Update on nothing...

Obviously the weather has been very quiet lately, aside from a hail event yesterday. The Mazda6 has been an amazing find. I was extremely mad about the R/T being wrecked after loving that car so much, but I can honestly say that any hard feelings over that loss have been replaced with this new find. I can't wait to get it out on the road in chase fashion. I've been planning on joining the incognito club out there, so you won't be able to use antennas or weather gadgets to locate me in the field. The only antenna I plan on keeping around is my ham antenna, which will likely remain in my trunk unless I know someone is around.

The move to DeKalb is coming along. I found an awesome house near the NIU campus that I'll slowly be moving in through the month of August. I'll be living with 5 other awesome people. At least up there I'll have very quick access to the state of Iowa! alfjdskflja;lgjlkgjerl;j

Worth mentioning that for the next week, July 27th through August 2nd my band, The Diamond Stretch will be on tour! We'll be starting in St. Louis on Monday and then hitting Joplin Missouri, Tulsa Oklahoma, Ames Iowa, Coleman Michigan, and Lexington Kentucky. It will be a ton of fun, with some loud music at some sweet venues, and long car rides with smelly men and lots of gear (the music kind, this time!).

Iowa City Supercells

Two years ago today... the only time Iowa ever did anything remotely nice to me.

I went yellow...

Introducing the newest chase vehicle to the family, the 2003 Mazda6s Sport. I had never even considered driving a yellow car before, after being so accustomed to the dark black. Looking at it though, it grew on me more and more. Only certain cars can pull of the yellow look, and perhaps it's personal bias now but I feel this is one of them. It's complimented nicely by all black leather interior, with sweet red dash lights. Once I drove the thing, I was in love.

Will be heading back to the lake in Wisconsin first thing tomorrow morning and should be there by noon. I've got my eye on the weather up there at it seems there may be a local chase op during my stay there through Wednesday, but now that the car debacle is over I'd really rather use it to relax.

One thing is for sure... I'll stand out under the meso.

Car / Chase

Looking at a car today. Appears that if I do commit and buy it may go out on it's maiden voyage for a chase only hours after driving off the lot. I don't want to jinx anything weather or car wise, but I'll be bringing all my chase gear along to check it out. The car in question is indeed the yellow 6. It's a 2003 Mazda6s Sport, with high mileage, but a price that fits. Incredibly I actually managed to track down the original owner of the car (it's at a dealer now) and now know exactly what parts were wearing to ensure that the dealer had them fixed before buying. The car is in the Chicagoland area, actually in a suburb where I've got some family. For that reason, it'd be a treat to get a northern Illinois chase or something. Not really counting on a chase today though, it would just be a nice treat since I'd be done more than early enough and would be in the mood to test the car out.

I'm not bothering to do an indepth forecast with all the mesoscale features out there screwing things up right now with countless storm clusters in Iowa and Missouri, but glancing at the RUC northwest Illinois didn't look awful. Refuse to enter Iowa right now, and Missouri is too far.

Wisconsin Fog Fun

Was able to take a nice vacation from the auto / chasing drama and relax at the family lake spot in Wisconsin. Weather the first couple days was pretty bleak with grey skies and spotty showers, but the night of the 4th after fireworks things changed. The sky cleared, the full moon appeared, and layers of incredible fog took to the valleys.

Back to the auto drama world... I'm due to return the little Toyota yaris rental tomorrow evening, so hopefully the insurance checks will be arriving in the mail so I can aquire a new car this week. Looks like chasing fun in the Dakota's mid-week, but for obvious reasons I'll be passing on that one.

Couple shots from late on the 4th.

Yellow?

Well, the car hunt has ensued and should wrap up next week. I'm not getting as much as I had hoped from insurance, but it's probably not worth squabbling over at this point. By now, I'm ready for this headache to be over. One small decision to chase Iowa again has resulted in a two week debacle. I've really been leaning towards a Mazda6. I know some chasers will moan about wanting a bigger SUV or truck, but those just aren't me. I drive my car for storm chasing about 0.5% of the time that I'm driving it period, and while chasing avoiding shitty roads is not -that- hard. *pause a moment while we recall my tire / rim replacement of last month* Okay, big ass potholes are one thing, but I've never really been faced with my only road option being a sloshy mud pie. I feel more comfortable and enjoy the gas mileage of a smaller sporty car, and am a college aged male who enjoys a little response from the engine when I push down on the gas pedal.

Anyway, always like the Mazda6, even before I purchased the Stratus R/T. Very highly reviewed car, and pretty appealing to my tastes. More or less relying on the insurance settlement money, which as expected is not going to be a ton. Did find one that's very nice, black leather interior and fully loaded with one condition. It's yellow as hell. My question is, could a yellow car be pulled off? All the fellow storm chasers out there would see me coming, that's for sure. It's not an ugly car, just very yellow. I'm so used to black, that it'd be a big change. Everything about the car is exactly what I was looking for, but I'm like WHY ARE YOU YELLOW?