TornadoVideos.net

Posted At: January 3, 2009 @ 3:37 PM

Posted By: Reed Timmer

Check out these pictures of major flooding on the Grand River in Ada, MI from snow-melt and ice jams.  Most of the flooding occurred as temperatures skyrocketed to near 60F last week after 50+ inches of snow in the month of December!  You can see the horizontal planes of ice about 3 inches above the water level shown here, which indicates the crest of the flood.  The Grand River is about 300 yards away in the direction of this photo...Last night there were deer and other animals wandering aimlessly in our neighborhood after being displaced by the flood waters.  Check out Chris taking his team to the limit to document this deadly flood.  After snapping these pictures, I thought I was going to have to pull him to safety.  MASS CHAOS!

Chris in a state of panic, sliding into the freezing flood water!

Unparalleled balance saves his life...

Posted At: January 3, 2009 @ 12:31 PM

Posted By: Reed Timmer

Instability and deep-layer wind shear will be sufficient for severe thunderstorms today from Central/Southern Louisiana east to the Florida Panhandle.  Most of the storms so far this morning have been multicellular in nature with only brief supercell structures apparent on radar, if at all.  Marginal low-level wind shear, and the lack of a robust upper-storm system are likely the culprits for this disorganized storm structure, but low-end severe wind and hail are still likely with this convective complex as it drifts eastward across the Central Gulf Coast.  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Posted At: January 1, 2009 @ 9:52 PM

Posted By: Reed Timmer

As of the New Year, GFS forecasts are available on TwisterData.com at 3 hour intervals for Days 1-2, 6 hour intervals for Days 3-8, and every 12 hours out to 384 hours!  This is just the beginning for our model and data website, with many more forecast tools planned between now and tornado season that will make our storm chasing lives much easier!  (if that's possible).  Below is a link to the GFS page...please let us know any comments or suggestions!

http://twisterdata.com/index.php?prog=forecast&prog=forecast&model=GFS

Posted At: December 30, 2008 @ 11:23 AM

Posted By: Reed Timmer

The Storm Chasers marathon is underway on Discovery Channel today, for the next 12 hours or so, including the 4 episodes from the 2007 season (TVN provided footage but was not included in last season).  So if you happened to miss any of the episodes from last year or this year, be sure to check them out on Discovery Channel!  It looks like another winter storm system will be moving across the Central U.S. this week...I'll be adding a blog update about it tonight!

Posted At: December 27, 2008 @ 10:12 AM

Posted By: Reed Timmer

A classic low-instability/high wind shear severe weather setup will prevail today from Northeast TX to Illinois, as a strong storm system plows across the Central U.S.  The best low-level wind shear will exist across Northeast AR, the MO Bootheel, and Illinois, where SSW-ly 850 mb flow at 50-70 knots will reside.  CAPE values across this area will be 500-750 J/kg at best, but CIN will be almost non-existent across most of the warm sector from Southwest IL south.  The NAM forecast 850 mb flow for 00z tonight can be seen below.  By this time, the convective bands will likely be closing in on the MS River, and I would not be surprised if several of the storms were tornadic supercells embedded within bands of linear convection.


The Storm Prediction Center has issued a moderate risk across the above area where low-level shear is maximized and sufficient instability is forecast this afternoon.  Given the marginal instability and fairly linear storm modes expected, an outbreak of tornadoes is not likely...However, with the incredible low-level shear in place, anything can happen.


Tornado Watches are already in effect from Northeast TX to Southwest IL, with several tornado warnings in Northeast MO where mini-supercells are occasionally showing strong rotation on radar.  These storms are flying in less than ideal terrain, so chasing them would be extremely difficult.  I nearly pulled the trigger on this storm chase, but decided that construction of our ultimate storm chasing machine is much more important!!!  Good luck to all who our chasing, and stay tuned for updates..

Posted At: December 26, 2008 @ 9:50 AM

Posted By: Reed Timmer

Incredible wind shear and unseasonably strong instability will characterize the warm sector environment in eastern Oklahoma this afternoon and evening, favoring the development of supercells with strong tornado potential.  However, a strong capping inversion will also characterize this environment, which will likely prevent diurnal storm development unless the NAM and RUC fail to verify, and of course without a storm it's pretty hard to have a type I tornado!  Most models have convective initiation holding off until after dark, but because of the very volatile environment in place, the Storm Prediction Center has placed eastern OK in a 10% hatched area for strong tornadoes..


The NAM is forecasting 2-2.25 0-1 km EHIs (Energy Helicity Index - which is a composite index for low-level wind shear and instability), which is INSANE for this time of year to say the least.  If storms can develop this evening, I would not be surprised if strong tornadoes occur over night across eastern OK in this highly sheared environment.  Joel will likely be chasing this event if storms can develop early enough, and I'll likely be chasing tomorrow's setup in the MS River Valley, assuming I can get my car fixed in time here in Michigan.  Stay tuned for updates!!!