Doug Speheger's Tornado and Storm Chase/Research Page

<TITLE> My Tornado Research Highlights Page </TITLE>
<H1> Doug Speheger's Tornado and Storm Chase/Research Page </H1>
<H2> Oh, What A Classic! </H2>

<p>
<img src=./gifs/ponder.jpg height=259 width=357 alt="Me and a shelf cloud">
<p>
Yes, I chase thunderstorms.  "Why?" you may ask.  Sometimes, I wonder myself.
Looking at the stats:
<ul> 1991-2004
 <li> 49 tornadoes.
 <li> 139 chases.
 <ul>
  <li> 26 chases (19%) where I actually see a tornado.
 </ul>
 <li> Over 51,000 miles on the road.
 <ul>
  <li> An average of over 370 miles per chase.
  <li> Over 1,050 miles logged for every tornado seen.
 </ul>
 <li> 1164 Hours on the road. (over 48 days worth of road time)
 <ul>
  <li> An average of 8 1/2 hours per chase
  <li> Over 23 hours on the road per tornado seen
 </ul>
</ul>
Not to mention the automotive expenses as well as food and supplies. That's
not quite the rate of success that the movie "Twister" would indicate.  Of
course, a movie about the reality of storm chasing would make a pretty boring
movie: hours looking at weather maps, hours of driving to the "target area" 
where there may or not be a thunderstorm; and if there is a thunderstorm,
there may or may not be a tornado.  And if there is a tornado, I may or may
not be in a position to see it.<p>
As you can tell, chasing is not always as glamorous as the movies or 
television show.  And it definitely not something that people should do without
experience as a meteorologist or some form of training.  My chase partners and
I are meteorologists and/or have a lot of experience chasing storms. 
Meteorologists and experienced storm chasers have a better understanding about
how thunderstorms evolve and can place ourselves in relatively safe positions
and detect other, sometimes subtle characteristics of the storm that can
hint at potential dangers.  <b>STORM CHASING CAN BE A DANGEROUS ACTIVITY!</b>
Other times you're in danger of boredom.
<p>So why do I chase?
<ul>
 <li>Science
  <dd>In 1991-1993, I was a part of the University of Oklahoma's tornado 
  intercept team where we used a portable Doppler radar to get wind speed 
  measurements of tornadoes.  In 1991, we were able to get radar 
  measurements of five tornadoes (4/12: Kremlin/Hillsdale, Pond Creek; 4/26: 
  Red Rock; 5/16: Conway Springs/Clearwater, KS; 5/26: Mooreland).  A journal 
  article was published on the radar data acquired (see below).  Chasers' 
  notes, pictures and videos can also provide important information to 
  research meteorologists.
 <li>Education
  <dd>What I have seen in the field has helped me to interpret radar data
  as a warning meteorologist at the National Weather Service.  The time, money
  and effort involved in chasing also improves severe weather forecasting
  abilities.  After an unsuccessful chase, I try to learn what happened so I
  am less likely to waste money and time on a busted forecast later.
 <li>Nature
  <dd>The chance to see nature at its most powerful.
</ul>
The concept of chasing should not be confused with a "hope" for tornado 
development or the associated destruction.  Tornadoes are going to happen 
with or without a chaser there.  But if a tornado does develop, the chaser
would like to be there to observe and learn about thunderstorm evolution
and tornado development.  The successful chase is more than seeing a tornado, 
it's the forecasting and ability to interpret storm characteristics to be in 
the position to see the tornado (or thunderstorm), preferably out in open
rangeland.
<hr>

<h3>Chasing highlights:</h3>
For a full description of the portable Doppler radar research, refer to the
paper by Bluestein, LaDue, Stein, Speheger and Unruh in Monthly Weather 
Review "Doppler Radar Wind Spectra of Supercell Tornadoes" (August 1993,
Volume 121 pp 2200-2221)<P>
All of the 1991 tornadoes listed were with the University of Oklahoma
tornado research team (Dr. Bluestein, Jim LaDue, Herb Stein, and 
myself).  Greg Stumpf (NSSL) joined us on the May 26 Woodward/Mooreland 
tornadoes.<p>
<img height=575 width=550 src=./gifs/rgntor.gif><p>
<UL>
 <LI><img height=44 width=56 src=./gifs/seenontv2.jpg> 4/12/91: The University of Oklahoma 
 tornado research team 
 caught a family of 5 tornadoes from just southwest of Enid, OK 
 north to near the Kansas state line.  We were able to take portable Doppler
 radar measurements of 2 of these.  The first 
 between Kremlin and Hillsdale, OK contained winds of 170-175 mph.  With
 the other  near Pond Creek, OK we measured 125-130 mph winds.
 Both of these tornadoes are officially rated F3.  The other three that day
 were rated F2 or lower.  A local television news crew followed us and their
 footage of us and the Kremlin tornado has been seen on many tornado tapes
 and shows (including "Tornado Video Classics" (Segment 60), "Tornado Video
 Classics II" (Segment 44), the Weather Channel's "the Enemy Wind" and many
 more.)<P>
 <LI><img height=44 width=56 src=./gifs/seenontv2.jpg> 4/26/91: We were 3/4 of a mile south of 
 the now-famous Red Rock tornado 
 (actually closer to Ceres, OK) which at the time was about 1/2 mile wide. 
 Maximum winds were measured by the portable Doppler radar in the area of
 280-290 mph.  This tornado is officially rated F4 (it didn't hit much, fortunately.)
 Dr. Bluestein's video is seen on the "Tornado Video Classics" tape (Segment
 63c) and "Tornado Video Classics II" (Segment 46c).  Quite a bit of analysis
 was done on the wind spectrum of this tornado - See Bluestein, et al. 
 referenced above.<P>
 <LI>5/16/91: We took measurements of our fourth tornado of the year between
 Conway Springs and Clearwater, KS.  Maximum wind speeds 
 were measured at 160-165 mph.  This storm took a nearly identical track to the Andover, KS
 tornado a few weeks earlier.  This tornado was also captured by an IMAX
 film crew chasing with us doing a documentary on storms and storm chasers.<P>
 <LI>5/26/91: A tornado  near Woodward and Mooreland, OK was captured and 
 winds of 225-235 mph were measured.  This was officially rated F3.<P>
 <LI>6/27/92: Two tornadoes hit Fritch, TX, one  being a large multi-vortex
 and very dynamic F4.  Despite both tornadoes hitting town, amazingly there 
 were less than a dozen minor injuries.  See the article by Brewster, Dowell
 and Speheger in the March-April 1993 issue of the "Storm Track" newsletter.<P>
 <LI>5/16/95: There were 4 tornadoes in Hodgeman County, KS  from west of 
 Jetmore to near Hanston.  The third evolved into a multiple vortex  tornado.
 It dissipated, then the storm quickly redeveloped into a relatively large
 tornado south of Hanston that was on the ground for at least 20 minutes
 moving into Pawnee county.  All four tornadoes stayed in rural areas and
 hit very little.<P>
 <LI>5/24/98: Four tornadoes, all relatively close, in Grant County, Oklahoma.  One 
 anticyclonic (and probably non-mesocyclonic) tornado.<P>
 <LI>6/18/99: Tornado from an HP storm.  And although the storm was over three hours
 away, the only tornado from this storm developed just minutes after our arrival.<P>
 <LI>4/30/00: A close view of the development of a tornado, with the tornado being
 multiple-vortex from the instant it started.<P>
 <LI>5/12/04: Four tornadoes in southern Kansas from near Sharon to Attica and Harper.
</UL>
<hr>

 <!--  -->