Storms Don't Scare Me!

Why don't storms scare me? 

I don't really know.  I can't say that it's my faith because I haven't always had faith, but I have always had a passion for weather.  I know people who are terrified of weather (kind of like my brother under the bed hiding from the "lightling").  I know people who beg me to do something about the storms, make them go away.... ummm... I know I've got tremendous Dewvoid.  I know people who pray the storms away... OK, I do actually get that.

Dewvoid: (noun) The absence of significant weather events within a close proximity of me... only cause I think significant weather is really cool.

Perhaps there is an opportunity there to sell my services (storm stopping) to wedding planners and bar mitzvah  coordinators.  You want pretty weather for the event, just invite me, guaranteed sunshine! "Stopping severe weather in a single bound.  It's a bird, it's a plane... no, it's Dewdrop."

I have actually had a conversation recently with a friend at the National Weather Service office who was discussing with me a solid squall indicating severe parameters of wind, and "they" had placed me in the severe warning box. HA!  I told him that it looked like they forgot the Dewvoid in forecasting, and he jokingly said that he should make sure the radar guys draw out a significant Dewvoid parameter... moments later, I was drawn out of the severe warning when the storm completely pulsed down.  You see, it's scientifically proven.  But, I digress.

So, why are so many people terrified of "bad" weather, while I face it head on without a care in the world??

I guess it's not fair to say I don't have a care in the world in the face of severe weather.  I have a healthy respect for flash flooding and would definitely turn around rather than drown.  It simply isn't worth it.  I definitely have a strong respect for lightning and its death inducing potential.  When thunder roars, you should head indoors.  I do that most of the time, OK, OK, some of the time.  Sometimes, I go out on the porch, in the back yard, or in the garage (with the door open) trying to nab a shot. Talk about role reversal, my daughter is usually the one trying to drag me inside.  I know better. I have storm chasing friends who have had some bad experiences. I have been known to seek out rotating wall clouds just to watch them spin, but I did freak out a bit when I ended up in the Drop Zone, this one time on accident because south Georgia roads twist and turn so much and you have really limited visibility for all the trees (Disclaimer: storm chasing in south Georgia is not safe, at all).  I have a healthy respect for all things destructive in weather.  Heat, flooding, lightning, wind... gosh even big enough hail can kill a person.  I get that.  The threat is real.

But then... I see a sky like this one here.  This is what showed up after a severe warned thunderstorm rolled through one evening, recently. Do you SEE that?!  It's amazing. 

I guess, for me, it all comes down to striking beauty.  There are times when I look to the sky, and my breath is literally taken away.  My eyes are lured to it; I find myself enthralled with the splendor and glory of His creation.  Sure, the severe stuff is dangerous and can be quite ominous, but the beauty I see seems to outweigh the danger.  I mean, I have seen shelf clouds that look like the mother ship, slinking across the sky, all it's layers and colors and texture.  I have seen cloud to ground lightning, light up a sky in brilliant shades of purple, as its web-like tendrils scatter through the atmosphere, cleaning the air.  I have seen rotating wall clouds, mere feet above the ground, wider than a football field, just barely moving, not hurting anything, just being stunning.  The beauty keeps me seeking more; it draws me in.

I am Dewdrop, and I am obsessed with weather, cause it takes my breath away.  I can't get enough.

I am not scared.  I love it too much!

Till next time,
~Dewdrop

Amazing shelf clouds...

A SHELF CLOUD is a type of arcus cloud.

An arcus cloud is a low, horizontal cloud formation associated with the leading edge of thunderstorm outflow, or occasionally with a cold front even in the absence of thunderstorms. Roll clouds and SHELF CLOUDS are the two types of arcus clouds, slight variations in their generation and look being the difference.

[A] shelf cloud is attached to the base of the parent cloud (usually a thunderstorm). Rising cloud motion often can be seen in the leading (outer) part of the shelf cloud, while the underside often appears turbulent and wind-torn.

Occasionally people seeing a shelf cloud may believe they have seen a wall cloud. This is a common mistake, since an approaching shelf cloud appears to form a wall made of cloud. Generally speaking, a shelf cloud appears on the leading edge of a storm, and a wall cloud will usually be at the rear of the storm.
~source

Yesterday, people shared shelf clouds they've encountered over the summer in the eastern part of the country... My personal best was in South Dakota... I'll share that in a minute...

With permission, here is a shelf cloud that Annie B. encountered during her vacation at Daytona Beach.... when Annie's friend Matt saw that, he shared with her his shot on his south Georgia farm of an awesome shelf in Lenox, GA. He also gave me permission to share...Looks like a scene straight out of the plains, doesn't it? Great shots, guys and thanks for sharing.

Here is my SD shelf cloud... what an amazing experience this was.They look ominous for a reason... they are generally a good indication of some powerful weather coming. Mine incorporated an amazingly powerful sand storm and winds that knocked down a tractor trailer. The other side held tornadic wall clouds... with multiple funnels. If you see something like this approaching, find a safe spot.

Sign of danger
A sharp, strong gust front will cause the lowest part of the leading edge of an arcus to be ragged and lined with rising fractus clouds. In a severe case there will be vortices along the edge with twisting masses of scud that may reach to the ground or be accompanied by rising dust. A very low shelf cloud accompanied by these signs is the best indicator that a potentially violent wind squall is approaching. An extreme example of this phenomenon looks almost like a tornado and is known as a gustnado.

Have a great day and wonderful weekend!
~Dewdrop

Blows me away!

SKY WATCH FRIDAY time! Please visit Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, Louise and Fishing Guy, the team for SKY WATCH FRIDAY (click the word to link and participate!) Thanks to Dot and Tom, who were instrumental in the success of this blogging event. You should definitely come fly with us! In honor of yesterday's outrageous outflow wind event, I thought I would present my favorite outflow wind event.This is the shelf cloud in South Dakota, back in June 2007, that carried with it wind ranging from 60-70mph, stirring up a ferocious sand storm. It was spectacular, beyond words, and it really gave me some tremendous hurricane perspective. The specific storm front, was strong enough to blow over a tractor trailer traveling on the interstate. Here are some shots that immediately followed the above.

This shot is what I saw when I turn about 45° to my left. It truly was evil looking!:This was Diane filming Mel capturing video (we were shooting for a television show about storm chasing) of the approaching storm and the amazing shelf cloud, just before the outflow winds (straight-line winds) arrived:This shot was the sand just about to overtake us:Here, we have been overtaken by a wall of sand, visibility was down to 0!:It was one of my most memorable moments out there, especially since I didn't get to the tornado that occurred that day about 25 miles or so from where we were.
Yesterday's main weather story was the powerful and deadly wind field that was generated by the squalled out line of storms that resulted after Tuesday's tornadic event. Where my straight line wind event was generated by one very powerful storm segment, the squall line event yesterday produced a wall of damaging wind, hundreds of miles wide, which inspired over 300 wind damage reports. All the blue dots in the linked graphic above represent wind damage reports yesterday. Sadly, one fatality was reported in Davy, WV after the gym roof at Twin Branch Christian Academy collapsed. Another person near Monterey, TN, was injured when he was pinned in a car by a tree. It looks like a disaster area where this wind devastated much of the region, knocking out power to tens of thousands, including some of those just recovering from the ice storm power outage. This report caught my attention:

30-50 TREES DOWN OFF HIGHWAY 62 LITTLE HURRICANE TRAIL.

30-50 trees... Little Hurricane Trail...? In Tennessee...? Yes, folks, tornadoes can be horribly destructive, but straight-line winds, such as what we saw yesterday, can cause more wide-scale damage and devastation. Where tornadic damage is generally limited to the specific swath of the tornado, a straight-line wind event can wreak havoc across hundreds of miles as we saw yesterday.

Have a great day!
~Dewdrop

Twister Sisters show, episode 5... the rest of the story...

Well, we did it up, my bf, Meso Mike, Rick, and I, celebrating the Dew-ified episode of the "Twister Sisters" show, which aired last night on WEtv (pictured here are Rick, me and Meso Mike... catching our first bit of rotation... I know, we're not "right". Yes, yes, a little bit of adult beverage played a roll in this.) Meso Mike stayed in town to catch the episode at my place, and since he was in town, I arranged for some early chaser convergence in the form of Hibatchi style cuisine. Before Rick arrived, Meso Mike and I hit the Best Buy to take a gander and play with the Canon DSLRs... drool. My dear son (who turned 21 today... good grief!) and his fabulous gf happened to walk in while we were there, so introductions all around, then we headed to the restaurant. It was an excellent celebratory meal, proving to all that heat is, in fact, the number one weather related killer... How are those eyebrows, Meso Mike?

So, that leads us up close to show time... Meso Mike brought some delicious Moscato from Italia, which is just about the best sparkling wine I have ever had. We drank a toast to the Dew-ified show, and sat down to watch... oh, after making some White Russians, that is... now, onto the show... I was impressed with the accuracy of what I actually saw compared with what they showed me seeing. Unfortunately and quite sadly, that is just about all I saw... I am impressed with the way it all edited. Upon reflecting on some things, prior to the airing, I got slightly paranoid about how things could have been taken out of context, and the only thing that I noticed was the way I compared the weather there with what we see in Georgia. There was more context, but that's a moot point. The big observation and the thing I have gotten the most feedback about is the inclusion of the infamous Happy Dew Dance (HDD). Now, I knew there was a risk of them incorporating a staged dance... what I didn't realized, was that I seem to do that dance on a regular basis, almost instinctually... People have heard of the Dance of Chaser Merriment, right? I think they mentioned it at the beginning of the show. Well, my Happy Dew Dance is similar to that, except... my dance (according to close friends, I am now hearing) comes out whenever something excites me... My dear son was prompt to call me and tell me that I am NEVER TO DEW THAT DANCE AGAIN! LOL. Happy, Texas Steve? You finally got to see the HDD. Oh brother...

Enough about the HDD, the significant break with reality occurs in the order and location of events. They showed chase day one, the high risk PDS (that the Dewvoid took care of) in Iowa (which they presented as Nebraska...), but was actually my last chase day. It was the day we chased a long-lived wall cloud across THE ENTIRE STATE OF IOWA! Let me just say in no uncertain terms, that IOWA SUCKS! Iowa really sucks when you are chasing a fast moving supercell across the entire state, and GET NOTHING!
Anyways, I did get to hear my first tornado siren (the first pic above), since there was a rotating wall cloud, and that was cool, but that expression I offered at the end of that day was the expression of extreme disappointment. You see, that wasn't the end of chase day one... that was the end of the chasecation. I knew the forecast for my third day out. We weren't going to have an opportunity for a third chase day. I was crushed. The Dewvoid had killed my last shot for that trip (no worries, I will return to the plains.) The day at the winery (cough, cough) was totally cut, like it didn't even exist. I was sneaking wine samples to the sound guy the whole time... Hey Boo! (I sure did enjoy the production side of the show, so fascinating how it all comes together. I just wish that everyone hadn't been so stressed.)
Since my day 2 was a bust, and day 3 never even happened, that leaves my day 1, which was the cool day. Chaser convergence in Murdo, SD was awesome. There were so many different types of chasers out there, all after that same storm. It was overwhelming.












I was in new chaser sensory overload. I loved it though. The funnel clouds were awesome in that impressive striated mesocyclone within my very first ever supercell (yes, folks, I am that new to chasing). I was completely awestruck, and with the location of the sun, the green pastures, rolling hills... it was breathtaking. That cell made my chase experience. Of course, we missed the badlands tornado by like 30 minutes, or something... but I'll have another shot at that one day. It would have been awesome to see that one over the badlands... the best shot I have seen of it was taken by Scott Blair... (click on his name to see it, it rocks) Yeah... I missed it. It was funny, when we were watching the show, I said "Oh guys, this is when we saw the huge shelf cloud that covered the entire sky. It was awesome!" That was cut, but let me paste a pic of that for you. We left that and caught up with it again when I got to experience my very first outflow boundary/straight line wind event. It was amazing! I was standing there watching that incredible shelf cloud approach, when all of the sudden, this blast of wind and sand overtook us, just about knocking me off my feet. It was powerful, and it was definitely another key moment for me during my chasecation.
Of course, I lost the guys at that point, as they became suddenly distracted as they watched Melanie race toward the Suburban. I won't say why... you'll just have to watch the show... Boys will be boys. All in all, I think they presented Mr. X well. Oh, was Mr. X there? I had forgotten saying that jokingly during the interview... He is still not a fan of storm chasing... just fyi.

Of course, the Beau and Eric saga continued. I can understand their frustration... everyone, at that point, was tense and tired. They had traveled all over the plains and back, in a very short period of time. Most were running on fumes. I know the crew was ready for it to be over.

I will be watching the show again to see what I missed since somebody talked just about the whole time and I was getting calls and texts throughout.

All in all, I would definitely do that again, in a heartbeat! It was a wonderful experience. I learned so much and had a truly terrific time.

Aside from all that, the "January Jolt"... (is that seriously what TWC called this thing?) continued into yesterday, offering some more tornadoes, including a couple of EF3s. January... weird. Locally, we are expecting some weather tomorrow, as the SPC has placed us near a slight risk... but I would actually expect our weather to arrive Friday... you know, when I leave town. The guys were practically offering to pack my bags for me. Thanks, guys. I appreciate all the love. Hey Dew, have a safe trip. Please don't come back till we bag the big one. sigh. We'll see what happens, but with the Dewvoid out of the way, it's certain to be something.

Have a great day!
~Dewdrop