Back in November 2011, I was contacted by the folks at WeatherWary asking if I would review their new radar app. I said sure, but promptly got sidetracked. Better late than never, I wanted to complete my promise to them. Not only did I write a review but I also created a short video so you can better see the app.

WeatherWall Mobile is a radar app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Being a weather nerd, I have a lot of radar apps on my iPhone. This one is on the first page of my weather apps folder and gets used a lot. For PC users, it reminds me of the GRLevel3 software. It downloads raw radar data and generates the radar image instead of other apps that download static weather map images. The result is a much higher resolution image that allows you to zoom in. The smoothing option is nice as it makes the radar a little easier to see. (it can be turned off)

Another nice feature is the ability to filter out various DBZ levels from the radar. During severe weather, I filter out the lower DBZ so the higher returns show up better. If you are looking for outflow boundaries or light snow, it’s best to turn off filtering.

A lot of radar apps will show you the warning polygons, but WeatherWall Mobile allows you to tap a small dot on the warning and view the actual warning text. This contains various information like towns impacted, type of damage expected, hail size, wind speed, etc.

One of my favorite features which sets this apart from other radar apps is the ability to see two different radar products at the same time. (swipe in any direction with 2 fingers) I often use this to show both reflectivity and velocity images at the same time. Very powerful feature, especially in a mobile app.

Other features include Spotter Network integration (positions/reports), severe local storm reports, GPS location, entire US radar image, dual-polarization radar products and topographic background.

If you are a weather enthusiast such as myself, then you need this app. Click the button below to go to the app store and purchase this app.

The post Review: WeatherWall Mobile appeared first on StansWeather.net.

Apparently this episode is all about dust devils so I am anxious to see how they use my video. Unfortunately I do not have cable so I will not be able to watch it live. However, they will be sending me a copy of the show so I will eventually get to see it.

If you are able to watch this episode, please let me know how it turned out. Thanks!

Update: (10/8/13) Apparently this episode aired a week later on 10/06/13. It was season 4 episode 6 labeled Close Calls. It will air again on October 16th at 2:00am-3:00am if you missed it. So far I have not found a copy online to share. I received a copy of the episode on DVD today and watched it. They showed my dust devil video right after the dust devil researcher clip. Pretty spiffy!

The post My Dust Devil on the Weather Channel appeared first on StansWeather.net.

All morning we had storms roll through the area. The concern was that the morning stuff would prohibit the afternoon stuff from being able to reach their full potential. By mid-afternoon, storms were moving into IL and triggering tornado warnings. I was stuck at work till 4:00pm, so I decided to pick a target closer to home. I was keeping an eye on storms firing up north of I-70. They seemed to start out promising, but then died out quickly as adjacent storms fired up. While this was disappointing, I decided to go for it anyway.

After fueling up for gas, I departed Champaign at 4:30pm. I headed west on I-72 towards Decatur. The initial plan was to drop south of Decatur to intercept what I was hoping would be a decent storm. Unfortunately, my promising little storm had dissipated into a brief shower. I noticed more storms firing up further east and south, but I was really out of position. The storms west of me were all jumbled together so seeing anything would be pretty slim. I got stuck in Decatur for a little while trying to find my way to IL 121. I finally made my way to the north side of Mt. Zion and pulled over to observe a storm. This same storm had been tornado warned earlier, but it got downgraded to a severe thunderstorm warning once it moved into Macon county. Other than a few seconds of very small hail, the storm didn’t do anything.

I decided to turn around and head back north to US 36. The storms coming in from the west were starting to move in and a nice shelf cloud had appeared. I jogged east on US 36 and pulled off the road on S. Prairie View Road. (6:07pm) I let the shelf cloud come to me and it was quite a nice sight. The wind started picking up as did the rain, so I headed north and east to stay in front of it. As I approached IL 105 and E 400 North Road, the winds increased considerably from the southwest. I decided to pull over at this point and shoot some video. (6:24pm) I didn’t have time to hook up the anemometer, but I estimated the winds to be around 50-60 mph. (It was rocking the Jeep pretty good!) The high winds combined with the heavy rain was reducing visibility to almost nothing. A few minutes later I heard hail slapping the back of the vehicle. Normally I’d stick around to see how big the hail got, but with this much wind I wasn’t taking any chances. I headed east as best I could in the blinding rain and then north on N 500 East Road. The winds and rain were coming straight from the west now so I was getting slammed. I found a spot to pull off across the street from a large outbuilding which was reducing the impact of the wind. (6:35pm)

I continued east and north towards Monticello. A tornado warning was issued for Piatt and Champaign county at 6:53pm. A few minutes later I heard some traffic stating that a tornado had been reported near Seymour and it was heading towards Champaign. *gulp* I hopped on I-72 and hightailed it back to Champaign. Thoughts of all those cities getting destroyed earlier in the week popped into my head. As I got back to Champaign, I headed home to make sure there was no damage. All was well at the homestead as well as everywhere else I looked. *whew!* I called a few friends and relatives and everyone was good. I was impressed that most of the people I talked to took shelter in their basements (if they had them) when the warnings went out.

Final Thoughts
I think I was more relieved that mass destruction didn’t occur vs being upset that I didn’t see anything spectacular. It was a nice local chase and was good to get back out there again. Hopefully we can get some less violent weather in the next few weeks. I’m due for a good mammatus cloud display sometime soon.

Total Mileage: 127 miles

Video

The post May 25, 2011 – Moderate risk chase in central Illinois appeared first on StansWeather.net.

Storm chasing is expensive
Unless you’re lucky enough to have a cable network paying your way, then chasing is usually funded out of our own pockets. His DVD’s are inexpensive and a great value in my opinion.

He chases Illinois
Like myself, Andrew mainly chases Illinois. He gets away to the plains when he can, but most of his chases are right here in Illinois. There’s a gazillion chasers in Oklahoma, but a much smaller percentage in Illinois. It’s nice to see video from my home state especially on days that I am unable to chase.

Limited narration
I have seen a lot of chase videos over the years and a lot of them are degraded by the excessive talking, yelling, and cussing in the audio. (I’ve unfortunately been guilty of this a few times) You don’t get that with Andrew’s video. There may be a few occasions where there will be other chasers near him being picked up, but for the most part he lets the storm do all the talking.

As for my thoughts on the PWX 2010 DVD… I think it is probably his best one yet. Sure his 2010 stuff might not have been as intense or numerous as other chaser videos, but he made the most of what he did have. Throughout the video he provides numerous time lapse videos with a wonderful soundtrack to fit the scene. I was a little apprehensive about him including non-2010 chases in this video that were covered in previous videos. For chasers who compile annual DVD’s, it’s nice to only see stuff from those years. However, Andrew didn’t just include the same video from previous years. He re-edited them to provide more details, contrast enhancement, as well as time lapses of the storms. He concludes the DVD with impressive still photos which really demonstrates his photography skills.

Stan’s recommendation: Buy PWX 2010! It’s only $15 with free shipping. Support Andrew’s chasing passion and buy the DVD!

For more details and ordering information, visit his website: PrairieStorm Media

Video Preview

The post Review: Andrew Pritchard’s PWX 2010 DVD appeared first on StansWeather.net.

I woke up around 4:30 in the morning and a line of storms were moving across Illinois. I departed around 5:00am and headed west on Rt 10 just west of the Champaign/Piatt county line. I put my anemometer on the roof and was surprised that it still worked. I was only getting winds in the 20-23mph range though so think it might have been on the low side. I waited and waited, but I didn’t get much to write home about. I decided before it completely passed me that I would head back to Champaign and wait it out. I went up to Parkland College and shot some video of trees and lights blowing in the wind. It was almost 7:00am and I was about to call the chase a bust.

However, I noticed some of the lights towards the buildings go out while simultaneously seeing a blue power flash in the rear view mirror. I saw a few more flashes, so I quickly turned the car around to get a better look. A few seconds later, I was slammed with a wall of water and measured a 56.8mph wind gust. It didn’t last very long at all, but was pretty exciting. On the way back to my apartment, I discovered our dumpster was sitting in the middle of the road. I was going to call it in, but I heard the police mention it on the scanner. The major damage in Champaign was located in the 3200 block of Edward Hoffman drive which was just a block to my southwest. (see the News Gazette article for more info on that damage)

Final Thoughts
It didn’t last very long here but it was pretty exciting for late October. I must have just been on the edge of the microburst that hit the neighborhood to the southwest of me. The storm system also set a new low pressure record for a non-tropical system in the U.S. The NWS says that a pressure of 955.2mb / 28.21″ was measured in Bigfork, Minnesota. That’s pretty amazing!

Total Mileage: 30 miles

Video

The post October 26, 2010 – Late season chase in eastern Illinois appeared first on StansWeather.net.

A severe thunderstorm watch was issued at 3:15pm for central IL. I finished up some things for work and then prepared to head out. There was a nice severe warned cell in western IL, but I didn’t really want to drive all the way over there and have it die out on me. I decided to focus on the storms in the northern part of Champaign county.

I left Champaign at 4:30pm and headed north on Mattis Avenue / CR 1000E. The biggest storm was straddling the Champaign / Ford county line. I headed east on Route 136 to catch up with it. Once I got east of Rantoul, my AT&T data was very spotty at best. When I did get a glimpse of radar, the storm appeared to be nothing but a flood machine. Once I reached Potomac, I headed south to I-74.

Heading west on I-74, I pulled off at the Fithian exit at Route 49 and waited for the storm. (5:50pm) I encountered very heavy rain, wind, and very small hail. (nothing severe though) While I was sitting there, I glanced behind me toward the off-ramp and noticed a group of 3 or 4 bikers waiting out the storm. (oops!) The rain was letting up a bit, so I proceeded west on I-74. I exited at the St. Joseph exit and went north of town a few miles. A very nice shelf cloud was stretched across the sky which made for some nice pictures. At 6:20pm, I started heading west on CR 1850N just west of CR 2100E and the skies opened up. The wind was pushing waves of water right at me reducing visibility to almost nothing. I pulled off for a few moments and let it pass.

That was the last storm in the area, so I called it a chase and headed home.

Final Thoughts
Despite not seeing too much excitement, it was a pretty fun chase. While summer storms usually don’t bring much but heavy rain and lightning, at least they move slow enough to keep up with them. The iPad faired pretty well minus the data hole on the Champaign/Vermilion county line area. It was nice to not have to spend 10-15 minutes setting up a laptop. I definitely look forward to chasing more with the iPad.

Total Mileage: 105 miles

Photos
Click here to view/purchase photos from this chase.

Video

The post August 4, 2010 – Wind, hail, and heavy rain in Champaign/Vermilion County IL appeared first on StansWeather.net.

Final Thoughts:
There wasn’t too much to write home about today other than lots of rain and the nifty shelf cloud. I quickly remembered that chasing storms in June usually brings about new obstacles like tall corn and flooded roads. At least I finally got a chance to test out the four wheel drive capability and keep from getting stuck in the ditch.

Total Mileage: 165 miles

The post June 13, 2010 – Chase in Eastern Illinois appeared first on StansWeather.net.

Before chasing, I stopped by the dealership where I bought my new vehicle to pick up the remainder of my gear from my old car. After talking with the salesman for a few minutes, I headed out to my target area which was initially Galesburg. Along the way, I received word that a tornado watch had been issued for that part of the state. I decided to keep driving west towards Monmouth and eventually ended up in Oquawka, IL right on the IL/IA border. I filled up the gas tank and happened to notice I had no cell signal whatsoever. (seems to be a recurring theme this year!) Not wanting to go into Iowa, I decided to turn around and head back east.

When I got back to Monmouth, I went south of town and then zigzagged my way back east. I was getting a little frustrated at this point and was about to call it a chase. Luckily, a train decided to block my east road option so I had to head south and then east ending up in Abingdon. I started heading north at this point towards Galesburg, but stopped just south of there to check data. There was a decent storm directly to my west which was looking really good on radar. I was concerned that if I did stay there, I’d be right in the path of a tornado should it drop one. Apparently the NWS agreed as they issued a tornado warning for this cell. I turned around and headed back south on Highway 41 and pulled off on Knox Road (300N) to watch the storm.

I had a good view to the north and watched a wall cloud develop. I snapped a few pictures and then followed the storm to the east on Highway 116. There were numerous trees on this road and I kept getting glimpses of what was at least a funnel cloud. As I approached the west side of Farmington, I turned north on CR-22 to get a better view. As I went up the hill and got away from the trees, I saw that my wall cloud had indeed dropped a tornado. I was almost shocked that I was seeing a tornado in person as it had been a long time. Quickly getting over my shock, I pulled off the road near a barn with a good view to my northeast. I let the dash cam record the video while I got out and took some still photos. The structure was pretty awesome and to have a tornado underneath it just added to the thrill. It had the elephant trunk look to it as it marched across the sky. I was too far away to see individual pieces of debris, but there was definitely a visible debris cloud from my vantage point.

It appeared to rope out but I was still seeing a debris cloud. I watched it for a few more minutes and decided to continue east on Highway 116 to keep up with it. As I got closer to Peoria, I saw numerous emergency vehicles heading west towards the damage path. That’s always a sickening feeling as you never want to see damage and injuries. It was getting dark at this point, so I decided to make my way home rather than continuing to chase in the dark. (something I ignored on my March 12, 2006 chase). I got on I-74 and headed east back to Champaign.

Final Thoughts:
Well I finally ended my tornado drought and bagged one this year! I’m hoping the new vehicle had something to do with it. (not too shabby for its first chase!) I also got some HD video of a tornado as well as some good digital photos. (about time I get to utilize some of this gear!) Of course the excitement of this catch was short-lived once I found out that Elmwood had taken a direct hit. Luckily no lives were lost but there was a lot of damage in town.

Total Mileage: 396 miles

Torando Count: 1 (near Elmwood, IL)

NWS Survey: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ilx/?n=5jun2010Tornadoes
LOCATION: KNOX AND PEORIA COUNTY (YATES CITY AND ELMWOOD)
EF SCALE: EF2 – 130 MPH
INITIAL TOUCHDOWN: 4.5 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF YATES CITY IN KNOX
COUNTY AT 756 PM CDT.
MAXIMUM WIDTH: 50 YARDS.
LIFTED: 1 MILE EAST OF ELMWOOD IN PEORIA COUNTY AT 807 PM CDT.
TOTAL PATH LENGTH: 7.8 MILES.

Photos
Click here to view/purchase photos from this chase.

Video

The post June 5, 2010 – Tornado near Elmwood IL appeared first on StansWeather.net.

Final Thoughts:
It was a crap shoot, but I figured I’d give it a try anyway. At least I had good visibility unlike my previous chases this month. One of these days I’ll get a good storm to chase.

Total Mileage: 117 miles.

The post May 13, 2010 – Morning chase in eastern Illinois appeared first on StansWeather.net.

I departed Champaign at 5:30am (CDT) on Monday morning and headed south on I-57. I was treated to a really nice sunrise which eventually was filled in by thick cloud cover. I went west on I-70 towards St. Louis and then southwest on I-44 across Missouri. It seemed like forever to drive across Missouri, but I eventually entered into Oklahoma. At 1:25pm (CDT), a PDS tornado watch was issued for southern Kansas and western/central Oklahoma. I was already getting alerts on my phone of tornado warnings in western Kansas, so I knew this system was about to go crazy.

I made it to Tulsa around 2:30pm (CDT) and decided to keep going west on US 412. At 3:15pm (CDT) I stopped at the Lone Chimney, OK gas station to fill up and check data. There was already a tornadic cell in NW Oklahoma, but that was moving too fast and away from me to intercept. I figured more storms would fire up further south along the dryline. I decided to continue west on US 412 and exit north of Perry, OK. There was a severe cell heading towards me, so I found a spot out in the country to watch it for a bit. As I was sitting there waiting for it, the storm was upgraded to a tornado warning. It was definitely looking better on radar taking the classic V shape. I still couldn’t see too much from my vantage point, so I attempted to move closer to it. This was proving to be more difficult as the roads were alternating from gravel to mud without warning.

I went north on 25th St. and was seeing a possible wall cloud to my west. Unfortunately this area was pretty hilly and the road turned to mud very quickly, so I was forced to turn around and find another road. I went west on E0420 Rd. and once I cleared some trees I saw a lowering. (4:38pm) I quickly pulled over and watched the lowering disappear. The winds flowing into the storm were pretty strong at this location. I continued west on this road and then turned north on N3180 Rd. I pulled over to watch the storm but I wasn’t seeing much at this point. I did see several chasers in the area, so at least I wasn’t completely off my game.

My Verizon data was gone at this point as there just isn’t any coverage in this area. All I had was the radar on my iPhone which was showing the storm off to my north. My only remaining play on this storm was to head back east and then north on a nice paved road. (US-77) I went east on Highway 156 towards Maryland, OK and noticed a lot of hail in the grass that I heard someone reporting earlier. I kept going north and then east trying to keep up with it, but the storm was simply moving too fast.

I was hearing reports of major damage in the OKC area and noticed storms were all around me. While my initial plan was to spend the night in Oklahoma and chase for a few more days, I quickly changed my mind. It was starting to get dark so I just decided to bail east and find the interstate. While my mind wanted to drive all the way back home to Illinois, my body was pretty exhausted. I finally gave up the battle and found a hotel in Strafford, MO. I made the rest of the journey home on Tuesday afternoon.

Final Thoughts:
While I missed all the tornadoes and hail that about every other chaser saw, it still wasn’t too shabby. For leaving Illinois at 5:30 in the morning, the ability just to be chasing a tornado-warned storm in Oklahoma was pretty sweet. However, it seems like everywhere I chase this year has poor data coverage and today was no exception. The roads out there were pretty bad too and I wasn’t going to chance getting stuck again. It was frustrating but all you can do is keeping pushing forward. Eventually I have to catch a break right?

Video

Total Mileage 1300 miles.

The post May 10, 2010 – High risk chase in North Central Oklahoma appeared first on StansWeather.net.