ThunderStruck

Blast from the past

2006-03-25T03:41:00.000-06:00

I saved this helicity map from last year...June 12th, I tried chasing KS that day but overnight grunge effectively killed any chance that day for any action that far north. I worked my ass off that day trying to make it down to Texas from Minnesota, but I came up about a half an hour short :(

Anyways, here it is...

Impressive, no?

Next thursday looks good, I might chase if I have enough $$$ to make it.

2005 Stats

2006-02-06T02:53:00.000-06:00

My 2005 Summary...

First chase: May 10th, 2005
Last chase: June 29th, 2005
Tornadoes seen: 6
Miles traveled: 15,000+
States traveled: 8 (Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Iowa)
Longest chase: June 12th (Minnesota to Texas in 16 hours, round trip back in about 40 hours)
Shortest chase: June 7th (About 175 miles)
Most frustrating day: June 4th (missed a violent tornado only about 5 miles away)
Easiest day: June 29th (3 tornadoes only about 2 hours from home)
Endurance Chase: June 3rd (18 hours of driving 10am-4am)
Money spent: Approx. $1,900
Chase Partners: Andrew Ashley (London, UK), Gary Eccels (London, UK), Darin Brunin (Rossville, KS), Dick McGowan (Olathe, KS), Mike Peregrine (Saint Joseph, MO)
Missed Tornado Opportunity of the Year: June 9th, missing 7-8 tornadoes in Kansas due to exhaustion and low finances
Missed Money Opportunity of the Year: May 13th, getting footage of a bus driving through a tornado, being told a week later that the footage would've gotten me a couple thousand dollars from the major networks
Best memory: Seeing 2 tornadoes after dark in Oklahoma with Andrew and Darin on June 3rd after driving all day, watching storm after storm die and getting a 200 dollar speeding ticket in the process
Least missed memory: Drinking after arriving at Darin's apartment late on June 1st then proceeding to spend most of the June 2nd chase in the backseat after puking in his parking lot and in some random field about 5 miles S of Hays, KS
Most Hardcore Moment: Filming an approaching wall cloud as the other chasers bug out and getting great footage of a tornado within 1/3rd of a mile after everyone else fled.
Least Hardcore Moment: Spending a down weekend in Dallas and having a drunk Andrew tell everyone else on mIRC that I'm gay and "like it in the ass"
Why I chase: Lying on the hood of my car with a Cafe Del Mar chillout mix pumping from the stereo watching an electric supercell after dark with good chasing buddies, in the middle of nowhere, Texas.
Why I don't chase: Driving to Omaha, Nebraska and back in one day (16 hours) and then being told I was basically an idiot for doing so.
My Saving Grace: My grandfather, who introduced me to Brad Barclay, who gave me 8 bucks an hour under the table to fill in nailholes at construction sites to pay off my debt.

Congratulations to me

2006-02-05T22:44:00.000-06:00

I think I should submit myself to the Guinness Book of World Records, yes, 20th year without a valentine. I still have a week to go, but why should I believe in my current drunken state that anything will change. I almost broke the streak last year with a girl, but she decided to drive 5 hours away from me to attend a Josh Groban concert with an ex-boyfriend. Just my luck. Kinda sucks when girls think you're playing the "nice guy" card just to get into their panties. Sincerity in such a practice is just not believable in today's society.

I would hope that my first real post of substance on this crappy blog would be more upbeat and uplifting, but alcohol and overall down feelings doesn't really add up to the inspiring story of the century.

In weather shit, long-term GFS runs are showing perhaps the first real potent S. Plains play with a 992 low progged in SC CO with a decent play setting up in NC OK for all the Norman folk, all depending on the fetch from GoM. Yea, it's two weeks out (ironically during the Denver convention) but given the long winter and rather rough chase season I endured last year, wishcasting should not be something to be shunned. Nothing pisses me off more than some other chaser trying to one-up by raining on another's parade, like the KKK (Karen, Kiel and Kevin) debacle last season for the May 21st chase.

Since we haven't been able to slice the atmosphere into small enough pieces for our computers to detect the microscale elements that determine tornadic, or even supercellular activity, any person's forecasting ability is a small fraction in the equation of a successful chase. So while some asshole might be able to sit back on a day like May 21st, while every other chaser out there works hard for clear skies, and say "I told you so" at the end of the day, there will always be a day in which the tables are turned and the atmosphere plays out in favor of the risk-takers.

"Fortune favors the bold"

I don't know why I hold such a zealous vendetta against such people, perhaps it ties in with the rest of the shit going on in my life. Although I lean towards Spencerism with my social beliefs, it's just plain stupid to try and elevate yourself in a field where 99 percent of the variables are out of your control. You can capture more tornadoes than any other chaser in one year, but your accomplishment could be completely overshadowed by the inept local who just happens to get video of a tornado sweeping away the house across the street. So in the end, all the ego-boosting, gadget-buying, forum grandstanding is completely wasted by a single moment that no human can stop. And therein lies the irony of building an image based on smoke and mirrors, or in the case of the chaser, condensation and lenses.

February 1st

2006-02-01T23:07:00.000-06:00

One month to the official start of chase season. Hurray...