{"id":6352,"date":"2012-01-05T02:35:30","date_gmt":"2012-01-05T10:35:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stormbruiser.com\/chase\/?p=6352"},"modified":"2012-01-09T14:45:26","modified_gmt":"2012-01-09T22:45:26","slug":"2011-chase-season-summary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stormbruiser.com\/chase\/2012\/01\/05\/2011-chase-season-summary\/","title":{"rendered":"2011 Chase Season Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is time again for a chase season summary.\u00a0 I recently completed my final chase account on Stormbruiser for my 2011 May\/June\/early July storm chase season on the Plains, and the wrap-up is below.\u00a0 A companion Stormbruiser post contains some of the top images for Chase 2011<\/a> with links to the specific chase days.\u00a0 Keep in mind the following is my own personal perspective on the chase season, and is from someone who directs storm chase tours for most of May and June and the first week of July.\u00a0 If a region had good chasing in March or April, you might not learn about that here because I didn’t start chasing until early May!<\/p>\n

There were a handful of very major tornado events in the United States during the spring.\u00a0 The tornado outbreak in MS and AL was in late April, a week before the beginning of my first chase tour for Tempest Tours<\/a>.\u00a0 A violent tornado mauled Joplin, Missouri, on May 22.\u00a0 Our tour was on the storm early on, near Parsons, KS, but we were out of position to catch the Joplin tornado later.\u00a0 We managed to view a large tornado later in the evening a county or two south of Joplin.\u00a0 Two days later we busted in northern OK during an outbreak closer to I-40 in OK, but we made up for it the next day in Missouri.\u00a0 So, the chase season offered several opportunities for chasers to capture amazing and dramatic tornado and severe storm footage and images.\u00a0 However, the bulk of the big stuff was shunted eastward away from the western and central Great Plains in marginal chase terrain.<\/p>\n

I would characterize my personal chase season and chase success in 2011 as about average to a little below average.\u00a0 The day that sticks in my craw the most is May 24th in OK.\u00a0 If I had played that one better then I would probably have a much better feeling about 2011.\u00a0 Nevertheless, I can’t really point to any other day and say that I really messed up, and overall I thought that my chase decision-making was very good.\u00a0 Oh, yes — one other big tornado day for many chasers was June 20 in northern KS and southern NE, but this was during my week off.\u00a0 It happens every year!<\/p>\n

Outside of the above-mentioned big events, the prime-time chase period of early May to about July 5th was not bountiful tornado-wise.\u00a0 The first three weeks of May were poor to very poor.\u00a0 The big week was May 19 to May 25.\u00a0 The final week of May was generally slow, the first two weeks of June were mixed.\u00a0 I didn’t chase from June 12 to June 20 (when there were a couple excellent chase days), and the period from June 21 to July 5 was generally a little poorer-than-normal with respect to tornadoes and spectacular supercells.\u00a0 For the season, I took only a few tornado images, and I didn’t get any GOOD tornado images!\u00a0 This is in stark contrast to 2010, when photogenic tornadoes were nearby on several occasions.\u00a0 Fortunately, I had a generally good season with the camera due to a number of amazing and colorful stormy sunset shoots.<\/p>\n

Spring and summer on the Plains were dominated by a large and warm upper-level high in the vicinity of TX and NM.\u00a0 This feature suppressed storminess on the Southern Plains and caused persistent hot to very hot weather south of Interstate 40.\u00a0 Severe weather was very infrequent south of I-40 after the first of May.\u00a0 In addition, the High Plains region was drier than normal this spring south of the Cheyenne Ridge and I-80.\u00a0 Thus, the bulk of my chases were on the Central and Northern Plains, near or east of U.S. 83 (which runs from Bismarck to Pierre to North Platte to Liberal).<\/p>\n

I was on the Plains and generally in chase mode or able to chase for 56 days, from May 2 to June 11 and June 21 to July 5.\u00a0 Some of these days were “change-over” days between tours, but, fortunately, there were no missed big chase days because of tour logistics.\u00a0 The season breaks down thusly:<\/p>\n

Great chase days — 4<\/p>\n

Good chase days — 20<\/p>\n

Junky chase days — 9<\/p>\n

Busts — 5<\/p>\n

No chase and\/or no storms — 18<\/p>\n

The great chase days for me were May 21, 22 and 25, and June 11.\u00a0 A great chase day is typically one with a long-lived tornado and\/or exceptional supercell.\u00a0 A good chase day falls short of being a great chase day usually because there was no tornado or drop-dead gorgeous structure, but the general feel of the chase and the storms is positive.\u00a0 A junky chase day is a dud chase day.\u00a0 It means that there were storms to observe, but they were generally weak or failed to impress, and the photo opportunities were not\u00a0 good enough to salvage the day.\u00a0 A bust day is one where there seemed to be good severe potential, but either:\u00a0 a) I missed the good storm(s) for some reason, such as a poor forecast or poor chase decision, or\u00a0 b) the atmosphere did not cooperate and there was little or nothing to actually see or chase. \u00a0 Many junky chase days might be considered busts. \u00a0 For the “no chase or no storms” category, there might have been something happening somewhere on the Plains, but, if there was, it was considered too distant and\/or un-chase-worthy logistically to consider.\u00a0 About half of these 18 days were due to tour group change-overs, but, again, I didn’t miss much on these occasions…unless you count June 20, when I was stuck in Denver to start a tour the next morning!<\/p>\n

So, as you can see, less than half of my available chase days were good or great for 2011.<\/p>\n

Let’s look at where I did and did not chase in 2011 and how the Tornado Alley states rated:<\/p>\n

TX —- amazingly awful.\u00a0 I drove through TX on May 2 and 3 to pick up the van for my first tour out of OKC on May 4, and there was no moisture.\u00a0 My only storm chase in TX was northwest of Fort Worth on May 12, when a small supercell persisted long enough to make it a “good” chase day.\u00a0 We headed to West TX from OKC on May 16 because it looked like the next day might be good that way, but on the morning of the 17th it was obvious that that would not be the case.\u00a0 There was a big hail event in West Texas and far eastern NM on May 31, but our group was up in NE and SD and not able to get there.\u00a0 An impressive supercell or two skirted through the northeastern TX Panhandle on June 11, but we were on a supercell near Liberal, KS.\u00a0 There were a few days with tornadoes in central and eastern TX towards the end of April, but the remainder of the spring was generally hot and dry and storm-free for the state.<\/p>\n

NM — amazingly awful.\u00a0 Eastern NM and the TX Panhandle region and southwest TX suffered from drought conditions from late winter into summer, 2011.\u00a0 It was not a place for storm chasers to be outside of one or two days, perhaps.\u00a0 I did not target NM on any chase days, and I was only in the state during my drive from CA to TX on May 1.<\/p>\n

CO — very poor.\u00a0 Decent low-level moisture from lower-elevation areas to the east made very few forays into eastern CO.\u00a0 The Plains of eastern CO were generally dry and local moisture sources were distant.\u00a0 Days with dew points above 50F were few, storms were high-based, and tornado threat was persistently very low.\u00a0 I usually favor the High Plains versus the lower Plains when there is a choice, but this year I stayed away from the High Plains unless it was the only game or it was logistically convenient.\u00a0 I was not in CO until June 5, when we observed some junky cells near Eads while on our way from OKC to the western Dakotas.\u00a0 The two final tours were out of Denver, and we were bailing north out of the state at the beginning of both tours!\u00a0 I had one good chase day in CO (June 27), thanks to a pretty high-based supercell on the Palmer Divide.\u00a0 On June 11 some chasers targeted southeastern CO and found an interesting supercell near Pritchett, but we played a little farther east, in the central OK Panhandle, where moisture was a bit better.<\/p>\n

WY — poor.\u00a0 Like eastern CO, eastern WY found quality low-level moisture a rare commodity.\u00a0 My first visit was on June 6 on the way to MT and SD. \u00a0 I had three good chase days in eastern WY in late June and early July.<\/p>\n

MT — poor.\u00a0 I targeted southeastern MT on two occasions.\u00a0 On June 23 we found a decent cell near the WY\/MT border northwest of Sheridan.\u00a0 On June 6th I was in Gillette, WY, and was contemplating a run towards Billings.\u00a0 The tornado threat was a bit too marginal to commit that far west, especially since the next day’s target was up towards southeastern ND.\u00a0 We wound up with some so-so stuff northeast of Rapid City, and there was a tornado at dusk north of Billings.<\/p>\n

OK — fair.\u00a0 The OK chase season was severely diminished by the nearby persistent high pressure dome over TX after April.\u00a0 I had a junky chase near Woodward on May 18, a good chase with a small tornado near Okeene on May 23, and a bust near Medford on May 24 (a good day to forget entirely).\u00a0 We busted near Enid on May 28, bit we were there only because our tour had just begun out of OKC.\u00a0 My big OK day was actually on June 11, when a nasty supercell was observed in the OK Panhandle southwest and south of Liberal.\u00a0 I saw no storms in OK thereafter.\u00a0 So, on just four days this season was OK a target state for me, and only a couple of these OK chases were worthwhile.\u00a0 On May 22, the strong tornado that we observed from near Southwest City, MO, actually began well to the west, near Grove, OK, and was in OK for most of the time that we were observing it.\u00a0 Several photogenic tornadoes swept through southwestern OK on November 7.<\/p>\n

KS — fair.\u00a0 The better upper flow and reasonably cool air aloft in May and June were generally north of I-70, so I spent many days in KS.\u00a0 I show about 8 chase days this year with a target in KS, but about half of these days were duds.\u00a0 May 22 began in southeast KS and ended with the big tornado at Southwest City.\u00a0 The day prior featured a spectacular supercell at Topeka, KS.\u00a0 Three Kansas days were noteworthy for amazingly colorful and stormy-sky sunsets:\u00a0 May 19 at Rozel (west of Larned), May 20 at St. Leo (west of Kingman), and June 3 at Angelus (north of Grinnell).\u00a0 June 20 was big in north-central KS for some chasers, as was May 24 in central KS, but I was elsewhere.<\/p>\n

NE — poor.\u00a0 Nebraska was my target state on about a half dozen days, and I witnessed a tornado in the extreme northwest NE Panhandle on May 9.\u00a0 We saw a handful of dusty gustnado\/tornado hybrids near Kearney on May 30, and had a woeful murky chase of a fairly significant supercell on June 26.\u00a0 Outside of these, there was little fun to be had in the Big Red State.\u00a0 NE would have been upgraded to “fair” had I been able to chase June 19 and 20, I figure.<\/p>\n

SD and ND and, heck, let’s throw MN in, too — poor.\u00a0 On many chase seasons, magnificent storms in the Dakotas can salvage an otherwise poor-to-mediocre season.\u00a0 Not this year.\u00a0 We had to head to Presho, SD, on May 8 to find a nice supercell, and returned to SD on June 2, June 6, June 25, June 30, July 1 and July 4, with a mix of dud and good days.\u00a0 Perhaps the most significant chase for me in SD was July 1, when a long-lived tornadic supercell went up near Spencer.\u00a0 We caught it near Colton, but it was already a messy HP.\u00a0 It outraced us into MN, where it caused damage on a path all of the way to Duluth!\u00a0 That was my only day in MN.\u00a0 I was in ND on just one day, June 7th, for a so-so fast-moving supercell on the southwest side of the surface low.\u00a0 Tornado count for the Dokotas — zero.\u00a0 A handful of good tornado days made some chasers very happy in the Dakotas later in July, while I was recovering on the Malibu beach.<\/p>\n

IA — poor.\u00a0 I chase Iowa as a last resort, or on obviously big days which do not look big farther west.\u00a0 The only day when IA was considered was June 8, but logistics and marginal tornado threat along a front through sw IA kept me from darting eastward from Council Bluffs.\u00a0 The cap held in our ultimate target area around the MO\/NE\/KS\/IA area, unfortunately.\u00a0 No big tornado days in Iowa come to mind this year, at least while I was in chase mode!<\/p>\n

MO — very good.\u00a0 Much like Iowa, I avoid Missouri — even more-so!\u00a0 The trees and uneven terrain and grim road network in much of MO make chasing more dangerous and less-than-fun.\u00a0 I chased in MO on three days, and two of these featured large, long-lived tornadoes!\u00a0 These were on May 22 and 25.\u00a0 The chase into nw MO on June 9 was not too good.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere — fortunately, I was not pulled into the jungles of AR and LA or the Corn Belt farmlands of WI, IL and IN this season.\u00a0 Our tour group chased as far south as the Fort Worth area, as far west as Sheridan, WY, and Castle Rock, CO, as far north as I-94 between Bismarck and Jamestown, ND, and as far east as Poplar Bluff, MO.\u00a0 It was out of the ordinary that the tour and I were never in central or southwest TX, never in NM, and had no decent chases on the Plains of CO.\u00a0 We were in SK for four days in early July in 2010, but Canada did not beckon in 2011.<\/p>\n

Finally, since I was not in chase mode from June 12 to June 20, I should mention where Brian Morganti and the Tempest group<\/a> chased during this time frame:<\/p>\n

June 12\u00a0 — return to OKC for next tour group (a few tornadoes in sw ND)<\/p>\n

June 13 — marginal storms west of\u00a0 Emporia, KS (tornadic cell in Cherry County, NE)<\/p>\n

June 14 — generally junky cap bust in nw MO<\/p>\n

June 15 — nw KS pretty high-based supercells<\/p>\n

June 16 — outflowing HP supercell along I-70 in eastern CO<\/p>\n

June 17 — pretty supercell south of Limon, CO\u00a0 (Brian is making up for my lack of CO chases)<\/p>\n

June 18 — nice tornadic supercell near Arkansas City, KS, then back to OKC to conclude tour<\/p>\n

June 19 — amazing sculpted supercell in sw NE near Cambridge<\/p>\n

June 20 — headed to Denver and could not chase nc KS\/sc NE tornadic supercells<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you are interested in a storm chase tour with me and Tempest Tours, then please send me and e-mail (bill@stormbruiser.com) and\/or visit<\/p>\n

tempesttours.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Here is a link<\/a> to a nice review by one of our recent tour guests, Tom Trott.\u00a0 Be sure to check out Tom’s photo galleries at capturingadventure.com<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is time again for a chase season summary.\u00a0 I recently completed my final chase account on Stormbruiser for my 2011 May\/June\/early July storm chase… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[44,27],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6352","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-44","7":"category-chase-season-summary","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/stormbruiser.com\/chase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/stormbruiser.com\/chase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/stormbruiser.com\/chase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stormbruiser.com\/chase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stormbruiser.com\/chase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6352"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/stormbruiser.com\/chase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6473,"href":"http:\/\/stormbruiser.com\/chase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6352\/revisions\/6473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/stormbruiser.com\/chase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stormbruiser.com\/chase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stormbruiser.com\/chase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}