MesoSearch.net Storm Chasing

Severe Weather Discussion for 10/21-10/23

2010-10-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well a very active pattern is getting set in place. Today it impacted parts of New Mexico and extreme West Texas. A couple of tornado warnings were issued today on a New Mexico storm that exhibited brief supercellular structure.

The next several days a Dryline will in be place over west Texas and north into Oklahoma and Extreme southern Kansas. This Dryline will push very slowly east over the next 3 days. Tomorrow we will see severe storms over west Texas. Thursday we shall see some severe weather activity over west Texas. Shear, instability are marginal so hail and gusty winds will be the main threats.

Friday The Dryline will be much tighter. A Negatively tilted trough punching through Texas will create excellent environment for severe weather. The system is much more organized! 30-40kt Low Level Jet. Forecast soundings show a very nice right turned hodograph. Dew points will be mainly in the low to mid 60s. But the biggest concern with Friday is the narrow corridor of instability along the dryline and the amount of available CAPE. This is probably due to cloud cover from the robust low level jet creating a drizzly low stratus deck. If the sun can come out for a few good hours out ahead of that dry line I wouldn't be surprised to see a good storm or 2 come off the dryline and maybe even a tornado or 2. We are for sure keeping an eye on this day for a probable chase. This will be a West Central TX , SW Oklahoma day.

Saturday the Dryline/front takes a more SW to NE orientation and becomes more progressive. We should see more supercells and a more widespread areas for tornadoes on Saturday from North Texas to NE Kansas. Kansas looks very impressive on tonights 0z NAM run. Still have got the nice SW flow in play. Cloud cover and morning convection could put a damper on instability once gain. We need that sun out ahead of the DL/Front.

As far as Friday Saturday go, The shear is quite nice and decent convergence for storms to fire. Thermodynamically it is on the marginal side of the fence. A lot of times it seems the models always under do instability.

Will be posting a much more detailed post tomorrow night. On Fridays Potential.

Long Term Forecast Discussion and News.

2010-10-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

The GFS is finally starting to show some trending towards a more active pattern sometime after the 20th of October. With a few troughs moving through the Southern plains. For sure something for us to keep an eye on. There is a set up coming up next week but appears at the moment that shear will be weaker and doesn't appear to be a big supercell/tornado event.

MesoSearch.net would like to Welcome chasers Aaron Dooley , Alec Jones and Seth Hastings to MesoSearch.net.. Their experience, talents and passion are first class. Check their Bios out HERE to learn more about them and other chasers.

Our new Chase Ride!! Say Hello to the WxRV ( Weather Resistant Vehicle)

This is the newest ride for Amanda Seale and I (Erik Burns). I totaled my previous chase ride earlier this spring during one of the largest tornado outbreaks of 2010. I hit a deer while trying to get in position on a large Supercell near Childress TX. That was the last chase for my truck. A good note to end on. It was the silver bullet's last chase.

The new ride is a 2006 Chevy Monte Carlo that's been heavily modified. We were fortunate enough to gain sponsorship from two incredible companies that offer some of the best products on the market in protection and security. Herculiner and Ace Laminates of Texas. Together we are making the WxRV one of the most Severe Weather Resistant vehicles in the world. Featuring an armor coating of Herculiner and Bullet resistant, hail and wind driven debris proof security laminated windows from Ace Security Laminates of Texas. I will make a separate post with more details about the vehicle and an update on where you can take a look at it in person!

Stay Tuned for more updates and news.

Erik.

More Snow For North Texas?!?! Also.. The Debris Show!

2010-02-18T22:01:00.000-08:00

Well to just get things started. I am really sick of winter. The GFS has been showing some run to run consistency with throwing another winter weather event into Texas and OK. It is still 5 days out but damn! I am ready to see some moisture return from the gulf and seeing 2,000 + J/kg on the models! I am sure everybody who reads this is just as anxious as I am. Hopefully these are signs of an amazing season to come. I just wish it would get here faster. It is for sure something to keep an eye on. I really hate snow.

Also I would like to mention Shane Adams web show The Debris Show. If you have not caught it yet it airs every Saturday night at 9pm CDT. So join Shane Adams, Bridget Geauhgan, David Reimer and yours truly Erik Burns as we discuss the happening and not so happening topics in the world of chasing and chaser community. It is sure to be a great time. If you have any questions or comments don't be shy please call in and join the discussion! Check it out @ Http://saturdayaftermath.com .

The Season is a coming!! Are you Ready?

2010-02-08T14:41:00.000-08:00

I am 100% prepared. I made alot of upgrades to the chase vehicle this year hoping to make getting information easier, drive in comfort, get the most out of my gear and having it last longer with less wear and tear. Also created the rig so no matter what is going on a camera will always be rolling capturing the action.

Some of the upgrades.

HD Dash cam for streaming and recording
Lap Top Mount
800 watt power inverter
13 powered USB hubs
Toggle switch installed for the light bar
Concealment of wires
New wiring for some of the electronics
New GPS software.
Upgraded GPS tracking

Also just some of the modifications and better organization makes everything so much better to be around all day. The less baby sitting I have to do the better my chase is and the more chasing I get to enjoy.

The MesoSearch.net site is also up. It will be the place where I archive videos and photos as well as ground zero for my live stream, media contact information, facebook and twitter updates. Please visit at http://mesosearch.net/ I will continue to post blogs here since it is easy to do so and is tied right into my site.

I am really hoping for 2010 to be a great chase year. 2009 was slow for tornadoes for me as well as several others. 2 on February 10 , 1 on May 1 and 2 on June 10th. February 10th as we all know was the Day of the Lone Grove EF4. That I saw and reported more then 10 minutes before the town of Lone Grove was struck. Very bitter sweet. I got to Experience the largest tornado of 2009 but yet it takes lives. I did everything I could. I reported it. Everything after that is in Gods Hands.

I hope to chase in states this year I have not yet chased in before. I have been to NM, CO, OK,TX,KS,NE,SD,AR. I would like to venture to IL, IA and maybe IN. Hell if we get another good looking day in WY I will chase it.

I made alot of new friends in 09 and hope to enjoy a chase or 2 with them.

As some of you already know that I am one of the host of the web based show dubbed The Debris Show. You can check it out on Saturday nights at http://saturdayaftermath.com/ Watch as storm chasers Shane Adams, Bridget Geaughen, David Reimer and my self discuss, debate, bitch and rant about the subjects and drama taking place in the world of storm chasing. Not recomended for younger viewers, those with sensitive ears or closed minds!

On the last note I would like to bring up the great service provided by http://chasertv.com/
Their streaming service for chasers is hands down the best available. $40 a year and your set. Scott Bennet and Steve Miller will take care of you. They are good to their words and very professional. So if your interested in streaming this year I promise you will not be dissapointed. Shane Adams uses it, David Drummond, Lanny Dean, Connor McCrorey and your truly. If these names in chasing use it there are no reasons to go anywhere else! ( BTW I am not getting a thing for saying any of this)

Hopefully this blog post didn't bore the hell out of ya. I would like for my next to be a SVR WX forecast. Keeping my fingers crossed. Thank for reading.

Erik

Erik Burns on The Debris Show!!!!

2009-12-26T20:48:00.000-08:00

MesoSearch Chaser Erik Burns will be teaming up with Shane Adams host of the Internet based web show The Debris show! This Sunday @ 9pm central time. Watch as Shane and Erik discuss the world of selling chaser video, lowballers and everything else that sucks about chaser video sales. It will be OUT OF CONTROL!! Watch @ Http://Chasertv.com or Http://Passiontwist.com

The New MesoSearch.net!!!

2009-11-20T21:22:00.000-08:00

Well here is the soft release of MesoSearch.net This is the soft release and still getting the all the little kinks out. So I am pleased to bring you the NEW MesoSearch.net . Thanks for looking!

MesoSearch Joins ChaserTV!!!

2009-11-09T15:40:00.000-08:00

We had to make a choice as to what is the best way to bring MesoSearch to the fans and the media. ChaserTV is the way! The cutting edge streaming ChaserTV brings to MesoSearch Storm Chasing is incredible. No more baby sitting connections and worrying about is our streaming working! So next time MesoSearch is in the field check us out at ChaserTV to see us Dominate the plains!!!

See MesoSearch Chaser Erik Burns on the front page at ChaserTV.com

Last nights Storm Chase!!

2009-10-26T10:33:00.000-07:00

Remembering Lone Grove. February 10th 2009.

2009-10-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

Well it has been 8 months since that fateful and active severe weather day. We had been keeping an eye on it for a couple of days. Being that it was February you just don't get excited about a set up like you do in May or June. Checking surface observations the night before actually showing promise of the warm moist air being advected northward into the would be warm sector. Still a lot uncertainty if things were going to pan out for a February chase day. The year before in January and February proved deadly in a few massive and historical tornado outbreaks. Would this day be a repeat of the year behind us. There was concerns that the day was going to just squall out and a discrete storm mode would not be accomplished.

The day finally came. Like normal I didn't get much sleep since I stay up all night and keep a close eye on how things are coming together. Making that decision whether to chase or not. I knew there was going to be severe weather and had a good idea of where. But was torn as to go into Central OK or to stay in Texas. Something was catching my eye for the area near Jacksboro TX. It seemed to have everything there for an impressive storm go up. Still again there were concerns but hey there is with every set up. I wake up early after only a few hours of sleep. Crunch and study the RUC, Skew Ts, Hodographs and surface observations. I came to the conclusion to chase TX. I called up a friend of mine Chris Harrell and we decided we would meet up off of I20 near Stephenville TX. I had some other people who had never chased before as well who were interested in seeing a supercell. We met up and hung around the gas station/rest stop for a couple of hours. We decided it would be best to head up towards Jacksboro. We got there and set up on the west side of town watching tower after tower struggling to go up. Storm had already fired by this time in OK and a couple of tornadoes had already been reported. I was loosing confidence in my decision to stay south in Texas. Storms than began to fire in NW Texas near Wichita Falls. We noticed these cells going into a supercell mode as the went into OK. So we made the choice to head NW towards Archer City to intercept one of the more southern cells and keep our fingers crossed it would do the same as the northern cells. Disappointed when we got to them at they were high based and outflow dominate. We took a few photos watched some of the cloud to ground lightning and then decided to head back towards Dallas to wait out for the squall line that was going to run through later that evening. We got onto US82 and proceeded back east. As we were getting out of Wichita Falls I saw firm towers back in the direction of Jacksboro. I looked at the radar and they did not impress. The towers though were telling a different story. I saw HW287 coming up down the road. We headed to the towers. We were getting near Belcherville TX and saw friend Craig Curlee on Spotter Network. I gave him a call and asked if how the storm looked on his side. Craig was on the SE side of the storm and we were on the NW side. Craig said it didn't look very good and the base was small and raggedy. He said he was gonna call it quits. We got down there and took a look and it was just like what he said.

We went back down the road a little ways and stopped at a gas station filled up with gas, grabbed some snack and drinks and was trying to make a decision on what to do. A couple of other chasers were also at the gas station we all mingled for a bit and then some of them went back home. It started to rain a little harder causing us to retreat back into the vehicles. I looked at radar again not expecting much. The radar just updated and the tops and VIL jumped on the storm. I looked at reflectivity and the storm was taking on an interesting shape. Still just sitting there and not doing much but just throwing hints. I looked at the velocity and it was showing a small piece of hope. some mild mid level rotation and some weak low level. I shouted at everybody for us to get back down the road a little ways to see what was going on. We drove for about 1 mile back the hill we were on earlier. Out of the rain on top of a hill with a good view. The base looked outstanding. Nice smooth base and inflow feeding into the storm. I looked even more closely and observed rotation under the base with rain curtain beginning to carousel. I yelled out "IT'S GONNA DO IT!". My target was going to verify! Within minutes the storm produced a beautiful cylindrical rotating wall cloud! With nice motion! It was such a great feeling sitting on top of that hill in February seeing such an incredible sight! By this time chasers from Texas Storm Chasers, Connor McCrorey and David Reimer pulled up just in time to see the show. After some heavy video and photographs of the soon to be historical and life taking storm we jumped back into our cars and headed NE to stay on it. After following it and getting back into position we observed our the storms first tornado and out first tornado of the year. A skinny white rope tornado coming down out of the wall cloud. This took place near Belleview TX. Some Chasers got some really great footage of this tornado as well as Veteran Storm Chaser Amos Magliocco, who took some nice photos. We were quickly running out of day light and road options and decided to go as far as we could until we got to the Red River. The storm had also picked up speed and started moving fairly quickly. We were watching the monster lowering up ahead from us getting harder and harder to see with each passing minute. We got near the town of Spanish Fort TX where we had come to a stopping point because of the Red River. We would just watch the storm leave us in the dark. Watching the storm a flash of lightning revealed something under the base of the Supercell. I wasn't the only one who saw it. Chris says is that what I think it is!? Another flash of lightning and it was still there! When it is dark you don't want to just start calling stuff tornadoes. It wasn't but a mile and a half from us at this point. More lightning and it was becoming obvious. One of the newbies with us had captured an image of the ominous object and it was not lying. Lightning by this time was constant and the cone like tornado had turned into a massive wedge tornado. Trying to control the adrenaline we reported this tornado via Spotter Network. NWS almost instantly tornado warned the storm. We could not believe our eyes on how large this tornado was. We couldn't even guess on it's size. We watched the tornado until we could no longer see it. Not knowing that what we had just seen was going to be the deadliest tornado to strike Oklahoma since May 3rd 1999 and be the largest tornado to occur in the month of February since record keeping.

Heading back home I received a phone call from Jim Cantore of The Weather Channel and did a short interview about what we had seen. We stopped at Dairy Queen had some food and looked over all the photos and video. I had then received news that the town of Lone Grove had been hit by a substantial tornado. At the time it was not known but the tornado we had actually seen going into Oklahoma was indeed the Lone Grove Tornado. It was hard to swallow. When something you do that is so incredible to see and experience can be taken all away from you so quickly once you find out the horrible news that a tornado you saw killed people and destroyed homes. Makes your passion not seem so fun anymore. We did our main job out there though and reported the tornado. Because of that we saved lives.

A couple of days later I spoke to Michael Ratliff who was also there to experience this historical event. We agreed this was a life changing event for us. We wished there was more we could do. We did what we could do.

I will never forget that day. It goes through my mind on a daily basis. It was an amazing storm. I hope that even now 8 months later the town of Lone Grove is still strong. I plan to visit there soon. I will never forget February 10th 2009 and I will never forget Lone Grove Oklahoma.

Connor McCrorey and David Reimer
http://www.main.texasstormchasers.com
Michael Ratliff and Ray Walker
http://www.seeatornado.com/
Amos Magliocco
http://www.cycloneroad.com

From Michael Ratliff and Ray Walker

From Connor McCrorey

MesoSearch photos of the storm and Tornado from Spanish Fort TX
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs145.snc1/5400_126214076224_122719141224_2432730_744116_n.jpg

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs145.snc1/5400_126213351224_122719141224_2432718_1995453_n.jpg

Other links
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/wxevents/20090210/eventnarrative.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_2009_tornado_outbreak

Links will not work so just copy and paste them.. sorry.

Storms of 2008 and 2009 photo documentary

2009-10-09T20:20:00.000-07:00

MesoSearch Chaser Erik Burns captured these images in 08 and 09. Please enjoy!

Video of our chase on September 21,2009 Garvin County Oklahoma Supercell

2009-09-23T10:12:00.000-07:00

Possible Severe Weather Monday!!!

2009-09-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

Well it looks like since the Atlantic hurricane season was owned by El Nino and non existent for the most part it looks like the first ice breaker for the Fall severe weather season may begin on Monday. The models I use to forecast are in fair agreement with a severe episode on Monday. A nice mid level trough will dig it's way into the central and southern plains early Monday then evolve into a closed low. This is also going bring with it a fairly strong and quickly moving cold front. This front will be the focal point of storm development. A very moist and unstable airmass ( Models are presenting and have been confident with CAPE values in the 3,000 J/kg range, that is moderately to very unstable ) will be set in place ahead of this front and mid level trough. Storms should have no problem becoming surface based. Fortunately I don't see much of a tornado threat here. Maybe a brief spin up. Reason being is the strongest winds in the atmosphere will be behind the front. So there will be quite a bit of forcing behind the storms. So at this time more likely a severe wind event. Storms should begin discrete in a linear storm mode and quickly form into a MCS ( MesoScale Convective System). Flash flooding could also be a concern since soils in the area are already saturated from all the previous days of rainfall.

The areas most likely to see this event would be Southern OK , North TX Monday evening into night. And the rest DFW and North East TX and SE OK into AR in late night into early morning hours. So for right now appears to be a mostly a wind and possibly a isolated flash flooding event.

Coming Soon! The NEW MesoSearch.net

2009-07-22T22:01:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I have posted on here. Just procrastination I guess. LOL.. Not Good! Well since the last I have posted on here I had a successful tornado intercept less then 5 minutes from my house on June 10th!! I was in Kansas the day before and busted. So strange to have had Supercells in North Texas in the middle of June.

Well we had a website up for a very short time last year it just never got underway. So this fall I am introducing a NEW Website for MesoSearch Storm Chasing. It will contain live streaming when we are in the field, gps tracking, video/photo gallery, and a blog.

So to entertain you and give you a sense of whats to come please enjoy this trailer promoting the new website.

MESOSEARCH,,, Chase Tomorrow!!!

2009-05-01T00:40:00.001-07:00

The Crew will be out tomorrow. We will be streaming live at TornadoVideos.net !

A very unstable atmosphere will be in place tomorrow over North West TX. Shear looks beautiful turning with height very nicely. CAPE on the order towards 5,000 j/kg. A classic triple point set up. We are targeting NW TX.. Storm should fire by 5pm, Discrete supercells with massive hail and a decent threat for tornadoes is likely.. Storm Prediction center has issued a slight risk with a likely upgrade to Moderate risk mentioned in their outlook.. Please tune into Tornadovideos.net to watch us DOMINATE!

Severe Weather in the forecast!!

2009-04-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

Finally looks like things are trying to get going. GFS is now showing potential Easter Weekend for the Southern Plains. It still far out and a lot of changes will take place between now and then.. GFS has been pushing everything further west little each run.. The GFS is normally not always telling the truth ! Thursday in the southern plains doesn't look very impressive to me and seems to me that a cold front will overtake everything very quickly.. So as of right now Saturday looks like the day of choice. I just hope the moisture will be able to recover in time for Saturday.

I will continue to monitor the models and make a detailed forecast later this week.

MesoSearch on ABC Dallas...

2009-04-03T18:07:00.000-07:00

As some of you guys know I am one of the chasers for WFAA Channel 8 in Dallas. Craig Curlee another known DFW chaser is now also on board. The both of us will DOMINATE. Last week I went in the station to do an interview with Chief Meteorologist Pete Delkus. The news station and myself agree that we have the best chaser team in North Texas. WFAA is already number 1 in severe weather in North Texas. Hope we have a productive season. .

It was shown Yesterday at 6pm.. I was going to post but I have been so busy it is not even funny and didn't find out until about 3 hours before it went on.. Hope yall enjoy.

Here is the Link

MesoSearch on ABC

LIVE STEAMING UP AND RUNNING!

2009-03-23T00:05:00.000-07:00

MesoSearch has Teamed up with TornadoVideos.net to bring you dominating live streaming and reports, and live GPS tracking..

The Set up for tomorrow is insane!!! High Shear, low cape set up, Amazing Low level shear will cause large right turn hodographs indicating storms will be able to produce strong tornadoes. MesoSearch will be out in the plains.

Please go to TornadoVideos.net to see our live chase stream!!

DOMINATING!!!

LET IT BEGIN. TORNADOES POSSIBLE NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS, TO SOUTH CENTRAL OK

2009-02-09T21:55:00.000-08:00

The MesoSearch Team will be out tomorrow in pursuit of dominating severe weather in the Southern Plains, Our initial target is Stephenville Texas and will adjust from there.

A potent system is moving in from the west, with massive moisture return that is not common for this time of year ahead of it. Shear and instability will be in place for strong / significantTornadoes.

See the risk area here Http://www.spc.noaa.gov

Sorry for not giving much more details so much to do still. Be Safe to for all who are chasing and live in the risk areas.

We will also be showing our chase live on the web at ChaserTv.com See us out in the field live in the action.

News..Whats going on lately and Need a New Chase Partner

2009-01-21T14:21:00.000-08:00

Well not really much to say. Weather has been extremely boring. With Storm Season hopefully about a month and a half away and my brother in law Ricky moving I am looking for some new chase partners. Even though gas is cheaper, I still would like to have help while chasing so I can get more and better footage.. I just have so much trouble doing it all by myself.. So if anybody is interested contact me at MesoSearch@gmail.com . My cousin who just moved down is getting into it, He has alot to learn though still. Tagging along with me more often will give him more experience.. Chris Harrell one of the MesoSearch chasers can only chase on weekends but will be going on a pretty extensive chasecation this year. We will see how that turns out. Should be awesome.

MesoSearch has added some new toys to the rig. We are now doing GPS tracking and severe WX reporting through http://www.spotternetwork.org/ . We will also be doing live streaming as well this season. More details on the streaming as the season gets closer. We will be also striving to get as much footage as possible this year and come out with our first ever chase DVD. It's not official but we are trying for it.. It will include footage from 08 and 09. Hopefully we will have the http://mesosearch.net/ site up and running. It has said content coming soon for almost a year. I have been working on the site off and on for several months

For my DFW people we chase for ABC Channel 8 WFAA in Dallas so when severe weather is near the metroplex keep an eye on channel 8 news to see our live interviews, footage and reports from the field.

The MSIV ( MesoSearch Intercept Vehicle )

2009-01-04T18:19:00.000-08:00

Well not what I really call it but hey it mocks The Discovery Channels " Storm Chasers" TIV.

It has been my work in progress getting this truck where I want. I have chased in it several times. I wanted to have it set up so it could be organized and easy to put together and take down. Nothing fancy really. There are a lot nicer set ups then this. I like it. I had to put the stickers on the tailgate to show off this blog!! Hopefully people will visit it. The word Dominating is a powerful word and one to make people wonder why the hell the word dominating would be on a truck.. Well it's because it is just that. DOMINATING! I am not done with the truck I am still going to add a Anemometer/Weather station. It will do all the cool geeky stuff. I am still thinking about HAM radio for the truck then it will be done.. I need to get my ham license.

Currently in the Truck I have:

Magellan Explorist 400 GPS

Logitech 5 megapixel Cam

In Dash USB Hub

Tethered Blackberry for Internet

Dell Precision M65 w/ Intel Centrino Duo core processor (dominating)

3 way dc adapter

power inverters

and an awesome wooden crate that has been modified to be a laptop mount. Works very well actually.

Programs and Software:

GRlevel3

SpotterNetwork

SevereStreaming

Spotter Chat

ooVoo

Logitech Quikcam

I do not consider this a lot compared to what some people have in their cars. It gets the job done. Everyone feel free to leave a comment!

Please excuse the ugly dude wearing the blue storm chaser T-shirt..

Just bored and SDS attack.

2008-12-29T20:15:00.000-08:00

Well christmas was fun and games, Having to close on Christmas Eve and Open on Post Christmas day was shitty. So my Holiday flew right by me but still spent time with family and got some nice gifts. Including a dandy new USB Cam!! Now I can Stream Live Video!

Now Severe Studios. I registered with them oh, almost a week ago now. Still waiting on freaking approval. Is there 10,000 people signing up for Severe Studios? My GOD! I didn't expect it to take this long.

December 26th. BIG WEATHER DAY! Yeah right.... I should have gone with my original forecast like I said the first time.. Linear Bullshit and thats what happened. But hey it is December and I just got a new cam so I stayed up all night for fucking nothing... I still think the SPC is on crack. The shear was not there for tornadoes. Way unidirectional. I got all mixed up into all the hype this set up got. I don't understand why December 8th didn't get this much attention. Hell at least there were supercells and they were before midnight.

I would like to bring up something that really pisses me off. We all experience it. Some of us everyday some of us every now and then.. I like to call them Fucking Idiots AKA Bad Drivers.
I don't know why the hell they think they could possibly be in more of a hurry then me. Cutting me off from the shoulder, Cutting acrross 3 lanes to make a fucking exit, riding my ass, coming to a complete stop just to turn the damn steering wheel( Hey thanks for stopping traffic so you could pull into that damn McDonalds) . Whats even worse. The person who is oblivious that there is a tornado coming right at you and they are going 30 mph on a 70 mph highway. To me speed signs mean shit when there is a tornado 1/2 mile away and coming at you. This happend to me 04-23-2009. Like I said earlier. Fucking Idiots. Really though there are too many bad drivers out there. It just really really gets under my skin.

UPDATE!!
Well I have still have been smoke free for a WEEK.. This is the first time in over 2 years I have been able to go this long with out ANY tobacco! I feel so much better. I actually wake up with energy. I still get cravings but nothing like I did after the first couple of days. All I have to say is that it is all a mind game and you just need to quit. It sucks. I have managed to be at the Gas Station to buy a drink and not ask for some smokes. I have a pride when I walk out of the building that I am winning the war!

Hope everybody has a safe and happy new year!

Merry Christmas Everybody!

2008-12-25T09:22:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I am Done....

2008-12-23T11:11:00.000-08:00

Well last night I gave up... I hate quitting but this was it.
Last night before I went to be. I was standing by the dinner table looking down at my pack of cigarettes. I was disgusted by them.. My life was being controlled by a damn paper stick filled with cancerous material. I counted them. There were 7 of them left. 7 is the number of God. I felt like it was a sign that it was time to stop.. So I stood over the toilet and broke each one in half and flushed them.. Shit belongs in the toilet so that's why these went there.. I will be honest sometimes I enjoy a fine tobacco product. I have been smoking since I was 15 and I am 23 now.. I have a whole life ahead of me.. Just think what I could spend all the extra money on, extra gear, more chases, ect.. Plus my health..
I am always scared I am just going to fall over and die from smoking.. No more will I live with all that. I am really done for good. Cold Turkey. If anybody else want to try and quit with me we can act as a support for each other. I have tried quitting before but this time it feels like it will be easier.

I will be posting another blog late tonight about driving around DFW.. It should be a good read

Another Cold Front Headed To North Texas

2008-12-20T09:28:00.000-08:00

Well another round of cold air is currently making its way into North Texas today. Temps yesterday were pushing 80F!!! Todays High will be in the Upper 60's for most of North Texas and by 7pm will be in the 40's and dropping rapidly! Winds will start coming out of the North early this afternoon and will be gusty. The real cold air won't arrive until this evening though. Lows tonight will be from the low 20s along the Red River region and upper 20's and low 30's around the DFW area. Highs tomorrow will be chilly. We will be lucky to see it get out of the 30's!!

Here is RUC model for 7pm tonight really starting to show the cold air move in!

This isn't really weather related but it ticks me off..

2008-12-19T16:02:00.000-08:00

So I am at work yesterday and this guys comes in. He asked to look at the GPS units. We get to talking a little bit. He asked me how often I use GPS. I told him I use it quite a bit for storm chasing. His face lights up and he says " I love watching that show on Discovery Channel ". I asked him what side he liked, Josh Wurmans or Reed Timmers. He said the guys in the Grey Tahoe ( Reeds Team). I said "Reed is a good guy and fun to chase with. We have chased a couple of times together this year before the start of the filming of the show." Well to make a long story short the guy basically looks at me like I am a liar and said in a round about way "why would a Storm Chaser who has chased with somebody like Reed Timmer be working at a retail store"... Then he just started treating me like complete shit..

So before he left with the GPS I wrote down my addresses to my websites including this one.. So I hope he reads this.. ROFLMAO!! I am sure he probably threw them into the garbage.

Just because I don't have a fucking TV show to "prove" that I am a storm chaser doesn't give you the right to treat me like shit.. I don't care if you believe me or not! I don't expect for you to jump up and down in joy because you met a storm chaser.. If you believe me or not DO NOT treat me like shit..

People just don't get it.. With all the glam that the media puts out. They make us storm chasers look like we make an ass load of money chasing storms and that's all we do... As we all know allot of us have regular jobs. Yes.. Some of us do well at making a living out of chasing but we all know that's a long hard road to get to, that most of us will never see.

The general public will never understand storm chasing. How it works, The people that do it, Why we do it, and whats put into it.. You know what. I am glad it's that way. I am proud to be part of something that not just anybody can do.. I don't need to watch the 5 o'clock news to see what the weather is going to do.

Damn I hate Winter it makes me a dick.

12/08/2008 Collin and Grayson County,, Bagged my first December Tornado!!

2008-12-10T22:58:00.000-08:00

Well a very interesting day it turned out to be. After staring at data all day trying to determine if I should head south to Hillsboro Tx, or hanging out near Denton-Ft Worth area. Well I decided to head just north of Fort Worth in Keller and wait for the skinny little squall to come rain down on me. I kept an eye on the VILs and played around with one of the stronger cells. I didn't follow the cells for very long as they started to break apart and looked cruddy. I then noticed the storm on the North end of the line start to organize ( what would soon be the grayson county storm )and then soon after went Severe. I then noticed the storm I had just let get pass me start taking root, hauled butt over to 35E and then east on 121 and punched it where I experienced strong winds and blinding rainfall. While I was driving over to 35e the grayson storm went TOR warned.. I finally got into McKinney and the cell I was on went TOR and I went east on 380 to Princeton, once I got just a little east of Princeton inflow winds were feeding into the storm at estimated over 50 mph, Very rich, warm moist air. As I was crossing Lake Lavon heading to Farmersville I saw a powerflash to my N and and another one, The powerflash exposed a beautiful high contrast cone, I was on the phone with WFAA in Dallas and reported this to them, I tried to grab some photos of the tornado but all my pictures came out black. Shortly after seeing the tornado the cell started falling apart as it got close to Bonham. I then got into Celeste and called my BIL, We met up and headed to Dension to see if it was wind Damage that had occured or Tornado. The damage in Denison indeed looked like tornado damage. Insulation was in all the trees and powerlines, trees up rooted, limbs all twisted, metal wrapped around trees and powerpoles, roofs ripped of home.. Here are few photos of the Grayson County Storm Damage.

Sorry to anybody that reads this I haven't posted on here in a long time... Just haven't messed with this blog too much.. I will be using it alot more here from now on.

Tropical Storm Dolly

2008-07-21T17:11:00.000-07:00

Tropical storm Dolly is currently moving WNW in the Gulf of Mexico threatening the areas from northern Mexico to Port O Conner Tx. The current 48 hr WRF is showing Dolly making landfall near or in Corpus Christi. Some other models agree with this ensemble other take Dolly further south.

There is alot of speculation on how intense Dolly will become. Some are saying there is a small window for her to become a Catagory 3. Based on what observations and data I have looked into I really don't see her slowing down enough to have the time to become a catagory 3, if she does it will be a low cat 3. Anything is possible with these amazing storms.

Boring time of year. Post Chase Depression!!!!

2008-07-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

Just plain bored. Every year. Right at this time there is just nothing to do. We are designing the new tornado probe and planning new things for next year but It's just so hot outside to do anything. Sure I love to go fishing and be outdoors but not when it's 100 F and with a heat index of 105.

Hopefully come September-October we will have a last few good chases for the year. Then I can start getting ready for hunting season and fishing for those big blue catfish in Lake Texoma.

It would be nice to see a couple more tubes before the weather gets chilly again.

Erik

Things cooled off today!!

2008-07-15T18:46:00.000-07:00

Well it was hot and humid today until we had a nice beak from the heat when several outflow boundries moved into the area and blew up some towers.. One did go severe for about 30 minutes. Temps were in the mid 90's, after the showers and several outflow boundries it cooled off to about 78..

Here is a photo I took of one of the many showers.. I am just glad it wasn't too hot out for the rest a day, such a nice break from the heat and much needed rain.

The 2008 Chase Season

2008-07-14T17:25:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a damn good year, besides all the fast moving storms, HP monsters, and wrain wrapped tornadoes, all in all it has been a record setting year for me ( Erik ) and the Mesosearch.net team.
Ricky and I set out on our first chase this year in February in SE Texas. It was a major bust, but was great to get the equipment out and chase after a 55 mph tornado warned storm.
My last chase of the 08 spring season ended for me on May 22nd in Central Kansas with a nice last catch right before heading home, A tornado off of Highway 4, NW of Ness City.

Ricky and I caught out first tornado of the year on April 09 when the town of Breckenridge Tx, got hit by a EF2 tornado, We too got hit by this tornado in it's early stages, A memory to never to be forgotten. I will never forget the images set in my mind that day as the 18 wheeler in front of us flipped over and whole trees fly across the road around us. I will never forget that insane moment in my life. I have never been so scared. I learned alot that day about being around rain wrapped tornadoes.

I have made some great friends this spring. Chris Harrel, We chased together for the first time on March 2, I also took my bosses from work to becuase the didn't believe me that I was a storm chaser. A couple of hail cores later they were believers. March 2nd was a day that broke the ice for the season. First chaseable storm motions and amazing structure. The background on the MesoSearch.net myspace is from March 2nd. Chris and I are good friends now and has joined the MesoSearch.net Team. March 2nd was his first storm chase as well, but has studied severe weather for a good while before his first chase, he is also a ham radio opertator, and one hell of a photographer. Also got to meet one of my influnces and inspirations to storm chasing , Amos Magliocco. Thanks for the awesome caravan!

March 17 2008, another great day of amazing structure, good storm motions and great friends. The whole team chased together this day. We met up with TornadoVideos.net Reed Timmer, Joel Taylor and co near Abilene Tx. Awesome chasing with you guys. You guys rock and chasing with you guys is like a big party on the highway. Good laughs, excitining moments and awesome storms.

March 30-31, Chris Harrel, his wife, friend Jeff and myself went on a 2 day chase in Oklahoma and Texas. After the long drive to W Oklahoma, long only because of flat tire we got in Altus, and the damn carnival we got stuck behind in the middle of nowhere We again met up with TornadoVideos.net .. Amazing chase. Our original target was dead on, but netoworking with other chasers had us get off course a little bit, then come to find out, we had to turn around to go back where we were already sitting waiting for initiation. Jeffs car met its fate on that exciting March 30th day.. His new just paid off Scion met it's fate as baseball size hail fell from sky. Props to Jeff for being a good sport about it.The next day of the chase we passed up several supercells to haul ass back down to TX to chase the event that was going to be taking place in North Texas. Subsidence proved to take these storms before they could really mature.

April 23 was a super awesome day over in West Texas . Everybody else in the team had to work and wouldn't try to get out of it. I begged them, told them it was going to be an awesome day. So I had to play it solo and it was not easy. I thank Chris so much for Nowcasting for me that day. Your Dominating!! I broke my record for most tornadoes seen in one day, 7!! Most of them were crappy and didn't last very long. But one of them was truly awesome and bagged it on video.. I Would like to thank Reed Timmer for this day as well for texting me about the outflow boundry. I made an awesome friend this day as well. Aaron Dooley, we met when I was heading east on 20 and We both pulled over to examine data and the storm. We chased for the rest of the evening together. I had gotten a flat as we were heading out. He came back to give me a hand with it. Bro thanks for all your help that night, Your a hell of friend and an awesome person to chase with.

May 1st was a hard forecast. Most everybody else went to SE KS but with Aarons and my forcast was showing that further south on the dryline we could get a very discrete cell. After long waiting in Ardmore OK it happend. A masssive tower was in sight and it was exploding. INCREDIBLE Classic supercell structure!! Aaron had some friends meet up with us, one of them was Tony Cook, it was nice meeting you. I forget the names of the other 2 guys ( I am just really bad with names.). This was Rickys first time to meet Aaron as well. Well the cell was tornado warned and it looked like it was going to produce for sure. The cell split and the left split carried north and developed into a tornado producing machine. Our cell was just pretty and making huge hail. No tornadoes that day but another chase I will never forget.

The 22nd of May was my last chase day for the 08 springs season. Awesome is all I have to say. Again Chris and Ricky couldn't get off of work.. So I made the long drive to SW Kansas by myself. I left at 5:30 am that morning, and 9 tornadoes later got back home at 4:30 am the next morning. 23 hours of driving by myself. I thought I was going to die but to see tornado after tornado, that left a very sweet taste in my mouth. I Watched a young tower go up near Sublette Kansas. I had it all to myself for a 2 hours and observed it's first tornado with nobody else around that I know of. Truly amazing. One on one with one of the most powerful forces of nature. With storm motions that day moving a bit faster then expected it was hard to get close. Alot of tornadoes were brief, but almost all of them had full condensation to the ground. It was a trip well worth it. I would like to add a big thanks to Aaron Dooley for nowcasting for me in this event..

It was a good season, full of good friends, good storms, making friends, and learning alot. MesoSearch.net is also became the Chase Team for WFAA Channel 8 news in Dallas. The 4th largest market in the US. That was a big accomplishment for us. That happend to us in the beggining of April.

I would like to thank:

Ricky Price, for being an awesome driver and having a good spirit when the waiting gets long and all the late night chases.

Chris Harrel. for awesome nowcasting, excellent navigation (and good spirit for putting with my ass.. LOL.) Also to the work he has put into the website and forum ( still being worked on, it's going to be sweet).

Jeff, for being an awesome spirit for sacrificing your car in that insane hail, and all the hours of driving you have done.

Aaron Dooley, for helping me out with nowcasting, being an awesome chase partner, hell of a forecaster and helping me out with my flat that crazy day.

Reed Timmer and Joel Taylor, for the awesome networking in the field, chasing with Tornadovideos.net team, helping me with forecasting and last but not least all the goods times.

Amos Magliocco, for having us join you on March 2, and all the good converstaion.

Lanny Dean, Thanks for your nowcasting help, awesome conversation, helping with my forecasting and networking in the field.

I would also like to thank the people who visit the MesoSearch.net myspace. I hope you find our pictures and video awesome and enjoy them.

Currently we are working on several projects. New vehicle set ups, equipment upgrades, LIVE STREAMING IN A WAY YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE!! It will be dominating.. Also we are developing a tornado interceptor device that will give us a new view and information about tornadoes. So hang around for next season. Because we are going to dominate 2009!!

Thanks to everyone that reads this.
Erik Burns
MesoSearch.net

Our new blog site! Welcome!!

2008-07-14T16:48:00.000-07:00

Well we thought it would be cool to start a blog like this so we can express our opinions, ideas and thoughts, as well as chase reports and stories.. Sorry if things are boring at this point in time on the blog, but we will be adding things as time allows.

Thanks for stopping by

MesoSearch.net