Severe solar and terrestrial weather

Storm Chasing

by WX3K

Severe Solar & Terrestrial Weather

Severe weather comes in many different forms. My fascination is all about severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and geomagnetic storms influenced by our sun. All entities beyond our control. They are fascinating, beautiful and at times, very destructive.

Try this link for Tips on viewing Aurora

November 08, 1996 - Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena from the Mt Holly NWSFO

1550-1605 EST

An F1(Winds 73- 112 mph) tornado, which had a damage path about 10 miles long, moved across the southwest part of the county from near Kunkletown to near Syndersville PA. The tornado was not continuously on the ground during its entire lifetime, but did cause wind damage in four townships. The touch downs were described as brief but numerous. About 15 homes and a hanger were damaged with numerous trees uprooted.

My front yard with three 50 foot pines trees totally uprooted. I found pine needles sandwiched between the bottom of my gutters and their brackets. My TV mast on the house was damaged by the winds. It is quite a wonder how I had no broken windows in front of the house. It is fortunate I did not have my tower up yet as I am sure there would have been quite a bit of damage to it. Severe weather is a bit unnerving when it comes into your own neighborhood.






		These are the actual satellite graphs indicating the conditions that caused this astounding aurora.

Email alerts from SpaceWeather.com for November 7th, 2004

11:21AM - Earth orbiting satellites have detected a powerful X-class solar flare. Radiation storms and radio blackouts are possible.

7:30PM - The Planetary Kindex has reached a level of 7. This means that a strong geomagnetic storm is in progress. Sky watchers should be alert for auroras.

10:30PM - The Planetary Kindex has reached a level of 9. This means that an extreme geomagnetic storm is in progress. Sky watchers at all latitudes should be alert for auroras

Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) display on November 7, 2004 in Northeast Pennsylvania at approximately 11pm local time.

This was due to an intense geomagnetic storm that was spawn by Sunspot 696's X1-class flare that hurled a CME(Coronal Mass Ejection) toward Earth on November 7th at 1605 UTC. The Kp (Planetary Index, a measure of storm intensity) index was 9 (Scale is 1 to 10) for this event and the IMF (Interplanetary Magnetic Field, the tilt in the Sun's magnetic field) was oriented South. These conditions were very conducive for Aurora displays at this lower latitude. During my drive home on November 7th, I saw the most awesome curtain display I have ever seen in Western New Jersey and Northeast Pennsylvania ! Over the course of my viewing time, I saw a constantly changing curtain display punctuated by sudden waves of light shimmering throughout the sky directly overhead. I wish I had video of this !

These pictures were taken using Kodak MAX 400 film, a Pentax K1000 camera with a 50mm lens using an aperature setting of f/2.8 with a 25 second exposure. Of course, the camera was on a tripod.

Notice the color shift of the pictures over time. The top pictures were taken first and the bottom pictures were taken last.

Aurora on November 20, 2003

Northeast Pennsylvania

Terrestrial Storm Chasing	Solar Storm Chasing

Terrestrial Storm Chasing Disclaimer:

Storm chasing is an exciting and dangerous hobby. Im a responsible and careful storm chaser, mainly because Im not too fond of hail dents, smashed windshields, or getting stuck in mud, although sometimes this may be unavoidable. If you chase with me, you must understand that all my maneuvering decisions are first based on safety, and then on the best angle or spot for viewing severe thunderstorms. If you do not like my decisions, do not chase with me. All my decisions are final, although any educated, factual observations made will most certainly be taken into consideration. If you decide to get out of the car to videotape a severe storm in progress, you take the chance of getting struck by lightning or beaned on the head by a chunk of ice (hail). I prefer all video or camera shots be taken from within the car as lightning is always a threat when storm chasing. Remember, I am NOT liable for any mishaps that occur to you while storm chasing.
If you decide to chase with me in your car, you should:
- have a 2-meter FM ham radio (I usually monitor 146.52 for local activity), a CB radio or an FRS radio.
- I am NOT liable for anything ranging from injury due to flying debris or hail, to a lightning strike. These are dangers inherent to storm chasing, and all acts of God. If I make a mistake in my maneuvering about a storm, then you have every right to break off due to safety considerations.

If you have questions about what you need to do to become a storm chaser, I would recommend you consult the New Chasers Information home page.

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Last Update March 01, 2008

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