Since there has been no tropical cyclone activity since February 26 (when Tropical storm Yalo in the South Pacific dissipated), I create this thread for storm chasing. If a supercell storm gets severe enough, it may spawn one of several tornadoes, and since the Central Plains (the so-called Tornado Alley) is the most active area, the present topic will get interesting. However, as like it happens with tropical cyclones, tornadoes form worldwide (Surprisingly the UK gets the most tornadoes per square mile, and some years ago an EF0 struck East of my area) and all-year round, and also can move in any direction, though in the Central Plains they tend to move Northeast.
If I'm not mistaken tornado activity starts increasing from now, correct me if I'm wrong. Good storm chasing!
Seeing as you're not from the US (you may have a better perspective), is the rest of the world fascinated by places like Tornado Alley? Every time a huge tornado hits somewhere in the US, foreign press agencies inevitably devote some article on their respective websites to demonstrate how these tornadoes form, and how the Midwest is so unique compared to many other places in the world. You never see mile-wide tornadoes ripping through suburban Madrid or Frankfurt, so I'd imagine it's quite a shock to those not from the US (or Canada -- they get twisters too).
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on March 13, 2016, 04:55:24 PM
Surprisingly the UK gets the most tornadoes per square mile
Indeed. Though if you restricted the US' square mileage to just the midwest, where 90% of tornadoes occur, it would be no contest.
Set your markers for West central IL, NE Missouri, and SE Iowa today. As long as you don't interact with a cooling and stabilizing lake breeze coming from Lake Michigan, great chance to see the first storms of the year for the cornbelt and southern Great Lakes
Quote from: jakeroot on March 14, 2016, 01:54:35 AM
Seeing as you're not from the US (you may have a better perspective), is the rest of the world fascinated by places like Tornado Alley?
There are weather enthusiasts in pretty much every country I suppose. Tornado Alley is quite well-known in the Netherlands, Discovery's 'Storm Chasers' aired in the Netherlands, and the movie 'Twister' was a childhood fixture for many people now in their late 20s / early 30s.
There are storm chasers in the Netherlands, some of whom are not hesitant to travel over 400 miles away to see storms. The problem in the Netherlands is that storms are often fast-moving and hard to keep up with, and while the road network is dense, so is the system of rivers and canals, posing travel barriers. The road network is also more organic and less predictable as it is on the High Plains. And the high population density often creates congestion. Plus there are many more trees and there are generally fewer places where you can pull over, as most roads in Europe do not have paved shoulders except for freeways.
The Great Plains are ideal for storm chasing, not just because most tornadoes form there, but also due to the consistent road network (grid), low population / traffic density, flatness and lack of trees. These conditions are much more unfavorable in much of Europe.
I've seen F4 tornado damage in Europe. In 2008, there was a tornado outbreak that produced an F4 tornado in the town of Hautmont in northern France. I drove through there a couple of days later on my way to Spain. There were houses with the top floors blown off. I suppose the brick rowhouses are bit more sturdy to avoid being swept off their foundations as you can see with violent EF4/5 tornadoes in the U.S.
'Tis the season for NWS Trained Spotter classes! Learn to become a trained spotter who knows what to look for in dangerous storms. I just signed up for one. The NWS website has pages showing the schedule for upcoming classes.
Examples in IL/IN/WI:
http://www.weather.gov/ind/spotter_talks
http://www.weather.gov/lot/spotter_talk
http://www.weather.gov/mkx/spotter-schedule
If you simply go to www.weather.gov and click on your locale on the US map, there will usually be a link on the top of the new page to something about spotter training.
One of the local news stations recently purchased a van to chase after storms. Winter has been so mild though, they've been using it on every minor flurry because that's all we've got.
There is the possibility of significant weather on Tuesday for Oklahoma and Kansas. Tornadoes, plural, some long track and dangerous, are possible.
Tuesday's severe weather event ended up being somewhat of a bust. A few small, weak tornadoes formed, but nothing major.
KFOR in Oklahoma City in particular is taking a lot of flack for hyping up the outbreak, even forecasting F4 tornadoes. NWS was much more conservative about the event, increasingly so as the day approached.
KFOR prides itself on making accurate tornado forecasts. They get serious ratings especially with Reed Timmer running around in his modified shoe for the station.
Big severe weather day tomorrow. I'll be out!
Quote from: ET21 on June 22, 2016, 12:56:36 AM
Big severe weather day tomorrow. I'll be out!
Did you see anything? I got to see 113 mph winds near Lafayette, IN.
Quote from: JMoses24 on June 24, 2016, 07:41:13 PM
Quote from: ET21 on June 22, 2016, 12:56:36 AM
Big severe weather day tomorrow. I'll be out!
Did you see anything? I got to see 113 mph winds near Lafayette, IN.
Caught two brief touchdowns, beautiful storm structures
There was a roadmeet in Ashtabula just last weekend, and now there's a tornado warning in Ashtabula County! What did you guys DO!??
Quote from: paulthemapguy on October 02, 2018, 02:35:01 PM
There was a roadmeet in Ashtabula just last weekend, and now there's a tornado warning in Ashtabula County! What did you guys DO!??
Must've been a bunker blast to end all bunker blasts.
<shrugs shoulders>
There was a tornado touchdown in Geauga County the week prior to the Ohio roadmeet. That storm came within 4 miles of the original Magyar Estates.
Quote from: Brandon on October 02, 2018, 03:06:38 PM
Quote from: paulthemapguy on October 02, 2018, 02:35:01 PM
There was a roadmeet in Ashtabula just last weekend, and now there's a tornado warning in Ashtabula County! What did you guys DO!??
Must've been a bunker blast to end all bunker blasts.
Not a laughing matter anymore.
https://fox8.com/2018/10/02/tornado-spotted-in-ashtabula-county-tornado-hits-nursing-home-in-pennsylvania/
More expected across the North Woods of Wisconsin. Initial development will be key before the storms go linear
NWS confirmed two EF-1 tornadoes touched down on Tuesday in my county, which now leads the state in recorded touchdowns: https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2018/10/04/nws-confirms-ef1-tornadoes-westmoreland-county/ (https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2018/10/04/nws-confirms-ef1-tornadoes-westmoreland-county/)
Central Illinois is going through a bizarre tornado outbreak...on December 1. There's been a large dangerous tornado on the ground in Christian and Macon counties in the past hour. Taylorville (county seat and central town of Christian County) has seen extensive damage. Two other tornadoes have tracked across more western portions of central Illinois around 3-4pm. One was photographed near Beardstown (Cass County).
I love me a good December tornado. Hope no one was hurt, though.