Happy Holidays (12/8)

Wishing everyone a happy holiday and safe New Year! 2016 is wrapping up and it's been quite a year for storm chasing and traveling for me. As 2016 winds down, I am getting ready for what 2017 may bring.



In the meantime, I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday with friends and family.

Hurricane "Matthew" Chase (10/7)

Hurricane Matthew was intercepted in the Cocoa Beach / Port Canaveral area from October 6 to October 7, 2016. A full chase log is being worked on for this chase! Be sure to check out the latest chase log on hurricane Matthew as well as any other tropical cyclone chases in my STORM CHASING section of this web site.



You can also jump right to that area by clicking the link provided below...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/matt16.htm

Supercells In Kansas (10/4)

A "spot" storm chase was done in Kansas from October 3 to October 5, 2016 in between a busy week, and before a chase of hurricane "Matthew"!



You can also click the link below to jump right to the section for storm chasing in 2016 in the central USA...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/mwcl2016.htm

Hurricane "Hermine" Chase (9/2)

Hurricane Hermine was intercepted in the Florida Panhandle from August 31 through September 2, 2016. Be sure to check out the latest chase log on hurricane Hermine as well as any other tropical cyclone chases in my STORM CHASING section of this web site.



You can also jump right to that area by clicking the link provided below...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/her16.htm

Tornadoes In Illinois (6/22)

A mini storm chase was done locally here in Illinois late in the day on June 22. At least two tornadoes were observed with HP supercells moving across north central Illinois around dusk. In the middle image in the graphic below, a large tornado is lightning illuminated near Seneca Illinois in Lasalle County after dark!



You can also click the link below to jump right to the section for storm chasing in 2016 in the central USA...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/mwcl2016.htm

Hurricane Season 2016 Begins (6/7)

The tropical Atlantic is off to an early jump start with 3 named systems as of June 7, 2016 (with two before the official start of the season). Busy or not, always have a plan for these systems. In the image below, the view of the upper level (sheared) center of tropical storm Colin can be seen while overflying the storm between Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Chicago, Illinois aboard a Boeing 737 at an altitude of at least 35,000 feet during the late afternoon of June 6, 2016.



Be sure to check back my section on Atlantic TROPICAL WEATHER often to see what’s going on in the Atlantic / Eastern Pacific basin as well as any attempts on tropical chases in 2016! You can jump right to that section by clicking the link for it below...

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

Main Chase Trip On May 21-28 (5/30)

My main "expedition" style chase from May 21 through May 28 is completed - And was one of my best chase trips in my storm chasing career! A full chase log, with over 15 tornadoes documented, is now available in the STORM CHASING section of this web-site under MIDWEST 2016 for this and many more chases in 2016.



You can also click the link below to jump right to the section for storm chasing in 2016 in the central USA...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/mwcl2016.htm

OK Tornadic Violence / Chase May 6-9 (5/10)

Just wrapped up yet another chase trip to the Central USA plains from May 6 to May 9, 2016. Tornadoes and supercells were observed on May 7 and 8 in Colorado and Kansas / Oklahoma! In the image below, both the visible satellite and radar image (base reflectivity) is shown for the violent tornadic supercell that occurred north of Sulphur, Oklahoma during the afternoon of May 9. I was NOT chasing this storm (unfortunately) because I had to head back to Chicago that day (travel day) for work the next morning.

The impressive radar presentation (right image) of this storm shows an extremely powerful mesocyclone (velocity is the upper-right inset, and correlation-coefficient in the lower-right inset - Prominently showing the grey-blue "debris" ball) as this storm was producing a potentially violent wedge tornado. The satellite image to the left shows the supercells in Oklahoma firing along the dryline (annotated), including the one in the radar images (circled). Impressive to say the least!



Please check my chase logs in the STORM CHASING section of this web-site under MIDWEST 2016 for this and many more chases in 2016. You can also click the link below to jump right to the section for storm chasing in 2016 in the central USA...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/mwcl2016.htm

Storm Chase Trip Apr 25-28 (4/28)

Another chase trip to the Central USA plains was done from April 25 to 28, 2016. Two tornadoes were observed in two of three severe thunderstorms in Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. Please check my chase logs in the STORM CHASING section of this web-site under MIDWEST 2016 for this and many more chases in 2016.



You can also click the link below to jump right to the section for storm chasing in 2016 in the central USA...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/mwcl2016.htm

Successful Chase Trip Apr 14-17 (4/17)

A great chase trip to the Central USA plains was done from April 14 to 17, 2016. This included a flight into Denver, Colorado and a trip into the TX / OK panhandles where 4 tornadoes and a Colorado snowstorm were observed! Please check my chase logs in the STORM CHASING section of this web-site under MIDWEST 2016 for this and many more chases in 2016.



You can also click the link below to jump right to the section for storm chasing in 2016 in the central USA...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/mwcl2016.htm

First Major Storm Chase In 2016 (3/15)

The first major storm chase was done on March 15, 2016 in west-central Illinois from near Carthage to Peoria. Three tornadoes were observed with two supercell storms intercepted during the late afternoon. This marks the start of the 2016 chase season logs for this web-site in the Midwest / Central USA. Please check my chase logs in the STORM CHASING section of this web-site under MIDWEST 2016 for this and many more chases in 2016.



You can also click the link below to jump right to the section for storm chasing in 2016 in the central USA...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/mwcl2016.htm

Trip To Vietnam Completed (3/12)

I spent about two weeks in Vietnam with a tour group (during late February to early March) visiting various regions of that country (including the Mekong Delta, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), De Nang, and Hue. Please check out my special section on this trip in the OUTDOORS section of this website with a title on that page for VIETNAM / ASIA PICTURES pictures.



You can also click the link below to jump right to the section for the 2017 eclipse...

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

Happy New Year 2016 (1/11/2016)

Another year is upon us as we enter 2016. Winter is in full swing up north, which is not a surprise, until you look in the far eastern North Atlantic. Hurricane "Alex" formed on January 13 and moved into the Azores a day later packing winds over 80 MPH.



Hurricanes in the Atlantic basin in January are extremely rare, but can happen given the right conditions. Happy new year to all.

First Major Winter Storm In Midwest (11/21)

The first major snow storm (named "Bella" by TWC) affected the Midwestern USA mainly on November 21, 2015. This storm dumped up to 16 inches of snow over a rather narrow path, with my area in the NW Chicago suburbs being close to the maximum swath of this storm.



This was a heavy and wet snowfall that made for a very pretty winter scene, with many trees flocked with the wet snow (left). In the center is the lakefront in Chicago, battered by large waves from the storm. However, this was away (a mere 20 miles) from the snow swath, and notice there is not even a dusting of snow there! Meanwhile, back in the northwest suburbs (right picture), a bench is deeply covered in the "white stuff" after the storm.

Last Storm Chase Of 2015 (11/11)

The last chase of 2015 for me was a local chase in Iowa southeast of Des Moines on November 11, 2015. This was a small chase with a possible rain wrapped tornado observed near Hiteman, Iowa. You can see more details about this chase in my STORM CHASING section of my website under MIDWEST 2015.



You can also click the link below to jump right to the section for storm chasing in 2015 in the central USA...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/mwcl2015.htm

Hurricane Season 2015 Winding Down (11/10)

The Atlantic season will end on November 30, 2015 on a rather quiet note (with no activity as of 11/10). Once again, no major hurricanes affected the mainland USA, with Florida (as well as the rest of the USA) going over a FULL DECADE since a major hurricane strike (winds 111 MPH and higher). The strongest storm in the Atlantic was Joaquin (left image), reaching strong category 4 status in early October 2015, but did not affect any land. The Pacific basin painted a much more grim and violent picture.



With hurricane Patricia (center) in late October being the most powerful tropical system ever observed in the W Hemisphere with sustained winds over 205 MPH (later weakening to 160 MPH before hitting a sparsely populated area of the Mexican coast). A barrage of typhoons also affected the Asian / western Pacific region, such as the near annular storm pictured to the right off Taiwan in late September 2015.

Independence Boogie Near Rochelle IL (7/3)

The annual Independence Boogie is held each year near Rochelle, Illinois at the Chicago Skydiving Center. This year was the first time I attended the event, and it was a blast. Many people attended and aircraft to skydive from ranged from a Skyvan and Otter to a helicopter and hot air balloon.



Be sure to check out my section on SKYDIVING on this web site, as some video of both the raft and balloon jump is featured for this event! You can also jump to the skydiving section by clicking the link for it below...

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

Storm Chasing In Illinois (6/22)

Storm chase season for Spring of 2015 is slowly winding down as we are now officially into Summer 2015. The storm chasing operations led to a successful chase season for the most part (especially in the very start and very end of the season)! The image below was taken near Illinois City, IL on June 22, 2015 and shows a cyclic HP supercell storm producing its second tornado.



Keep up with storm chasing 2015 and many other chases by checking out the STORM CHASING section of my website under MIDWEST 2015. You can also click the link below to jump right to the section for storm chasing in 2015 in the central USA...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/mwcl2015.htm

Violent-Start To 2015 Chase Season (4/9)

Storm chase season is upon us as we are officially in spring 2015. A major tornado intercept was done in Illinois on April 9 at the conclusion of a mini chase trip in Kansas on April 8. The image below is from the deadly and violent (EF-4 strength on the enhanced Fujita scale with winds near 200 MPH) wedge tornado that struck two small towns north of Rochelle, Illinois late on April 9, 2015, killing two people and injuring dozens others.



A full chase log is available for this chase and others to come for 2015 in the STORM CHASING section of my website under MIDWEST 2015. You can also click the link below to jump right to the section for this chase trip to the central USA...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/mwcl2015.htm

New Year 2015 And Storm Chaser Convention (2/15/2015)

It's a new year and I have been extremely busy working up here in the Chicago area for over a year now. I apologize for the lack of updates. The storm chaser convention in Denver, or "ChaserCon", was attended in February 13th until the 15th this year.



More information on this yearly event can be seen in the STORM CHASING EVENTS section of my web site. You can also clicking the link provided for it below...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/picnic15.htm