Headed down to Bronson, FL yesterday evening for some spotter training, where I had the privelege of meeting, in person, Jess, who I have spoken with many a time, just never met, a fellow chaser on the west coast of FL. She even chased with the Twister Sisters, like me. We are now, hereby, the "Meso Mommas!" How do you like that? We grabbed a quick bite at a place called the "Boondocks" (no lie) and my directions to the class took us through a less than desirable area to visit that ended up being the wrong place altogether! I knew something wasn't right when I turned off on a dirt road and all the eye could see were mobile homes... Yikes. Class was actually at the EOC, and it wa very nice. Dan from Tampa Bay NWS was a great instructor with an obvious passion for weather. He did some great hurricane coverage, and he had some great analogies to help the less passionate about weather folk understand. He even had a picture of the TIV in his presentation, which Jess and I were proud to announce we had seen in person and was, in fact (though sadly) real. Cool thing is that I will be getting a spotter id number! Woohoo! Great experience, but I returned home so late... I am exhausted!
Of course, weather started here right after I left (you see the towers as I was leaving town...). eye roll, and weather ended in Bronson when I got down there... Can't say I'm surprised. Today, looks like more rain for us... and through the remainder of the week, actually. I am running out of opportunities to chase, so I might have to grab a few of these storms and try to catch some of that evasive lightning.
That's it for me today.
Ciao,
~Dewdrop
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
More spotter training!
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now we just need to get shirts. With our J's in the front,mabie jackets too....lol
ReplyDeleteI already have a mean looking tornado worked out at a shirt shop. We could have our J's worked into that somehow. ;-)
ReplyDeleteWhat is a TIV?
ReplyDeleteTornado Intercept Vehicle. They actually say that they will/have drive/driven their tank looking pick up truck into the base of a tornado. They have stabilizers and hydraulics to keep it stationary. Very interesting vehicle. I have seen stuff on the Discovery Channel about it, but I actually saw it in Murdo, SD. Interesting stuff.
ReplyDeleteFrom Dr. Masters Blog this morning.
ReplyDeleteTwo computer models, the GFS and ECMWF, are indicating the possibility of a tropical storm forming in the mid-Atlantic between Africa and the Lesser Antilles Islands by August 1. This is still a bit early for something to form in this region, given that the SSTs are average there. However, there is a strong tropical wave about to emerge from the coast of Africa that may be something to watch early next week as it moves over the central Atlantic.
http://www.nco.ncep.noaa.gov/pmb/nwprod/analysis/namer/gfs/00/images/gfs_slp_276l.gif
SCM
Mikey, Well, that's some exciting tropical news... finally! How have you been? All settled in your new place? How is VA?
ReplyDeleteFinally settled in...look for a lot more posting from me from today on. It was brutal to move, but now we are all set. I have finished by hurricane preparations by installing a new 16kw Generator with an Automatic Transfer switch (this will run my whole house automatically). I have also trimmed all the very lary White Oak trees around my house of all dead limbs and off the house by a good distance. I am only 2 blocks from the Chesapeake Bay, so flooding and heavy winds are a major risk at my new home. I like your new name "Meso Mama!".
ReplyDeleteSCM
The link Mikey posted got cut off, click here.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're finally settled in, and it sounds like you're all set for cane season (full house backup power??? wow!) ... should that ever really materialize... yes, yes, I read your comment. My poor little tracking map is just so doggone naked. Does the bay get a huge surge?
ReplyDeleteThanks, it does have a ring to t, doesn't it?
~Meso Mama!
From James Spann this a.m.:
ReplyDelete"LONG RANGE: The GFS is also becoming persistent on the idea of a hurricane forming in the Atlantic, north of Puerto Rico, around August 5, then moving northwest in the general direction of the middle Atlantic coast of the U.S. Then, it begins to recurve to the northeast just off the upper part of the Atlantic coast in the August 8-11 time frame. Needless to say, this is voodoo, but certainly a possibility."
Interesting-er and interesting-er. Thanks for that input Mike. Let's just keep watching those tropics. Something is bound to happen eventually, right?
ReplyDeleteI love his voodoo comment... very cute.
dew...great post...got your e-mail and will take care of that this evening. :)
ReplyDeleteoh, and the voo-doo comment that Mike speaks of is a James Spann-ism...he calls forecasts out in the future....'voo-doo land'..which is correct! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Tennessee Mike! I'm so honored to be among the "blogs you read". Woohoo!!! I was starting to feel a little rejected. ;-) jk. Appreciate the future link.
ReplyDeleteThanks for explaining Mr. Spann. I was thinking we needed to break out the voodoo dolls. lol