New anemometer

Last week I ordered a new anemometer from Inspeed. These anemometers come highly recommended for their durability and ease of use. It arrived on Saturday and after a minor issue, it was mounted onto our chase vehicle for testing. So far it appears to be very accurate. I am trying it in a few different locations on the vehicle to see where I can get the most accurate reading. I have to take into account the roof basket and attached accessories.
Hopefully within the next few weeks we will start seeing the right ingredients for storms. In the past, mid to late June is when we begin seeing severe weather more frequently.

Dash Cam Test

I've gotten a few messages about our dashcam setup. So here is a test I did last month.

Storm season is upon us!

Storm season has arrived right on time this year. Severe storms with accompanying tornadoes erupted this week in the Southern United States. Unfortunately several people lost their lives.

This is from today's round of storms in North Carolina. This is what a tornado looks like on radar.

Severe storms will be in our area before you know it. Always take all severe thunderstorm, tornado, flash flood warnings seriously. If a tornado warning is issued, it is not to be taken lightly. You may only have seconds to react before it is bearing down on you, as the people of Springfield & Monson can attest to.

Ok, thats the end of my rant for the night. Stay safe!

Modifications to our chase vehicle

We have started to modify our chase vehicle, a 2010 Ford Explorer. Two weeks ago, the Motorola MW800 computer was replaced with a Panasonic Toughbook CF-19. The Toughbook is much faster than the 10 year old Motorola. It has more memory and a faster processor allowing us much more flexibility while chasing. The MW800 was prone to frequent crashes and freezing while running needed programs. So far in testing the CF-19 has proven to be significantly more reliable. Video streaming will be smoother and we will now have the ability to use the new version of Gibson Ridge software as well as Microsoft Streets & Trips 2013.

This morning, a roof top basket with auxiliary lighting was installed. This will give us a place to mount an anemometer and other needed equipment without sacrificing room inside the vehicle. The lighting will help with visibility. We will also be replacing the stock struts with Rancho Quicklifts. This will give us a couple more inches of ground clearance. That may not seem like much but it could be enough to clear unavoidable debris in the roadway during chases. Once that has been completed, some leaking seals will need to be replaced.

We are also looking into installing a CB Radio and/or a ham radio in the near future.

This is what our chase vehicle looked like as of thie morning

Looking forward to winter storms

Naturally, late spring and summer can be quite active weather wise. However, I do enjoy a good nor'easter. Now you must think I'm nuts but any storm that can cripple an entire region for days or weeks deserves respect. While you won't see me driving hundreds or thousands of miles just to observe and photograph a winter storm, I still like to get out and have a look around. So far it has been quiet. Then again it is only the beginning of the month. Hopefully by mid to late December, the weather will get more active and we will start to see some decent storms on the horizon. Until then I guess I'll just sit here patiently waiting. - Adam