Latest news with #JimClash
Forbes
10 hours ago
- Climate
- Forbes
It's A Wrap. A Productive Tornado Season In The Books For This Chaser
An EF-U tornado with invisible vortex churns up dust in farm fields near Parmelee, South Dakota, July 20, 2025. Jim Clash It's a wrap. Tornado season for the most part is over in the U.S. This past spring/summer, I spent more than a dozen days chasing, and with four separate storm groups. Of those days, we were successful on four. That's better than in 2023 where we chased in Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and New Mexico but found no twisters. Below are synopses and photos of the various wonders of nature we saw and photographed this year, including spectacular supercells. The photos were all taken with my iPhone 12. Next year, I plan to get a proper camera. Tracking an EF-0 rain-wrapped tornado as it was about to cross Highway 49 in Barton County, Missouri, April 20, 2025. Jim Clash LAMAR, MISSOURI, APRIL 20: Chasing with Jeff Anderson, we made the trek up from Dallas to the outskirts of Joplin. Just as we arrived in the early afternoon, tornado warnings went out - both on our iPhones and via sirens. The thing was rain-wrapped, so the actual funnel wasn't visible. But we did catch the storm system cross Highway 49 directly in front of us. A few minutes later, we had positioned on a backroad ahead of it, hoping for a better view. A downed tree near a farmhouse in the path of an EF-0 rain-wrapped tornado near Lamar, Missouri, April 20, 2025. Jim Clash Unfortunately, the tornado took an unexpected turn and suddenly was upon us. It was only an EF-o, thank God, but those few seconds with the car rocking and shuddering got my attention. After the storm had passed, we saw a giant downed tree in the yard of the farmhouse behind us. I had experienced my first twister - maybe even gotten too close - but it wasn't photogenic, and the goal of any storm chaser is to get one that is. A rare anticyclonic tornado near Silverton, Texas, April 24, 2025. Jim Clash TEXAS PANHANDLE, APRIL 24: On a 2%-chance tornado day, Tim Bovasso, Jeff Anderson and I worked our way from Dallas over to the Texas Panhandle. Bovasso had an inkling that something would happen there that afternoon. Sure enough, at 5 p.m. a spectacular supercell was building just outside of Silverton. After about an hour and out of nowhere, a sharp funnel poked out of the dark wall cloud above it and began snaking to the ground. A strong stovepipe tornado near Matador, Texas, April 24, 2025. Jim Clash It was highly photogenic, a rare anticyclonic cone that only lasted only 6 minutes. But what a six minutes! I had finally seen my first photogenic twister. Wedge tornado outside of Matador, Texas, April 24, 2025. Jim Clash We then tracked the cell south and, just outside of Matdaor, it produced another tornado, much stronger - a stovepipe which eventually morphed into a dangerous wedge. Effectively, three different tornadoes in one day! The group was ecstatic. Strong stovepipe tornado near Santo, Texas, as viewed from the side of Highway I-20, May 18, 2025. Jim Clash SANTO, TEXAS, MAY 18: Three weeks later, I went chasing with Chis Coach, a good friend of Bovasso's and Anderson's. We reached a monsterous supercell not too far outside of Dallas in the early evening that produced numerous tornadoes. We were lucky enough to witness them from the side of highway I-20. Interestingly, cars kept passing by, as if oblivious. EF-U invisible vortex tornado near Parmelee, South Dakota, July 20, 2025. Jim Clash PARMELEE, SOUTH DAKOTA, JULY 20: To close out the season, I traveled to South Dakota with the OTUS group. They are making big strides in tornadic science by flying specially prepared drones into the voilent cores of twisters to learn more about surface winds, barometric pressures, temperatures, wind shear, etc. On the the first of three chase days, we encountered a short-lived EF-U tornado near Parmelee with an invisible vortex. As it scattered a massive bowl of dust at its base, Lois Anderson sent his OTUS drone toward the thing, about three miles away. The drone didn't make it into the cone in time, but it did get some stunning shots and valuable data upon approach. Large supercell near Santo, Texas, produced multiple tornadoes, May 18, 2025. Jim Clash Next year? I'm hoping to get even closer to a twister - to the point where I can hear the reported freight train and waterfall sounds that they produce. It could be in the TIV-2 with Ryan Shepard's Storm Of Passion, or with OTUS, or with any of my other chaser friends, including Raychel Sanner of Tornado Titans or Bovasso, Anderson and Coach. Like with any powerful drug, storm chasing is addictive, and one always needs more adrenaline to get the same high.
Forbes
25-07-2025
- General
- Forbes
Aging, And With It The Sobering Loss Of Good Friends
Marie Thrailkill and John Williams at Laurel High School's 50-year class reunion, 2023, Laurel, Maryland. Jim Clash I recently posted something on Facebook to the effect that, as we age, the number of friends we have seems to dwindle noticeably, and for a number of reasons. The online response was overwhelming, surprisingly, with many of my baby-boom generation weighing in. First off, while I think social media is one of the reasons for this - texting, e-mailing and the like instead of talking on the phone or meeting up in person - I will say that Facebook generally is a positive. I have come across many friends and teammates from grade school, high school and college there, as well as folks from various jobs I've held over the years. It's interesting to see the paths in life they have chosen, or, in some cases, have chosen them. Part of what precipitated my post was the death this year of some of my high school classmates. One, in particular, was a friend I had gone through eight years of grade school with, then four years of high school (we had worked together on a prize-winning laser science project). I hadn't seen him since our 50-year recent class reunion. I did hear that he had cancer then, but to me he looked okay. In fact, 55 of my high school graduating class were not present at that reunion due to deaths. Another contributing factor to lost friendships is the deep divide politically in this country, as wide a gap as I've seen in my lifetime. The current situation has destroyed relationships in families, and with co-workers and friends. The COVID-19 pandemic didn't help, either, with its years of lockdown and isolation. Something I'm particularly sensitive to - and maybe it's just me - is the sudden disappearance (they call it "ghosting") of old friends. Here today, gone tomorrow. The acquaintances I don't mind so much, it's the close friends I don't understand. Perhaps it's that they are busy with their kids or grandkids, or are traveling in retirement, but with some I have the unsettled feeling that they can't get anything more from me. It's as if, in my later years, I have nothing more to give (I'm a journalist and I'm not rich), or perhaps they sense that I might need something from them, God forbid. Or perhaps I'm just paranoid. In any case, I guess this is all a sobering part of getting older, but I don't have to like it. I'm sure I'm guilty of some of this impersonality, too. And, much as I detest birthdays these days, I've come to welcome them. I mean, what's the alternative?
Forbes
11-04-2025
- General
- Forbes
SERE Immersion Training Tests Mettle Of Intrepid Journalist
Forbes writer Jim Clash parachute training, Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas, March 24, 2025. In the fifth part of this series about Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas (links to other four parts below), I participated in a simple Survival, Escape, Resistance, Evasion training (SERE) exercise. The idea was we had successfully ejected from a crippled aircraft over enemy territory and needed to find a safe place for helicopter extraction by our own forces. The setting was an open field near woods with thick underbrush. All we had was what was in our packs in the ejection seat package. Saving time and moving quickly, polar opposites, were paramount as enemy troops were all around us, possibly having seen our parachutes descend. Earlier in the day, as preparation for my B-1 bomber flight, I had learned to manage a parachute fall using virtual-reality goggles and hanging in a harness. Right after my virtual chute had opened, I looked up and saw a twisted canopy. Using the "bicycle-peddling" technique, I managed to untangle it, then scan the ground a few thousand feet below for a suitable landing site. Forbes writer Jim Clash with TSgt Kyle Bartlett during a SERE field training exercise, Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas, March 24, 2025. A noticeable wind was pushing me toward dangerous trees, and I had to maneuver, using a pull chord on each side of my head, to avoid hitting them. I did miss them, barely, and landed at the edge of some undergrowth. Back to the field exercise. First thing we did, under the guidance of TSgt Kyle Bartlett, SERE NCOIC 7th OSS, one of four SERE specialists at Dyess, was to hide the sprawled-out parachute on the ground, making it more difficult for the enemy to spot. Then we hightailed it to the woods and fired up our walkie-talkie radio to formulate a rescue plan with friendlies. Codes were used to verify it was actually us calling. The Airmen are trained in both survival and in how to handle enemy interrogation situations. Forbes writer Jim Clash takes direction from TSgt Kyle Bartlett in the field during SERE simulation training, Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas, March 24, 2025. Right off, I learned I shouldn't have worn shorts. Cutting through the thick underbrush, a combination of mesquite and thorny bushes, made for painful going. Contacting friendlies every few minutes on the radio kept them abreast of our progress. We were told to aim for a lake ahead as the extraction target. About to cross a dirt road, I spied a machine gun-toting enemy soldier on patrol. I motioned to the others to stay down and keep quiet. Evidently, he didn't see us because he kept walking. Just as I was about to signal it was safe, the soldier stopped for some reason. Again, we all hunkered down and kept radio-silence. Once it was finally deemed safe, we crept across the road in the direction of the lake. Once we saw it, I made a bee-line, but TSgt Bartlett warned me to stay in the brush as that path was taking us into the open. Upon reaching the water, I was instructed to attach a bright flag we had been carrying incognito to a low branch of a close-by tree, then alert the rescue team via radio. They arrived within minutes. Somehow, we had made it. SERE field training, Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas, March 24, 2025. This was nothing but a simple training exercise with dummy soldiers and predictable parameters. The entire SERE course for Airmen lasts about six months, with 85% of those who attempt it flunking out. I was stressed enough just participating, even though I had done something similar under brutal arctic conditions at Eielson AFB in Fairbanks, Alaska. Now imagine what it's like for Airmen under real combat conditions. Again, respect for our military. They do a hell of a job under incredibly challenging conditions. There is a lot more at stake for them than just cut-up knees.
Forbes
02-04-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
The B-1 Bomber: ‘Listen, Hear My Engines Roar'
A B-1 engine at full throttle as Forbes writer Jim Clash looks on in the test chamber, Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas, March 28, 2025. In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series about Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas, we covered my recent supersonic B-1 flight with the 9th Bomb Squadron - and my immersion into the base's Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit, complete with bomb suit. Here, in Part 3, we focus on maintenance of the B-1 bomber's formidable engines. As reported earlier, four General Electric F101-GE-102 turbofan engines power the aircraft. During takeoff and supersonic runs, the afterburners typically are lit. At that level, each engine puts out more than 30,000 lbs. of thrust, and, collectively, the four gulp more than 240,000 lbs. of fuel per hour. Given such high demands, engines occasionally break down. To prevent that, they must pass regularly scheduled inspections after 200 flying hours, with full-engine teardowns every 4,000 hours. For the inspections, engines are carefully removed from the aircraft and to a special Dyess maintenance area. There, they are rebuilt and refurbished accordingly. During full-throttle B-1 engine testing, all personnel must wear sufficient ear protection, among other things, Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas, March 28, 2025. The last step before returning the engines to planes is testing them at full throttle. My photographer, Art Harman, and I were invited to watch this procedure from the chamber where it is done. We were met at Building 5111 by MSgt Nathanael Rehburg, CRF Assistant Flight Chief, 7th CMS. Mind you, there is nothing in that chamber to protect us if something goes awry. Say an engine malfunctioned during a full power test and coughed up a blade or two, or if it exploded - or if the thing came out of its confines and the jet nozzle sprayed in our direction - we would be helpless, basically toast. To prevent this nearly impossible occurrence, the engine we encountered had already been run at full power several times prior to our arrival. First, we watched a full test run in the control room. Even from there, it's impressive. A 30-foot focused yellow/blue flame roared from the back of the engine into a narrow concrete tunnel, then vented to the outside air. The spectacle reminded me of the launching of a Saturn V rocket. A B-1 bomber engine sits idle in the Dyess AFB test chamber, Abilene, Texas, March 28, 2025. Once the engine rpm dropped back to idle, and everything was deemed safe, we carefully made our way in to the chamber to watch from there, hugging the near wall as we moved along. For noise, we were given simple earplugs, plus headphones to cover them. All jewelry, cell phones, tape-recorders, watches - anything loose - was left in the control room. As the engine began to rev, we hung on to metal scaffolding along the wall to prevent us from being sucked toward it. First, there was a significant amount of building noise and hurricane-force winds blowing through the chamber. Once the afterburners kicked in, though, it got wild, including palpable rumblings in your chest, plus the added element of heat. I was upfront, closest to the flame. My bare arms and face gradually got hotter and hotter, as if I were in an oven. There was nothing I could do to address the discomfort. I couldn't cover my face with my hands, as I was holding on to the scaffolding for dear life, and I certainly couldn't move back in the line, further from the flames. I guess if there is such a thing as Hades, this is it. View from control room during B-1 engine testing, Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas, March 28, 2025. After 30 seconds of full afterburner, which seemed twice as long, everything thankfully was shut down, and it became eerily quiet in the chamber. The engine was ready to go back into service. I knew these monsters were powerful, having been in the B-1 when they kicked in, but being so up close and personal, well… A bit stunned, we politely thanked the maintenance group and continued our tour to the next functional Dyess area. There are many. And no, my hair did not catch on fire, but it had come close. What an experience!
Forbes
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Dyess' ‘Hurt Locker' Guys Do More Than Jeremy Renner Did In His Hit Film
Forbes writer Jim Clash in EOD suit, Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas, March 28, 2025. In Part 1 of this series about my recent visit to Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas, we covered my rare media flight in a B-1 (link below), a bomber even more lethal than its predecessor, the B-52 - or any other U.S. military aircraft for that matter. Why so deadly? Because the B-1 can carry more ordnance than the B-52, and can fly just a few hundred feet off the ground with a range of 7,500 miles sans refueling. Oh, and it can go supersonic. We maxed out at Mach 1.13 on our sortie to and from Pecos, New Mexico. SSgt Junior Diaz (right) explains bomb defusion to Forbes writer Jim Clash (suit), Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas, March 28, 2025. During that flight, we also sent simulated guided bombs to select targets. The inverse of that, if you will, is defusing bombs on the ground. For that process, I was privileged enough to visit Dyess' EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) unit, a part of the base responsible not for dropping, but for defusing and disposing of live bombs. First, by truck we were escorted to the demolition range, a secure, desert-like area where Airmen train for their dangerous art. After some background about EOD operations and verbal tutoring - much more involved than what's in 'The Hurt Locker' film that won the Academy Award for best picture in 2009 - I was given a full bomb suit to try on as part of my immersion. Crude bomb with inert C-4 used in a EOD immersion with Forbes writer Jim Clash, Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas, March 28, 2025. To say it was cumbersome is an understatement. The thing weighs 70 lbs, quite a bit more than the Michelin Man pressure suit I wore on my U-2 flight last summer. The suit is also extremely confining and hot, with no relief other than a small battery-operated fan inside. But most challenging is the limited mobility. Just to walk requires balance and real physical exertion. First, I knelt, then laid down on my stomach and rolled over, the kind of actions the real guys do as a regular part of their jobs. I was out of breath after just a few minutes. The Airmen actually have a gym on premises to stay in shape. Then I was asked to stand up and walk a few hundred yards down-range to where the bomb - a crude homemade device in a brown cardboard box - lurked. Inside was a 9-volt battery connected by wires to a small liquid detonator switch attached to a block (inert) of C-4 explosive. The device was deemed too precarious to defuse by hand, so a sophisticated metal robot was used. Pieces of the crude cardboard box bomb diffused by robot, Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas, March 28, 2025. From a distance in a concrete bunker, I pushed a button that sent an electric signal to the robot, which, in turn, fired the shot. A small puff of an explosion ensued, certainly nowhere near what would have been produced had real C-4 detonated. When we went back down to where the bomb had been, small parts of it were scattered. Next, just to gauge the power of a real C-4 block, we set up a detonation system whereby we could electronically set it off from the same bunker. Again, I was given a button to push, and, sure enough, a much more robust explosion ensued in the distance. C-4 detonation, Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas, March 28, 2025. After heading back down-range, we encountered a large crater produced by the explosion. It's amazing just how powerful one block of C-4 is. To sum up my brief experience, it's hard to imagine that these EOD Airmen work in such cramped suits for hours at a time, in much harsher conditions and in unfamiliar territory, scouring the ground for all types of unexploded ordnance - land mines, grenades, pipe bombs, radio-controlled IED's - you name it, they encounter it. Starting back left: Staff Sgt. Junior Diaz, A1C Jose Collado, SrA Tylor Van Grinsven, Art Harman (Forbes), SrA Dante Bernardi. Front left: Jim Clash (Forbes), A1C Lillian Lovelace, AlC Dominic Potter. My immersion in just a tiny part of what they do continues to strengthen my belief about the skill and commitment of USAF personnel. Thank you for your service, folks (photo above).
