Version 3.3 (6/15/99)
Maintained by Allan Rosenberg
Selected Internet Resources
for the Beginning Storm
Chaser
* Items with blue asterisks
have been added since version 2.1 (2/14/98).
* Items with white asterisks
have been added since version 3.1 (1/15/99).
*
Items with purple asterisks have been added since version 3.2 (4/10/99).
The selection of resources on this page reflects the opinions of its author
only. Many pages either citing or cited by this page have disclaimers; please
read them. I don't have a disclaimer because nobody is stupid enough to sue me.
I won't try to encourage or discourage you from chasing storms, but if you are
going to chase, I encourage you to learn as much as you can about storms first.
There is an impressive and growing amount of interesting material on the
Internet, but there are even more complete sources off the internet. Here
are two excellent lists of recommended outside reading:
Educational Materials for
Storm Chasers (Tim Marshall/StormTrack Online!)
Suggested New Chaser Reading
Material (Tim Vasquez/StormTrack Online!)
My thanks go out to those who have made the information cited in this review
available to the public. Affiliations or journal names listed next to authors'
names do not necessarily imply that the web page cited was prepared in
connection with duties for, or with the approval of, those organizations.
Copyright notice: this list is dedicated to the public. Use it, cite it, copy
it, repost it, do whatever you want with it. You can't steal it, since it is
already yours. The pages that I cite have their own copyright policies, so
please check with those authors first before using their materials.
Contents
Storm Basics
Forecasting
Case Studies,
Tropical Weather, and Other Information Sources
Thunderstorms and Tornadoes: A Brief
Introduction
Why Files: Tornadoes
(National Science Foundation/University of Wisconsin)
A well prepared basic introduction to tornado science and safety.
The
Makings of a Tornado (ABC News) *
Winds
of Destruction (The Weather Channel) *
Special reports from ABC News and TWC. About what you'd expect from
special reports from ABC News and TWC.
USA Today Tornado
Information Index
USA Today Thunderstorms
Articles describing various aspects of thunderstorms and tornadoes.
Thunderstorms
Thunderstorm Categories
Supercells
Undergraduate class materials introducing thunderstorms by Paul Sirvatka
at College of duPage. *
Tornadoes (Robert
Davies-Jones/Scientific American)
Article with an overview of tornado science and a storm chase case
study.
VORTEX: Unraveling the
Secrets (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) *
The VORTEX project uses mobile radars to study the formation of tornadoes.
This site is heavy on multimedia and a bit too cute for my taste, but it
provides a great deal of information on this extremely important project.
Additional information is available at the VORTEX home page (National
Severe Storms Laboratory).
The
Tornado Project Online
Lots of tornado information from leading tornado climatologist Tom
Grazulis. See, for example, the excellent page explaining the Fujita scale
of tornado intensity (and compare it to the independently-derived T scale).
Tornadoes: Some Hard
Realities (Charles Doswell/National Severe Storms Laboratory)
What is a
Tornado? (Charles Doswell/National Severe Storms Laboratory)
Thought-provoking essays by a leading storm researcher.
Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (United
Kingdom)
Australian Severe
Weather
Tornadoes are not unique to North America.
Elegy for Woodward (Richard Bedard/Weatherwise) *
Article describing one particularly tragic tornado. The Woodward tornado,
storm researchers, and storm chasers are the subject of Bedard's book In the Shadow of the Tornado,
which is, in my opinion, by far the best popular book about storms and storm
chasers I have read.
Mesoscale Convective
Systems: Squall Lines and Bow Echoes *
A look at a two important forms of long-lived storms, from the Cooperative
Program for Operational Meteorology and Training, Morris Weisman and Ron
Przybylinski.
An Introduction to Storm Chasing
Chase With Safety,
Courtesy, and Responsibility (Charles Doswell/National Severe Storms
Laboratory)
Storm
Chase Ethics (Alan Moller/National Weather Service)
If you read nothing else before you chase, please read these articles. And
see Tim Marshall's list of Storm Chaser Safety
Rules (StormTrack Online!).
Dangers
of Thunderstorms (University of Illinois)
The Human Effects of
Lightning Strikes and Recommendations for Storm Chasers (William Hark)
They're called severe storms for a reason.
Storm Track Magazine's Storm
Chasing Guide (Tim Vasquez/StormTrack Online!)
Storm Track Magazine's Storm
Chasing FAQ (Tim Vasquez/StormTrack Online!) *
Great places to start learning about storm chasing.
Why Chase Tornadoes (David
Hoadley/StormTrack Online!)
Chase Thoughts For 1997
(David Hoadley/StormTrack Online!)
A classic essay and more recent thoughts by a pioneering storm
chaser.
Frequently
Asked Questions About Storm Chasing (Charles Doswell/National Severe Storms
Laboratory)
Informative FAQs that covers many aspects of chasing.
Tornado
Warning! (Wayne Curtis/Discovery Online)
In April, Wayne Curtis was a journalist covering storm chasing. By June,
he was a storm chaser. These are his dispatches from the field.
August 28, 1990
Chase (Gilbert Sebenste)
May 25, 1996 Chase
(Gilbert Sebenste)
May 26, 1996 Chase
(Gilbert Sebenste)
A few of my favorite chase summaries, filled with Gilbertisms. The first
(which I have slightly edited), from Gilbert's early days, illustrates how not
to chase storms (tip: always have your escape route planned). As for
the second... if you think chasing is just about seeing tornadoes, think
again... it's really about drinking cola with friends in the bar at the
dryline Holiday Inn. The third gives you an idea of what to expect on a more
typical chase--once you're experienced. More chase reports are filed at the
SCH Storm Chaser
Reports page.
Meteorologists say
`Twister' is exciting, but distorts reality (Eric Adler/Kansas City Star)
The reality of storm chasing is less dramatic than the Hollywood version.
Then again, I think our storms are much more impressive than the film
versions.
Getting
Started in Tornado and Thunderstorm Spotting (Keith Brewster)
A brief essay describing the important role of storm spotters and telling
you how to join their ranks.
Cloud Nine Tours
Silver Lining Tours
Storm Chasing Adventure Tours
Tornado Alley Safari
On Cloud Nine (Richard
Bedard/Weatherwise)
Article describing one particularly adventurous storm
chasing adventure.
Women and Chasing
*
Thoughtful essay on the experience of women in storm
chasing by Shannon Key, with responses.
Capturing the Storm
You've made your forecast, driven hundreds of miles, found your
storm--and there it is--a magnificent tornado. Now what are you going to do? If
you're like most storm chasers, you'll be pointing some kind of camera at it.
These tips will help.
The Anatomy of a Thunderstorm:
What You Will
See When You Chase
Cumulonimbus
Clouds (University of Illinois)
Short, illustrated introduction to cumulonimbus (thunderstorm) clouds. You
will probably want to study the other clouds in the University of Illinois Cloud Catalog or the
Plymouth State College Cloud
Boutique.
Storm Spotter's Guide
(National Severe Storms Laboratory)
Short, illustrated guide to the major features of severe
thunderstorms.
Basic
Spotter's Field Guide * (requires free Adobe Acrobat
Reader plug-in)
Very nicely done pamphlet.
NOAA Severe
Storm Spotter's Guide (National Severe Storms Laboratory/University of
Illinois)
Excellent series of slides with text showing thunderstorm features,
recently revised. The original version, which I prefer, is here.
Identity of Storm Features *
An illustrated look at major storm features from veteran storm chaser Gene
Moore.
Weather
Glossary for Storm Spotters (Michael Brannick/National Weather Service)
Glossary of terms used to describe severe storm features by Michael
Branick. Recently revised, limited illustrations. Extremely useful. Paul
Sirvatka of College of duPage compiled another good, shorter glossary. See also
the Oklahoma Climatological Survey's Weather and Climate
Glossary. * You can find information on many
weather concepts listed alphabetically in the University of Illinois' On-Line
Guide to Meteorology Helper Section
Index and USA Today's Weather Topics Index;
or try a search of the Washington Post's Weather
Glossary, * the
Weather Channel's Weather
Glossary * or
Environment Canada's Weather
Glossary. *
Microbursts A
Handbook for Visual Identification * (Fernando Caracena/Ronald Holle/Chuck
Doswell of FSL and NSSL)
Tornadoes are hardly the only interesting feature of
severe thunderstorms.
Finding the Storms I:
NWS Forecast
Products
Hint: One of the missions of the National
Weather Service is to forecast severe storms--and they are, on the whole, very
good at it. Every storm chaser I know pays close attention to NWS forecasts,
though none relies exclusively on those forecasts. The pages listed in this
section discuss various NWS text-based products of interest to storm chasers and
some tools for interpreting them. Weather data, numerical models, forecasting
methods and tropical cyclone products are discussed below.
SPC Products Page (graphic, text,
and plain English versions; College of duPage)
SPC Forecasts (graphics
and text; Storm Prediction Center)
SPC Weather Data (plain
English and graphics; Ohio State University)
The Storm Prediction
Center is the department within the NWS charged forecasting severe storms
(except tropical storms and hurricanes) in the 48 contiguous states. SPC
publishes a number of convective forecast products of interest to storm
chasers. Their products are described in Chris Novy, Roger Edwards and David
Imy's SPC and its Products.
See also Help With Severe
Weather Text * by Paul Sirvatka at College of
duPage. Pioneering Storm Chaser David Hoadley takes a look at chasing by the
Day-Two Outlook in this article (David
Hoadley/StormTrack Online!). In fairness to the SPC, their risk analyses are
not designed to facilitate storm chasing.
SPC is also publishing an experimental
probabilistic outlook * for tornadoes, hail and high winds. This product
is explained here. *
Several current
products * of the Hydrometeorological Predictino Center are of similar use
to storm chasers; explanations of the products are found here *
Hint: The SPC meteorologists are among the finest severe weather
forecasters in the world, and they publish their analyses every day. While you
study other materials, read the convective outlooks and mesoscale
discussions--and look at the meteorological data yourself (how to do that is
discussed below). It is a little like learning a language by immersion--you
might not understand anything at first, but as time goes on, your expertise
will grow.
Interesting items to compare are (1) the forecast Energy Helicity
Index * and 700mb Vertical
Velocity (Unisys Weather), (2) NGM MOS severe
thunderstorm probabilities * and (3) Dave Keller's Day-2 severe weather forecasts
*, each of which is based on computer model
output. If you are bored, you might want to compare the SPC products to
the WSI THUNDERcast
* or the Weather Channel's Thunderstom
Forecast map. *
Severe Weather
Watches and Warnings (graphic, AccuWeather)
Severe Weather Watches, which indicate that conditions are favorable for
the development of severe weather, can be found in text form on the SPC Products Page (College of DuPage)
and graphically here
(College of duPage) and here (Storm
Prediction Center). * Severe Weather Warnings, which indicate that severe
weather has developed and threatens the warned area, are available in text
form from College of duPage and
directly from the National Weather
Service. The NBC TV affiliate in Washington DC has a nice graphical watch
and warning interface covering the entire United States at its Storm Display System™
site. *
Hint: If you are close enough, you can move into areas with severe
thunderstorm or tornado watches during a chase, but you need to think
carefully about how long it will take to get there. Warnings are issued for
individual storms or convective complexes. If you are not already on that
storm (or happen to be very lucky), forget about chasing
warnings.
NWS
Forecast Office *
This page, courtesy of the NWS Western Region Headquarters, has a
clickable map of NWS offices. Local NWS offices publish all sorts of
interesting information (I'm especially fond of forecast discussions); several
publish daily Hazardous Weather Outlooks. You can find most of their text
products, organized by state, here * (NWS
IWIN), here *
(Ohio State University), here (College of duPage) * and
on Al Pietrycha's Weather
Data site.
Convective SIGMETS *
The Aviation Weather Center is charged with forecasting weather for
aviaton interests. Since pilots (including the author of this page), birds,
etc. as a rule do not car to fly into thunderstorms, we pay a lot of attention
to Convective SIGMENTS (which are explained here).
You may find them useful in finding the storms we are trying to avoid.
Frequently
Used Contractions in National Weather Service Products (Brian Smith/National
Weather Service)
24 pages of NWS speak-English dictionary. The Storm Prediction Center also
maintains a list of contractions they use in their plain-english text products
here.
Weather
Station Identifiers
There are two basic types of weather stations, upper air stations (from
which soundings are taken of various properties of the atmosphere by releasing
instrumented weather balloons) and surface stations, at which surface readings
are taken. Most of the surface stations are at airports and share the
airports' identification codes.
Both surface and upper air stations listed in three common formats--three
letter aviation identifiers, four-letter ICAO identifiers, and 5-digit WMO
station numbers. ICAO identifiers are generally the same as the three letter
identifiers, but with a fourth letter (K in the 48 contiguous states, C in
Canada) in the initial spot. For example, the surface station at Will Rogers
Airport in Oklahoma City is listed in various places as OKC (aviation) or KOKC
(ICAO) or 72353 (WMO). The corresponding upper-air station at Westheimer
Airport in Norman, Oklahoma is listed as OUN or KOUN or 72357. Meteorological
Station Location Information * from the
National Weather Service Office of Systems Operations explains all of this in
detail and provides a text listing of worldwide weather station identifiers;
they also have information on individual stations searchable by code here (NWS). * Unidata provides a code search
engine here.
*
Lists of surface stations alphabetized by state or province then station
name are available here (Storm
Chaser Homepage/Northern Illinois University) and here
(Texas A&M). Upper air stations are listed here
(Florida State Universty) and here (Storm Chaser
Homepage/Northern Illinois University). * The Forecast Systems Laboratory has published lists of surface
and upper
air stations sorted by identifier. Weather stations sorted by identifier
are available here
(surface) * and here
(upper air) * from the University of California at San Diego.
A map of major airport identifiers is available in Adobe Acrobat
(.pdf) format here.* A map of upper air station
identifiers is available here (University of
Oklahma). * You can also
print a plot of surface * station identifiers from the NIU Storm Machine, though it is
a bit hard to read.
Message
Headers (NWS Office of System Operations) *
This page explains the codes at the beginning of the various NWS products.
In most cases, you will know what you're looking at without understanding the
code (if you pull up a tornado warning issued by the Houston/Galveston NWS
Forecast Office, you do not need to decipher WFUS1 KHOU and TORHOU in the
heading--you already know what it is). But the information is here for the
curious. The Universal Geographic Code header is explained here; the
FIPS (Federal Information Processing Codes) for various counties, listed
state-by-state, can be found here (NWS) * and here (NWSFO Madison,
WI). *
Basic
Introduction to EMWIN *
EMWIN is one system by which the National Weather Service disseminates
data to local emergency managers. It is slow, but it is widely available via
satellite, commercial carriers, and the Internet. EMWIN text files are posted
on the WWW here.
(CIRA/Colorado State University) * Each file has a letter product identifiers
is found here. * See
CIRA's EMWIN
Graphics * page for a discussion of downloading graphic images from the
WWW.
A Little Bit of Theory
There are
two reasons to study meteorological theory. The first is that you will improve
as a forecaster and storm chaser as your knowledge of atmospheric processes
improves. The second is that, if you are reading this, you are the kind of
person who looks up in the sky and wonders what causes it all. The materials
cataloged in section will not give you all of the answers, but they will give
you a good start.
Air
Masses and Fronts (University of Illinois)
Clouds and
Precipitation (University of Illinois)
Forces and
Winds (University of Illinois
Hydrologic
Cycle (University of Illinios) *
Midlatitude
Cyclones (University of Illinois)
or
The Seasons
(Oklahoma Climatological Survey) *
Common
Meteorological Variables (Oklahoma Climatological Survey) *
Vertical
Structure of the Atmosphere, Part I (Oklahoma Climatological Survey) *
Vertical
Structure of the Atmosphere Part 2 (Oklahoma Climatological Survey) *
Heat
Tansfer (Oklahoma Climatological Survey) *
Overview of
Radiation (Oklahoma Climatological Survey) *
Earth's
Energy Budget, Part I (Oklahoma Climatological Survey) *
Earth's
Energy Budget, Part 2 (Oklahoma Climatological Survey) *
Cloud
Development (Oklahoma Climatological Survey) *
Precipitation
(Oklahoma Climatological Survey) *
Air Masses
(Oklahoma Climatological Survey) *
Weather Fronts
(Oklahoma Climatological Survey) *
Atmospheric
Forces (Oklahoma Climatological Survey) *
High and Low
Pressure Systems (Oklahoma Climatological Survey) *
Well crafted basic introductions to meteorology.
A Basic Weather
Discussion on Surface Pressure Systems, Fronts, Jet Streams, and
Precipitation * (NWS/Louisville)
A Discussion on
Moisture, Dewpoint, Relative as. Absolute Humidity, Precipitable Water, and
Precipitation * (NWS/Louisville)
Forces
in the Atmosphere (John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M University)
Air
Pressure, Height and Temperature (John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M
University)
Winds
and Pressure (John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M University)
Radiation and
the Diurnal Cycle (John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M University)
Clouds and
Moisture (John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M University)
Wind and
Mixing (John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M University)
Sea
Breezes, Land Brezes, and Coastal Fronts (John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M
University)
Excellent materials from an introductory college course in meteorology.
There is some light math, but you can pick up the concepts without worrying
about the equations if necessary.
Static Stability *
Thermodynamics
Diagrams (Laboratory) *
See whether you really understand the thermodynamics of severe storms by
working through these notes and the laboratory exercise by Paul Sirvatka at
College of duPage. The lab answers are here. * Then play with your own Java applet
cloud
* and thunderstorm
* (University of
Wisconsin).
The Forecaster's Toolbox
Weather
Forecasting (University of Illinois)
A basic introduction to forecasting.
Units of Measurement
Coordinated
Universal Time (University of Illinois)
Meteorological observations are usually given in Coordinated Universal
Time (UTC), which is also known as Zulu Time (Z) and is almost the same as
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Sometimes they are given in local (also known as
Lima) time. These pages demonstrate the conversion between UTC and local time.
Or you can click here for the current
UTC time and figure it out yourself.
Units of
Temperature (University of Illinois)
Sometimes a dewpoint of 23° isn't bad.
Weather Calculator * (NWS/El
Paso)
Converts among units of pressure, temperature, and
humidity.
Surface Observations and Charts
Surface observations are collected both by observers (usually at airports)
and automated weather stations (ASOS).
Reading WX
Maps: Surface Observations (University of Illinois)
Surface Data Details
(Unisys Weather)
Weather Symbols
(graphic, Unisys Weather)
or
Surface
Maps (University of Illinois)
Decoding
Surface Observations (University of Illinois)
Surface
Contours (University of Illinois)
Decipher all those funny symbols on weather charts. A more detailed chart
of weather symbols--but not weather station reports--is available here (IGES); a
really detailed chart is found here. * You can also walk through it step by step here (College of
duPage).
How to
Read a METAR Report (John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M University)
or
METAR Help (Paul
Sirvatka/College of duPage)
or
Surface Weather
Observations and Reports (National Weather Service, very detailed)
How to read current observations from weather stations in METAR code
(METAR is a French acronym for something like aviation meteorology). Since
computers will decode and plot this information for you, you may not want to
bother learning the code, but it is here if you want it. Several aids are
available from the NWS here.
Upper
Air Observations and Charts
Upper Air Sounding
Details (Unisys Weather)
How to read a Skew T/Log p diagram.
Upper Air Details
(Unisys Weather)
or
Constant
Pressure Maps (University of Illinois)
Upper
Air Station Reports (University of Illinois)
Upper
Air Contours (University of Illinois)
Other
Forecast Variables (University of Illinois)
How to read upper air charts.
Use and
Interpretation of Upper Air Charts (John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M
University)
Precipitation
and the Sounding Diagram (John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M University)
Soundings,
Clouds and Convection (John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M University)
What Are Tropopause
Maps and Why Should We Care About Them? (Gary Lackmann/McGill University)
The use of upper air data in forecasting.
How to Read Hodographs (Paul
Sirvatka, College of duPage) *
Vertical Wind Shear,
Hodographs, and Tornadoes (Paul Sirvatka, College of duPage) *
How forecasters view rotation in the atmosphere.
Analysis
Contouring
(NASA/University of Wisconsin)
Learn to analyze weather maps with this interactive
module.
Numerical Forecast Models
Principles of
Numerical Weather Prediction (John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M University)
Sources
of Model Error (John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M University)
NWS
Forecast Models (John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M University)
How numerical models are prepared and what they can--and cannot--tell
you.
Model
Details (Unisys Weather)
MOS Forecast Details
(Unisys Weather)
How to read numerical model charts.
Numerical Forecast Models
Performance Characteristics/Biases * (NWS/Louisville)
Just a list of model tendencies without sources, so buyer beware.
FOUS Help: Numerical Output
(Paul Sirvatka/College of duPage)
or
Handy Dandy
FOUS Decoder (John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M University)
or
Guide to Reading NGM FOUS
Messages (SUNY Albany)
or
Decoding RAFS/NGM Model FOUS
Data (SUNY Albany) *
FOUS Help: Model Output
Statistics (Paul Sirvatka/College of duPage)
or
Handy Dandy
MOUS Decoder (John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M University)
or
Interpretation of the NGM
Based MOS Forecast Message (SUNY Albany) *
or
NGM MOS Help
Page (Ohio State University) *
How to read raw output from numerical models.
Satellite
Images
Satellite
Meteorology (University of Illinois)
Satellite Tutorial
(College of duPage) *
Excellent basic explanations.
Image-In *
(Florida State University/Explores)
Courses introducing the use of satellite images. It requires a bit
of navigation with your browser's back button. You might want to start
with the Fall 1997 course and work forward.
Interpreting
Satellite Images (University of Illinois)
or
Satellite Image
Details (Unisys Weather)
or
Satellite
Image Tutorial (WeatherTAP) *
Weather satellite basics.
Satellite
Imagery (John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M University)
Satellite Examples (Paul
Sirvatka/College of duPage)
How to use satellite images in forecasting.
Interpreting IR
Imagery (University of Wisconsin) *
Interactive Java tutorial.
GOES Imager
Tutorial (CIRA/Colorado State University) *
Advanced GOES Imagery
Tutorial (CIRA/Colorado State University) *
Basics of
Satellite Remote Sensing (NESDIS) *
Progressively more detailed tutorials on the use of satellite images in
weather forecasting. The old GOES Imager Tutorial is here.
Weather
Radar
Radar
Meteorology (University of Illinois)
WeatherTAP
Radar Tutorial *
Simple presentation of the basics.
Frequently Asked Questions
About Weather Radar (MIT)
Answers from the Weather Radar Lab.
Radar Data
Details (University of Illinois)
Use and
Interpretation of Radar (John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M University)
WSR - Weather
Surveillance Radar (Paul Sirvatka, College of duPage)
The Lemon Technique * (Paul Sirvatka, College of duPage)
Explains the use of radar in forecasting.
Overview of the WSR-88D
Doppler Radar System * (NWS/Louisville)
Includes a good description of many radar products, with examples.
Radar Meteorology
Glossary (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
A framed version with (slightly) fewer entries can be found here
(Northern Illinois University). Originally from Ronald E. Rinehart of the
University of North Dakota.
Radar and Mesoscale
Meteorology (Michael Biggerstaff/Texas A&M University)
Very well done laboratory modules from a radar meteorology class. They
provide more information than you'll need as a storm chaser (and,
unfortunately, only some of the modules have been completed), but it is a good
place to go for more details if you are interested.
Sources of Weather Data
Tip: check the times and dates
on any weather data you use.
Weather Servers
There is considerable overlap here, so
pick the servers you like the best. The Storm Machine will give you almost
anything you need and is highly customizable--but it gets busy on a chase day.
It is a good idea to have multiple sources for anything you might want to use on
a chase.
Weather Data Hot Lists
- Weather Data (Al
Pietrycha/NSSL and, soon, Texas Tech)
- Excellent collection of weather links for chasing, organized by state
and regularly updated. I go to this page first when I am chasing.
- The Forecast Room! (Eric
Nguyen) *
- A great set of links to weather data, very well organized--don't let the
exclamation point in the title fool you.
- Current
Weather and Forecasts (Storm Chaser Homepage/Northern Illinois University)
- Kevin's Numerical
Model Page (Kevin Carroll/University of Maryland)
- If a numerical model is available on the Internet, it's almost certainly
cited here. A truly magnificent collection.
- Robert
Prentice's Bookmarks
- Another great collection of links, organized by product type; a bit out
of date.
- Rob's Live Weather Radar
Page
- I'm not a big fan of TV station radars, but they can
be useful on occasion. Robert Delp has collected links to nearly all of them
here. Slow-loading page due to excessive graphics, but a unique
resource.
Where to Get Data When You're on the
Road
Sources of Specialized
Data
- Accuweather
*
- The best selection of weather radar products I've
seen available on the WWW, plus other information. Subscription service,
$3.95/month, 1 month free trial.
- WeatherTAP
*
- Another excellent choice for weather radar products;
very fast updates. Subscription service, $5.95 per month.
- I highly recommend using either Accuweather or
WeatherTAP when you chase. WSI/Intellicast, Weather Channel etc. radar
images on the Web may be free, but they are updated too
infrequently.
- Short Fuse Composite
Images (NWS Dodge City) * and Composite Charts (Dave Keller)
*
- Current status of several variables correlating with severe
weather. The Dodge City NWS image covers the central plains; an
explanation of how to use the Short Fuse Composite is available here *. Dave Keller's page covers the entire
continental US and explains the use of the various variables in predicting
severe storms.
Finding the Storms II:
Preparing Your Own
Forecast
You will get more out of this section if you've
read the materials linked in the Theory and
Forecaster's
Toolbox sections above.
When to Chase (Robert
Prentice/StormTrack Online!)
When we can expect to find the most tornadoes in the Southern and Central
Great Plains.
A Look
at Hodographs, Helicity and Supercells (Jon Davies/StormTrack Online!) *
Understand how to use one of the most important tools for predicting
severe weather.
Supercells and
Combinations of Helicity and Instability (Jon Davies/StormTrack Online!)
Short article suggesting a simple technique for assessing the potential
for supercell development.
Forecasting Supercell Type
(Rich Thompson, Roger Edwards/StormTrack Online!)
Short article applying factors relevant in forecasting storm type.
The Cap: It's Boom or Bust (Tim
Marshall/StormTrack Online!)
Short article discussing the importance of the thermal inversion in
thunderstorm development.
Dryline Storms (Tim
Marshall/StormTrack Online!)
Tim Marshall's classic article analyzing "dryline magic."
Rules For Finding
Fronts (Paul Sirvatka/College of duPage)
Shortwave Example (Paul
Sirvatka/College of duPage)
Guides prepared for meteorology students.
ARPSView
Guide Parameter Table (Oklahoma University)
Stability Indices * (Paul Sirvatka/College of
duPage)
Convective Season
Parameters and Indices * (NWS/Louisville)
Explanations of parameters used in forecasting severe
weather.
CAPE,
Helicity, and Convective Inhibition
Lifted Index, K Index,
Total Totals
Mixing Ratio, Winds
Moisture Convergence,
Upper Level Divergence
Vertical Motion,
Vorticity
Q-Vector Divergence,
Temperature, Q-Vectors
Equivalent Potential
Temperature
Forecasting Severe Weather
Events
Guidelines by John McGinley.
Making a Convective
Outlook (Michael Biggerstaff/Texas A&M)
This lab exercise from a radar and mesoscale meteorology class discusses
how to prepare your own convective outlook.
The Structure and
Dynamics of Supercell Thunderstorms * (NWS/Louisville)
The
Structure and Evolution of Squall Line and Bow Echo Convective Systems *
(NWS/Louisville)
Significant Winter
Meteorological Processes in the Atmosphere (Part I) * (NWS/Louisville)
Significant
Winter Meteorological Processes in the Atmosphere (Part II) *
(NWS/Louisville)
Entrance Regions of Jet
Streaks (A Closer Look) * (NWS/Louisville)
Nice discussions of many phenomena of importance to storm chasers.
Do not be put off by the word "winter" in the title. You may, however,
find some of the material a bit advanced.
Severe Storm Case
Studies
Case studies are wonderful tools for learning to
apply the knowledge you have gained. The two listed below are especially
suitable for beginning storm chasers.
The
Central Illinois Severe Weather Outbreak of April 19, 1996 (University of
Illinois)
Various perspectives (chaser, forecaster, radar, eyewitness, etc.) on a
single outbreak of devastating weather are presented. VERY well done. See also
the chase reports filed by Gilbert Sebenste
(with pictures) and Roger
Edwards.
Tornado!
The Oakfield, Wisconsin Case Study (University of Wisconsin/CIMSS)
Severe Storm Case
Studies
I will be listin several other case studies on this page. It might not be
up yet by the time you read this, but keep trying.
Hurricanes and Other Tropical
Storms
Hurricanes
(University of Illinois)
Hurricanes
(John Neilson-Gammon, Texas A&M University) *
Hurricanes, Typhoons,
and Tropical Cyclones
Excellent FAQ by Chris Landsea of the Atlantic Oceanographic and
Meteorological Laboratory.
Tropical Cyclone Forecaster's Reference
Guide *
Explanation of Tropical Cyclones from the Naval Research Laboratory. Its a
bit hard to navigate, but gives a lot of useful detail.
Global
Guide to Tropical Cyclone Forecasting (Bureau of Meteorology, Australia) *
WMO/CAS
Report on Tropical Cyclones (Topic 4: Cyclone Prediction) *
More detailed descriptions of forecasting techniques.
Summary of the TPC/NHC Tropical
Cyclone Track and Intensity Guidance Models *
Hurricane Hunters
Fly into the eye with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, USAF
Reserve. You can learn to decode the recon reports here * (FSU), here * (53rd WX Recon
Sqdn.), here * (Chris Sells) or here
* (Univ. of Wisconsin).
Extended Range
Forecast of Atlantic Seasonal Hurricane Activity and US Landfall Strike
Probability for 1999 *
William Gray et. al at Colorado State University use statistical model to
predict hurricane activity. You can read about it, and see their 1999 forecast
(good news--they're predicting above average activity!), here.
Atlantic Basin
Hurricane Season (Florida State University) *
National Hurricane Center
Tropical Atlantic Forecasts (NOAA Air Resources Laboratory)*
NRL Monterey Tropical Cyclone
Page *
Tropical Cyclones (University of
Wisconsin) *
Tropical Oceans -
Tropical Cyclones (University of Hawaii)
Tropical Cyclone Graphics
(National Hurricane Center)
Tropical Cyclone Products
(National Hurricane Center)
Hurricane/Tropical
Data (Unisys Weather) *
CSU's Tropical Products
(Colorado State University) *
Tropical Weather Page
(University of Michigan)
Sources of tropical weather data. ARL and FSU are good sources of data
that is hard to locate through other sources. NRL Monterey and Wisconsin
present some unique satellite products. Many tropical forecasting
products are described in The FSU Guide to Tropical
Weather Data Products * by Paul Ruscher of FSU.
Hurricane Weather Data (Al
Pietrycha/NSSL)
CASI Tropical
Season 1999 *
Atlantic Tropical
Weather Center
These are excellent hotlists of tropical forecasting data links.
Hurricane Warning (Jim
Leonard)
Millennium Weather Home
Page
Interesting content and links.
Hurricane
Andrew (University of Illinois)
Other Sources of Information
Storm Chaser
Homepage (Gilbert Sebenste/Northern Illinois University)
If it's on the Internet and it relates to storm chasing, you can find it
on or through the SCH.
STORMTRACK Online!
Online site with archived material from the STORMTRACK Magazine. Lots of
interesting articles. I also love David Hoadley's chase cartoons. If you have
a serious interest in storms or chasing, I highly recommend a
subscription.
WX-CHASE
E-mail group discussing all things relating to the chase, maintained by
Chris Novy. Chase reports, discussion of techniques and technology, bad humor,
occasional flames, etc. The quality has declined over the years, but there is
some content hidden in the noise. You might want to read Roger Edward's
essay The Good, The
Bad and The Ugly on WX-CHASE before you join or start posting. Ralph
Forsyth is building a nice FAQ for the various WX e-mail
discussion groups.
The Tornado
Project
First rate sources of tornado documentary videos, posters and books. You
can learn more about The Tornado Project from Robert Henson's article in
Weatherwise, A
Twist of Fate. *
Central Atlantic Storm Investigators
*
CASI is a fine organization founded by meteorologist Jesse Farrell; it's
also got a great homepage with many useful links. And, as this member can
attest, you'll never want for reading material when you're on the CASI e-mail
list.
Information about Careers in
Weather
Challenges of Our Changing
Atmosphere
Storm chasing is a hobby for most of us, one aspect of professional life
for some, and a career for very few. You do not need a degree to chase storms.
If you are interested in a professional career in weather, this is a good
place to start gathering information.