Latest news with #supercells
Forbes
2 days 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.
The Guardian
27-06-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
Weather tracker: France hit by severe thunderstorms
After several days of intense heat, large parts of France were hit by a major outbreak of severe thunderstorms on Wednesday night as powerful supercells swept north-east across the country. A low pressure system that originated near Portugal tracked over the unusually warm Bay of Biscay towards northern France late on Wednesday, bringing a strong upper-level disturbance over land that had been intensely heated through the day. As a result, several long-lived supercells formed, producing large hailstones, frequent lightning, damaging winds and torrential rainfall. Hailstones of up to 8cm in diameter caused significant damage to property, crops and vehicles, while rainfall totals up to 150mm in places brought flash flooding, including in Paris. Ferocious winds also brought down pylons and trees, killing two people and bringing power cuts to 110,000 homes. Just north-east of Paris, a gust of 140kph was recorded, the strongest of the outbreak, while supercells elsewhere produced winds up to 126kph. One especially long-lived storm sustained gusts of 90-135kph over several hundred miles as it travelled from the south-west corner of the country to its north-east. Over the course of the night, more than 70,000 lightning strikes were also recorded. A lightning strike recorded in Deux-Sévres in the commune of La Peyratte had an intensity of 517 kiloamperes, 20 times the average strike intensity. Although temperatures reduced a little after the storms, they are expected to rise again and reach the high 30s Celsius in the south of France over the weekend before this spreads northwards into much of the rest of the country next week. Meanwhile, Australia's south-east coast is continuing to experience chilly conditions as its first winter month concludes. An area of low pressure centred to the south of the country earlier this week allowed cold air to push in from the south. Temperatures fell up to 10C below average in parts of Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania, with widespread frosts and snow predicted. Across the Australian Alps, ski resorts have reported up to half a metre of snow in just a couple of days. This follows the country's first snow storm of the season, which occurred in the first week of June and gave about a metre of snow to some resorts in just four days. The low pressure system earlier in the week also brought strong, gusty winds to the south-east. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology issued several warnings earlier this week for damaging winds, with gusts of up to 120kph expected. These winds have contributed to large waves and high tides, which have led to coastal erosion and infrastructure damage. Although high pressure has built in places, cold conditions are expected to remain for much of eastern Australia in the coming days.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Complains Biden Let Thunderstorms Into the U.S.
President Donald Trump got a little tongue-tied speaking with reporters on Air Force One, appearing to suggest his predecessor had left the United States vulnerable to attacks by forces of nature. Asked by one journalist about the threat of Iranian retaliation on U.S. soil following strikes against three nuclear sites in the Islamic Republic over the weekend, the president was quick to pin the blame on Joe Biden. 'Biden let a lot of supercells into the United States. He was an incompetent president. He had no idea what he was doing,' Trump said in audio of the exchange obtained by Fox News. 'It was gross incompetence,' he went on. 'Among everything else, he let a lot of supercells in, many from Iran. But hopefully we'll take care of them. What Biden did to this country should never be forgotten.' There has been mounting concern in recent days over the prospect of Iran activating 'sleeper cells' of terrorist agents embedded in the U.S. to carry out attacks against American citizens and infrastructure. The term 'supercell,' meanwhile, refers to a type of thunderstorm that rotates on an axis as the result of powerful updrafts. Trump's comments came as he flew to the Netherlands for a NATO summit at The Hague, where he is expected to discuss mounting global instability with other alliance leaders. Another journalist aboard the aircraft pointed out that at a time of increasing conflict, many member states have expressed concern over the president's historically tepid view of Article Five, pertaining to NATO's provisions for mutual defense. Asked whether he stood by those provisions, Trump responded, 'Depends on your definition.' 'There's numerous definitions of Article Five, you know that, right? But I'm committed to being their friends,' he said. 'I'm gonna give you an exact definition when I get there. I just don't wanna do it on the back of an airplane.'
New York Times
16-05-2025
- Climate
- New York Times
Risk of Severe Weather Looms Over Eastern Half of the U.S.
Large portions of the Midwest and the Mid-Atlantic are at significant risk of severe weather on Friday, as a multiday storm system moves slowly to the East. A bull's-eye centered over southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and Indiana and central and western Kentucky highlighted an area at risk for some of the most severe thunderstorms. These storms will be capable of unleashing large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes, possibly some strong ones. 'I'd be surprised if we didn't see some tornadoes in that corridor,' said Aaron Gleason, a meteorologist with the Storm Prediction Center. Here are the key things to know: The threat of thunderstorms on Friday generally stretches from eastern Texas into the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast and is concentrated over the middle Mississippi Valley and the Ohio Valley with varying degrees of risk. 'It's a fairly broad area for severe potential, and it looks like all hazards could be possible,' Mr. Gleason said. The area of highest concerns includes the cities of Bloomington, Ind.; Evansville, Ind.; Louisville, Ky.; and St. Louis. Those areas are at particular risk of supercells, highly organized, longer-lasting storms that produce even stronger winds and larger hail — in the case of Friday, bigger than baseballs — than typical thunderstorms. 'The same storms that produce very large hail are also the ones that we tend to be most concerned about from a tornado perspective,' Mr. Gleason said. 'There are probably going to be a lot of storms and a lot severe reports if things work out as forecast, unfortunately.' The National Weather Service office in St. Louis warned of hail of nearly three inches, damaging winds and a 'low chance of a strong tornado.' The clash between a cool air mass dropping down from the north and warm, moist air coming in from the Gulf will help create the sort of instability in the atmosphere on Friday that can fuel powerful thunderstorms. That moisture flow will also deliver some rain over the Ohio Valley into the mid-Mississippi Valley and the South on Friday. 'Parts of Kentucky particularly and southern Ohio will have the potential for multiple rounds of thunderstorms and each producing heavy rain,' said Richard Bann, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center. The threat of thunderstorms comes to the Midwest in a week marked by unseasonably warm weather. The heat is expected to continue on Friday with many locations across the region forecast to record afternoon highs in the 80s and 90s. Lower temperatures are predicted to arrive this weekend as cooler drier air sweeps in from the northwest. 'It's an active period and nothing unusual for May,' Mr. Gleason said. 'This is typically when a lot of severe weather tends to occur across the country.'
