STORM CHASING!

My friend and co-worker, Justin Pletsch goes on storm chasing adventures. This is done with a professional storm chasing group. This particular one was a 15-day storm chasing adventure, he reports there were storms every day. They take pictures and some take videos. Well, this year was quite an adventure. His group happened to be in El Reno, OK and were in the line of the path of that very tornado that tore through that town.

Storm's peak - this was 2.6 miles wide at this point. Picture courtesy of Justin Pletsch

In his words, he says:
"...we had an EXTREMELY close brush with death. If we would have waited 10 seconds more to get the hell out of there, I would not be here right now..."

Please go to this site to see these extreme pictures of the tornado and other cloud formations. These people do risk their lives to take this, so this is one of those things where you do the disclaimer: DON'T DO THIS YOURSELF! Scroll down the page to May 31, 2013 El Reno, OK tornado.

A small part of video that was shot by one of the other drivers in this group made it on the Weather Chanel, and you can click on the link for this here.

I'd like to thank Justin for giving me this opportunity to write about this. I'm so glad he is safe. These are people who go on these tours. This one is called Tempest Tours, for those interested in weather-related events. Storm chasing is extremely hazardous and is not something I'd advise anyone to do, unless you are with a professional group... and are crazy enough to do it.

We were under the gun last night. A bow echo on the radar showed the power behind a storm that approached us. Within moments the sky that had not looked threatening at all, became black as pitch. We were already under a thunderstorm warning, and our weather band radio made another alarm--meaning this was a TORNADO WARNING. I'm not sure if it ever touched down. I only know that the report was that rotaion in the clouds was spotted by a professional spotter (may have been from police). But we only got side-ways rain, some wind and in about ten or so minutes it was okay again. We did go to the basement for a few minutes until it passed. Being out in the country, we are not near enough to hear a siren, and the weather band radio is better than just watching radar, or waiting for someone on the radio or TV to tell you what's going on. They can't be that specific. I recommend a weather band radio to anyone who might have such storms. It could save your life!

Storm Chasing: Don't Try This At Home

Hopefully everyone enjoyed the introduction to Justin Pletsch over the weekend. If you missed it, here's the link:

http://loreleismuse-lorelei.blogspot.com/2012/09/introducing-justin-pletsch-storm-chaser.html

Now for his storm chase story, in his words. The pictures are well worth it. And I do love the areas where he has traveled in order to get these photos in the plains states of Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Colorado etc.

Today's setup was mediocre at best. Models were indicating storm development in Wyoming (WY) and moving into South Dakota (SD), as well as some weaker storm along the Colorado (CO)/Nebraska (NE) border. With that in mind, we drove west out of Valentine, NE toward Chadron, NE in order to get further west and see what would happen. After a very brief pit stop in Alliance, NE, we made our way south to Bridgeport, NE to figure out where to go. After some more analysis, we chose to head north in the even that storm should fire in WY and move east. In addition, we were in the Nebraska Panhandle, so the road network is really quite abhorrent. There is only 1 good North-South option (US Route 385) and 1 good East-West option (US Route 20).We found an old, abandoned house to take pictures of while waiting for storm development to initiate in-between Alliance and Sidney, NE.

After waiting for a while, nothing was happening to the north in the Ardmore*, SD region, which was one of our targets. Meanwhile, a storm blew up near the CO/NE border, which was our second possible target. We chose to start working our way south toward this cell, which was a good 90 minutes away, while monitoring the area near WY/SD. Fortunately, that storm was moving to the ENE at a slow pace of 15 mph. We intercepted this storm near Sidney, where we encountered 1 inch hail stones. This was quite an interesting storm, as there were 2 cells popping up very close to it, and we could see 3 storm bases quite clearly. One of the bases seemed to be getting bigger, and it started to look more and more "interesting." We followed this to Lodgepole, NE, where it became an LP (low-precipitation) supercell. The structure was absolutely phenomenal!!! It had very nice "barber pole" structure, which eventually turned into a more laminar (stacked) supercell. We stopped near a wheat field to take pictures of this amazing storm, where the sunlight, golden wheat, and a small farmstead provided the perfect background.


Later, this supercell transitioned from LP to "Classic" mode, and that is when we started to notice "nubs" dangling from the storm base. 2 of these nubs had areas of rotating dirt underneath, which meant 2 tornadoes had formed. Keep in mind these were not textbook by any means, but they were still neat to see, considering LP supercells rarely produce tornadoes. We stuck with this storm for quite some time, and it kept getting better. Eventually, a very nice "clear slot" formed, which was a sign the storm was starting to re-generate. As we were jockeying for position yet again, rain started falling in this clear slot, which usually results in tornado development. One of the tour guests noticed a very ominous lowering in this rain shaft, which turned out to be a funnel. We were unable to stay long because of how much lightning was being produced from this storm. The radar return showed a very distinct hook echo, but it did not last long. As we pulled off the road one last time to take our final pictures, we were treated to an amazing light show to end the evening. This made our drive to Imperial, NE, where our hotel was for the night, much more enjoyable. Our total mileage for the day was 510 miles.

*There was a very photogenic tornado that formed near Ardmore later that evening after we bailed on the SD target. This goes to show that storm chasing does have its ups and downs, but we were still fortunate to chase the storm we did :-)

I want to thank Justin for taking the time out of his day to send me his story, photos and his interview.

Introducing Justin Pletsch ~ Storm Chaser!

I have always had a fascination with weather. If I'd been a little better at my studies I probably would have done something with that, as well as all the other things I wanted to be. At any rate I enjoy watching weather clouds, and the formations during a storm.

Today I want to introduce to you a colleague and friend, Justin Pletsch, who had an interesting summer chasing storms. He sent me pictures and his story of the chase one day, but I told him I think an introduction is in order. Because aside from being a crazy bus driver (as am I), he does something even more crazier than driving around NIU avoiding students who seem to want to walk out in front of a 12 ton bus. He chases storms, and does so for a company. Well, I'll let the introductions begin and get out of the way aside from my questions.

ME: First of all, Justin, where are you from?

JUSTIN: I was born in Sterling, IL, and grew up in Prophetstonw, IL, which is about 50 miles east of the Quad Cities. My family and I eventually moved to Gridley, IL, when I was in 5th grade, and then we moved to Normal, IL, when I was a freshman in high school.

ME: Tell us when you became interested in weather, or what one weather event made you excited and want to study it?

JUSTIN: I was always fascinated with weather, but the event that really kick-started my interest happened when I was 6 years old. It was a perfectly clear day, and then everything took a turn for the worse one summer evening. We saw a tornado a few miles away from our house in the country, and my dad was able to film it. While he was filming, our neighbor's tree across the street was struck by lightning. Of course, I thought this was SO cool! But we all ended up retreating to the basement.

ME: Smart move. Okay, everyone knows what a storm chaser is, or I hope they do, but why are they important? What do they do to help us study weather?

JUSTIN: Storm chasers are important because they are sometimes the only way people know of impending danger. Take my personal experience form April 9, 2011. I went chasing with three other people, and we ended up in Mapleton, IA, to seek shelter under a gas station awning from ping-pong sized hail. Even though it was really dark and the sirens were blaring, the lady attendant at the gas station didn't know what was happening. We explained that she needed to take shelter immediately. Sure enough, the gas station power went out, and a tornado formed 200 yards from our location!!! Luckily, no one was killed in that town (which was demolished in this storm), and the worst injury was a broken leg.

In addition, storm chaser can provide information that Doppler Radar is unable to pick up (i.e. size of hail, rainfall rates, whether or not a tornado is on the ground, etc.). Keep in mind, the radar can only detect rotation and/or hail within a storm, but it can't actually detect if a tornado is on the ground, or the size of the hail.

Also, storm chasers are usually the first people on the scene after a devastating storm plows through. Any storm chaser worth his salt will provide first aid to people who need it until help arrives. Plus, we might be the only ones able to pick up a phone and dial 9-1-1, because storms that leave a path of destruction behind often leave people in shock.

ME: So true. Okay, now tell us a little bit about the people/group who hired you to go out and do such a crazy, dangerous job over the summer, and where are they based, and anything else you wish to tell us about them.

JUSTIN: I went on my first storm chasing trip in 2009 with a company called Tempest Tours (TT). This company was founded in 2000 by Martin Lisius, who is also the president of TT. It is based out of Arlington, TX, and they lead tours from the middle of April to the middle of August. The tours leave from Dallas, Oklahoma City, Denver, and Phoenix.

Anyway, I was completely enthralled with my first chase/trip that I knew I wanted to go back again. My next opportunity to go again came in 2011, when my parents decided to send me on another storm chasing adventure as my graduation gift.

My third trip came this past summer, but this one was different. After much persistence, I was able to score a driving position for my trip this year, and I was paid to do so.

ME: Tell us, do you recommend this to anyone?

JUSTIN: Please keep in mind that storm chasing is EXTREMELY dangerous, and it should not be attempted unless you have the experience or go with someone who is experienced. Also be aware that you will need to do quite a bit of driving, which is the primary hazard with this activity. In fact, it isn't uncommon to be on the road from 9 AM until 1 AM--just to give you an idea.

In addition, you will have to deal with other chasers who may not be following the rules of the road when on the scent of a massive storm. This can post problems, especially if you get caught in torrential rain, very large hail, hurricane force winds, or worse--the tornado itself! Wildlife also poses a threat, such as fire ants, snakes, cows,, and other creatures. Also, a storm chaser's diet is quite unhealthy, considering breakfast is the only good meal you might get the entire day. Otherwise, you will have to settle for fast food, or a questionable sandwich from a gas station in the middle of nowhere.

In the end, you need to have a health respect for Mother Nature, if you want to live to tell your tale. The best way for someone to experience storm chasing, no matter how much experience you have/don't have, is to go with a company like TT. They are professionals, and they will never intentionally put you in harm's way. For those who want to shop around, I would also suggest looking at Silver Lining Tours, as they are the only other reputable company out there.

ME: Well, thank you Justin for this interview!

And just to reinforce the warning, I wanted to share a photo from one of his companions who was happy to also share his picture and story about it:

"This is a picture of the vehicle I was in on June 20th, 2012 while chasing a storm near Chugwater, WY. We were filming our 3rd tornado of the day from about 2-3 miles away when the storm unexpectedly started heaving bowling balls at us. We got out of there fast, but not before the vehicle took some major hits, including 2 windshield impacts, one baseball-sized and the other 5 inches or more in diameter (we couldn't stick around for exact measurements...lol). Needless to say, this was one of my greatest chases to date. Can't get much better than 3 tornadoes and 5-inch hail in one day!"

REMINDER: my next post up will be Justin's actual storm chasing event from this year. He has some wonderful pictures I want to share with you, so please do watch for it!

You can visit Tempest Tours at http://www.tempesttours.com/