Well, it's the 'off-season' now, and I've been trying to think of way to maximize success for the 2011 tornado season. The very first thing that comes to mind, is driving a ridiculously inefficient vehicle, the legendary 99 chevy tahoe Severe Hail Intercept Team vehicle. 15mpg is just not cutting it. I'll miss her, she's been very good to us here at SCTV, but it's time to find the perfect chase vehicle. What would be the perfect chase vehicle? Small, lightweight, good mileage, all wheel drive, all things that come to mind when thinking about a new chase vehicle. I did some googling, and behold...

So I hit craigslist, looking through page after page of worn out old Subaru wagons, looking for the perfect deal. Found one nearby, small fix-ups will be needed, but it's going to VERY cheap and VERY easy to make it chase ready. I wasn't impressed with the stock ground clearance, so I found some cheap easy ways to lift a mid 90s legacy wagon. Tonight, my buddy James (jamesthemechanic.com) and I will be headed out to check out a potential candidate to be the next Severe Hail Intercept Team vehicle. Stay tuned for S.H.I.T. 2.0!

3 days of late April chasing!

Day 1 brought amazing supercell structure and good times afterward with motel chase convergence. Day 2 brought 20 miles of mudding, and a large tornado at long range. Day 3 we're taking a chance on the dryline in SE KS, but no matter how much Gooch screams at them, the storms don't want to happen. It's still early, but confidence is waning as nightfall approaches. Pics and vid coming soon!

SCTV Chase Day 04/21/2010

SCTV is in the Texas panhandle chasing this weekend - Be sure to check back for Updates direct from the field.

2010 hail cage revamp!

Gooch, Hagy, and Tool are hard at work, redesigning and fabricating a new hail cage for the Severe Hail Intercept Truck! No more worrying about baseball hail! 2010 chase season is upon us, and we couldn't be more excited. Check back often as we update the vehicles and post forecasts and chase reports!

Forecast models hinting at first LARGE severe weather outbreak of 2010!!!

As I look out my window at the white-out conditions, I can't help but take to the models to search for even the slightest hint at future severe weather. Although it's nearly 2-weeks out, the models have been fairly consistently setting up a good ole fashion dryline chase out west. The warm sector stretches from TX all the way up to NE, with ample moisture and plenty of shear. This could be a significant outbreak, in terms of magnitude and size. It's still early, so I won't start comparing it to other outbreak days, YET. Here's the surface dewpoint and 500mb height chart from the 12z GFS:

We will be watching this VERY closely. Gooch says hi.

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We are pleased to present our video from 8 MAR 10.


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