Offseason Storm Chasing
6 comments so far
May 28, 2007 by
This has absolutely nothing to do with football, but those who have grown up in Nebraska can appreciate the power of weather. As a meteorologist, the best learning tool for forecasting is by observing weather first hand. One of my favorite pastimes other than Nebraska Football is storm chasing. I began as soon as I got my driver's license 10 years ago. Since then, I have seen 12 tornadoes and numerous supercells and hailstones. As part of my job at Mississippi State, I have the pleasure of being an instructor on the school's Great Plains Storm Chase trip. We just finished the 2007 version and it was quite successful.
This years trip took us to 12 states (Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Montana, North Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas for those scoring at home) and 7200 miles. We chased on 7 of the 16 days, 4 of which were very successful.
Here are a few pictures of supercell thunderstorm structure, funnel clouds, lightning, and of course tornadoes. I hope you enjoy. If you have questions about storm chasing, shoot me an email at renny@bigrednetwork.com.
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Watsom00 May 28 07
Your first pics tied in very seamless and tastefully with your last pic, nice job! Maybe you could make a new one for this years game with storms and Memorial stadium.
kyle May 28 07
I saw the last one on the news very popular image
James Moore May 29 07
Honestly between running this site (Love it to death guys) and having the opportunity to actualy do some chasing I'm not sure which one makes me most jealous. Gosh, keep up the good work and make sure that you continue to take the time to do the things you enjoy most. . .
Gregory Jun 03 07
Oh, the power and the passion!
I would have liked to know where each picture was taken, but they're amazing pictures!
I'm reminded of what "heartland" weather looks like and the ominous feeling I would have, when caught out in the open. Those nights at my Grandparent's farm, when, a shattering CRACK! would punctuate the heavy rain drops. Especially, at night.
I've lived in California for about 25 years, 19 in San Diego. The main danger with weather out here, is, drivers not adjusting to it. That is a real danger, too!
Renny Jun 04 07
Gregory,
Thank you for your comments. The first picture is a funnel cloud from just south of Buffalo, Oklahoma. Channel 9 in OKC claimed it was a tornado and I do have some pictures that show small condensation streamers hitting the ground, so I guess it is a tornado.
The second picture is a supercell thunderstorm with a lightning strike in Ochiltree County, Texas.
The third picture is the northern end of a bowing line segment with anticyclonic characteristics near Forsyth, Montana.
And the last picture is a large wedge shaped tornado once again in Ochiltree, Texas.
Gregory Jun 05 07
Thanks, Renny!