Thanks for the info, Darren!
I doubt I'll ever take it up as a full-fledged "pursuit", as it were. I
was actually thinking along the lines of the tours you're talking about.
I've been through a few of the high precipitation supercells -- one was
just like a hurricane. Though, there wasn't any serious-sized hail in
my vicinity. The biggest I've ever seen with my own eyes would be
marble-sized or less. I have been in some where the rain blows in
around the door seams, though. And once, when I was in college, I was
living in a mobile home off campus when one blew through Murray, KY. It
might have just been my imagination, but I remember thinking I could
actually see the walls flexing in and out. It was one of the scarier
moments I've ever experienced.
The strongest one I remember, though, blew through the area where I live
now back in 1993. That thing seemed to last forever, and the strangest
thing about it is that it came out of the northwest. Nearly all our big
storms come out of the southwest. This one actually darkened the sky
enough to turn on the streetlights before it hit. And I'll never forget
the eerie green light after the storm blew out. It didn't produce any
tornadoes in the end, but there were a lot of downbursts that just
leveled homes and uprooted some really big trees -- exposing root
systems at least 8 feet in diameter on some of them.
I happened to be at work at the time at an electroplating shop. One of
the guys I was working with decided it would be a good idea to open the
door to see what it looked like while the storm was still happening.
The door he decided to open happened to open in the direction that the
wind was blowing, and as soon as he cracked it the least little bit, it
pealed the door back against the outer wall and took him outside with
it. We weren't sure he'd ever get back in -- but once he did, we gave
him hell about it for the rest of the day.
It takes an awful lot of technical knowledge to be able to predict where
a tornado might happen -- so much that I doubt I'd ever be able to
immerse myself into it to the necessary extent. But, it sure would be
great to go on a run with someone who does have that kind of skill. I
wouldn't want to try it here in Kentucky by any means. But, someplace
where you can actually see the storm and where it's heading would be a
real thrill.
Thanks again for the info!
-- Walt
On 3/7/2011 1:20 PM, Darren Addy wrote:
Yes, if you just happen to be in the right place at the right time, a
tornado might just happen by. If you live on the plains long enough it
is bound to happen. But if you want to find picturesque storms in a
particular window of time (say a week of vacation?) - that takes some
forecasting skill. You need to know when storms will initiate and in
what area you are going to get adequate shear to support supercells
and low level turning that supports tornadogenesis.
I highly recommend booking with a reputable storm chasing tour
company. For example, Roger Hill is a storm chasing legend and he runs
Silver Lining Tours ( http://www.silverliningtours.com/ ). Tornado
season will be starting within the next month for the southern plains,
and gradually move north as the season progresses. The month of May is
considered "Prime Time" and you are usually just about guaranteed to
find chasable storms if you plan to chase the last couple weeks of
May. Nebraska's season is from late May into June, but last year we
got passed by as the good stuff went into South Dakota and Minnesota.
(Believe it or not Minnesota had more tornadoes than any other state
last year. Oklahoma and Texas are really cheesed-off.)
Roger Hill story... one day there were no warnings of severe weather
from the SPC, but my wife and I noticed big lightning in the west as
we came home from some shopping. I checked radar when I got home and
was surprised to see a supercell that was CLEARLY producing a tornado
about 50 miles west of me. Checking a map, it appeared to be close to
Gothenburg, NE. The next day, I found out that Roger and his wife were
the only people in the area and were on that storm. The next day, my
son-in-law and I passed through that area on a chase and took damage
photos just SW of Gothenburg. It amazed me that this guy from Colorado
was good enough to be in the right area when this storm popped.
By the way, there are different types of supercells and some are more
photogenic than others. You want to stay away from HP (High
Precipitation) beasts unless you like monster hail and enjoy
photographing hurricanes. Roger is based near Denver where they get
some amazingly photogenic LP (Low Precipitation) storms and photogenic
landspout-type tornadoes. Even if you plan on learning to chase on
your own some day, I recommend a good tour service like Roger Hill's
for getting an education.
Darren Addy
Kearney, Nebraska
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