Took the long way home...

Well, Mini-Dew and I were traveling from the library to the pet store (needed hay for the giant rodent) yesterday evening, when I noticed that convection was rolling in hard out of the south... the Gulf feed was significant and it was a solid deck of moisture rolling in. I promptly let bf know that his topless time was over and that it was time to dress the jeep, and then I sat and photographed some of the towers going up there in the parking lot, which Mini-Dew was annoyed and embarrassed by, but she didn't get really irritated until later in the evening. Here are the early towers though.Now, that last one... that's my little storm cloud. That tower climbed and climbed, and I got to watch the whole thing as I drove through town, thinking... wow, that's nice... man, look at that thing climb... we've got ourselves a nice little storm... all the while snapping shots, while I was safely stopped at lights or pulled off the road (seriously, I had Mini-Dew in tow.) I really like the church one. Here, I was stopped just outside of a trailer park, where there was a patch of wisteria up against the fence... I couldn't get over how gorgeous they are up close. They look like little iris blooms. Who knew? Of course, you know what they meant I had to do... right?







You have to click on those to look at the larger pic. Beautiful purple wisteria blossoms... chasing Dewdrop style... They were so beautiful, I simply had to capture them with the cumulus tower backdrop...After that, I had all intentions of heading home, checking out radar, to get a good look at the big picture... which when I left for pain and torture was sporadic nothingness, at least where weather was concerned. Things were starting to feed in and fire, but nothing major, and I could see that much looking at the sky. I was almost home, when I decided to seek out a field to watch this little cell roll by. I couldn't get over how striking the structure was and to have it facing the setting sun... beautiful!!! There was absolutely no indication of rotation, so I felt comfortable with where I was. It was all just going up. It was magnificent, and it absolutely captivated me, where I was compelled and determined to watch the entire life cycle of my little storm cell, despite Mini-Dew's perpetual criticism... "Mommy, when are we going to go?" "Mommy, this is boring." "We aren't doing anything." "It's just a cloud." Somehow, she doesn't see the splendor that I see when I look at something as powerfully magnificent as a thundercloud. Oh well, we stayed until I was finished looking, so basically almost through dissipation. It was actually overtaken by the next, much larger thunderstorm before it fully dissipated, and... BONUS, the subsequent cloud actually had an associated shelf cloud. Coolness, AND bf had texted me about a green sky south of me... hail core punching with Mini-Dew... lol.

OK, no, I did not see a tornado. No, I didn't catch any lightning (it was sparse, and it just didn't seem worth the effort it would've taken). No, I saw no funnel cloud... not even a wall cloud, or even the most slight indication that there was rotation, BUT I was able to experience some awesome structure in my neck of the woods, and I chased it Dew-style.

Today, the action area appears to be northeast Texas and southeastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas. Let's see what happens. I stayed up on Steve Miller's (Oklahoma Steve's) forecast chat room last night to see what everyone thought of the set up. Lots of chasers will be out chasing this event today. I know both Steve Miller, OK and Steve Miller, TX will be out, both streaming live video of their chases, if that works out. I have a jam packed full day, and then I am off to Atlanta. I will update as time permits. I just hope all the chasers stay safe, and that those in the path of this potential tornado outbreak stay vigilant in watching conditions and listening to their radios. Unfortunately, today's severe weather outbreak will likely continue into the night. Looking at statistics, the tornado count for this year, so far, already more than doubles the 10 year average, and we are just now entering the "peak tornado season". It should be a very interesting day.

Toodles,
~Dewdrop

Another round of severe weather in the South Central US

As I ponder the difficulties and pain that the victims of the Super Tuesday Tornado Outbreak endure, my thoughts turn to Psalm 77. My hope is that those affected will maintain their strength and faith in God. Here are portions of Psalm 77 that I feel compelled to share...

Psalm 77
I cried out to God for help;
I cried out to God to hear me.
When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out untiring hands
and my soul refused to be comforted.
Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"
Then I thought, "To this I will appeal:
the years of the right hand of the Most High."
I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
I will meditate on all your works
and consider all your mighty deeds.
Your ways, O God, are holy.
What god is so great as our God?
You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.
With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
The waters saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and writhed;
the very depths were convulsed.
The clouds poured down water,
the skies resounded with thunder;
your arrows flashed back and forth.
Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
your lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.
Your path led through the sea,
your way through the mighty waters,
though your footprints were not seen.

I want to repeat that last part because it is the part that I feel like speaks to me the most about this time of recovery...

The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.

Praise Him in this storm. UPDATE from a resident of Mountain, View, AR...

I live in Mountain View and work at the MV Telephone Company. We have managed to restore telephone service to almost every part of the county, and we have also restored DSL internet service to those that have generators. Initially, Entergy said the power would be on between 9pm-12am on Sunday night (yesterday), but that did not happening. Now we are being told power may be back on by midnight tonight (Monday). The schools and most businesses are still closed, of course, but everyone has plenty to keep them busy. The cleanup continues on the eastern side of town -- we did have one confirmed fatality and only two serious injuries, thankfully. FEMA has set up a command center here, and of course there are many relief groups serving hot food and handing out water. All of the roads are open but there may be some delays with utility work. Hopefully the power will come back soon and we can really start the cleanup in earnest. Thanks for your blog, btw.

~Tyler Henderson

Thanks for the thorough update, Tyler! Unfortunately, another round of severe weather is forecasted today for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and... yes, Arkansas. There is not near the emphasis on the tornadic threat associated with this approaching weather, but the cold air aloft will translate to a greater risk of large hail with this passing system.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, a subtropical impulse is being projected as approaching the Floridian peninsula out of Mexico. This impulse has generated quite a stir... I know waking Jeff from his weatherless coma. The SPC looks to tomorrow for the area being bombarded with a surge of moisture, boundary layer destabilization, strong southwesterly mid/upper flow coupled with deep layer sheer, which all works together to generate an increasing potential for supercells and yes, a potential for tornadoes, not to mention large hail and damaging winds. (I haven't posted my really awesome lightning strike in a while, and given the Dewvoid imposed SDS, I thought this might help).

Locally, in South Georgia, I awoke to freezing temperatures outside. I was smart this time though, brewing my coffee before heading outside, so sitting outside waiting on Mini-Dew's bus, wasn't quite the Dewdrop-cicle situation that it usually is. What gets to me is that, although we started at 30 degrees this morning, the forecast high today is over 70 degrees. A 40 degree span in one day?! Insanity. (This picture I posted is from my archive from just about a year ago. I really need to get out and shoot or get some weather... or something.)

Talking about insanity, I have an exciting weekend planned... Mini-Dew's birthday party. We have invited 7 of her friends over for a slumber party. Go ahead and shoot me now. LOL.

Toodles,
~Dewdrop