{"id":19217,"date":"2017-11-09T19:41:59","date_gmt":"2017-11-10T03:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stormbruiser.com\/chase\/?p=19217"},"modified":"2017-11-10T13:08:48","modified_gmt":"2017-11-10T21:08:48","slug":"2017-storm-chase-season-summary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stormbruiser.com\/chase\/2017\/11\/09\/2017-storm-chase-season-summary\/","title":{"rendered":"2017 Storm Chase Season Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"170612_2098_Grover\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Welcome once more to a William Reid chase season summary. \u00a0The spring of 2017 was not a particularly active one with regard to tornadoes and severe weather on the Great Plains. \u00a0As usual, I chased for much of May and June (and the first week of July) as the tour director for Tempest Tours<\/a>. \u00a0There were a couple of 4-to-5-day periods during which I had to head back home to California to work a couple of shifts at my regular job. \u00a0 Fortunately I didn’t miss any big days on the Plains. \u00a0Truth be told, May and June were lame this year.<\/p>\n

There were a few periods during May and June with a trough in the West and nice SW flow aloft over the Plains, but these were rather transitory and short-lived. \u00a0The months seemed to be plagued, for the most part, with W to NW flow aloft and marginal low-level moisture. \u00a0And, for the most part, the days which seemed like they might be big tornado days generally under-performed. \u00a0The kiss-of-death this year was the 10-percent hatched tornado risk as issued by SPC. \u00a0Those days wound up being duds for chasers…or maybe I should say “most chasers.” \u00a0There was, as is bound to happen each spring, one day which was big for many chasers and on which I was not in the right area. \u00a0This was May 18, when I was in SW KS when NW OK had a very nice tornadic supercell.<\/p>\n

The tours and I did well on the other days on which tornadoes were forecastable, chase-able, and highly visible. \u00a0These were May 16 (McLean\/Sayre), June 12 (CO\/WY\/NE triple-point area) and June 28 (southwestern IA and northwestern MO). \u00a0Interestingly, my best three tornado days this year produced tornadoes in seven different states: \u00a0 TX, OK, CO, WY, NE, IA and MO. \u00a0And, on three other chase days, I observed “maybe” or very weak tornadoes in NM, KS, and ND.<\/p>\n

This season I did not chase in MT, MO, MN, AR or LA. \u00a0I was never in chase mode south of I-20, though Tempest ventured deep into south TX and along the Rio Grande in May when I was in L.A. for a few days. \u00a0Here is the breakdown of states and regions chased from about May 1 to July 7 by me. \u00a0Keep in mind that even very low-end chase days with junky storms are counted. \u00a0On days when two states or regions are accessed, I selected the one that the storm started in or was strongest in. \u00a0Down days and re-position days are not counted:<\/p>\n

TX\/OK Panhandles \u00a05<\/p>\n

Eastern NM \u00a06<\/p>\n

Eastern CO \u00a04<\/p>\n

North TX \u00a01<\/p>\n

Oklahoma \u00a03<\/p>\n

Kansas \u00a0 \u00a07<\/p>\n

Nebraska \u00a06<\/p>\n

South Dakota \u00a01<\/p>\n

North Dakota \u00a03<\/p>\n

Iowa 1<\/p>\n

Eastern SD and eastern NE were real duds this season. \u00a0In fact, all of SD was slow. \u00a0The High Plains of NM and the Panhandles kept us busy for much of May. \u00a0I did a solo chase in California’s San Joaquin Valley in March and in western Nevada in July. \u00a0And, my finest moments for lightning photography were on San Nicolas Island on September 10.<\/p>\n

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May 2017 Chases<\/a><\/p>\n

June 2017 Chases<\/a><\/p>\n

July 2017 Chases<\/a><\/p>\n

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The long listing below provides a link to each chase day in 2017, with a sample of the photos that you will find in the chase account.<\/p>\n

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March 21 \u00a0San Joaquin Valley Chase<\/a>\u00a0 Supercell near Chowchilla and a fiery sunset…did I mention that this is in California?<\/p>\n\n\t\t