Any weather fanatics out there?

[dustrho]

Are there any weather fanatics out there?  Any storm chasers?  I've always been interested in the weather, but I'm definitely no profressional as far as weather-related terminology goes.  I've never been on a storm chase before, but am thinking about giving it a try sometime this year.

What website do you use to check the weather online?  I used to love checking the weather online, but there's so much advertising on all the weather sites that I don't check it that much.  I noticed on Accuweather's site they have a premium service for $40/year that's 100% ad free, and I'm thinking about signing up for it.  Anyone use their premium service by chance?

[Scott]

I use www.weather.com, does the trick usually

I am fascinated with weather, mainly because the forecasters can be so wrong sometimes.  It is amazing that little things can effect such large amounts of mass and cause it to rain contiunally in one place and not so much 20 miles away

Case in point last week Southern Minnesota got nailed with almost 18" of snow, in the Twin Cities a 100 miles to the north[b/]...was sunny and around 45.

I also love watching huge Thunder clouds in the summer, the constant motion the clouds are in, the lighting leaping around in the cloud.  It is one of the worlds great beauties unless you are caught under one

[dustrho]

If I'm home and there's a thunderstorm I will always tape it with my digital camcorder.  I absolutely love thunderstorms.  There just haven't been very many dramatic ones in the Chicago area in the past couple of years.  They (the storms) always seem to miss us, by going eithere north or south of us.

[Scott]

That has something to do with an effect called urban heat shield or something like that I think.  All of the heat radiated in the city each summer day is stored in the pavement, buildings, water etc and it causes storms to veer around cities.  This is reason tornadoes don't roll through downtown areas so often

[DSJ™]

I just love thunderstorms. Rain, wind, crash, bang, mother natures special effects.  
I just sit outside & take it all in.

This is one piece of weather that hit a little to close to home. I had nightmares for weeks.

Tornado1
U of A Archive
Tornado2

The first picture link is right across the river from were I lived. My house would be off to the right side just past the bridge. We over looked the park & the Refinery is on the other side. The next links have lots of pictures of before & after. At the refinery, there were those large oil storage bins tossed around like they were toys.
I will never forget the weirdness color of the clouds.
27 people were killed.

[dustrho]

27 people were killed.

That's awful.  I love huge thunderstorms, but it's not fun when people are killed by the severe weather.

[dustrho]

If you ever see a cloud that looks like this (see below) you better be prepared for a severe thunderstorm.



Here's a schematic diogram of the anvil cloud...