March 8th Chase

Early morning a Moderate Risk went up for parts of Southern Ill. I ended up taking a personal day off work and last min. decided to go for it rather than head home. I started out the day late, running behind to meet up with a few chasers down in Gilman Ill. Along the way down I came across blasting white out rains, freckles of hail and high winds which took me off the road for a bit. As I came out of the blasting rain SE of me about 10 miles maybe I noticed what looked like a Tornado on the ground, however I did not have time to watch for rotation as I was blasted again by intense rains. I tried to cruise through it, however when I was clear of the rain again there was nothing there. I stopped along the way and took a few photo's knowing I was way to far behind to catch up at this point and just wanted to get used to the camera settings again for the new season. In the end I traveled about 300 some odd miles and crapped out. However it was a great drive and got to see some crazy cloud to ground lightning, got hit by intense winds and rains, so I am still happy about the trip. I am looking forward to the new season and what will become..

Early Season 2009

2009 is off to an early start to Severe Weather, on Tuesday there were 6 reports of Tornadoes across portions of Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri. Unfortunately one of these Tornadoes was rated an EF4 tornado with winds from 165-200 mph, and a damage path that extended to 1/2 mile wide at some points. A trailer park in Long Grove Oklahoma took a direct hit and sadly there are reports that 9 people lost their lives and many others injured. Night time tornadoes are extremely dangerous and if you are living in an area that has a history of Tornadoes it is highly recommended to have a NOAA Weather Radio during this season.
Closer to home we were provided with a bit of warmth over the past few days, however this will not last to long. Colder temp. will be coming back along with possible snow on Saturday and early next week. Don't worry to much, the Temps. should not drop to what we have seen in past weeks with negative temps. So I hope you were able to get out and enjoy the weather while we had it.

Reflecting On Storms Of 08'

As the first month of the new year is coming to an end, and I can't help but think about the new season beginning I find myself reflecting back on 08'. I still have yet to have seen my first tornado, however I still managed to take a few good photo's and took on my first few chases. During which I learned a few things, and I hope to implement so tactics this season that my lead to a even better year. Here are a couple of my favorite photo's from 08'.