Oldie, but a goodie.. 10/29/04

Trying to keep the warm weather withdrawal at bay, so I've been playing with some older video and photos recently. I revisited one of my favorite chases of the decade that didn't produce a tornado... the October 29 2004 McLean, IL classic supercell. A beautiful catch during the fall season on a fairly low attention day. Most chasers were in Iowa and Minnesota where there was a moderate risk and 15% area outlined for tornadoes. I liked a pre-frontal wave in central Illinois that was barely given any attention. Sure enough, Iowa busted, and central Illinois lit up.

Back in 2004 I chased with paper maps and a weather radio, so this was a very fulfilling catch at age 17. I headed out during the afternoon and approached an area of towers near I-55 southwest of Bloomington. I encountered some hail in the town of McLean, and decided to stick with the storm. Once the hail ceased, a rain free base came into view to my southwest, and I knew the show was on.

Put together a little time lapse showing the evolution of the supercell from where I watched it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpoYdxd1Mlc