SOUTHERN WEATHER BRIGADE

Shiny Stuff...

2011-09-29T22:00:00.001-04:00

Last shot has Jupiter and the "Seven Sisters" constellation in the center..Been waiting for some storms for a while..

....gone.

2011-08-13T22:28:00.001-04:00

....gone as in getting good at getting power lines out of shots!..Redone this one and powerlines are gone.

Hooking up with Meso Mike

2011-06-21T11:21:00.001-04:00

On Sunday, Rick and I got a rare treat. We got to visit with Meso Mike back from his tour in Korea and was (fortunately/unfortunately) in the area getting ready for his PCS to Germany... eww... not much storm chasetunities in Germany. Oh well, at least we got a chance to visit with him before he takes off. Rick and I went up to see him. Here's what I got with my new Rebel;).

Always an adventure when you get the Dew involved...
~Dewdrop

Huntsville Lightning 6/17/11

2011-06-17T03:20:00.004-04:00

These images were taken between 12:49 and 1:03 a.m. from High Mountain Road in Northeast Huntsville, Alabama, looking to the west.

...

Adel Ga...(straight line wind event)

2011-06-07T21:16:00.003-04:00

Severe thunderstorm came through Adel Ga. I was on Ems duty and was in a local restaurant when the roof began peeling off. Shingles and fascia boards began falling in the parking lot. Few minutes later a second outflow hit stronger than the first. I estimated it at 70+ mph and it began to really do its damage... Sometimes you don't have to chase storms, they chase you.

Storm Chasing Interview...

2011-05-26T20:57:00.003-04:00

Here is my magazine interview on storm chasing....Enjoy. Click on the link to see the article online.....
Moultrie Magazine Online

Storm Photography

2011-05-24T11:49:00.003-04:00

Just a couple photographic shots from recent storm activity up here in Virginia.

SCM

God Bless Alabama

2011-05-09T01:01:00.002-04:00

Tuscaloosa Alabama EF-4

2011-04-29T18:18:00.002-04:00

..still not over it.

Miller County Chase 03/27/11

2011-03-28T15:53:00.001-04:00

Caught one!

Whoa Whoa Wall Cloud

2011-03-28T14:03:00.005-04:00

I captured this rotating wall cloud near Calera, AL on March 26, 2011. This is about 10 min worth of footage lapsed to around 1 minute. I was secretly begging for it to drop!

Attached above is a screen capture from my live stream on ABC 33/40 from a storm later that night around 8:30 central near the community of Cordova, AL. No damage was reported from either storm but both were awfully impressive.

Springtime!

2011-03-22T13:23:00.001-04:00

SDS!!!!!

2011-02-23T12:22:00.001-05:00

...............IN FULL EFFECT!!

Happy New Year!!!!

2010-12-31T20:32:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year to everyone!!

First Dewvoid Photo!!!

2010-10-29T17:11:00.002-04:00

Yes, for the first time, a picture of the actual "Dewvoid"...(cue dramatic music)..Yes a force so strong that even mere mention of it cause chasers nationwide to shake and tremble in fear. Many a storm and storm chase has been thwarted because of this phenomena.....Well, ok, actually its really Jenn....aka "Dewdrop". But why pass up a good photo posting with her blessing.

Happy Halloween everyone!!

Fall Lightning

2010-10-27T23:28:00.004-04:00

Here are a couple photographs of a rotating Super Cell that moved over Newport News, Va during a Tornado Warning. The lightning in this storm was fantastic. Once the storm moved to my Northeast and the cloud base moved out, I had a perfect view.

SCM

...ARGH!

2010-10-17T20:53:00.000-04:00

Whats a person gotta do to get some weather around here??

God's fireworks!

2010-08-03T23:10:00.002-04:00

I nabbed this one tonight standing in my garage. The lightning is flashing like crazy, so it was like shooting fish in a barrel, but I'll take it!

DEW-YAHHHH!!!

August in a flash..

2010-08-02T23:41:00.004-04:00

Love the "fireballs in the sky" look..
Missed this by having bumped the lens and knocking it out of focus..ARGH!!
Big dipper visible to the right of the clouds..
August is off to a great start with lots of lightning over the last week. One good thing to have come out of this heat wave..

Saturday Night Lights...

2010-07-31T22:44:00.002-04:00

There isn't a better way to enjoy a Saturday night..Booyah!

.....Incoming!

2010-07-18T15:19:00.000-04:00

Bright stuff...

2010-06-15T23:44:00.003-04:00

My First Photo with SWB

2010-06-01T10:12:00.002-04:00

Tifton Flood!

Summer sizzle..

2010-05-31T11:22:00.002-04:00

Summertime Heat...

2010-05-26T23:07:00.003-04:00

Ciao, Mike!

2010-04-26T11:43:00.002-04:00

It is with mixed emotions that I announce the end of a season, but the beginning of an international movement within the Southern Weather Brigade. On Saturday, Meso Mike (the link isn't working yet, but bear with him), will be leaving for a 1 year tour in Korea, serving with our Air Force. After that, he has a follow on to Italy, where he can reunite with his wife and 2 adorable little girls. Of course, we had to give him a proper send-off. My wonderful groom and Rick and I gathered together in Tifton with Meso Mike's family for the send off. The food was exceptionally yummy at the Pitstop BBQ place. Mike's mom commented that she had never been to a place where they serve pickles in the arm pits of the chicken. We had an amazingly fun time, remembering old times, fond memories of chases gone bad (doggone Dewvoid), and they recapped their plot to travel out to Oklahoma, Dew-less in an effort to actually nab something... RUDE!
Mike redeemed himself when he gave me his own personal copy of Tim's Storm Chasing Handbook, which seriously almost made me cry. So sweet, Mike. His gift to Rick just cracked us all up.

We'll miss you so much, Mike. Keep in touch, and keep on chasing. See you when we chase in the plains. :D

~Dew

2010-04-24T14:14:00.003-04:00

Looks like Yazoo, MS was hit by an EF4 tornado today, incredible devastation there.

I just got a report from Alabama Mike. He and Sarah and Rick are positioned to intercept that cell north of Tuscaloosa, and Jeff is trying to get in position for that cell as well. Be safe out there guys. This is a big one!

Happy Easter!!

2010-04-04T20:49:00.001-04:00

WeatheBrains Netcats

2010-04-01T14:16:00.007-04:00

First and foremost, in this week's WeatherBrains netcast, listen to J.B. Elliott's "Miss Kitty" story! On a personal note, it was quite an honor to be mentioned by James Spann, Dr. Tim Coleman, J.B. Elliott, Kevin Selle, and Bill Murray toward the end of this week's (3/30/10) WeatherBrains Podcast. They all said some very kind words about me. If you get a chance to check it out, the part where I am mentioned is at the 1:05-1:08 point. I have even been invited to be a guest panelist for the week of May 17! I am looking forward to it.

Now that I am done "tooting my horn", I highly recommend this netcast to anyone who is interested in weather. I have listened to all 218 episodes. It is very entertaining and educational.

Alabama Mike

...

March 25, 2010 Alabama Storms

2010-03-27T14:46:00.004-04:00

The NWS HUN storm survey rated the Morgan County tornado EF1:

0540 PM     TORNADO          8 W FALKVILLE           34.38N 87.05W
03/25/2010  F1               MORGAN             AL   NWS STORM SURVEY

          AN EF1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN JUST WEST OF MASSEY WITH A
          PATH LENGTH OF 3 MILES AND A MAXIMUM WIDTH OF 50 YARDS.
          MAXIMUM WINDS WERE ESTIMATED TO BE 100 MPH. A MOBILE HOME
          WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED AS WELL AS TWO CHICKEN HOUSES. TREES
          WERE ALSO SNAPPED.

Morgan County Tornado

The Cullman County storm was originally reported as a tornado but no damage was found in the storm survey.

0635 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     5 W FAIRVIEW            34.25N 86.77W
03/25/2010                   CULLMAN            AL   NWS STORM SURVEY

           FUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED 5 MILES WEST OF FAIRVIEW. NO DAMAGE
           FOUND ON NWS STORM SURVEY.

Beautiful start to Spring...

2010-03-19T22:59:00.001-04:00

...Curse of the Dewvoid!!

Springtime in the South!!

2010-03-09T14:26:00.001-05:00

Really wanting some of this to show up soon. The lack of storms is slowly driving me crazy!!

Snow Chase 2010

2010-02-13T21:42:00.006-05:00

Snow..snow..snow...
Had an absolute blast playing in the white stuff!!

Chasing the snow over in Southwestern Alabama..Out and about on the back roads taking pics and shooting video.. Chaser convergence with my good friend Terry Sasser. Talked snow over some breakfast at BK. He headed on back north before the roads got to be impassable and he made it home safely. Always good to see members from my Alabama crew!! You will also see below my footprint where I found some 7 inch accumulations. I would up finding and reporting the first and second highest totals for the state! (Still waiting for my prize)..

John Brown, Storm Spotter/Chaser

2010-02-02T22:39:00.000-05:00

Southern Weather Brigade member John Brown does a great job describing the important role of storm spotters in this ABC 33/40 video.

...

Historic Snow Storm in Virginia Streamed Live

2010-01-30T08:15:00.001-05:00

Watch the snow pile up Live here in Virginia where we will break 25 year records for snowfall totals today.

Wanted: Weather!!

2010-01-26T00:05:00.005-05:00

WANTED: Severe Weather (Tornado, Severe Thunderstorms with copious amounts of lightning that's photographic.)

Willing to trade female member of chase team: Talents include ability to change weather patterns within 300 miles of her location. Member has been known to kill "PDS High Risk" areas without any effort. Good for cookouts and little league soccer games and weddings. If interested call 1-800-DEW-VOID..
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPC is currently debating to change current PDS definition to mean "Potential Dewvoid Situation".

Annyǒnghi Kaseyo!

2009-12-09T21:50:00.002-05:00

Goodness I am going to miss all of you when I go serve our country in Korea this spring! Keep up the great work! I will give you all some updates from Korea!

MESO
I
K
E

Goooooo BAMA!!!!

A Bunch of Weather Geeks

2009-11-03T06:45:00.002-05:00

Rick Lipscomb

J.B. Elliott of Alabamawx.com and Mike Wilhelm

John Brown, hoping for severe weather....

Bill Murray and American Weather Legend J.B. Elliott of Alabamawx.com

On Sunday November 1, 2009 a picnic was held at Oak Mountain State Park, just South of Birmingham, Alabama. It was a nice gathering of CWG (Cool Weather Geeks) which included 3 members of the Southern Weather Brigade (Rick Lipscomb, Mike Wilhelm, and John Brown), J.B. Elliott and Bill Murray of ABC 33/40's Weather Blog, Alabamawx.com, and several more cool weather geeks!

...

Alabama's Oak Mountain State Park

2009-11-03T06:32:00.002-05:00

Photos taken on November 1, 2009

Chasing Fog?

2009-10-21T08:55:00.002-04:00

Foggy morning west of the Huntsville International Airport at 7:14 a.m.

...

Mikey's funnel cloud... close to home!!!

2009-09-01T09:57:00.004-04:00

Mikey contacted me by email on Sunday to share some video footage he shot behind his beach house that day. According to SCM,

"Great inflow winds! Right on top of me! I just got out of the pool and filmed with my phone :). It was a great chase... part 2 showing the elephant going up into the cloud base."

He asked me to post them here for him, so here you go...

~Dew

JB is Finally Aboard

2009-06-18T10:48:00.002-04:00

Hello All,

I would first like to thank everyone for allowing me to participate in this awesome group of weather enthusiasts. My name is John Brown but go by "JB" to avoid all the jokes and songs that come with my real name. I have been a weather nerd since I was a young kid and always will be. I am currently an old 25 years of age who's passion for the weather continues to grow. I lived in Hueytown, AL when the F5 super tornado struck Oak Grove, AL just 15 miles to the west in April of 1998. That experience throttled my fascination with severe weather. I graduated from Mtn. Brook High School in 2001 and went to Auburn University for a short 7 years of fun. I graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Minor in Business Administration. I moved back to Birmingham and decided to take on a new hobby of storm chasing. Luckily I met up with a great guy, Mike Wilhelm, and have created a great friendship and love for chasing severe weather in Alabama since. I currently am the founder of Severe Alabama Wx and The Weather Forum. I have partnered up with James Spann of ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, AL and Josh Johnson with WSFA in Montgomery, AL to carry live streaming video from the field to the viewers during outbreaks. I had several great chases this past spring and can't wait till things get cranking again. I look forward to contributing to this blog and look forward to meeting the members who encompass it in the future.

Sincerely,
JB

May 7, 2009 Elizabeth River Supercell

2009-05-07T22:53:00.005-04:00

3rd chase of the week. This one was all of a 1/2 mile. Severe Supercell to my south put on a show for me. These photographs show just how beautiful Mother Nature really is. HD Video next as usual.

SCM

May 6th, 2009 Chase Photos and Video

2009-05-06T22:18:00.009-04:00

The frontal boundary that has been draped across Central North Carolina and Southeastern Virginia remained in place today. I chased 5 different cells looking for rotation, but no luck. The storms had some amazing structure. Here are a few images. HD Video tomorrow. All of these images were shot on my tripod with HDR.

Updated with Video:

SCM

Severe Storm Cell in Norfolk, Va

2009-05-05T07:06:00.003-04:00

Dewdrop gets married!!!!

2009-04-13T11:18:00.000-04:00

Storm Damage Report for Dooly County's Good Friday Tornado

2009-04-12T15:34:00.004-04:00

Good Friday (4/10/2009) was an interesting day for those of us with interests in south Georgia weather. On Saturday, I found evidence of an EF-1 tornado in Dooly County, GA.

My brother and parents were in Auburn, AL for an awards ceremony and left the university just before it was impacted by a tornadic thunderstorm. It literally chased them to Columbus, Ellaville, and into Vienna. I kept them updated with the "don't slow down or stop for anything but a quick $10 of gas" phrase and location of the storm (in their rear-view mirror). Not long (maybe 15 minutes) after arriving at home in eastern Dooly County, they experienced a near-miss with the tornadic t'storm passing just a few miles off to their south.

I did a damage survey of my parents' farm and the surrounding area of eastern Dooly County (about 5 miles from Vienna exit, off I-75) on Saturday. Selected pictures are attached, below. Minimal (barely visible) damage occurred to the family farm, namely mature trees pushed over and a handful of shinlges are missing (<1%).

The majority of damage occurred along and near Parham Road, and ran due east to GA Highway 257. We found three homes with moderate damage, mostly shingles being removed. The majority of the damage was EF-0 level (dependent on the Damage Indicators; see the EF-Scale description via NWS and TTU); however, one home suffered 30% shingle removal paired with hundreds of nearby trees snapped and pushed over towards the east. This is more likely EF-1, with expected winds up to 110mph.

A more formal damage asssessment was submitted to the NWS Peachtree City office and WFXL-TV.

I am starting to believe.....

2009-03-31T19:35:00.005-04:00

7:13

7:19

7:24

7:30

I have heard a lot about the Dewvoid for two years now. I am not "superstitious" and have refused to believe it could be true. I halfway convinced a few people not to believe.

All that changed on March 31, 2009 at 7:30 PM ET. Dewdrop wanted to see hail so badly and when I pulled up Talahassee Nexrad and heard about her location, I thought this was her chance.

The above VIL images are self explanatory.

On the other hand Rick saw pea sized hail and a blue power flash near Troupville.

...

Celebrities in the midst of the team...

2009-03-03T09:56:00.008-05:00

During the chase event in Alabama on February 18, 2009, Alabama Mike encountered a rotating supercell with an outrageous hail core, which actually left ACCUMULATIONS of hail in its wake!

Mike recorded the chase, including my voice, as I offered data support, while he tandem chased with our new storm chaser friend, John Brown. Travis Vaughn, with the Perry County (Alabama) Herald discovered Mike's video, and he contacted him about an article in their weekly publication, as a human interest story, which made the front page!!! The part about Mike being a NWS trained storm chaser made me laugh. When I thanked Travis for sending me a copy of the paper, I mentioned it, and he responded that,
"Well, what I meant was that he had gone to a class or two about the weather. I certainly didn't mean that the NWS had a storm chasing class...but it did sound that way!"
With the storms training over the same area this past Friday, I was in touch with Travis to warn him about what was coming, and he shared some updates with me, including a great capture of a shelf cloud as a tornado warned cell passed through the northern part of his county and the tornado sirens were going off. I was watching the storm while John chased it, and I offered him some radar and guidance support.This was Travis's shot as he looked due north from the courthouse square in Marion, AL.

Here is a radar capture of what was going on at the time.~Dew

Thomas County Tornado Damage Assesment

2009-02-24T09:59:00.003-05:00

You know... I have seen on television, the devastation of an EF5 tornado such as when 95% of Greensburg, KS was destroyed in May 2007 by a 1 1/2 mile wide EF5 wedge tornado, which stole 11 lives, and the near total destruction seen in Parkersburg, IA, where the 1/2 mile wide EF5 wedge tornado stole the lives of 7 people. I have seen the utter catastrophic devastation left by Hurricanes Andrew, Katrina and Ike... on video, in pictures, but nothing can fully prepare you for seeing it first-hand. Nothing can truly prepare you for that human element that you experience when you look around at the faces of the family, whose home has been destroyed, and they have no idea what to do. Their expressions summarize a feeling of utter confusion and helplessness. The overwhelming appearance of the scene is staggering. Nothing can prepare you for a 300-400 yard wide swath of destruction just mere feet from a lonely house on a hill, demonstrating God's merciful grace, as His hand clearly worked as a shield protecting the lives of those in Thomas county on this fateful February 19, 2009. Rick, Meso Mike and I went into Thomas county Saturday afternoon to survey the damage in both Boston, GA (yes, there is a Boston, GA) and Thomasville, GA. The report from the National Weather Service in Tallahassee had mentioned that they had upgraded the tornado that dropped in Boston to an EF3 after surveying the damage on Salem Road, where bark was literally ripped off the trees in the path of this monstrous beast. The above slideshow is a sampling of what we saw while we explored some of the area.

For more details regarding the damage assessment, check out my Boston tornado post and my Thomasville tornado post. Both include a comprehensive analysis of where we were and what we saw, plus commentary. It was a humbling and surreal experience. I hate night events.

~Dew

Level 2 RADAR Images from Feb 19th

2009-02-22T16:35:00.007-05:00

Times are in zulu (UTC) from top to bottom: 0544, 0550, 0556, 0601, 0607z.

Images are from NWS Tallahassee RADAR site (off screen, to the south). Data provided (free of charge) by the National Climatic Data Center. Images processed using GRS Level 2 Analyst Edition. Left panel is lowest available tilt in Base Reflectivity; right panel is Storm-Relative Velocity.

2009-02-19T08:32:00.000-05:00

I am almost embarrassed to share this because we made a very poor decision. Here is a video of how NOT to chase a severe thunderstorm. ABC 33/40 Skywatcher John Brown and I experienced this on CR 45 in Perry County yesterday. It is definitely worth sharing for the weather aspect, though. I am no expert and have not seen all of the radar images yet, but we may have been in a broad EF0 tornado. I say that because of the way the wind rapidly changed directions and briefly died down in the middle. We did see a tree down and some limbs down. A power pole was leaning but I don't know if that was from the storm or not. Hail was falling throughout almost the whole video.

I have to give a huge "thank you" to Jennifer and John for their help. Jennifer also blogged about this as it was happening.

Yesterday's Rare Dryline Event in North Alabama

2009-02-12T12:33:00.003-05:00

I had a little mini-chase with help from Dewdrop.

Filmed around Noon CT on 2/11/2009 on the north shore of the Tennessee River at the Decatur Boat Harbor in southern Limestone County, Alabama. The camera was aimed to the southwest. Winds were recorded over 50 miles per hour on a web cam in the same area.

Around 1 p.m. Tuesday 2/11/09 a strong but unusual gust front associated with a dry line approached Huntsville.

...

Alabama Mike on the prowl... looks like the weather is chasing Tennessee Mike though!

2009-02-11T13:12:00.005-05:00

Currently, Alabama Mike is under a tornado watch and is chasing a severe warned cell that is approaching him. 11:46AM This is the base of the remnants from yesterday's storm event. It does have a slight risk for severe weather associated with it, and at the moment, it appears to be bowing slightly where he currently is (the red square): ... and he is reporting strong wind gusting around 30 or perhaps over 40 pushing 50mph from the south southeast. The current captures are starting to show some hooky like feature in the radar.
11:56AM:His line looks to have lined out just before reaching him, which explains the wind. The upper segments of the line, have some embedded tornado warned supercells. One of those tornado warned cells looks trained on Tennessee Mike. Super fast moving stuff, too. Storm movement at 71knots!!! Holy guacamole!
12:26PM Mike is racing (within the posted AND BLOWN OVER) 70 mph speed limit sign. Seriously, the speed limit sign has been blown over in the what he estimates at 70 50mph gusts! I think a special exception should be made to allow you to race to outrun a storm that's going faster than you, but as I found out in Nebraska, no such exceptions are made. Be safe, Mike!
12:33PM Mike is setting up to watch this cell roll in...He is in a gorgeous spot overlooking Huntville from a mountain top...This is what he's looking at...12:43PMHe sees a wall of rain in the distance.
Now 12:48PM, another tornado warning headed Tennessee Mike's way.1:00PM: He is looking at what appears to be a low shelf cloud.With crazy wind!
1:05PM: He sees mammatus like clouds under the approaching cell coming in out of his southwest.~Dew

Who turned on the weather?

2008-10-23T22:23:00.007-04:00

Okay, I know I haven't said anything to anyone about this weekend, just because I didn't want to jinx the weather. So, who found out about the Fall Star Party, huh?? Did you really have to bring on the weather though? I know, I should be thrilled that someone somewhere is getting weather action, but not when people are trying to see stars, nebulae, galaxies and more!

Seriously though, I'm bummed, this is second year I haven't made it to the party. :( Whenever there is dark sky get-together and the weather turns, first thing anyone asks is - Who bought the new equipment?! And of course, members of CAV are already asking that very question. :D

So, if astronomers ask who got new equipment when weather turns yuck - what do chasers ask when weather is good? Who bought the new video camera? ;-)

Our fearless leader!

2008-10-17T23:11:00.003-04:00

Is Fall Around the Corner? (no severe weather content)

2008-10-09T08:18:00.003-04:00

With the passage of that "little" squall line through southern Georgia & northern Florida, it got me thinking (dangerous activity, I know). Is this a sign of change? Think back to earlier this year....January or February. We'd get developing fronts that would (usually by the time it reached the Alabama-Georgia line) lose almost all of their steam and leave us with a pseudo or real squall line. We'd all get excited, but little to nothing would happen in southern Georgia (AKA no happy dew dance....for one of us). And Spring surely followed.

Global warming (whatever that really is all about) aside, does this yesterday's event mean that I get to wear a jacket soon? Or, is still going to be short-sleeve weather ..... until Christmas?

Pondering the meaning of all this.......those are my thoughts......what are yours???

Tropical Storm Hanna Video

2008-09-06T15:51:00.001-04:00

SCM

Tropical Storm Hanna Photographs

2008-09-06T14:12:00.004-04:00

Here are my Photographs from Hanna today. Around 9am Hanna was about 90 miles to my Southeast. We were in a large area with no rain, but a strong line of cells was developing on the coast and moving north at over 40mph! I headed to the famous Willoughby Spit beach to take some images. No rain, some sunshine and an awesome cloud bank made for a great photography and video session. Check out all the images here. Video is coming next....

SCM

Hanna from Willoughby Spit, Va

2008-09-06T10:17:00.005-04:00

I have a lot of great video and photography from Hanna. She turned out to be a weak storm, but very picturesque! Here is a taste. I will get the full images and video up tonight.

SCM

Tropical Storm Hanna - Norfolk, Va Live Stream

2008-09-05T11:16:00.009-04:00

I have put up a live stream from my house. This camera is facing due East from the second floor of my house. I will keep it up during Hanna. I have my Natural Gas generator ready to go, so power and internet should stay up during the storm. Keep checking back here or over at my blog. I am officially in storm watch mode and will be providing coverage with video and photography as usual. If we get the eastern side of Hanna, it could get interesting....

2:30pm EST Update: The outer bands of Hanna have started to move through with a nice steady rain, which we desperately need.

4:45pm EST Update: Tornado Watch is now in effect. It looks like we will be getting the Eastern side of Hanna.
9:45pm EST Update: Latest vortex message has Hanna at 978mb and dropping. I'm predicting the NHC goes Hurricane with Hanna at 11pm EST.

6:30AM EST Update: The Live Cam is back online. It does look as though the core of Hanna will move directly over my location. Hanna seems to have a very weak punch at this point after making landfall near Myrtle Beach around 3:30 am this morning, but there are some strong winds around the core of the storm. Maybe we will get some of them?

SCM

Mikey's travels to Gulfport and quickly back again...

2008-09-04T11:12:00.004-04:00

I've been getting updates from Storm Chasing Mikey who traveled for work to Gulfport, MS yesterday, sending me a pic of Gustav's remnants over the Gulf...Then, he indicated that...

"Plane was full of FEMA responders, already preparing for Ike. New Orleans doesn't want to bring everyone back and then have to send them out again. What a nightmare."

Upon landing, he shared a photograph of I-90, which was washed out by Gustav's storm surge.When I noticed that there was oncoming traffic... (click on the pic to enlarge it)... he said that

"No traffic on i90."

... and he added,

"The damage from Katrina here is still staggering. Definitely some minor damage from Gustav."

Today, I got another message from Mikey, including a pic of the towers still going up in the GOM ... and a note that...

"State of emergency just declared for southeastern Va by Govenor. I'm heading home from Gulfport to prepare."

Mikey will start posting tonight and get a livecam going.

Safe travels, Mikey!

~Dew

Latest Update from Some Smart-butt

2008-08-28T11:21:00.000-04:00

We’re about to enter the peak of hurricane season. Any day now, you’re going to turn on the TV and see a weather person pointing to some blob in the Gulf of Mexico, making two basic meteorological points:
There is no need to panic.
We could all be killed.
Yes, hurricane season is an exciting time to be in Florida. If you’re new to the area, you’re probably wondering what you need to do to prepare for the possibility that we’ll get hit by “the big one.” Based on our experiences, we recommend that you follow this simple hurricane preparedness plan:
Step 1: Buy enough food and bottled water to last your family for at least three days.
Step 2: Put these supplies into your car.
Step 3: Drive to Nebraska and remain there until Thanksgiving.
Unfortunately, statistics show that most people will not follow this sensible plan and foolishly stay in Florida. We’ll start with one of the most important hurricane preparedness items:
Homeowners Insurance: Fortunately, this insurance is cheap an easy to get, as long as your home meets two basic requirements:
It is reasonably well-built, and
It is located in Nebraska
Unfortunately, if your home is located in Florida or any other area that might actually be hit by a hurricane, most insurance companies would prefer not to sell you hurricane insurance, because they might required to pay YOU money, and is certainly not why they got into the insurance business in the first place. So you’ll have to scrounge around for an insurance company, which will charge you an annual premium roughly equal to the replacement value of your house.
Shutters: Your house should have hurricane shutters on t all the windows, all the doors – if it’s a major hurricane – all toilets. There are several types of shutters with advantages and disadvantages:
Plywood shutters: The advantage is that, because you made them yourself, they’re cheap. The disadvantage is that, because you make them yourself, they will fall off.
Sheet-metal shutters: The advantage is that these work well, once you get them all up. The disadvantage is that, because you make them yourself, they will fall off.
Roll-down shutters: The advantages are that they’re very easy to use, and will definitely protect your house. The disadvantage is that you will have to sell your house to pay for them.
“Hurricane Proof” windows: These are the newest wrinkle in hurricane protection they look like ordinary windows, but they can withstand hurricane winds! You can be sure of this, because the salesman says so. He lives in Nebraska.
Evacuation Route: If you live in a low-lying area, you should have an evacuation route planned out (to determine whether you live in a low-lying area, look at your drivers license; if it says “Florida” you live in a low-lying area). The purpose of having an evacuation route is to avoid being trapped in your hoe when a major storm hits. Instead, you will be trapped in a gigantic traffic jam several miles from your home, along with 200,000 other evacuees. So, as a bonus, you will not be lonely.
Hurricane Supplies: If you don’t evacuate, you will need a mess of supplies. Don’t buy them now! Florida tradition requires that you wait until the last possible minute, then go to the supermarket and get into vicious fights with strangers over who gets the last jar of peanut butter. In addition to food and water, you will need the following supplies:
23 flashlights and at least $167 worth of batteries that turn out, when the power goes out, to be the wrong size for the flashlights.
Bleach. No, we don’t know what the bleach is for. Nobody does. But it’s traditional, so get some.
A large quantity of raw chicken to placate the alligators $35,000 in cash or diamonds so that, after the hurricane passes, you can buy a generator from a man on the street.

Central Florida's Seasprite is in the house

2008-08-25T03:32:00.004-04:00

If you're sure invitation wasn't a mistake... ;~)

Hi! :~)

Well, I've compressed what I started out with to what you see here, to try and make it short and sweet, well, shorter than it was, at least.

I'm Christine, otherwise known as: Christy, Crissy, Cindy, Sissy, Lizzie, Skyarcher and of course Seasprite. Depending on which family member I am talking to, I get different names, all hailing back to growing up. Speaking of which, I am proud to say that I am a native Floridian, and, a native Miamian! Although I no longer live 'down south', I will always call South Florida my home.

I can't say that I'm a storm chaser per se, because from everything I've read a storm chaser is mostly about tornadoes. So, I've dubbed myself a weather tracker. I am fascinated by it all. From gorgeous blue skies to hurricanes and everything in between. It started while growing up and we had a flood from a storm that took us out of school, to snowing in Miami. Southern Miami at that! It didn't last long, but I didn't care. I was hooked.

Many moons later and weather pushed aside as I 'grew up' Mother Nature decided to send a little wind our way one August night in 1992. Nothing like watching concrete walls 'breathe' in and out in a waving motion, or listening to the roaring of what sounded like jet engines at full throttle, to watching and praying as first the roof lifts up and slams down over and over to peeling off completely like skinning a tomato. Running from room to room as one safe room after another is demolished. Yes, Andrew put life back into perspective, with all his fury.

In case you aren't sure of who I mean, for those that didn't live through it, ya'll call him, Hurricane Andrew. But for those that survived, he needs no introduction and is, just Andrew. There is no mistaking of which Andrew is being talked about. And of course there is a distinction of time now, before Andrew and after Andrew. That simple. Life before Andrew was not complacent but definitely more relaxed, at least for my family. After Andrew though, even tropical storms get our attention. I learned as much as I could back then about hurricanes, and it still carries with me to this day.

However, once again life interrupted, until 2004. What can I say about 2004 besides it was probably one of the hardest years we've had to endure, after Andrew and 2000, when my Dad passed away getting ready to come home from the hospital. Yes, there have been hard times in between, family members passing, my fiance being killed, and more, but we survived. In 2004, we weren't sure we would.

August 6th, 2004, 1:28AM, the phone rang, our hearts stopping thinking that it would be the phone call we all dreaded, something happened to my nephew on his tour in Iraq. Well, it was the same mother, but different child. My 17 year old niece was in head-on collision, she is being medivaced to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, they don't know if she will be okay or not and it took them over an hour using the jaws-of-life to extract her from the car. I aged about 20 years that night.

Fast forward - August 9th, 6th surgery, Jenny is alive, not sure if she will ever walk again, let alone become the police officer that she had been striving for in the last 2 years. And there is a storm coming, his name is Charley. Fast forward - we survive Charley, no power for over a week, but we have generator going once my brother-n-law (we just call him our brother) Jim comes up and hooks everything up. That he had time is amazing, since he is the father of my niece, and was building a ramp up the stairs to be able to bring his only daughter home from the hospital.

Fast forward again - we finally have power back up, and are still cleaning up, when low and behold there is another storm on the horizon, her name is Frances. We survive Frances, although we weren't sure she would ever leave. We start the clean up process, again, living off generator power. Our Pappap (grandfather) comes home from Pennsylvania to Cutler Ridge (southern Miami), and the next day winds up in the hospital, having 'died' 3 times on the table having a catheterization procedure. Back down to Miami we drive.

No, not possible, there is another storm, projected on the same path as Frances, this time her name is Jeanne. So, I leave my mom down south, and drag one of my other nieces (different sister) back with me to Central Florida. Can we not get a break or something???

It was during these storms that I went back to what my dad taught me, tracking hurricanes. I can't say how they will steer, but I am getting fairly decent at getting within 50 miles of where it will hit once it makes up its mind which general direction.

From 2004 on, I have learned as much as I could about not just hurricanes, but any and all weather. I have much more to learn, I am a perpetual student, soaking it all in. Maybe not all the technicalities of it, but that's okay. One day I hope not only to chase and photograph storms, but also to maybe help in some small way of spreading the message, you don't have to live in fear of weather, but have a healthy respect of what Mother Nature can and will do, so be prepared. I also would love to be on the researching end of storms - I want not only to see them, but to know how, where and why they do what they do, and just maybe someone won't get hurt needlessly.

Thanks for listening - and yes, honestly, this was the short version! :~P

- Seasprite

Update from South Georgia....

2008-08-23T14:13:00.008-04:00

Dewdrop said the above picture illustrates why she has no power.

EDITS IN RED BY DEWDROP
Update from South Georgia....

Here is an update from Dewdrop: Trees are down and power is out in her neighborhood in North Lowndes County, GA. The firefighter estimated it would be out for six hours, while they moved the tree from the line. She has also seen trees down, a bent sign, a tree on a car, and lots of limbs. She said this was not from a tornado (not in her neck of the woods) but rather strong storm winds after the ground was "super-saturated" with over 5.5" (Complete total of 7.62") of rain. She has seen signs bent by the wind at the Taco bell (sign blown out) and Old Times Country buffet (sign completely bent). Locations in Valdosta.

She will post more later when she can.

The good news is she is safe. She informed me that Rick has experienced similar conditions and that all is well with him too. (Rick was one mile from the reported tornado in Adel, GA.) The bands in the northeast quadrant of Fay were, as predicted, the most violent. We experienced multiple tornado warning during yesterday evening as the storm moved west. Unfortunately, it was very scary because they were pulses in the rain, heavy drenching rain... so chasing in that environment is not safe or smart. It was hard to see cloud bases, so hard to see rotation. Visibility was significantlt reduced by the heavy downpours. Photos by GTB...

---
THANKS, MIKE!

Not hogging anything...yet

2008-08-22T13:19:00.005-04:00

Trying NOT to hog anything.....just happen to be outside the DewVoid...
Red cross is my current location....green upside-down triangle is rotation that is bothering the NWS.

severe weather statement national weather service jacksonville fl 109 pm edt fri aug 22 2008 ...a tornado warning remains in effect until 130 pm edt for southeastern duval and central st. johns counties... at 110 pm edt...national weather service doppler radar continued to indicate a tornado. this tornado was located near bakersville...or 7 miles west of saint augustine...moving north at 29 mph. other locations in the warning include but are not limited to south ponte vedra beach...durbin...guana river state park...sawgrass and palm valley.

Jay, the weather hog...

2008-08-22T13:08:00.002-04:00

As if getting all the rain wasn't enough... now, Jay is taking all the tornado warnings, too. Weather hog...
1715 UTC
ST. JOHNS FL
LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED A TRONADO ON THE GROUND NORTH NORTHEAST OF HASTINGS.

~Dew

Another one for the "Don't Try This At Home" file

2008-08-21T15:23:00.002-04:00

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
308 PM EDT THU AUG 21 2008

0200 PM TROPICAL STORM JACKSONVILLE BEACH 30.28N 81.39W
08/21/2008 DUVAL FL FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

*** 1 FATAL, 1 INJ *** TWO SURFERS ENTERED THE OCEAN NEAR ATLANTIC BEACH AND WERE TOLD TO EXIT THE WATER BY LOCAL LIFEGUARDS THEN RETURNED TO THE WATER AND DRIFTED SOUTH AND WERE FOUND BY LOCAL OFFICIALS. THERE WAS ONE FATALITY AND ONE SURFER WHO SUFFERED CRITICAL INJURIES. REPORT FIRST CAME IN VIA A STORM SPOTTER BUT WAS CONFIRMED BY THE JACKSONVILLE BEACH LIFEGUARD STATION VIA PHONE.

Chaser convergence... the proof...

2008-08-21T11:16:00.004-04:00

I hate to cover up the great post by Mike below, so be sure to visit it...

Here though is the pic of Jeff and Rick battling the wind and sand to fulfill my wishes of a chaser convergence shot while chasing Tropical Storm Fay. Great shot, guys!! I'm assuming, too, thanks to Kersten, for capturing the shot. Looks like I missed out on a lot of FUN!

~Dew

Amazing rainfall totals in Brevard County, Florida

2008-08-20T16:21:00.005-04:00

NEXRAD and CoCoRaHS reports are showing rainfall of Biblical proportions in parts of the East Coast of Florida, especially in Brevard County. One person, from just west of Palm Shores, FL reported that since yesterday morning 18.42" of rain had fallen as of 2:07 ET this afternoon and it was still raining. He said, "This is my rainfall total since 8 am yesterday morning. Storm Total so far is 18.42, still raining. There is a report just to the south of me as of 2 pm of 24.80 inches from a reliable observer)!"

Here is an excerpt from the latest NHC advisory, issued at 4 p.m. ET:

FAY IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE ADDITIONAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO
10 INCHES OVER EAST-CENTRAL AND NORTHEASTERN FLORIDA...WITH 3 TO 6
INCHES OVER SOUTHEASTERN GEORGIA. ISOLATED STORM TOTAL AMOUNTS OF
30 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN FLORIDA.

J.B. Elliot of Alabamawx.com noted that a NWS employee who lives near Melbourne has
reported the 24.80" referenced above.

---

Chaser convergence in south Florida... Chasing Fay!

2008-08-19T15:16:00.002-04:00

Rick and Jeff have converged and are currently filming some storm surge at Lake Okeechobee, resulting from the ever-impressive Fay. I think that 2008 will go down in history as the year of the really outrageous storms.

Rick is feeling the Inner Bands of Convection

2008-08-19T10:06:00.004-04:00

He is in LaBelle, headed east to try to intercept.

~Dew

Rick getting into position...

2008-08-19T09:41:00.002-04:00

Rick's location is marked by the red plus sign, just above the clear center of circulation, which almost has a hurricane appearance on radar with an almost convectionless clear center. He is currently approaching La Belle, FL with the hope of intercepting the center of circulation.

~Dew

Money's good it'll strike the pennisula....but where?

2008-08-18T18:49:00.004-04:00

The dolphins at Marineland can draw better than this.....

ATTM: Rick's near Punta Gorda, FL with CNN (not really....just parked by the van once).

TS Fay's not made up her mind and has, therefore, confused all watching.

Rick found this graphic (then lost the link) here.

Happy and safe Fay-watching!!!

Two Brigade Members Chasing Fay

2008-08-18T17:29:00.004-04:00

Well, Jeff is out around Ft. Meyers and Rick is out around Venice. Still looking at a Tropical Storm. Models have the thing doing crazy stuff, but the NHC has it cutting across and popping back in at the GA coast. We shall see. I'll keep you posted as I hear from them.~Dew

TS Fay - Monday 2PM

2008-08-18T14:42:00.003-04:00

Monday afternoon in the Keys......

Not necessarily the best place to be, or is it?

Here are two base-reflectivity RADAR images, via Gibson Ridge Level 2 AE, from Miami and Key West NWS sites.

Top image from NWS Miami; bottom image from NWS Key West; both snagged about 2:30 p.m. ET.

What are the Vegas odds on the location of her landfall?

Virginia Storms

2008-08-15T22:21:00.008-04:00

For August, we had some nice storm cells fire up today as there was unusually cold air aloft for this time of year here in Virginia. I wouldn't by any means call this a chase, but I did seek out a good view once I could see the dark skies headed my way. We ended up with an SPC reported wind gust of over 57kts about 5 miles from my location. The storm slid just to my North, which gave me a rain free view and chance at some pictures. I didn't have my DLSR with me...i know, i know, i know! Just too hot to keep it in the car. The pictures from my iPhone came out pretty good considering. Here they are....unfortunately no video to show how fast these clouds were moving near the surface. Yes, I am keeping an eye on Fay and I may have successfully sent her into the Gulf and towards our friends in Georgia and Florida.

SCM

Round 2

2008-07-22T18:09:00.001-04:00

The current radar grab from my location. Another busy night?

Amelia Island Severe Storm

2008-07-22T16:50:00.004-04:00

I am on a working vacation here in Amelia Island, Florida. This storm came to me around 4pm EST today. It was severe warned and had some nice pea sized hail and intense CG lightning all around me. I got lucky and captured this strike during daylight after moving the camera up to F22 and just clicking away until there it was on the screen. Sometimes we get lucky!

SCM

2008-07-21T23:59:00.001-04:00

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENTNATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA1149 PM EDT MON JUL 21 2008GAZ093>095-220415-1149 PM EDT MON JUL 21 2008...

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR FREQUENT LIGHTNING IN MACON...HOUSTON AND PEACH COUNTIES UNTIL 1215 AM EDT...AT 1148 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATEDSTRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM CENTERVILLE TO 5 MILES NORTHEAST OFIDEAL...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 7 MPH.LIGHTNING DETECTION SYSTEMS INDICATE NUMEROUS CLOUD-TO-GROUNDLIGHTNING STRIKES ACROSS MACON...HOUSTON AND PEACH COUNTIES...INCLUDING AREAS AROUND POWERSVILLE...MIAMI VALLEY...MARSHALLVILLE...IDEAL...FORT VALLEY...CENTERVILLE...BYRON...MYRTLE...WARNER ROBINS...AND BONAIRE.RESIDENTS IN THIS AREA SHOULD STAY INDOORS. ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES ANDTELEPHONES SHOULD NOT BE USED UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY.

Round 2 Tonight in Virginia

2008-07-09T19:31:00.003-04:00

I will be heading out here in a few minutes....Tornado warning was just issued for Petersburg, Va!

Update: Storms completely collapsed upon arriving at my location. No lightning whatsoever! Bust.

SCM

Video of the Severe Storms in Southeastern Virginia

2008-07-09T00:42:00.003-04:00

I shot this video today around 4pm EST overlooking the Elizabeth River towards Craney Island here in Norfolk, Va. Dewdrop sent me a few messages telling me there were rotation signatures on the radar. Tell me what you think from the video. There ended up being hail and wind damage around the area. We are in the slight risk box again tomorrow! Sorry to brag....Check out the video and a few more pictures.

SCM

Southeastern Virginia Severe Storms

2008-07-08T18:18:00.003-04:00

Here is just one photograph from today. I'll post more and some great video later tonight.

SCM

Chaser Convergence, 4th of July Style

2008-07-07T10:16:00.003-04:00

You know, I can't get over all of the new friends I have made since I first got into storm chasing. It has been such a wonderfully blessing part of this fabulous hobby. I am so grateful to all my new friends. I can't wait to meet each and every one of you and get to meet you on our "tour of storm chasers". lol

I am so grateful to Meso Mike for hosting an abolsutely wonderful 4th of July celebration where I FINALLY met Meso Mike's charming wife, Carmen, and his kids from Italy, and the rest of his family was equally charming (sister and wife shown here coordinating our colors for the shot... lol). Awesome folks. Really awesome family. They welcomed us, as if we were! I couldn't get over how much Mike's middle niece looks like him... wow. Swimming, fishing, volleyball, and might I say, I have now learned that I am not nearly as young as I used to be. OUCH! I have been sore since. Apparently, I got a little too into the game. I would imagine several of the other adults are feeling the same pain... ibuprofen, the best recommendation I've got.Could make for embarassing video... be nice, Rick. I am almost scared to see it. Yikes, not sure I even want to contemplate...

As darkness started to descend upon us, Mike began setting up for a fireworks show extraordinaire. I don't even want to guess at how much Mike spent on that display, but I would say that it could have contended with a small town's display easily. Over a thousand boomers flying high over our heads with huge explosions of light and color, radiating the sky, causing the neighbors to stop their little splatter of light to catch a glimpse at the complete awesomeness. Seriously, I have NEVER seen a backyard show like that, complete with large flag and the singing of our National Anthem. Couldn't have been better! A huge THANK YOU to Meso Mike for hosting and bringing the show... to Papa Richard for offering up his house... to Granny Margaret and Papa Jim for making the long ride down, for Kim, Rodney and the kids, Matthew and the kids for making the trek over... Rick for offering his video talents and to bf and the kids, including Mini-Dew for making my 4th of July so special!!! Man, I really wish we had captured a group shot!!! WHAT WAS I THINKING?! Next year! :O)Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th!

Toodles,
~Dew

Thunderstorm in Americus, Georgia

2008-07-05T18:46:00.006-04:00

Reporting from Americus, Georgia:
Just before 3 p.m. (ET), a sweet thunderstorm was rolling into Sumter County, Georgia. Several Special Weather Statements were issued in the area, followed by a Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued for the city of Americus at 2:41 p.m. About this time, I was standing in the Lowe's parking lot looking northwest. The water tower corresponds to the western edge of the storm. No hail was reported with this storm. Max winds were 30 mph. At the same time, I heard sirens in the distance (fire engines responding to an accident). A few folks were acting a little nervous at seeing this and hearing the sirens (remember the Americus tornado?) and hurried inside.

Later, a bystander took a photograph (not included) of stratus clouds and got all excited.....wanted to call it a tornado. Funny thing, it didn't rotate.

I'll post the corresponding RADAR images tomorrow (from the archives), unless someone saved a few from KFFC or KMXX (as KEOX's RADAR is down).

An Alabama weather tragedy

2008-07-02T06:27:00.004-04:00

Above is a GR radar capture at 2:05. The microburst occurred in the circled area.

Sunday afternoon June 29, just after 2 p.m., a strong thunderstorm produced a wet microburst at the Blue Angels air show at the Huntsville, Alabama International Airport. Twelve people were injured and a five year old boy was killed as the storm overturned tents and equipment.

According to Tim Troutman, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Huntsville, the winds with the storm were 48 miles per hour so no severe thunderstorm warning was issued. The automated ASOS instruments at the airport, a few hundred yards from the tragedy, recorded a peak wind gust of 48 miles per hour.

Troutman did indicate, however, that the NWS issued a significant weather alert for the area shortly before 2 p.m. and that their office contacted the Airport Authority about the coming storm. In response, the planes were grounded. Unfortunately, however, there was no place for the approximately 50,000 spectators to take shelter.

It sounds to me that the NWS and Airport Authority did everything they could have done at the time to promote safety. Unfortunately, in a situation like that, there is very little that can be done. Even though the storm did not meet severe criteria, a warning would not have helped because people still would not have had enough time to take shelter.

The only thing that could have been done differently would have been to cancel the show the day before due to the possibility of storms. North Alabama was under a slight risk of severe thunderstorms. Just the night before I met Keller Watts, meteorologist at Huntsville's WAAY TV and fellow weather enthusiast James Payton. We specifically discussed the possibility of wet microbursts.

The question is whether the public would understand a policy in which outdoor events without shelter were canceled based upon a forecast. I seriously doubt it. I think most people would say that they do not want to live their lives in fear and would not want events canceled every time a slight risk was issued by the Storm Prediction Center. We put our lives at risk every time we get behind the wheel of a car. Sadly, we cannot prevent every accident and tragedy from occurring.

Nevertheless, I think this event should cause the public and especially the weather community to think about what can be done to improve the warning process and preparedness. Saving lives is not the exclusive job of the weather service. It should be a partnership between the NWS, media, and most importantly the public. We as individuals must take responsibility to keep ourselves aware of the weather and its dangers.

Video

What others are saying:

"Airport officials said they only had about an eight to nine minute warning before the microburst hit. That's when the NWS officials noticed cloud-to-ground lightning. By the time an announcement came over the public address system, spectators had little to no time to seek shelter." - WAAY TV 31

"Fifteen minutes before the microburst hit, a call came from Air Traffic Control reporting a rain storm ten miles West of Huntsville. Then finally, five minutes before the storm hit, the National Weather Service issued a forecast that suspended the show. Did they have enough warning? "No, the first time we had any indication there was any lighting with this storm was approximately five minutes before that wind gust hit and by then they had already shut down the airport," said Mike Coyne, Meteorlogist with National Weather Service. "We had already briefed them that a storm was moving into the area." WHNT TV 19

"As explained by Aaron Gleason, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Huntsville, microbursts like the one that struck the Huntsville International Airport at 2:05 p.m. Sunday can produce winds in excess of 100 mph, even though the highest wind that registered there was 48 mph. "I don't know where that recording was made in relation to where the microburst occurred," Gleason said. "A microburst happens in a small, concentrated area, so it's likely its largest wind gust wasn't recorded." He said the nature of microbursts makes them difficult, "if not impossible," to see on radar: "It's like they develop out of nowhere, and then they're gone." Gleason said microbursts are not unusual, but it all depends on where one happens as to what kind of damage - if any - is recorded. He said microbursts are down drafts that come from thunderstorms and, when they hit the ground, they spread out and produce strong gusts across the Earth's surface." - Huntsville Times

"It was developing into a strong thunderstorm, but it never did reach severe thunderstorm level," he said. "The peak gust was 10 mph under" what the weather service qualifies as severe-level winds. Timeline of the storm 1:45 p.m. - The National Weather Service notified the Madison County Emergency Management Agency that a storm had developed east of Decatur and was intensifying. The storm was moving east at 30 mph. 1:55 p.m. - The weather service issued a short-term forecast that strong gusty winds and brief, heavy rainfall were heading toward the airport. 2:05 p.m. - The thunderstorm hit the airport, registering a peak gust of 48 mph." - Huntsville Times interview with WCM Tim Troutman

A little more Chaser Convergence

2008-06-30T15:27:00.002-04:00

Bf and I were landing in JAX after our tour of eastern Wisconsin, so I decided to drop Jay a line to see if he'd like to grab a bite to eat with us. He abliged... of course, being in Jacksonville, we had to converge with Southern Weather Brigade co-founder Jay, General BS. We ate at a restaurant on the beach called Ragtime, and we shared a tasty dinner before heading out to explore the beach. Thanks, Jay, for everything!

To find out more about our trip, including details about our rainbow chasing that landed us on the roof... check out my blog...Later,
~Dew

A little bit of June light show action... by Meso Mike

2008-06-17T09:21:00.000-04:00

Seems our Meso Mike is having a great bit of trouble getting an internet connection up in his neck of the woods, with spotty reception and all that, so he asked me if I would post some of his recent light show action. I am incredibly jealous of his terrific shots. He always seems to know just the place to be for the best stuff. He and Rick have been shooting many of the same storms from opposite sides... unfortunately, Rick usually gets the wet side of the stick...

Here is Mike's work... all work is copyrighted to "MESOMIKE.COM", so please, no taking... it's not yours... I sized it down though, so it's not all that valuable as posted. :O)Photos by Meso Mike... post by Dewdrop...

Toodles.

Georgia Meets south Florida... and south Florida shows off!!!

2008-06-16T11:46:00.003-04:00

Lots of excitement on my trip to Miami with bf... First off, we saw the remnants of a water spout gone tornado (actually listed as one of the 4 tornado reports on Friday, June 13th!!! A HUGE thank you to Chris Collura who let me know that the cone funnel I was telling him about was actually a tornado just moments before!!! That rocks!!!) Anyways, it started out with some nice convection while we were exploring the National Hurricane Center (had to go there)... ...and later turned into... Not such an "unlucky day" for me. :O) I swear, bf is a magnet for cool weather stuff. Great chase partner, huh? It was so out of the blue though... we came around a turn and there it was... a beautiful cone funnel, which quickly dissipated into what you see above. For the full story, check out my blog at dewdropweather.com. Anyways, Here is the storm report map showing a tornado report on Miami Beach, you know the one that we saw!!!... and here is the local storm report. :O)

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
317 PM EDT FRI JUN 13 2008

0203 PM TORNADO 3 NNE MIAMI BEACH 25.85N 80.12W
06/13/2008 MIAMI-DADE FL LAW ENFORCEMENT

MIAMI BEACH POLICE OFFICER REPORTED A WATER SPOUT MOVING ONSHORE NEAR 64 STREET. WATER SPOUT LIKELY DISSIPATED AS IT REACHED THE SHORELINE WITH NO DAMAGE REPORTED.

Of course, then we met Jeff, which was terrific. He led us to this great place called "The Original Hurricane Grill & Wings". Couldn't have been a better spot for convergence. It was a TERRIFIC time!!! Great to finally meet you, Jeff!!~Dew

Chaser Convergence in Alabama... FINALLY!

2008-06-02T19:03:00.005-04:00

Dew here, reporting out of the great state of Alabama where wehad a bit of chaser convergence, when bf and I met up with Alabama Mike while on our Mini-Vacation in Mt. Cheaha, Alabama. It has been a wonderful vacation so far, with lots of trails, rapelling and a little "storm chasing" as some severe warned cells made their way toward the "Highest Point in Alabama". Just for those who don't know, Mike and I have talked tons, but we have never met face to face until now, and look what I got him doing... :O) WAY TO GO MIKE!!! I guess he felt comfortable doing it after I didn't meet my untimely demise... I plan to blog about my experience in full on my blog after I return, but for now... here's our requisite team pose.~Dew

I finally met a teammate...

2008-06-02T16:44:00.003-04:00

It was nice meeting Dewdrop and BF today at Mt. Cheaha. It was a very warm and hazy day with a few cumulus clouds floating around.

South Georgia Storm Chasing Dew Style

2008-05-21T20:55:00.006-04:00

First things first... a HUGE thank you to the members of the Southern Weather Brigade, who together put me in place to intercept a tornado warned supercell. Alabama Mike, Storm Chasing Mikey, Mr. Rickster, General BS (Jay), and Meso Mike. Each one of them contributed to an awesome chase day for me! No, I didn't get hail... though I heard reports of GOLF BALL SIZED hail not far from my initial location when I ran out of time with bf. Grr. I did, however, get a wonderful opportunity to see a wall cloud pass over the interstate on the only tornado warned cell in Georgia today (y'all correct me if I'm wrong about that.) WAHOO! Without further a-dew... here are some of my favorite shots. My full chase account include some typical dew-style elements to the story will be available hopefully tonight on my personal blog located at www.dewdropweather.com (shameless, I know...) That was my perfect little tornado-less supercell...... and that was when it had passed over the interstate in Lake Park, GA... just after my call to report it to the National Weather Service.
It was a great chase! Just got word that Meso Mike and Rick are both out chasing some lightning up to my north.~Dew

Radar images for Lowndes County, Ga

2008-05-21T19:13:00.002-04:00

Here is a slideshow of radar images from Dew's storm today.

1. 3:45 p.m. to 5:10 p.m. frame by frame.
2. 3:45 p.m. to 5:10 p.m. frame by frame.
3. 3:45 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. additional images.

Dew is at the Jasper exit on I-75

2008-05-21T17:22:00.002-04:00

She has seen lots of cloud to ground lightning, rotation, a wall cloud, and "classic supercell structure". She has to get back home but it was a good trip for her and I am eager to hear her report. Come back soon for more updates!!!

Dew following a wall cloud!

2008-05-21T17:09:00.002-04:00

Her spot at 5:10 is marked on the radar shots on I75

Tornado warning and Dew is on her way south!

2008-05-21T17:02:00.003-04:00

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
442 PM EDT WED MAY 21 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
SOUTH CENTRAL LOWNDES COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL GEORGIA...

* UNTIL 515 PM EDT

* AT 437 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO NEAR TWIN LAKES...OR 10 MILES SOUTH OF VALDOSTA...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
TWIN LAKES BY 450 PM EDT...
LAKE PARK BY 455 PM EDT...
MELROSE BY 510 PM EDT...

RELAY REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE AT (850) 942-8833. OR...YOU MAY CONTACT THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OR YOUR COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. THEY WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM EDT WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR SOUTHEAST ALABAMA AND CENTRAL FLORIDA AND SOUTHWESTERN GEORGIA.

Update on Dewdrop

2008-05-21T16:28:00.004-04:00

Dewdrop is chasing now!

2008-05-21T15:40:00.004-04:00

3:16 ET

3:22 ET

3:28 ET

3:34 ET

3:39 ET

Dewdrop is watching some convection blow up to her west. The storm is rapidly intensifying. At first it didn't look like much, but due to time constraints, Dew had to stay put at US84 and I-75 and hope. The storm is not disappointing. But, the big question is whether her very limited time window will close before her big chance to see hail?

May 20th Storm Report - Norfolk, Va

2008-05-20T22:37:00.007-04:00

Today a severe storm line moved through the southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina region. The storms were packed with 60mph wind gusts and 1.25" hail. There was damage all over the area. Here are some photographs and the chase video. Thanks to Dewdrop for the information during the chase!

Here is a video capture of an amazingly close lightning strike!

The Chase Video:

SCM

Now.... Alabama Mike's turn...

2008-05-20T18:21:00.005-04:00

Alabama Mike is hail core punching. He tried to get under an overpass on the interstate with a couple of motorcycle car things...(???) Pea sized hail here...

1733CDT Update: Mike has dime sized hail that is sounding louder and larger...Have fun, Mike. Hope you don't get all dinged up.

My eyes are on Woodstock, where the Peachtree NWS office has issued a tornado warning for an IMPRESSIVE cell with 3 1/2" hail possibility, that just pulsed...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
SOUTH CENTRAL CHEROKEE COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL GEORGIA
NORTHEASTERN COBB COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL GEORGIA
NORTHEASTERN FULTON COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL GEORGIA

* UNTIL 700 PM EDT

At 6:34EDT:At 6:39EDT:1745CDT: Mike reports a large fire, where he suspects that a recent CG strike sparked a fire. He is having trouble seeing the base. He is calling 911.

~Dew