A mature squall line that continues to be capable of damaging winds in excess of 60 mph and the potential for quarter sized hail is moving swiftly to the east across South Dakota and northeast Nebraska. Current warnings cover the entire length of this line from DeSmet, SD to Pierce, NE...Along its'...
Friday, June 26, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Severe Weather Potential - June 24
Quick update from the road today as I am returning from a trip to Ames to visit a few friends. Thunderstorms were widespread yesterday as they continued to move in from NE/SD during the early afternoon hours. Although a few tornado warnings were issued, these tornado warnings were for small vorticies...
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Welcome Summer...
Apparently summer did not want to show up until it was officially ready, with Sunday being the first day of summer the state sure has heated up since. High temperatures yesterday ranged from the lower to mid 90s across the entire state, with plenty of moisture across a majority of the state to make...
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Severe Weather Potential - June 21
More of a summer-like pattern has pushed into the central plains, with a weak ridge trying to work into the plains states. This has left us with southwest flow aloft through the state of Iowa, and with a low pressure system working off of the high plains and into Nebraska this morning will set us up...
Friday, June 19, 2009
Iowa Upsets Chasers
Once again the state of Iowa has upset the chasing community with its' lack of cooperation over the past two days. Two straight days of moderate risk, and two straight days of utter disappointment for any storm chaser that was in the state. Both setups featured their own caveats, and both featured...
Severe Weather Threat - June 19
While yesterday turned out to be another cap bust in Iowa that makes all those out-of-state chasers absolutely hate chasing in Iowa, today will definitely not be the same. Must cooler temperatures just above the surface in the lower levels will provide much less of a capping inversion, and with a must...
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Cap Bust??
With 700hPa temperatures in vicinity of the 12C range, the cap over central Iowa is quite strong... And with the ever decreasing convergence along any portion of the state it looks less and less likely that storms will fire before dark. I've decided to slowly work back westward towards home with an...
Chasing Live!!
Currently on Highway 18 just east of Cylinder, IA and will likely continue east towards Algona before sitting and waiting for a bit longer. Parameters look amazing, and once the cap is able to go then we should see very explosive development of supercells capable of significant tornadoes and hail....
Significant Severe Weather - June 18
The updated SPC Day 1 outlook will continue the moderate risk of severe weather across much of northern Iowa and southern Minnesota. There is a significant risk of damaging winds, very large hail, and tornadoes across the area today. In fact, the updated outlook has increased the probability of tornadoes...
Morning Severe
The SPC has issued a new severe thunderstorm watch for northern Iowa as a line of thunderstorms with a history of large hail and damaging winds is moving across northwest Iowa currently and is expected...
Morning Bow Echo
Thunderstorms cleared the state during the overnight hours, but not before providing several reports of hail and damaging winds as well as a tornado report in northeastern Iowa during yesterday evening.Early this morning there is a bow echo that is entering northwest Iowa with the potential for damaging...
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Severe Weather Update #2 - June 17
The weak boundary is responsible for several ongoing tornadic storms over north-central and northeast Iowa as well as southern Minnesota. Currently Chickasaw county has a tornado warned storm that has produced a tornado before within the past hour, and this storm may continue to produce tornadoes as...
Severe Weather Update #1 - June 17
Severe and now tornadic thunderstorms are ongoing with the stronger warm front located along the Kansas/Nebraska border. Additional storms are likely as we continue through the afternoon and eventually congeal into more of a cluster or MCS of storms moving into west-central and southwest Iowa. The...
Severe Weather Potential - June 17
The potential is there for significant severe weather across the western half of Iowa this afternoon and into the overnight hours. All modes of severe weather appear possible, including damaging winds, very large hail, and tornadoes. There are two areas of concern for severe weather today, both of...
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Severe Weather Update #1 - June 16
Although severe weather is not immediately affecting any portion of the state, ongoing and developing thunderstorms appear to be moving towards northwest Iowa and may enter the state in the coming hours. The most immediate danger would appear to effect Plymouth and Sioux counties in Iowa over the next...
Severe Weather Threat - June 16
While some thunderstorms move across parts of central/eastern Iowa this morning, and some lingering showers/cloud cover continue across western Iowa, we are likely to see clearing skies and an increased chance of thunderstorms once again this afternoon/evening and potentially into the overnight hours....
Monday, June 15, 2009
Overnight Thunderstorms
Severe and tornadic thunderstorms continue to move across much of the northern and central plains states. Some of these storms may enter the western portions of Iowa within the next few hours, mainly over southwest Iowa where a Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect. Currently, a line of thunderstorms...
Friday, June 12, 2009
Warming Weekend
After below normal temperatures and an end of the week that was both cool and wet we will begin a weekend that will start us on a warming trend! Rainfall totals across the state appeared heaviest across western Iowa where just over an inch fell in areas such as Sioux City and LeMars. Other areas of...
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
TWISTEX & Other Chasers
Today was forecasted to be another potentially significant day of severe weather with an increased tornado potential across the plains states. Unfortunately for all of the groups out there that are doing research, from my TWISTEX buddies, to VORTEX2, and to all of the other chasers out there, today...
Monday, June 8, 2009
June 7 Tornado/Wind Survey for Dallas/Polk Counties
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The National Weather Service office out of Des Moines issued their public information statement regarding the tornado reports and damaging wind reports that were received as a severe and tornadic thunderstorm...
Another Cool Week
Over the past couple of days I couldn't help but hear people whine about how 'cold' it was across northwest Iowa and adjacent areas that were north of the warm front that sparked off several rounds of thunderstorms. It is always ironic to me how people use the word 'cold' to describe the weather; if...
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Severe Weather Update #2 - June 7
Three storms have formed in vicinity of the warm front across both Iowa and Nebraska, one of which has been tornado warned for over a half-hour now. The tornadic portion of the storm passed just 15 miles south of my previously mentioned virtual target area. This storm has yet to produce a tornado,...
Severe Weather Update #1- June 7
Just a quick update beings I have had a chance to look over the latest mesoscale analysis from the SPC. The warm front is very well defined across Nebraska and Iowa, with strong frontogenesis also occurring across southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa. There is fairly high temperatures at 700hPa which...
Severe Weather - June 7
Once again a warm front will be draped across the plains states, from northern Kansas through southeast Nebraska and then across parts of southern/central Iowa. Areas along and south of this front are likely to see temperatures near/above 80 degrees this afternoon with surface dew points into the lower...
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Severe Weather - June 6
Overnight convection associated with an MCS has continued to move through the state of Iowa this morning, and another cluster of precipitation is also moving across extreme northeast Nebraska and eastern South Dakota as well. This precipitation and its' evolution was a big question mark as to how it...
Friday, June 5, 2009
Severe Weekend Weather!
One of the more impressive setups for severe weather will take place beginning today and continue through the weekend for the northern/central Plains states. A broad western trough has finally moved into position to create southwesterly flow across the high plains today, and will make progress eastward...
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Cooler Weather
Lows over the next few nights will be a ways below normal, while highs struggle and remain just below normal. Overnight lows tonight across the state will range from the lower 40s in the extreme northwest part of the state to the lower 50s across the southeast portions of the state. While partly to...
Monday, June 1, 2009
Weather Update - June 1
Despite a severe thunderstorm watch being issued for portions of southern Iowa, the severe weather threat has never really ramped up due to continue cloud cover and the lack of organized convection. The Storm Prediction Center has chosen to continue the watch over southern Iowa, but it would appear...
Severe Weather Forecast - June 1
Welcome to June! Our first day will be welcomed with a warm front draped across the state, which will trigger afternoon/evening thunderstorms capable of large hail, damaging winds and even a tornado or two! After the cold front slid through parts of the state last night, the front will continue to...
