4/27/07 REPORTS: KS / MO / VA / NC

[Bill Hark]

With an approaching cold front, moderately unstable (forecast CAPE approx 1000 J/KG
) air and prefrontal trough as a focus, severe storms were predicted across eastern Virginia and North Carolina. Although strong SW winds were present at the 500 MB level, overall flow was unidirectional. Surface winds would also be from the southwest. The SPC had a 5% tornado risk for east and southeast Virginia. I thought the risk was overestimated, and I probably would have blown off the day except I needed to test my equipment for the upcoming Plains chase season.

I left work at 1PM and headed south on I-95. There was already a line of storms in southcentral Virginia extending to the southwest into North Carolina. The line was moving to the northeast. I hoped to target the tail end of the line in extreme southeast Virginia. I turned east on 40, then south on 35 to Courtland, Virginia. There, I had a straight shot east on 58. One of the storms was becoming dominant just south of 58. I was starting to get ahead of the storm when I encountered massive traffic in the Suffolk to Chesapeake area. I was about to call off the chase when the more isolated storm intensified and was showing significant shear markers on XM. I followed 460 through Chesapeake, then north on 13. Virginia Beach Blvd would put me in good position just south of the storm but I was slowed by more traffic. The storm eventually moved over Virginia Beach and out to sea.

The Hampton Roads area of Virginia is always a traffic nightmare, and I was now in early rush hour. I called off the chase and made my way slowly back to 460 from Virginia Beach Blvd. I didn't think there would be any more significant storms and I stopped for dinner at the Virginia Diner near Wakefield on 460. There were some mushy showers to the northwest. I didn't think they would amount to anything, and they would be moving north of the James River. I didn't have any nearby cross over points on the river. After dinner, I noticed that one of the cells had exploded, and I was able to get some nice distant shots just north of Wakefield. Additional small storms formed to my west and I was able to watch some nice lightning near Surry, Virginia before heading home. Total miles 287.

View of storm from Wakefield, Virginia looking north. Storm is across the James River.


Bill Hark

 

[Eric Flescher]

Chase 4/27/07 "can't be- can it?"
(4:45- 6:03pm) 16 miles Around Olathe KS
this info plus pics at http://stormsatori-kcstormguy.blogspot.com/

Well this was a crazy day. I ended teaching that day in Paola, KS. There was rain, a couple of thunder claps but nothing out of the ordinary. Weather kept changing between sunny and light rain. As I headed south to Olathe weather was partly cloudy. I stopped at 135th and Blackbob at the supermarket to get some food and then headed home. Normal chatter on the Oreilly show and then the talk show on KMBZ but nothing else.
At home, I began charging my pda. As I opended the back glass door, I thought what I heard was warning sirens but they were not loud. I though "can't be- can it?". Quickly turned on KMBC TV and lo and behold there were alerts for Miami County near Paola where I just came from . It seemed that the radio stations were trying to catch up for the "ball they had dropped." Also storm cells dropping hail and possible funnel to the south.
I got in my car as my wife came in her car and said her friend had a lot of hail north of us. I headed down 151st towards I-35. The radio said there was a possible dangerous cell near Garnder- Edgerton off of I-35 but there were also a funnel and heavy hail off of 119th street as well as a funnel near Ottawa. Reports of wall clouds too. This is amazing. There was nothing on the radio a few minutes before.
I headed North towards 119th street after changing my mind andturning around to go south not to check out the Gardner cell. By the time I got there I did not see anything significant. But there was beautiful raindow arching from the south over the stores. I stopped and took some pictures ofthe rainbow.
There was a possibler dangerous cell heading into Missouri from South of Miami county in Kansas. A reported funnel or rotation. I decided to head south and then got off to go home. No way I could catch the storm. However I could see that stormcell with its gleaming cumulus clouds to the SW. I noticed the moon above the cell which would make a nice picture. I snapped a few and the results are below.
This was an unexpected mini-chase close to home. Did not hear anything more about these storms in the newspaper (we were out later that night so I could not check the news).

 

[Jesse V. Bass III]

Bill, you culd not be more right about the traffic here. I got stuck in Chesapeake sitting in traffic as the storms sped up a bit and passed over me. I tried to get to Virgina Beach ahead of them and like you, called it off. I saw the same storm later in the evening as your photo above. Shot some photos of it and then was able to shoot some lightning from it later in the evening as it got darker once I got to Bill Coyle's house. Here is a photo and then a link to the rest of the photos.

http://www.vastormphoto.com/april2707stormstructure.htm