Chase Log 12-31-2010

We made the decision to chase the New Year's Eve tornado outbreak early in the week after Christmas. We were seeing fairly early on a unique situation that looked like it was going to take place over the western half of Dixie Alley. The NWS was seeing it, other chasers were seeing it, but at the same time it was being met with plenty of skepticism, there were more than a few people who doubted this setup. However, we believed what was forecasted to happen, a low cape/high shear system (common in the fall and winter in the south). The problem people were seeing was how far north the low pressure center would be moving. Some did not believe the thermodynamics were adding up with a slight risk so far south. However the SPC did issue a slight risk with an enhanced area of tornado risk over eastern La. and central Ms.

We got up on the morning of this outbreak to look at the new model data only to see that storm initiation closer to the low had already gotten started. By this time an EF-3 tornado had struck the town of Cincinnati, Ar., and another EF-3 had struck Fort Leonard Wood and Rolla, Mo. After we got caught up on everything that had happened up to this point, we finished looking over the 12z model runs and mesoanalysis data, and we hit the road around 11:00 a.m. Our initial target area was Vicksburg, Ms., which would allow us to easily adjust in any direction we needed including crossing the Mississippi river into Louisiana. We sat in Vicksburg watching the clouds across the river from the overlook for an hour or so, then storms finally started initiating to our southwest near Alexandria, La. After studying GR3 and looking at the storm tracks we moved across the river to Tallulah, La. to get in a better position as it was likely we were going to be moving south to intercept.

The first tornado warning of the day was issued at around 1:30 p.m. east of Alexandria, and ten minutes or so later another tornado warning was issued on a cell moving north northeast toward our location. From there headed south on Hwy 65 to Tensas Parish to intercept the storm. This is where once again the data problems began, first dropping to 2G coverage a little south of Tallulah, then losing data all together around Newellton, La. Though these storms were high precipitation, it was at least day time, so we continued on to Clayton, La. When we arrived there we stopped and attempted to get our equipment up and running again (we've since upgraded several things to prevent these problems in the future). In the mean time the storms we were attempting to intercept were moving west of us by a few miles, so once we got everything fixed we turned around and Paralleled the storms back north toward Tallulah. As we passed through Newellton again we had storms to our north, west, and south quickly forming into a QLCS that would soon push eastward and overtake us. From this point forward we were fighting a losing battle to get back north to Tallulah and east back into Ms. and ahead of the line. At one point we did see a distinct lowering from the cloud base to our west, after that we could barely see the road much less the clouds around us.

We got back to Tallulah having encountered extremely heavy rain, high wind, and some small hail along the way. At that point we got radar updates flowing again studying the radar while trying to get back to Vicksburg. We continued east on I-20 very slowly toward the river stuck behind the line the whole time, but once we got to the Mississippi river bridge at around 4:35 p.m. we had to stop as soon as we got across at I-20 and Hwy 61S. It was a couple of minutes prior that we got a radar update showing the cell moving through Warren County with a strong couplet that would be tracking north northeast across I-20 right in front of us. As we sat there, we began getting strong inflow winds and hail as a rain wrapped tornado touched down about one and half miles to our east southeast and moved northeast a couple of miles before lifting. From there we tried to get back to Jackson to intercept an intense supercell that developed ahead of the line moving northeast from Copiah County. We had to get off of I-20 due to traffic being completely stopped, so we exited and got onto Hwy 80 traveling east toward Bovina, Ms. Things were very slow moving at this point thanks to the highway being mostly under water along our route. Finally we made there and got back on I-20 on the other side of the traffic jam that was blocking I-20. Next stop, Jackson.

As we neared the Jackson metro area, a tornado warning had been issued for Hinds and Rankin County, and a chaser in front of the storm had just reported a tornado on the ground moving out of Terry, Ms. toward Byram at about 4:50 p.m. Heavy rain and rush hour traffic on I-20 in Jackson would further prevent us from getting ahead of the storm, so we just had to try our best to get as close as possible to this tornado from the west side. We passed through Clinton about the same time that a tornado emergency was being issued by Jackson NWS at 4:57 p.m. as the tornado crossed I-55 at Byram, Ms. as an EF-2. At this point we knew the tornado was going to cross I-20 near Pearl, Ms. and because of the traffic we'd never make it that far in time, so we opted to get on I-55N and go to Hwy 25 where we could meet it as it crossed the highway just northeast of the Jackson WFO in Flowood. The tornado weakened to an EF-1 as it moved just west of Richland at 5:09 p.m. before continuing northeast to Pearl crossing Hwy 80 at around 5:15 p.m. and causing damage to businesses and houses in the area. At this point we were making our way down Hwy 25 toward the Dogwood area to meet the tornado as it crossed, but it lifted just south of Hwy 25 after crossing the runway at the Jackson International Airport. The circulation we were seeing on radar at this time was still quite strong, and this tornado was already at long track status, so thinking that it may be cycling we turned onto Old Fannin Rd. and drove toward the Ross Barnett Reservior to keep up with it. Our next radar update showed a further weakening area of circulation transitioning to more of a high wind situation at this point. As we approached Hwy 471 we decided it was time to abandon this storm and head back south to Brandon, Ms. to intercept the next storm tracking northeast toward the city. This storm started off with a strong couplet but quickly weakened as it made it's way toward our new position east of Brandon on I-20. It ended up crossing the interstate at the Rankin/Smith County line as nothing more than a severe thunderstorm.

We headed back to Pearl at this time and observed the damaged areas along Hwy 80. We then went south on Hwy 49 and went into Byram through the back roads making as far as the east side of I-55 before encountering the heavily damaged area closed off by emergency services. From there we went back up I-55 to Pearl and waited on the next storm that had become tornado warned to our south in Copiah County. This storm had dropped an EF-1 tornado near Brookhaven, Ms. and made it as far north as the Hinds/Rankin county line before weakening. That storm moved northeast through Smith County but showed very weak signs of rotation all the way up, so we headed back to Pearl to check out some additional damage areas. Emergency crews were everywhere in this area, and there wasn't much we could do to help out, so we called our chase at around 9 p.m. and headed back home. All storms at this point were moving well out of our range, and there wasn't much going on anyway.

Jackson NWS did it's regularly scheduled balloon launch at 10:00 p.m since they were likely too busy at the normal 6:00 p.m. time. The atmosphere was still very impressive at this point as it was showing the area in a high cape/high shear environment. It was also at this time that a surface low developed over western La. and central Ms. and tracked northeast sparking a whole new round of severe weather that would start at around mid-night. The second round of storms spawned two EF-3 tornadoes in Attala and Noxubee counties, an EF-2 in Kemper/Noxubee counties, and 4 EF-1s in Choctaw, Oktibbeha, and Kemper counties overnight. We went back to the Jackson area tornado path the following day and took pictures of the areas that we couldn't get to the night before.

Related images and graphics:

SREF data at 500mb and 925mb for New Year's Eve.

SPC soundings for 6 a.m., 12 p.m., and 10 p.m. on the day of the event.

Velocity image of the tornado entering the city of Byram.

Velocity image of the tornado entering the city of Pearl.

Some photos of the damage in Byram, Ms.

Some pictures of the damage in Pearl, Ms.

Jason & Jonathan Brooks

Chase Log 11-29-2010

The November 29 tornado outbreak was quite an interesting day to say the least. A few days prior we noticed the models showing the potential for a classic fall low cape/high shear setup that would affect the Arklamiss region. This system became a more dangerous high cape/high shear setup by the start of the outbreak in Mississippi. Needless to say, our decision to chase this system was made very early on. On the morning of the 29th we sat down and went over the 12z model runs, soundings, and mesoanalysis data before heading toward our target area of northern Louisiana. A slight risk was issued by the SPC with a 10% hatched tornado risk for the area. It looked like things would be getting fired up in the mid to late afternoon hours, so we got on the road and drove west at around 1:00 p.m. that afternoon.

The first tornado warning of the day was issued at 1:10 p.m. for Toledo County, Tx. This storm was well south of our target area, but we knew then that we had to get moving to get in position as these storms tracked northeast toward the I-20 corridor. By the time we got into La. that afternoon plenty of storms were making their way across Louisiana including a storm that would later produce an EF-4 tornado that destroyed 3 homes near Atlanta, La. We moved into position in Rayville, La. at around 3:30 p.m. and awaited this storm with a history of producing tornadoes as it tracked northeast towards us. Fellow chasers David Reimer and Scott Peake were already on the storm trying to keep up with it after it crossed I-49 in central La. After this storm made it's way northeast a new tornado warning was issued for the city of Monroe, La. We were still sitting in Rayville at this time, and after looking at our radar data and seeing that storms were moving more to the east, we decided to go back east to Delhi, La. to get back east of the line.

We sat in Delhi until a tornado warning was issued at around 6:30 p.m. on a storm headed directly toward us, our position was perfect. Unfortunately it was dark by this time, so any developing tornado would be hard to see. The storm ended up crossing I-20 and tracked northeast but never dropped a tornado, at this time we headed east again to Tallulah where we stopped for gas and looked at the radar again. From there we traveled back across the Mississippi river and headed north on Hwy 61 to intercept the storms that were still tracking northeast through northern La. toward Warren, Issaquena, and Sharkey Countys in Ms. After getting in position near Cary, Ms. we sat and watched the incoming barrage of lightning. As tornado warned storms began crossing the river I noticed that we were no longer getting updates on GR3. All i knew was we were going to be very close to an area of strong rotation that would cross 61N in the next 15 minutes or so, it was once again decision time.

It was at this time that we decided to go back south to Hwy 3 and try to get back in data range since we'd lost mobile internet all together where we were sitting. It was not a good situation to be in at night with a possible tornado moving toward us in a heavily wooded area. These tornadoes were also rain wrapped, so those were the main factors in getting to a safer area. We were near Hwy 3 when a rain wrapped tornado touched down on the east side of Hwy 61 at about 7:25 p.m. just to our north, the problem was we didn't know it. After having to go back south into Warren county to get radar data going again we were told via phone that a possible tornado was moving through Yazoo City (again). We knew by this time we were way too far behind the storm to catch back up. That tornado was later rated EF-1 and EF-2 as it moved through the Yazoo City area damaging houses and businesses downtown. Here it was decided that we would continue south back into Vicksburg to intercept another tornado warned cell moving toward the city, so we shot down hwy 27 and stopped at Warren Central High School just in time for it's arrival. Once again this possible tornado was rain wrapped, and the radar was showing strong rotation that would move north of us by about a mile. Just after it passed over the highway an EF-0 tornado touched down a few miles northeast of our position. We waited in the parking lot while the storm's rfd blew through then jumped back on I-20 east to try and keep up with the storm.

Upon entering Edwards, Ms. on I-20 we exited there and got on Hwy 22 traveling northeast to stay parallel with the storm. Once we got to Hwy 49 at around 9:30 p.m., it was time to abandon this cell and head for the next one as the storm kept pulling away from us moving into Yazoo County. From there we dropped back south on Hwy 49 to Clinton, Ms. to intercept another tornado warned cell with strong rotation moving toward the Jackson Metro area. This storm had a history of producing tornadoes in Claiborne County, so we figured it was worth having a live stream on it. As we entered Clinton the radar signature was just southwest of the city moving northeast between Clinton and Bolton a few miles to our west, but this possible tornado was hard to see due to a small amount of lightning during this time and lots of trees. After the storm moved through the area we headed down Hwy 80 through Clinton and Jackson and went north on I-220 to Madison, Ms. to catch the storm again. We traveled north on 220 and got on to I-55N pulling over just north of Madison at Gluckstadt, Ms. This is the point where we saw a wall cloud moving northeast, but it weakened fairly quickly as it moved northeast. Going by radar data at the time, the velocity signature disappeared and an area of straight line winds developed causing wind damage along Hwy 43 in Madison County.

After this storm moved ahead of us through Madison County into Leake County, we once again were unable to keep up. After abandoning that storm and hanging out in the Canton, Ms. area, most of the storms that were still potentially producing were well outside of our range. At this point we decided to call it a night and head home. We discussed driving back up to Yazoo City to see if we could stream some of the damage online, but we found out that law enforcement had the entire downtown area closed off. We didn't end up with a lot photo/video wise, and we almost got hit by a tornado thanks to bad data areas, but all in all it was an exciting and interesting chase.

Here's a picture of the wall cloud we saw just north of Madison, Ms. Image is a video grab.

Here's a Skew-T sounding taken from a balloon launch at 6 p.m. on November 29th.

Here's an image of all storm based warnings issued during the outbreak.

If I can find where I saved all of my NWS graphics from that day, I'll post them on here.


Jason Brooks

Chase Log 11-25-2010

After watching chasers in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri have a little luck with storms developing ahead of a cold front on November 24th, Jonathan and myself set our sights on the 25th in the Mississippi delta in hopes of catching some storms ourselves. A slight risk for tornadoes was issued by the SPC for the day for N. Ms., Ar., and Tn. Once that was done, our decision was made, and we prepared for a chase. We spent the morning of the 25th looking over model data from the 12z run deciding where exactly our target area for the day would be, and though the numbers weren't overly impressive to us, we decided it was still worth the drive as we knew that Fall storm systems can be surprisingly strong in the deep south.

By early afternoon we were headed out of Clinton, Ms. on Hwy 49 north with an initial target area in the mid-Ms. delta around the Hwy 82 corridor. As we traveled north we got on to Hwy 49W and continued north through Humphreys County toward Sunflower County a meso-discussion was issued by the SPC that discussed the need to issue a tornado watch for the area. Once we saw that we knew our target was good, and we'd made the right decision to chase on Thanksgiving. As we drove through Sunflower County, we were studying our radar trying to decide if we would continue north on 49 or head west on Hwy 82 toward Greenville, Ms. The storms developing north of 82 closer to the Memphis metro were not looking that great, so we decided to stay south and intercept any tail end storms crossing the river. We headed west on 82, and shortly after the SPC issued a severe thunderstorm watch for our target area. We were disappointed to see this, but we were committed by then, so we continued on.

As we approached the junction of Hwy 82 and Hwy 61 N we decided to head north from there since storms were developing and about to cross the Ms. river north of Greenville. We intercepted our first storm of the day near Cleveland, Ms. The storm appeared to be intensifying as we got in front of it, though no warnings had been issued for any of the storms in the area. As the storm approached we stopped on Hwy 61 just north of Cleveland and waited there taking several pictures of a nicely developed shelf cloud. The problem with these storms was that cold air from the cold front kept surging forward and undercutting the storms out ahead of the line. This was causing them to weaken, re-intensify, and then weaken again. We didn't figure out what was going on until the first storm moved over us, and the temperature dropped from about 73 degrees to 59 degrees in a matter of a few minutes. From there we decided to head back south into the warm air to 82 and head east toward I-55. By the time we got about halfway down 82 E we pretty much knew our chase was over. Nothing was happening in our target area, and we were too far away to head north and get on the tornado warned storms in Tennessee. It was time to head home, but we took a few more pictures of a re-intensifying storm running along 82 before it was undercut by cold air again and weakened.

Overall Tennessee ended up with 2 tornado warned storms and 1 confirmed EF-0 tornado not associated with a warning, it was only on the ground for about 2 miles. Later that night an EF-1 tornado was confirmed with a storm that was moving along the cold front in S. central Louisiana. No injuries occurred with either of the tornadoes, but several houses were damaged.

Here are some pictures and graphics from this chase:

Storm north of Cleveland, Ms.

Storm on Hwy 82

Watch Area

Warnings and LSRs

Jason Brooks

Chase Log 10-24-2010

My chase day started at around 2 p.m. on October 24th. I headed north from Clinton, Ms. on Hwy 49 toward the Ms. Delta to intercept the first of two rounds of severe weather forecasted that day. After traveling through Yazoo Co., I stopped to take a look at the still remaining damage in Yazoo City from the April 24th wedge tornado. At that time I noticed a storm on radar that had gone severe warned and was close to crossing the Mississippi river. I continued north from there on Hwy 49 toward Humphreys County to intercept the storm as it came across moving northeast from Issaquena County.

I got in front of the storm and pulled over on the side of Hwy 49 and waited while it slowly made it's way toward me. The storm had some very nice structure to it, and I noticed a lowering under the meso that appeared to be occluding. Shortly after the storm weakened and the severe thunderstorm warning was allowed to expire. I headed north on Hwy 49 again and crossed into Sunflower County just north of Isola, Ms. and decided to stop and check out the radar to see what else I could intercept. There were plenty of storms to my north, but none of them had any severe warnings associated.

After I decided that there was no point continuing north, I turned around and headed back south on Hwy 49 to Madison, Ms. to wait on the second round of storms that would be moving through central Ms. later that evening. I arrived in Madison around 7:30 p.m. and grabbed a bite to eat while studying the radar and mesoanlysis. I sat for a couple of hours waiting to see when initiation would start in this area. I then drove back to Clinton to wait there after seeing no storms at all by about 9:30 p.m.

I ended up calling my chase day at around 11:00 p.m. At this time the main line associated with an advancing cold front was crossing the Mississippi river from La., but no warnings had been issued at all. Round two ended up being just a line of thunderstorms much the same as the storms in north Ms.

Some pictures from the severe storm in Humphreys County:

Jason Brooks

Welcome...

Hello, and welcome to our blog. We will be posting chase logs along with any pictures or video we obtain while out chasing. I have a few chase logs that will be posted here on the site over the next few days from previous chases back to October 2010. We're pretty new when it comes to the whole social aspect of chase documentation and sharing with the rest of the world, but we hope you enjoy the blog and what we have to offer with our future chases. Thank you and enjoy.