Twin States Weather Blog

Storm Chasing

* Just spoke with my good friends Greg Nordstrom and Lauren Raymer earlier this afternoon. They are on their way to the Great Plains to spend a few weeks chasing tornadoes and thunderstorms. Storm chasing allows those studying thunderstorms to learn about storm structure by observing it in the field. Like most things, learning in real life generally outweighs learning from a textbook. There are several groups from colleges around the Southeast heading out to go after the storms:

LDCT - Long Distance Chase Team - from Mississippi State. This is the group in which Greg and Lauren participate. They go out each year seeking storms, snow, and hurricanes! These students are all from MSU, but aren't officially affiliated with the school. Here's their website:

LDCT

NOMISSIT - NOrth Mississippi Severe Storms Intercept Team - also from MSU. This is the school's official storm chase group, comprised of students and faculty. This group does some local chasing, and the highlight of their year is the annual "Great Plains Storm Chase," a trek out to America's Heartland to seek out severe weather. They are leaving Monday on their storm chase. Here's a link to MSU's Operational Meteorology website:

MSU Meteorology

USA - University of South Alabama. This group of meteorology faculty and students head out to the Plains in search of the worst weather nature offers. The USA storm chase is in its second year, and will only continue to improve as time goes on. They caught some tornadoes last year in their first storm chase. Impressive stuff! Here's an unofficial account of their adventure last year:

USA Storm Chase 2004

posted by WTOK Weather Staff @ 5:23 PM