The difference between storm chasing and storm spotting

There are alot of differences for both storm chasing and storm spotting. Storm chasers bring their own expensive equipment and drive in their own cars. Storm chasers get so upclose to severe weather thinking about their own safety, not just others. Storm chasers had more experience out in the field because of their own knowledge of meteorology and safety out in the open plain. Some storm chasers are both professional and ametuers looking for a thrill ride from their boring lives.

Storm spotters have their own differences. They don't drive in cars like storm chasers would do. They even don't have expensive equipment. They are the eyes and ears of their local community. The only equipment storm spotters have up the arsenal are a cell phone, cameras to take photos and weather equipment from home. But there are similarites between storm chasers and storm spotters. They both share the passion of meteorology, especially severe weather. Storm spotters and chasers understand the importance of safety out in the field. Storm chasers and spotters both depend on the National Weather Service since, the NWS has dopplar radar. Also, storm chasers and spotters both attend storm spotting and chasing seminars, to understand the basic importance of severe weather during each season. Next month I'm going to start to talk about the winter of 2008-2009 and severe winter events that will happen this year.

How did I become a Storm Spotter?

When I was a kid; I saw mother nature's fury in a negative way. I had no experience and I was scared out of my mind whenever, there was lightening outside. At Carmel Indiana we had the most intense thunderstorms. I remember some of them. My first experience with a severe thunderstorm occurred outside my family home. It was in the spring and it was warm outside. As always I was playing basketball as usual. The sky immediately became dark. I stopped playing basketball knowing that lightening can hit a basketball hoop. So I decided to sit on the front porch watching the sky. I noticed that there was an unusual cloud rotating inside the main storm.   It did not touched down, it was just rotating around like a circle.  The news was on when I came inside. They said that a tornado had touched down from that rotation from a town far away from my county. We were lucky.

That storm sparked my interest of becoming a storm spotter. So I attended an nearby Storm Spotting Seminar in 2005. During the 2005 storm season I armed myself with my knowledge of storms and safety rules and my video camera, I started filming thunderstorm action even though my parents advise me not to. I was quite confident however since my knowledge of the safety rules are in my head. The next blog will be about the differences between storm spotting and storm chasing.

The Power of lightening

At first there is an faint breeze in the air. During the afternoon the skies suddenly became cloudy and dark. There is an hush silence,nothing stirs expect an breeze that stirs in the leaves. Suddenly an crash of thunder vibrates the air around us. Another silence followed. Suddenly an flash of lightening lights up the sky with another bang of thunder. An summer thunderstorm rolls into town. 

Lightening has been known to kill millions of people within the United States through the spring and summer. Often times lightening can occur in the fall if the conditions are there. Lightening starts as an simple spark inside the cloud. The cloud itself becomes an giant battery with the positive on the top and the negative in the bottom. 

Since fall is about to start on September 22nd, the next post will be about my recent adventure with mother nature's fury. 

Hurricanes and Hurricane Season 2007 & 2008

Hurricanes are monster storms that slammed our coasts every year. They form over water during the summer and through late fall. Hurricanes can pack quite a punch of every force of nature reckened with. Their power comes from the wind and powerful storm surges. Water can damage everything in their way including concerte levees. That can happen to every hurricane including Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Tornadoes can also form from the outer bands of hurricanes.

The 2007 Hurricane season had a total of 4 hurricanes that hit the U.S. The very first hurricane in 2007 was Dean on August 16th. Dean made an direct path into the Yuncatan Pennsiula then into Texas. Felix came next on September 2nd. It followed the same path Dean took a month ago. Humberto wasn't far behind. It hit on September 13th on the Louisana border. The very last hurricane in 2007 was Noel on November 3. It formed right off the Florida coast and became an nor easter on the east coast.

The 2008 Hurricane season is now upon us. The very first hurricane in 2008 was Bertha on July 7th. Bertha formed right off the Atlantic but it did not come up here. Dolly came from behind on July 21st. Dolly hit the Texas coast then moved into Mexico. Next came Gustav. It arrived on August 26th. It hit the same area that Katrina hit three years ago. Gustav wasn't as strong as Katrina was. Hanna came next on September 1st. It hit South Carolina and maintained its tropical storm strength and dumped its power on southern New England. Hurricane Ike is now the recent hurricane and it expected to make land fall on Houston Texas. God Help Them! The next blog will be about the power of lightening.

Thunderstorm Season 2008

This summer is certainly the most severe and I'm not talking about heat. When cold air gets locked up in the atmosphere and the warm air on the bottom, put in more ingredents such as instability,lift, heat and high humidity and the jet stream as well. You get the ingredents of creating thunderstorms. Thunderstorms thrive on moisture and that's why they form in the summer and spring. Without moisture, thunderstorms cannot form. Lighening forms within the cloud. The positive electrons are on top of the cloud and the negative on the bottom. Something needs to give. That's when you see that flash in the sky. Thunder is the sound of lightening crashing.

Thunderstorms are the most beautiful and dangerous forms of weather. Every year people were being killed by lightening strikes. This year we had a big record of thunderstorms developing between the months of June through August. The next blog I'll be posting will be about hurricanes and the past season of 2007 and 2008 hurricane season.