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Storm Chase 2007 Conclusion


Paul Sherman

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Posted
  • Location: Leigh On Sea - Essex & Tornado Alley
  • Location: Leigh On Sea - Essex & Tornado Alley

Well 3 weeks ago seems just like yesterday and tomorrow we will be back after another Year of Storm Chasing in the Plains of the USA. This year has been a Rollercoaster in more ways than one. Have seen a lot of firsts and quite a few things did not quite come together. Who would have thought that not 1 Chase Day in the Panhandles would have been possible (Although 21-05 Looks pretty Great) :wallbash: this being some of the best Chase areas in the World. Storm Structure was lacking as well this partly due to the fact Texas has been so green and clear skies have been lacking, the other flip side of this is Moisture Return has not been a Problem to fire storms easily. The other thing that has been annoying is lack of Lightning shots due to Storms firing after dark and we got rained on real bad. Daytime Tornadoes have been something of a Rarity as well, with most of the High Risk & Greensburg Tornadoes being after Dark.

I would like to thank the other 5 who made the first 12 days memorable, everybody gelled in the Car and got on so well, Stewart, Aine & Ian have all said that they learned so much and were constantly firing questions at me and Nick, Nathan knew quite a bit more than the other 3 but I would hope he learnt quite a bit as well, I know I did this year.

Some firsts for me were (LP Supercell) which I had not seen in my 3 previous years and an Insane Hail Roar that had 3 of our Mouths open in awe (Think of 1,000 Washing Machines making a noise above your heads) . Obviously the EF5 Had quite an effect on our group, the devastation had to be seen to be believed and we only saw the F4 Sattelite Damage from where we were. Being only just South East of this Monster I knew something bad was up when we were eating Pizza at 930pm that night, I popped outside for a Cigarette and noticed Trees bent over with a 50-60mph Inflow Gale blowing towards the Storm. Something Big and Bad was happening, also noticing National Guard vehicles the following morning moving through Alva towards Greensburg was a big hint things had hit the fan somewhere.

We got on some Great Storms straight away into the trip, but the period of 4/5/6 & 7th May were absolutely adrenalin charged. The Kansas High Risk Chase day on the 5th was as near perfect a Chase Day you could ask for, with dirt roads and Chaser Convoys, numerous Supercells and over 15 Wall Clouds, Roads closed off due to Tornadoes down the road and Police and Emergency Management flying down Dirt Tracks at 80mph.

The 6th was another great Chase day for us, peeking into the Squall Line from hell and cresting the top of a Waterlogged Dirt Road and seeing a Large Rain Wrapped 1/4 - 1/2 Mile Wedge Tornado coming straight at you is something you do not forget in a hurry, Stewart picked up on the fact I had seen something not quite right and when we went sideways nearly into a Ditch (Paul Mcrae Sherman Helped) with Mud flying over the top of the vehicle the leaves floating around our heads told us we were a little too close for comfort, just glad Nathan had his Video over his shoulder B) When we finally reached Pavement and got to Hardtner the Tornado Sirens were Wailing.

The 7th was another day I loved because I just could not see where the SPC Had put the Slight Risk, everything told me the Instability was South and East of the Squall Line near the Texas & Oklahoma Border, and so at about 6pm 3 Discrete Supercells Fired about 250 miles outside of the RiskBox. We were literally 50 miles from these Supercells and seeing the Throckmorton Supercell Mesocyclone was great to see, when the Supercell got eaten by the Gust Front the pictures we got were nothing short of Incredible, watching Aine's Face was something I will not forget in a long time, in fact everyone was overcome by this spectacle.

I hope the others have enjoyed the Trip as much as me and I hope they will remember the most powerful storms on the planet for a long time, will leave you with just 1 image from each day of the Chase.

post-24-1179722286_thumb.jpg - Llano (Tx) Supercell Tuesday 1st May 2007

post-24-1179722376_thumb.jpg - Fredericksburg (Tx) Mammatus Wednesday 2nd May 2007

post-24-1179722445_thumb.jpg - Amarillo Big Texan (Tx) Thursday 3rd May 2007

post-24-1179722509_thumb.jpg - LP Supercell Near Woodward (Ok) Friday 4th May 2007

post-24-1179722632_thumb.jpg - Lightning Saturday 5th May 2007

post-24-1179722688_thumb.jpg - Gust Front Sunday 6th May 2007

post-24-1179722728_thumb.jpg - Supercell Monday 7th May 2007

post-24-1179722776_thumb.jpg - Squall Line Approaches Tuesday 8th May 2007

post-24-1179722831_thumb.jpg - The Gang Wednesday 9th May 2007

post-24-1179722883_thumb.jpg - Dying Storm Near Witchita Falls Thursday 10th May 2007

post-24-1179722968_thumb.jpg - Oklahoma Severe Storm Friday 11th May 2007

post-24-1179723000_thumb.jpg - Sunset Saturday 12th May 2007

post-24-1179723036_thumb.jpg - Montana Wall Cloud Sunday 13th May 2007

post-24-1179723073_thumb.jpg - Colorado Supercell Monday 14th May 2007

post-24-1179723123_thumb.jpg - Big Texan Again!! Tuesday 15th May 2007

post-24-1179723173_thumb.jpg - New Mexico Upslope Wednesday 16th May 2007

post-24-1179723220_thumb.jpg - Thunderstorms Near Limon (Co) Thursday 17th May 2007

post-24-1179723534_thumb.jpg - Colorado Snow !! Friday 18th May 2007

post-24-1179723355_thumb.jpg - New Mexico Upslope Saturday 19th May 2007

A big thanks to Pottyprof & Northern Light for all their Help during the trip, think you guys felt every single bump along the way.

HAVE OVER 7 HOURS OF VIDEO TO START UPLOADING ON RETURN - IT IS WORTH THE WAIT!!

Regards

Paul Sherman

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Posted
  • Location: south east London
  • Location: south east London

What can i say 23 days ago I new very little about severe weather I just new that I'd like to see some awesome storms and maybe a tornado or two this trip has enabled me to meet some fantastic people who made the first 11 days so memorable!!! the banter and the team spirit was just great :D:D B) B) mixed in with such varied storms I've learnt so much now all the gargin on net weather now makes sense.

The second 11 days saw me taking control of the barons system wich made me feel more involved and gave me an even better understanding of what knowledge you must have to make sure your in the right place and what road options you have in case the storm gets bored with being chased and starts chasing you :help: B) :unknw:

Me and Paul have covered 9 states 8500 miles and more fast food than is healthy :wallbash: but I feel I have gained so much from this trip so my thanks go out to Paul & Nick who never seemed to mind us all picking their brians on every cloud formation also thanks to northern light and potty prof who seemed to put more hours in than we did and persevered with the crap phone signals that you get in the US which meant not being able to return sms for hours on end and then getting straight back to us so again thanx B) B) :drinks::drinks::rofl::rofl::clap::clap::clap:

And also everyone that has posted words of encouragement and support you know who you are :drinks::drinks::clap: :lol: :lol: :rofl::rofl:

so roll on next year where it all starts again!!!!!

Ian cameron

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Posted
  • Location: South Shields Tyne & Wear half mile from the coast.
  • Location: South Shields Tyne & Wear half mile from the coast.

Photo opportunity on take- off...?

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Posted
  • Location: Isle of wight
  • Location: Isle of wight

Well Guys What a Rollercoaster ride the past few weeks have been.

thanks for your reports and photos. A day hasnt gone by without me reading all about the trip.

Have a safe journey back and look forward to the videos.

kelly

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Posted
  • Location: Scarborough, North Yorkshire - 80m ASL
  • Weather Preferences: Tornadoey
  • Location: Scarborough, North Yorkshire - 80m ASL
Me and Paul have covered 9 states 8500 miles and more fast food than is healthy :wallbash: but I feel I have gained so much (weight) from this trip so my thanks go out to Paul & Nick who never seemed to mind us all picking their brians on every cloud formation also thanks to northern light and potty prof who seemed to put more hours in than we did and persevered with the crap phone signals that you get in the US which meant not being able to return sms for hours on end and then getting straight back to us so again thanx :p:p:drinks::drinks::rofl::rofl::clap::clap::clap:

Corrected the word you missed out from the above ;) You may want to avoid the scales when you get back for a few days if I'm anything to go by!

It's a shame you're having to leave now with a couple of active days ahead, but that's the way it goes I guess. Can't complain too much given what we've seen.

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Posted
  • Location: Reading/New York/Chicago
  • Location: Reading/New York/Chicago
Me and Paul have covered 9 states 8500 miles and more fast food than is healthy :p but I feel I have gained so much from this trip so my thanks go out to Paul & Nick who never seemed to mind us all picking their brians on every cloud formation also thanks to northern light and potty prof who seemed to put more hours in than we did and persevered with the crap phone signals that you get in the US which meant not being able to return sms for hours on end and then getting straight back to us so again thanx

Sounds like a good time all round!

One thing that you guys do, which not many Brits do, is experience the US outside of the tourist areas like New York, Florida and LA. It really is such a diverse country; the fact that you can go from chasing severe storms to seeing snow in such a short space of time is what makes this country so interesting to live in. It also gives you some idea of the sheer scale of the place. A drive from London to Scotland will seem like nothing in comparison to Montana to Texas...

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Posted
  • Location: Aviemore
  • Location: Aviemore

Thanks Paul and Ian for all your efforts this year. Plus of course thanks to Stevestorms for posting his reports up and to all the others in the chase team. It's been fun!

Anyone who wants to be part of one of the three netweather chase teams next May, please drop me a pm!

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Posted
  • Location: Brighton, UK
  • Location: Brighton, UK

I have really enjoyed reading about your exciting adventures each day. Would have loved to have been there (can't imagine how it must have felt to witness such weather - as well as drive so far! freedom) Looking forward to the videos!

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