November 7, 2011 intercept from southwest Oklahoma!
Victims of the 2011 storm season continue to need our support. Please consider a donation to the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, or other organization that focuses on storm recovery:
Thunder's Curtis McDonald records an EXTREMELY close lightning strike! This video is also featured on the 2010 Tornado Extravaganza DVD! PURE INTENSITY!
Tornado Extravaganza 2010 in the TVN store!
Dick McGowan and Darin Brunin's view of the June 17, 2009 Aurora, NE tornado.
Verne Carlson was on the heels of a multi-vortex wedge tornado during the May 10, 2010 Oklahoma outbreak!
Insane lightning storm over Chicago by Randy Denzer!
Storm chaser Bill Doms captures photogenic video of a violent Minnesota tornado on August 7, 2010
Storm chasers Scott Peake, Kevin Rolfs, Colt Forney and Isaac Pato document the November 7, 2011 tornado event in southwest Oklahoma!
TVN Live-streamers Aaron Estman and Erik Fox documented multiple tornadoes during the November 7, 2011 tornado event in southwest Oklahoma! TexasChasers.com
Storm chaser Michael Stanga documents the Bowdle, South Dakota tornado on May 22, 2010. Visit Michael's website at The WxPage.com
Last Saturday, February 4th, we lost a part of the TVN family.
While en route to his home in Minnesota after chasing in Texas and Oklahoma the previous two days, Andy Gabrielson was the tragic victim of a vehicle accident outside of Tulsa. I am unable to adequately describe the way in which these terrible circumstances have affected those who knew and loved Andy. It has been a difficult time for many, to say the least.
Since word of the tragedy spread last Saturday evening, the extended chaser and weather enthusiast community has come together in a big way. The outpouring of support for Andy's friends and family has been considerable, and a fund has been set up to benefit his young daughter, Reegan (more details found here).
Today, February 9, 2012, theTVN online store is holding a benefitas well, with 100% of the sales going directly to Andy's memorial. As explained on a recent post to Reed's Facebook page, we felt this was an easy way to help out, for those wanting to contribute in even a small way. It should be noted that Andy's incredible 2010 DVDis offered through the store, in limited supply. I watched several chapters of this DVD in Reed's living room last year while he and Andy had a ridiculous argument about whether the Wilkin County, MN, tornado should have been considered a waterspout for some of its lifespan. - It's obvious that Reed will never get over missing that tornado!
There are others whose posts you're used to seeing here who considered Andy among their best friends. They'll share their thoughts when they're ready. I'm not the best person to offer an adequate account of who Andy was as a person, but what I can say about Andy is that, simply put, he was a storm chaser, one with an unsurpassed drive for being there, for seemingly every storm, day or night, high risk or see-text. In 2010 alone, he saw over 80 tornadoes--an unfathomable number for a few months' worth of effort--and captured what many consider as some of the most amazing, extraordinary video of all time. He was also very dedicated to storm reporting, as anyone who has Spotter Network knows, and served as an in-field correspondent forThe Weather Channel's Tornado Hunt. He was the best there was at what he did, and was one of the most humble people you could ever meet. That's what I admired about him the most.
Andy's friends and family appreciate your continued support through this most difficult time. I'll leave you with these links where you can help with his memorial, as well as a video that hopefully shows how much fun he was to be around. We'll sure miss him.
Today kicked off the start of the first of several days of severe weather for the southern Plains/ MS River Valley. It began across Arkansas, where a Severe Thunderstorm Watch is currently in place for SE AR, N. LA and extreme NW MS--where an 86 mph wind gust was recorded at the Stuttgart, AR airport earlier!
More severe weather is possible, starting tomorrow afternoon/evening for portions of NW TX and SW OK. Early tomorrow, moisture will begin advecting northward where a stalled-out cold front will retreat northward, as a warm front, across Central TX. A potent shortwave will then begin to move across the slight risk area, issued by the Storm Prediction Center, and should reach NW TX and SW OK by 0z (6 p.m.). At the moment, it looks as though the cap may hold until after dark, but should convective temps be reached and stronger forcing makes its way faster, the cap could break across the area, and supercells are likely with large hail, damaging winds and even isolated tornadoes are possible. The more likely scenario is for storms to fire after dark and be ongoing throughout the night.
On Friday, an upper-level low will move across NC OK and SC KS and strong mid-level flow will rotate around it into KS down into Northern/Eastern Texas. Heavy rain and ongoing storms are possible during the morning hours, and may continue developing during the day in these areas. IMO, the best shot at tornadoes will be closer to the cold-core low where 500 mb temps will be -18 to -22 C, and a forecasted mid-level dry slot could clear out the areas--leading to extremely low-level lapse rates and strong surface vorticity, where low-topped supercells and isolated tornadoes will be possible. Further south, across southern OK and northern TX, damaging winds and large hail should be the main threats. At the very least, this system wil dump much needed rain across drought-stricken TX, OK and KS, where it will be welcomed!
TVN will be out chasing this event with, at least, D2 and possibly D1 on Friday, so be sure to follow Reed's Facebook fan page and Twitter page for updates in real-time! And don't forget to check both days on our LIVE streaming page where there will be numerous live video streams covering this severe weather!
Lastly, check out this hilarious Youtube video, created by Bosch, of the Dominator getting stolen!
A powerful Winter storm system currently making its way into the Ozarks and middle-Mississippi Valley region will interact with an unseasonably warm, moist Gulf airmass later this evening, prompting what is likely to be the first large-scale severe weather episode of 2012.
Forecast modelscontinue to suggest that strong, southerly wind-fields in the lowest levels of the atmosphere will readily transport this uninhibited current of Gulf moisture well into the Mid South and lower Ohio Valley, allowing dewpoints in the mid to upper 60s to migrate potentially as far north as the Missouri bootheel by sunset or just thereafter; this should provide plenty of fuel for thunderstorms that are likely to develop ahead of a cold front that will sweep across Arkansas later this afternoon. Low and mid-level wind shear is very favorable for thunderstorms with sustained rotating updrafts; any storms that are able to develop along and ahead of the front will have the potential for strong, possibly long-lived tornadoes, especially, and unfortunately, after dark, as the low-level wind shear is forecast to intensify in conjunction with the arrival of the most abundant moisture from the Gulf. The possibility of a nighttime tornado event presents an especially dangerous situation for residents of central and Eastern Arkansas, west Tennessee, northern Mississippi. As always, persons in the outlined areas are strongly urged to have their severe weather plans in place, monitor local media and, above all, heed warnings when they are issued--NOAA Weather Radios with fresh batteries are a must for events such as these. Numbers of storm chasers will be in the field as well; their activities can be monitored by following ourLive Page. Stay tuned, as Reed will be providing updates as possible, from Twitter and Facebook, as the day unfolds.
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