Christmas Chase with the FIBs

Wednesday December 23rd was destined to be a chase day for about a week prior, the only question would be where. The initial thought was the mid south would be the only place to be. A few days prior a secondary threat started to materialize in central Illinois as deepening low pressure was forecasted to bring mild temps and spring like moisture to this part of the country.  The day prior the decision was made to stay in Illinois and target near the low pressure. Most models indicated decent cape and shear as well as showing a few rotating supercells developing in north central Illinois.

 

Wednesday morning we awoke to a slight risk of severe weather all the way into southern Wisconsin and a very evident, albeit small tornado risk in western and central Illinois.

 

I left my house in Janesville at around 8:30am to meet Alec Scholten in Rockton. On the way to Alec's house it was quite foggy, cool and began to rain. I remember thinking to myself "How is this even a chase day" We left Alec's house to snag up Brett Wright and began our trip to La Salle where we would meet up at Dennys with Adam Lucio and Danny Neal. 

After grabbing a bite to eat and looking over the day ahead, we decided to play west central Illinois.
The mood was rather festive to say the least and you could feel the excitement in the air as the sun decided to make an appearance for the 1st time of the day. While sitting and talking about past chases the Christmas music was loudly playing over the loud speakers at the truck stop we awaited at and then the music was broke by a familiar sound of cell phones going off alerting us a tornado watch was being issued for our area. (Christmas Music and weather radios) Never thought I would be able to say that together but chase on!

 

We set out to our southwest as a line of supercells started to rapidly develop in eastern Iowa and Northeast Missouri. How far west we wanted to go was the question, we ran a bit of disagreement to this as I though we would get to far west to have any good position as I thought storm motions would be a little bit faster than they were. After a brief discussion it was decided to continue west/southwest and try and get into position before dark.

 

We proceeded to drive south on Highway 67 towards Macomb when we started to get our 1st glimpse at the low topped cumulus towers and clear view of several bases from our location. During this time storms would start to take on quickly changing characteristics from looking good to looking kind of cruddy with no dominant storm making it's presence known quite yet. After continuing to drive south we decided to stop in the town of Roseville for gas and reevaluate our situation. After getting fuel we decided the southernmost storm was the dominant storm. (A decision we would soon regret)

 

 

As we continued south towards Macomb a train would block our highway and we decided to take an alternate route east and then back south as to not lose our chance at our storm. When we finally got back into position for our storm we got our 1st view at its base and updraft. It wasn't bad looking but not the greatest either but there was several intense lightning bolts shooting out in front of it that gave it the impression it was rapidly intensifying. We stopped along a country road for a few minutes to watch the storm approach when our phones once again alerted all of us to a tornado warning with a confirmed tornado just back to our north (Rememeber the train tracks) so we quickly spun around and headed back north to get to the storm.  As we punched through the core of our storm we encountered some heavy rains and gusty winds before coming out to a clearing on the other side and having a visual on the tornado warned storm, which was nothing more than a weak little updraft with almost no precipitation. We continued to follow this storm for a few miles while going through small towns with tornado sirens blaring and Christmas decorations hung all over the place, a very confusing sight.

On the tornado warned cell near Macomb
Posted by Danny Neal on Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Soon after the storm had dissipated and we were left with a line of dying storms that had one more great surprise in store for us. As the sun began to set the updrafts directly over our heads began to light up an amazing pinkish/orange color and started developing some awesome mammatus, something I always enjoy seeing!

After taking several pictures out the car window the sun would soon be set and our chase day was over, or so we thought.
As we traveled back north to get back to the highway home a small lightning-less updraft quickly formed and went tornado warned. After watching this for several minutes nothing would come of it and the warning was soon canceled.

Soon after this we would learn we missed a small rope tornado back near Roseville and then would learn of a violent tornado in the Mississippi & Tennessee area. Feeling a little dejected we began our trip home, but it occurred to me on the way home that we got to chase in late December less than 4 hours from home and got to see some beautiful things along the way as well as many many laughs!

Thank you to Alec, Adam, Brett, & Danny for a fun filled day!

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Also be sure to check out my friends pages here for great weather info, photographs and more!

Adam Lucio and Danny Neal: https://www.facebook.com/illinoisstormchasersllc

Brett Wright: https://www.facebook.com/TornadoTitans

Alec Scholten: ( You can also book storm chasing tours through him) https://www.facebook.com/TwistedSkyTours

April 9th, 2015 The day that I wasn't ready for.

Like so many storm chasers I look forward to the chase days, the wording of "A few strong tornadoes possible" this is what I love to do, this is my passion. Also like so many others I knew a time would come when I would see things that I didn't want to see.
The morning of April 9th was no different than any other chase other than the fact that our target was within 50 miles from home, virtually in our back yard. As a chaser you are excited, as a resident of the area you have a few extra nerves going.
When we left Janesville that early afternoon we knew there was a chance of seeing a tornado or 2, never did I imagine we were a few hours away from seeing the most violent tornado of 2015 in the U.S. The conditions were coming together very nicely! As the day progressed I began to wonder if we would see any good storms as they kept dying from being choked off all instability. As it would happen a storm would form about an hour before daylight would fade into the early Spring air and darkness would set upon us. Driving through large hail shortly after was the highlight of my day at the moment, the sound of baseball sized chunks of ice thumping against the roof of the car was music to my ears.
When the tornado warning was broadcast with the words "large and dangerous & particularly dangerous situation" your heart skips a few beats. I remember the sight of this monster and watching it spin and rip trees and earth up and being excited about this.
Soon we would drive through a few small communities, always wondering if it was in the path of this monster and was our chase over to start search and rescue. Fortunately none of the small towns were touched to that point.
We had pulled over to watch the tornado, still large, fade into the darkness. An eery roar was all you could hear, followed by sirens from emergency crews responding to anyone that did need aid.
While stopped along the road all I could smell was this distinct smell of earth, like you had just been working in your garden all day.
As we sat and watched the tornado disappear, residents had begun emerging from their homes and driving around the area checking on friends and loved ones. As we sat there trying to come down from the high of what we had just seen, a couple teenagers pulled up in a truck very excited as the tornado had come within a 1/4 mile of their home. As we talked a little one of them looked at the lot about 200 yards across the field and said "Hey that was so and so house" Looking over my heart immediately sunk deep into my stomach, what was once a house was simply reduced to a concrete slab. I remember calling my dad and being able to emotionally muster up the phrase "If anyone was in that house they are dead" Fortunately we later learned they were not home at the time.
The short drive home was quiet for the most part as we learned of severe damage and at least 1 death in Fairdale. The next morning I returned to the area for a few interviews and was just in awe of the damage. Less than 24 hours before this was a quiet little bedroom community that was now literally wiped off the map. While I was there a press conference was being conducted to announce a second confirmed fatality, something I always dreaded hearing or seeing.
When I left that afternoon I felt sick, how could something I love so much hurt so many people and me be ok with it? I took the long way home that afternoon and realized just how important life really is and how quick it can change.
In the weeks following I made a few return trips to volunteer and had the opportunity to meet people affected and hear their stores of that evening, more importantly I was treated like I belonged there, they welcomed me with open arms and offered me pie and coffee and donuts, etc. Some even found ways to joke about how they got closer than I was or how they got better video.
I knew storm chasing that I would eventually see some pretty big damage, never did I think I would see something so violent do so much horrific damage and never did I think I would be so mentally unprepared when the time came.
To the people of northern Illinois, first responders, meteorologists, volunteers....You are all amazing people and did one amazing job that night!

Coal City Tornado: A Survivors Story

Courtesy of Shawn McLey

Coal City, Illinois is a small community of about 5,500 people that sits about 60 miles south of Chicago in Will and Grundy counties. A town that is not unfamiliar with tornadoes, on November 17th 2013 an EF-2 tornado ripped through part of town leaving many residents to rebuild.

Monday June 22nd started out as a normal day for Shawn McLey, his wife, and their 3 dogs. A summer rainstorm had came through the area that morning followed by a few peaks of sunshine and clouds. A chance of severe thunderstorms was in the forecast later that afternoon. Shawn and his wife went about their day, little did they know 90 miles away a storm would form that would change their lives forever. Around 3:30 pm a tornado watch was issued for most of north central and northwest Illinois. Around 7:00 pm a tornadic thunderstorm was taking shape Near Amboy, Illinois some 90 miles away and heading towards the small town of Coal City.

Meanwhile storm chaser Adam Lucio had already documented a couple tornadoes from this storm and was traveling along Interstate 80 trying to keep up with the storm. "I thought I was gonna die when the storm crossed over me on I-80" Lucio said. "I have never seen whiteout rain like that before, that thing was a monster"

At 9:06 pm a tornado warning was issued for Grundy county Illinois. As this tornadic storm was bearing down on the area, Shawn stated "I heard the sirens go off once" Around 9:30pm "The sirens went off a second time and my phone went off and we had about 3 minutes to take cover" I asked Shawn if he owned a weather radio to which he stated he did not. "We didn't have time to get into our crawl space, we just ran into the bathroom and huddled down. I can't get the sound of stuff hitting our house out of my head, the sound and the pressure was so intense" The tornado had now passed and Shawn, his wife and 3 dogs had all survived the tornado. A night they will not soon forget.

Reflecting back to that night and everything that had happened Shawn emotionally stated "People need to realize that when a warning is issued you better take it seriously because I could have been one of the people that died that night".

In closing what was a tragic day could have been much worse. 0 deaths were reported from 9 confirmed tornadoes across northern Illinois, a reflection of the amazing job the National Weather Service in Chicago truly does. People of northern Illinois are dealing with a lot this year, but they should also all be proud of the resilience they have shown this year.

A big thank you to Storm Chaser Adam Lucio and Shawn McLey for agreeing to do this with me.

This story is a true testament of how invaluable weather radios really are and maybe it is time as a community to require them in every home.

Be sure to check out Adam Lucio's page and the NWS Chicago for more great weather information!

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Ashton/Fairdale/Rochelle Illinois Tornado 4-9-2015

Thursday April 9th was a day that was on our radar for quite a few days prior, a low pressure system ejecting out of the plains that was forecasted to deepen along with an associate warm front and strong moisture was the basis for a possible severe weather setup. As early as 4 days prior the Storm Prediction center had outlined the area for possible severe weather as well as long as the atmosphere could recover from overnight convection and instability could build in.
The night before 2 things really stuck out while looking at models, one showed a decent area of clearing that would allow the instability to build and the other is a composite models that blends certain dynamics to give us a "significant tornado index" which had a bullseye over northern Illinois. The morning of an enhanced risk with a 10% tornado probability was given with the mention of possibly a strong tornado or 2.




Our starting point was The Mt Carroll area, a decent road network with options in all 4 directions if need be. While traveling south we encountered the warm front as the windows fogged and you could see the temp gauge jump a good 10 degrees in a matter of seconds. We traveled down I88 and decided to get off on US 30 and set up in Morrison incase we had to cross the river. The 1st tornado watch of the day was issued followed by a second  50 minutes later covering all of northern Illinois into southern Wisconsin.


 

One by one it would seem storms would initiate and then quickly die. This seemed to be as rain cooled air was sucking all the instability out of these storms so they were just unable to maintain.

Meanwhile in eastern Iowa along the cold front a few cells had seemed to tap into some better instability and maintain there supercell charachteristics After watching the cell for awhile and nothing good happening in our current target area we made the decision to cross the river into Iowa and go after this cell. After the 20 minute drive to the Mississippi river and crossing into Iowa, we quickly realized that this was probably not the best move for us for 2 reasons. 1. There are very limited river crossings back into Illinois to stay with the storm and 2. We learned over a few events to stick with the original plan.

We crossed the Mississippi river back into Illinois and decided to go back to the Morrison area and wait for the storm to cross the river to us. After what seemed like an eternity the storm was finally approaching the river and had a decent hook and rotation on it according to radar. We got into position north of Morrison and awaited the arrival of the now tornado warned storm.

 

After a few minutes and seeing some lightning the storm arrived and had almost no structure and we quickly realized that if a tornado was in there it would surely be rain wrapped and in our best interest to get a little further east and try to gain some better visibility of the base. As we retreated east the storm lost most of its rotation and was now looking to be gusting out. As we were contemplating our next move a cell had quickly formed to our southwest and would become severe warned in a matter of minutes.

 

Over time I have learned that certain storms have a certain "shape" to them and this one definitely seemed to fit the build. We decided to abandon the storm to our west and make a beeline east to try and catch up with this cell as it was now starting to rotate and look very healthy.

We passed through Oregon, Illinois and across the Rock river on route 64 where the tornado sirens were echoing across the whole city. We met up with the cell that was now tornado warned and had a distinct supercell shape with complete with a hook and strong rotation. We were positioned NW of the storm so a decision needed to be made whether to attempt a dangerous core punch or allow the storm to move a little further northeast and get behind it.

 

After proceeding a little further east into the core of the storm we were met with some baseball sized hail that was pounding the car and in danger of shattering the windshield so we decided to pull over and go with plan B.

After being pelted with hail for several minutes the tornado emerged from behind the wall of rain and hail and much to our surprise was a rather large "wedge" tornado.

 

We procceded to follow and stair step the tornado as long as we could before getting cut off by law enforcement and damage along the way. We stopped on the side of the road to snap some ore pictures and the tornado evaded us and disappeared into the dark skies to our northeast. A smell of pine and earth filled the air along with an eery silence. Several law enforcement were just across the field from us and we would soon learn that bare spot we were seeing was once a house that was now reduced to a slab of concrete. Luckily they were not home at the time. After the tornado had disappeared we were greeted with an ominous shelf that would be the end of our day.

 

Unfortunately 2 people lose their lives in Fairdale as well as many houses and structures demolished along the way. I made a return trip to Fairdale the next day and was completely taken aback by what the power of nature is truly capable of.

 

Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this tragedy.

 

 

 

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