Severe Weather Awareness

This last week was national severe weather preparedness week.  During the week, the national weather service put out various themed preparedness messages each day to help to inform the public on severe weather and how to be prepared for it.  Along with the NWS, many television (and non TV) meteorologists and severe weather enthusiasts also did their part to inform the public of severe weather safety.  This is generally done in the early spring to make people aware for the upcoming severe thunderstorm season that begins in Spring.



There are several types of severe weather that one can encounter.  They can come all at once or individually as each storm is different in its own way.  The main threats from thunderstorms are lightning, wind, rain, hail, and tornadoes.  Each of these can bring life threatening risks that are good to be aware of.

Warnings are not generally issued because of lightning, and lightning can be a hazard in non severe storms.  Lightning is an electrical current.  You needn't be struck directly by the lightning to be a victim of its effects.  It can travel distances through objects and can even strike you indoors through conductors such as pipes or wires.  The electrical charges will interfere with your bodies electric nervous system causing damage or death.  It can also "pass over" the outside of the body leaving burns.  Many people are killed each year by lightning.  The catch phrase to remember is, when thunder roars, go indoors.




Wind, on the other hand, is something upon which a severe thunderstorm warning will be issued.  Wind speeds of 58 mph or greater will cause a severe thunderstorm warning to be issued.  This is the speed at which more significant damage begins occurring; damage that can cause injury or death to a person, or significant property damage.  Power outages are also caused by the wind that can be more than just a nuisance should the outage last for any length of time.  In larger wind events, power could be out for days.

Rain is not something that brings a severe thunderstorm warning, but is an inherent danger in thunderstorms.  Severe thunderstorms can produce very large amounts of rainfall in a very short period of time that can cause flash flooding to occur that can wash away, people, cars, and property.  Prolonged periods can cause longer lasting flooding that lingers on.  The phrase "turn around, don't drown" is put out to help remind people not to go into flooded waters and they can be deadly.




Severe thunderstorm warnings are issued for hail; hail that is greater than 3/4 of an inch in diameter.  Hail stones fall at high rates of speed and when they get large can be devastating to property and can kill living creatures.  Most hail is small, but in rare instances can get up to softball size.  Hail of that size will total you car.

Tornadoes get their own special warning because of their destructive and deadly properties.  Most of us have seen what the large tornadoes can do to communities over the last few years.  The scenes of devastation can be apocalyptic and leave places unrecognizable and uninhabitable.  Debris can also be carried long distances.  Last year I was 30 miles away from a major tornado and had large pieces of debris raining out of the sky; pieces of roof and walls, insulation, personal affects.  It was nerve wracking to realize that this was pieces of peoples disrupted lives raining down on me, and that some were likely dead.


Watches are issued by the national weather service when the conditions that could produce severe weather appear to be coming together in a region.  They might be a severe thunderstorm or tornado watch, depending on conditions being favorable for their development.  When a watch is issued, that is when you should already have your plans ready to go.  Stay informed with your local weather reports and have a NOAA weather radio in case a warning is issued for your area.  They only cost $30 - $40.  It is much like having a smoke alarm.  They are there for when you need them.


When a warning is issued, this means that severe weather is ongoing and will be entering your area.  This is the time when you put your emergency plans into play.  Many people are caught off guard in severe weather because they don't have a plan on what to do and often are left frozen with indecision and confusion.  Some people just plain don't heed or take serious the warnings.  Don't be that person.  It only takes one time for it to be fatal or life altering.


And, I don't want to forget about the aftermath.  After a severe event there may be a lot of debris about and downed power lines.  You generally want to stay in place if it is safe to do so.  You may have to help neighbors should they need it too.  Your being prepared may not only help you and your family, but neighbors also.  People who are not affected can help by staying out of damaged areas and donating cash to known charities such as the red cross who deal with disasters on a regular basis.  Cash is best because these organizations know what the immediate needs are and they would rather not be inundated by other peoples throwaways.


Stay informed, have a plan, and help others if you can.

Tornado Outbreak Nov. 17th, 2013

This was the lead story last weekend.  A tornado outbreak strikes the midwest and Great Lakes region.  81 reports of tornadoes in 6 states damaging dozens of town and leveling several. Also hundreds of reports of severe wind and hail we recieved causing sporadic damage and power outages over hundreds of miles.  In Illinois there were 2 F4 tornadoes, the first time such large tornadoes had struck the state in November since records have been kept. 



As early as the previous Wednesday and Thursday, there was talk of a severe weather event coming together in that region.  The storm prediction center even put out a graphic 4 days in advance for severe potential.  As we got into Friday and Saturday, the potential for severe weather became more and more sure, and also more and more ominous.  All the ingredients seemed to be coming together for a major tornado outbreak.  It became so sure by Saturday that a High risk area was posted, which is a rare event.  On Sunday morning they expanded the risk areas a bit. Anybody who was into weather knew...  this was a seriously dangerous situation about to unfold.



All the ingredients were there, a strong low pressure system creating lots of wind,  moisture flowing in from the south, a strong jet stream flying overhead from the west creating crosswinds at different heights in the air.  Along with the moisture you had enough warmth at the surface and cold air aloft.  The cold front coming off the low was bowed a bit forward rather than dragging behind with a sharp contrast in temperatures and wind direction.  It wasn't a matter of if, but when would they begin to fire.

By 9am the storms had already begun to fire.  There was a line in N IL near Rockford, and SW of Peoria some more storms had just formed.  There were a couple of tornado warnings on the north storms for spotted funnel clouds, but they were soon robbed of energy by the southern storms as they developed.  At 11:55am the first confirmed tornado was spotted by Pekin IL, just south of Peoria.  It did some damage and moved on to East Peoria by 12:00pm and damaged up to 80 homes there.  The storm intensified more before it moved into Washington by 12:05, a full blown F4 tornado that you saw at the open of the blog.  As time moved on, more storms developed and more tornadoes formed and towns hit.  It was truly a scary afternoon.



I was already on the road by the time the first torndao reports started coming in.  The first tornado was on the ground for 46 miles and lasted 41 minutes (notice the speed?  over 60mph).  It lifted at about 12:36 or shortly thereafter.  Very shortly after that I was arriving at Morris on the NE corner of the storm.  All kinds of debris was raining down from the sky.  Mostly it was construction material; insulation, shingles, little bits of wood.  I knew something bad had happened, and that also I was not in a good location.  It seemed to take forever to get out of there as there was traffic lights to work through and I got them all red and thinking, there is a tornado coming at me and I am stuck at this light.

I proceeded east to stay ahead of the storm, also hoping I could work into a good location.  Then the storm began dropping new tornadoes.  Braidwood, Coal City, Wilmington, Manhattan, then Frankfort.  Each time the reports were moving  NE and I was on a direct collision course with the tornado.  I knew I was in the slot, with rains to my north and ominous steep rising clouds to my SW.  The tornado I knew was just behind the feature to my SW, being abscured by rain from my view.  The whole time I heard the sound of tornado sirens blaring into the afternoon sky.  I just couldn't make any progress against this fast moving storm.  I finally had to bail as traffic had become too slow to outrun the storm and I did not want to be stuck in my car if it hit.  Good thing too.  The map I am looking at shows the last report only 2 km to my south.  How many miles is a km? That was at 2pm in Frankfort.



Upon my return home, I stopped back and checked out some of the debris that had fallen.  Mostly it was construction material.  I found a fragment of a hand written note and a piece of a bill from 1991.  About 40 miles from Washington I found a piece of wall board about 3ft square.  Hard to imagine that frisbeeing for 40 miles, but there it was.  There was also a lot of sporadic damage from non tornadic winds; trees down, power poles snapped, garbage cans and such strewn about.  It was also on my way home I began to hear the reports of what I already had known from the falling debris.  Towns had been hit and severely damaged by tornadoes.







One of the oddities of the tornadoes that day was there seemingly targeting places named Washington.  There was the town of Washington IL that was severely damaged by an F4, and further downstate another F4 struck Washington county.  AND, the town of Washington Indiana was hit by a tornado also.  



My prayers go out to those affected, and calls go out again for assistance to anyone within my reach.  If you give cash to the Red Cross, you can designate it to be for tornado relief.  I have to hand it to the communities though.  They have very quickly sprung into action with their emergency plans they had in place and the relief efforts so far have been very organized and quick.  Kudos to the communities, and the surrounding communities and businesses who have all pitched in to help. I hope it has been like that in all the communities hit Sunday.  There were many.

Hailatious!

Job 28:22-3 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?

In exodus 9:23, Joshua 10:11, Isaiah 30:30, Ezekiel 13:11&13,38:22, and Revelations 16 God uses Hail to bring forth judgment upon the enemies of God.  Hailstones are large chunks of ice that fall from a storm. They can be anywhere from the size of a pea, all the way to the largest hailstones that can be larger than a softball.  One storm was even described as bowling balls falling from the sky.  Hail storms are highly destructive and every year do billions of dollars in damage to crops and property, and yes, can kill people.
 

Hail is formed from updrafts within thunderstorms as it pushes rain high into the cloud where very cold air freezes it. Once frozen it starts to fall but gets caught in another strong updraft where it gathers more moisture on its way back up making it larger. If the updrafts are strong enough they will continue this process for long periods of time allowing the hail to accumulate more moisture and more moisture. In a severe thunderstorm downdrafts may act like a wedge and increase the intensity of the updraft. Updrafts can get so strong they even intrude into the stable stratosphere. When updrafts are this strong it becomes possible to suspend large hail for long periods of time further adding moisture to the hail, sometimes building it to incredible sizes. Updraft winds can be from 100 to 120 miles per hour when producing baseball and larger size hail.


It is estimated that hail can fall to earth at speeds upwards of 80 mph.  There are not a lot of measurements exactly and a precise formula is quite complicated given the many factors present within a thunderstorm.  It would be safe to say that, well, you really don’t want to find out for yourself.  If you are lucky, you will only escape with large bruises.  Hail is not something you would want to mess with and it is best to take shelter in a sturdy building away from any windows should a hail storm be approaching.






And Finally, a more common hailstorm I filmed.

Big Mistakes!

Big News Friday night was the coverage of tornadoes in the Oklahoma city area once again.  A tornado emergency was declared and multiple tornadoes were reported in the area, as well as large hail, and as much as a foot of rain.   It was a really horrid situation in an area already massively hit in the last two weeks.


Another issue was exposed Friday, and one that has bothered me for a few years now.  This is the problem of the new storm chasers.  Since the program Storm chasers aired and became popular, we have seen an explosion in the number of people who storm chase.  It has gone from something a few weather geeks like myself and a few scientists do, to a mainstream extreme sport.


The chasers today are a different breed.  They make group names for themselves, paint their vehicles up in fancy paint jobs with all kinds of lights and instruments, kind of a pimp my ride for weather geeks.  The attitudes are not of sober concern, but of wild excitement, screaming like little girls while hanging out car windows.  They disregard traffic laws and ignore law enforcement.  Rather than being concerned with safety and reporting for the public, they are all out to be the one to get the great shot that will make the TV news and to be famous and rich.


This bravado has underestimated the danger involved and I think a sense that their own skills were superior enough to toy with death and walk away unscathed time after time.  While no one died today, a number of these chasers got caught in today's tornadoes and nearly lost their lives in the process.  It just emphasizes the exact thing that I had been concerned about for a long time.  The Weather channel crew amazing survived relatively unscathed after being thrown across a field the length of two football field, crushing their vehicle.  Other chasers were reporting damages to their vehicles and injuries to themselves, thankfully nothing too serious.


I've seen these guys clog roads, disobey traffic laws, argue with authorities, block emergency personnel, and behave like idiots.  They park in the roadways, speed past other vehicles, stand in the roadways, block off streets, cut off drivers, and other such dangerous behaviors.  They can turn and empty rural road into a bumper to bumper traffic jam in minutes.  Once I came around a blind curve to find a tornado chasing tour group scattered about the road.  Had I not been following the speed limit, it would have been disaster.


Something has to be done to curb this dangerous behavior.  I am not sure exactly what the answer is and how to weed out the good safe and serious chasers and researchers from the yahoos, glory seekers, profiteers, egomaniacs, and ignorant.  How do we reign in the madness in such a serious and dangerous activity?


In this video, the chasers got too close to the storm and the tornado did some unpredictable things, leaving them in a deadly drive for their lives.  They should have been farther off to begin with and this could have been avoided.  Instead, in the hunt for glory and money, they nearly lost their lives.

In this video the same thing happens and in their attempt to get away were nearly impaled by flying debris.  they never should have been in this position.

In this shot, we see The Weather Channel crew making some poor decisions that nearly got them killed as their vehicle was thrown across a field the length of two football fields, tumbling and rolling, crushing their vehicle, and somehow escaping practically unscathed.

TWC Vehicle hit by tornado

This is a video of what happened as a result of bad advice by members of the weather media who told people to escape the oncoming tornadoes by driving south.  This advice clogged roadways and made people sitting ducks in metal coffins unable to do anything about it.  Those on the local media and at the weather channel who propose this should be fired immediately.  50 people were injured and 5 dead, almost all in vehicles.

Stuck in traffic Jam during tornado warning


I remember having a hat my Dad gave me from his job.  On it were the words, safety pays in many ways.  That is a motto that many of today's chasers need to learn.  Another saying is this, discretion is the better part of valor. 

My Stormchase 5/19-20/2013

I left early on a Sunday morning, May 19th, before the sun came up.  It was a great sunrise that lit up the sky.  Red in the morning, sailors warning as the saying goes.  Despite the beautiful sight, I could not help shaking a feeling of dread that had overtaken me.  I soon shook it off and made my way towards my destination.


I caught the first storm of the day early in Rapids City Iowa.  it wasn't much but did show a little rotation.  Hopefully signs of things to come.  I left that little storm behind and headed out west.  Desmoines was my original target area, but when I got there it was still early enough so I headed south towards Kansas to maybe get on the big game hunt.


I made it down to Kansas city when the first storms in that area began firing in central Kansas, so I headed west for a minute only to realize that the turnpikes in Kansas were a trap.  There are no off points.  I jogged onto 335 at Topeka and was still trapped until I got to Emporia, Kansas where I stopped to fill up. 


On the way I had noticed a small blip SW of Wichita a half hour earlier and thought nothing of it.  By the time I got gas, reports were coming in of a big tornado about to enter Wichita.  I spent the next hour following these reports and relaying them to a friend in Wichita who was hold up in her basement closet.  A tornado did enter Wichita, but it had weakened considerably and it appeared that a disaster had been adverted.


Of course I noticed the direction of the storm and it was heading right up 35 to Emporia, and my location.  I was stuck at a train as it approached and shot out of town to the north to try and intercept.  That is when another tornado was reported on the ground just west of Emporia.  I was, unfortunately, in its path rather than ahead of it to watch it.  I kept myself ahead of the storm for a while, fighting the road networks which did not seem to want to allow me to get in proper position.


The tornado warning was cancelled but a severe thunderstorm warning was still in these storms.  The storm finally overtook me and I got into some mid size hail of dime to quarter size and winds of 60-70 mph.  I had gone a good ways back north so I decided not shoot back south, mainly because I had to work Tuesday.  It had gotten dark and late so I pulled off for some much needed sleep.


On Monday, I drifted around Iowa for a while, waiting for storms to fire up.  I stopped at a Best Buy to get some cards for my camera, but they had a clearance on the Cannon HF g10 HD camcorder for $750 marked down from $1099.  I could not pass it up.  As I got back to the car and unpacked the camera, the reports started coming in of a large tornado heading toward Oklahoma city.  I followed the other chasers reports as the disaster unfolded.  I was shocked at what I was hearing.  Could it be happening again?  Yes, Moore was struck with a devastating F5 and what really sunk my heart was hearing that grade schools full of children had taken a direct hit.


I did not feel much like chasing any longer and drove sadly home, listening to the accounts of what had unfolded on my radio.  I had a sickening feeling in my stomach and then remembered the feeling of dread I had when I had first left home.  I actually had a thought that maybe it was time to retire after 25 years chasing these deadly beasts.  I reminded myself though that it was others like myself who were out there reporting this, getting the word out to the public to save lives.  Now, several days later, I see that it had saved lives.  People had taken precautions.  The death toll could have been far higher.


This is the real reason why we chase storms.  Yes, we get a thrill out of seeing a big storm with big tornadoes, but none of us ever wants to see what happened in Moore on Monday May 20th.  We go out there to spot these storms and give early warnings to the public to save lives.  We go out there to try and learn and understand tornadoes and severe weather so that we can make better forecasts and give more accurate and timely warning to people to save lives. And, if need be, we can be the ones on the spot initially to try and help those effected by the storms.

Early Iowa storm

Emporia, Ks area, cam 1

Emporia KS area cam 2