Stormtrack is active this season with chase day discussion.

See the lively discussion for today's event here: stormtrack.org/threads/2025...

A proposed bill in the Oklahoma legislature would change the world of storm chasing in the state and has ignited a firestorm in the community. Follow along and provide your thoughts here: stormtrack.org/threads/okla...

A student is looking for some help with assessing the value of tropical cyclone forecasts. They have prepared a survey that should take 4-5 minutes to complete. If this is relevant to you, please fill out the survey. More details are in this thread: stormtrack.org/threads/stor...

Discussion of Chuck Doswell is ongoing on this thread: stormtrack.org/threads/dr-c...

Huge loss to the field of storm chasing. Dr. Doswell was one of *the* first storm chasers of the modern age, and among the most thoughtful out there. True, he came across as something of a curmudgenly asshole to some, so his social reputation wasn't always the best, but he was a good man nonetheless

At least for now, login issues appear to have been resolved. But continued updates may occasionally interfere with the login ability in the near-term. Will continue to post relevant updates.

We are aware of issues with logging into the forum. We do not yet have a solution but will be working on it. Stay tuned and pur apologies.

A significant upgrade to Xenforo is occurring on the server right now. Therefore, the site may be inaccessible while this occurs and things reboot.

Just a reminder - Stormtrack is here on Bluesky! We've been here for a little bit now. Come join us on the forums.

Here's a sample thread from recent discussion (about comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS): stormtrack.org/threads/come...

Stormtrack turns 47 years old today! The 50th anniversary is just three years away now! Please consider contributing content to the planned anthology. See the forum for details.

Yall check out my Redneck Tornader Chaser! YouTube video by Ginger Billy

Something of a corollary to Rule 34, if someone does something, someone else will make a parody of it.

In that context, we present a parody of extreme storm chasing and all of the crazy tools they use to try to penetrate tornadoes and survive!

youtu.be/vHaJe48ps5g?...

New research continues to suggest that wind speed estimates from tornado damage underestimate radar-sampled wind speeds at low levels in tornadoes. See this thread for references:
stormtrack.org/threads/rada...

Something you don't see too often - criss-crossing outflows. #kswx

Heart-to-heart conversations are occurring about how long you want to remain "in the game" on this thread: stormtrack.org/threads/not-...

If you have been using stormtrack since late 2023 when Jeff Duda took the reins, please take this opportunity to provide an evaluation (as detailed or cursory as you wish) here: stormtrack.org/threads/how-...

Chasing

lolz: xkcd.com/2931/

FYI, US 40 is closed between US 385 south of Burlington well into KS. Don't rely on that E-W passage this spring!

Stormtrack (i.e., Jeff) is on the road...headed for NW KS. May have spied a clear-air vortex when passing by Limon earlier.

Lots of talk about the potential outbreak sequence this weekend, starting with tomorrow's setup: stormtrack.org/threads/2024...
Friday: stormtrack.org/threads/2024...
-Saturday: stormtrack.org/threads/2024...
-Hell, Sunday's in play, too. Start the thread for that date!

4-16-24 Rockwell City, IA - Close Range Windy Rope Tornado! ***NOT FOR BROADCAST***Contact Brett Adair with Live Storms Media to license.brett@livestormsmedia.coma clip from when I was up close to this rope tornado te...

Hell of a drill-bit tornado last week in Iowa!

youtu.be/vLdyJCUSEsA?...

We will be hosting the first live "commentary" event (due to legal issues with sharing chaser streams, this one will mostly be more like a weather briefing) for today's event on Zoom, starting around 4 PM MDT. See the thread on this topic for details: stormtrack.org/threads/anno...

😂

But the point of this thread/PSA is to avoid lionizing the idea of sheltering from a tornado in an overpass. You've only ever seen a handful of videos when it worked; you haven't seen any from when it didn't (survivor bias).

It doesn't work most of the time. Don't risk it.

It is true that the people in the trailer appeared to be running from a disabled vehicle (that happens to be getting rolled away as they run from it, which already raises questions about whether they'd be able to run on foot with winds like that around). So they weren't 100% wrong.

While it is also true that you should not seek shelter from a tornado in a vehicle, it is also true that if you're already in a vehicle when a tornado approaches and you have room to get out of the tornado's path, it is better to do that than to get out and expose yourself to wind-blown debris.

The following rule is tautological: the best way to not get hurt or killed by a tornado is to not get hit by a tornado.

If you think you have time to shelter under an overpass, chances are high you have time to simply drive away from the tornado.

2b) Not only is stopping in the driving lanes illegal, it blocks vehicles form behind from proceeding, possibly forcing them to sit out in the open, fully exposed to the hazardous conditions.

STOPPING IN THE DRIVING LANES TO SHELTER UNDER AN OVERPASS IS ILLEGAL. DO NOT DO IT.

2a) Stopping under an overpass is likely to impede traffic in some way. Even if you're out of the driving lane, you probably won't be the only one doing this. Others may see you and copy you, leading to a bunch-up of vehicles stopping...many of them IN THE DRIVING LANES.

Other considerations include:
1) You need time to stop your vehicle, get out, and run up to the top of the overpass area. That takes time - time you could use to simply hit the gas and speed up (or turn) out of the tornado's path.

Also, there is usually nothing to securely hold onto when under there. You may get lucky to find some exposed rebar or a hand groove, but that isn't much.

Bottom line - sheltering from a tornado in an overpass is not a particularly good idea.