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Monday, February 13, 2012

TWISTER TALLY AS OF TODAY
Supercell thunderstorms: 5
Rotating wall clouds: 10
Funnel clouds (in the air): 0
Tornadoes (on the ground): 0

Nine New River Valley high school and college students, two older trip leaders and a weather columnist for The Roanoke Times hit the road on Sunday, May 15, for a 10-day field trip. With a field as big as the heart of America, their search for the ferocious but elusive beast known as the tornado is an adventure that's part "Twister" and part "Road Rules."
FEATURE STORY
Photo by Kevin Myatt

GRAPHICS

The Fujita Scale
Learn more about how tornadoes are classified by the damage they cause.

Inside the vortex
An interactive graphic that describes how a twister forms.

Why the Plains?
Find out what makes Tornado Alley a prime location for storm formations.

TRACKING THE WEATHER

The daily severe weather potential forecast:
More weather information:

TALK BACK

Twister talk
The noise, the wind, the damage. Have you experienced a tornado? Share your stories.


TORNADO BASICS

FAQS
Find out how long tornadoes last, the role of Doppler radar and more.

Twister terminology
What's a cap? What does MCS stand for? Read this glossary, and you'll be talking like a storm chaser in no time.

Test your tornado IQ
Are you ready to be a storm chaser? Or are you better off watching the scene from your computer? Take our test to find out.
STORM CHASERS

>> Meet this year's daring crew

>> Audio: Dave Carroll and Kevin Myatt talk with The Roanoke Times' Brian Kelley about their week on the road


VIDEO

To see the storm chasers on the road, click on a link next to each date posted below (RealPlayer required):

>> May 17: First day out
Where: Southwest Nebraska, ending north of Lexington, Neb.
What: Storm chasers track a developing storm on their first chase day. They observe cloud formations, including a rotating lowered mass called a wall cloud, then get caught in hail and heavy rain.

>> May 24: Suspicious dust swirls
Where: Just north of Yuma, Colo.
What: Storm chasers observe a massive rotating wall cloud for several minutes, with a suspicious dust swirl underneath either caused by downburst winds or, possibly, a small tornado.

>> May 24: Viewing the wall
Where: Near Yuma, Colo.
What: Storm chasers catch up to a supercell thunderstorm in eastern Colorado, observing a wall cloud with dust being lifted by winds under it.

>> May 24: Escaping the hail
Where: Near Yuma, Colo.
What: As high winds and hail close in from the southwest, storm chasers race to avoid it, observing many cloud structures along the way.

DAILY AUDIO UPDATE



MORE STORIES

History gives team hope for last chase days
A year ago, the team led by Carroll had a close encounter with a powerful tornado in Harlan County, Neb.

The right conditions, a wait for nothing
The Southwest Virginia storm chasers were in the middle of a tornado watch, but no tornado.

Chasing, yes; storms, not really
The group is frustrated by the lack of storms to track, but some see victory even in the apparent defeats.

Chasers learn the wages of CIN is dearth
No storms are firing over southeast Kansas because the atmosphere was again capped in its middle levels.

Taunts cap a slow day
A stable layer of warm air, known as a 'cap,' prevents storms from firing as expected.

Finally: A storm
Chasers encounter intense thunderstorm in Neb., complete with quarter-size hail.

'Perfect' weather not so for chasers
The team that left Blacksburg on Sunday travels under bright blue skies and through cool winds.

Twisters, supercells and ... cloggers?
When cloggers and storm chasers meet at a Kentucky rest area, you know it's going to be a unique and entertaining afternoon.

All wired up and ready to go
Twelve storm chasers headed out from Blacksburg on Sunday for a storm-chasing expedition into the Great Plains.

Storm chasers
On the road in Tornado Alley with a Pulaski County teacher and his crew of students.

Teacher praised by parents, colleagues
Dave Carroll has steadily built a reputation for safe educational activities that put classroom theory into a real-life laboratory.

It's not like in the movies
The melodrama of Hollywood also created some wrong impressions about real storm chasing.

ON THE WEB

Looking for more information about tornadoes? Check out these sites:

Storm Prediction Center
The National Weather Service's backbone of severe weather forecasting, based in Norman, Okla. Severe weather watches nationwide are issued by the SPC. Mesoscale discussions focus on areas where thunderstorms may soon erupt, while convective outlooks assess zones of potential severe weather up to three days out.

Stormtrack
After 25 years as a 'zine catering to the storm chaser subculture, Stormtrack went entirely online in 2002. It addresses many topics in its Frequently Asked Questions segment. Chasers themselves discuss current and future severe weather in the forums. Also, check out the twisted humor page, especially "Mr. T's Storm Chase School."

The Tornado Project
One of the most comprehensive sites for historical and statistical tornado information. Tornado books and videos are also available for purchase.