Guest Post: Development of a Weather Geek, by Brad Nelson

Brad Nelson is an honest-to-goodness meteorologist who currently resides in Minnesota with his family.
 

May 22, 2010: Bowdle, SD EF4 Tornado

I was asked by Jessica to write a post for her blog about how I got to where I am today as a meteorologist, and how my hobby of storm chasing plays into my career. First off, thank you to Jessica for extending the invitation! My story begins on a homestead in rural southern Minnesota outside of the small town of Blooming Prairie. Growing up in farm country really gave me an understanding of and fascination with how weather plays into our lives, and how this can affect the crops, harvest and day-to-day activities. We had a plot of land surrounded by fields on somewhat of a hill- we could see thunderstorms arriving from the west fairly often during the spring and summer months. As a young lad, I used to park myself out by the corn crib to watch storms approach and would sit in amazement at all of the colors, undulations, and fierceness of each event.  Winter storms were fascinating as well since we would frequently receive several storms a season that brought heavy snow, freezing rain and high winds. One particular storm that stands out is the 1991 Halloween Blizzard, in which we received 2 inches of ice and knocked out power for a week-and-a-half.

After high school, the decision was made to head to St. Cloud State University to pursue my degree in meteorology. The college years are where my interest for weather really grew to full on geekdom.  The professors gave me the knowledge and skills that I needed to understand and forecast the weather, and I also met some amazing people that I consider friends for life. Two ladies stand out as a major influence on my continued interest and success as a storm chaser. The Twister Sisters, Peggy and Melanie, took me on my first ‘real’ storm chase on June 24, 2003; a day that I will never forget. Our chase took us to near the small town of Centerville, South Dakota in the southeast corner of the state. Here is where an intense, cyclic, slow-moving supercell storm produced at least 13 tornadoes (that we saw). I remember ending the day by having to seek shelter in a Chili’s refrigerated cooler as the still tornadic storm rolled over Sioux Falls after we had ended the chase for the evening. Here are a few photos from that day:

Peggy and Melanie also gave me the opportunity to be a cast member the reality show, Twister Sisters, which aired on WETV during the winter of 2007/2008. One of my most harrowing chases of my life occurred in filming this show and it gave me real-life experience in how dangerous and devestating tornadoes can be. The Greensburg EF5 occurred on May 4, 2007, killing a dozen people and laying waste to 95% of the town. We saw this tornado initially develop near Protection, Kansas and followed behind it as it went towards Greensburg. The images of the massive wedge tornado lit up only by lightning and power flashes, and the damage aftermath that followed, will forever be ingrained in my mind. Incredibly, this was my wife’s very first tornado! We had only been dating for 4 months at the time.

Since then, my passion for storm chasing has grown and I now have the opportunity to chase with my wife, MaryLynn, and as a guide for Roger Hill and Silver Lining Tours. It is such a fun and enjoyable experience to be able to teach others about weather and show tour guests from all over the world some amazing storms and tornadoes. Plus, it’s great to meet some cool people like Jessica! To date, I have 75 tornadoes under my belt and many incredible supercells and other weather phenomenon that are hard to comprehend. Out of these tornadoes, 1 was EF5, 4 were EF4s, and there have been several EF3s in strength. It’s also been a blessing to have a successful career as a meteorologist with Schneider Electric since graduating college in 2004, and also to be a part of the on-site forecasting team for the PGA Tour and other golf entities. Being able to take my knowledge of weather to help keep people safe at golf tournaments and assist in course setup/planning is very satisfying and fun.

 Storm chasing is obviously a big part of my life, it helps me to translate what I learned in college and read in textbooks to real life storms. The forecasting experience that I gain in searching for the biggest and meanest supercells and tornadoes helps me in other parts of my job. Plus, the excitement of seeing these unworldly storms and the adrenaline rush that comes from chasing tornadoes is something that I cannot compare to anything else. It’s amazing that a hobby can give you such a rush, but can also be relaxing and mind decompressing. An example of this is the journey across the plains of the U.S., seeing small towns and visiting places you would never visit otherwise, off the beaten path. It’s interesting to see the sights and talk to and hear the stories from the small town folk that are seasoned veterans of severe weather and tornadoes. They know how to prepare, what to do, how to help each other, and how to rebuild after a storm rips through their town…values and determination that you do not always see elsewhere. Being out on the open prairie, away from civilization brings a calming influence that is difficult to mirror in an urban setting.

To summarize, I love everything about chasing storms! I have no plans to ever stop chasing, and hope to safely pass along my geekery in weather and chasing to my children when they get old enough to understand. For a dramatic ending, here is a video of one of my favorite chases of all time, June 17, 2010 in Minnesota:

Guest Post: Jessica's Birthday Tornado, by Sara Anbari

Sara Anbari is an author who currently resides in Austin, TX and has been on several tornado chasing adventures. Please note, Video #3 has strong language.

If you've kept up with Miss Jessica's posts about storm tour (I'm from Texas; I have to throw in a "Miss" every now and then), you know that it ended without a tornado sighting. All twenty-one of us on this trip were sorely disappointed. Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances, and there's about a twenty-percent chance you won't see a tornado on your chosen tour. It was a fabulous journey nevertheless; just without the T.

Thanks to being unconventionally employed, three of us twister-deprived storm junkies were able to stick around two extra days to tag along with the next tour. I promised Jessica that if I saw a tornado, it would be her Birthday Tornado. As you probably know, her thirtieth birthday is in July, and this trip was her present to herself. Since she didn't get to see one, I'd do my darndest to get it for her. 

An ideal meteorological setup and the uncanny tornado-hunting skills of Roger Hill at Silver Lining Tours put us face-to-face with an EF-4 monster, the strongest tornado of the year to date. At first, everyone was jubilant, posing for pictures and crowing success. I was so excited, I did no fewer than three takes proclaiming the twister Jessica's Birthday Tornado. Ominously, one take mentioned the possibility of tragedy.

 As the tornado neared, voices became breathless with sailor-cursing and invoking God alike. The tornado crossed the road less than a mile behind us--so close we could hear it. (It sounded like an industrial fan to me; I didn't get the sense of a freight train or jet engine or waterfall.) It was overwhelming to see the awesome power of nature and to be that close to a massive tornado. 

Warning: strong language

Just after the roiling maelstrom crossed the road, it hit a structure. Pieces of sheet metal shot out of the violently rotating column. Groans, wails, and a collective "oh, no" arose from the spectators, followed by hopes expressed aloud to ourselves and our videos.

As storm aficionados, we venture out in rain, hail, and lightning to seek the perfect tornado: strong, photogenic, structurally aesthetic... and far out in a field or unpopulated area where it can't harm people or property. It's awful to see someone's life affected by what we wished for. Later, I learned that even though this tornado didn't kill anyone, the same storm's next tornado killed a man across Interstate 35 in Wynnewood, Oklahoma.

My dilemma: how could I designate this Jessica's Birthday Tornado after it caused terrible damage and destruction? I didn't want that for her. I wanted the pretty tornado out in a field doing no harm; that's what a birthday tornado ought to be, for heaven's sake. 

But that's not what I witnessed. 

Then I thought about the other purpose Jessica had for her trip besides celebrating a birthday: raising money for Portlight Strategies. For Jessica, the true gift to herself--and this makes her a better person than I am--wasn't just the storm tour; it was turning her vacation into an opportunity to help victims of disaster. Someday it might even be you, me, or loved ones emerging from a basement to soggy wreckage, ears ringing, breath catching, blood trickling from cuts you didn't realize you'd suffered, unsure what to do next.

As I agonized over whether or not to dub this twister her birthday tornado, the revelation struck me like lightning: for Jessica, this is the right tornado. It's the tornado that shows both the beautiful and sobering sides of nature, reminding us that whether we chase or not, it has turned lives upside-down, and those affected need our help to recover.

Please join me in celebrating generous Jessica, her big 3-0 birthday, and our collective penchant for wild weather by donating to Portlight Strategies today. Miss Jessica, this is it--your Birthday Tornado! From Tour 2, the Super Sexy Seven, "Van 4," your blessed family, and everyone else who knows and loves you--Happy Birthday, babydoll.

Campaign Update

After spending the better part of this week in Orlando for work, I'm excited to catch up on the Portlight campaign and see where we are after the first couple of weeks. Our goal is $2,000.

A very sincere THANK YOU to our first batch of donors:

The one and only Mother Unit, Nancy B. Katz

Brilliant wrangler of canines Stephanie Beilke

RW, the tripmate who was kind enough to take pictures of ALL the birds and share them with me

My fantastic colleague MaryAnn Merikoski

Matthew Harbage, who I've only seen once in the past 8 years- your generosity is an inspiration!

The Neander-Isches, love you lots!

David Metzer, AKA Travels 'n Chases AKA "you really need to sign up for two chase trips in a row."

Total to date:  $320

We're off to an excellent start! Thanks again to everyone mentioned above.

Day 7: Wray, CO

Yesterday was the longest day of all- 16 hours of driving from Colby, KS up to Wray, CO and back down to Oklahoma City. It's so important to enjoy the people you're with when you're stuck in a van for that many hours, and after an entire week of being in the aforementioned van with Sara, Stephanie, Evans, Vincent, and Victoria I wanted to send some special recognition their way. The Sexy Six will ride again someday, I hope!

By the time we made it up to Wray the storms were still in the early stages. We repositioned several times, and it was interesting to see others in the chase community arrive. We watched as Josh Wurman & the DOW with Sean Casey & the TIV steamed in the opposite direction ("Just like on TV!" I squealed). Why were we travelling in the opposite direction from these veteran storm chasers? 

The answer is simple and gut-wrenching: we ran out of time. Roger knew we had a 10+ hour drive back to OKC to finish the trip, and so it was time to go.

Wall cloud (above) and mammatus clouds (below) on the storm that would go on to produce the extremely photogenic Wray tornado about an hour after we left the area. At the time of these photos, the storm was severe warned.

As photos from other chasers began blowing up the online community- a rusty brown elephant trunk tornado with excellent structure, amazing forward motion, and even the satellite vortices that indicate a very strong tornado- the morale of the group dimmed. A half dozen of the group are going chasing with Roger today, but I have to head back home to Chicago. I hope today's storms form in their favor.

I can't even remember what town we were in when we stopped to watch our last supercell of the day and take a group photo, but these parting shots make me glad to have been where I was, even if I did miss the storm in Wray.

As I begin the journey home from this epic adventure, I'm taking a moment to reflect on those who may have been impacted by the tornado in Wray, and hoping that there were no injuries or fatalities. Portlight has provided aid in tornado-ravaged towns such as Joplin, MO, and their mission was on my mind as I reviewed my photos of the storm.

It looks like I missed my chance of seeing a tornado, so I guess I'll have to turn 30 a time or two before I make this dream come true. Nevertheless, it was an amazing week filled with simply fantastic people and experiences.

My next post will be the first honor roll of donors. It's time to head to the airport- onward and upward!

Day 6: Torrington, WY

I added another new state to my collection yesterday, and I have to say- my introduction to Wyoming was tempestuous indeed. It was a 600 mile day from Colby to Torrington and back again, and we didn't roll into the hotel until after 1 this morning.

As Roger steered us into position the storm we were following seemed to wait politely for us to arrive. It was moving slowly- only 15mph or so- and hovering at the edge of a mountain range. We parked several miles away and watched it rotate slowly to our northeast. The photographers set up their equipment, and at one point I found myself standing next to the meteorologist, Brad Nelson.

"I can't believe this," I chirped, "I'm here, watching a storm with an actual meteorologist!" Being able to geek out over the structure of this storm with 19 other people was a phenomenal feeling. As we observed the cell mature and decay, the only sounds that could be heard beyond our conversations were the wind and an occasional Western Meadowlark call.

These two pictures were taken at roughly the same time. Note how clear the sky over my trip mates is compared to the supercell structure below. The lowered wall cloud base in the center-left part of the shot is the part of the storm that would have produced a tornado, had the conditions been right.

The forecast models for today have been going crazy for storms in Colorado and Kansas, and our plans for the day have gone through several revisions. Our call for the last chase day is at 10; I'm not sure where we're off to, but the setup looks good and I'm really excited for this last day. We'll be getting into OKC very late tonight, so my next post will likely be late morning or early afternoon tomorrow.

If you haven't already, please take a gander at the Portlight campaign page. With the possibility of a tornado outbreak over the next couple of days, Portlight's services may be called upon to provide aid to areas that could be impacted by this weekend's severe weather.