Freak Strong Geomagnetic Storm June 1, 2013

It came without warning...literally. Never explained for other than an "interplanetary shock wave". I'll let the images speak for what happened.

Many more photos here!

May 29 2013 Funnel Cloud in Chippewa County MN

On paper this day looked like crap....and that is what I expected. However, a few years ago Andrew Revering got me interested in the correlation between strong low level shear, high CAPE values in the 0-3 km range, and steep lapse rates. I remember driving circles around Mason City, IA with him one day following which were essentially rain showers but in a very sheared environment with steep lapse rates. We didn't score anything which rotated at the ground or at the cloud base level...but it was a start.

On 5-29-13 we had a MCS/MCV which pretty much killed the potential for severe storms later in the afternoon but there was a warm front lifting across Minnesota and a mesolow formed along another SW/NE orientated boundary near the MN/SD border. I headed out near Montevideo with hopes small cells would form in the warm sector and the H7 winds blowing from south to north would carry them across the boundary with a huge kick in helicity.

The first cells went up just southwest of Montevideo and I drifted to the north with them. At times the cells would curl back to the northwest.



They weren't much to look at. Very little lightning, no hail, no winds....but.



After watching a half dozen or so small cells cross the boundary and puke, this cell caught my attention as it approached highway 40 west of Willmar and south of Kerkhoven in western MN. Hard to deny the bowl shaped lowering under the base. This cell got a running start spinning at the low levels before it hit the warm front. I was on the phone with Eric Whitehill at the time but had to drop the call as things were rapidly getting interesting finally.




As the cell approached, the low level motion in the base really picked up. I was sitting in surface winds almost due east. Perfect position.



C'mon, c'mon, c'mon...



There we go! A funnel. It was weak, but still a funnel.



It didn't last long and never came in contact with the ground that I could tell.






Snakey as it dies after crossing the boundary.



I didn't report it since I knew once the cell crossed over the warm front there would be no threat of it producing a little spin-up or anything. Why issue a senseless tornado warning on a thundershower? Eric didn't believe me so I texted him a pic of the LCD on the DSLR lol. I also called John Wetter to see if he was at MPX but left him a message and also sent him the same text as Eric. He called back a few minutes later and said he was heading into the office and they were concerned about the possibility of brief, weak tornadoes given the parameters of strong shear and abundant 0-3 km CAPE in excess of 100 jg/km. Anyhow, my point is if you like the challenge of looking for a needle in a haystack, I would suggest reading some the the case studies where the importance of 0-3 km CAPE is discussed in regards to tornadogensis. A simple Google search will get you going. I HIGHLY recommend anything written by John Davies or Rich Thompson.



Ended the day watching a cell between Appleton and Madison out in Lac qui Parle county. Not bad for a day with no MD, no watch box, no warning...but a warranted 5% torn risk as designated by the SPC.

Shots from the weekend....Severe Storms in MN Finally!

First off I need to make an announcement. I am stepping back from chasing as being the forefront driving force in my life. I was ready to pull back last year, and the year before. I am SO sick of the B.S. which runs rampant in the chaser community I have decided to pull the plug. There are other facets of my life I would like to concentrate on and would like to know what it feels like not to make life decisions which revolve around whether it is going to rain or not. I few years ago the guy who is a huge inspiration to me in the chasing world finally hit the burn out wall and "retired". I always wondered what it took to get to that point. It didn't make sense to me. Well, after watching more and more idiots come into chasing and spread their own B.S., watching lies be taking for face value, and the ever mounting pressure to live up to some standard which I somehow self-created, enough is enough. I thought this may be a good time to do some mentoring. Not sure on that either as being smothered is not my style. So, this past Friday I made the decision to sever my ties with all commercial entities related to chasing. Will it cost me a few bucks? Yeah, but for the past decade I let myself forget why I chase. After hitting the send button on a bunch of emails, I felt like a weight had been lifted. The pressure immediately left. For the first time in over 10 years I no longer felt as if I had to chase. Maybe the pressure was mostly self-imposed. The pressure to maintain an image. The pressure to produce high quality material. Well, screw it. I'm done. If I chase, it will be because it was convenient and I wanted to...not because I felt like I had to.

Anyhow, here are some images and video frames from "for fun" outings this weekend close to home base.

Saturday had a weak surface low coming out of SD with a subtle warm front draped across western in central MN. My initial target was Glenwood, MN but a couple of cells went up near Wilmar which had me drift west instead of northwest. Those cells puked with the weak shear but new cells fired along and just south of the warm front. After hanging around south of Lake Minnewaska for a bit, one cell just to my north went severe warned as it interacted with the weak boundary. With storm motions only 10-15 mph and being in Starbuck, MN it was easy to head north of Holmes City in Douglas county to take a look at the updraft base.



One of the few CG's of the day. Video frame off the Midland XTC 300 dash camera.



These were not "pretty" supercells by any stretch. They were soft, scuddy, and messy for the most part. There was a funnel cloud reported off this cell but I have my doubts as I saw very little, if any, spin with these storms. Lots of scud getting pulled up as the updrafts would pulse before collapsing with the weak shear. This was taken about 7 miles south of Brandon, MN looking north/northwest.



Storm #2. Taken from north of Hoffman, MN in Grant county looking southeast at a nice blocky wall cloud. Kind of cool light with it being clear to the west on a north / northwest moving storm.



The only thing I saw which did spin...for about 30 seconds. On the south side of Hoffman, MN. Still had the cool light to work with.



Just east of Hoffman, MN on the last cell of the day. Sick clear slot. This had a nice wall cloud from time to time but it never sustained. Again lots of scary looking scud danglies but nothing remotely tornadic.

Sunday was even a bigger mess with a north moving MCV/vort max flying out of Iowa to the north. The SPC threw up a low end torn box. I was doing errands with the family so got a late start. I broke my "east of 25 rule" and tried to get in front of the arc of storms flying north/north east at 50+ mph. Yeah, not real productive.



The only action area of interest of the day near Northfield, MN.



Tried to get east of it as it gusted out. The video is crazy how fast this transitions into a shelf and rockets past us off to the north.



More shelf action as I tried to get east ahead of the arc.



Called off the chase as I was skirting the bluff country west of the Mississippi River and tried to head home through the metro area on the back side of the arc and blinding rain. Someone didn't fare well as an accident left vehicles on both shoulders of I35 on the south side of the metro. A slight delay to the end of a rather disappointing outing.

MASSIVE Minnesota Tornado! May 2013!!! ..and a humble lesson in humanity

Welcome to 2013 and things which have mot happened...yet. Yeah, there are some signs the synoptic pattern will change towards the end of May or early June. We'll see. I am not holding my breath yet as the models have been sending yet another polar cold front crashing through here on Friday then some ridging. I remember a few weeks ago veteran chaser Dave Lewiston posed the question on Facebook about how many chasers just seem to have the time and ability to chase at will. For those of us fortunate enough to have that liberty, it may be the ultimate blessing in 2013 as I feel good opportunities will be few and far between for sure up here in the northern plains.

Anyhow, back to reality. Our lakes are finally ice free for the most part in my area. Oh, open water how I have missed thee.



This photo was taken the evening of May 6th near my home. I had been out kayaking earlier and knew there was going to be an awesome sunset between the mid level clouds from some dying showers and just the right amount of high cirrus streaming overhead. I headed over to where north and south Twin Lakes almost touch and waited for Mother Nature to throw me a visual bone in place of the lack of storms this year. I was there about 10 minutes when I noticed a gentleman walking down a long driveway leading from one of the residences on south Twin Lake. I always prepare myself to get chewed out for one reason or another and his eyes were locked onto me as I stood in the ditch gazing at the mirror-like water in front of me. I noticed he was carrying a full cup of keg beer. Warning sign...this guy is likely drunk and is about to ruin the sunset I have waited weeks for. As he got close, I said hello. He asked if I was catching or just fishing. I replied I was just here for the sunset. He extended his hand and said his name was Dave. I introduced myself and made a comment about what a beautiful spot this was. He said his wife of 34 years grew up on the farm from which he had walked and was just taking a stroll. He said he brought her back home as they now resided in Florida. I asked if they were on vacation and commented if they were, they picked a heck of a spring to come up here. He said they arrived last Saturday and how brutally cold and windy it was. He described how his brother in law, who is a local goose hunting guide, loaned him one of his super heavy hunting coats to keep him warm and dry when they were outside. When I asked him what in the world they would need to be out in such cruddy weather for, his answer nearly knocked me off my feet. "To spread her ashes here. I brought her home." He immediately went into full detail of the years of his wife's childhood growing up on Twin Lakes. Swimming, fishing, campfires and playing pond hockey. How much she loved the sunsets from this spot. At this point my obsession with getting a great shot of the sunset was not important. This was a man who lost his life partner. He explained she had a chronic painful health problem for years and how medication could no longer help her. How she suffered. How it was hard for him to accept the inevitable, but as the same time she would no longer suffer. He kept making remarks about how beautiful this particular sunset was, but I could easily see the grief and loss in his eyes. I asked him if they had any children. His eyes brightened a little as he spoke of their grown son and daughter, How his son had moved to Florida to be closer to them and his grown daughter and her husband lived on the east coast...and of course the grandchildren. We spoke of how time passes and how people change over the years to the point you don't recognize faces from times gone by. The "prime time" for the sunset was drawing near. As we chatted I snapped off a few shots. I told him to pay close attention to the colors as they would quickly change from orange and white to pink and purple to magenta and dark blue. Almost as if on queue, the change started. We stood there, shoulder to shoulder watching this beautiful scene unfold. I made a comment how not many people in today's society slow down to take in a sunrise or sunset in anything other than a passing glance. I could see tears welling up in his eyes as the most vivid colors were waning. I asked him what he thought his wife would have said about this sunset. He replied "she can see it, she is right there." He pointed to south Twin Lake. As her final wish, she wanted her ashes returned to Mother Earth, to the water from which we all came. Part of her ashes were cast into the ocean near their home and the rest we left to the wind to carry her home over her beloved childhood home and lake. I was speechless again. One of my favorite spots to shoot from had taken on a new meaning. One of reverence and hallowedness. It was hard to find words to respond to the story which Dave had recited to me. As the last of the pink light faded into magenta and finally a dark purple, I said it was probably best for me to head for home. Dave asked what I do with my photos. I told him most of the time I share them online with my friends or I try to win a calendar contest now and then...nothing major. He reached into his wallet and handed me some cash with instructions he wanted to buy my best shots of that sunset. Knowing what he was going through, I really didn't feel comfortable being compensated for images which I knew would be keepsakes for a memory of his wife. I tried to refuse but he insisted so I agreed under the condition I would send him many images in addition to other shots I have taken from that spot over the years. Our conversation ended as it began: with a handshake. The parting handshake was firmer and much more heartfelt than the insincere initial greeting. His was out of gratitude, My was out of respect for a husband, father, grandfather, and human being.

Here are the rest of the shots from the past few days. Some are from my roadside lesson in compassion from Dave, some are from my usual back road wanderings.















One shot from the spring raptor release at Highland Park Preserve on Saturday April 4th, 2013. Most people are going to look at this photo and say "why dud you post this? The hawk is way out of focus!" Look at what IS in focus. It's about the people. If it weren't for people, none of the rescues I'm involved with would happen. Thanks to all who take the time to care.

Shots from the weekend eagles/deer/osprey...and is the 2013 spring melt on for real this time?

Yeah. It's April 21st. We have some snow to melt yet around here.



The ice fisherman are not complaining though. With a couple of FEET of ice yet, the open water fishing season opener is really in danger. To protect spawning fish, I wouldn't be surprised to see the DNR delay the opener even if the ice is gone.



The good news is the long range model have been pretty consistent in finally getting some warmer air up here to release us from the winter which wouldn't end.



Friday FINALLY gave us some clear skies. With the longer days now, I can still get out to shoot after work and dinner for the golden hour.



As you can tell by the feathers, it was WINDY!



Saw a couple of yearling deer near home which were looking to take a short cut over a 4 wire fence between a corn field and a pasture. It took a minute or two for them to get their confidence up to make the leap.



Up, up...



..and AWAY!



Saturday still had clear skies in the afternoon so I figured it was a good time to go check on a few of the local nests. My son joined me for the afternoon and was the driver. I think I drove him nuts with my "Go forward about six feet...no, go back seven feet" commands to see through the branches. The nest pictured above has raised three eaglets each year for the past 4 years. Hopefully their string can continue. The nest is near Annandale, MN.



Nest two in Corinna Township in Wright county. This is a relocate from last year. They built a new nest about 50 feet further back in the woods making viewing a lot more difficult.



Nest 3. I was glad to see this pair come back. They usually winter here but not this winter. They came back late and nested late. This is likely be the last nest I monitor to hatch their eggs this year. I'll bet they don't have eaglets until the first week of May. We'll see. The nest is located near Maple Lake, MN.

Nest 4 in Silver Creek Township has eagles on it and they are doing well. Somehow I managed to screw up three shots I took so nothing to show for that one.

Nest 5 in Buffalo Township is a huge disappointment...again. I consider this pair my "local" birds. This pair has something go wrong every year it seems. 3 years ago both of their eaglets were electrocuted on an uninsulated line at a transformer near their nest after they fledged in July. 2 years ago one of the worst straight line wind events in year blasted through on July 2nd leveling the tree with the nest and killed both eaglets. Last year on July 3rd both eaglets from this hatch were electrocuted. One survived after myself along with the Popkens' and Beechers' rescued it. It was critically injured but the awesome staff I volunteer with the The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota were able to rehab the eaglet and release her back to the wild last fall (less one toe). Anyhow, this year they were on eggs early but about 2 weeks ago abandoned the nest and the eggs. My guess is they tried too soon and the winter lasted too long. I have only seen them once since.

On to the ospreys! I hope they brought their own fish with them. It's gonna be a couple of weeks before the lakes open up and being they only eat fish, it's going to be slim pickings for a while.

Nesting platform one is in Corinna township and I did not check it yet. I'm only mentioning it in the event I refer to it in later posts this spring. There is a LIVE CAM of this nest which can be viewed by clicking HERE.




Nesting platform 2 in Clearwater township. This pair is funny as they couldn't care less about people...as long as you stay in your car.



Nesting platform 3 in Silver Creek township. My lens was still giving me issues and I missed the mate taking flight with beautiful outstretched wings. They have some major work to do on their nest yet.

Well, there it is in a nutshell. I feel like I am becoming more of a wildlife watcher and less of a storm chaser. C'mon Mother Nature, throw me a bone so I can get over this identity crisis and get back to doing what I do best. But I need your help.