Four Years Ago Today

Photo Courtesy of Don Wheeler.

Four years ago today, I went on my first storm chase with my intro Atmospheric Sciences teacher Don Wheeler (LDCC). Though the day turned out to be a bust, the skills I learned that day interpreting data, and reading the sky laid down a solid foundation for future chases. The chase account for this day can be found here: http://www.ladeltaweather.com/severe/stormchase2009/032709/032709.html

Thank You AES!

I would like to take another opportunity to thank all of the employees at Accuweather Enterprise Solutions for a great summer experience as a Forecaster Intern. Everyone's hospitality made the big move much easier for me, and made me feel very much a part of the team at AES.

To the meteorologists in ops: I learned quite a bit from each and every one of you this summer, especially when it came to all of your different styles of contouring maps. I also want to thank you guys for giving me the opportunity to issue warnings. I issued my first warning on my birthday (June 7) and that was probably the most unique and coolest present I've ever received. I appreciate everyone's patience with me when things didn't necessarily go right (usually something I did wrong on Canvas from time to time). Lessons were learned from those mistakes and improvements were made over time because of this.

To the morning crew: sorry I wont be around to get SWD done in my usual brisk pace. I do hope the number of severe reports on a daily basis decreases soon for you guys. Overall, I think the thing that I will miss the most is the work atmosphere in ops. Things were accomplished, but at the same time, you guys made work fun. The Guy impersonations, Eddie and Dewvall's movie trivia that I failed 90% of the time, the jokes about my age, the music (I will probably never listen to "Don't Stop Believing" ever again thanks to Becky), and so on made me want to drag myself out of bed every morning and look forward to coming into work, despite the amount sleep I may have missed out on the night before from shenanigans (failed attempts to view auroras and driving to and from North Dakota for 2 days of non-stop chasing come to mind).  It all made the entire experience worth it for me personally and I hope to see you all again in the future.

-JP

Oklahoma Hailfest: 29 May 2012

Upon completing another work week, the pattern remained active for severe storms across the Southern and Central Plains with much of Oklahoma being under the threat for hail and high winds. Taking this into account, I decided to team up with a few of my new coworkers for a fairly short chase into northwestern Oklahoma.

Collectively, Crouch, Danna, Elliot, and I decided upon an initial target area of Alva, OK, setting a time frame for initiation  between 4 and 5 pm. Unlike May 25, the chance for tornadoes were slim at best, with mesoscale influences being necessary for tornadogenesis to take place in any storm in this particular environment.  However, the setup favored large to giant hail, as all soundings around our target area (LMN, OUN) featured one or more significant dry layers, thus steepening lapse rates considerably.  Taking all of this into account, we loaded up and departed from ICT shortly after 2:30 pm and moved southwest toward our target area.

Initial convection over our target area of Alva, OK. Photo courtesy of Becky Elliott.

As we made the drive across far south-central Kansas, we observed a deepening cu field to our south trying to break through the cap in the vicinity of our initial target area of Alva, OK. Finally with the help of a residual outflow boundry from the previous day's convection, this updraft was able to overcome the cap. and we had our first storm of the day over Alva, OK as we quickly approached the Oklahoma border.

Fairly large dust devil on the backside of our storm as we drove into Alva, OK. Photo courtesy of Becky Elliott.

As we drove around the backside of our storm, we were greeted by extremely gusty outflow winds that generated a few short lived, yet large dustdevils. Once we arrived in Alva, we decided to blast east on Highway 64 to get a clean visual of the storm on the southside. We observed an extremely high based wall cloud that showed no threat of producing a tornado, as well as the hailcore of the storm. Along the way, we noticed that the particular storm we were on was flanking another storm that rapidly developed to it's northeast. Although not expecting tornadoes on this day, this presented the potential for these storms to merge, possibly allowing tornadogenesis to briefly occur in the northernmost storm. Taking this into account, we decided to continue to blast east as quickly as possible to get a visual on the northern cell.

Unfortunately, our plans were short lived as storms south of our location began to form and split. The right movers of the spilts that took place raced off to the north, with one particular right split blindsiding us from the south. Sporadic baseball sized hail greeted us and we quickly opted to turn around and escape before getting hit and potentially losing windows and the windshield.  Having to reassess our strategy, we decided to move south on Highway 8 toward Fairview, Oklahoma in an effort to stay ahead of a well defined outflow boundary that was put off by the initial cells.

Shelf cloud on the leading edge of our storm west of Ames, OK.

Despite our efforts to stay ahead of the outflow boundary, convection going up south of our location continued to split and produce right moving hailers that cut off any eastward road options we had. Noticing a trend, we decided to drive back to the north toward Ames, OK, as a storm began going up slightly west of the initial line of cells that were moving southeast.  This decision paid off, as we were able to observe a brief wall cloud before the storm gusted out and produced a well defined shelf cloud in its wake. 

Kate and Crouch take advantage of a photo op.

Becky is thumbs up as she cures her "SDS". Photo courtesy of Becky Elliott

After observing this, things began to get extremely messy once again, with storms going up everywhere and preventing us from getting a clean intercept. We drove south, then west toward the town of Okeene to catch back up to our storm. Here, we stopped at the edge of a neighborhood at a gas station to stage our next move. Here, the outflow boundary overtook us once again, producing some minor tree damage in the neighborhood.  After observing more storms go up in a messy fashion along the outflow boundary, we decided to call it a chase.  However, upon heading west back to our north/south option, Highway 8, we decided to head south into Watonga, OK to allow the storms to cross Highway 8 before heading back to ICT. Although things were far from ideal at times on this day, it turned out to be a decent chase at the end of the day. We arrived back in ICT shortly after midnight, where I began to prepare for a second straight day of chasing.

A weakening storm produces virga as the sun sets in the foreground. Photo courtesy of Becky Elliott.

Distance: 508 miles
Wx: Baseball sized hail, structure.

First Tornado of 2011: 15 April 2011

I never published this particular account from one of my only freelance chases of 2011. Although overshadowed by the devastation of April 27, the April 14-16, 2011 outbreak was one of the more significant outbreaks of the 2011 season. I was able to get out of class in time to experience this day in the field as supercells developed across the southeast.

Utilizing a combination of the NAM WRF, European, and RUC HRRR model runs, I forecasted the initiation of a discrete thunderstorm in West Central Louisiana in Toledo Bend country around 6am CDT.  This forecast came to fruition, with three storms initiating along an outflow boundary produced by an ongoing MCS from the previous afternoon over the Ark-LA-Tex region.  Of the three storms that initiated, the northernmost storm became the dominant storm eventually going supercellular as it moved into a more favorable shear environment east of the Mississippi River.  This storm went on to produce an EF-3 tornado in Jackson, MS.  

Due to class responsibilities, I wasn’t able to depart KMLU until 10:30am CDT.  I initially targeted a discrete cluster of cells that formed along the cold front associated with this very dynamic storm system.  As I approached this small cluster of cells, I noted that the bases of these storms were extremely high, despite the fact that the southernmost storm featured notable rotation in the upper levels of the storm.  At this time, I noticed only modest forward storm motion speeds (~30 knots) associated with the discrete supercells in East Central Mississippi.  This prompted me to continue driving eastward toward this are to put myself in position for further convective development to the south.

Rapidly rotating wall cloud moving over Meridian, MS.

As I approached the Jackson metro area, I encountered a major traffic jam that was the result of damage caused by the EF3 tornado that was associated with the initial discrete cell of the event.  To add to this problem, two new discrete cells were beginning to go supercellular and were heading toward the Jackson metro area.  This forced me to have to detour around a large stretch of I-20.  Once I was able to exit the interstate, I drove north on the Natchez Trace Parkway before driving East through Jackson on highways 49 and 25.  This took me out of position to make a play on the two cells south of I-20.  However, both cells possessed easterly components that the first cell did not.  This allowed me to get back on I-20 and get ahead of the northernmost storm to set myself up for an intercept around Meridian, MS.  As this storm approached my location in Meridian, I observed and documented the forward flank downdraft advancing on my location.  Extremely warm and moist air was noted before precipitation started.  Shortly after precipitation began, I observed a large rapidly rotating wall cloud about a mile to my south.  I was able to observe the rain curtains “wrapping” around the wall cloud itself all the way to the surface from my location.  After documenting and reporting this to the National Weather Service, I decided to continue tracking east into Western Alabama. 

Upon further investigation of my storm’s characteristics on radar, it was evident that it was beginning to become and HP mess and was losing strength.  Therefore, I decided to drive south in an effort to intercept the southernmost storm of the cluster.  However, I ran into another road block due to previous tornado damage, and was forced to turn around and re-strategize.  With additional semi-discrete cells forming along the cold front in southwest Mississippi, I decided to reposition to the south along US 45 in Eastern Mississippi to wait for storms to come to me.  This strategy allowed me to intercept two more storms on this day.  I observed, documented and reported a tornado that crossed US 45 southeast of Quitman and a rotating wall cloud that crossed US 45 about 2.5 miles south of Waynesboro, MS before deciding to call it a chase.  This chased ended when I arrived in NIB shortly after midnight on the 16th.

Wall Cloud associated with the southernmost cell that formed along the cold front in western Misissippi and southern Louisiana.

Chase Stats

Storms Intercepted: 3

Wall Clouds: 2 (Meridian, MS, 5.5 S Waynesboro, MS)

Tornadoes: 1 (Quittman, MS)

Hail: Pea Sized (Quittman, MS)

Distance: ~800 miles

Slight Risk, Big Reward: 25 May 2012

 

On a day where conditions were in place for tornadoes across Central Kansas, one big important question remained. Could storms manage to break the cap? Or would this be another prime example of a day where good dynamics go to waste. With all of these questions left for chasers to ponder, I did not decide to chase the setup until ~11am on the morning of the 25th. Like 19 May, I would not be able to depart from ICT until ~3pm due to work responsibilities. Therefore, I chose Great Bend, KS as an initial target. However, I boxed an area stretching from Great Bend northwestward to Lacrosse and Hays, and back eastward to Russell, KS as the area for convective initiation and eventually tornadoes due to slow storm motions that were the result of less shear aloft. With most of the HailSTONE team targeting the same area, the PI's decided to have limited operations for the day.

Initial wall cloud and associated "Beavers Tail" (left) feeding moisture into the storm.

With all of this in mind, I quickly departed ICT by 3pm. Coincidentally, I ran into Cooper and Bosco upon arriving in Great Bend shortly before 5pm. Prior to continuing into the forecasted box for the day, I assisted them with an inverter issue. Once resolved, we quickly departed Great Bend shortly after 5:30pm and began heading north toward initial convection southeast of Hays, Kansas.  Once we got well north of Otis, KS on dirt roads, we gained visual of the cloud base and other intricate storm details. Collection 2 and I managed to stay just to the south of the wallcloud for well over an hour, managing to document dust and dirt being picked up into the updraft of the storm. We then elected to sit in between the northernmost cell and the cell to the south an monitor the progress of both cells before getting into contact with Impact 1 and going into collection mode northeast of Russell.

Dust and dirt being lifted into the updraft as the storm strengthened.

After surviving a barrage of uncomfortably close CG strikes while collecting hail, Collection 2 and I headed back south of I-70 to get in a better position to observe the rapidly organizing storm south of our initial storm. Once south of I-70, we blasted west on dirt roads once again to get closer to the rapidly organizing wall cloud associated with the storm. Finally, the storm produced a tornado around 8:50pm in an open field near Gorham, KS. After aborting any extended documentation due to lightning, I decided to blast west after Collection 2 once again to get closer to the tornado since it was barely moving. As we got closer, we were treated to a spectacular back-lit ropeout, as the cone tornado took the shape of an elephant trunk and stretched across the sky before completely dissipating about 7 minutes after forming.

Close CG strike during HailSTONE collection.

After observing the updraft base and the recycling wallcloud, Collection 2 decided to head south to the next storm, while I decided to quickly blast north back to I-70, and then east back through the hook before the storm reproduced another tornado. I was able to punch through the hook and get far enough east as the storm produced a second tornado to my southwest. An increase in wind speed and a wind shift to the northeast was experienced during this time. That particular tornado went on to produce EF-2 damage in the town of Russell, KS. Once I cleared this storm, I made a stop in Salina, KS to fuel up and review the event before proceeding back to ICT for work the next morning.

Cooper and Bosco observing the recycling wallcloud that was in the process of producing funnel clouds as a CG strike occurs nearby.

Distance: 250 Miles
Wx: 1 Tornado, Hail, many CG Strikes & Gustnadoes

HailSTONE 2 Day 7: 23 May 2012

The next morning began extremely early as the two target areas in consideration were pretty far away from Watertown, SD. After deciding on a target of Eastern Nebraska, the team set off on I-29 once again for another lengthy drive. The team arrived at the target area early for the second day in a row, which allowed the team to have some downtime while waiting for convective initiation.

The team killing time on a hill north of Lincoln, NE.

There were strong surface winds gusting at high as 33 mph at times.

Once convection initiated, the team immediately went into collection mode on storms west of Wahoo, NE. Already experiencing a barrage of computer problems, my afternoon got a little worse as I found myself stuck behind several locals and other chasers. This impeded my progress enough to allow the hailcore from another cell south of our initial storm to overtake me and collection 1 on our east/west road. After surviving several uncomfortably close CG lightning strikes and some questionable driving from those around us, we were able to clear the hailcore just as the meso was approaching our east/west road.  After continuing another 3 miles east to get further ahead of the core, I found myself underneath the meso just as a gustnado spun up just east of my north road option.

A rather well defined but brief gustnado crossing my east/west road. Image taken by the dash cam.

After turning north, I was able to get caught back up to the storm briefly. However one costly navigation mistake took me back out of play for the remainder of the first stint of operations. I then retreated back to the meeting area north of Omaha, NE for further instructions from the PI's. After a successful first intercept for the team, and additional storm firing, they decided to got back into collection mode. However, with it getting late, I begrudgingly decided I needed to start my 5 hour trip back to ICT for a short nap before work the next morning, thus ending journey with HailSTONE 2012.

Distance: 2,181 miles

HailSTONE 2 Day 6: 22 May 2012

After leaving work on May 21, I prepared for what would be my second marathon drive in a week's time to meet up with Project HailSTONE for the first time in 2012.  I departed ICT for Watertown, SD around 3:30 pm and finally arrived shortly after midnight on the 22nd.  After a short night of sleep, the PI's held the morning briefing deciding on a target area of Bismark, North Dakota.

The team departed Watertown, SD ~10:30 am to get in position to wait for convective initiation north of Bismark.  After a few car issues (including my data card antenna getting blown off of my roof again), ice cream sandwiches for good luck, and footraces down dirt roads, the cold front had overtaken us without convection initiating due to abundant stratus clouds in the area.  Taking this into account, the team repositioned to the east and was able to salvage the day by intercepting a cluster of storms south of Jamestown, North Dakota during the evening hours. 

 
The team decided to trek eastward across South Dakota and brave gusty outflow winds (measured ~50mph; 5-10mph error) from collapsing storms to return to Watertown, SD for a short night's rest.