5/13 - 9:30am CDT - Video From Yesterday's KS and OK Storms

We saw a couple good episodes of storm activity yesterday. Linear supercells that formed near Attica, KS couldn't produce a tornado due to linear interference, but they were picturesque nonetheless. A supercell near Cordell, OK later on in the day actually did produce a tornado, but we arrived after it had lifted. VORTEX2 was on the Cordell storm and were quite busy trying to get into position. Here's a video recap of what we saw:

Video is available in 720p or 1080p high definition.

5/12 - 11:30am CDT - Kansas Here We Come!

Yesterday looked promising, but the environment was just too capped to allow for any good storms. We chased two developing supercells south of Woodward, OK, but both perished before they could mature. The number of storm chasers on both of these cells was astounding. At one point we were across the street from Reed Timmer and his TVN "Dominator" from the Discovery Channel Storm Chasers show. Later that evening, Tim Samaras from the same TV show walked in the door of the Pizza Hut we were eating at. We'll see who we can find while we're out there today!

The target location for today is somewhere around or east of Pratt, KS. An area of low pressure spinning around near Dodge City should provide east winds this afternoon, which are crucial to tornadic development. Dewpoints near 70, CAPE values over 4000 J/kg, EHI values above 6, and bulk shear around 40 kt should be quite adequate for supercell development in Central and East Kansas. Storm motion will also be from 20-30 kt (25-35 mph), so it won't be like Monday near Oklahoma City when the supercells outran us. I'll be posting frequent updates on Twitter and Facebook today, including notification of when we'll be streaming LIVE video at http://stormchasertv.com.

5/11 - 11am CDT - South Oklahoma

We're on our way to Southern Oklahoma to try our luck with storms that will form late this afternoon. An area of low pressure in Colorado will generate southeasterly winds throughout South and Central Oklahoma, but the more preferred easterly winds will be in Northern Oklahoma. But since there will be more moisture and instability to the south, we think somewhere just south of Oklahoma City seems to be a good target area for today. Shear will not be as intense as yesterday, but I think it will be ample for severe storm development. EHI values, which are decent indicators of supercellular and tornadic development (see left image) will be pretty high in this area as well. The good thing is that any storm that forms will be moving about 30 mph, which is about half of the speed they were moving yesterday.

As always, we'll be streaming LIVE video at http://stormchasertv.com when storms begin to form today. You can also get updates on our chase and when we'll be streaming video on Twitter and Facebook.

5/11 - 12:15am CDT - Video from Yesterday's Chase

Here's some video I shot of yesterday's chase in North Oklahoma. Hopefully I'll have some better video to upload by the end of today!

This video is available in 720p or 1080p high definition

5/10 - 8pm CDT - Rough Day in Oklahoma

Today's severe outbreak in Oklahoma was not good for storm chasing. Our target area in Cherokee, OK was perfect and we were able to intercept a very powerful supercell that developed around 3:30pm, but we couldn't keep up with it because it was moving at over 50 mph and the road network around Cherokee was not good. That storm went on to produce a tornado near Wakita, OK, which ironically was where we were this morning visiting the Twister movie museum.

Once we lost that cell, we were able to intercept another supercell to our south. That storm produced a very distinct rotating wall cloud, but couldn't quite produce a tornado and quickly escaped from us. The baseball-size hail that fell from the downdraft of that storm shattered the windows of a car on I-35 northbound south of Perry, OK. We did encounter some hail from both supercells, but it was ping pong ball-size or less.

Parts of Oklahoma City, Wichita, KS, and numerous other locations throughout Oklahoma and Kansas were devastated by fast-moving tornadoes. So far there have been 33 reports of tornadoes today and I'm sure there will be many more. The pictures of the damage around Oklahoma City are just incredible with aerial imagery showing the wide paths that these tornadoes had.

From a technical standpoint, we did very well today. The target area we picked was right where these supercells got going and the first supercell we intercepted went on to produce a tornado after it got away from us. The problem was that everything was moving way too fast. We suspect that the first supercell we intercepted was moving at more than 60 mph, which is faster than we could travel on the roads we had. Had these storms moved at half the speed they were, we would have seen a tornado or two. The SPC's HIGH risk issuance this morning was spot-on given the amount of tornadoes that caused widespread damage throughout the region. Overall, this outbreak was not good for storm chasers out here due to the fast storm movement and certainly not good for the residents of areas that were damaged.

Tomorrow looks pretty good for chasing based on the latest computer models. It's looking like we'll be traveling to the Oklahoma/Texas border, probably around or north of Wichita Falls, TX. CAPE values will be surpassing 3000 J/kg again with adequate moisture and decent shear. Even better, the storms shouldn't be moving as fast! The SPC has issued a SLIGHT risk for this area as well. I'll post on here tomorrow morning as soon as we figure out exactly where we're going.

5/10 - 11am CDT - HIGH RISK Chasing Today!

We're in for a big day of storm chasing here in North Oklahoma as all the right elements com together for a sizable outbreak of severe weather. We just left our hotel in Blackwell, OK, where it's 54 degrees and visibilities are less than a mile due to fog and mist. As a warm front moves northward through Oklahoma, this may intensify before things clear out quickly early this afternoon. Once things clear out, it shouldn't be too long before we're picking a supercell to chase! Needless to say, the Storm Prediction Center has issued a rare HIGH risk for the area.

Things will be very active today because instability, shear, moisture, and numerous other factors are aligning pretty well. CAPE values well in excess of 3000 J/kg, dewpoints near 70, bulk shear (0-6km) over 70 kt, and the jet screaming overhead are going to set off some very intense supercell thunderstorms this afternoon. Some of these storms will go from small puffy cumulus clouds to monster storms within an hour because of the intense uplift. Needless to say, the feeling is electric out here and we're hoping that things materialize as forecast.

We'll be streaming LIVE video today at http://stormchasertv.com when storms start initiating. If you've just found my blog through John Belski's blog or another source, welcome! Follow me on Twitter or Facebook to to get the latest updates on our chase and see when we're streaming live video.

5/9 - 1pm CDT - Gearing Up for Tomorrow's KS/OK Oubreak

We're off to the border of Kansas and Oklahoma to be in position for tomorrow's severe weather outbreak. There's a bit of concern that ongoing thunderstorms tomorrow morning in Kansas may contaminate the atmosphere and not allow the warming and destabilization needed to generate the outbreak. If that happens, we will likely have to travel south near the Oklahoma/Texas border. The SPC is still maintaining a Moderate Risk (45%) area for the region tomorrow, but they acknowledge that this may need to be adjusted if the morning storms stick around. We'll see how it goes tomorrow morning.

In any case, if the clouds and rain do manage to clear in time near the Oklahoma/Kansas border, I think we'll be chasing some very good storms tomorrow. The GFS and NAM computer models are indicating about the same numbers for shear, instability, and moisture as they were yesterday (see last blog post) with some minor alterations in location. Supercells that form tomorrow will be moving between 40 and 50 mph. That means we won't have a lot of time to stand around and watch the storms, but rather stay in the car and try to keep ahead of them. Here's hoping for a good chase tomorrow!