North Raleigh Weather Blog - Storm Chasing

Storm Chasing - Day 6

Saturday, June 13, 2009, 07:48 PM

We just left La Junta, CO and are heading east. There are potential atmospheric disturbances brewing. We will watch radar as we go east for the next two hours and then decide which storm to go after.

Video from yesterday. This will give you the sense of what it is like. Note the wind noise even when we are stopped. This is the inflow as the supercell sucks in the warm air on the leading edge. The wind speed can easily get up to 60~70 mph.

Supercell Chase
Wallcloud Entering City
The TIV

We found a potential supercell about 50 miles south of of Denver, CO. It took a while to get going because the winds from the south west were slow at first. As the day heated up the several cells appeared on the radar. We headed south to the south east corner of Colorado, near Eads, CO. We were there the day before I believe...so many cities and roads...it all becomes a jumble. The cell we picked was the right one again!! We started chasing as it grew to unbelievable size. Watching the ice core (the area on radar where the hails is concentrated) we note that the size was 4" in diameter. This is a signal up severe uplift (take a strong wind...100Mph+) to keep 4" hail aloft. That was our focus. The chase was on. We chased well into the evening. As the evening wore on we noted the storm potential would not get any better because of night cooling so Todd asked me if I wanted to rough it through a hail storm. I said sure! We pulled into a gas station with a overhang and positioned the truck front end to face the oncoming supercell. We had the roof above but when the winds start the rain and ice blows horizontal. Windshield can withstand really large hail but not eh side and back windows. I hunched down behind the SUV and waited. It was one "EXPERIENCE"! See clip here: Supercell-Hail Storm South East of Eads, CO

The storm chasing is over now. It was an unbelievable experience to see and hear the events. Pictures cannot do justice. After I would take a picture and then look up there was no comparison but I did my best to capture the moment. Below are some of the best pictures from the last day of Storm Chasing with descriptions.

Rain Wall and Wallcloud