Strange Clouds WX

Let’s learn more about the weather, together.

This ain’t your grandma’s weather report

Join me on social media for a breakdown of past weather events. My goal is to change the minds of anyone who says weather is boring small talk, because it’s not!

By the time a tornado siren sounds, residents in the area have approximately 10 minutes or less to get to a safe space. So, what is the best use of that time? What does it mean when a tornado is “radar indicated” versus “confirmed”? Why do people even live in an area where an average of 1500 violent, convective monsters cut paths through each spring? What happens when warnings cease to be issued?

I aim to answer all of these questions and more. Have a tornado question? Submit it via the contact form.

As destructive as they are mesmorizing

Hear tales from tornado alley and beyond

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Blog

Read through some of my latest musings

Returning This Spring

Spring is quickly returning to Central Illinois and so too shall I return to this mostly-abandoned blog site. As I near the finish line of my college education, I can’t help but dream of an abundance of time to follow and document every QLCS and descrete supercell I can possibly track while maintaining a full-time…
It’s Cloud Pictures. That’s The Whole Post.

Here are some photos and videos from a pop-up storm that moved through my area on Sunday May 19th, 2024. I would post more about it, but being back on social media to promote this page has really been bumming me out. I’m remembering now that I had taken a break from social media because…
What Is A GEFS Supercell Composite Parameter And How Do You Read It?

While scrolling through Weather Twitter, I saw this ensemble map posted by a Storm Chaser. I looked at all the colors and decided that I was looking at a forecasted time lapse of the next few days showing that we’re going to be having some severe weather here in Illinois. The poster of this model…
How One Tornado Changed Building Codes Forever

There have been countless blogs and YouTube analysis videos posted about the 2013 Moore tornado that left 24 people dead, 377 injured, and caused $2 billion in damages to the small Oklahoma city. I’ll spare the scientific details of the tornado’s ever changing size, speed, and strength (but you can see a full analysis here).…
Weather History: Michigan’s First Ever Tornado Emergency

This map from https://tornadopaths.engin.umich.edu/ shows confirmed tornadoes from an outbreak on 5/7/2024 It has been a long time since I have woken up before the sun, slicked with sweat and in a dead panic. When it happened yesterday, I dismissed it as anxiety over finals but felt pulled toward my back yard and compelled to…
Buckle Up, Central Illinois

Update 5/5/24 11:32 AM: The boundaries for Tuesday and Wednesday have changed slightly but are still covering the same general area (just slightly more south). I never intended to do forecasting on this page, I just got riled up by the weather nerds on Twitter. May has historically always been a month for crazy weather…