Storm/Weather/Tornado terms we'd like to see

LOL ... these are hilarious. Jason's just put me over the edge.

There's always a hatched probablistic on Crane County, unfortunately. 35% or greater chance of a Barney within 25 miles of a point.
 
One of the funniest terms I've ever heard was in a video tribute to Eric Nguyen: "what do you think that is?"

Eric's response: "I don't know..............it's a....Gust Meso"

I use it all the time now - visible rotation on a gust front.
 
Two new ones for this yearly sniglet thread:

scunnels - ephemeral dynamic low cloud formations associated with a storm updraft that are rotating and persistent when wearing rose colored glasses

chasing trees - stormchasing in the Ozarks and gulf coast states, e.g. most of May, 2008, to date.
 
Hail smog - the grayish blue haze that gathers around chasers' dented up vehicles who haven't replaced a muffler since 1989.

Anticyclown - that one drunk latch-on chaser who always follows you after you go through a small town in Iowa. (His attempt to drive may be described as "anticyclownic.")

Doo-point - the ability to use one's hair as a meaningful gauge as to whether you have approached the dryline or not.

Green House Effect - the air quality experienced in one's home after eating too many burritos during a long day of chasing.

Mesosfear - mental condition of the first-time chaser who decided to start chasing on the date you happen to intercept the storm of the year.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Commitment Boundary: The tendency of tornadic supercells to fire up within maddeningly easy reach along the edge of an unbreakable commitment. There's no more certain way of guaranteeing that even the most hopeless scenario will blossom into convective Armageddon than to lock in an obligation on the calendar.

I've promised to dog-sit this weekend for my mother and sister while they're attending a funeral. How could I say no? I also happen to notice a buildup of 2,000+ CAPE and 60's Tds in western Illinois/northeast Missouri on Sunday. Keep your eyes on it. I don't care that it's all on the far backside of a low and that the surface and 850 mb winds are blowing straight from the west. You think that stuff matters in the face of a commitment boundary? Ha. If you're a Great Lakes-based chaser, you might as well start putting on the Rain-X now. Your day is coming at last.
 
Mesoscale accident (term coined by Erik Rasmussen): Tornadoes are so rare (or develop when not expected) that they become mesoscale accidents.

Bird Fart Thunderstorms (term coined by Chuck Doswell): Typical 30 minute garden variety thunderstorms, non severe. Not favored by chasers.

RFD Coming Down: Your chase partner farts in the car and you need to roll down the windows to air it out. Not a rear flank downdraft we like to have.

Snownado: A possible side effect of SDS. Chaser swears they see snow whirling on the ground like a tornado during a snowstorm but no one believes them.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Laura Duchesne said:
Snownado: A possible side effect of SDS. Chaser swears they see snow whirling on the ground like a tornado during a snowstorm but no one believes them.
Click to expand...

That is hilarious!!! back in January when we had that insane 50 degree temperature plunge followed by 40mph sustained winds I actually sat near a field to watch these spin up. They are very real!!!

In addition to Crapvection I also use the term Scuddly duddly which simply refers to scud that doesn't appear to be rising into the base.
 
Mushing out. When a squall line begins to weaken, by either undercutting itself or moving into an area with reduced instability. On radar the once crisp, solid reflectivities take on a "mushy", less solid appearance. Usually the first sign that the squall line is on it's way to becoming a future outflow boundary.
 
Slot Machine - [n] A hail core that dispenses penny to quarter-sized hail. As in: "We've got a slot machine over Highway 287, we better cut to the east to avoid hitting this jackpot."

Grapefruit Tree - [n] A hail core that is producing grapefruit-sized hail. As in: "We better not go any further north or we'll be underneath the grapefruit tree."

Tasmanian Devil - [n] Alternate terminology for a dust devil. As in: "That's not a tornado, it's just a Tasmanian Devil."
 
Bluescreen - a laptop's tendency to crash at pivotal moments in the chase. Can be used as a verb.

Delorme's Geodetic Deficiency Syndrome (DGDS) - A condition whereby the afflicted becomes so dependent on GPS and mapping software, that he/she loses all ability to comprehend or use paper maps.

When a patient with DGDS also suffers an ill-timed bluescreen, disastrous results can ensue.

Chaser 1: Oh no. The storm is right-turning, and our east road ends here! Which way should we go?

Chaser 2 (DGDS sufferer): I don't know. I've just been bluescreened!

TonyC (DGDS support group chairperson)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Ash Bray
Meteorology student looking to chase
Replies
4
Views
3K
Seth Price
Seth Price
adlyons
2016-10-04 EVENT: TX, OK, KS.
2
Replies
24
Views
10K
Jeff Duda
Jeff Duda
Danny Neal
Remembering November 17th, 2013....
Replies
2
Views
4K
chrisbray
chrisbray
Bill Tabor
Chase Safety Tips & Guidelines Near Tornado Environments
Replies
2
Views
6K
Bill Tabor
Bill Tabor
Bob Hartig
GFS: Its Strengths and Weaknesses
Replies
8
Views
10K
CGardner
Back
Top