disrupted the atmosphere for awhile, so the early afternoon was quiet. Then, around 6 p.m. a giant supercell blew the cap and exploded up to 60,000 feet! We chased it south into northern Nebraska. Our road network was poor, but we were able to get right under the mesocyclone! It did not produce a tornado, but it came very close. We took shelter next to an old schoolhouse but the vans took several dings from 3-inch hail.

Day six found us headed home to Colorado. On the way, we intercepted a line of intense thunderstorms moving off the Front Range. We arrived back in Denver in the early afternoon. It was a very successful chase! I will be chasing the Colorado plains for the rest of the summer, so keep checking back for updates! - Steve.

Douglas/Elbert County Washout!

What a big rainstorm south of the Metro Area on Tuesday afternoon! I was working the afternoon shift on KOSI 101 and doing a "virtual chase" looking at the NEXRAD on my laptop in the studio. I watched two huge areas of rain move over the Front Range. One went to the north and soaked Boulder and Golden. The other moved out of the foothills of western Douglas County and dumped copius amounts of rain on Douglas and Elbert Counties between 3 and 5 p.m. The storm then moved into northeast Elbert County and the NWS issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning on it due to penny-sized hail. Penny-sized is 3/4 inch, which is the minimum required for a warning. My radar screen was lit-up all afternoon with this baby! When I got home to Elizabeth around 7:30, I checked my official National Weather Service rain gauge and logged 1.82 inches of rain! I guess I won't have to worry about watering the lawn for a few days!

Silver Lining Tour 7

Hello Weather Enthusiasts!

Tour 7 with Silver Lining Tours starts this weekend and I'll be driving again! We'll be leaving on Sunday morning for whereabouts unknown! I've been keeping up with the GFS model and things look interesting with a couple of troughs progged to move through. Troughs are a good thing ;-) Hopefully the timing will work out, but hey, it's June in the Great Plains...anything can happen! I will be blogging-in as much as possible from the road with pictures and stories for you. Tour 7 goes from Sunday June 17 through Friday June 22. Here are a couple of great images from Tour 4:

(Left: Monster storm going HP near Guymon, OK on May 31)
(Right: Beautiful rainbow near Portales, NM on June 1 after a hailstorm)

We will have six full chase days! After that, Roger and I will be teaming up as much as possible for day-chases all summer long. The miles can add up quickly on these expeditions, but it's always a lot of fun. You can always check in with me via e-mail at weatherbuff@gmail.com if you'd like to chat or learn more about stormchasing!

Cheers,

Steve

Storm Chaser Slang

I've been chasing storms for nearly 10 years now, and I've picked up on some interesting slang words used by chasers to describe certain situations. Many of these have been developed by my friend Roger Hill. They're pretty amusing!

"Beast" - Used to describe a particularly large and dangerous thunderstorm.

"Whatabeast" - Coined by Mr. Roger Hill to describe a large storm. (Similar to a "Beast").

"Monster" - (See above)

"Meatball" - A storm that exhibits a round, compact and strong radar signature.

"Bush Ball" - Another Roger Hill term for a small thunderstorm cell with a fuzzy top.

"Ice Blender" - Mainly used in Colorado to denote a storm generating large hail.

"Outflow-Dominant" - Used when a storm reaches a phase where more air is flowing out of it than into it, usually in the decay phase.

"Gusting-Out" - Similar to outflow-dominant. Used when a storm's outflow boundary has reached outward about 10 miles and is particularly strong.

"Barber Pole" - This describes a low-precipitation supercell which usually has a cork-screw shaped updraft. These have particularly beautiful structure.

"Mother Ship" - Usually refers to a large rotating supercell which has a rounded structure that resembles a space ship.

"Stack Of Plates" - Similar to above with a striated structure that looks like plates stacked upon one another. These are wonderful to photograph!

"V-Notch" - A radar signature in the shape of a "V" which denotes a strong inflow of wind into a thunderstorm. Depending on the position of the notch, this could indicate a strengthening storm.

"Flying Eagle" - Another radar signature indicating a strong thunderstorm.

"High-Based" - When a thunderstorm's base is elevated, usually above 5 or 6 thousand feet. These storms rarely produce tornadoes, but can drop large hail.

"Ice Bomb" - Used to describe hail bigger than four-inches in diameter.

"Acus" - Altocumulus Castellanus. A cloud type that indicates mid-level moisture.

"Yokel" - Refers to local amateur storm chasers, some of whom do not know what they are doing and usually blocking traffic.

"Parasite" - Thrill-seekers who follow professional storm chasers around.

"Gust-Nado" - A 'spin-up' in the front edge of a thunderstorm's gust front that can resemble a tornado. However, a gust-nado is not attached to the cloud base.

"Doppler-Nado" - Strong rotation in a thunderstorm, indicated by doppler radar. Usually the NWS will issue a tornado warning if the rotation is strong enough, even though an actual tornado may not have been sighted.

"Sheriff-Nado" - A 'tornado' reported by law enforcement officials. Sometimes these reports are false ;-)

"Tractor-Nado" - Dust or weeds kicked up by a tractor in a field. Sometimes looks like a debris cloud from a distance.

Real Tornado Descriptions: Tube, Rope, Elephant Trunk, Cigar, Wedge, funnel, stove-pipe.

...More to come!