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ARTICLE (April 13, 2013) - More Cameras for Sask. Highway Hotline
* When I am out Live Streaming, it will Broadcast live directly to the site & both my Twitter and my Facebook page.
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- CURRENT CHASE YEAR DIARY -
I am absolutely HONORED to have 14 shiny METAL PRINTS hanging up at the entrance in HAAS NISSAN here in Yorkton !!!
Fri. July 10
Severe Warned Storms between Dubuc & Ituna SK Canada
For me, this was a VERY frustrating chase day.
First, models were all in disagreement, then there was smoke to worry about, a strong cap that could prevent the storms from happening at all, and finally - trusting my own forecast.
I finally had a rough idea of a target so I headed off toward Fort Qu’Apelle. My areas of interest was basically North West of me, around Southey.
I sat and sat and instead of being patient, got nervous of a bust.
Storms began forming way down by Saskatoon (2+ hrs away to my NW) and then a healthy little cell began to form South of Melville around Dubuc and I was only 30-40 mins away. Watched the next couple radar scans and said screw it - off I went!
The Storm had a beautiful crisp tower and a nice base forming with it. I chased it past West End and then to South of Stockholm to where it finally died off (roughly 7 pm).
At that one died, off a decent storm cell was forming on radar just to the West of Yorkton - and I had to go that way to go home anyways, so off I went!
Caught up to it around 8 pm. Had a beautiful updraft and some cool storm structure along with it.
Sadly (for me), around this same time - near my original target, Cupar storm became Tornado Warned and dropped Twin Tornadoes! Followed by perhaps 1-3 more in the region!
Well shite! Well, that’s on me for being impatient lol.
Anyways, around 8:45 pm I was on route West of Willowbrook heading towards Ituna region as that same storm was heading my way!
Around 9:30 pm North of Hubbard, I was treated with a STELLAR Stormy Sunset! The colors was just fantastic! Bright red and lightning flashing, was so beautiful!
10:08 pm, I was on a Tornado Warned Storm while on a sketchy waterlogged grid road somewhere between Ituna and Hubbard but with the heavy rains, almost zero visibility, very poor road and pitch black (as it’s night time), I decided to back off and head home.
A few PHOTOS of the day: (more to come)
Photo 1 |
Photo 2 |
CHASE VIDEO IN THE WORKS
Sun. July 5
Tornado Warned Storms between Pipestone MB, Gainsborough SK to Virden MB Canada
(all times below will be in SK time)
What a day!! Almost don’t know where to begin haha !!!
A day that began with absolute frustration led to a spectacular chase day that just wouldn’t end!
I left my house to start the adventure at 11 am and got back the next day around 2:30 am!
This was a 15 hour chase day that constantly gave birth to new storm after new storm, and I tried to catch them all, haha!
Tornado Warned Storms between Pipestone to Bede to Napinka MB to Gainsborough SK to Melita MB, back to Bede to Scarth to Virden MB Canada.
Right off the bat, many of the morning weather models were in disagreement with one another. That was the beginning of the frustration part lol.
I seen a few different “starting points” - Carlyle or Oxbow and then East, Virden/Pipestone or Hartney area.
I started the chase around Pipestone. The storms were struggling a lot to get going. There were some ingredients lacking to get the ball rolling, but they were trying.
Eventually something good began to form - and it was around Hartney, the target I didn’t pick to start at haha. It was a beastly system between there and Deloraine.
I began to head towards it, but it was moving East and I was about 1 hr away to the NW so I was never going to get there when it was “still looking good.”
I stopped and bagan to look at the Mesoscale Analysis and Satellite to nowcast.
I sat for a little bit going through data and models, really thinking that this was a tremendous chase bust for me. Game over possibly.
Minor storms began to form between Carlyle and Redvers but as they grew they are got weaker.
That changed and then it didn’t want to end!!
Finally, around 5:30 pm a new storm formed from a pixel on radar that then just blew right up, and it was near by!
I dropped South towards Bede where the forming strong storm was just to it’s West.
Some really decent structure began to form out of this as I followed it East towards Lauder.
As I was on this storm forming nicely, a new storm began to form to my SW around Melita and it was heading my way, so now I was in the middle of a Supercell to my North and a possible Wall Cloud to my South at the exact same time (6:30 pm)!
I kept with the storm as they began to merge with one another.
At this point, I knew I was done with this storm and around 6:45 pm, noticed the storm just North of Carnduff SK was getting Intense, and fast!
I blasted West towards Storthoaks and then dropped South on a horrible grid road that was waterlogged to try to get somewhere towards Carievale.
As heading South, around 7:13 pm, the storm became Tornado Warned.
Around 8pm, to my North as I was near Gainsborough had another Wall Cloud.
After this, blasted back East to follow the storm back into MB.
8:23 pm, East of Pierson looking NE, the storm now around Melita formed into some beautiful Mothership storm structure!
9 pm, I was still with the beautiful storm structure as I made my way North through Melita and kept going towards Bede.
9:25 pm, I was North of Melita still heading to Bede looking NE towards roughly Hartney as it became Tornado Warned.
At this point, it was dark and could only see the storm structure via Lightning Flashes, and there was a lot of that! I could see a Wall Cloud that then began to form a Funnel Cloud.
9:30 pm, via the lightning flashes, I could see “something interesting” as it looked like a possible Tornado as that exact same area it was touching the ground. But at the same time, I could not confirm whether it was one or not. Sure looked like it though.
By 10:38 pm, I was South of Scarth on yet another Tornado Warned Storm, and this time, was right in the hook!
I stayed with it watching the lowering and storm structure, only via lightning flashes as it was pitch black out now.
Stayed with that beast for as long as I could and then noticed yet another new storm forming to the West of Virden so off I went to observe.
11:06 pm I was South of Virden watching the storm move in from the West at it moved East.
It became Severe Warned so I stayed with it until it’s end.
Finally, around 12 am (now Monday morning), decided to call it a day and head back home on my roughly 2 ½ hour journey.
A few PHOTOS of the day: (more to come)
Photo 1 |
Photo 2 |
Photo 3 |
Photo 4 |
CHASE VIDEO IN THE WORKS
Fri. July 3
Storm just to the SE of Melville SK Canada
I had just a small local style chase on this storm as even though there was a good storm setup in the Pangman region, I was helping loved ones deal with basement flooding from the non stop rains in the surrounding areas.
I tried to salvage the day (as the storm was quite impressive) by dropping South of Yorkton and trying to observe to see if there could still be any structure left within this Large Storm System.
It wasn’t anything too special left over, but managed to get a little adventure out of it and a couple cool shots!
A few PHOTOS of the day: (more to come)
Photo 1 |
CHASE VIDEO IN THE WORKS
Thurs. July 2
Severe Warned Storm between Assiniboia & Weyburn SK Canada
A frustrating chase day that over all turned out to be pretty entertaining and full of adventure!
With the lack of Weather Balloons, models are definitely struggling more that I’ve ever seen (makes models inaccurate). That was the start of the frustration haha.
Picked a target then changed my mind - rinse and repeat!
Finally settled on a spot and off I went towards Pangman to Assiniboia.
Storms began to happen very early as usually bloom time is around 3-5 but on this day, these storms were already going on around 2pm.
I made it to Pangman, filled up on gas, set up my gear and off I went on an adventure!
I know my Live Stream was going to struggle a lot as the entire SW side of Sask is poor at best for cell data reception.
It’s good I record everything with a HD Video Camera to make the footage into a Chase Video for later as I did have almost no data at the start of the storm.
By around 5pm I could finally see the storm structure take great shape, as I was between Verwood & Horizon. I stayed with it playing a little bit of Cat & Mouse for a while.
Around 7pm, I was near Khedive watching an insane Whale’s Mouth take shape. Absolutely stellar structure on that beast!
From there, it appeared that within the core of the storm, near Pangman, radar was showing some minor rotation. I said screw it, and into the storm I went!
Within the storm was insane winds and even more insane Lightning !!!
Caught a few wild bolts and then proceeded to exit the storm and catch up to the Whale’s Mouth as my made my way to Weyburn.
After I got gas in Weyburn and began my journey back home, I was treated to a stellar sunset and one of the most vibrant Rainbows I have ever seen in my life!
Following that was a beautiful display of Mammatus Clouds.
A few PHOTOS of the day: (more to come)
Photo 1 |
Photo 2 |
CHASE VIDEO IN THE WORKS
Mon. June 29
Local Storm around Yorkton SK Canada
I knew my chase was going to be short and knew LOTS of rain was to follow.
I headed on HWY 16 going West just a little and played with the angry storm system until it lost it’s structure and the wet mess began.
After my little local chase ... came the rain... That... DID... NOT... END!
It was basically a land hurricane, and wow did it ever bring the water!
Communities in east-central Saskatchewan, including Canora and areas farther north, were hammered by 4-5+ inches of rain. The storm didn't stop at the provincial border either.
Some areas of western Manitoba, particularly around Minitonas and the Swan River Valley, received around 6 inches of rain, with some unofficial reports suggesting locally higher amounts.
The result were devastating.
Roads were washed away, highways were closed by flood waters, and entire communities dealt with widespread flooding leaving as well as some communities temporarily cut off from leaving their location. Some areas declared states of emergency, while others seen evacuations as emergency crews worked around the clock to keep people safe.
It's a powerful reminder that not every major weather event has to produce tornadoes. Sometimes, it's the rain that leaves behind the greatest destruction.
A few PHOTOS of the day: (to come)
CHASE VIDEO
Sun. June 28
Severe Warned Storm between Carlyle & Oxbow SK Canada
This days models were an absolute struggle and challenge!
I knew there would be storms but where was the “best spot!”
With all models disagreeing, I could see 2 things: Estevan to Yorkton region or Brandon to Swan River.
I chose South and headed towards Langbank hoping the storms would fire up somewhere in that region. As the waiting game carried on, a Beast of a storm was heading from the States moving East past Estevan. Exactly at the same time that was happening, a Landspout Tornado was seen by a fellow Storm Chaser (Braydon Morisseau) South of Kamsack. He followed that storm and also got a large Tornado around the Pelly area.
The Oxbow cell was looking better and I was loosing hope on my target so off I went towards Carlyle.
As I got to Carlyle, that storm East of Estevan was so massive I had a great view of it already, and it was a Beast !!!
I stayed with it for as long as I could and then headed towards Oxbow along with the storm.
Around this time, a couple Manitoba chasers around 7 pm (SK time) also caught a large Tornado around Rossburn MB that unfortunately caused damage.
Around 9pm I was officially done chasing as the storm was dying out and as I was beginning to head back home for the day, a new non-severe storm began to form around Oxbow, so I waited to see what it would do. Wasn’t much so continued my journey back home.
Upon my drive, sometimes after 10pm, I got to witness some really nice Noctilucent Clouds!
A few PHOTOS of the day: (more to come)
Photo 1 |
Photo 2 |
Photo 3 ( Noctilucent Clouds )
CHASE VIDEO IN THE WORKS
Thurs. June 25
Cold Core Funnel Cloud over Yorkton SK Canada (2:05 pm)
... Was pretty cool! Standing at the Service Bay at Haas Nissan watching a Cold Core Funnel Cloud.
Was present for a couple mins.
Cold cores are exciting but very rarely EVER touch down (in fact, they don't even need severe weather, just clouds) .
Photo
Mon. June 22
Severe Warned Storm between Waldron, Neudorf & Melville SK Canada
I started the day not planning of chasing as most "Popcorn Convection" was just pulse storms all over.
As I finished work for the day, I noticed a couple becoming a little more intense - One by Theodore and one near Killaly. The one by Killaly showed hail core and minor rotation so grabbed my gear and South I went!
Caught it to some cool storm structure by Killaly and stayed with it until it weakened so then I blasted to Neuford and South where I found a pretty nasty Hail Core along with intense rain!!!
Played with that cell as long as I could. Had a couple interesting lowering that I documented and then headed towards Melville and then eventually back to Yorkton to end the day.
Chase Video in the Works!
A few PHOTOS of the day: (more to come)
Photo 1 |
Photo 2 |
CHASE VIDEO IN THE WORKS
Sun. June 7
Tornado Warned Storm between Kirkella & Cromer MB Canada
This day was filled with WILD Structure and a LOT of frustration haha!
Environment Canada has issued a level 4/4 EXTREME RISK of severe thunderstorms for the Southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba border where powerful supercells with tornadoes were expected.
This was the first extreme risk in 8 years!
For me, models were suggesting a couple areas of play before the storms lined out to a MASSIVE Squall Line.
I chose Moosomin. The other area was more S towards the Border.
My plan of this chase was a little different for me as I had to be at a Apt in Regina early the next day so planned to chase the storms (models suggested NE) towards Riding Mountain Park and then call it a day and head home early.
The Storms struggled a great deal to get started.
Finally there was a cell between Kirkella and McAuley MB and off I went!
It was short lived and began weakening - mean while Storms around Wroxton, Calder and Togo became Tornado Warned!
I seen a Cell to my South was really growing so off I blasted down towards Elkhorn and South!
WHAT A BEAST!
Absolutely beautiful Storm Structure!
Stayed with it as long as I could and then headed to my next target which then died off, followed by the next, so called it a day to head back home.
Chasers that stayed with it, closer to the SK/MB/USA Border as this thing turned into a Squall Line got some impressing Gurthy Storm Structure later in the evening/night hours.
Overall a frustrating day where models and atmosphere were not agreeing, but man that structure I caught made it worth it !
A few PHOTOS of the day: (more to come)
Photo 1 |
Photo 2 |
CHASE VIDEO
Sat. June 6
Tornado Warned Storm between Whitewood & Willmar SK Canada
This was a stellar chase day filled with uncertainty, adventure, and beautiful storm structure!!!
So many great photos to come!
This was sort of a new “ERA” for me as a Storm Chaser as I changed my Live Steaming platform. And as someone who’s been chasing since 2011 (Started on U-Stream, then TVN Weather followed by Severe Studios), there was a TON I had to learn haha!
I started the day at Grenfell as Models were suggesting 2 important areas - Grenfell region and South around Lampman. Both looks great and had potential but I was liking the North pool better.
As sitting waiting for storm to brew ... clouds began forming towers to my East, North and South. Form then die off, form then die off.
Soon the South gained strength and their storm began. I decided to hold my position.
Some time later, I said screw it and off I went haha.
I first headed towards Whitewood and then South as that storm was coming right to me and soon I was riding the tip and ledge.
Had some cool structure as I began and kept going. Around 7:40pm finally made my way to Willmar where a BEAUTIFUL Supercell Mothership has already been on display.
I missed the “best part” of it but what I got to witness was still super awesome and beautiful!
From there, it was getting more and most awesome and really turned it in to a fantastic chase day!
I blasted East to keep in front of the storms was it kept progressing.
8:30pm I was to the South of the cell heading North as it was hitting Carlyle with some Flash Flooding.
The South side of this storm was sure something! So bright, mean and absolutely colorful at it merged with the sunset!
I kept with it till about 9:30pm before calling it a day!
A few PHOTOS of the day: (more to come)
Photo 1 |
Photo 2 |
Photo 3 |
Photo 4 |
Photo 5 |
CHASE VIDEO IN THE WORKS
Sat. Mar. 7
BIG CHANGES to my LIVE STREAM BROADCAST this year!!!
Beginning this storm season, I’m trying something new — I will now be LIVE STREAMING on YouTube!
It’s simple:
Head over to my Storm Hunter website and click the LIVE CHASE icon — that’s it!
I’ve spent many hours working on the site to make it as EASY as possible to watch.
On the website you’ll find:
• The Live Stream Broadcast
• My GPS location
• Live radar
Check it out and let me know what you think — I’m always looking for feedback!
Don’t miss the action — subscribe to my YOUTUBE and turn on notifications for instant live alerts.
With that said, I’m still staying with Severe Studios and will be using their platform as my backup. This will be my 10th year being part of their family!
Anyone can watch my LIVE STREAM right on my WEBSITE!
It’s simple: click the LIVE CHASE icon — that’s it!
you’ll find:
• The Live Stream Broadcast • My GPS location • Live Radar
Don’t miss the action — subscribe to my YOUTUBE and turn on notifications for instant live alerts.