Carole Fortenberry e-mails to tell us hail hit Manteno in Kankakee County.
Carole tells us:
"Well, tonight, we had some hail, a ton of it. I have NEVER seen hail SO HUGE.
I hope there wasn't much damage.
I thought I would send you a link to see the hail we had..."
Link to Carole's hail video (opens in a new window)
We would indeed! Thanks for the report and the video, Carole!
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
My colleague Eric Sorenson, chief meteorologist at WREX-TV in Rockford, forwards this
photo taken on that city's east side in the wake of this morning's powerful winds.
Belinda Sullivan was the photographer, and we thank both Belinda and Eric for sharing
this with us.
WeatherBug sensors clocked wind gusts to 56 m.p.h. at northwest suburban Island
Lake, Ill., while gusts of 61 m.p.h. were reported to the National Weather Service at
Gurnee and 58 m.p.h. gusts swept an area 6 miles south/southeast of Beach Park. The
winds were spawned as thunderstorms collapsed while racing across the area.
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
Photo courtesy of Belinda Sullivan, Rockford, Illinois
Mark Vogan reports temperatures are headed for 70-degrees the next two days in
Scotland and shares theis beautiful sunset shot with us taken Wednesday evening.
Thanks Scott!
-Tom Skilling
Photo courtesy of Mark Vogan, Glasgow, Scotland
High clouds help produce the halo you see here around the sun just before midday
Friday near Griffith, Indiana
Jill Nix of the Marathon Pipe Company in Griffith, Indiana tells us she and and her
co-workers observed this halo around the sun as they left for lunch around 11:35
a.m. today (Thursday). Ice crystals refract or bend incoming sunlight much as a prism
does.
This break sunlight down to its basic colors and is behind the halo formation you see
here. Had today's clouds been composed of raindrops rather than ice crystals, a
"corona" rather than a halo would have been observed. Coronas are also bright
circles but, unlike halos, the bright circle of light that makes up the corona actually
hugs the disc of the sun.
Thanks for the great picture, Jill!
-Tom Skilling
Photo courtesy of Jill Nix
Jim Marocchi was cycling Wednesday evening in Winfield, Illinois, and stopped to
shoot the beautiful evening sunset! Many thanks for sharing your photos with us,
Jim!
-Tom Skilling
Photo courtesy of Jim Marocchi
Meteorologist Mike Tannura, who interned with us years ago when studying
at Iowa State, shares these spectacular tornado shots from Cedar Falls,
Iowa with us. Mike tells us:
"They were sent by a friend of a friend and I thought you would find
them interesting -- I think this guy is essentially in the non-condensation
area of the tornado! Pretty wild..."
Wild indeed, Mike! MANY THANKS!
-Tom Skilling
Mike Tannura
Photo courtesy: Mike Tannura
Storm chaser Kevin Walters watched in horror as this storm descended on
Parkersburg, Iowa late Sunday afternoon. The storm, as much as a mile wide and
categorized in a post storm survey by National Weather Service personnel an EF5 by
National Weather Service, decimated a huge swath of the Iowa community not far
from Waterloo, killing seven during its horrible rampage. Kevin snapped this shot of
the storm and shares this account of his storm encounter with us:
“This is the tornado that hit Parkersburg. It is very had to see because of poor
contrast. The tornado is behind the farm buildings. I saw three separate tornadoes.
At one point I had debris falling from the sky as I drove in driving rain and hail. I
caught glimpses of the wedge as it was wrapped in rain. Storm motions were
amazing, it looked like the entire updraft base was on the ground. I tried to get
ahead of the tornado so I could drop south to get better contrast but downed power
poles caused me to detour twice. I could not catch up after debris covered the road
near Hazelton. This storm too a very similar path as a violent tornado in 2000, both
missed Waterloo by a couple of miles to the north.”
Thanks for sharing this with us, Kevin. Our hearts go out to the residents of
Parkerburg and to family member who lost loved ones.
Tom Skilling
Photo courtesy: Kevin Walters
The photos our storm chasers have sent us of this past week’s tornado-generating
storms have been nothing short of stunning. This latest set from photographer David
Mayhew, taken last Friday in Kansas, are so spectacular, they almost transport us to
the scene just by looking at them. David provides the following backround for each
shot:
“The 2 on Friday were in Dighton Kansas. The 1st shows a funnel spinning up over a
barn. The 2nd shows a condensation funnel that other chasers reported as touching
down.
COD2008Sun034 shows a tornado that touched down briefly (probably 15 secs) from
this high contrast rapidly rotating wall cloud also seen in 049 and 054 at Rush
Center, KS. 067 shows a dustnado spinning up to the rear of the wall cloud. A little
east from Rush Center (about 8 miles east).”
Photos courtesy of David Mayhew Photography, Chicago
Many thanks, David, for sharing these with us! They are incredible!
Tom Skilling
Storm chaser Chad Cowan was busy Sunday in Kansas where he encountered this
tornado near Hays in the western part of the state. Please check out the video he
relayed to us and which you can view by clicking the link below. Chad provides us the
following rundown of what you will see in the approximately 14 minutes of video:
1) ~0:30 mark, the dramatic double wall cloud structure with one almost
reaching the ground
2) ~5:00, the MASSIVE wall cloud almost on the ground with a small town going by in
the foreground, sirens blasting and then a left turn into the storm puts the whole thing
in view
3) ~9:00, the 3rd supercell takes on a 'mothership' appearance, very ominous and very
close
4) ~11:00, 80 m.p.h.-plus RFD blast almost knocks me off my feet, mesonet crew
scrambles into car
Here's the link (video will open in a new window): http://www.vimeo.com/1067800
Those of you who joined us at the Fermilab this past April had a chance to meet Chad
Cowan. Chad was one of our speakers and is an active storm chaser who was in Kansas
the day of the devastating Greensburg tornado there last May. That EF-5 twister all but
obliterated Greensburg, a community which is involved in a major effort to rebuild in
the wake of that devastating storm. Chad also introduced us to the Storms of 2007
video at the seminar, ALL proceeds of which are being turned over the Red Cross and
Greensburg to aid in the rebuilding process. Thanks Chad for sharing this with us!
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
Photos courtesy of Paul Hadfield
Prolific lightning generated by the thunderstorms which swept across the area
overnight was also photographed by Paul Hadfield. The storms lambasted a corridor
from Texas north to Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, producing the largest
single-day outbreak of severe weather across the U.S. of the 2008 season. Tragically,
the outbreak turned deadly to Chicago's west. It's reported that seven perished in the
Iowa storms and one in Minnesota. The Storm Prediction Center logged an eye-catching
527 severe weather reports Sunday, among them 46 preliminary reports of tornado
touchdowns. Our thanks to Paul Hadfield for these shots!
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
Mike Frankowski captured this stunning cloud-to-ground stroke in overnight
thunderstorms as they swept the Chicago area. This particular shot was taken by Mike
in the South Elgin area. Top WeatherBug rainfalls included: 1.38" at Sugar Grove, 1.23"
Darien, 1.20" Glenview, 1.17" Glencoe, 1.16" Wilmette, 1.15" Northbrook, 1.09" De Kalb,
0.99" Aurora, 0.95" Naperville, 0.92" Island Lake, 0.91" Oswego, 0.90" Highland Park
and 0.88" South Elgin--just to list a few. Many thanks to Mike for sharing this photo
with us!
Another note: Veteran observer Frank Wachowski reports Chicago's Memorial Day
(Monday) temperature hit 80 degrees just before 1 p.m. at Midway Airport, making
today only the third 80-degree reading of 2008 at the site. Thanks Frank!
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
Jim Bayne shares this shot of Sunday's Bike the Drive. The weather was
beautiful and we thank Jim for this photo!
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
Members of the Paul Sirvatka's College of Du Page tornado chase team are sure to be busy again Friday in the Plains. Another day of severe weather is predicted -- and the storms are to continue erupting through the Memorial Day weekend. Joining the College of Du Page chase is photographer David Mayhew, who's shared his remarkable shots of lightning and other weather phenomena with us over the years. David took the amazing photos we share with you here on Thursday (May 22) in the western Plains as severe weather erupted. Hail approaching grapefruit size fell from some of the gargantuan 51,000-foot-tall thunderstorms which swept the area. Preliminary reports filed with NOAA's Storm Prediction Center include four dozen reports of twisters, including the one which ravaged northern Colorado's Windsor, killing one person and injuring dozens. Many thanks to David for relaying these images to us -- they are stunning!
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
Photos courtesy of David Mayhew of Chicago
It's always great hearing from Mark Vogan, who follows our weather blog from Scotland
and is good about keeping in touch with reports on the weather across the Atlantic in
the UK. Mark and his wife Karen traveled 200 miles south to Manchester, England
Tuesday and share these photos they took on the way. Mark tells us:
"We actually went down to'Old Trafford' home of Manchester United Football Club. It
was a long but fantastic day away and the weather, though cool, was beautiful and
sunny. We couldn't have asked for better and wanted to share these pictures with you,
Tom."
Many thanks Mark! It is always great hearing from you!
-Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of Mark Vogan, Glasgow, Scotland
Our thanks to Alex Janito for sharing this photo of Tuesday's evening's sunset in Oswego, Illinois!
-Tom Skilling
Photo courtesy of Alex Janito, Oswego, Illinois
Our friend David Lindgren, who farms in De Kalb County and regularly reports to us
on the weather and crop conditions out that way, reports welcome drier weather most
of this past weekend finally allowed our northern Illinois farmers to get into their
fields and plant a lot of corn and soybeans. David was among them Friday and
Saturday then took time out for a drive on Sunday during which he took the beautiful
shots we share with you here. He and his wife Colleen were in northwest Illinois and
northeast Iowa in Mississippi River country. Their trip took them from the southern
branch of the Chicago Galena Stage Coach Trail onto Route 30 to the Mississippi
River into Iowa. David and Colleen spotted the White Pelicans pictured above and a
spectacular panoramic shot from the Mississippi Palisades State Park. Thanks David
and Collen!
Tom Skilling
Picture courtesy of David Lindgren of De Kalb County, Illinois
My friend, colleague and longtime Alaska resident Tom MacPhail, now working with
the National Weather Service in the Washington, D.C. area, returned to the Great Land
for a conference this past week and was good enough to send us these panoramic
views taken this past weekend of snow covered Mt. Alyeska in Girdwood. The
mountain is located 40 miles southeast of Anchorage. Tom reports spring in south-
central Alaska has been a cool one, much like here in Chicago, and that the
emergence of spring vegetation, which will take place with increasing speed in the
weeks ahead, is running behind. Little wonder Mt. Alyeska is still so stunningly snow
covered! The top of the mountain was buried under nearly 900” of snow this season.
Thanks for the wonderful photos, Tom!
Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of Tom MacPhail in Girdwood, Alaska
Professional photographer David Mayhew, who’s always stunning photos have graced
the pages of this blog many time over the years, has sent us this photo taken over
the weekend of a halo around the sun. David is currently out in the field with Paul
Sirvatka’s College of DuPage storm chase team and hopes in the coming week to
photograph any storm activity the group encounters. Keep us posted, Daivd, and
thanks for another stunning photograph!
Tom Skilling
Photo courtesy of DavidMayhewPhotography, Chicago
A big THANK YOU to those of you who took the time to e-mail us shots of Tuesday
evening's gusty showers and thunderstorms--and the rainbows which followed. Low
angle sunlight interacting with these storms provides a great environment for rainbows
and we've been treated to more than our fair share in recent weeks. Please check out
these photos from folks all over the Chicago metro area! We love receiving your
weather photos! Many thanks to all who took the time to send them along!
-Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of Taylor Spooner, Aurora, Illinois
Francis and Paula Regelbrugge of west suburban Sugar Grove share this shot of Tuesday
evening’s rainbow there. Thanks Francis and Paula!
Photo coutesy of Francis and Paula Regelbrugge, Sugar Grove, Illinois
Regina Janito sends us this shot taken by her eight year old son Alex in Oswego, Illinois. Thanks Regina and Alex! A great shot!
Photo courtesy of Regina and Alex Janito, Oswego, Illinois
Hanover Park residents were treated to this rainbow in the wake of Tuesday evening’s thunderstorms. Robin Biggs photographed it and shares it with us. Thanks Robin!!
Photo courtesy of Robin Biggs, Hanover Park, Illinois
Mike Toohill of Bloomington, who keeps us well informed on downstate crop
development during the growing season, shares this photo of the small hail which hit
the Bloomington area late Tuesday. Hail wasn’t limited to the Bloomington area. Nickel
to quarter sized hail was reported in a number of Tuesday evening’s thunderstorms
across northwest and north central which towered to 43,000 ft. high at times and
produced more than cloud to ground lightning strokes within approximately a 200
miles radius of Chicago in the 10 minute period 6 and 8 p.m. The storms unleashed
wind 50+ m.p.h. wind gusts at Carpenterville, Hoffman Estates and South Elgin as they
swept through between 6 and 8 pm Tuesday evening.
-Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of Mike Toohill, Bloomington, Illinois
Our friend Tracey Surface captured Wednesday’s evening’s stunning frontal passage.
The gush of cooler air riding strong northeast winds behind the front produced this
eye-catching “shelf” cloud—a rolling bank of clouds which formed as crashing
temperatures sent readings plunging to the dew point—the temperature of
condensation.
Radar scans put cloud tops as high 25,000 to 30,000 ft—yet amazingly, our lightning
detection system indicated NO lightning. However, 0.75” of an inch fell in under a
half an hour according to our colleague Steve Kahn in Arlington Heights and
motorists were forced to the side of the road because of the downpours which hit
Carpentersville. Thanks Tracey for another set of spectacular shots.
Photo courtesy: Tracey Surface
Rebuilding efforts continue a year the devastating EF5 twister (indicating winds greater
than 200 mph) which roared at 9:45 p.m. last May 4 (2007) out of the darkness of the
southwest Kansas night leveling Greensburg, Kansas. This photo, taken in the wake of
the storm, drives home the destructive power of that twister. It was the first “5”
classification twister on the Fujita scale to rake any part of the United States since the
devastating Moore, Oklahoma of May, 1999. Evan Ammeson forwarded this photo to
us—it was taken by National Weather Service-Dodge City, Kansas Warning Coordination
Meteorologist (WCM) Jeff Hutton. Evan notes the fire hydrant visible near the center of
this photo which was clearly ripped out of the ground by the force of that frightful
twister and is laying amid all the debris and the leafless trees left in the wake of that
storm.
Check out our webcast of this year’s Fermilab seminar available here on the
WGN-TV website for the fascinating presentation on this horrifying storm presented by
Larry Ruthie of the NWS-Dodge City office who joined us at the early April seminars.
Also, check out storm chaser Chad Cowin’s presentation and the segment her shared
with our Fermilab audience from the stunning Storms of 2007 tape put together by a
group of this country’s best known storm chasers. All proceeds from the sale of that
incredibly well produced tape have been and continue to be donated to the city of
Greensburg and to the Red Cross there to help in the rebuilding of the tornado ravaged
community. Our thanks to Evan Ammeson for calling Jeff Hutton’s photo to our
attention!
Tom Skilling
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist
Tom Gausselin shares these spectacular double rainbow shots taken Friday night as
powerful storms exited the area. Tom snapped these at Silver Lake Golf Club in Orland
Park. These are amazing. Thanks Tom!
-Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of Tom Gausselin, Orland Parkvalle
Between Friday night’s storms, Shana Goetz photographed this stunning double rainbow
in southwest suburban Mokena, Illinois. Thanks for sharing this with us Shana—a
stunning shot!
Photo courtesy of Shana, Goetz, Mokena, Illinois
Oak Lawn’s Chuck Hagen photographed this rainbow Friday evening near I-57 in Peotone. Great shot Chuck!
Photo courtesy of Chuck Hagen, Oak Lawn
Our friend Anson Mount shares a spectacular shot with us—this
one of this rainbow visible from Algonquin around 6:55 pm Friday
evening.
Thanks Anson!
-Tom Skilling
Photo courtesy of Anson Mount, Algonquin, Illinois
Many of you were good enough to send us photos of the rainbows which resulted as
Friday evening’s setting sun interacted with rain falling from departing
thunderstorms. Tracey Surface shares this shot with us taken from her condo and
looking out at Montrose Harbor. Thanks Tracey!
-Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of Tracey Surface, Chicago
Many of you were good enough to send us photos of the rainbows which resulted as
Friday evening’s setting sun interacted with rain falling from departing
thunderstorms. Tracey Surface shares this shot with us taken from her condo and
looking out at Montrose Harbor. Thanks Tracey!
-Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of Tracey Surface, Chicago
