June 15, 2001
Storm Chase
The
day began when I was at work. I knew something was up, but I didn't
get home until 5:00 pm rolled around. I wanted to track the weather.
When I got home, that's what I did. The winds were getting pretty gusty
as well. Some TCU were starting to build around here, but these did
not have a hard-edged appearance to them. I figured there was not enough
lifting force over this area. I turned on my computer and loaded a WeatherTap
radar image. A squall line was in central Michigan, along the cold front.
This was in a north-to-south line stretching all the way from north
Lake Huron to the far south in the US.
A humidex and smog
advisory was in effect for all of Southern Ontario. Haze could be seen
all over and the air was hot and pregnant with humidity. I figured that
the humidity would help the squall line intensify, but that would be
put to a test once it crosses Lake Huron. I loaded a satellite image.
Lake breezes were not visible by satellite, so I had to look at a surface
analysis map. Dew points were 20 ºC and the temperatures sore into
the 30s. It was hot. A severe thunderstorm watch was issued by Environment
Canada at 3:14 pm for areas along Lake Huron. The Storm Prediction Center
had a slight risk of severe thunderstorms out for the SW, so I figured
that my target should be in the area we chased last time... northwest
of London. I gathered my gear together because I knew we would be chasing.
At around 5:30,
I called Uncle Dave, asking if he felt like chasing this thing. He said
he didn't know where to head. I thought anywhere where we were last
time was a good place to be. I told him I will give Dave Patrick a call
to see what his opinions where. I hung up and gave Dave Patrick a call
on his cell phone. He was already out chasing. He said he was in the
Strathroy area watching TCU build. I asked where he thought would be
the best target area, and he said there really was none because the
storms were in a long line. He recommended that I chase in the area
I did on June 10th. I told Dave what I was seeing on radar. Some cells
were popping up ahead of the squall line, but these didn't last long.
These seemed to be like popcorn convection. I finally made up my mind
about the chase target. We were going to head SW. I got off the phone,
and called Uncle Dave. I told him what Dave Patrick had said. I said
that if we were going to target west of London, we would have to leave
now, because it takes about one hour to drive down.
As I was waiting
for him to arrive, my parents just came home with some dinner. We had
chicken and potato wedges. It was very good, and I wanted to really
enjoy it, but I had to stuff my face quickly so that when Uncle Dave
arrived, we could head out. Shortly after 6:00 pm, he came over and
quickly grabbed a bite to eat. I washed up, made sure I had all of my
chase gear, and printed off a radar image to take along with us. Finally,
at 6:20, we loaded the van and left out on our third chase of the year.
We headed out on
highway 86, via Kitchener. We were going to target the area near Ailsa
Craig, so we took the same route as the last chase. Five minutes later,
we heard a loud clunk on top of the van, and I saw something fall out
the side window. "It sure ain't hail." I said. I looked again,
and saw that it was the antenna from the scanner that fell off the van's
roof. Uncle Dave pulled over and fixed it. He then tested the scanner
to make sure the wire was not broken. It was fine, and we continued
our journey. The sun was still shining, and the visibility was pretty
bad, thanks to the haze. Winds were still gusty. We assumed that the
cold front would arrive in Perth County by around 8:00 pm. We finally
noticed some TCU at 6:37, off to the west, which was a good sign. Instability
was in the air! We drive through New Hamburg several minutes later,
and entered the town of Shakespeare. However, we still did not see signs
of the storm. Hmmm... This is not looking good. As we turned onto highway
107 to skip the city of Stratford, we noticed the TCU was off to our
east now. We arrived at Tavistock at 6:53, and turned onto highway 26.
We took this short highway so we could pull onto highway 7, heading
SW. I was starting to get frustrated... no signs of the storm were yet
witnessed.
At 7:32, we had
another loud clunk on the van. That stupid magnetic scanner antenna
just did not want to stay up there! As we pulled over to fix the antenna,
the song "Thunder Only Happens When It's Raining" by Fleetwood
Mac came over the radio. Perfect chase music! Perhaps this was a sign
of things to come? We arrived in Middlesex County at 7:18, and several
minutes later, we arrived at the town of Elginfield, still on highway
7. There were still no signs. Okay so is this storm going to arrive
when it's dark? I hope not. But if it did, we could always go to Lake
Huron and watch the lightning. Finally, several minutes later, I spotted
a cirrus cloud deck off to the west. The anvil! The storm is right there!
I assumed it was crossing Lake Huron at this point. Now the chase was
definitely on. By 7:34, we arrived in Ailsa Craig. We drove through
the town and continued heading towards Lake Huron. On this chase, we
have decided to head a little further west than we had originally thought...
our target was now right at the lake, in Ipperwash park. I had a feeling
this squall line would lose its strength as it moved inland, and our
best bet to see the storm would be right at the lake. Plus, I wanted
to see Lake Huron. I've camped on this lake for years since I was just
little. We drove through the small town, Park Hill, at 7:43. We continued
to drive up to highway 21, and took that highway down to Ipperwash public
beach. The anvil was in clear view now... a semi-sharp edged anvil was
starting to move overheard.
At 8:00, we made
it. We were now at Lake Huron. Several minutes later, we took a few
small back roads and arrived at Ipperwash public beach. The storm was
in clear view now. I could see hard edges in the clouds. We parked the
van on the beach and got out, and stood by the water. The lake was calm,
and the skies off to the southwest were starting to darken. Thunder
could be heard across the lake. I love watching storms move in off the
lake because the visibility was just great. I imagined I was in the
plains, waiting for the storm to arrive. Rita and Uncle Dave took off
their shoes and walked into the lake. They said it was pretty cold...
cold to the point where your ankles would get numb. That was normal
for this time of year, though. I took a stick and drew a tornado in
the sand. What else is there to do but wait? It was the calm before
the storm. Several friends and families were enjoying their evening
at the beach, and some teenagers were blasting rock music in their truck.
A few minutes later, our chase was starting to get into full swing.
I looked to the south. WOW! A very nice shelf cloud, with banding going
all the way across it, was starting to race toward us. What added to
the touch was that the lake had turned green in color! The once-calm
Lake Huron was starting to ripple. The inflow winds started to pick
up. As I faced the storm, the inflow winds blew against my back. I have
never felt inflow winds this strong before. As the shelf cloud got closer
yet, the winds all of a sudden changed. It had turned into outflow.
Now, we were 100 percent sure the shelf cloud would be moving overhead
in a matter of a minute or so. Sand from the beach started to blow,
and the waves on the lake started to white cap. Wow this was getting
very neat! Behind the shelf cloud lie scud and rain, with the odd inner
cloud lightning spark. This was definitely going to be one of those
storms that I will never forget, simply because of its ominous, yet
mystifying and beautiful appearance. This squall line was a perfect
textbook example. I took several photos, while Uncle Dave took videos
and Rita watched. The music from the truck continued to blare. I didn't
find this very peaceful, but what can you do? We were chasing at a beach!
The wind and blowing sand soon gave the people a warning that bad weather
was on the way. Now, the beach was left to ourselves, and the odd person.
As we watched the shelf cloud pass overhead, sand blew into our eyes,
ears and mouth. Uncle Dave was worried his camera lens would get sand
blasted. I took a few more photos. Now, it was definitely outflow time.
The temperature seemed to have dropped 10 degrees since the outflow
came! I then realized that a jacket would have been handy at this point.
I was stuck wearing a t-shirt, shorts and sandals, and shivering. Why
did I forget to bring a jacket? Maybe it had to do with the 30 degree
Celsius temperatures before. As the shelf cloud went passed us, we saw
interesting arcus, and some scud lowerings. The lake now had waves starting
to turn over. An older couple pulled into the parking lot. I continued
to snap pictures. These folks looked like they were watching the storm
as well, so I mentioned to them that I was a storm chaser. We chatted
a little about the storm. Great. Now I had sand in my mouth again! I
was crunching on sand grains, which is not necessarily a very nice feeling,
if you ask me. I tried spitting it out, but that didn't seem to do the
trick. Finally, I ran out of film. Dang it! Now watch us see a tornado or waterspout. The rain started, so I got into the van. Thankfully,
I had brought my water bottle along. I took a drink to wash down the
sand grains in my mouth, but my eyes still felt like they had sand in
them. Oh the joys of chasing at a beach I tell ya!
At 8:52, the rain
got heavier. Uncle Dave wanted to wait at the beach for a while yet
and watch the storm, but soon realized that the rain was standing still
on the sand. We figured this would cause some difficulty trying to drive
later on. We left the beach to head for the bathroom, because Mother
Nature was calling. Uncle Dave and Rita went into the washroom, while
I waited in the van. The rain was starting to become a good downpour
now. I listened to the Weather Radio on the scanner, but it was hard
to hear. Two Weather Radio stations were getting mixed together. One
severe thunderstorm warning was issued for southern Lake Huron. Large
hail was possible. As they came back, I quickly ran out of the van.
And I had to run, otherwise I would be soaking wet. After I finished,
I hoped into the van. We ventured off on our chase once again. It was
starting to get a little dark out now, and realized we were now at the
point where we had to start heading back home. On our way out of Ipperwash,
we watched as steam rose off the roads. The steam went about a foot
high. Wow, this was eerie looking. This just goes to show how hot it
was earlier on!
Several minutes
later, we made it out to the country. On our way home, we were treated
to a lightning display. We re-encountered the downpour of rain once
again. Then, I looked on the road. What was that? It was white and round
looking. It looked to me like golf ball sized hail! Oh no... If it were,
we would be heading into the hail core. I didn't want to do that. There
was only just a few "white things" on the road. As the rain
cleared, we pulled over. I got out of the van to have a look at what
I was seeing. Oh boy. I just want to go to bed now. It turns out it
was just a leaf getting illuminated by the van's headlights! I guess
that was a good sign. It's much better than large hail, I say. We continued
to head back home. Some CGs sparked. I thought of taking some videos,
but the lightning seemed rather sporadic, which would make it difficult
to keep the camera focused on one spot. Now, it looked like the storm
had weakened. I guess it was a good idea to target Lake Huron, as chances
are we would see nothing if we were more inland. Lightning picked up
in frequency as we neared home. We arrived at my house at 10:55 pm.
The lightning show was a great way to end our long chase.
Total hours: 4 hours
45 minutes
Distance: 320 km
