First Plains Chase of 2012 Coming Up

I headed this afternoon to my tax man’s office with a sense of dread and walked out with glee in my heart and a refund coming to me from the IRS. Sweet! Just what I need to help finance my storm chases this year. I am due for some good ones. Last year I was miserably sidelined while my friends pounded the highways during a spectacular, albeit tragic, tornado season. This year, God willing, I’ll witness some beautiful tubes and breathtaking structure drifting across the vast sublimity of the Great Plains. March 2 was a mind-blowing start. Now I hope to capture my next round of video in a few days.

I won’t bother with talking about forecast models and such right now, though you can bet I’ve been keeping my eyes on the GFS and the Euro, and now the NAM. The big thing is, instability, moisture, and shear all seem to be lining up nicely. So Thursday evening I’ll be heading for the convective manna-land of the West with my buddy, Bill Oosterbaan. Joining us will be a friend of his from across the state as well as Steve Barclift, an editor from Kregel Books who shares my love of storms and has been wanting to chase a few of them with me. Hopefully this weekend will provide both of these guys with a great introduction to the science, the art, the craft, and the awe of storm chasing.

I am so looking forward to chasing storms once again out on the prairie! At last! There is no other place on earth like the Great Plains!

‘Nuff said for now. Right now the other half of me–the jazz musician half–is calling out to me and demanding some time practicing my sax. Who am I to say no. I’m off.