Updates and News!

Well it's definitely been a while since I've updated my blog, as far as chases goes the Herrick day was my last chase worth mentioning.

This post is going to get into the more personal side of things as in what's been going on in my life lately. First I have been searching for a new job because I am very un-happy with where I'm at right now. The management at this place is horrible. I have 6 direct contacts to answer to on every issue that I come across, and if you know anything about the IT profession issues are very common! What bothers me the most is if I have an issue and I'm working on resolving the issue many times one of the 6 comes up to me and tries to pull me away from what I'm doing and have me do something completely different. Yes I know I should always listen to my bosses but when each of them has their own agenda and some of those agendas I don't feel have the best interest of the company in mind especially when I'm working on an issue that affects production and they want me to go to their computer and see why their speakers aren't working. (many time's it's been because the speakers were muted, yes it's that ridiculous) It just isn't right, I've been at it almost 4 years and it's making me a bad person working here because it's getting really hard to leave work at work and not take it home. That's not fair to Jill, she deserves a happy husband and some days it's nearly impossible for me to drop the emotions when I come home. So enough rambling... I am searching very hard for a new job, I've had one offer but I turned it down because it was in Sioux Falls and didn't cost justify, I've also had a phone interview that I feel went really well and I hope to hear back soon because I'm about ready to snap if something doesn't come around soon.

I know a lot of people don't like their job and I understand and feel for you completely, my situation is a little different because I love what I do, it's a great job, I just hate how mis-managed this place is, it almost breaks my heart because I know if this place was properly managed it could flourish and become huge but it never will because we have our backs up against a brick wall until something major changes here. Their solution to increase production is to add this VERY expensive laser instead of automate their existing setup, their current production rates are around 50-60% per each machine where as automation would increase that to around 80%. They didn't want to hear me out on this subject because I'm just a stupid IT person, what would I know about running a business. Well a lot actually, my parents started a Bar & Grill that was very successful and I have a moonlighting consulting business that my business partner and I started and it's completely self sustaining, we haven't had any need to seek outside money to keep it afloat. So yes I do know some about running/managing a business.

Anyways enough rambling about my job and how unhappy I am ;) I really am not that un-happy, I have a great life, wife, family, friends, pets, home, community, etc. What more could anyone really need? I just remind myself everyday that God has a plan and that he's going to get me through this. He's been my rock through this and I just need to be reminded that patience is key in seeking new employment.

Through the past couple months there has been some developments as far as the Chase Team goes, basically what happened is 2 of our admins created Extreme Weather Media (EXM), this company brokers footage of chasers to major media outlets for the benefit of the chaser so they don't have to be calling ton's of places during the chase. Extreme Weather Chase Team (EXWX) is a part of EXM, and I am the new team lead of EXWX. We will be working directly with EXM so both sides benefit. We are seeking new chasers so if you or anyone you know is interested please visit our website for the application.

Another thing I've been doing is working out a lot, I can't believe how well this makes you feel, it's a stress reliever and I never thought being so sore was a good thing!

Last but not least is hunting, I got my first deer while bow hunting this year, it was a great experience and I loved every minute of it. I also did some bird hunting, I don't think I actually knocked one bird down, I know I winged a couple but I can't claim one as my own. Gauge (my weimaraner) did ok when he felt like it, the other times he was just plain old lazy... he still needs some work, ugh!

I'm sure there is a ton more that I can talk about but I'm short on time, so check back later. I'll post some winter weather stats sometime.

7-23-10 Herrick, SD Tornado

Well what a needle in the haystack find this was. We left Sioux Falls, SD at 3:30 and headed west on I90 towards Chamberlain. We arrived in Chamberlain around 6:00 and started watching the storms directly west of us and debated on crossing the river and staying on the East side but we could tell the storm was moving slow so we crossed the river and continued West, we got cored just East of Presho, SD (the national record hailstone fell approx 8 minutes before then in Vivian, SD from the same storm) and turned South on Hwy 183. Being on the backside of the storm while most other chasers were on the leading edge gave us an advantage to get the needle in the haystack. We stopped a couple time along Hwy 183 and watched the outflow/inflow areas with some great views of hail shafts and then we got to Hwy 46 and came up on the roation that was just forming. From there we chased it down to Hwy 18 towards Herrick, SD where we caught this beautiful tornado!

Inflow/Outflow Area

Wall Cloud by Winner, SD

Tornado by Herrick, SD

Spencer, NE area, leading edge of storm

Same as above

This storm was truely one of the most beautiful storms I have seen, the contrast and depth of colors were absolutly amazing!

This might have been the last "good" setup chase this year so it was a great way to possibly close out the year.

Season's coming to a close

It's July already!?!?! WOW, that's hard to believe, this year has flown by. Looking into this past severe season I am super proud of myself and the rest of the team/members that I've chased with and now-casted for.

I have my updated 2010 stats on the side of the home page and I am very happy with how 2010 turned out. By far the best chase day that I had was May 22nd in Bowdle, SD we witnessed 7 tornado's that day and one of those was a massive wedge that we were sitting no more than 1/4 mile from. Every other chase that I went on was  a CAP gamble but I never did have a blue sky bust. One was close and that was April 29th, we were on our way to the target south of Omaha but while we were eating in Missourri Valley there as a discrete cell SW of Sioux City, this cell had rotation well defined within it so we baled on the South target (oops bad mistake) by the time we intercepted the updraft was really struggling and as soon as it hit the Missourri River it completely died so being it was 7:30ish we packed up and went home.

2010 was also more than a big year for me it was a huge year for Extreme Weather Chase Team we have gained a ton of knowledge, intercepted over 20 tornado's this year and made national media! Marc Hicks deserves a huge pat on the back because he was super agressive this year and really got the team rolling. We are also associated with Black Cloud Media so we will most likely be making national media more often.

I just want to say thanks to everyone and especially Jill for supporting this hobby of mine. The rest of the year I'm planning on staying very local unless there is a great setup which I'm sure there will be one or maybe two more this year but I won't hold my breath. I will make an account later with all of this years greatest pics.

Thanks for following!
Joe 

6-17-10 = Bustish for me.... win for many others

We were determined to stay in IA last night but only being 1/2 of a county away we should have ran up to MN to get to the late show, we could have made it for a couple nados but we wanted to see it keep back building and eventually get crazy in IA. Well that never happened, for some reason it decided to stay insane in MN!!! Marc Hicks, Mike Vetter, and John Stone ended up getting 8 total tornados, 3 of which were wedges!!!

Here's a short video for now, I will post the whole video as soon as it's done getting edited...

6-17-10 FCST

Well here is the day we've wanted all along, the chances of the SPC (Storm Prediction Center) of jumping this day up to a Moderate Risk is there, they just need to do it!!!

This will be a short but easy forecast as I'm sure I'll have more to come later on.

There is an enhanced chance for severe t-storms in the hatched area w/ the yellow defining a higher probability!

There will be tons of moisture to play with in the atmosphere!

There will be very little to NO cap out there. (Cap is the overall wind shear aloft that kills off convection and doesn't allow storms to form)

Now with very little cap and 4000+ CAPE the convection should be off the charts, the way this usually plays out is there are a couple great supercells that form and a lot of other little satellites that spark up on radar but then they get pulled into the main cells thus creating major supercells.

I really can't wait for tomorrow, this could easily be another tornado outbreak day. I hope we get to top May 22nd but I have some doubts too. No matter what this is going to be a great day for chasing, many well noted national chasers are targeting the area from SW MN, E Central SD, and NW IA. I personally feel that I will be targeting the NW IA area since it's my backyard but I am still waiting on a couple model runs before that's set in stone. Be sure to click here for EXWX's live streams and pay attention to the skys so you remain safe! 

Update

I just thought I should update since I haven't for the past 2 weeks, I've been doing some chasing but staying very local since many of the storms eventually make their way to Rock Valley I need to stay more local just in case something were to happen then I can respond with the fire department. All has gone well, last week we put about 600 miles on and got to punch some cores with blinding rain, 70+ mph straight-line wind and a wall cloud with a funnel but no tornado! Overall I'm very satisfied with the last 2 chases, it's been great fun and I'm especially happy that Jill was finally able to go with us this year, hopefully the next storm she goes out on will be a little better.

We have an active next couple days coming up and if you are around the KELO viewing area be very mindful of the skys as the tornado threat isn't very high but hail and wind are and it's still possible to have a brief tornado from a severe warned storm. Also pay attention to KELO TV for EXWX streams or click hear to see them live also!

Recap of 5-22-10

NWS rated the wedge tornado an EF-4!!! NWS report HERE, the other report for the rest of the tornado's are HERE. The total for us observing goes as follows:

EF 0 - 2
EF 1 - 2
EF 2 - 2
EF 3 -
EF 4 - 1

I'm still in awe of this day, it will always be a firm memory in my head. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone that was affected by these storms. We hope and pray that all recovery goes well.

5-22-10 North Central South Dakota

Well the setup was looking like a gamble leading up to the 22nd, the CAP that was forecasted was fairly stong and we knew that we could bust but you can't score if you don't play. We ended up scoring big time! A total of 7 touchdowns, including a large wedge and a stovepipe.

We took off from Sioux Falls, SD at noon and headed west on I90 to our original target of Chamberlain, SD, while on the road we talked the forecast over with KELO's Meterologist team and we decided on a target of NW of Pierre, SD. After considering this new target we jumped on it and by the time we got to Pierre towers were already starting to form, we took our time and headed East on Hwy 14 towards Highmore. We got to Highmore and grabbed a little bit of food and watched those towers just explode and start to anvil. We took off north on Hwy 47 and got to Hoven, SD and the storm went tornado warned. The storm was very rapidly rotating and we knew that this one was the storm to jump on and chase until it died. We pulled off of Hwy 47 and observed the storm and we could not believe the inflow at this point, this storm had a ton of energy and was ready to go nuts. We got in the car and as soon as we got back on Hwy 47 we witnessed our first tornado, we took some gravel roads to avoid traffic issues and got 2 more quick touchdowns. We then got to Hwy 12 where we way "THE WEDGE" aka the biggest one of the day (Rated EF4) we flew west on Hwy 12 towards Bowdle, SD. When we got to Bowdle we turned off onto a gravel to get a better angle of the massive wedge, we sat there for about 3-4 min while the tornado rapidly grew and became extremely violent.

The wedge then became rain-wrapped and we decided to get East, we wen't another 5 miles east and sat about 1/2 mile north off of Hwy 12 and from there we witnessed 3 more touchdowns, 2 stovepipes, and a rain-wrapped cone.

We then continued the general Easterly path and got pounded by RFD many times. We also found a new "Bob's road" aka CO Rd 13 right next to Richmond Lake, NW of Aberdeen, SD. I highly recommend that nobody ever drive on that road! I need not explain, just trust me, stay off of it!
We then played the gust front for a little bit while it was getting dark because the updraft area was so wrapped in rain it wouldn't be safe to be in at this point. Along the gust we witnessed many funnels.

Overall it was a great and very sucessful chase, we scored 7 out of 8 reported tornados. Who knew a CAP bust possibility could succeed so well? Credits to Greg Rardin for the photos, I was busy with the video camera.


Links for the video: Part 1  Part 2

 

4-29-10 Western IA Chase

Well to start off I swear God was telling me not to go out chasing but as the sinner I am I decided not to follow his signs. The final blow that was telling me not to go was when we were 20 miles away from home I got a call from my wife (Jill) saying that her car broke down in Sioux Falls, it over heated and the cooling fan wasn't running. I should have turned around then and there, but we pressed on knowing that the car will maintain a decent temp if you keep it moving and don't run the AC. The car did make it home where it sits in our garage waiting for me to fix it.

Ok, now with the chase, ugh what a deal! We took off at 3:00 with an initial target of Onawa, IA. We got to Onawa around 4:30 just as the SPC issued a tornado watch further south, so we pressed onto Missourri Valley, IA. We sat there, grabbed supper and then checked data, we noticed there was a cell SW of Sioux City, IA that we could easily get to with strong rotation. We didn't really want to risk going back north too bad as we knew if we went up north and this storm dies that would be the last of chasing for the night because it would be too late to get to the southern IA storms that were rolling in. We then got a call from a nowcasting EXWX team member saying... go go go, so we listened and took off North!

The whole drive up to this storm I was really nervous knowing that this could be a complete bust and die on us when it hits the Missourri River but if it survived past the river it would really take off and go crazy, it was a risk that we took. We got back up to Sloan, IA and watched the storm die off :( It's part of chasing, you bust sometimes so we weren't upset, just bummed. We met up with Marc Hicks and Brent Koops in Sioux City and shot the shit for a little bit before heading home. Here are the pictures right before the storm died.

4-23-10 SE Nebraska Chase

We took off from Sioux Center, IA at 7:00AM with a target of Marysville, KS. We arrived in Marysville, KS around noon, grabbed a bite to eat topped off our tanks and reviewed data. The SPC issued a torndao watch to our NW, even though I'm not one to chase "dots" after reviewing the data on the 18z model run we knew we had to run a little NW so we took off and ended up in Geneva, NE we were further south than most chasers, this gave us a great vantage point to see towers shooting up. We decided to head east and ended up in Crete, NE where we sat and watched the major storm to our SE develop. We sat there until it was SVR warned, when it went warned we took off to Lincoln, NE not too long after getting into Lincoln it became Tornado warned, we then flew to the updraft area by Waverly, NE. We did see a wall cloud and a ton of scud action. Overall it was a successful chase with us ending up on the strongest storm in SE NE. Here are some pictures of the event.

April 21-24 Outbreak?

It's happened, the Gulf has opened it's gates and we're back in business. Moisture is finally inching its way up to the plains and creating plenty of instability to go around. Today is going to be a precourser on what will happen Thursday and Friday.

Thursday, Childress, TX is the target for quite a few chasers and EXWX team members Marcus Hicks, and Derek Davis, The CAPE value is 2750+ which is on the verge of extreme instability this in turn could  cause a significant tornado outbreak.

Friday is the day for me though, this is looking like a northen plains chase day through and through.

We (meaning Brent Koops, Greg Rardin, Pete De Boer, & I ) will be meeting up with Marcus and Derek Friday in KS and start chasing the nothern edge of KS and follow the dryline up the the triple point for some possible warmfront action. Stay tuned for updates and be sure to watch our live stream at ChaserTV or Extreme Weather Chase Teams Website

First Chase 4-5-10

Well to start off there is nothing else to say but "dissapointment". Marc Hicks and I left Rock Valley, IA at noon with our initial target area of St. Joe, MO. We get down to St. Joe at around 4:00, top off the tank of gas, and check data. The surface plots were showing great dew points a little to the west of us so we figured why not and headed west to Hiawatha, KS where we meet up with some other chasers. After about an hour in Hiawatha watching some towers trying to bust the Cap  and get sheared off we checked data again and pretty much ruled that we might have a bust on our hands. The Cap was way too strong to do much with, so unless there was a definate sign we were going to head north towards home and stick our tail between our legs. We finally decided to call it and head towards home and maybe cut back into MO just incase there is a slim possibility of a tower busting the Cap (wishful thinking!!!). All would have gone to plan except there was an issue with the car, it wouldn't start, the battery was completly dead. Luckily Marc had a jumper pack and we got it jumped and headed north out of Hiawatha. 7 miles out of town the car died again, this happened a total of 4 times (thank goodness KS has great people that are willing to help). As we were heading home we saw to our south west a large line of towers going up that tempted us but we knew it was home or bust at this point.

We headed to hwy 75 where we knew Brent Koops and Justin Vink were and met up with them, we all got a little touch of the anvil that was forming and felt the dissapointment but we all knew we had to get home and work the next day so we pressed on. Leaving that storm really put a damper on the rest of the way home but at least we knew that we forecasted it correctly because the storm that we would have been on was the strongest around, and produced 2" hail. There was one tornado reported that day but that was east of St. Louis and that was middle afternoon. Our skills were put the the test and it truly did pay off except the car problems. Sorry to all of those who were going to watch our live stream, since the alternator went bad we couldn't run the inverter to power the laptop/camera equipment. There will be another day that will be glorious and everyone will be able to see what we see. For now here are some more pictures of the storm we had to abandon.

Signed up for live streaming!!!

For those of you that pay attention to chasing, streaming, and weather in general here is a chance to view what is going on in my playground. To view the stream you can either navigate to Extreme Weather Chase Team's Website and click on the " Streaming Live Watch Now" tab or go to Chaser TV's Website and look for me in the list under "Current Live Video Feeds". I hope you enjoy this opportunity to view NW IA's weather.

P.S. I only go live when there is actually something going on, I'm not always streaming.

Chasing Season Starts Soon!!!

I know it's a little early but it truly is around the corner. I set my truck up with a laptop mount, web cam and video camera for streaming with Chaser TV . You can also go to Extreme Weather Chase Team to view my live stream.  Here are the pictures

3-2-10 Now Pushed Back to 3-7/8-10

Well as I figured it might, the forecast got pushed back to this coming weekend. This looks as though it'll be a cold core setup, there will be plenty of cold air aloft circulating to create some great instability.

Credit to Verne Carlson, I would have run the same models but I'm too lazy!

FCST 3-2-10 Still going steady!!!

The models are still showing a good dryline in Cntrl/Wstrn TX. Like my previous post said the CAPE model run still has something to be desired but it's showing stronger than the last run. This is a good sign, the closer we get the more accurate the models will be and I like the 750J Kg jump in the CAPE. The Shear is showing a great 90degree cross over right on top of San Angelo, TX that is where most of the convection/lifting should occur! I will be sure to post more as the "first chase" storms unfold themselves.

If you can tell I'm getting excited. This is where I would love to be again!!!


Be sure to checkout my YouTube Channel often this spring, as I will be chasing a lot with Extreme Weather Chase Team and posting videos often!!!

FCST for March 2, 2010

There looks to be a GFS run that is consistantly showing a Dryline & Trough in W TX on March 2! I've been watching this model the past couple days and it hasn't changed too much either which normally means that this could really be a good day for the "1st chase" of the season for may chasers!

All the surface plots reflect a strong trough with eastern, Gulf winds rotating and blasting south through much of TX but on the other side of the trough there will Pacific moisture being blown in and creating instability. As of right now the projected CAPE and soundings aren't really reflecting any potential but it's still really early for those models to catch up to what the surface plot is showing. They usually don't show too much until around a week in advance. As soon as the sounding looks to be more accurate I'll be able to tell what severe potential this setup will have. I do however think it could be a very good setup with all the moisture from the Gulf and Pacific flowing in along with the boundry of Artic dry air up to the north and the cool mountain air blowing east. It's over all a good setup on the models.

Here are the models with the highlighted area!!! It's going to happen and it will be epic!!!

Haiti Help

Christian Reformed World Relief Committee is helping people in Haiti!

You can help relief efforts in Haiti by donating to the CRWRC.

Donate $5.00 by texting "support crwrchaiti" to 20222 or donate $10.00 by texting "crwrc haiti" to 20222. You can also donate online by clicking HERE

American Red Cross helping the people of Haiti!

You can help relief efforts in Haiti by donating to the American Red Cross.

Donate $10 to the American Red Cross by texting "HAITI" to 90999. You can also donate to the International Response Fund by visiting the ARC HERE



Please help the people of Haiti in any way you can. No matter how small or large the donation you are helping people in need.

FCST 1-22-10 Through 1-24-10

Currently we are sitting at the calm before the storm. This storm is a very interesting one as our temperatures are sitting above normal for mid January temps. There is a low pressure system brewing off in E CO right now that is heading our way and will be centered over E SD by tonight. This low pressure system will be pulling upper level moisture and allowing that moisture to condense into rain ahead of the system. This low will be moving right along with a cold front so behind the low there will be colder air that will change the precip chance to a mix of snow/rain instead of what will be falling infront of the low which will be rain. At 9:00AM 1-22-10 this is what the radar/surface is looking like. You can see the counter clockwise wind already even when this low is still in CO. That usually means it's going to be quite strong. I'm calling for 0.2" of ice and 3" of snow in RV IA. 

The Blue and green are probabilities of ice - (Green = .25" or greater - 40%-60%) (Blue = .25" or greater - 10%-39%) Another cool thing is the light brown is a convective outlook issued from the Storm Prediction Center, we are in a low probability which is unusual for Janurary, could mean some convection leading to T-storms around our southern neighbors. Hope they have fun watching that unfold for them while we are sitting up here "iced in" HAHA.

Crazy January Weather

First to start out locally, this week we are looking at a week with solid precipitation, starting tonight with freezing rain on into Thursday. Then Th into Th night we are looking at snow, up to 2". It's not much but with the 40" we've already had and with the freezing rain that will create a blanket of ice we are looking at a pretty serious situation.

Next we go to CA, there are a number of systems brewing in the Pacific as the Polar & Subtropical Jets are closing in on each other in the upper Pacific. These systems are creating rare severe storms (El Nino systems) over the state of CA. They are experiencing flooding, severe T-storms, water spouts, tornado warnings, winter weather advisories, and cloud to ground lightning at the same time.

Last but not least AR & LA. Later on in the week the systems that have impacted CA are moving on to the mid south region and going to create some severe storms. Any storms during this time frame will tend to be elevated; that is, they will develop over a stable layer near the ground (updrafts feeding the storms will not be surface based). This greatly reduces the odds of damaging winds or tornadoes. They will however create  heavy rain in some areas and a lot of lightning. The CAPE is only supposed to be 750 J/Kg  (very low considering most tornado potential CAPE should be at 2000+) so tornado potential is almost non existent.