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May 22, 2004 – Chase in Northern IL

I had predicted this day to be a big outbreak since February, yet everyone laughed at me. What would cause me to make such a bold precise statement like this so far in advance? Cubs/Cards tickets of course! Yes, being a lifelong Cubs fan and never had a chance to visit Wrigley was just too much for me to take. A friend of mine had somehow secured some tickets the day they went on sale in February. I made a prediction that on May 22, 2004 there would be a super outbreak in the midwest. So wouldn’t you know it, 2 months later and there’s an outbreak setup in the making. The morning Day 1 outlook had parts of NE/IA in a moderate risk. (later upgraded to a high risk) Some would call it irony, others would blame it on the many curses of the Cubs. I have a few choice words for it myself, but will refrain from using them at this time. 🙂

To make matters worse, the forecast for the game was not looking good. Radar was showing 2 bands of showers and thunderstorms heading right for Chicago. Due to the realistic chance that it might get rained out, I decided to drive my vehicle up just in case a chase presented itself to me. We loaded up and headed north to Chicago on I-57. My friends thought it was funny that some people were slowing down behind me because they thought I was a cop due to all the antennas on my car. (it’s kinda funny and annoying at the same time!) Anywho, as we got up to Chicago, the sun was out and the skies were partly cloudy. While we were wasting time, I got a text message on my phone regarding a severe thunderstorm watch that just happened to include Champaign. (it never fails!) Anywho, not wanting to drive all of our vehicles into the heart of Chicago, we dropped them off at one of their relative’s houses in Forest View, IL.

We managed to find a parking lot just a few blocks from Wrigley Field which was pretty amazing given the time and amount of people in the area already. As soon as we got out of the vehicle, it started raining. (oh boy, here we go) It was a very light rain and didn’t last too long. We made our way to our seats and my jaw dropped as I experienced Wrigley Field’s awesome environment for the first time. I really wish I would have brought my camera in with me, but I was worried that it would get dropped or some idiot would spill beer on it. It rained for a little bit during the middle of the game, but it was very light and provided a slight breeze to the area. Throughout the game, I continued getting text messages regarding severe and tornado watches going up in Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan, Kansas, and a few other states. (Illinois not included of course!)

After the Cubs finished the game with a 7-1 whopping of the Cardinals, we slowly made our way back to the vehicle. We were rather surprised to see that no one had blocked us in so we were able to get out very quickly. Unfortunately we got confused at how to get back to Forest View as the map we had was the worst thing I’d ever seen. (didn’t even have mile markers on it!) Why I didn’t bring my laptop/GPS setup along is beyond me, but live and learn right? 🙂 We finally made it back to Forest View around 5:30PM and shot the breeze for a little bit. I was ready to head back and they decided to stay up there and have dinner. So as I’m driving down the street ready to get back on the highway, my phone alerts me of a tornado watch for northern Illinois. (holy mother of something, can this be for real?!) I go to get some data and yet again I’m in a no-data area. I call up Mike Cox and see if he can give me an update as well as see if he’s out chasing the PDS tornado watch. 🙂

At this point, he was having a lot better luck than me. 🙂 I told him I was going to head west and see if I could get out of the city and see something. My plan was to head west on US 34 and then jump on I-88. Once I got on US 34 though, the speed limit was a horrid 30mph. (who makes a speed limit that low on a highway??) It didn’t take me long to get fed up with that crap, so I hopped on the I-294 tollway and headed north to I-88. As I made my way out of the city life, I noticed my phone saying it was able to get data again. I checked out radar and saw a couple cells firing up to my west, so I continued west on I-88. As I approached Dixon, IL., I noticed some towers through the grunge. They looked like crap on radar, but it was all I had in the area. I stopped at Dixon to fuel up and then headed south on SR 26 to attempt an intercept of the storm. I jogged east on SR 24 and then south through Amboy on US 52. I gave up on the storms and decided to start heading back home.

As I continued south, I got a call from Mike Cox again stating he’d just bagged five tornadoes in Iowa! I was happy as hell for him but very frustrated that I wasn’t there. (can’t win them all!) I stopped in Mendota, IL for food and then made my journey back home. I arrived around midnight and tried to get some sleep for the next day’s possible chase.

Final thoughts:
A very exciting day Cubs wise, but frustrating on the storm front. (pun intended) I almost had the best of both worlds, but mother nature didn’t cooperate on the second go around. No worries, more chasing is in the forecast!

Total Chase Time: 6 hours
Total Chase Miles: 400 miles

Stan Olson 2004, Chase Logs, Weather No Comments

May 20, 2004 – Chase in Central IL

There’s just something about the 20th of the month this year that draws me to a chase. Today marked the third month in a row where I was considering a chase on the 20th of the month. (makes ya wonder doesn’t it?) Anywho, the main action looked to be in Iowa which obviously was way too far for me to go on a work day. The SPC day 1 outlook had most of Illinois in a slight risk, so while not a great chance it was a start. I was dying to chase even if the setup wasn’t the greatest, so I worked through lunch and left a little early from work.

I departed Champaign around 4:15PM and hopped on I-72 to head towards Bloomington. During the journey, I was socked in with clouds which didn’t make me too optimistic about severe weather occurring. Once I reached Bloomington, I headed north on I-39. As I traveled further north, the lovely sun began popping through which gave me a bit more confidence in our chances. Once I reached Peru, IL. around 6:00PM, I decided to hop on I-80 and head west. I made a pit stop in Spring Valley to grab a snack and to check data. The snack part worked out great, but data wasn’t as good. I tried to get online, but I was in a no-data zone. (drats!) I called up my pal Mike Cox to see if he could provide a little data to me. To my surprise, he was actually out chasing storms over in Iowa. As he was waiting on his storms to do stuff, he informed me that the storms I was interested in were still west of the Quad Cities.

I wasn’t going to give up on the chase just yet, especially since I had driven so far already. I got back on I-80 and continued west hoping to find a storm to intercept. Unfortunately no one told me about the lovely road construction near Atkinson, IL, so that slowed me down a bit. Having about enough of the construction and getting low on fuel, I decided to hop off at Geneso, IL. to fuel up and get my bearings. I finally was able to get a data connection and noticed cells just entering into IL. I decided to head north to avoid having to travel on the road construction plagued I-80. Soon after I hopped on SR 82, the weather radio goes off for a severe thunderstorm warning in the Whiteside county to my north. (yay!) Unfortunately, as I entered the county, I was informed that the storm had weakened and was no longer severe. (I guess I scared it away!)

I took a couple pictures of the sunset and then checked data again. I noticed a couple stronger cells with radar indicating large hail to my south, so I decided to head back towards the Quad Cities and attempt to intercept them. I headed southwest on I-88 and then south on I-80 which finally turned into I-74. The flood gates opened up at this point as did the lightning extravaganza. I literally had lightning hitting on both sides of the highway, it was insane. (not to mention a tad freaky!) I had about enough of the blinding rain, so I decided to get off the interstate and just let this thing pass over me. I parked just off the interstate about 2 miles west of Andover. (no, we’re not in Kansas anymore despite the name!) The winds really started picking up and of course I didn’t have the anemometer on the roof. (too much lightning!) As I was waiting out the storm, I got pelted by a couple rounds of hail. Most of it was pea sized, though there were a few in there that were probably a tad larger.

After sitting there for about 12 minutes, I decided to make my journey back east on I-74. The remaining cells stayed together for awhile, but I had to work the next morning so I decided to call it a chase and head home.

Final thoughts:
I’ve seen quite a few gulley washers in my time, but this one definitely tops the list. The lightning was also the most intense I’d ever seen, so these storms really must have had some juice to work with. Not too bad of a chase for being after work. Maybe next time I can remember to put the anemometer on the roof before the action begins!

Total Chase Time: 8 hours
Total Chase Miles: 425 miles

Stan Olson 2004, Chase Logs, Weather No Comments

May 2, 2004 – Chase in Central IL

Today was not an anticipated chase day at all. (seems to be a growing theme this year) I didn’t even look at any sort of weather data when I got up. My focus on this chilly morning was to visit a local amateur radio hamfest in Decatur, IL. I got up around 7:15am and got everything in order to make the hour drive to Decatur. My initial thoughts were to just take the laptop and HT, but some strange voice inside me told me to grab the camcorder and gear bag. (thanks strange voice!) I loaded up the car and headed out around 8:00am. I made a quick stop at the ATM to get some cash, but my debit card decided to expire without letting me know so I was unable to get any bling bling. (the stupid thing ate my card too!) Despite this minor setback, I decided to push forward and continue on my journey. I arrived at the hamfest a little after 9:00am and started roaming around to see if there were any goodies. I met up with my ham/chase friend George (N9IPO) and we made the rounds inside and out.

While we were walking around, my cell phone started buzzing. I figured it was just a weather watch for some place on the east coast or something. A few minutes later, it buzzed again. I checked it out and there was a severe thunderstorm warning as well as a mesoscale discussion for Illinois. (what the heck!?!?) Cell phone coverage wasn’t too good in the building, but I managed to find a spot where I could download the full text of the discussion. The lovely cold air aloft was triggering some decent hail, hence the warnings. I continued browsing the hamfest not thinking much more about the weather situation. George and I made one more pass of the outdoor vendors before heading on our separate ways. One radio had caught my eye earlier and I was surprised to see it still there when I returned. I really wanted it, but all I had was my checkbook and the guy said ‘cash only’. (blah!) Luckily, another ham friend of mine knew the guy and was able to convince him that I was a trustworthy person. (yay for me!)

I thanked all parties involved and then headed back to the car to tinker with the radio. While I was setting it up, I decided to get online and check the radar just for kicks. To my surprise, there was a decent looking cell up in Fulton county that apparently was dropping a decent amount of hail. About that time, I got the notice of a severe thunderstorm warning for that same cell. It’s not very often I get a chance to chase during the daylight, so I figured I might as well go after this thing while I had the chance. I ran into town for a quick bite to eat and to gather weather data at the local McD’s. The cell seemed to be maintaining its strength which was pretty nifty given the conditions. I decided to go west on I-72 to Springfield and then head north from there. I arrived in Springfield around 12:30pm and radar was still looking pretty good to my north. I found my way to SR 29 and headed north of town.

At 12:40pm, I encountered some hail approximately 0.5″-0.75″ 2 miles south of Cantrall, IL in Sangamon county. At 12:48pm, I encountered a thin layer of hail covering the ground just north of Athens, IL in Menard county. (maybe I need to invest in some snow tires?) As I continued north, I ran through various pockets of small hail and heavy rain. I proceeded north into Mason county and then noticed a wannabe wall cloud looking thingamabob to my northeast. (yes, that’s the technical term for it) I turned off SR 29 onto CR 800N just south of Mason City and went east to follow this interesting lowering. I decided to roll down the window to get a better view and when I did, what I thought was rain turned out to be pea sized hail flying into the car. (this is what happens when I complain about being hail-deprived!) Luckily I was wearing a sweater so the hail just stuck to it until it melted. 🙂 I followed this thing just over the border into Logan county and finally decided it wasn’t going to do anything.

I made my way south on CR 100E and zig-zagged my way back into Sangamon county. I was getting low on fuel, so I decided to fill up in Spaulding, IL. I took another glance at the weather data and everything looked to be dying out, so I decided to call it a chase. I found my way back to I-72 and made the journey home to Champaign.

Final thoughts:
Wow, yet another unexpected chase close to home. It was nice to finally chase in central Illinois for a change. The terrain here is a piece of cake to chase in compared to the junk in Missouri that I dealt with last weekend. While the hail I saw today wasn’t very big, I was impressed at how long it lasted. I send my props out to the cold pool aloft, you rock! 🙂

Total Chase Time: 4 hours
Total Chase Miles: 225 miles

Stan Olson 2004, Chase Logs, Weather No Comments

April 24, 2004 – Chase to Southeast Missouri

After having a very successful chase on 4/20, I was ready to get back out there and see what else I could intercept. The setup for Saturday looked fairly decent: nice moisture, instability, CAPE was up there, and some decent wind shear. I wasn’t sure if I was going to chase or not, but figured if I did that I would target the very popular oasis of Sikeston, MO. A friend of mine from the St. Louis area called me up and asked if I could take a look at their computer. (darn viruses!) I decided that I could go down there Friday after work, fix the computer, crash at their place, and then chase Saturday if something materialized. Not too shabby if you ask me!

As I awoke Saturday morning, we were socked in with cloudy skies. I flipped on the weather channel and it confirmed my visual observations. (this wasn’t looking good) After saying our goodbyes, I departed Alton, IL around 11:00am in search of weather data and food. I drove around these small little towns north of the area, but couldn’t seem to find any food joints that I was interested in. I had the craving for some Hardee’s bacon-egg-cheese biscuits, so that was my new goal of the morning. I finally stumbled into Staunton, IL and found a Hardee’s. Unfortunately they had stopped serving breakfast, so my choices were limited to the Angus burgers or a safer/healthier choice of the ham and swiss sandwich. As I was eating my ham and swiss sandwich, I hopped online to get the latest weather information. Everything in IL was socked in with thick cloud cover, but further south the sun was popping through.

As I was sitting there debating what to do, I got an alert on my phone saying a tornado watch had just been issued for Arkansas and Missouri. (holy crap!) I called up my buddy Mike Cox and asked him what was going on. He told me the watch mainly covered Arkansas, with just a sliver of SE Missouri. (Sikeston baby here we come!) 🙂 I was still about 3+ hours north of Sikeston, but figured I had plenty of time to get there. I made my way out of Staunton to I-55, where I headed south. As I neared Bloomsdale, MO., the floodgates opened which prompted me to stop at a rest area to wait it out. I had cell coverage, but could not connect to data since I was roaming. I called up Mike again to check on things and he reported that there were some tornado warnings in Arkansas, but nothing too impressive at the moment. I made a quick beverage/bathroom run at the rest area (yes it was still pouring), and then got back on I-55 and continued south.

I made another quick stop in St. Genevieve, MO to fill up on gas, then continued south on I-55. As I went further south, the sun started breaking through the clouds which definitely gave me hope. As I approached Sikeston, I decided to continue heading south rather than stopping. Around 4:00pm I made it to New Madrid, MO. and decided to find a spot that wasn’t plastered with trees to watch the sky. I saw several towers try to go up, but they all kind of fizzled out. The dew point around this time was in the upper 60s, so it made for a very hazy and muggy environment. Around 5:45pm, I headed west of town to see if I could find a decent gas station to fill up the tank. While I was out running around, I started hearing several warnings coming out to my west. I took a quick glance at radar and it looked like the heart of the storms were going to be to my NW. Having not found a gas station to my liking, I made my way back to New Madrid and then hopped back on I-55 to head north.

Around 6:30pm I made it to the Sikeston area and made the mistake of getting off the interstate. As I battled my way through traffic, I heard more warnings go out to my NW so I knew something was brewing. I finally made my way north of town on US 61. I started tuning around on the scanner and came across a weak but audible county frequency. They were talking about tornado damage in Wayne County, MO, which was 2 counties to my west. I continued north on US 61 and then jumped back on I-55. Visibility was getting pretty bad now between the haze, trees, and hills. Around 7:15pm, I finally got off the interstate near Oak Ridge, MO and headed west on SR E. As I came over the first hill on this lovely road, I suddenly felt like I was riding a roller coaster. I’d never seen a hill drop off so quickly before, I thought for sure the car was going to flip over! I cautiously made my way to the northwest, zig-zagging through this god-forsaken place that some like to call Missouri. (I have a few other names that I could suggest)

I made my way into NE Bollinger county where things got a bit interesting. As I came over yet another hill, I saw what appeared to be a lowering of some sort. I want to call it a wall cloud, but due to the insane amount of foliage and crappy terrain I just can’t be certain. I tried to find a road option to get me closer to this thing, but all of a sudden the flood gates opened and I had to pull off the road. After the rain subsided, I headed north into southern Perry county. I stopped at a church in Biele, MO in hopes I would see some hail or high winds, but I only ended up with some gusty rainy winds and some lightning strikes. I was getting really low on fuel now, so I decided I’d better fill up on gas now while I had the gas station in sight. Despite the pumps being underneath a cover, the winds still managed to soak me while I was pumping gas. (a few lightning strikes added to the excitement) 🙂 I took another look at radar and noticed everything was starting to form into a line and head off to my east.

It was dark by this time, so I decided to call it a chase and make my way back home. I headed north on I-55 to St. Louis, then headed east on I-70. I was really starting to get tired and while I probably could have made it all the way home, I decided to find a cheap hotel and make the rest of the trip home in the morning. While I was tempted to stay at a Holiday Inn Express, my wallet had other ideas. I found a Knights Inn in Altamont, IL and spent the night there. Being a cheaper hotel, it didn’t have A/C so it was quite humid which didn’t help the whole sleep process. I left the hotel around 8:30am on Sunday morning and made it back to Champaign around 10:00am.

Final thoughts:
Unlike the previous two trips to the bootheel of Missouri, at least there were watches and warnings to go along with this trip. I probably would have been more successful if those darn trees and hills hadn’t been there, but this is Missouri we’re talking about. Note to self: Please buy chainsaw and road grader for future chasing in Missouri. 😉

Total Chase Time: 12 hours
Total Chase Miles: 800 miles

Stan Olson 2004, Chase Logs, Weather No Comments

April 20, 2004 – Tornado intercept near Kankakee IL

I had no intentions or reasons to chase today, everything looked to be out in KS/OK. Anything that did come our way appeared to be overnight stuff that isn’t much fun to chase. I briefly looked at the models and it showed very decent shear but no cape to work with. As I went to work in the morning, the whole state was covered with showers and thunderstorms. (nothing severe) As worked progressed, I noticed a watch box go up out west for KS/OK/AR/MO. Not having much to do, I loaded up a few weather programs and kept an eye on it just for kicks.

While I was sitting there, I saw a tornado warning pop up on the screen. At first I didn’t think anything of it, but then noticed it was from our local NWS office in Lincoln. I thought maybe they were testing or someone hit the wrong button, but as I looked closer it not only was real but it was for Champaign county! (what the ….!) I about fell out of my chair when this happened and shared the news with several co-workers. The radar didn’t really show much of anything which made me think this was just a farse. Not too long after I received several damage reports around the county that did indeed confirm the tornado. Even with this very local event, I still didn’t think much of it.

At this time, I was back to wondering what to do for lunch. I didn’t feel like going anywhere and several others in the office felt the same way, so we decided to order some subs from our local establishment. We got some special deal that’s meant for 4 people but it was just the 3 of us, so we each got 2 of something. One got 2 drinks, another got 2 bags of chips, while I ended up with the 2 small sub sandwiches. (not a bad deal, or so I thought) I usually leave work at 6 pm on Tuesday’s, but since I worked through lunch I could leave at 5 pm. As it got closer to this time, the great deal on the subs didn’t feel so great anymore. My stomach kept doing flips and all kinds of special events fit for the olympics. Of course around this time, more storms started firing up in IL which were going tornadic. Despite this wonderful news, I didn’t really feel up to chasing.

I got home and took some good ol’ Pepto and continued looking at the radar. There were various tornadic supercells scattered across central and north central IL/IN which prompted the SPC to issue a tornado watch. Amazingly, I started feeling much better and started gathering up my chase gear. Everything was moving in a NE direction, so I decided I would head north and try to intercept one of these puppies.

After loading up the gear and filling up the gas tank, I headed north on I-57. I attempted to get some radar updates on the way up, but shortly after leaving Champaign county I discovered the no-data zone in cell phone coverage. I continued getting warnings via text messages as well as hearing several warnings on the weather radio. I heard one tornado warning come out for Ford/Livingson/Iroquois counties which is where I was, but there was alot of grunge that prohibited me from seeing anything useful. I got just south of Kankakee around 7:15pm and stopped to check the radar. I appeared to be smack dab between two tornadic cells, one to my west and the other to my east. I decided to go after the one to my west because it was closer and had confirmed sightings of a tornado. So I headed south of town on RT.45 and then headed west to try to intercept this thing.

I saw numerous low hanging features, but there was only one that really caught my eye. As I turned east on HWY 115 from S.4000W Rd, I saw a definite funnel cloud but a grove of trees were blocking my view of the ground below it. As soon as I got past the trees, I saw the debris cloud confirming a tornado. This thing kept going up and down but was really stirring up the dirt. I pulled off on S.3000W Rd. and filmed the tornado crossing HWY 115 about a mile down the road from me. (7:35pm CDT – 5m SW Kankakee / 4m NNW Chebanse) About a minute after it crossed the road, it started getting rain wrapped. Since this thing was moving in a NE direction, I decided to cautiously follow it.

I headed north about a mile and then east on W 3500S RD about half a mile where it became visible again. (7:40pm CDT – 4.5m N Chebanse / 4.5m SW Kankakee) I could definitely tell it was increasing in strength as it was getting more of a cone shape to it as well as kicking up more dirt. I got out of the car and kept filming as it encountered a populated area. I wanted to get some better video, so I quickly grabbed the tripod out of the car and set it up. As I was fumbling with mounting the camera on the tripod, I saw a green power flash that lit up the whole tornado. Several seconds later, I saw 2 more green power flashes. As I got the camera mounted on the tripod, the rain decided to block the view of the tornado yet again. I attempted to catch up with it again, but I ended up getting stuck in traffic and that was the end of the chase.

As I was making my way through Kankakee, I saw several emergency vehicles racing to the south which gave me an uneasy feeling. It was pretty much dark at this point, so any further chasing would be silly. I made my way back to I-57 and headed back to Champaign.

Final thoughts:
I’m still in that stage of shock and awe at this point. What started out as a non-severe day turned in to a very successful chase. It just goes to show you that anything can happen in April and you always have to be prepared for it. I just hope the people who incurred property damage and injuries can make a full recovery.

Video

Total Chase Time: 3 hours
Total Chase Miles: 180 miles

Stan Olson 2004, Chase Logs, Weather No Comments