PECAN: IOP-1
Monday night was the first mission of PECAN. IOP-1 (Intense Observation Period-1, I believe,) as it was called, started out as a shake down mission, but became an MCS (Mesoscale Convective System,) mission instead. An MCS was forecasted somewhere along the Kansas-Nebraska-Colorado borders, though the exact location was not certain. So, the plan was to…
First PECAN Blog Posted
Like the title says, I have posted my first blog about PECAN, as well as some pictures. The blog can be found by clicking on the ‘Storm Chase’ button to the upper left, and then clicking on the PECAN entry. Or, you can just click here.
PECAN: Training and Prep
So, tomorrow is the official first day of PECAN. Since the chances of an MCS are a bit on the lower end, tomorrow we will be doing a shake down/practice run. This way, we can get some practice operating after dark, as well as make sure all our communications work. Over the past couple days,…
Officially Ending Daily Forecasts
When I first started this website in Fall of 2010, it was meant to be a way to combine my love of weather and of graphic design. It started out as just a place where I could post daily weather forecasts for Norman, Oklahoma; and then shortly afterwards I included Elgin, Illinois as well. It…
Finally
After a long, long five years, I have finally graduated. I am now officially a meteorologist. Moving forward, I leave for PECAN at the end of this month, where I will serve as a team leader. After that, I start my job as an agricultural meteorologist in Washington, Illinois. It’s been a long road, but…
First Storm Chase, and First Tornado of the Year
Well, my first storm chase of the year was a success. Although if feels good to be batting 1.000 so far this year, it’s important to remember this tornado not only destroyed homes and injured people, but also cost one person their life. This is the first tornado I’ve seen that has killed anyone. Very…
Storm Chase of April 9th, 2015
Abbi, Adam, and I left Dekalb and went to Rochelle first. From there, we went north for a while, before turning around and heading to Dixon. We stopped briefly at a Taco Bell on the north side of Dixon. While there, we stopped two cells merging out ahead of the mess that was the Davenport…
First Storm Chase of the Year?
I’ve been watching the severe weather potential for Thursday, and it looks like it could be my first storm chase of the year. There is still plenty of disagreement in the forecast models, but it looks like a midlatitude cyclone may set up in southeastern Iowa, with a warm front stretching across the Illinois-Wisconsin border.…
Plains Elevated Convection At Night
It has been a while since my last update. Back in November, I volunteered for the PECAN (or, Plains Elevated Convection At Night,) project that will take place this summer. Last week, I found out that not only have I officially been selected for the project, but they have asked me to be a team…
School, New Laptop, and Warmer Temperatures
I have officially started the final semester of my undergraduate career. In four months time I will graduate, and officially become a meteorologist. Also, I bought myself a new laptop; one of those 2-in-1 laptops that can be used as a tablet as well. It has a touch screen, which I think will make my…