Are November tornadoes rare? Was the November 17th Outbreak abnormal? Understandably, I have seen these questions asked via social media hundreds of times over the last several days. With the recent outbreak of tornadoes on the 17th in Illinois and Indiana that claimed 8 lives many people are confused as to how this can occur …
Tag Archives: clouds
Photo Spotlight- “Hell Bent”
A massive stove pipe tornado churns near Waterbury Nebraska as the setting sun leaves an ominous hue. I captured this during a localized tornado outbreak in NE Nebraska and SW Iowa on October 4th 2013. This was the third tornado I witnessed.
Tornadoes rake the Upper Mid West
Tornadic storms are marching across portions of the Ohio Valley as I type this. Over 55 (some likely duplicate reports) tornadoes have been reported with more likely this evening. In all over 200 severe reports have been tabulated for this November outbreak. Early this morning the National Weather service issued a rare High Risk outlook …
Chase Log-Cornfield Nightmare 6/14-6/15 2012-Kansas-777 Miles
This particular chase was no different than any other before it. The potential for severe weather and tornadoes was on the horizon as I set out for South West Kansas and the Oklahoma panhandle. All of the parameters were coming together to make for what looked like a modest chase. Tornadoes were not a strong …
Zach’s Corner: Historic Tornado Series-The Greensburg Kansas Tornado of May 4th 2007
The term “worst case scenario” can mean a number of things in the severe weather world. Some scenarios that come to mind are extremely violent tornadoes, tornadoes at night, a tornado that directly hits a town. The Greensburg tornado was all three. May 4th began in much the same way many other spring days do …
Zach’s Corner: Chase Log-Nebraska Outbreak-6/20/2011-2145 Miles
Wow…what an adventure this was. I had been monitoring the potential for a tornado outbreak in South Central NE/Northern Kansas for a few days, and made the decision early on that I was going to chase this storm. All of the important numbers were pointing towards a major out break on June 20th. As I …
Zach’s Corner: Historic Tornado Series-The Bridge Creek-Moore Oklahoma Tornado May 3rd, 1999
May 3rd 1999…mention this date to any resident of Oklahoma and you are sure to get a look of sorrow and fear. Tornadoes in Oklahoma in the spring are not an unusual thing. Natives of Oklahoma have become accustomed to the annual ritual of tornado sirens, and most understand that they live in the heart …
Andrea’s Corner: August Tornadoes-They Do Happen
On August 28, 1990 an EF5 tornado struck Kendall and Will Counties in Illinois, it killed 29 and injured 350 people, leveling the school in Plainfield, Illinois except for the one hallway where students had just taken cover moments prior to the school completely coming apart. It is the only EF5 to ever strike in …
Andrea’s Corner: Run for it! Or not-Oklahoma City Tornadoes of May 31st 2013
To run from a tornado or not run from a tornado, that is the question. It has been commonly taught in schools throughout Tornado Alley and in weather training classes that you are not to run from a tornado. That concept was challenged this last week during yet another tornado outbreak in Oklahoma City. …
Andrea’s Corner: Remain Strong-The Moore Oklahoma Tornado
It is said by people who tally such things that there are around 1000 tornadoes annually in the continental U.S., and that the recent EF5 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma was only the 59th such tornado since 1950. That’s an average of less than one per year, meaning that this unimaginably powerful type of tornado is very, …
