Tuesday, July 31, 2007
So I survived my weekend in California with no complaints. The weather was cool, I didn't experience an earthquake, and I got to rot my brain with endless amounts of Mario Party. Pretty much what I had hoped for!
So back to the grind I went yesterday with some electrical work on the van. I had to replace the battery terminals and also opted into a center power unit for my car's electrical gadgets in a much easier to access area so I can hook up additional items as needed (up to 6). That was a big to-do crossed off my list, so happy to see that done.
Weather-wise, back to the heat. A weak front will move through the area midweek which may give us a shot at soem storms. I don't think at this point it will be anything too exciting. Long-range models aren't showing much for excitement prior to my trip to Arizona next weekend, so I would imagine my next tornado chase will either be in late September upon my return from the desert, or next sometime next year. I will be counting mileage daily in Arizona once I arrive down there, so I am still figuring on eclipsing the 30,000 mile mark for the season even if I don't get out on another tornado chase before the season closes.
So obviously nothing of huge excitement to speak of. Just counting away the days til I head south. I am very excited about this trip!
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Friday, July 27, 2007
See... landspouts aren't the only thing to chase at DIA. Hahaha
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Lightning-net netted nothing last night so as I've seen. Flood Watches in effect today for the city and with my flight out of here, almost assures chasers of some action here in Denver this evening. So far, things are pretty quiet and if the models hold true, most of the action should be after 6pm this evening, probably even closer to dark. The issue for lightning photographers tonight is the massive amounts of rain which will be falling from these cells which may hide strikes under a vail of precip. I return later in the weekend, perhaps as late as Monday, so no real chasing for me. A front is expected to move through again next week, so I may get a couple chances to get out again before I head to Crested Butte for the weekend. One more week here in Denver before I take off for Arizona for a month-long project. More on that later!
See you next week!
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Thursday, July 26, 2007
Lightning-net has been activated this evening as storms are lingering well after dark in the area. The area of best action appears to be along a line from northwest of Boulder to north of Blackhawk. Latest scans showing this activity moving very slowly to the east. Assuming it holds together, it could prove to be a decent show. Jon V and Verne are likely having field days right now. I'm waiting for a chance to get a shot or two off before I call it a night. Will update again tomorrow unless I get something good tonight.
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Storms did fire yesterday and give quite the light show... during the day. Heading down to Littleton around 7pm, I was witness to an amazing daytime light show. I took my chances at some 2 and 3 second daytime exposures, but there was just too much light to make any good shots. Storms hung around til after dark, but never gave much of a chance to shoot again.
Today was suppose to be a good day witht he front coming through last night. Just one problem.. the front never came through. It stalled out a bit in Wyoming and probably won't make it down here early enough to make today as good as it could be. Tomorrow holds the best potential, but I'll be on a plane heading to California, so no chasing for me.
As for today, there is still a chance for some weather to move in with the front, just not the severe day I was hoping for. With weak upper winds, slow moving storms with heavy rains will make for a flood threat more than anything else today. Yesterday's storms likely gave a tease to that as a good sized and severe-warned cell moved northwest along the Boulder Turnpike doing some minor flooding (as shown by Airtracker 7). I figure much of the same today.
A website note, in the coming days/weeks, I will be overhauling all the photo albums. I purchased Adobe Lightroom among other things earlier in the week and intend to use it to publish online photo albums. This will replace all the current online albums. I'll post updates for those as that begins.
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Wednesday, July 25, 2007
A break from the heat is on its way for Denver, and with it comes a chance for storms. A cold front is expected to move through the state tonight and bring cooler temps and a chance for storms tomorrow and Friday. I'm eyeing tomorrow as a potential spot-chase as we could see slow moving, flood-producing storms. Thewre's also a chance we could see severe in the form of hail as well, but we'll see how things evolve tomorrow. As I was groaning about yesterday, Denver has seen little in the way of any action, so perhaps tomorrow will break that spell. If that's the case, I'm figuring on being out to keep tabs of it.
This weekend, I'm flying out to see a friend in California. And we know no weather will be of concern out there, so expect to hear little from me through the weekend.
My Nikon D40x did arrive yesterday and I did little more than break it out of the package, throw the lenses on, and take a few quick test shots to make sure it worked. It's a smaller, lighter version of the D70x, so it'll take a small adjustment to get use to. I'm rearranging my Lowepro camera case for the pair of Nikons and the soon-to-arrive Sony HD. Everything should be in hand before the end of next week.
Stay tuned for more updates in regards to tomorrow.
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Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Back in Denver after a nice break in the mountains. I actually enjoyed a variety of weather up at Steamboat Lake; none better than the cooler temperatures, especially at night. And yes, I sleep in a tent! Our first full day greeted us with a good storm which dumped a good amount of rain and even some pea-to-dime sized hail. Unfortunately it soaked the campsite, drenched the wood, and made fire-making a bit more of a chore. More storms and lightning for the next couple of days, but not as bad as the first. Overnight, we enjoyed temps in the 50s and had a beautiful view of the stars. I actually saw three shooting stars within five minutes Wednesday night.
However, with all vacations, it ended and we returned to Denver to find hot temps near 100 and last night's west-moving storms. And not just west... DUE west. They amounted to little more than a few splatters of rain for nearby areas; nothing too exciting except their strange movement.
Hot weather continues today and tomorrow before a front moves through and drops us into the 80s. Storm chances increase a bit, but nothing which looks terribly exciting. As with most of the chasers here in the Denver area, we just want some damn lightning! Denver is seeing one of the quietest storm summers I can remember and overall, one of the quietest storm seasons with only a few storm events in the Metro area.
In other, more exciting news, I have a handful of toys on the way, including two very snazzy gadgets. First, and arriving today, my second DSLR from Nikon. I purchased a Nikon D40x with a pair of lenses in preparation for the pending Arizona trip. While I haven't decided which camera will be the main and backup, I imagine both will get good uses. The D40x isn't a whole lot different from my D70s in terms of shooting capability with the exception of it being a 10.2 MP camera and having an ISO setting of 100. I imagine the D40x will be my primary lightning and fancier photography camera while the D70x is my secondary lightning camera and primary "snapshot" camera. The lens package I purchased will compliment the two I already have. With this camera, I picked up a 18-55mm and a 55-200mm to go with the 18-70mm and 70-300mm which came with my D70s. That'll allow me to pair up cameras during a lightning event and give me a range of focal lengths or allow me to use similar focal lengths in events where lightning is in a specific area.
Secondly and ordered yesterday, I purchased a much needed upgrade to my video arsenal and stepped into the HD world. Being delivered, a Sony HDR-HC7 camcorded. I opted for this camera for several reasons, including its ability to shoot 4.6 MP images while recording video. This is an absolutely priceless feature for me as I hate trying to balance out photo and video at the same time. Not only will I be able to pull good quality images and still shoot video at the same time, but the stills I can pull while I'm shooting will enable me faster website updates and good, high quality images of exactly what I shot. Tornadoes, hail, flooding, even lightning will be captured with both video and still at the same time on ONE device. Obviously the higher-quality video and HD capabilities will make for much better shooting and later viewing. While the HD will be nice, it's something I likely won't put to immediate use as I don't have the equipment to edit or view HD. I am expecting that to arrive sometime next week.
With all that said, I am off to return to the heat which has me crying for winter. Will keep you posted of any news regarding the Arizona trip as well as any potential spot chases which come up between now and then. Otherwise, things look to be fairly quiet around here. Hopefully something will stir up to break the heat.
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Monday, July 16, 2007
As mentioned in this morning's blog, I have updated my website with the last few chasing logs... click the images below to see the log for those days...
 July 11, 2007 - Northeastern Colorado
 July 12, 2007 - Northeastern Colorado
 July 13, 2007 - Southwest Nebraska
 July 14, 2007 - Centeral Kansas
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Back home in Denver after my weekend getaway to Kansas, wanting to get away from the heat. Today, we're expecting a high of 99 freakin' degrees... most of the week looks to be on a similar track! Fortunately, I will be getting away come Wednesday as I am taking a retreat into the mountains through the weekend. With quiet weather in store before then and me obviously well out of internet range, this may likely be the last of my blogs til my return next Monday. That is of course unless something interesting occurs between now and Wednesday, but glancing at models and upcoming forecasts, that looks highly unlikely.
So with that, I'll probably make a few updates to the site this afternoon and evening which may include the posting of a few pics from the weekend as well as update my stats. After this weekend's mileage, I am just shy of 2,000 miles from the 30,000 mile mark for a single season with a total of 44 chases. Oddly enough, and I had this discussion last week, I have yet to have a real metro-area chase. Normally by this point, I've had several Denver-area hail/flood chases. So far in the season, not one. Hopefully between my camping trip and the semester, I get at least one or two.
Ciao til next week (minus a site-update log).
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Sunday, July 15, 2007
Nothing terribly exciting yesterday in terms of storms as it was a multicellular chase up and down I-70 between Wakeeney and Salina with most of the action near Wilson, Kansas. In total, three storms were intercepted, two of which I managed to get cored beneath. Hail up to the size of nickels was as big as I saw. After the third intercept, I booked east toward Salina to get a peek at the storms around there, but with loss of daytime heating, the storms quickly orphaned their anvils and left behind a nearly clear-sky sunset. I returned west to Hays for dinner and a room for the night. Heading home today with a chance of storms rolling off the mountains. Pending the excitement of those, I may chase those in before heading home.
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Saturday, July 14, 2007
Sitting in Wakeeney, Kansas this morning after blasting after a pair of monster supercells moving south through western Nebraska. Leaving Denver shortly after 4pm, I raced up I-76 and got on the northern cell shortly before sunset. No tornadoes in the day, but possibly after dark. I will have to pull some video stills to confirm that as we were battling high winds and rain to see it in the lightning flashes. Oddly enough, my main goal for the evening was to chase into position for today with hopes I get on a rather benign storm for lightning shots. It was certainly a wonderful surprise to actually be on something like that. Goes to show that sometimes you just have to be lucky, cause there was no risk or watch to hint at these.
So with that, today's chances look better than yesterday, so you can imagine what will be seen! -LOL- Probably will shoot east towards Salina and base from there. Oddly enough, the WRF radar and RUC are showing storm development in northeast Kansas and moving southWEST. How fun would that be! I'm considering reserving my room here in Wakeeney another night, but will likely play it by year.
So with that, off to get ready for today as the thrill of last night starts to calm. Stay tuned!
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Thursday, July 12, 2007
A buck ninty-five in terms of mileage today as I took a long circle to Greeley and back and scored some minor street flooding. I got a late start from campus not leaving til 3pm which limited my options and forced me due north on I-25 as opposed to trying to get out to Ft. Morgan. Cells coming south out of Wyoming between Ft. Collins and Greeley looked most intense at the time, but weakened considerably upon my arrival. A tornado warning was issued for my cell as I approached Highway 85 on CO-392 for a law enforcment indicated tornado. In the moments before the warning, I was watching a suspicious area to my east/northeast which looked like it could have been tornatic. When the warning was issued with a spotted tornado, I got pretty excited, however, upon further review of media, I determined it to be a rain shaft and scud as my video showed no motion in the "tornado". I saw plenty of scud in the area and Michael Carlson has pics of dust being blown about, which leads me to believe the indicated tornado was nothing more than scud/outflow. With that, my excitement died off. Thought I had one... LOL
Anywoo, I pulled into Greeley about the same time the storms did. I did some math and figured an intercept on monster storms moving south between Sterling and Ft. Morgan was highly unlikely. With that, I elected to hold in Greeley to see if I could nail some flooding. Rains came and came hard, and as a result, I did score some minor street flooding.
After filming and shooting for a few minutes, I shot down Hwy 85 to CO-52 and fired east. I knew at this point I wasn't going to catch the storms and a quick analysis showed the storms moving into a less favorable area, thus I figured a weakening trend was well on its way. I trekked down CO-79 into Bennett mainly to avoid hitting Denver at rush hour and keeping in the back of my mind that I could make a quick shot down I-70 to intercept if warrented. Upon arrival at I-70, I knew my day was done; I returned home.
All-in-all, not too bad of a day. I did get on a briefly tornado-warned cell and walked away with some storm footage. Obviously I drove half the miles today and was home at a reasonable time. A nice break considering the lack of sleep I've had this week due to work and chasing. Will be nice to sleep in tomorrow before heading back out. I may throw a chase log together for this, but nothing promised.
Tomorrow remains marginal for any real severe weather, but being its a weekend and my wanting to chase Saturday, I am going to head out early evening tomorrow with hopes to nab some lightning, then stay out overnight and position for Saturday which looks a bit better in southeastern Colorado into western Kansas. SPC kept things quiet for tomorrow but has slighted a long area from Colorado eastwards through Kansas and beyond for Saturday. Certainly not blockbuster days, but serves me well for the weekend. I'll update again around lunchtime tomorrow!
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About to leave campus and take off north on I-25 for Ft. Collins/Greeley as a cluster of storms is pushing southward into Colorado from Wyoming. Intend to intercept between Ft. Collins and Greeley. Today is a spotter trip for hail and flooding with lightning after dark. Have been in touch with Jon V and may meet with him later this evening. Will do picture blog updates as I can. Stay tuned.
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A fun, yet dissappointing chase yesterday as many chasers squandered what they could from a day which had so much potential. I've posted the squandering from our group in the form of a chase log. You can check it out here!
So with that, we are here today... another setup is sitting before us and hopefully can muster better things than yesterday. SPC upped the probs around here from their earlier outlook which adds a bit of hope for today. I have once again hauled my gear with me to campus in preparation for being on the road by 2pm if need be. Seeing as I do not have to be up early tomorrow, I will give myself a bit more leeway to chase later and further today than I did yesterday.
Friday and Saturday continue to catch my eye. More so Saturday than Friday, but think enough warrents Friday evening to chase my way into Saturday. My primary objective Friday is for some lightning after sunset and the outside chance of hail or flooding. Due to work, I won't be leaving campus til around 3p, so I'll have a relatively late start. My hope is for storms to be ongoing and not far from here so I can just drive out and get under one. Otherwise I figure to head east and south. Saturday is still far enough out where details are sketchy, but models have shown this to be a sleeper day, primarily southeast Colorado. Still working the bugs with that, but may opt into an overnight stay Friday night and a leisurely day Saturday before coming home either Saturday night or Sunday afternoon. More on those days tomorrow! In the meantime, focus to shift to today, so stay tuned!
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Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Home safely after 437 miles today. Pretty much a bust considering the high hopes which started the day. Some lightning late. More in the morning.
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Making one last attempt to avoid a total bust. Just dropped Tom off in Parker and am now shooting up E-470 to intercept severe warned cell near Greeley with lightning the goal.
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Say goodnight... The party's over! Bailing on the day in Genoa. Backing west on I-70 to Denver and hope we get a repeat surprise like last night.
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Our show starting northeast of the Springs. Going up fast!
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Storm to our west dumping tons of rain. To our north, a ragged developing cell. Sitting on Hwy 94.
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Doin' the Sit 'n Chill at the Loaf 'n Jug at the junction of US Hwy 24 and CO-96 in east Colorado Springs. Storms going in the foothills nw of here but cap is holding for now. Expect cap to break soon.
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Plans look to remain on track as this will be my final update before hitting the road. The chase will be just Tom and I today, but plans to meet at I-25 and Lincoln at 12:30pm remain the same. Nothing changed in the 1630z outlook which is of no surprise. Still thinking a more southerly trek out of Denver, but we'll see how things look in a couple of hours.
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Welcome to blog entry #1000! Quite a milestone considering how these things come and go with people! Thanks to all who have been following me over the last couple of years! Here's to another 1000 more!
So with that said, today is 7-11; a lucky day? We shall see! We're going to be testing that luck in the southeastern plains this afternoon. I am meeting my crew in southeast Denver after noon and we'll either head out CO-86 towards Limon or straight south into Colorado Springs and east from there. My initial hunch is the southern target right now considering the history I have on days like this where I commit east too soon into a chase and end up north of the action.
Hallie will not be coming along on this round due to a doctor's appointment, and I am finalizing details with Tom and his wife. Assuming all's a go with them, I'll have them meet me in southeast Denver and we'll be off. Today will be a chase as tornadoes are high on the list along with very large hail!
The following days hold chasing potential as well. Thursday closer to Denver with a minumal tornado threat. Friday looks to be the most marginal, but may lead-in for Saturday which may hold potential in southeast Colorado. If Friday has storms, I'll head out with hopes of catching lightning as I'll be chained in Denver til midafternoon. Pending how far out I go, I may just opt to overnight it and reposition on Saturday. Still too far out to make any real plans with this, but its tentative.
I may shoot a quick update later in the morning once things are finalized, but otherwise, I am going to be live blogging from the field, so stay tuned through the afternoon! We'll see if 7-11 is a lucky day indeed!
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MY 999TH ENTRY!!! One away from a grand... wow! Guess this means I am a professional blogger, eh! I have been saving this entry til the new SPC Day 1 came out so I could kill two birds with one stone.
First, lets start with this evening. A rapidly developing severe storm exploded over Boulder this evening and slid southeast along US Hwy 36 before dying as quickly as it exploded. I left campus 15 minutes after the storm gleamed on radar and caught a train to my van. After conversing with Jon V who was heading to NCAR to shoot, I opted to forego the lightning initially as the storm was moving on a perfect intercept for me and I couldn't pass up the chance for some hail. I blasted north on I-25 to I-76 and followed that to Hwy 85 where I got off and pitched camp west of Hwy 85 on 112th Ave. The storm made some noise with penny-sized hail, but was quick to move on. I backed south after my quick hail encounter to try and let the storm pass me by, but by then, it had already puked and was quickly reducing itself to dry-heaves. I saw a total of three lightning flashes on my trek back south which meant any lightning chances for me were puked out on top of me with the core.
Jon Van de Grift, on the other hand, had a shot of a lifetime. With his permission, I have posted it below. Needless to say, he and Jesus had a talk. I called him on my way home to get his update and he informed me of his close encounter. I basically ordered him to email it out as soon as he got home cause I was dying to see it. Well, he was close.
 "That's the one that got me" - Venkman (shot by Jon Van de Grift and posted with permission)
Yeah, a bit close for comfort. He has now joined a small group of chasers who have been much closer than they'd like to be to this electrical charge. Fortunately other than a spike of adrenalin, some numbing of selected body parts, and the long-lasting burned-in-the-eye bolt, he's fine! Obviously a very good thing! Jon, welcome to the club my friend!
So with tonight's 43 miles done, focus shifts to the big day tomorrow! Chasing is a go for tomorrow as all shifts have been covered. I am going to work a couple hours in the morning and head out from campus to meet with the crew and embark on the trip. Tom Dulong and his wife look to be accompanying me on this trip along with 7News Intern, Hallie Shulman for her very first chase. Forecast models and discussion continue to hint at a big day south and east of Denver with hail-producing supercells and possibly tornadoes. As of now, I'm pondering a Castle Rock base target for tomorrow and can move east and south from there as needed. I'm thinking noon at this point but may elect to change that in the morning based upon latest models. Palmer Divide action likes to kick off early sometimes, so I don't want to be late or too far north. Tomorrow, I will update with the blog's 1000th entry for the last second plans and hopes for the day!
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Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Woke up around 5am with cool, gusty winds blowing into my room. Certainly was a nice feeling considering the heat we've been having. With daylight finally breaking, I can see the deck of clouds which is covering the skies this morning, meaning we've had a front pass through overnight. Today's storm chances aren't as high as I'd like to see as a result, but tomorrow is still looking good, as is the rest of the week. With that said, I'm not holding out much hope for today and will likely play today as a normal working day before I toss my schedule into the blender for the rest of the week starting tomorrow. Pending timing of convection tomorrow, I may work half a day and shoot south from downtown around lunchtime for the Palmer Divide area. I'll hash out those details later today...
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Monday, July 09, 2007
The writer of this mornings AFD and HWO in Pueblo was very excited about the prospects for severe weather on Wednesday from the Palmer Divide south. Check out these excerpts...
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
348 AM MDT MON JUL 9 2007
...SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS WITH DESTRUCTIVE HAIL AND A FEW TORNADOES LIKELY DURING THIS PERIOD...
A METEOROLOGICAL PATTERN FAVORABLE FOR STRONG ROTATING THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE FRONT RANGE OF COLORADO DURING THIS PERIOD. AT THIS TIME THE BEST CHANCE OF SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS APPEARS TO BE WED THROUGH FRI. NORTHWEST FLOW PATTERNS SIMILAR TO THIS ONE HAVE PRODUCED DESTRUCTIVE WIND DRIVEN HAIL UP TO SOFTBALL SIZE ON THE PALMER DIVIDE AND THE EASTERN PLAINS (MODERN DAY WX RECORDS...SINCE 1995...INDICATE 2 SOFTBALL SIZE HAIL EVENTS HAVE OCCURRED IN EL PASO COUNTY...TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE...BOTH OF THESE EVENTS OCCURRED UNDER NW FLOW SVR WX PATTERNS...SEE SVR CLIMO SECTION ON NWS PUEBLO WEB SITE). A FEW TORNADOES DURING THIS PERIOD ARE ALSO LIKELY.
THIS PATTERN IS MORE DANGEROUS THEN MOST DUE TO STORM MOTION. TYPICALLY SUPERCELLS MOVE IN AN EAST OR EAST-SOUTHEAST DIRECTION. THIS MOTION WILL MOVE THE STORMS OUT ONTO THE SPARSELY POPULATED PLAINS. WITH NORTHWEST MID LVL FLOW DEVELOPING THIS WEEK...STORM MOTION WILL BE SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OR SOUTH. ANY STORMS WHICH DEVELOP JUST EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS WILL MOVE DOWN THE HIGHLY POPULATED AREAS OF THE I-25 CORRIDOR. MAJOR POPULATIONS CENTERS OF COLORADO SPRINGS AND PUEBLO WILL LIKELY BE AFFECTED BY THESE STORMS.
DETAILS...
WEDNESDAY...IF THE GUIDANCE VERIFIES...WE WILL LIKELY SEE SIGNIFICANT SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS AFFECTING THE REGION ON THIS DAY. MANY FEATURES FAVORABLE FOR ROTATING STORMS WILL BE IN PLACE...INCLUDING FAVORABLE DEEP LAYER SHEAR (SE WINDS AT THE SFC
AND NW WINS AT MID LVLS)...MODERATE FLOW ALOFT AT MID LVLS (25-35 KTS)...STRONGER FLOW ALOFT (50 KNTS AT 200)...A JET STREAK MOVG ACROSS THE REGION...SUFFICIENT LLVL MOISTURE (INSTABILITY). I DO NOT BELIEVE THE CAP WILL BE A CONCERN ON THIS DAY. PATTERN RECOGNITION IS ALSO IN PLAY AS THIS WILL BE A CLASSIC DOSWELLIAN `DAY-2". STORMS WILL LIKELY FORM SOMEWHERE ON THE PALMER DIVIDE AND THEN MOVE SSE-S ACROSS THE REGION.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO
651 AM MDT MON JUL 9 2007
...SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER ACTIVITY WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS FORECAST PERIOD...
FROM TUESDAY INTO THE WEEKEND...METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE ROTATING THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER ALL OF THE SOUTHEAST PLAINS. AT THIS TIME THE BEST CHANCE OF SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS APPEARS TO BE WEDNESDAY...THURSDAY AND FRIDAY.
NORTHWEST WIND FLOW AT THE MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE AND SOUTHEAST WINDS AT THE SURFACE...ALONG WITH AMPLE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL SET THE STAGE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY THIS WEEK. PAST HISTORY HAS SHOWN THIS TYPE OF WIND FLOW PATTERN IS FAVORABLE FOR PRODUCING VERY LARGE WIND DRIVEN HAIL ALONG WITH A FEW TORNADOES. SINCE STORMS WILL BE MOVING IN A GENERAL SOUTHERLY DIRECTION...THE THREAT IS HIGHER THAN NORMAL THAT SEVERE WEATHER WILL AFFECT THE LARGER CITIES ALONG THE INTERSTATE 25 CORRIDOR.
PEOPLE ACROSS ALL OF THE SOUTHEAST COLORADO REGION SHOULD HAVE A HIGHER THAN NORMAL AWARENESS OF THE WEATHER THIS WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND.
I mentioned to Mike Nelson last week that Wednesday was the day I was eyeing for the week, so seeing this certainly showed promise to that theory. I am going to make tentative plans to be chasing this day and may elect to take the entire day off for this setup. Stay tuned...
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Sunday, July 08, 2007
Currently sitting at a construction sight on the south side of C-470 on Lucent watching a decent cell heading east/southeast towards Castle Rock at this time. Decent lightning coming from this cell, but radar not showing a ton of promise, at least in terms of anything different than I've already seen today. Intercepted a trio of storms including this one. The first just as I left the apartment and chased it around Wheat Ridge and Arvada before meeting with Ed Grubb and heading east and north following a line of cells to Brush where we stopped at Wendy's and turned around for home. Ed and I split in Brighton and I continued south through town to sneak a peak at developing storms southwest of Denver. After a fill-up, I elected to stop and watch as the storm wasn't showing much promise.
I did nab a good lightning strike prior to an idiot pickup truck cutting me off. The vido would've been great had I not had to quickly slow and swerve to avoid getting broadsided by the truck. A couple stills of the close bolt are below..
 
So with that, I think I am going to return to Lakewood and hope for something a bit later this evening after the sun sets. My attention is focused on Wednesday as the big day next week. Tomorrow looks pretty bleak.
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The upcoming week and change holds a summer-time pattern much more condusive for me! Northwest flow overtakes the area which puts us in a more favorable flow for stormy patterns, and that's exactly what's progged for this week starting today. A cold front will move through today ushering in higher moisture and cooler weather. With that, severe storms are possible. SPC has us slighted starting today and going through day 7! This certainly isn't the best for tornadoes, but hail, heavy rains, lightning, all the secondary goodies are a good bet. Spotter trips more than likely as tornado threats look pretty slim. I'm a definite for today and Monday with potential the rest of the week pending scheduling and targeting. Definitely stay tuned!!
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Thursday, July 05, 2007
While it won't count in my stats, it'll get me a steak dinner! From the 7News Weather Center, myself, our intern Ava, and Chief Meteorologist Mike Nelson witnessed a weak landspout tornado over Arvada at around 3:45 this afternoon. This tornado was spotted on a well-placed tower cam pointing south and west out of Thornton. Ava was the one who pointed it out as we were gawking over Roger's landspout video earlier in the week. Initially, we thought we were looking at a fire, but then Mike and I gave it the one-eyebrow salute. Mike then ran upstairs to adjust the camera to confirm our secondary thoughts that this may be a tornado. Upon a zoom on the camera, we saw the ground rotation and confirmed our finding; it was a landspout tornado in the metro area! Mike came back down and did a break-in over Jepordy while I notified the weather service. Radar showed a developing cell along a west-to-east moving boundary which was likely the parent to the landspout. Within about 5 minutes the tornado had vanished, but the thrill remained!
Also worth a mention that this was my first solo story on thedenverchannel.com and I am thrilled it covers a tornado! You can check out my very first published web story here!
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Nature provided some natural fireworks of her own on the 4th, but last night's severe warned storm was anything but. Heavy rains were about the only thing musterable from that storm as hail was non-existant and lightning was hidden in the clouds. A lightning photographer's dream is to nab lightning and fireworks on a single frame. Verne Carlson had a decent shot last night, but the storm's fickle personality kept her from giving us the big show. So with that, we wait another year..
Storm chances decrease as the heat continues to increase over the coming days. Taking a glance at chasable weather over the weekend, I see nothing to pack my bags over. I am tempted to head east into Kansas to document some of the ongoing flooding out there, but we'll wait to see how things evolve over the coming days. I could probably make better use of my time here in Denver, but if I know me, the heat will burn away my motivation! -LOL-
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Tuesday, July 03, 2007
A mess of storms in Colorado right now, including one of the strangest tornado warnings I've seen in quite some time along I-70 around Limon for storms which are in the process of forming along a pronounced boundary draped over the area. West of Denver, severe-warned cells with up to golfball hail are ongoing. Casino visitors in Clear Creek County may be getting pelted.
I'm currently sitting at the Wheat Ridge Wal-Mart along I-70 just north of 32nd awaiting one of these storms to drift its way into the metro area so I can get under the thing! So far, most activity has remained west of the Hogback and adjacent points.
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A few updates...
I have posted chase logs from June 30 in Montana and July 1 in Colorado, both of which are linked from the main page or by clicking the corresponding links above or the images below. I have also posted a scrapbook page with 19 of the over 200 photos I shot of the wolves in South Dakota back on June 29 and 30th. That's also linked here or on the image below...
 June 30, 2007 - Montana Storm Chase
 July 1, 2007 - Colorado Storm Chase
 Black Hills, South Dakota Wolves
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Monday, July 02, 2007
At 12:06am on Monday, July 2, Mayathon 2007 offically came to an end. I pulled into my apartment complex and shut off the van marking the end of nearly seven weeks on the road. All told, I traveled 15,853 miles starting on May 13 when I chased the Ballantine, MT storm. Ironically enough, I was returning home from my final big chase from Montana. Funny to think I ended the trip where I began it; and of all places in Montana.
I logged a total of 25 chase/spotter trips covering 14 states, saw a total of 7 tornadoes, hail as big as dollar bills, dozens of great lightning photos, and some amazing flooding. This trip easily made for the best chase-vacation I've embarked on. And best of all, me pulling into my apartment complex last night also meant my vehicle had survived the season without any major disasters. I'm happy to say my trip ends with no financial issues to clean up.
Beyond the weather, I enjoyed some amazing chances to get out and travel. I found a love for the Dakotas and ended this trip as perfectly as I possibly could by spending several wonderful days in the area. To top it off, I took over 200 shots on two trips of my favorite animal in the world! I'm still sifting through images from that!
So much to cover and a ton to catch up on, but I wanted to officially close the book on a very successful Mayathon 2007. Spot chases and the occasional longer trip may still rest in the cards between now and the fall, but nothing major imminent. August holds a chance for me to spend some time chasing monsoon lightning in Arizona, but its still a work in progress. Will keep you posted on that!
So with that, off to focus on lightning, floods, and the occasional hailstorm. Things quiet down as temps continue to swell! I want to thank everyone who had a part in my success this season, and there are just too many to mention. Chase partners, friends, family, the works! It was an amazing couple of months...
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