Where is Spring?

Mar 06, 2013

We are a week into March. Woo Hoo chase season, Spring!!! But wait…something isn’t right. Thats right, Chicago just received 9.5″ of snow yesterday making it the largest snowstorm since the GHD blizzard back in February 2011 as well as a top 4 March snow event in all of Chicago’s 128 year weather history. The [...]

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Burning Fire Pit Video IS NOT From Russian Meteor Strike

Feb 15, 2013

A meteor (or meteorite I think technically) has struck Russia and incredibly there are dozens of amazing videos capturing both the strike and the incredible audio from the sonic boom that followed. Here is a great news article from Russia that has many of these amazing videos: http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2013/02/14/what-is-happening-in-chelyabinsk/?fb_action_ids=10151298314763807&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=timeline_og&action_object_map=%7B%2210151298314763807%22%3A273310476132480%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210151298314763807%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D Naturally though, fake videos are also appearing, such [...]

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Radar Animation of Rain/Snow Line Approaching Chicago

Feb 07, 2013

The new dual pol radar products are fascinating to use. Right now (3:26pm February 7th 2013) there is a changeover from rain to snow occurring across the Chicago area. Normally this is hard to pick up on ordinary reflectivity (right) but using a new dual pol product called the Correlation Coefficient (left), you can actually [...]

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Storm Chase Log: January 29th Illinois

Jan 30, 2013

Summary: Chased early season setup intercepting several tornado/severe warned line segments noting areas of rotation and a few funnels but could never confirm any tornadoes. Stats: Tornadoes: 0 Hail: 0.00″ Wind: < 58mph The setup: Strong, seasonal speed shear as a deep trough plowed into the midwest coupled with record warmth as far north as [...]

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January 29th 2013 Severe Weather Outbreak Forecast

Jan 28, 2013

The nation is gearing up for its first potential widespread severe weather event to take shape on Tuesday the 29th. As such, I am preparing for an early season chase. A quick look at SPC shows a very large risk for severe thunderstorms, especially across the lower MS river valley where a moderate risk is [...]

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Why is Forecasting Winter Precipitation so Hard? Reason 1: Precip Type

Jan 11, 2013

It happens all the time. 6 to 12 inches of snow is predicted. Blizzard warnings! Batten down the hatches, stay inside, close the schools WOO HOO SNOW DAY! *wake up the next morning* a dusting. Its enough to drive a person crazy and lose trust in every weatherman alive. But why is predicting snow so [...]

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Staying Alive. What You Need In a Storm Survival Kit

Dec 28, 2012

Proper preparation for storms can make all the difference in how bad hurricanes and storms impact your life. With the season at its end, hopefully you were one of the few lucky Texans able to avoid any complications of hurricanes and storms. Hurricanes Ike and Isaac took the season by storm, causing deaths, destruction and [...]

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Geminid Meteor Shower Pictures

Dec 14, 2012

Attempted to shoot the Geminids on the morning of December 14th 2012. This was my first time messing around with a DSLR, so while not perfect, I am certainly pleased with the results. I definitely need to get ahold of one of these before chase season 2013.

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Northeast Braces for Nor’easter, Plains and Midwest Severe Weather to Follow.

Nov 05, 2012

As previously mentioned, an active weather week is indeed taking shape, some of the forecast details have changed (as is common) but the overall pattern still looks to be on track. First up is the nor’easter set to impact areas hard hit by recent Superstorm Sandy. Overall this forecast remains the same. Surface low pressure, [...]

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Watching Two Big Weather Makers This Week.

Nov 04, 2012

A potentially active weather week is in store for much of the nation. First on Thursday the 8th the northeast braces for potential impacts of a nor’easter barely a week after Sandy’s devastation. This system will be nowhere near as strong as Sandy, but with the area already crippled, this is the last thing people [...]

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