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!