TornadoVideos.net:

Damaging hail video from yesterday near Fort Worth!

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:38:00 GMT

Here is the video of another crazy hail storm from 2008. This one was with a supercell that tracked from through Mineral Well, Weatherford, and DFW, TX yesterday afternoon and evening. We were pummeled by horizontal tennis ball size hail for several minutes, cracking our wind shield completely and putting craters in the car.

Incredible lightning video!

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:04:00 GMT

Check out this video of a near-miss lightning strike in Norman, OK from last summer, courtesy of Curtis McDonald, Matt Chat, Daniel Betten, and Matt Van Every. The main lightning channel and associated streamers can clearly be seen at the end of the video. Early next week looks like the apocalypse.

Videos from the last three chases

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 03:03:00 GMT

Here are the highlight videos for the last three chases: March 30 (Western OK), March 31 (Southeast OK), and April 3 (Northwest TX), 2007. Several tornado-warned supercells are featured in these videos, along with destructive hail in each. Very different from last year...we have not yet seen a tornado! Next week looks huge.

LIVE VIDEO STREAMING TEST

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:08:00 GMT

To check out our live streaming test please view our live tracker page.

Severe thunderstorms exploding over MO/OK!

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:40:00 GMT

A very strong cold front roared through central Oklahoma today, with temperatures reaching the 90F mark immediately south of the front due to compressional warming. The temperature in Norman fell from around 90 degrees to the low 70s in about 30 minutes! Severe thunderstorms have been developing along the cold front from central MO southwestward to eastern OK. Given very weak low-level shear and marginal moisture, the tornado threat is almost zero in the watch area below. Still though, isolated reports of damaging winds and large hail are definitely possible.

Shown below is the Oklahoma Mesonet map from around 5:30 CDT, showing the front surging southeast through eastern OK, with temperatures falling into the upper 40s in the northwest part of the state! As daytime mixing has ceased, dewpoints have also been nearing the 60F mark at several stations in southeast OK, so the storms along the front will likely intensify through the evening as moisture increases. Hopefully next week we'll have some chase opportunities!

Weird feature on Key West radar loop

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 02:05:00 GMT

A very interesting feature is apparent in this evening's radar loop from Key West, FL, with several curved bands of higher reflectivity values over the Gulf of Mexico to the west and south of the radar site. They appear to be some kind of mesoscale convergence zones, but also could be a non-meteorological phenomenon like chaff plumes, which are clouds of aluminum-coated glass fibers released by the military to confuse enemy aircraft -- but usually for test purposes in the U.S. of course. Any thoughts on what this might be??

How long will this pattern last??

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:47:00 GMT

Glancing at last night's GFS, it looks like the strong zonal flow across the northern U.S. will continue through late March, with the hint of a pattern change around the first of next month. There will be a sheared-out shortwave that will move through the zonal flow by 72 hours, but moisture will be limited and the LLJ will be way too veered for any substantial tornado threat with this system. By ~168-180 hours, recent GFS runs have been hinting at the development of a more substantial western U.S. trough as the zonal flow breaks down into higher amplitude Rossby Waves. As is often the case with La Nina years, I wouldn't be surprised if we have a late start to the Great Plains severe weather season...which is better than never.

Insane flooding video from North AR!

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 05:25:00 GMT

Check out this incredible video of a house floating down the flooded White River in Izard Co, AR, and slamming into a bridge! Thanks to Heidi for providing the link. The flooding has been catastrophic in this region, especially in the states of Arkansas, Missouri, and Ohio, where over a foot of rain fell from this recent storm system. Most of the flooding has been associate with smaller rivers from AR northeast to OH, but the major rivers such as the Mississippi and Ohio River have had only minor flooding, likely because they originate in areas that did not receive heavy rain.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/03/21/severe.weather.ap/index.html

Meanwhile, a record-breaking snowstorm struck parts of the Northern MS River Valley through the southern Great Lakes Region today, dumping over a foot of snow in areas. An Alberta Clipper was responsible for this snowfall, as is often the case this time of year. Two years ago during late winter/early spring, an Alberta Clipper with a similar track, but much more compact and intense of a system, dumped 12 inches of snow in about 4 hours in Grand Rapids with thunder and lightning! Milwaukee, WI received 14 inches of snow from this event, and Grand Rapids, MI has received ~8 inches and counting. INCREDIBLE winter weather event!!!!

Check out the TornadoVideos.net camera probe!

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 05:22:00 GMT

Here are pictures of the camera probe we'll be dropping in the paths of tornadoes this year. The camera below shoots HDV quality, and is housed in a "bullet-proof" bubble, which will hopefully protext it from flying debris. Inside the orange frame is a steel re-enforced 300 pound block of cement -- hopefully heavy enough to keep the probe from going airborne!

Pictures of MAJOR flooding in North AR!

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:32:00 GMT

REMINDER!!! Please vote for the Ellis County, OK tornado video for the 2007 Youtube Awards at the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/ytawards07

The video can be found under the "Eyewitness Video" section. Thank you!!

The voting ends tonight!

Check out these pictures of major flash flooding in the Ozark Mountains of Sharp Co, AR, courtesy of Heidi Farrar. The Spring and White Rivers are setting record water levels today, with the Spring river reaching 22 feet this morning, shattering the old record of 16 feet on 9-23-06. This flooding resulted from 8 inches of rain that fall during this recent storm system. Thanks to heidi for providing this info and pictures.

Major winter storm pounding the central US, tornado outbreak southeast US!

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 22:11:00 GMT

Winter storm warnings are currently in effect from Arkansas to Ontario, where up to foot of snow has already accumulated in many locations. A massive area of deformation zone snow extends from the Lower MS River Valley through upstate NY, with warm advection precip from there eastward.

This morning and early afternoon, 13 tornadoes touched down in southern GA and northern FL, with several homes damaged and 2 fatalities reported in Columbia Co, FL. These tornadic supercells occurred within a strong mesoscale convective system (MCS) ahead of a strong cold front moving slowly southeastward across the southeast US.

The unofficial SPC storm reports map for today is displayed below. The tornadoes producing significant damage were in north-central FL to the west of Jacksonville. While a tornado watch is still in effect across the central/southern FL Peninsula, it appears that the core of the LLJ has translated well north and east of the area, so only weak/brief tornadoes are anticipated tonight, if any at all.

Below are pictures from the winter storm in northern AR, that dumped up to 8 inches across the region. These pictures were taken by Heidi Farrar early this afternoon - she reported 7 inches of storm total snowfall in her area. If anyone else has pictures of this winter storm, please share them in the forum!

Tornadoes reported in Florida, heavy snow to the north

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 04:34:00 GMT

Two tornadoes were reported today in Florida, as several HP supercells moved through the area ahead of a strong cold front. Both tornadoes touched down in north-central Florida between 19 and 20 UTC, producing minor tree and structural damage. Meanwhile, the storm system responsible for the Florida tornadoes is producing very heavy snowfall and strong winds over New England, with significant northerly-flow lake effect across the Great Lakes Region.

Here is a radar loop from Northwest Indiana during 03-05 UTC showing a textbook single-band lake effect event off southern Lake Michigan. These single bands are formed from mesoscale convergence over the lake as faster, more veered flow meets the relatively backed flow from the land. The faster flow over the relatively "frictionless" lake surface curves slightly more to the right due to increased Coriolis Force relative to the land. The orientation of the resulting lake effect snow band depends on the wind direction in the low- to mid-levels of the atmosphere.

Winter Storm today/tonight from Iowa through the Great Lakes Region, severe weather possible south!

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:15:00 GMT

As a shortwave trough ejects from the Rocky Mountains and across the Great Plains today, a surface low will slowly deepen over the Southeast Plains, bringing winter storm conditions from Iowa eastward across the Great Lakes Region, and severe weather for the Arklatex overnight. The RUC forecast 500 mb and surface patterns for 00z this evening are displayed below:

6-8 inch snowfall accumulations are likely across the winter storm warning area across central/eastern IA into southern WI/northern IL, with slightly higher amounts possible from Lower Michigan eastward to New England as the system moves northeastward and the deformation zone becomes better developed. A battery of winter storm watches, warnings, and advisories are in effect for the cold side of this system, as shown in the SPC watch/warning map below:

Later tonight, as moist tropical air surges northward to the Arklatex region by 03z, severe weather will be possible with the approach of an upper-level jet streak ejecting from the base of the trough. The WRF and RUC models do not show the cap eroding until after 00z, so this will definitely be an overnight event. While CAPE values are forecast to be marginal, deep-layer shear will be sufficient for supercells. The LLJ looks a little veered for tornadoes, especially across the western part of the Slight Risk Area (see below), but tornadoes could be possible if storms can move into the more favorably low-level sheared environment further east. Stay tuned for updates as this severe weather event unfolds overnight.

AMAZING lunar eclipse photos by Dick McGowan!

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 06:38:00 GMT

Check out these amazing pictures of last night's (Feb 20, 2008) lunar eclipse taken by Dick McGowan near the Kansas City area. See Dick's blog at www.stackedplates.blogspot.com for more still pictures of this incredible event!

Check out the new TornadoVideos.net web design!

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 02:43:00 GMT

Jason has put a lot of work into the new TornadoVideos.net web design, and we'd like to get your feedback on the updates! Changes include a wider, more "Web 2.0" look, new banner and color scheme, and also a new background!

The forum will also be changing significantly, so please be patient and we'll re-initiate the registrations. In addition to a new design, the forum will also be organized differently, and will also have a chat feature!

Stay tuned for more updates!!

The daily blog posts will start up again tomorrow as well...We've been insanely busy with the recent updates.

Thanks for your continued participation in this growing weather community!

MAJOR heavy rain/snow event pounding California!

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 18:45:00 GMT

A strong cut-off low pressure system just off the West Coast is pounding the entire state of California and the Western Rocky Mountain region with insanely heavy rain and snow (generally above ~6000-8000 feet depending on location and rate of warm advection ahead of the system), as a strong low-level jet pumps Pacific moisture northeastward. Intense orographic enhancement is also occurring along the Sierra Nevada Mountains and coastal ranges, as this strong, moist southerly flow is forced upward. Thus, the west and south facing slopes will receive the most significant precipitation amounts from this storm.

As much as 4 inches of rain fell last night over parts of Southern California, with the highest amounts - read complete story.....

The Weather Channel's images of the year!

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 16:17:00 GMT

Check out The Weather Channel's images of the year blog post at the link below, produced by veteran TWC meteorologist Stu Ostro. Featured are several amazing pictures, radar and satellite loops, and videos from some very interesting and unique weather events from 2007, including the record-breaking lake effect snow of early in the year, a synopsis of the severe weather season, and also images from the cat 5 hurricanes in the Caribbean. TornadoVideos.net's Manitoba tornado footage from June 23, 2007 was also used. Enjoy!

http://www.weather.com/blog/weather/8_14434.html

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 17:09:00 GMT

Major cold outbreak expected this week!

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 17:28:00 GMT

Loop of GFS forecast surface temperatures through Thanksgiving.

The first significant cold-snap of the winter season is expected to invade the entire U.S. this week, just in time for Thanksgiving and major holiday traveling. Previous model runs have also been hinting at a major snowstorm for the central U.S., but this morning's model runs have backed off that solution, but are still indicating the potential for a Nor'easter impacting New England by late week. The GFS forecast MSLP for the evening of Thanksgiving shows the massive Arctic air mass in place, with the developing cyclone in the Canadian Maritimes. Shortly after this time period, this low is expected to "bomb out" just off the coast of Newfoundland, bringing heavy snow and strong winds to Canada and possibly New England. I'm still holding out hope of a snowstorm for here in the central U.S. with the strong baroclinic zone draped from the Great Lakes southwest to the Southern Plains by Midweek -- hopefully we can get a low pressure system to develop along the temperature gradient and move northeast towards the Ohio Valley before the energy is transferred to the East Coast system. If this scenario occurs, then I'll be at ground zero here in Michigan! Stay tuned for updates.

Incredible lightning photos from Darwin, Austrailia -- StormscapesDarwin.com

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 17:42:00 GMT

Here are some INCREDIBLE lightning shots from Mike O'Neill of Darwin, Australia...You can find more of his work at his website, StormscapesDarwin.com. The Tropics of Northern Australia probably have some of the best lightning displays in the world during the rainy season(s), as the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone sags south to through the area. Australia also averages around two category 5 tropical cyclones per year! Enjoy the pictures!