6/27/15 North Dakota TornadoFest

Wow.

I have no idea or other way to describe what happened yesterday.  There are days which you just remember when chasing, and yesterday is going to rest right up there with Greensburg.....Wadena....Tyler....and Lake Crystal.  A day chasers will talk about and just say to each other "How many DID we really see on 6/27?  Did I see you on the corner of Bob's Road and 33?"

Nearly 24 hours later, I'm still trying to process it all in.  I tried to decompress last night, but I just sat in bed until 2am just looking at my photos on my camera and trying to comprehend how many tornadoes did we really see?

Yesterday was really telling when I got up and read the Area Forecast Discussion from the National Weather Service office in Grand Forks where it said:

ISSUED AT 945 AM CDT SAT JUN 27 2015
THE MAIN CHALLENGE WILL BE SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING.
THINGS ARE LOOKING FAIRLY PRIMED FOR A FAIRLY WIDESPREAD SEVERE
EVENT STARTING BY 2 PM IN THE NORTH THEN SPREADING SOUTH AND EAST.
THE NAM IS PROGGING CAPES AROUND 3000 J/KG AND THERE WILL BE
PLENTY OF DEEP LAYERED SHEAR AND STEEP LAPSE RATES. THE LOW LEVEL
FLOW IS FAIRLY WEAK...BUT THERE ARE CURVED HODOGRAPHS SO
SUPERCELLS SHOULD BE THE INITIAL STORM MODE. THERE WILL BE
POTENTIALLY VERY LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND ISOLATED
TORNADOES. IF DEWPOINTS CAN POOL IN THE MID/UPPER 60S THEN THE
TORNADO THREAT WILL INCREASE. WE HAVE INCREASED POPS TO LIKELY IN
THE NORTH THIS AFTERNOON AND WILL MENTION SEVERE ALL AREAS AFTER 3
PM THROUGH 10 PM.

Little did I realize what this meant for us later on in the day.

I was able to chat with my good friend Bill Doms in the morning, and then him and I were off to northern North Dakota.

We started the day knowing far northern ND would be the place to be.  As in this is how far north we got:

Oh, Canada!

Yeah, that's right.  Canada.  My cell phone and data cards were all picking up the Canadian towers.  I think the next hill to our north was indeed Canada.

And, here was the storm deciding it wanted to immigrate to the US.

I was also so close to the border I could hear the Tornado Warnings being issued by Environment Canada.  Believe it or not, this was actually the first Tornado Warning I ever heard issues by EC.  They would read off the warning in English, then read it off in French.  Always a treat.  It also helps that I have probably one of the best radio antennas ever made!

While Bill and I were on our way north, we were able to meet up with Nick Elms and Amanda Hill, which is always a pleasure.  Bill, Nick, Amanda and I often end up on the same storms together....and for some reason often times find ourselves on the same roads.  :)

HI AMANDA!  (Bill is creeping us in the background!) 

Getting Closer!!!

During this time while we were sitting near Walhalla, the export from Canada started to get closer.

We started to see a very nice base on this storm with the inflow jet screaming in from the east.

Now, because I was so close to the Canadian border, my cell phone kept switching to Canadian towers and I kept trying to call the NWS office in Grand Forks to let them know what is going on.  I'm sure I'll have a surprise phone call or two from Canada on my next bill.

VACUUM CLEANER.

Finally we started to see this mean beast getting closer and we could see the green hail core up inside.  We knew this was no place we wanted to be, so we started to go south as quick and as fast as we could.

First touchdown!

Not far from Onsabrock we had our first touchdown.  It was at this point everything really started to get hairy and scary.

We basically went wall to wall with coverage at the station.  From what my cell phone has told me is that I was on with the station for over 4 hours straight giving reports, taking photos as I could.

Tornado #2. 

At this point things started to blur a little.  I know with the station we were talking about what we are going to do next, and the decision was made - we're going live.  I have to admit, I did get a little pit in my stomach when I heard I think it was Lisa say that to me in my ear.

#2, somewhere near Milton according to my GPS.  

This storm was putting down a tornado, where it would stay on the ground for a minute or two, and then lift.  According to my GPS and cameras though, this next tornado was on the ground for quite some time.

Near Milton. 

Yeah, this one had some power to it. 

This next tornado here should be close to Adams/Lankin according to my GPS.

I think this was the tornado where I told Lisa and Hutch where I could see the debris getting tossed fairly high into the air.

At one point, I looked off to my left and saw two tornadoes, and then I looked down to my south towards Hope, and I could see yet a THIRD tornado.  I was moving too fast and had too many other things to worry about to take a photo of it, but just an amazing day.

Still doing damage. 

Tornado #6....I think.  Might me #7.  Around here I stopped counting. 

At one point, I got so busy I just stopped counting the number of tornadoes I had seen.  I had other things I needed to worry about than some tube count from today.

There is probably a tornado in there.  

Around this time I was able to meet back up with Nick and Amanda after we got separated earlier, a decision which left me battling with the RFD and a phone call to Hutch for some last minute Nowcasting.

Unfortunately, the "White Combine" got many crops in Walsh, Cavalier, and Grand Forks County. 

The Laramore tornado is off to the left.  

We also ended up seeing the Larimore tornado from a distance.

During this time, lots of phone ins to Lisa and Hutch and the station, and my phone was blowing up with my friends and family wanting to know what was going on, if I was ok, what I was seeing, etc.  I was also posting photos to twitter as I could, and my phone was just a vibrating, ringing mess.

Near Northwood.  The roar was incredible.  I can almost guarantee there was a rain wrapped tornado in there based on the TDS from radar. 

Rainbow!

Nice wall cloud off Traill County 19. 

Yep.  Wall cloud rapidly spinning.  Might want to look behind you.  

Note the horizontal funnel.  

Tornado near Hatton.

Another funnel in front of the Mayville radar. This is a shot I've been wanting to get for years.  

Finally, just south of Mayville, the storm started to fall apart.

Just south of Mayville, and the storm is coming to an end. 

At this point I ran back to the station, uploaded some video for the station and for the National networks, and then went back to chasing since we still had active tornado warnings in our viewing area.

Sunset near Fergus Falls, looking towards the tornado warned storm near Ashby, MN. 

Now, one thing I saw today was there were more and more chasers out.  Normally this isn't an issue if everyone is smart.

Unfortunately, I ran into people asking me for radar updates, asking if I had radar, where the tornado was behind them as they grabbed their cell phones or selfie sticks to try to take a photo of themselves in front of the storm.  This is not a smart or wise move.  Please, do not park your car in the middle of the road, take selfies, and try to chase storms without knowing what you are doing.  Tornadoes can kill you.  Hail can knock out or destroy your windshield, and there's a good chance your insurance agent will not like your explanation.  You can get blown off the road by RFD, and then someone has to come and rescue you.  Please leave the storm chasing to the professionals.  An iPhone app and a camera does not make a storm chaser.

Overall though, what a day.  Just incredible.  I never imagined we would be on the air for over 4 hours straight giving storm updates and chasing.  I don't think I know exactly how many tornadoes I saw today.  I just know I have a number of steak dinners coming up after today!

I also can't count how lucky I am to work at such a great station like Valley News Live with the awesome team we have.  I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd be able to live out my dream of being a weather guy/storm chaser on TV and be one of the few actual 'paid professional' storm chasers in the country.  I know I can't thank our GM Jim Wareham, our News Director, Ike Walker, and everyone at VNL for all their support in being able to do what I love.  I know there were some rough parts today, but those will only get better.  I know I am going to go back and watch my dash cam video, watch our cut ins we were doing, and see what we can do better.  If you are not learning and evolving, you are falling behind.  Technology will change, experience comes into play, and sometimes, just luck.  I know our awesome work at the station could not happen without some unsung heroes - the people issuing the warnings at the National Weather Service Office in Grand Forks, and the people you don't see working behind the scenes.  It's all one big chaotic chorus at times, but we all work together, and we get it done.  

Today, I ran into a viewer out in Ottertail County, and at first they didn't recognize me.  Then, they saw my truck and recognized my face and voice and said "I just saw you on TV last night!  You're the only station we watch!"  They went on to say they were glued to the TV watching our coverage, and that they think we (Hutch, Robert, Lisa, Mick and I) are the best, and that they felt we saved people's lives yesterday.

To close, I was asked for some stats regarding yesterday's chase.  I know I posted some on my Facebook page early this morning, but there are with some additional ones:

- 4+ hours doing live cut ins and on the air
- At least two phone calls using Canadian cell towers.  (Cell bill might sting a little next month!)
- Over 200 (updated as of this evening) mentions/retweets on just my tweets alone.
- At least 51 new followers on Twitter.
- Over 20 new friends on Facebook
- Three high capacity camera batteries used/drained.
- Two 64 GB SD cards worth of pictures and video, (close to 10 hours of video between dash cam and other cameras)
- Over 250 pictures reviewed and edited.  I selected the best ones here today.
- Over 475 (Updated this morning when I checked my odometer) miles chasing.
- Average MPG was 16.6 in the storm team vehicle.
- Almost 3GB worth of Internet data and video utilized and broadcast just from my vehicle alone.

Duck, Duck, Purple Duck, Grey Duck, No Goose!

If I were to say things are getting off to a slow start in 2015 for weather, not just severe weather in the upper midwest, I don't think anyone would disagree.  A good portion of the valley right now is in a drought as can be seen here:

While we have some moisture in the area passing through tonight (see current radar image as of 8:23pm tonight)

Radar as of 8:23pm 4-30-15.  All the little 'fires' are grass fires detected by FIRMS.

Needless to say, it's very dry and any precipitation would be very welcome right now.  Unfortunetly, things are looking pretty dry right now in the near future.  There's still a chance for some rain and thunderstorms this weekend.  But, I digress.  With the warmer temperatures, it means ducks and geese are on the move, and while I was out working in the yard, my dog Mikko, a Golden Retriever, which equates to 60 lbs of fur, love, tongue, and tail.  Did I mention she's a great hunting companion, and any time she sees ducks, she gets more than a little....excited?

Isn't she pretty? 

Well, she started getting very, very excited, and I couldn't figure out why.  Now, I was getting my boat ready and doing some general work in the yard, but once I stopped to see why she was getting a little excited, I could see why.  

DUCK DUCK NO GOOSE

Two male mallards had decided to take up residence in my yard for a little while.  Of course, my puppy wanted nothing more than to do what she was trained to do...sit by her master and wait to jump in the water to go after them.  

Instead though, I grabbed my camera and rushed her inside to not spook them. 

It looked like they were just hanging out for a bit.  I know a few years ago we had a mallard make a nest in one of our neighbors bushes, so I was thinking we may have a female around here on her nest.  

Apparently though they were just here taking a break.  

What did the duck tell the bartender?  Put the tab on my bill!  

Doing my best flamingo impression. 

After about 20 minutes though, the two decided they had enough of hanging out in my yard and then decided to 'fly the coop' so to speak.  

It was nice of them to hang out for a while.  Gave me some time to try out some things on my camera in different lighting.  I was able to adjust lenses (can you tell which lens I used for which photo) and even grabbed a different camera at one point since I've made some improvements for chasing this year for all our Valley News Live viewers.  (oops, did I spill the beans?) 

On that note, we've really made a commitment to upgrading some of our video equipment this year.   We've made additional investments in radios and other equipment.  Certain pieces of other equipment has been upgraded, some of which might not be seen by our viewers, but it will help me when I'm out chasing.  I really hope you enjoy the severe weather coverage we are able to provide, once we get some severe weather.  It's really awesome to see and meet all our viewers while I'm out chasing!  If you come across me in the field, feel free to say hi, as long as it's not during the middle of a tornado! 

Longer term though, I'm hoping for a change in the weather pattern, even though I am enjoying the drier weather.  We really need some moisture in the valley!  Also, if you haven't, make sure you stop by Robert Hahn's blog as it's a great read as well!  

Big Stone Lake Eagles, 3-28-15

Over last weekend, I got a phone call from my friend Bill Doms, and he asked me what I was doing that Saturday.  I wasn't doing much, so we decided to make the 2 hour drive to Big Stone Lake and check out some of the Eagles partaking in the open water fish fest near the Big Stone Lake power plant.

Once we got there, it was almost like a chaser convergence - tons of people out there checking out the eagles.  Most people were being pretty smart about it, but others were getting out of their cars, trying to get close to the eagles, making sounds at them, etc.  Really just being obnoxious.  Sounds like a standard storm chase in Oklahoma in the first week of May, doesn't it?

But, it still made for a pretty show!

This guy kept hovering over the cars.  It was a windy day, and it was amazing watching him soar! 

Streaking towards the heavens...

It was also pretty neat running into my good friends Nick Elms and Amanda Hill out there!  After chatting with them, I met up with Bill and his mom, whom I have not seen in a long time.

A little unusual seeing two fully mature eagles out.  Most of them should be sitting on their nests right about now.

It was also a good day to get to learn and know my new gear.  I ended up using my new 7100 most of the day.  One thing I found out is the perfect shot is not perfect unless I set my white balance and color tones right.  Otherwise, the shot will be wasted.  So, for all of you people out there learning your cameras or photography, learn that.  You can tell in my pictures from the day, as I went along I was taking the time to actually set and tweak these settings a little more.  It really is worth it - this way you don't have to spend hours in Photoshop and then your photos look junky.  I am going to guess you can tell which photos I took at the start of the day, and then towards then end!

As we started to wrap up our day, we also went out to the Big Stone Wildlife refuge, but didn't really see anything.  We started to make our way home, got hungry and then stopped for a burger at this 50's cafe in Big Stone, and then ended up at home just as the sun was setting.  Pretty good end to my weekend!

Now I am starting to look forward even more to severe weather season!  My cameras are ready, the StormTeam vehicles are getting prepped, and before we know it, we'll be dealing with severe weather.  Personally I'm just hoping for some more moisture, because the farmers out here in the valley need it!

Musings and pictures from my Seattle Trip, January 2015

Greetings from 35,000 feet, somewhere over Oregon.

I have been lucky enough over my personal and professional career to have traveled to many places across this great country and world.

Recently, I found myself able to go to Seattle for a very important conference and on the last day of the conference, I was able to get out and take a few photos from across the Seattle area.  During this time, I took a trip with a good friend of mine to the top of the Space Needle, and we were in for quite the treat.  While we were waiting to get to the top, I was worried we would miss the sunset.  We were able to get up there with time to spare, and we were treated to one of the most beautiful and spectacular shows mother nature could put on.  

Good Morning Seattle!

From the top of the Space Needle, just as the sun was getting ready to set. 

Where the fog meets the city. 

This is one of my favorites from just before the sun set.

Wait, it gets better!

I played around with the color on this picture a little in Photoshop.  Can you tell? 

The mountain is almost a protector, watching over the city.  

Playing around in Photoshop again....which one do you like? 

Day is almost done...

A little spec on the horizon.

Here I go playing around with Photoshop again...

This picture does not do it justice to what it looked like. 

You knew it was an awesome sunset when the people who work at the Space Needle were stopping to take photos. 

It took me a while to get this exact shot with the Ferris Wheel lit up. 

Fair winds and following seas....

Little bit of a different take on the photo above. 

Sleepless in Seattle....

I think this is my favorite photo from the whole trip.

On my way home, I originally was going to go from Seattle to Portland to Minneapolis, and then home to Fargo.  Unfortunately, on the ground, it looked like this.

I wonder why we can't take off!

After a few (ok, more than a few hours) in airports, I finally ended the day in Salt Lake City.  Too bad on the way home, I broke out my phone and took some SPECTACULAR photos from 38,000 feet.  On different flights.

Eventually, I ended up in Salt Lake City.  In the morning, I was greeted with yet another spectacular day. 

Good morning Salt Lake!

Finally, after a couple of flights, two days, and thousands of miles in the air later, I was on my way home.  

As I reflect on my trip home, I think of a few things.  One, how happy I would be to know that night I would be sleeping in my own bed, to see my family, my dog who I know missed me, and two, the great conference I was just at.  I was lucky enough to meet with and talk to some of the smartest and most talented minds on the planet.  I also thought of something a Delta gate agent at Salt Lake City said to me.  "Sir, I don't know how calm you can be after what we just put you through." I replied, "Why would I be mad?  Getting mad solves nothing.  You're making sure I get home in one piece, you're putting me up in a really nice hotel tonight, and I got to see some of the most wonderful and beautiful sights this country has to offer.", as I whipped out my cell phone and showed him some of the pictures.  I look at how lucky I've been.  I was lucky enough to be on a Reality TV show.  I have a great family, who no matter what happens through our ups and downs have always been there.  I have a great stepmom and stepfamily who I have a great relationship with.  I have friends all over the world, so no matter where I go, I never really am alone.  To the world, I may not be someone, but to my son, I am the world.  I've fought cancer, and won.  I have a house, two great jobs, and I get to live out my childhood dream of being a weather guy on TV.  I truly am blessed. 

Our country is full of anger - anger over taxes, jobs, who has money, who doesn't have money, who has too much money, healthcare, measles, delayed flights, sickness, drugs, education, celebrities and selfies, you name it. Would it hurt us to take some time for ourselves, and instead of being mad and angry at the world, stop to look at how beautiful it truly is?