- OCTOBER 24, 2001 DAY CHASE
SPC has issued a high risk for most of IN, IL, and OH with 35% hatched hail, 45% hatched winds,
and 25% hatched tornado.
Wx discussion => -8 LI, decent helicity, and 2500 CAPE
-Target Area: South and towards Danville
-Afraid to go too far west in case the system jumps ahead.
-Looks like the mid-level negative tilt trough will deepen as the day goes.
CAR 1
Brian Dillon (Driver)
Bart Wolf (Faculty Coordinator)
Erin Hokanson (Logger)
Teresa Bals-Elsholz
CAR 2
Bob Lesh (Driver)
Mike Karosen (Team Leader)
Kurt Poepple (Navigator)
Becky Eager
CAR 3
Jerry Wiedenfeld (Driver)
Aneela Qureshi (Team Leader)
Dina Mangano
Tracey Goyette
CAR 4
Steve Jaye (Driver)
Jon Schiemann (Team Leader)
Steve Jackman
Craig Clark
Car 5
Peter Hasa (Driver)
Stacey Mathews (Team Leader)
Brian Hirth
Mike Bardou
CAR 6
Jackie Menke (Driver)
Alan Srock (Team Leader)
Rachel Trimarco
Jon Cutting
Departure: 10:15 A.M.
-heading to route 2
10:25 - T/Td = 64/62
-wx center: looking for the triple point around eastern IL. There things should develop,
move eastward, and then go into explosive development. 12 - 3 pm looks like the peak threat.
10:39 - 2W toward Lowell
-It's cloudy right now, looking for some clearing
10:45 - 65 S
11:04 - very light, sporadic rain
- still no clearing
-wx center: Model data indicating target area in west, central IN at 4 pm
"What's a Chicken Bacon (CB)?"
11:14 - St. Louis, T = 73F and Des Moines, T = 46F
11:18 - Highway 46 S
- Tone! severe thunderstorm warning for Kane County, west of Chicago
-"They're chasing this storm, I guess, because it didn't pay toll on the eastward tollway."- Bart
11:26 - T/Td = 66/61 (1), 67/65 (2)
11:51 - T/Td = 68/66
-starting to see some lightning in the Stratocu
-wx center: PDS tornado watch for eastern IL, IN => violent tornadoes and 3 inch hail
- suggestion is to sit off of 41
-Tornado warning due N of St. Louis
-staying on 41 S
12:01 - severe thunderstorm warning due west of us in Dewitt and Makin
12:08 - stopped at McDonald in Attica
12:38 - pulling out
-wx center: cold front located on a line from ST. Louis to Springfield to Bloomington
-there is some clearing to the west
we are seeeing some breakup here
12:43 - T/Td = 76/68
- We are heading N on 41 to the Carbondale area
- storm reported in Wyatt with hail over 2 inches in diameter
12:49 - turned west into Judyville
12:53 - found a south road to sit and watch
-wx center: 2 cells in Sidney and Alerton coming at us. Baseballs reported from numerous storms.
12:58 - An inflow band has formed
1:02 - 23 mph winds
1:04 - heard thunder!
1:07 - T/Td = 73/67
1:20 - we've lost our clear slot
wx center: tornado on ground at Decator airport. There are individual cells ahead ofthe
front and will go linear when it hits the boundary (eastern IL).
- heading north
"Darkeness Advection"
1:24 - CG
1:30 - rainfree base to the NW with scud
1:35 - stopped on dirt road on the border.
- wx center: tornado in Cerro Gordo
- we are trying to intercept that cell.
1:43 - W on 26
- going to Rantoul, now on the border east of Hoopston
1:45 - 152 Junction
- trace of precip, SE wind
1:54 - S on 1
- seeing inflow bands
- warnings in Champaign county south of us, with rotation just SW of Champaign-Urbana
2:01 - Rossville
- very light rain
2:07 - west on 136
-mammatus in the storm to our N.
2:12 - CG ahead
- wx center: storm going towards Gifford and Pensfield
2:17 - Tone=> Tornado warning for Patomic (Here!)
- We're seeing a rain-free base w/ what we think is a wall cloud and shelf cloud and heading our way.
- turning around to find a S road
2:22 - heading S toward Collision from Patomic
- Green wall! (super green)
- rotation! => may just be out flow, not exactly sure
- trying to find an east road
2:38 - E on 2150
2:42 - turned back (power plant private property)
- HEAVY rain and wrap-around wind
2:46 - small hail (brief)
- on ramp to 74 E
2:50 - more hail
- driving trough the hook, wind is from the N
- report of a tornado S of us
- larger hail, pea and greater
2:55 - hail stopped, still heavy rain
2:56 - Car 1 just lost control and slid across the median (ditch)! We are now facing west and heading out.
- could have been a meso that blew us off
"This is a mesocyclone. This is your truck on a mesocyclone. Any questions?" -Bart
3:10 - 54F when we pulled into the gas station, now waiting for people to come back and help
3:35 - Cavalry has arrived. We bent Brian's exhaust pipe back to a normal shape and are
heading to a rest stop for bathrooms.
3:42 - stopping at rest stop. (It's closed!)
3:46 - E 74 to exit 4
4:08 - Just stopped at gas station for bathroom and snacks and are now heading home.(63 N)
5:50 - bottom arch of a rainbow against a pink sky
6: 20 - We're back.