Storm Chasing DVD Trailer!

I've finally begun working on my first ever DVD. There is much to do, but I have finished the trailer. It only took me about 5 hours, mostly because I had to dig out my old computer that had some of my 2008 and 2009 stuff on it, but I like the way it turned out. Anyways here is the trailer.

Why did I title it The Noob? Well, a couple reasons. It is my first DVD which covers my first several years as a chaser. I also find the term amusing, especially when someone attempts to call me that as an insult. It's a snarky way to stick it to those who thought I could never do it. Rather than trying to get defensive and give a million reasons why I am some die hard non-noob chaser, I simply embrace what I am and where I am in my career. These WERE my noob years, and I have allot of accomplishments to be proud of!

I am not sure when the DVD will be released. I am going to put it together using software I've never used before, so I expect it to be a nightmare with lots of problems. Hopefully sooner than later, and definitely before the holidays!

Storm Chasers: I will accept trades. Some of you have hooked me up with your DVDs over the years and rest assured I will definitely reciprocate! Everyone else; thatll be 19.99 - I need some new gear for 2012!

I am excited, and hope everyone will enjoy it when it is done.

Storm Chasing and Making Money

I've been a bit of a crabass lately, so its time to rant on a popular debate in the chase community. The whole issue when it comes to storm chasing and making money.

First and foremost, if you are a new and aspiring chaser hoping for big fame and big bucks for the latest and greatest tornado video. Don't even bother. The market is extremely tough, and in this day and age even if you get a good shot one of 2 things will happen.

1 - Someone better than you who already has the connections will get a better shot or
2 - Some dipshit with an I-phone will give the news a crappier shot for free. The news could care less about quality.

The big debate revolves around those who want to make money are said to be less passionate. Are you kidding me?! Often what you see is blanket statements like "I don't care if I make money, I am there for the love of the weather and to save lives." Get over yourself now. I am tired of reading this from people. As if somehow that statement is going to convince me that you are a die hard chaser and deserve to be there more than others. Please, you ain't fooling anyone except those who try and spout the same bullshit. Then you can all rally together and stroke each others egos.

There is nothing I would enjoy more than being able to make my lifes living off of storm chasing. A pipe dream sure, but a dream none-the-less. I could give a rats ass about a persons "real" job nor do I want to be remembered in life for the work I do. Hey wow, you work in IT! Congrats. PHHHT. Sure, in the grand scheme of things storm chasers may not really matter, but neither do half of the occupations out there.

When I die I want people to think "There goes Adam, he was a badass storm chaser." Not "there goes adam, he was awesome at fixing computers, flipping burgers, filling out tax forms, cutting lawns, driving forklifts, etc etc etc." I think allot of time people assume that those who want to make money off chasing want to become RICH from chasing. There is a difference. I would be happy living in a dumpy apartment or trailer, if it meant I had the freedom to chase. More money is always better, but to me life fulfillment outweighs just how much money I make. If I was handed a job offer for 40k a year that guaranteed a way I could chase when I wanted, I would take that anyday over a job that offered me 100K a year but said I could only have 2 weeks off.

So you better damn well believe I will do everything in my power to make as much money as possible with my chasing en devours. If that makes me a sellout in your eyes thats fine. I don't owe you or anyone anything and you sure as hell aren't going to help me in anyway so why do I care if you think I am a sellout? Have fun not chasing as much as you would like in the meantime, just don't expect me to feel sorry for you because you're stuck in a routine and the storms won't always come within 20 miles of your house.

Another argument is chasing for money turns chasing into work as opposed to enjoyment. While there may be some truth to that it still wouldn't bother me. Its work I would enjoy, and it would be my life. Every job has its stressful moments, its ups and downs. I might as well have my work be my lifes passion, and if I want a hobby I purely enjoy thats where fishing, BBQing and camping comes in.

This all goes back to chasing being different things to different people. If you are happy with your situation thats all that matters. If chasing only a handful of times a year is enough for you, I applaud you and surely don't look down on you. The people I look down on are the ones who whine about their situation and do little to change it. Succeeding in your dream is harder than succeeding in everyday normal life.

Life is hard, and bills need to get paid. I am not blind to this. I may chase allot, but its not nearly enough as I want to because even I still have to do what I have to do to survive. I have given up allot of "normal life" things in order to be able to chase as much as I can though. I was not born into an easy means to chase freely, so for me it has to come with hard work and sacrifice. I've sacrificed moving out of my house when I was in my mid 20s, getting married, having a family, that nice job downtown...you know, all the normal stuff people are supposed to do. That may be the ultimate goal for many, its just not mine.

I think the bottom line is, even if I never make another penny doing it, I am still going to do it. But as long as I am doing it, I am not going half ass it, and will do everything in my power to make the most from it. I think allot of people fail to grasp that concept. Do I think I am better? Certainly not and sometimes I have a struggle from within thinking I am making the wrong decisions and that I wish I wasn't a slave to this desire. Its a tough battle to fight trying to climb your way up from the very bottom.

Basically, if you don't want to make money from chasing then good for you, but you are not better than anyone, you are not more passionate, and it doesn't give you anymore right to be there than someone else. So STFU, and thats where I stand on that whole issue.

EDIT: While discussing this entry on facebook I summed it up quite nicely and wanted to add it in here.

Really the point I am trying to make is who cares what others are doing and that none of us are better than anyone else. Do it for your own reasons and enjoy it. I think WE ALL do it for the love of storms. That is the ONLY THING that fuels us to go out there. What spin you decide to take on it from there is up to you, and no matter what that is, you have a right to do it.

Severe Weather Nowcast - Too Little Too Late?

Today is a perfect example of how morning garbage storms can really mess up an otherwise great setup. Sure, the shelf cloud was pretty but you can thank that decaying crap complex for ruining what would have been something far better. Perhaps I would be less bitter if the complex had held together when it reached Chicago, but instead it fell apart completely and even the shelf cloud was gone, leaving the area in nothing but thundery showers for a whole 4 hours. Finally, a loud pulse storm rolled through around 4pm, and the sun quickly has come out over all of IL as shown by the visible sat:

We are finally destabilizing as shown by the 3hrs CAPE change:

But it might be too little too late. Areas to the west though have had a chance to sit in the sun and cook longer, but of course out there the cap [a warm layer of air aloft that thwarts storm development] is more of an issue. Still, convection allowing models have shown a new band of storms developing shortly around sunset. Most notebly for Chicago, the 12z 4km wrf, which has actually handled todays storm situation quite well so far. So we will see if this trend continues:

Another popular convection allowing model, the HRRR also buys into a similar situation though it keeps the development further west and never really brings it into the Chicago area, likely due to the lack of instability that has yet to materialize over this area. However, this model is run each hour, and the solutions can vary greatly from run to run, below are the 2 most recent runs for the same time [10pm this evening] and you can see a huge difference.

Naturally being a storm lover I want the bottom solution to verify, but I am leaning towards the top one as of right now.

A big negative factor for severe weather is dismal low level lapse rates. This is lower than pathetic and would need to change quickly.

Still though, shear over the region remains impressive, with bulk shear in the 40-50kt range. Low level flow is backing, and there would be both ample speed and directional shear to support severe storms including a brief window for supercells with very large hail and an isolated tornado threat given the high instability out west, After which a more typical transition to a linear mode takes over with attendant wind/hail threat.

Such is always the case when watching an event unfold, there are factors supporting severe weather, and other factors scream bust. I think the forecast I posted last night is on track fairly well though and would expect the area that would see the best chance of severe weather to be from I-39 west towards the Missisippi river. As far as Chicagoland goes it is a tough call, but those in the area still need to be on alert for potential severe weather.

For the latest you can always stay tuned to my facebook page, or follow Convective Addiction here: http://www.facebook.com/aerostorms/posts/10150271094208807#!/convectiveaddiction

Potential for Severe Weather in Chicago Tuesday and Wednesday.

Bored and checking over the 0z NAM as it continues to trickle in. A NW flow type event could bring multiple rounds of severe weather to the area. These are quirky setups that occur in this area from time to time. Basically if you take a traditional setup and rotate the shear profile clockwise 90 degrees you get a NW flow event. They have dealt some surprise tornado events in the past, and are worth watching.

Tomorrows setup looks to be one of those cases as decent directional shear will be in place. Surface to 500mb crossovers show a good 90 degrees of turning, though speed shear is a bit lacking near the surface which leads me to believes storms will puke on their own outflow before they get a chance to utilize their full potential. Instability will really need to be in place to compensate for this, and it looks like the best instability will be to the west, with a modest 1500 CAPE in the N IL area.

The other big question is what will happen with a morning round of storms progged to form in E IA and track over N IL. Latest HRRR runs as well as the 0z NAM support this idea, though the NAM is much later with initiation. There are a couple scenarios that will play out.

1- Storms form in E IA earlier than later, move through Chicago by early morning, and N IL has sufficient time to recover. Outflow from this complex could spark a new round of storms, potentially supercells early on given ample directional shear before eventually congealing into a large bowing MCS. This would be the most ideal scenario chase wise.

2- Storms form later than sooner, and move through N IL and the Chicago area in late morning or early afternoon. If early afternoon they could potentially be severe if enough instability can develop ahead of them...or we get a decaying MCS with moderate rain and a CG or two. Despite whichever scenario plays out, a later passing would likely ruin the threat for the remainder of the day. I would then place the favored area of initiation further north and west into Wisconsin, this new round would potentially reach Chicago after dark.

The other trend I noticed is the fropa seems to have slowed down a bit. This intrigues me as well since severe storms will likely redevelop ahead of the front Wednesday. Slower frontal passage gives the Chicago area a greater chance of getting in on this action as well as opposed to what normally happens where the front passes through here at noon and storms form near I-65 and flip me the bird as they slide away. So I am all for a slower frontal passage.

Basically, I don't know exactly what will happen with the threat these next two days, but it will probably be one of the scenarios I mentioned above, so I am going to be nowcasting the event, and head out if I deem it worthwhile.

Right now my target triangle for potential supercells would be Rochelle, Madison, Dubuque.

Hail in Chicago and the Little Me

Back on June 30th Chicago got whacked by a significant hailstorm. Im pretty sure I bitched about it another post because it just barely missed my house. Hail is somewhat rare around here, from what I read online we average 2 hail events a year here, most of it small. This year I have managed to see 3 small hail events at home but am still bitter about the big one missing me. Anyways, todays barrage was all pea to dime size, but unlike the other events it lasted for a good 6-7 minutes as opposed to 30 seconds.

A pic and some video:

 

[Ugh, I don't know why its showing up retarded like that, I hate bloggers editor and what it does to the format when I try and add pics/video to this blog - thats the reason I hardly do it anymore because its a pain in the arse and I've tried to fix it 4 times already with no luck. Google, PLEASE GO BACK TO THE OLD EDITOR THAT DIDN'T DO THIS!!]

Anyways...the storm. Before it hit tried to take on the appearance of a supercell with a hook echo.

So I think mother nature is still teasing me, but it was a fun local storm. They have been fairly plentiful this year, so I have no major gripes.

On a different note, if you watched the video you may have heard a child screaming. I am usually filming a storm whenever it hits my house, and lately I have noticed one of the kids on the block always comes running outside during a storm. He is around 6 years old if I had to guess and he is always excited. When I was watching a shelf cloud a couple weeks ago he came running outside going WHOAA THATS SO AWESOME! Jumping up and down and getting excited. Today he was outside running around in the hail while his mom watched.

So I finally decided to go over and hand them a business card and a laminated picture of the June 7th 2008 tornado [I have about 20 of them and I carry a few in my laptop bag to give to kids.] I explained to his mom what I do and that I notice how excited he gets during storms, she said he loves them and is obsessed with the weather. He reminds me of me as a kid, because I did all the same thing. So I gave them the card/picture and said I would be willing to help him learn weather or anything they would want. Might as well right? Im a big advocate of people following what they love, and it would be a shame to see young mind slip into the dreary 9 to 5 lifestyle that gets jammed into our heads.

After that, I went on to do more interviews with the film crew working on their documentary, as well as sign release forms for the footage I am letting them use.

Just another day in the storm chaser bizz...

Wettest Day Ever in Chicago

Its been a stormy weekend here in Chicago. Repeated rounds of extremely heavy rain and vivid lightning have bombarded the area since Thursday night. I never managed to get any lightning shots as it seems like the bulk of the lightning activity managed to evade my house with the exception of those random 2 or 3 strikes that are really close during a 3hr long storm barrage.

The bigger story has been the flooding though, in fact Chicago just recorded its wettest day ever with O'hare Airport picking up 6.91" of rain on Saturday, which outsed the previous record of 6.64 in September of 2008 when the boring, thunderless remnants of a hurricane dumped on us for a couple days.

Here is a local news story about the event [probably time sensitive so I dont know how long the link will be valid: http://www.wgntv.com/wgntv-overnight-storm-july23,0,6626062.story

While the rain at O'hare was incredible, we got about 4" less here at Midway, which just goes to show how much it can vary during these events. A tidbit of irony is that exactly one year ago on the very same date, the Midway area was hit with 7" of rain in one day and the massive flooding was affecting my neighborhood. I have a write up on that event on my site which can be seen here: http://www.chicagoillinoisstormchaser.com/072310-chicago-severe-weather.php

The photogenic prize for the weekend was a wicked shelf cloud that passed over early Friday morning, you dont often see structure and colors like this around here, so it was a real treat, but hard to capture in full due to the buildings and neighborhood trees. More can be seen on my homepage.

Since I have a weird date obsession with storms, it appears I will have to look forward to July 23rd 2012! Though usually once I notice a coincidence in the dates in which my area gets hit with storms is when the pattern ends. Today should be the last day of storms here, and normal people will finally get some weather they enjoy, while I look forward to a similar pattern rebuilding around Wednesday and potentially lasting 3 or 4 days. I love summer ring of fire patterns.

Chicago Heat Wave!

No news here, been sweltering through a heatwave most of the week. The high at Midway Airport has reached 100 degrees 2 days in a row, which hasn't happened since the deadly heat wave of 1995 that claimed nearly 700 lives.

I actually don't mind the heat though and for some reason look for excuses to be outside more than when temperatures are normal. Perhaps its that weird weather nerd in me that enjoys unusual weather, to know that such extreme heat is pretty rare around here and I want to get a taste of it, especially to feel what people in Texas have to deal with on a daily basis.

Other than that its been boring. With such a heat pattern comes ring of fire storms with vivid lightning, so far they have evaded the area day after day much to my dismay, but the next 48hrs are as good a chance as any, so heres hoping.

There is also a good chase setup tomorrow and Saturday too that I cannot partake in and its frustrating me to no end. See, there are very few things that keep me from chasing, and I am blessed with very understanding family and friends as I am always canceling out on and ditching plans last minute to go chasing, but once a year there is a massive annual picnic. Since its in the dead of summer I figure its safe enough to commit to and be a big part of the planning. Well, not this year, although the better of the 2 setups [Friday] I could still chase if it weren't for one more caveat...my truck.

My air conditioner went out in early June, and for over a month its been a back and forth struggle with my mechanic to get it looked at, order the right parts and last week I FINALLY got an appointment scheduled, yup, that appointment just happens to be tomorrow. Otherwise I would just chase myself and marathon it back in time, since my normal crew of Skip and Jon are chasing both days. I guess the cards were stacked against me this  time, it sucks, and while I wish everyone the best luck, I am secretly hoping the cap holds. Nothing pains me more to miss a chase due to circumstances I can't control, but I guess I have been spoiled with more freedom to chase than most. Still, it irks me.

The other thing is I may be starting to work full time again very soon, and my freedom will be cut down, so I would like to grasp any chances I could, but then again after my second interview I may not like the offer anyways, so well find out.

O well, hopefully I can snag some lightning shots in the next 48hrs, if so, Ill post em here!

2011 - Thats All She Wrote...For Now.

Well here it is, nearly the end of June. Traditionally this time marks the end of what is considered to be the chase season. Granted, I live in the midwest and the season never really ends. Surely there will be a random summer setup or two I can mess around with and then theres the fall, but the most part, the season is done.

So here are some stats and facts.

Season:

Chases: 24
Tornadoes: 17
Tornado days: 9* [A new record for a season]
Largest hail encountered: 3.00"
Closest to a tornado: 30 yards [June 20th]
Longest tornado video taped: May 24th Canton, OK - 9 minutes
Strongest tornado witnessed: May 24th - EF-5 tornado near Piedmont, OK

New milestones:

Longest consecutive days chasing: 7- May 18 - May 25
First EF-5 [Piedmont, OK]
First tornadoes in the following states: NE, IA, AL* [Also first time ever chasing AL]
First time taking a "customer" chasing
First stock video sale for a TV show [Nat Geo's I-witness: Tornado Swarm 2011]
First tornado on first chase [failed to document!!]
First back to back tornado days [June 19th and 20th]

Thoughts on the season overall:

2011 as I expected wasn't as great as 2010 as far as tornado numbers and photo-genic-ness goes, but without a doubt 2011 is my second best season. The season was a major black and white season for me. I had allot of bad luck I had to overcome, especially when it came to vehicle problems. My laptop also began melting down during the second half which meant more tech problems that needed fixing in the field than usual.

I experienced more death and devastation than I ever hope to again this year, including the deadly outbreaks on both April 27th and May 24th. These days were the first in which I've ever freshly arrived on the scene of EF-5 tornado aftermath, seeing bodies get pulled from churches, kicking down doors and searching for people, helping treat wounds with clean tissues and try to help distraught locals stay calm, contact loved ones, clear trees so vehicles can get through all were new experiences I experienced and hope to never have to repeat. I know better though, and its an unfortunate side of chasing that will present itself again someday.

I saw some incredible tornadoes, but as far as video goes, only 1 of those tornadoes gave me more than 5 minutes of tornado video. It seems that on days I got great tornadoes, I missed even greater tornadoes on a different storm. While I understand I can't see every tornado on every storm, its sometimes bothersome to know that I could have gotten 20-30 minutes of amazing video as opposed to 5. There were also no real big multi tornado days. Most days only had 1 or 2 tornadoes. In fact, only 1 day had more than 2 which was April 9th - and almost all of them were at night and I got no good video of them anyways, adding to the bittersweet theme of 2011.

I made more money selling video and streaming than I have in any season, in fact, if it weren't for gas prices being over 4 dollars a gallon I would have easily turned a profit, but to know in the end I will come out near breaking even is a pretty nice feeling. Each season it seems I do better and better with promoting myself and getting exposure. I know thats not what its about, but chasing is what I love, and its what I want to be known for...not my meaningless jobs I do when Im not chasing. Chasing is my life, and its all I want the world to know of me.

Lets break it down by month.

March: The season got off to a slow start, and I had my latest first chase of any season. Despite it being the latest, I did see one tornado I failed to document due to thinking it was pointy scud as opposed to a funnel but alas, well credited chasers nearby did infact video and confirm it was a tornado. The bad luck was off to a quick start for me and the month saw no more chases or tornadoes.

April: Bonkers, with more and frequent tornado outbreaks than ever experienced.. The month broke all sorts of records. April had 3 tornado days for me, the 9th, 19th and 27th. The tornadoes on the 9th left me feeling unaccomplished still and I went into early panic mode, but the Litchfield tornado on the 19th gave me a fresh breath of redemption, only I botched the video due to auto focus. Chasing the new Super Outbreak of April 27th is something I will never forget. Seeing the devastation of the Hackleburg EF-5 moments after it happened was very haunting. Also nearly getting stranded down there due to the fuel problem is an experience I wont soon forget.

May: Most of May was a complete waste. The first 20 days of the month were just like 2009 and we couldn't get a decent setup to save our lives. Despite that, I chased hard and often, and took on a new task when I was sought out by a gentleman from Oregon wanting to chase. He agreed to cover expenses in exchange for me taking him wherever he wanted whenever he wanted. It was quite a challenge trying to get him the best action on what turned out to be really marginal chase days, but each day I was able to forecast and put us in the best spot and overall it was a very enjoyable trip in which I saw lots of friends and made new ones. It really put my forecast skills to the test and definitely gave me a new respect for the chasers who are out there all season, not just when it is convenient or a SPC MDT-High risk setup. The real chasers are out there no matter what, and I respect them that much more for that. Chasing outbreaks is easy, chasing season-long is not.

The season roared back to life in the months final 10 days which saw some significant tornadoes rake the country. Vehicle problems began to affect my chasing at this point, and I was forced to a target I didn't want to play a couple times due to logistics, causing me to miss some significant tornadoes on the 21st and 22nd [including the Joplin tornado] but on the 24th I was able to catch an incredible tornado near Canton, Oklahoma. This again would have been my most amazing video from the year, but a damn raindrop on the lens totally ruined the shot. Bittersweet 2011. Later that day we caught a brief glimpse of a rain wrapped wedge that turned out to be my first EF-5. More bittersweet because the destruction we came across was devastating and we spent the rest of the day doing search and rescue. Overall May was a solid month that gave me just about all there is to experience in chasing.

June: My favorite month went to mostly a waste. Much like the first 2/3 of May, the first 2/3 of June could not see a decent chase setup to save anyones life. I had about given up hope on a chase during my favorite month and was ready to accept an early end to the season, when the 19th and 20th rolled around and presented a couple of setups worth chasing. These setups ended up giving me tornadoes on each day and made for a real nice close to the season. Again though, while what we got on the 20th was amazing, we missed the best show of the day. We had the best post chase after party I've ever been to with the discover crew, and it was the perfect way to end a season.

So, in a nutshell that was my season. I could type a million more details, but I've already taken up enough of your time. If you made it this far I applaud you.

I am not done chasing this year though, for when that random summer or fall setup presents itself, I will be there!!!

To see some of the tornadoes I caught, check out my websites home page www.chicagoillinoisstormchaser.com

White Towel Time?

Quite a thundery mess here in Chicago last night. A constant nearly 11 hour long assault of lightning from sub severe storms. I always say I love summer nighttime MCS season but wait a minute...

Its only June 9th...and I haven't chased once yet this month. I guess it was bound to happen, I have been talking up the first 10 days of June since I first started chasing as my favorite. Never before now have the first 10 days of June failed to give me a tornado, even in the dismal 2009 season I was able to nab a good prize during this time frame.

Even the upslope has been slow to do anything this year, leaving many gambling chasers disappointed. Looking ahead I see nothing worth chasing that catches my eye, some more meager setups which by now I have exhausted all my resources for a 1 day gamble out west. That is what typically happens though and at this point I am no longer desperate for a good tornado so with the funds nearing their depletion I can be a little more conservative about when I chase. Granted if I was better off I would chase everything no matter what, but that is not the case.

Its been a black and white year. April was bonkers. Then May was dismal until the 21st when the season roared back to a violent life through the 25th, and now the brakes have once again been slammed and a decent chase setup is hard to come by. Memorial days gustnado fest was fun, but not ideal for this time of year.

So, hopefully something will happen in the next 2 weeks, otherwise as much as I hate to say it...thats all she wrote for the 2011 chase season. Luckily living in the midwest the season never really ends, and a surprise summer event can spring up at anytime.

At least I've been able to wet the fishing lines lately...

I Wont Kiss Ass

Seriously, there was a time way back when, as I first started immersing myself into this wonderful community in whatever year it was...06 or so...that I was quite intimidated. The last thing I wanted to do was say something stupid to have someone think badly of me. For some reason I wanted the opinions of other chasers, especially those I once looked up to, to be good of me. If I made a post on StormTrack and someone called me out on it or had something bad to say I would quickly apologize.

And now....screw it. I don't give a shit if you've been chasing 20 years or 20 minutes. You're all on the same level and noones opinions matter anymore. Granted I am not out to piss anyone off, nor do I go out of my way to make enemies, I would rather be liked than hated but one thing I will not do is suck up, kiss ass, or brown nose. Being a self proclaimed veteran simply means you were born earlier than me. If I was born in 1962 as opposed to 1982 I would have started chasing in the late 70s and 80s as well. You can blame my parents for not having sex earlier.

Whether or not I "earned" this right to not want to bow down I also don't care. While I still appreciate any advice given and respect those who've pioneered before me, I've reached a point where I don't care if they think badly of me either...and thats alllll im saayyyiiin.

This is probably why Ill never make it anywhere in life. To get anywhere these days you have to brown nose and suck off the person above you, and that is something I simply never have, nor will ever bring myself to do. Respect from me is earned through honesty and integrity as a human being, not for lame ass statistics.

/rant.