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Blog: Stormchasing in Tornado Alley

Read Alister's blog below. The most recent is at the top.

Wednesday 9 May

Lightning

It's all over!

Well that's it for this wave of severe weather. The weather system that brought so much death and destruction to the Great Plains has weakened and moved away.

I am in Wichita, Kansas and will spend the next couple of days teaching our tour guests how to forecast severe storms and tornados before returning home on Sunday. It's been a gruelling but exciting week.

We have travelled just short of 3000 miles in six days, got very close to six violent tornados, intercepted many severe thunderstorms, filmed lightning and seen some beautiful looking storms.

However one of the most memorable moments, for all the wrong reasons was driving through a severe thunderstorm watching the weather radar as it showed the signature of an incredibly violent tornado hitting the town of Greensburg, Kansas.

As we watched the radar we knew people were probably being killed, a sobering experience.

Alister Chapman: it's a mini adventure

The storms I chase are extremely dangerous, many people are killed by tornados every year, but this particular storm was far more destructive than most, completely destroying an entire town in just a few short minutes.

Then the following night we intercepted six tornados. One of the tornados we saw followed almost exactly the same path as the previous night's tornado, in fact we watched the new tornado from within the path of damage left by the Greensburg tornado.

I get no pleasure from seeing a tornado destroy peoples lives. Fortunately though the vast majority of tornados form over open countryside and seeing the full fury and violence of nature is an awe-inspiring, exhilarating experience.

I shall be returning to the plains to chase more storms in June when the active area tends to be further north in Nebraska, the Dakotas and Canada.

Bye!

Tuesday 8 May

Supercell thunderstorm with Gust Front shelf cloud

Flash Floods and Squall Lines.

We left the hotel nice and early, fresh and re-charged after our down day. Our morning forecast suggest that our best chance for storms would be near the Davis Mountains in South West Texas. We headed off South West.

When we were no more than an hour from the hotel a series of severe thunderstorms started to form in a line between us and our target area.

We had no choice but to punch through the developing squall line. It soon became apparent that this line of storms meant business.

The weather radar indicated huge amounts of rain and hail as well as occasional areas of rotation that could lead to tornados. 

We also knew from experience that these squall lines can produce winds in excess of 80mph.

As we approached the line we realised that flash flooding was going to be an issue so we found some high ground in the town of Seminole and waited for the squall line to pass over us.

The sky turned black and we could see the clouds churning as the storm hit. The rain was incredible and within minutes the roads had turned to fast flowing rivers... we were cut off.

The flooding meant that there was no way to proceed onwards.

Mission Control, inside the van

As the squall line moved north we stayed ahead of it in the hope that a Supercell storm would form ahead of it.

By late afternoon a few discrete storms formed ahead of the line. Suddenly there were tornado warnings coming over the radio, we chased after the storm by the time we got under it the tornado had gone.

As the storms continued to intensify we got back out ahead of them to look back at the Gust Front that forms along the leading edge, it was an impressive and beautiful sight.

By now it was getting dark so once again we had to plunge through the storm to get to our hotel in Wichita Falls, Texas. As we passed under the gust front we were blasted by 70mph winds and dodged massive lightning bolts with thunder that sounded like canon fire.

It was a great day! 460 miles covered. I don't know where we will be going tomorrow. Much will depend on how todays storms (which are still going) will affect the atmosphere.

We may get to play with some storms here in Texas or Oklahoma, or we may need to consider driving north to the Dakotas, a drive of nearly 1000 miles!

Monday 7 May

Rest Day.

We are all exhausted. I have not had more than four hours sleep a night for the last three days.

We have driven 2,300 miles in four days and today we have ended up in Texas.

There will be storms today but they are not going to be the monster storms that produce tornados, so we are taking a break today. We will drive down south towards Abilene to put us closer to our target area for tomorrow which is the Davis Mountains, way down in South West Texas.

Then I going to find a bar, have an ice cold beer or two with a Texan steak dinner and re-charge ready for tomorrow.

Saturday 5 May

Tornado on May 5 2007

What a day. It's late again: 1.30am; so this will have to be brief.

We woke up in Hays, Kansas to an amazing-looking forecast. We knew there would be tornados but there were two areas that looked to be good. One was way up north in Nebraska, the other in Southern Kansas.

The storms would be racing off to the north at 40 mph, so after much discussion we headed south.

We got down to Pratt, Kansas and waited...and waited. While we waited we saw reports of tornados in Nebraska. This was not surprising but very depressing.

After eating a quick junk food lunch we finally found a storm worth chasing.

Almost as soon as we got on the storm it produced a wall cloud, the precursor to a tornado.

As happened yesterday the storm tried many times to produce a tornado but every time it failed.

Eventually we blew the storm off and dropped a little south onto another 'Supercell' thunderstorm that was moving towards us.

By now it was starting to get dark. The storm suddenly intensified right in front of us, then almost without warning a funnel appeared.

Funnel on May 5 2007

As we drove towards it the funnel dove down and touch down.. TORNADO!

At last a tornado, but the storm was moving fast and the only roads available to us were dirt tracks and we just could not keep up.

Once again we dropped down onto a new storm, not far from Greensberg - the town that was devastated just yesterday. This storm was a beast!

Out of the gloom we spotted a huge wedge-shaped tornado, this time we were ahead of the storm so we able to stop and film it. As the storm and tornado came up towards us we moved on, trying to keep ahead.

Just as the first tornado was weakening another tornado formed not more than 300m from us.

This was a long slender tornado, just like the Wizard of Oz!

When that tornado weakened the original tornado re-appeared from behind a rain shaft, it was stronger and very violent churning up a large debris cloud. 

Again, keeping up was difficult due to the bad roads. Suddenly our fourth tornado of the evening burst from the clouds just ahead of us - we were in the centre of a tornado outbreak.

We followed the tornado until it died, only to be replaced by a big wide tornado with many small vortices rotating around it.

By now it was really getting dark and once again we ran out of roads. As we turned around to head away from the storm we realised that another storm had come up behind us.

For a moment we were trapped between two very violent storms. Through the rain we glimpsed another tornado and this one was bearing down on us at 45 mph, now we were in trouble. We had to speed towards the on-coming tornado in the hope that we could reach another road, away from the storm before it cut us off.

We just made it, turned onto the road and drove like crazy to get away.

Once away from the storm we stopped, everyone was high on adrenaline and excited.

In three hours we had seen six violent tornados. It's a shame it was so late in the day, it would have been nice to have seen the tornados in daylight.

There were over 60 tornados in the USA today. Tomorrow will be another active day with more tornados expected. 

Must get some sleep.

Friday 4 May

Tornado Wipes Out Greensburg.

What a day! We drove around 400 miles today, chasing various severe thunderstorms around North Western Kansas.

We followed one storm for several hours and watched it develop and intensify.

It tried many times to produce a tornado, we saw many funnels but none of them touched down.

After dark the atmosphere exploded and a violent storm formed around 100 miles south of us.

It was too late for us to get there but we watched the radar images of the storm as it grew into a monster storm that was obviously producing a very violent tornado. 

Then we realised it was going right through the middle of the town of Greensburg.

The few reports we have heard indicate that the centre of the town has been destroyed and that there are many injuries. The town is cut off and has no power or telephones.

We are listening to reports on the radio and TV of total devastation. As I write this the storm and its tornado are still going and there are several more towns in it's path. I hope the people are taking cover.

Tomorrow looks to be another big tornado day.

With luck we should do better and see a tornado for ourselves, now hearing that helicopters and the National Guard are being sent to Greensburg, poor people.

Thursday 3 May

BUSTED! Total Miles today 940!

It's late, I'm extremely tired so this will be brief.

We left Oklahoma City at 7am and drove all the way to Fort Morgan in Colorado in the hope of see a tornadic storm.

Unfortunately the weather gods were not with us and the storm never really got going.

Compared to a typical British thunderstorm it was pretty strong with lots of lightning, some hail and winds gusting to 70mph.

But the moisture that we were hoping for (thunderstorms get their energy from warm humid air) didn't quite make it, so no tornados.

We are now in Goodland, Kansas, getting ready for tomorrow and Saturday.

Both days look quite frightening. The forecast models are all indicating that there will text book conditions for major tornado outbreaks on both days.

IF the models are correct there could be 100 or more tornados over the next two days.

The energy in the jet stream is incredible with winds in excess of 160mph forecast.

At the same time the low level winds look set to bring huge amounts of warm humid air up under the jet stream.

When that happens you get explosive thunderstorms and big, violent tornados, this could be the biggest tornado event for some years!

Wednesday 2 May

The van is ready to go, I have installed the two way radios, satellite data systems, a weather station and all the other equipment I need.

The stormchasing van

Today I will be joined by Roger Hill and Dr David Gold, two of the very best storm chasers in the world as well as 11 tornado tourists that are joining our little tour as we head out to intercept tornados.

The forecast looks better with each hour, I have butterflies of anticipation.

We plan to leave Oklahoma City at 6am tomorrow morning and drive north west towards the Cheyenne Ridge in Colorado - a 500-mile, nine hour drive.

All the indications are that there will be storms and tornados in that area tomorrow afternoon/ evening.

Then it looks like we will have to blast back south on Friday for more storms and tornados in Kansas.

The guests that are joining us have no idea of what they are in for. This is going to be a long and gruelling week, I wouldn't be surprised if we cover nearly 5000 miles in the next 10 days.

Getting a decent meal will be a luxury.... fast food here we come!

By Sunday I expect we will be in Texas, then who knows where.

The Cheyenne Ridge is an interesting area, it's where many of the USA's nuclear missiles are based.

You can be driving along in the middle of nowhere and suddenly you pass a little barbed wire compound with a small concrete slab in the middle. 

Should you stop (as we have done in the past) you hear the noise of motors as cameras on poles turn to face you. Hang around and armed soldiers appear from nowhere!

Tuesday 1 May

Stay or Go?

Not your typical hotel sign

My flights were smooth and on time, a painless journey. You know you're in the right area for storms when you walk into your hotel room and there is a big sign telling you what to do in case of a tornado... cool!

I have a bit of a dilemma today.

There are going to be some storms today, possibly quite severe and I wouldn't rule out a tornado down in Texas, but Texas is too far. However they may also be some severe storms in south eastern Oklahoma, about a four hour drive from here.

The problem is that this is a very heavily wooded area and the chances of actually seeing anything are small. Also I need to get the van I will be driving fitted out with all my computer and communications gear.

I hate coming all this way and not going after storms, but the way the weather pattern looks I think this is going to be a very busy week so better to get prepared for the really big tornado days that look likely some time around the weekend.

The National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Centre (www.spc.noaa.gov) are now starting to talk about severe weather in their outlooks and when that happens you've gotta take it seriously!

Time for a coffee and a Bagel.

Monday 30 April

I'm currently at Gatwick airport, I have checked in for my flight to Dallas. From there I fly to Oklahoma City at the very heart of Tornado Alley.

As usual I had the normal worry of getting all my filming equipment within my baggage allowance, which I've done with just two kg to spare.

I've just taken a quick look at the forecast models used to predict severe weather and the pattern still looks good.... That is, good for storms. If you live in tornado alley I guess you may not think that that is good.

I expect to have a couple of easy days when I arrive with quiet weather, which is good as it will give me a chance to get over the jet lag and fit all my navigation and communications equipment to the van.

I always get very apprehensive at this stage. What will the next two weeks bring? Where will the weather take me? How dangerous will it be this time?

Friday 27 April 2007

Well I leave for Oklahoma City on Monday morning. I have been keeping a very close eye on the computer models that I use to make my weather forecasts and things are looking interesting. There is a lot of energy in the Jet Stream over the USA and many of the conditions for severe weather look to be in place by the middle of next week.

By Thursday there will be a good flow of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and it is this moisture that provides the energy for severe thunderstorms and 'Supercells'.

At the same time the jet stream is forecast to dip down across the Great Plains and when this happens, if you live there it's time to keep a close eye on the weather.

While I can't tell exactly when and where this will happen yet, I expect to be under a severe thunderstorm or two by the 5th of May and the signs are good for a tornados in the next seven to 10 days.