HeadcornWx

We left our hotel in Sidney (Nebraska not OZ!) early headed east towards a developing risk area on the Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa state line close to the Missouri river. Temps quickly climbed through the 90s into the 100s and dewpoints were ideal for development of some impressive storms with plenty of available CAPE around 3500. [sharedmedia=gallery:images:18337] [sharedmedia=gallery:images:18336] As we aproached eastern Nebraska storms were already firing across Kansas. Initially we targeted the area from Norfolk Nebraska to Yankton South Dakota however after seeing a shift in the warm front we quickly dropped south towards Columbus. In front of our eyes along the warm front we could see the system exploding. Outside the car you could hear the roar of the storm gaining strength and inflow winds were being drawn in past us. [sharedmedia=gallery:images:18338] We positioned in the zone to the Southeast of the developing storm and waited. Structure was developing, and soon we had a photogenic classic supercell in-front of us. [sharedmedia=gallery:images:18349] The system developed into an MCS as the evening progressed. [sharedmedia=gallery:images:18340] We headed to the town of Blair and found a convenient gas station to shelter from the rain and winds then met up with Skip Talbot for a great BBQ dinner and some lightning viewing over western Iowa.

Day 1 began in Denver. After an early start we headed North to the Wyoming state line given the forecast SPC slight risk. All the way up we had great views of the Rockies out to our West and these provided much of the source of lifting for the storms that were to develop later in the day. [sharedmedia=gallery:images:18327] Following lunch we waited around the town of Wheatland, Wyoming for development off the Rockies which proved to be very slow to produce. [sharedmedia=gallery:images:18329] One cell looked promising. We followed this east where it took on supercell properties for a while before breaking down, however produced some reasonable sized hail. [sharedmedia=gallery:images:18328] South of us in Colorado on the lower end of the risk cells became tornado warned and dropped brief tornados today. Tonight we moved east into Nebraska ahead of what could be a significant day for the eastern part of the state. A 5% tornado risk has been issued by SPC. [sharedmedia=gallery:images:18330] As ever, a full set of photos is available from the [url="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9qb5ckmqu727jap/pu1luZ7OFJ"]Headcorn Weather Stormchase Dropbox link[/url] and you can follow us at the [url="http://www.netweather.tv/index.cgi?action=chaselive;sess="]Netweather Chase Link[/url] or via [url="http://www.spotternetwork.org/google.php"]Spotter Network[/url] ID 'Nick Parnell' More Later...

Its finally arrived. After a very good and speedy flight over yesterday it was great to meet up with the team in Denver. Jet lag has set in nicely so after about 2 hours sleep I'm up writing the blog! I may not be so coherent later on our long drive North into Wyoming for todays slight risk area stretching from Southern Wyoming up into Montanna but it's a great way to start the tour. Some great views of the Rockies are promised on the way up. Tracking as usal via the[url="http://www.netweather.tv/index.cgi?action=chaselive;sess="] live tracking and streaming link[/url] network coverage permitting in the wilds of Wyoming. See the full tour photo gallery in my [url="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9qb5ckmqu727jap/pu1luZ7OFJ"]Headcorn Weather Photo Dropbox[/url] updated daily. [sharedmedia=gallery:images:18324]

Get Well soon. Sorry to hear that I won't be meeting you on tour 5 this year. All the best for a speedy recovery

[size=5]I[/size]t's hard to believe but over a year has passed since my first stormchase with Netweather. In 2012 I joined tour 2 out of Dallas/Ft Worth, and although just 1 tornado we had storms most days with some amazing structure including a mothership supercell over Roswell of all places and this late afternoon stunner over the farmland of Oklahoma. In 2013 I'm joining tour 5 out of Denver destined for the northern plains of Colorado, Nebraska and the Dakotas. It promises to be an amazing trip and as always you can follow us live (network coverage permitting) via the [url="http://www.netweather.tv/index.cgi?action=chaselive;sess="]Live Video Stream Link[/url] with blog updates here, photo updates both here and via the [url="http://www.headcorn.org/html/stormchase.html"]Headcorn Weather Stormchase Page[/url] and twitter updates via [twitter]headcornweather[/twitter]. Until June...

Glad the team all ok. Total Devastation up around moore. Watching coverage on http://kfor.com/on-air/live-streaming/ .

Some pretty high temps out there today too. Abilene 104, San Angelo 106. Radar starting to spring into action now. Nick (Tour 5 guest - Tour 2 2012)

Good Timing getting out of the Core. Looked impressive on the stream Arron.

Just about to sort the flight for tour 5. Can anyone remind me who's doing the stormchase insurance now? Thanks Nick

Great Video everyone. What a great start to your tour. Sadly I dozed off and missed this on the stream last night. Will be watching later.Enjoy! Cheers Nick

[b]We're not in Kansas Anymore...[/b] Day 10 is finally here. Our last day chasing. SPC have a slight risk for the Plains from Oklahoma up through Kansas to Nebraska. We set out from our base of McPherson in 40mph hot winds which soon reached 97F and headed for the dry line. Dry line Definition: [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_line"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_line[/url] [attachment=134491:Dry Line.jpg] A quick stop for Breakfast and the Dow Trucks were already out and about. [attachment=134369:P1010362.JPG] We passed through the town of Greensburg which was previously devestated by a major tornado during the evening of May 4th 2007. Although much has been rebuilt, the signs of that day remain everywhere. We crossed the state line headed South into Oklahoma. Ahead of us we could see the dry line streaching South to North across the sky. [attachment=134370:P1010377.JPG] [attachment=134492:P1010384.JPG] As we watched, to our North we could see massive and intense build-up along the line. In just 15 minutes some of these storms went from nothing to being Severe Warned! We waited. At first it looked as if we'd chosen a point too far south. The cap was holding firm, then boom... the cap broke and convection started going up all along the dry line. [attachment=134371:P1010418.JPG] Moving on we picked a couple of good vantage points to watch the developing storms. Lightning was all around us and funnels were visible from many of the cells we saw. [attachment=134372:P1010467.JPG] [attachment=134373:P1010540.JPG] [attachment=134375:P1010572.JPG] [attachment=134376:P1010575.JPG] [attachment=134377:P1010594.JPG] Finally as dusk aproached and we drove through the town of Clinton, Oklahoma we looked West. There on the Horizon it was, our first Tornado on the ground. [attachment=134493:Tornado 5 Miles West of Clinton OK.jpg] - Acknowledgments to Dave Vicary for this video screenshot of the Tornado. We finished up the evening with the Storm coming over us from the safety of a Gas Station to provide protection from large hail and went on to witness an amazing lightning show. [attachment=134378:P1010637.JPG] [attachment=134379:P1010645.JPG] [attachment=134380:P1010648.JPG] [attachment=134381:P1010653.JPG] [attachment=134382:P1010658.JPG] [attachment=134383:P1010662.JPG] The people of Tornado Alley take this all in their stride. Whilst devestating, the chances of actually being the victim of a Tornado here are pretty small. Nevertheless, every year they strike and every year they impact on the lives of these people. With more knowledge comes beter systems to warn those who live here. Systems such as automatic cell-phone alerts are already being proposed and the more people understand the behaviour of the storms the greater warning times that can be given. I hope you've all enjoyed this brief insight into Tornado Alley, a tour which has taken us 4000 miles around America. This has been one amazing trip. Although pretty quiet on the Tornado front, some of the structure we've seen has been unbelievable. Netweather know how to make Stormchasing fun. Paul and Dave have done an excellent job in getting us to the best positions for the storms as well as all the general organisation. If you're still undecided whether to go or not, look back through the photos. You've gotta be prepared to travel to see the sights but you will see the real America, meet some wonderful people and see weather like you've never seen before! Thanks for reading.

We began the day in Hays, Kansas. Todays risk was far up North so the plan for the day was to drive down to Hutchingson and visit the Space Museum there where they also have an IMAX cinema showing Sean Caseys "Tornado Alley". Temperatures today were crazy. By 2pm it had reached 93F with winds around 40mph but a really dry heat. The drive took us through some amazing scenery and fields of crops flowing like rivers in the wind. We visited the historic town of Claffin with its wild west frontage as well as a fantastic disused Prarie house reminiscent of something out of a movie. [attachment=134334:P1010297.JPG] [attachment=134335:P1010300.JPG] [attachment=134336:P1010318.JPG] [attachment=134337:P1010323.JPG] We met up with fellow chasers Dana and Chris from Arizona to watch Tornado Alley. An amazing movie and really impressive in IMAX. Following the movie, we Met Aaron and Laura Hiscox and were kindly invited to their friends ranch near McPherson. Twenty years ago they had lost everything when a EF4 tornado hit the previous ranch on the same site. Fortunately no one was injured, but after coming up from the basement shelter they found their home destroyed. The family have rebuilt a wonderful house on the site. We spent an unforgettable evening at the ranch. Home made pizza and some great target shooting to finish the evening off. [attachment=134338:P1010332.JPG] [attachment=134339:P1010337.JPG] [attachment=134340:P1010345.JPG] Saturday, our last chase day looks very promising in the Oklahoma Panhandle. High CAPE and potential for Large Hail, strong winds and the odd Tornado [img]http://cdn.nwstatic.co.uk/forum//public/style_emoticons/default/smile.png[/img] Hopefully some good structure and a great chase day before heading home on Sunday. Remember you can follow us live on the Netweather Stream at:[list] [*][url="http://www.netweather.tv/index.cgi?action=chaselive;sess="]http://www.netweathe...chaselive;sess=[/url] [/list]

Thursdays Chase day began in the town of Limon Colorado, situated at 5377 ft ASL and made famous as being the site of the most gruesome lynching in American history back in 1900. Fortunately nothing quite as gruesome during our stay! The most recent and significant Tornadic event of note was back in 1990 when a EF3 touched down west of Limon. We woke to a pleasant change in the forecast from the Storm Prediction Centre (SPC). Even early on, distinct tops could be seen over the Rockies and a build-up to the east was already underway by lunchtime. We left and headed East where dew points were favorable and significant CAPE (Convective Available Potential Energy) was present.[list] [*]For CAPE definition see : [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convective_available_potential_energy"]http://en.wikipedia....otential_energy[/url] [/list] As we neared the Kansas State line a number of Storms cropped up. Some severe for a while. [attachment=134302:P1010264.JPG] [attachment=134303:P1010265.JPG] [attachment=134305:P1010281.JPG] We took a central path between two significant systems. Gusty winds and heavy rain were present. At one point, the outflow could be seen to lift up surrounding dust into clouds as previously seen down in New Mexico. [attachment=134317:P1010270.JPG] Although looking promising at first, none of these storms became Super-cellular. They all however generated some good CG Lightning. [attachment=134304:P1010273.JPG] Finally we drove East through Kansas to our overnight stay in the town of Hays. Looking at the SPC predictions, Friday seems to be a similar convective day however Saturday has a higher risk of some more organised systems within the Southern Kansas, Oklahoma and the Northern Texas areas potentially providing a good show before the trip back.

Day 7 began in Amarillo. Initially we'd planned to drive into eastern Oklahoma, however looking at the model forecasts for Fri/Sat we decided to head North into Colorado and await developments for Western Kansas. The drive took us through the final portion of the Texas Panhandle into a narrow strip of the Oklahoma panhandle. The land is so flat here, a playground for Tornadoes; all the towns we passed have the warning sirens in place. Railroads are key to local transportation and we saw some huge freight trains, some with 120+ carriages and well over a mile long. [attachment=134287:P1010179.JPG] [attachment=134289:P1010187.JPG] This is grain country. Huge silos are dotted around the landscape to hold the massive amounts of grain produced across the american mid-west. These indestructible buildings have come off unscathed after some of the most violent EF5 tornadoes of recent years. [attachment=134288:P1010181.JPG] The road took us further North. In 90 degree heat we crossed into the South East corner of Colorado. We stopped at the State Line for a photo opportunity. A lizard and green snake slithered off the road into the long grass, a reminder to watch where you put your feet out here! [attachment=134293:P1010197.JPG] [attachment=134291:P1010185.JPG] Driving North West we could begin to see signs of convection over the Rocky Mountains to our West. This was clear on the Barons Radar, however today these storms would remain firmly attached to their mountain home. As we approached our stop for the day in Limon Colorado, the remains of the storms were dissipating over Denver. [attachment=134290:P1010241.JPG] [attachment=134292:P1010256.JPG] With the Storm Prediction Centre improving risk, fingers are now well and truly crossed for the next few days. Those of you on the next few tours should now be getting excited with the chance of a major outbreak forecast! Keep a close eye on the SPC forecast as this develops.

Tuesday was our longest drive so far. Leaving Sonora we drove North and into the the Texas Panhandle, our first view of Tornado Alley proper. The area is flat, towns are few and far between and skies are big. Dust Devils can often be seen dancing in the distance across the hot and vast wide open spaces. [attachment=134264:P1010126.JPG] Todays weather was hot and clear. Although some convection existed towards the south, the cap held and skies quickly cleared on the drive north to Amarillo. The main attraction in Amarillo was the Big Texan. Some of the best steaks around and home to the famous 72oz challenge, mind you no one in our group was brave enough to try it! [attachment=134265:P1010132.JPG] [attachment=134266:P1010134.JPG] [attachment=134267:P1010154.JPG] Dave did go for the Man vs Food Challenge and Man Won (just). [attachment=134269:P1010158.JPG] A texan limo trip back to the hotel, complete with Bull Horns. At 12mpg I don't think I'll be getting one! [attachment=134268:P1010168.JPG] With weather not performing well, the next few days look like positioning for the predicted storms on Friday/Saturday. Originally Oklahoma on Wednesday, however a last minute change meant we're off to Colorado first then moving to Kansas ready for the final show before the journey back. Hope you're all enjoying the live streaming. Hopefully another good convective day before we head back.

Nothing could quite follow Sundays amazing day at Roswell. Monday in Carlsbad started with a storm and heavy rain early morning. It was all looking good. We saw Sean Casey and Brandon Ivey from Team TIV at breakfast who were also headed south to the Mexican boarder to pick up the days threat potential down there, however on the way down we passed the DOW (Doppler on Wheels) trucks headed the opposite way. We reached Big Bend National Park and had little to no radar coverage and no internet for the live stream or backup GRLevel3 data. We met up there with other Chasers from Arizona and waited for the storm. I suppose we'd been spoilt by the Mothership supercell on Sunday. Unfortunately no real visible structure. Overnight we stayed in Sonora, Texas and visited a great Mexican Restaurant. A long trip on Tuesday awaits as we head up to Amirillo on our way to the Central Plains.