Blog

03 Jun
1 like

June 3, 2014 – Central Nebraska

Nick Nolte / Blog, Storm Chasing / / 0 Comments

After an uneventful day on the 2nd, Williamson and myself found ourselves awaking in Grand Island, Nebraska to a promising outlook for severe weather. The stage was set for unsettled weather across Nebraska characterized by an unstable atmosphere and a favorably placed warm front. A low pressure migrating along a warm front from Wyoming to Nebraska would be the focal point for severe weather. A southerly low level jet of 40 to 50 knots was expected to overspread the target area while surface temperatures reached the upper 80s, dewpoints into the upper 60s which would promote a heavily buoyant atmosphere marked by surface based CAPE values exceeding 4,000 J/Kg. Hodographs also indicated a strongly veered wind profile throughout the atmosphere and bulk shear values of 60 to 70 knots.

Read more
01 Jun
Like this

June 1, 2014 – Western Kansas

Nick Nolte / Blog, Storm Chasing / / 0 Comments

The first day of June featured a shortwave trough sitting over the intermountain west which was forecast to rotate across the the Plains and into the Missouri Valley during the day. A surface low was expected to develop over northeastern Colorado and traverse towards the Upper Midwest through the day. A secondary low was forecast to deepen over western Kansas with attendant dryline extending into Texas. Dewpoints in the mid 60s were expected to abut the dryline as it surged east pushing CAPE values into the 2000s while a low level jet in the 30-40kt range would be intersecting the target area.

Read more
31 May
Like this

May 31, 2014 – What am I doing in Wyoming??

Nick Nolte / Blog, Storm Chasing / / 0 Comments

May 31st was the second day of a 9 day mini-chasecation. The first couple of days featured a small shortwave trough traversing the northern part of the High Plains and Black Hills which provided slight chance opportunities at severe weather around the Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming areas. An area of low pressure was forecast to strengthen over north central Wyoming with a diffuse front stretching east into South Dakota and a trough extending from the low south into eastern New Mexico.

Read more
11 May
1 like

May 11, 2014 – Nebraska Mother’s Day Tornadoes

Nick Nolte / Blog, Storm Chasing / / 0 Comments

A stretched surface low in place from Texas to Nebraska with an associated warm front extending through eastern Nebraska into Iowa. A dry line extended south through western Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Dew points in the mid to upper 60s were expected to wrap around into the triple point while surface winds in that area were forecast to be SSE to SE at 20 knots. The target for the day was the triple point area so the plan was to sit in Beatrice and await initiation.

Read more
17 Nov
1 like

November 17, 2013 – Washington, Illinois Tornado

Nick Nolte / Blog, Storm Chasing / / 0 Comments

November 17, 2013 was a late season chase that was characterized by a rather high shear setup and some modest instability at the surface. Everything was pointing to this being an early show, like, really early. So, I left my house in Michigan at about 11z to head southwest and get in position. Even leaving at 6am, I was still worried I might not make it in time. SPC had a high risk out for the Illinois/Indiana area which included a 30% hatched probability for tornadoes. My initial plan was to stage in Kankakee and modify my position west and south from there depending on the conditions once the sun came up.

Read more
©2025 Nick Nolte