No Hurricanes & My Mom Gone (9/30)

The tropical Atlantic remains a MAJOR and DISGUSTING "disappointment" (from a "chasing" perspective. There were little or NO "Cape Verde" season as we head out of September and into October. Shear and dry air is the norm ... So I ain't got much to say about any hurricane chases this year, and this really is "painful" after losing my mom ...



... My mother, Geraldine Collura, has passed away on Thursday Night, September 12, 2013 at 11:26 PM EDT at age 71. Services will be held at Our Lady of Mercy Church on Military trail in Deerfield Beach, FL on October 3, 2013 (Thursday). She did nothing but put inspiration and guidance throught my childnood up until now. This has been a VERY though month - God bless HER ... And "screw" 'September 2013'!

My Mom Passes Away (9/12)

My mother, Geraldine Collura, has passed away on Thursday Night, September 12, 2013 at 11:26 PM EDT at age 71. Since early June 2010, she fought lung cancer that spread to her brain, causing seizures. She refused any chemotherapy - And radiation / surgery earned her nearly three and a half years of quality time on this planet. During the week of September 1, 2013 she needed chemotherapy as some of the cancer came back. That was the last weekend (after skydiving) when I hugged her and felt a feeling that told me something bad was going to happen ... Leaving in tears. She got a cold later on the following week, and shortly after, on September 6 (that Friday) was in the hospital (North Broward Medical Center in Pompano Beach, FL) with a pneumonia. On Saturday, she slid into a rapid descent with her health, entering a coma and her vitals completely shutting down, starting with the kidneys.



The last words she said was "mom..." (my grandmother). She continued on on life support and had no responses to anything in terms of improvement. Late on Thursday, September 12, she was removed from life support and brought into hospice where she passed away rather quickly, and peacefully, at 11:26 PM local time. This was very difficult - She was the closest person in my life EVER - And now she's gone. I guess God has her in his hands now... I will miss her so much. A memorial web page will be constructed for her as well soon.

TS Andrea (6/6)

The first tropical system of 2013, tropical storm Andrea, was intercepted in NW Florida north of Tampa on June 6, 2013! More information about this chase and many others can be seen in the STORM CHASING section of my web site.



You can go right to the chase log for tropical storm Andrea at the link for it below.

http://www.sky-chaser.com/andrea13.htm

El Reno Violent Tornado Tribute (6/2)

We have lost three fantastic storm chasers and friends of mine and many others - Tim and Paul Samaras, and Carl Young - Perished on Friday, May 31, 2013 in the violent El Reno, Oklahoma tornado while they trying to document it. These three were the cutting-edge of the storm chasing community and our hearts and prayers will always go out to them and their family.


THE CITIES OF MOORE OKLAHOMA AND EL RENO HAVE SUSTAINED SIGNIFICANT TORNADO DAMAGE ... BOTH TORNADOES RATED EF-5 WITH THE EL RENO TORNADO BEING 2.6 MILES WIDE WITH 296 MPH CORE FLOW WINDS ... THREE GREAT CHASERS HAVE BEEN LOST ... PLEASE KEEP OKLAHOMA IN YOUR HEARTS AND PRAYERS



In addition to these three, the El Reno EF-5 tornado claimed more lives in the city itself - This was a dark and tragic day to say the least - With the tornado itself not only rated EF-5 (the strongest on the enhanced Fujita scale of tornadoes), but was an awe inspiring 2.6 miles wide with winds in its core at least 296 MPH! The El Reno, Okhaloma tornado is the widest / largest tornado in US history.

A documentary video of this extreme tornado event, as well as myself being nearly killed in it, has been provided at the link below!

http://www.sky-chaser.com/m14vid2.htm

Chase Expedition 2013 (6/2)

My main yearly chase "expedition" trip to the central USA was from May 18 through June 2 for a full 16 days of storm chasing! Storm activity was extremely active during this period in mid-late May!



Be sure to check my STORM CHASING section for MIDWEST 2013 on this site as the chase trip is completed and my log has been updated. You can also go right to that area by clicking the link that is provided below.

http://www.sky-chaser.com/mwcl2013.htm

Severe Storm Season 2013 (5/9)

The severe weather season of 2013 is upon us and I am getting ready to not only chase local storms in Florida, but head to the Central USA towards late May anticipating an active pattern after a slow start to May 2013!



The picture above shows an anticyclonic funnel cloud, rotating clockwise, over Miami-Dade county in South Florida on the afternoon of May 9, 2013. See my chase logs for 2013 in my STORM CHASING section of this site, plus many others, or jump to the link for it below.

http://www.sky-chaser.com/stplog4.htm

First 2013 Chase (4/10)

The first chase trip of the 2013 season was done from April 6 through the 10 in the central USA. Numerous supercells and some small tornadoes were observed during this trip, especially in Kansas and Colorado from April 7th through the 9th.



A chase log is now ready in my STORM CHASING section of my website under MIDWEST CHASES FOR 2013. A direct link has been provided as well below.

http://www.sky-chaser.com/mwcl2013.htm

"Niagara Faller" Project (3/23)

This was a rather cool attempt to send a GoPro camera, mounted on a custom designed "platform" that was tethered with a 100' rope for retrieval, over the edge of Niagara Falls in late March of 2013. Two GoPro cameras were used in two attempts, with the first one having its case damaged from water impact, but the second one successfully retrieved (barely) after going over the edge.



A section on this has been provided in my OUTDOORS section of this side, and a link for it has been provided below.

http://www.sky-chaser.com/outdoors.htm
Please visit the LINK BELOW for a POV Video of the camera as it reaches the edge ofg the falls!

http://www.sky-chaser.com/outnfpv1.htm

ChaserCon 2013 (2/17)

The National Storm Chaser Convention, or "ChaserCon" in Denver, Colorado was again attended during the weekend of February 15-17, after a 2 week trip to California ... This continued to be another fantastic yearly event that brought in storm chasers from all over the US (and beyond) to collaborate in a three-day event in the mile-high city.



You can also jump right to the area for storm chasing events in 2013, including the storm chaser convention, by clicking the link provided for it below ...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/picnic13.htm.

Sexual Abuse Is Never OK (1/1/2013)

Happy new year to all ... Do you know that child / sexual abuse is REAL - And January is the month where child abuse occurs the most? This is a horiffic and sad part of many lives unfortunate to have to cope with this, and it's after effects.



This is a BIG problem that goes virtually un-noticed until the unfortunate victim suffers many years later. More on this subject, including MY personal experience with such abuse, can be seen at the link below.

http://www.sky-chaser.com/america.htm

Sandy Hook Shooting (12/14)

No words can describe the horrific tragedy that happened at the small Sandy Hook elementary school on December 14, 2012. For someone to do this is beyond words - All we can do is pray for these HIGHLY unfortunate victims and hope for some changes in the way people live their lives with such violent intentions.



I cannot comment anymore on this - Sigh (why KIDS?) - Seeing even our US president crying was a bit too much. Sometimes I really wonder where the fine line between God and the "Devil" really exists. More information on such tragic events, as well as the state of the USA, can be seen at the link below.

http://www.sky-chaser.com/america.htm

Hurricane Season Ends (12/3)

The hurricane season for the 2012 Atlantic basin had ENDED as of November 30, 2012. Meanwhile, far away, the Pacific typhoon season rages on with super Typhoon "Bopha" that slammed ashore in the SE Philippines on December 3, packing 160 MPH sustained winds with higher gusts! The Atlantic hurricane season was a pretty busy season, with a total of 19 named storms (up to the "T" storm "Tony"), and the storms "Isaac" and (ofcourse) "Sandy" being the most devastating.



Now we are officially in the "off season" for storm chasing in this part of the world, with winter setting in, and time for the holidays. Plans are underway for 2013, and the trip for "chasercon" (National Storm Chaser Convention in Colorado) has been already booked for February 2013. Details for the national storm chaser convention can be seen at the link below.

http://www.chasercon.com

Hurricane Sandy Effects (10/28)

Hurricane Sandy was observed (indirectly) during its closest approach to the eastern coastal sections of the state of Florida as well. Some of the destructive marine effects were also observed from this storm. Sandy began as a tropical wave that entered the eastern Caribbean early during the week of October 22, 2012. The storm intensified to a tropical storm, then a hurricane, crossing Jamaica and eastern Cuba as a strong Category one hurricane. The storm passed through the eastern Bahamas as a category two storm before merging with an upper air low around October 25. This caused the hurricane to acquire subtropical characteristics, with a very wide wind field that expanded as the storm winds decreased to category one speeds while off the SE US coast.



The storm produced tropical storm forced winds in Florida during its closest approach, and battered the region with very high waves. The waves, surge, and winds continued to expand in coverage from October 28 onward, with the storm passing east of Cape Hattaras and making a left turn back to the NW as it became a 90 MPH extratropical storm just off New Jersey on October 29. The storm made landfall later that same day causing extensive flooding and wave damage to New England and the eastern Seaboard from Florida to Canada! The storm continued inland, as a post-tropical storm, and caused snow and blizzard conditions in West Virginia areas. Observations of this dangerous storm system were mainly coastal and fringe effects of the winds as it passed Florida. The chase / observation logs for Sandy are also available at the link below.

http://sky-chaser.com/sandy12.htm

Typhoon Sanba (9/15)

With the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific tropical seasons struggling to generate a strong hurricane, a different scenario of violence unfolds a half-a-world away in the Western Pacific with Typhoon "Samba". Formerly a category 5 storm, with 170+ MPH sustained winds (gusts over 205 MPH), the storm slammed ashore during the morning of September 15, 2012 on the small island of Okinawa.



Although far away, I know some storm chasers in that area who were there, mainly James Reynolds who lives in Hong Kong. As of the morning (local time), the eastern portion of Okinawa can be seen looking down through the vertical structure of the clear eye, and I can only wonder what anyone there saw (a "stadium effect"? Fog? No wind?) ... The storm came in at 120 MPH sustained winds - Very impressive indeed!

Hurricane Isaac (8/29)

The image below shows Hurricane Isaac near Lake Ponchatrain just east of New Orleans, Louisiana during the morning of August 29, 2012. The storm caused an estimated 3 billion dollars in damages and at least 44 deaths as it travelled from the eastern Caribbean to the central United States. Maximum winds were up to 80 MPH as a hurricane in Louisiana.



The chase logs on Tropical Storm Isaac in the lower FL Keys on August 26 as well as Hurricane Isaac in the northern Gulf coastal states on August 28-29 are available in the TROPICAL section of the STORM CHASING page on my web site. You can also go right to the section on Isaac via the link for it below.

http://sky-chaser.com/isaac12.htm

Tropical August Begins (8/6)

The tropical Atlantic is started to get busy as we headed into the second week of (early) August 2012. There were tropical storms Ernesto, Florence, and Gordon. Ernesto became a hurricane near Mexico and the other two remained far out at sea.



Hurricane Ernesto moved into the southern portions of the Yucatan Peninsula as a category one hurricane during the late night of Aug 7-8. The night landfall discouraged any chasing of Ernesto (only chaser Josh M from California went there for it). Ernesto weakened in Mexico, but eventually crossed into the eastern Pacific, forming tropical storm Hector. The other two storms, Florence and Gordon, affected only the open north Atlantic and bothered no one as they remained well out to sea (what hurricane chasers call a "fish storm").

Be sure to keep up to date with any tropical activity in the TROPICS section in my STORM CHASING area of my web site. You can also go right to that area (for tropical activity) via the link for it below.

http://www.sky-chaser.com/tropics.htm

Sad USA Moments (7/21)

Simply going to 'dinner and a movie' became far more dangerous in Colorado this week (as of July 20) than skydiving in the eye of a hurricane (statistically that is)! The PERSON who did this is a pure MONSTER, evil as much as (if not MORE than) a terrorist.




This composite image above shows the flags at my skydiving facility at half mast, overlaid to a stock image of INNOCENT folks at a movie - I HOPE this gets some sort of message across. God bless us all, we all will NEED it. For more information on the SAD situation here in the USA, please see my section on AMERICA, which is also available at the link below (make sure you have the 'Kleenex' handy)!

http://www.sky-chaser.com/america.htm

Tropical Storm "Debby" (6/25)

Tropical storm "Debby" formed in the NE Gulf Of Mexico on June 24. This was the FOURTH named tropical cyclone of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. In the image below, the "topside" of TS Debby can be seen from a high-flying commercial airliner (en-route from Toronto to Miami) at nearly 43,000 feet!


In the next image below, the storm can be seen as of June 26 as it was about to cross N Florida as a weak tropical storm / depression.



No intercept was done on the storm because of its weak structure. Debby caused severe flooding in Northern Florida, as well as some tornadoes on June 24 in other parts of the state. 2012 has got off to an extremely busy start, with four named storms before the end of June! Keep track of any tropical systems and hurricanes (and plans to chase them) with via the link for it below.

http://www.sky-chaser.com/tropics.htm

Hurricane "Chris" (6/22)

You would think the THIRD named tropical storm (and the FIRST hurricane) of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season would have my name (tropical storm / hurricane "Chris") on it and be something to chase? Nope, another storm far from any land and a weak system that churned away in the far north Atlantic, but became a hurricane (briefly) on June 21-22. The 2012 tropical season has got off to a busy start, with two named systems BEFORE June 1 (the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season) forming in the Atlantic basin.



Tropical storm Chris, the third named storm of the season, formed in the north Atlantic on June 19, 2012. It bothered no one as it remained well out to sea (what hurricane chasers call a "fish storm"). The storm managed to reach hurricane Intensity on June 21, making it the first minimal hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic season.

Be sure to keep up to date with any tropical activity in the TROPICS section in my STORM CHASING area of my web site. You can also go right to that area (for tropical activity) via the link for it below.

http://www.sky-chaser.com/tropics.htm

Chase Expedition 2012 (6/2)

My main storm chasing trip from May 19 to June 2 is completed. The first couple of days was spent observing the annular eclipse (May 20) in New Mexico and some up-slope storms there a day later. During the following week and a half, I intercepted many supercell storms, even seeing the northern lights in North Dakota on May 22 after chasing there! May 25 in Kansas was un-reachable by me and several other chase teams due to chasing too far in Wisconsin on May 24. This was probably WOULD have been the best chase day of my trip.



My tough lesson learned from this is to give up on anything moving east of the Mississippi River and re-position back west. The trip lasted until June 2, with some of the largest hail I ever seen in my life observed wrapping around a tornado on May 29 in Oklahoma. The trip is completed, and a full chase log (including some picture of the annular eclipse) on it can be seen in my STORM CHASING section for MIDWEST 2012 on my web site. You can also go right to that area by clicking the link that is provided below.

http://www.sky-chaser.com/mwcl2012.htm