Sunday, September 21, 2008

Recap of June 7th, 2008 Chicagoland Tornado Chase

June 7th...a day Ill never forget. I woke up early in the morning in a bad mood because I had oral surgery scheduled. The weather pattern favored a tornado outbreak in Iowa and if it weren't for the surgery, I would have been there. Turns out the surgery was a good thing.

As I sat in my room spitting up blood in a cup for hour after hour and chatting with fellow chaser Danny Neal, an interesting storm blew up to our southwest. He and I were "armchair chasing" which is a common practice among chasers when we cant be in the field. Tornado reports started coming in, but I was pessimistic and crabby and didnt want to believe them. The following conversation ensued before I was finally convinced to bolt out the door and get what so far is my greatest footage. Its kind of long so if you dont wish to read it all, you can scroll down to see the actual chase pictures and videos.

TORII48LEGENDS (3:56:11 PM):tornado coming
AeroStorm911 (3:56:11 PM):argh
AeroStorm911 (3:56:25 PM):well see
AeroStorm911 (3:56:25 PM):lol
TORII48LEGENDS (3:56:32 PM):lol they got one down in marshall coming
TORII48LEGENDS (3:56:40 PM):county
AeroStorm911 (3:56:55 PM):sweet
TORII48LEGENDS (3:57:08 PM):i just got home from baseball and saw TOR WATCH i was like huh
TORII48LEGENDS (3:57:09 PM):?
AeroStorm911 (3:58:24 PM):yea and it doesnt include cook again
TORII48LEGENDS (3:58:41 PM):lol
TORII48LEGENDS (3:58:54 PM):if this storms continues NE its gonna hit me head on
TORII48LEGENDS (4:00:09 PM):now watch
TORII48LEGENDS (4:00:10 PM):oops
TORII48LEGENDS (4:00:13 PM):wrong IM
TORII48LEGENDS (4:03:07 PM):new tornado watch
AeroStorm911 (4:05:51 PM):if its not here then i dont care lol
AeroStorm911 (4:05:52 PM):damn storms
AeroStorm911 (4:05:58 PM):one to the south and one to the north
TORII48LEGENDS (4:06:09 PM):its here
TORII48LEGENDS (4:06:31 PM):http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0479.html
TORII48LEGENDS (4:07:49 PM):lol why arent we chasing
AeroStorm911 (4:08:23 PM):me cuz my mouth wont stop bleeding
AeroStorm911 (4:08:27 PM):fucking oral surgery
TORII48LEGENDS (4:08:30 PM):lol wow


TORII48LEGENDS (4:08:52 PM):haha
TORII48LEGENDS (4:09:59 PM):look what just blew up on the SW and west side
AeroStorm911 (4:10:35 PM):i see that
AeroStorm911 (4:10:38 PM):watch it miss me
TORII48LEGENDS (4:10:43 PM):lol
AeroStorm911 (4:13:31 PM):i think its all going to
AeroStorm911 (4:13:35 PM):damn midway bubble
TORII48LEGENDS (4:13:48 PM):lol those sups are making a bee line for here
AeroStorm911 (4:14:12 PM):they look like mush tho
TORII48LEGENDS (4:15:42 PM):rotation looks good
TORII48LEGENDS (4:16:06 PM):look at the one heading for Odell
AeroStorm911 (4:16:38 PM):on srv it aint bad
AeroStorm911 (4:16:40 PM):bv is shit
TORII48LEGENDS (4:17:21 PM):tornado report outta lostant in la salle
TORII48LEGENDS (4:17:54 PM):north storm is getting choked off by the south one
AeroStorm911 (4:19:48 PM):i see that
AeroStorm911 (4:19:57 PM):im almost tempted to shoot down i-57
TORII48LEGENDS (4:20:12 PM):its moving up 55
TORII48LEGENDS (4:21:50 PM):funnel cloud reported ne of pontiac
TORII48LEGENDS (4:23:50 PM):tornado on the ground
TORII48LEGENDS (4:23:54 PM):NE of Odell
TORII48LEGENDS (4:24:01 PM):numerous reports
AeroStorm911 (4:24:09 PM):really
AeroStorm911 (4:24:10 PM):dammit
AeroStorm911 (4:24:11 PM):lol
TORII48LEGENDS (4:24:13 PM):lol
TORII48LEGENDS (4:24:45 PM):heading right into dwight
AeroStorm911 (4:25:37 PM):they were 90 over 75
AeroStorm911 (4:25:38 PM):wow
AeroStorm911 (4:27:01 PM):its raining here now
AeroStorm911 (4:27:03 PM):psh
TORII48LEGENDS (4:27:28 PM): THUNDERSTORMS WERE RAPIDLY DEVELOPING THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS NORTHERN ILLINOIS. VERY WARM AND HUMID WEATHER WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE 80S AND DEW POINT TEMPERATURES IN THE LOWER 70S WERE RESULTING IN MODERATELY UNSTABLE CONDITIONS...BENEATH AN UNSEASONABLY STRONG LATE SPRING JET STREAM ACROSS THE UPPER MIDWEST. THIS COMBINATION OF INSTABILITY...AND VERTICAL WIND SHEAR...WILL RESULT IN SOME STORMS BECOMING SEVERE ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. THE DEGREE OF SHEAR SUGGESTS THAT ROTATING STORMS ARE LIKELY...WITH A POTENTIAL FOR DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD DECREASE IN INTENSITY AND COVERAGE LATE THIS EVENING...THOUGH ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS MAY MOVE INTO THE REGION AFTER MIDNIGHT FROM THE WEST.
AeroStorm911 (4:29:04 PM):weee
TORII48LEGENDS (4:30:17 PM):* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
NORTHEASTERN LIVINGSTON COUNTY IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS...
SOUTHEASTERN GRUNDY COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ILLINOIS...* UNTIL 515 PM CDT...* AT 422 PM...THE PUBLIC REPORTED A TORNADO AND RADAR INDICATED
ROTATION NEAR CORNELL...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 32 MPH.* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
DWIGHT BY 445 PM...
GARDNER BY 500 PM...
BRACEVILLE BY 510 PM...
AeroStorm911 (4:31:02 PM):i see that
AeroStorm911 (4:31:04 PM):SCUD!
AeroStorm911 (4:31:07 PM):run for cover
TORII48LEGENDS (4:31:12 PM):lol
TORII48LEGENDS (4:31:22 PM):thats a decent signature though
AeroStorm911 (4:31:27 PM):yea not bad
AeroStorm911 (4:32:05 PM):is it even worth battling 55 traffic
AeroStorm911 (4:32:07 PM):thats the question
TORII48LEGENDS (4:32:23 PM):lol its gonna heading into southern cook
AeroStorm911 (4:33:47 PM):57 is the way to go i think
AeroStorm911 (4:33:50 PM):if it holds
AeroStorm911 (4:33:54 PM):its turning
TORII48LEGENDS (4:34:27 PM):i know
TORII48LEGENDS (4:35:43 PM):its got a meso marker on it
TORII48LEGENDS (4:35:45 PM):yellow one
AeroStorm911 (4:35:48 PM):yea
AeroStorm911 (4:35:51 PM):i see
AeroStorm911 (4:35:54 PM):moderate lol
TORII48LEGENDS (4:36:01 PM):idk if i can catch this
TORII48LEGENDS (4:36:40 PM):tornado lifted at 426
TORII48LEGENDS (4:36:46 PM):new funnel forming
TORII48LEGENDS (4:36:53 PM):per odell fire dept
AeroStorm911 (4:37:46 PM):it can be caught
AeroStorm911 (4:37:50 PM):its over an hour away from 57
TORII48LEGENDS (4:38:02 PM):lol giddy up hah
TORII48LEGENDS (4:38:21 PM):looks like heading for peotone
AeroStorm911 (4:38:55 PM):latest scan is mush
TORII48LEGENDS (4:39:03 PM): AT 436 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR AND STORM
SPOTTERS WERE TRACKING A LARGE AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TORNADO. THIS
TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR ODELL...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 32 MPH.

THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
DWIGHT BY 445 PM CDT...
GARDNER BY 500 PM CDT...
SOUTH WILMINGTON...AND EAST BROOKLYN BY 505 PM CDT...
BRACEVILLE BY 510 PM CDT...
TORII48LEGENDS (4:39:07 PM):FUUCCCCKKKKKKKK
TORII48LEGENDS (4:39:26 PM):aeDFHJOFDHNASFDNDAS
AeroStorm911 (4:39:29 PM):wtf
TORII48LEGENDS (4:40:22 PM):54 miles away
TORII48LEGENDS (4:40:55 PM):very large tornado reported on ground
TORII48LEGENDS (4:41:02 PM):per spotters
TORII48LEGENDS (4:41:10 PM):between dwight and odell
AeroStorm911 (4:41:20 PM):rain shaft
AeroStorm911 (4:41:21 PM):lol
TORII48LEGENDS (4:41:26 PM):lol
TORII48LEGENDS (4:41:37 PM):im tempted
TORII48LEGENDS (4:41:39 PM):big time
AeroStorm911 (4:41:53 PM):lets see what this scan does
TORII48LEGENDS (4:42:04 PM):new report by storm chaser
TORII48LEGENDS (4:42:15 PM):large debris cloud tornado on ground larger than last one
TORII48LEGENDS (4:42:32 PM):oh fuck
TORII48LEGENDS (4:42:37 PM): its heading into dwight
TORII48LEGENDS (4:42:45 PM):JUUUUST west
AeroStorm911 (4:43:06 PM):god dammit new shit to the south of it
AeroStorm911 (4:43:09 PM):the choke off begins
TORII48LEGENDS (4:43:48 PM):a lil west of 55 tracking tornado into dwight guy sees it from his house
AeroStorm911 (4:44:24 PM):i wonder if its a landspout
TORII48LEGENDS (4:45:00 PM):lol no
TORII48LEGENDS (4:45:04 PM):not with that rotation
TORII48LEGENDS (4:47:28 PM):new circulation moving into dwight
TORII48LEGENDS (4:47:30 PM):and im still here
AeroStorm911 (4:47:43 PM):and im still spitting up blood
AeroStorm911 (4:47:45 PM):ugh
TORII48LEGENDS (4:48:23 PM):
...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 515 PM CDT FOR
SOUTHEASTERN GRUNDY AND NORTHEASTERN LIVINGSTON COUNTIES...

AT 445 PM CDT...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO. THIS
TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR DWIGHT...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 32 MPH.

THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
GARDNER BY 500 PM CDT...
SOUTH WILMINGTON...AND EAST BROOKLYN BY 505 PM CDT...
BRACEVILLE BY 510 PM CDT...
TORII48LEGENDS (4:49:35 PM):new tornado forming
TORII48LEGENDS (4:49:41 PM):1 mile south of dwight
TORII48LEGENDS (4:49:47 PM):moving north east
TORII48LEGENDS (4:50:00 PM):I 55 and dwight road
TORII48LEGENDS (4:52:11 PM):huge wall cloud Rt 47 just north of dwight
AeroStorm911 (4:52:26 PM):almost near morris
TORII48LEGENDS (4:52:45 PM):moving into wilmington soon
TORII48LEGENDS (4:53:46 PM):david mayhew i so ff
AeroStorm911 (4:54:52 PM):i hope sum1 is gettin pics or video
TORII48LEGENDS (4:55:56 PM):I 55 and rt 17 large tornado reported 10 mins ago
TORII48LEGENDS (4:56:10 PM):damage reports coming in
AeroStorm911 (4:56:58 PM):anything good
TORII48LEGENDS (4:57:20 PM):didnt say specifics they just said we are getting damage reports in from NE livingston co
TORII48LEGENDS (4:57:42 PM):storm looks like its bowing out
TORII48LEGENDS (4:59:25 PM):AT 458 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO
INDICATE A TORNADO. THIS TORNADO WAS LOCATED 10 MILES WEST OF HALES
CORNERS...OR NEAR DOWNTOWN WAUKESHA...MOVING EAST AT 41 MPH.
AeroStorm911 (4:59:56 PM):mayhew is going for it
AeroStorm911 (4:59:56 PM):lol
AeroStorm911 (5:00:03 PM):good luck buddy
TORII48LEGENDS (5:00:06 PM):lol
AeroStorm911 (5:00:10 PM):that i-55 traffic is hideous
TORII48LEGENDS (5:00:24 PM):57
AeroStorm911 (5:00:38 PM):o shit he is on 57
AeroStorm911 (5:00:44 PM):well once he gets passed 80 hell be good
TORII48LEGENDS (5:00:56 PM):its 4 miles to 57 from my hous
TORII48LEGENDS (5:00:56 PM):e
TORII48LEGENDS (5:00:59 PM):he just passed it
AeroStorm911 (5:01:12 PM):my shit must be behind
TORII48LEGENDS (5:01:24 PM): ...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 515 PM CDT FOR
SOUTHEASTERN GRUNDY COUNTY...

AT 454 PM CDT...THE PUBLIC REPORTED A TORNADO FROM THIS STORM. THIS
TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR GARDNER...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 32 MPH.

THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
EAST BROOKLYN...SOUTH WILMINGTON...AND BRACEVILLE BY 505 PM CDT...
TORII48LEGENDS (5:02:30 PM):wtf is that
AeroStorm911 (5:03:28 PM):what is what lol
AeroStorm911 (5:03:35 PM):and i dont have those tornado icons on mine lol
AeroStorm911 (5:03:38 PM):what place file is that
TORII48LEGENDS (5:04:06 PM):http://places.allisonhouse.com/feeds/d1a15ecdd173c2862c39e2c6314e76a4/index.php?lsr=1
AeroStorm911 (5:04:30 PM):ok got em
TORII48LEGENDS (5:04:42 PM):look at that hook north of coal city
AeroStorm911 (5:05:30 PM):o that lol
AeroStorm911 (5:05:35 PM):looks like a bow segment to me
AeroStorm911 (5:05:43 PM):could be something new tho
AeroStorm911 (5:05:47 PM):i like it bein more north
TORII48LEGENDS (5:05:47 PM):got rotation
TORII48LEGENDS (5:06:03 PM):srv2
TORII48LEGENDS (5:06:38 PM):its splitting
TORII48LEGENDS (5:06:46 PM):guy says inflow is starting to increase
TORII48LEGENDS (5:07:56 PM):expanded TOR watch again
TORII48LEGENDS (5:08:44 PM):NWS LOT just caleld spotters asking them if they see it swinging north
TORII48LEGENDS (5:08:49 PM):svr warning
AeroStorm911 (5:12:17 PM):and the chicago bubble lives on
TORII48LEGENDS (5:12:46 PM):lol
TORII48LEGENDS (5:13:47 PM):whats the odds of more development to the south and west
AeroStorm911 (5:15:16 PM):id say slim
TORII48LEGENDS (5:16:21 PM):watch lasts another 3 hours
AeroStorm911 (5:18:32 PM):my hopes arent up
AeroStorm911 (5:18:34 PM):cloud cover
AeroStorm911 (5:18:36 PM):loss of heating
TORII48LEGENDS (5:18:45 PM):lol its already hot enough
TORII48LEGENDS (5:18:58 PM):90/77
AeroStorm911 (5:20:04 PM):2.75" hail?
AeroStorm911 (5:20:06 PM):wtf is going on
TORII48LEGENDS (5:20:32 PM):storm looks good near wilmington
TORII48LEGENDS (5:21:09 PM):reporting rotation near wilmington again just now lol
TORII48LEGENDS (5:21:25 PM):TORNADO WARNING
AeroStorm911 (5:21:32 PM):argh
AeroStorm911 (5:22:08 PM):the edge of that box is by my house!
AeroStorm911 (5:22:09 PM):haha
TORII48LEGENDS (5:26:44 PM):tornado on the ground
TORII48LEGENDS (5:26:50 PM):in wilmington
AeroStorm911 (5:27:08 PM):fuck
AeroStorm911 (5:27:12 PM):time to go i think
TORII48LEGENDS (5:27:18 PM):its coming right here
AeroStorm911 (5:27:38 PM):if that storm crosses the warm front which is just to our south then its history
AeroStorm911 (5:27:47 PM):i hope tio can stay rooted there
AeroStorm911 (5:27:51 PM):or the warm front is on the move
TORII48LEGENDS (5:29:06 PM): ...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 615 PM CDT FOR WILL AND
SOUTHEASTERN COOK COUNTIES...

AT 523 PM CDT...THE PUBLIC REPORTED A TORNADO. THIS TORNADO WAS
LOCATED NEAR BRAIDWOOD...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
SYMERTON BY 535 PM CDT...
ELWOOD BY 540 PM CDT...
MANHATTAN BY 550 PM CDT...
NEW LENOX BY 555 PM CDT...
MOKENA...AND FRANKFORT BY 600 PM CDT...
FRANKFORT SQUARE...AND MATTESON BY 605 PM CDT...
AeroStorm911 (5:29:34 PM):im out
AeroStorm911 (5:29:35 PM):cya
AeroStorm911 (5:29:36 PM):lol

So I grab the laptop, my cameras, NOAA radio and out the door I go. I took the fastest way I knew to get to I-57...once Im there I find myself in the storms core. The storm now looks like a monster plains supercell on radar.Once I emerge from the core I see the most incredible straited meso I have ever seen. It easily trumps any storm Ive seen in the plains to date. Video:


I knew I needed to get south...and fast...or I would be in some serious trouble. Core punching such a storm is a risky move which some would consider foolish...as for me Im willing to take the risk. Near the end of the video you can see the RFD cutting into the storm creating the "clear slot" I knew this baby was about to put down. Sure enough I look back out my passanger window and see a funnel quickly drop. By the time I Stop the van and jump out...its already on the ground. Video:


I wish my over-excitement didnt get to me and I was able to keep my mouth shut. I will never talk smack about people who blurt out stupid stuff on camera again. Unless your a passionate chaser, you wont understand the feeling one gets when being so close to something so amazing.

I cut about 30 seconds of the clip out, just before I make the phone call, fellow chaser Danny Neal called me to see where I was at, I hurried him off the phone and let a few more profanities slip so I could call the NWS, whos number I left at home so I called 911 instead to get the information out as the tornado crossed the highway. Video:


Needless to say it was very intense, due to the wet RFD blasting me I had to seek coverage on the side of my van, with no time to setup a tripod. The tornado was rated EF-2 by the national weather service and did wreak havock across the highway. I quickly tried to turn around and stay on the chase....but got stuck in the expressway lockdown due to all the damage.
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After about an hour they let us through. Thankfully there were no serious injuries but this situation could have ended allot worse. 6 people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries. People were extremely lucky this time. Once I got home I quickly called my chaser pals over to show them what I was able to capture. Danny, who was also on the chase, was about 2 miles behind me and got stuck in the storms core. Here is a radar image of the storm as it crossed the highway...a truly classic supercell shape on radar...and in my home territory for once!
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Everything worked out for today, and I consider myself lucky, the surgery kept me home otherwise I would have chased Iowa and likely not seen anything as amazing, some of my chasers pals, including Skip Talbot were in Iowa and bagged a bunch of awesome wall clouds, but those dont compare to tornadoes. Poor Matt was stuck at a family function and couldn't chase. We had just spent 3 days in Kansas and 2 in Nebraska and saw 3 tornadoes, but none like this, its a shame he missed out because events like this near Chicago are extremely rare. Ive done the last minute local chase many times, but never catching anything like this. It will certainly be a tough one to beat....and I look forward to the day I do.

Here is a google map of the chase. A full map can be viewed by clicking the link under it.

View Larger Map

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