Things are getting a bit punchy in Oklahoma at this hour. SPC issued a Mesoscale Discussion just a short time ago – Tornado Watch will likely follow shortly.

Over the past decade a lot of technological innovations has changed the way we chase storms. While I still consider ham radio communications to be an extremely important part of my chase rig for emergency communications, I no longer depend on my ICOM dual-band radio as much as I did just five storm seasons ago.

Oklahoma University and the National Weather Center cut the ceremonial ribbon on the first NWS quality Dual-Polarization radar this week.

The map widget is an overwhelming success. In the past month it has averaged 4 new users per day. That may not sound like a huge number, but considering the number of chasers/spotters out there and those who are using SN – we’re thrilled with those results. We obviously don’t want to create projects that people don’t like and a lot of people have written in with their appreciation for the widget as well as their recommendations for improvement.

Tornado watches are currently in effect from Louisiana to the east coast of Florida and tornado warnings are lighting up the map across the gulf states.

The DOD recently revealed a new vehicle specifically designed for use in the harsh war-torn environment in Afghanistan, but maybe someday there will be some hope that these vehicles can be acquired for use by private citizens, just as the original Hummer was. Why? Because it would be the perfect vehicle to hunt down nature’s most violent storms.

There is a Moderate Risk for severe storms this morning spanning across much of the south as a major tornadic event is currently organizing into what appears will be a widespread event.

I thought I would put some humor on here and recently re-edited this video. This occurred during Tour 2 in 2007, which is still by far one of the most memorable tours that we’ve conducted. Not only was it memorable because of Dr. Tom allowing us to take a Bic Razor and chop his hair off (yeah – that was funny!), but we saw 12 tornadoes during the week across Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.

Storm Chasing Handbook
If you’re reading this blog on stormchase.com, then there is a 100% …

A recent story by Associated Press writer Holbrook Mohr tells a familiar story – in …

In mid-March storm chasers starting paying close attention to long-range forecast runs showing a very dynamic system that would progress into the central plains. Everything appeared to be shaping up for a major tornado event – but what first appeared to be a classic setup turned out to be classic dud.

Whether your a seasoned storm chaser, or someone who just wants to keep tabs on the latest surface observations, chances are that you’ll find the new stormchase.mobi a useful tool for your hand held mobile platform.

Reservations are now being accepted for our 2010 Storm Chasing Tours. We began taking reservations only 20 minutes ago (at midnight) and have already confirmed 2 reservations!

The GFS is hinting on what could be a major event set to take place early next week in the Central Plains.

Whenever possible I always try to attend various launches from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and with no weather of notability happening in the plains – Renee and I decided to make a trip to the east coast and witness the launch of STS-119 from Titusville, FL.