Archive for the ‘Active US Chasing’ Category

Brett Adair and the Alabama Storm Trackers will be in the field next week for a likely multi-day tornado outbreak acroos the high plains. This is a great opportunity to experience mother nature and see severe weather up close and personal. This is a great opportunity for the weather enthusiast, adrenaline seeker, or someone who just wants to have a unique vacation experience. You will also have the opportunity to meet other storm chasers in the field, and will gain knowledge on how these setups can create tornadoes. Book a seat today, because space is very limited. Contact Brett at his email address: brett@livestormsnow.com for more information on how you can be a part of the chase!

The Alabama Storm Trackers and the LiveStormsNOW.com crew were on the road today in search of snowfall across North Alabama.  We found it on Monte Sano as the upper level low swung across.  Snowfall was very isolated, but we did encounter some heavier bursts.  Around 1” of snow did accumulate before all melting once it ended.  Brett Adair, David Ruffini, and Tommy Self were in attendance for the events.

Looking into the potential for another deep south snow threat beginning tonight and going into the daytime tomorrow.  After going over one of our higher resolution and more reliable short term models this evening….it certainly looks like we will see some flakes flying.  Let’s get into it…

Here is the modeled reflectivity for around 9am tomorrow morning.  You can see a pretty intense shield of precipitation across TN/N MS and N AL.  This area will most likely be in the form of snow as an upper level low pressure area moves across the region.  Very cold temperatures aloft will likely allow this precip to stay in the form of snow through most of the day light hours underneath the low. 

Here is the accumulated snowfall through 9am tomorrow.  The HRRR (High Resolution Rapid Refresh) model is showing some 2-3” totals along the AR/TN/MS border area with more snow still falling at a moderate pace.  You can see the model is showing accumulations sneaking into the picture across North Mississippi and Northwest Alabama during the same time frame.  The snow should just be entering NW sections of Alabama by this time.  We will monitor the trends and progression of this.

We will likely be deploying in the early AM hours for North Alabama to stream somewhere near Monte Sano during the snow event.  This event could drop some couple of inches on the higher elevations across Tennessee and maybe North Alabama.  This will be a situation you will want to pay attention to.  Click the Brett Adair and Eric Parker tab on LiveStormsNOW.com for live video during the event tomorrow.

Friday, April 15, 2011 proved to be one the most intense chases we’ve ever been on, and was certainly the most intense chase we’ve had in the state of Alabama. For nine straight hours the western portion of the state was battered by supercells and tornadoes. This is a recap of that day from our perspective.

We departed our office around 8:00AM and met with our rider, Justin Chandler, for the day in Birmingham. We then traveled to Tuscaloosa and initially were going after some storms that had fired to the north of there. While we were sitting in traffic on the bypass, a supercell erupted just across the Alabama/Mississippi border in Wayne County, MS and immediately began rotating. This storm went tornado warned within the first 20 minutes of its life. We spun around and headed south down I20/59 then AL28 toward Livingston, AL. We intercepted the storm just south of Linden in Central Marengo County, AL. Timing and placement were perfect. Just as we approached an open intersection at AL69 and AL10 a massive multi-vortex tornado appeared from our right. Below is a video clip from that. We would later learn that this tornado killed a person in a mobile home just southeast of Linden. Due to our partnership with WBRC-TV FOX-6 in Birmingham, Brett was in contact with Robert (Our Producer) for the afternoon.  Here is a view LIVE of what Mickey Furgueson and the rest of the FOX-6 Storm Warn team were viewing from our vehicle during the noon newscast.

This really set the tone for the rest of the day and the outbreak.  The storms was really wrapping up as we sat at the intersection of AL-10/AL-69.  Here is our view of the radar as the cell approached and came right over our location.

This was radar imagery of the tornadic circulation as they approached us and crossed our area.  Figures 3 and 4 show the significant inbound and outbound winds showing strong rotation and the tornado as it approached and passed us.  This was our first storm intercept of the day….and there were several more.  I will be making an updated post of the next few videos that I take off when I get a chance. 

I will leave you with this radar and Water Vapor image of the entire outbreak.

Friday looks to be an active day in the weather department and likely in the field for us during the afternoon and evening hours.  The models are keying in on a rather impressive setup for super cell thunderstorms  and potential tornadoes especially across West Alabama beginning around the 2-3pm time frame.  Computer model guidance over the past couple of weeks has been all over the place….however, the models continue to come in more impressive with every run in regards to Friday.  The short term model…..the NAM….appears to be the least aggressive yet still impressive.

This is the latest 12z NAM forecast sounding for 3PM Friday at Columbus, MS.  You can see that low level moisture and CAPE values are more than prime for tornados.  Keep in mind, this is the LEAST impressive model….and these parameters could be underdone somewhat.  It looks like the threat will get cranking shortly after noon for parts of Mississippi and moving into West Alabama shortly after.  This threat will continue into the evening and overnight hours across portions of our area.  The thermodynamic profiles will support the severe weather threat as it moves eastward and as night falls.  We all know how these systems tend to be once they get to our area during the overnight.

We will be out chasing on Friday and will have two tourists seats available for this event at a first come, first serve basis.  If interested, please shoot me a message on facebook or to our company email address.  alabamastormtrackers@gmail.com 

Stay tuned for more information on this storm system as data flows in.

Last night….a large supercell developed along the Nebraska/Iowa border and completely raked West-Central and Northern Iowa with several large tornadoes and a swath of damage.  We have some interesting radar imagery we wanted to share to show how strong this beast was along with some video and photo documentation from fellow chasers of our media group, KDR Media.

Base Reflectivity shows the well pronounced hook and inflow region gong strait into Mapleton around 710 PM Central time last evening.  This is as the tornado was getting organized on the SW side of town.

You can see the tornado coming strait through the town of Mapleton here with the 0.5 degree inbound/outbound velocities beginning to converge and max out as the tornado plows through town.  This tornado did significant damage all across this area.  This parent supercell thunderstorm apparently produced several large, destructive tornadoes over the course of a 4 hour period across Iowa.  So far, we haven’t heard of any confirmed fatalities.

The video below comes from fellow KDR Media stringers Skip Talbot and Mike Boik.

Also….some damage video from KDR Media Stringer Mike Brady.

We will continue to update this story as it unfolds.  Another high end severe weather event is expected across the northern plains and upper midwest later today.  Stay tuned…

The video below showcases the storms that we were able to catch up with on 3/26/2011 across Central Alabama where many storms went into rotation yet only produced very few tornadoes.  Large hail was prevalent during these events as well. 

We will be chasing Mississippi and Alabama tomorrow as a major storm system moves toward the east.  We expect to depart by 6am Central on our trek to a target of around Oxford, Mississippi.  We expect a line of severe thunderstorms to impact the area with the potential for some supercells to develop ahead of the main line by the Noon – 2PM time frame.

Some of the latest data is indicating the potential for some supercells capable of producing tornadoes….in particular the 18z GFS and the 12z WRF.  Here is a shot of the reflectivity for 20z tomorrow from the 12z WRF.

This model indicates some isolated development just west of Tupelo which moves towards the NE quickly as the line to the west intensifies.  We think this is a likely scenario where a few rogue cells are able to fire ahead of the line before the winds veer too much and surface convergence is killed before the line plows full.  We expect some pretty significant winds as well with the line which could cause sporadic major damage.  The line won’t be something to take lightly. 

The GFS shows extreme divergence fields over portions of MS/AL by the afternoon and temperatures jumping into the 80°s.  Instability values will be moderate to strong and this will help create a volatile environment.  

LIVE STREAMING VIDEO: CLICK HERE!

The live video will be available via the link above at StormScapeLIVE.com.  We will be streaming beginning around 7am as we move toward the target zone.  As of now, we have one tourist along for the ride tomorrow and have one slot open.  If interested….contact us on our facebook page HERE!

Continue to monitor our twitter feed on the side of the page and our fan page updates when on the road tomorrow.  We will pop in and out of our chat room on the right side of our video stream to chat with you guys as time permits.  See you tomorrow.

Storms are really going now and tornado watches are up to the Alabama state line from US-82 southward in Mississippi.  Several warnings just came out for the Jackson, MS warning area and these storms are increasing and intensifying.  This is expected to continue eastward late into the night and tomorrow across portions of our area.  One confirmed tornado in Central Louisiana has destroyed well built brick homes near the Atlanta community.  This is a serious situation. 

We will be deploying as things get rocky in our vicinity later tonight or tomorrow morning.  You can monitor our live streaming video at the top of the page or on WBRC-TV FOX 6 once severe weather coverage picks up.  I’ll be with meteorologist James-Paul Dice and Wes Wyatt once continuous coverage begins.  More later…

The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma has issued a slight risk of severe weather across eastern portions of Oklahoma, southeast Kansas, central and southern Missouri, and northwestern Arkansas.  Conditions are expected to become favorable for the formation of some tornadoes across the region this afternoon with a 10% risk of tornadoes across portions of the area pictured above. 

Current surface analysis shows an intensifying 1000mb surface cyclone across portions of northern Kansas with a dewpoint surge occurring out ahead of a sharpening dryline/cold front.  This front will bring a major temperature contrast to the region as well as the southeast in coming days.  As better upper level winds move into the area later today….thunderstorms are expected to form and some may spin causing isolated tornadoes, damaging winds, and large hail.  The mid levels are rather moist today, so visibility will be limited and instability may be hampered a bit.  However, there is still plenty of potential with a moist low level environment as well as shear ahead of the cold front. 

There will be numerous chasers in the field today from ChaserTV and Severe Studios.  We will monitor the situation as we approach game time this afternoon.  More later.