After a low-probability equipment-checking chase on Monday (which yielded not much more than heavy rain), we had our first real chase of the year on Tuesday in central Iowa. It's still the early-season for chasing so we went out with low expectations given the expected fast storm motions and questionable wind shear. We headed out in the late afternoon and blasted east on I-80 to try to catch supercells as they formed and interacted with the warm front. We were in perfect position and got on the tornado-warned cell of the day as it blasted out of Grinnell towards Cedar Rapids. It became more isolated and we thought it might finally have a shot at putting down a tornado but it did not. Even if it had, visibility would have been an issue with storm motions of 50mph+. There were a few reports of funnels but with all the low-hanging scud typical of a setup like this it was tough to make anything out (and likely the reports were false anyway). We stopped in Cedar Rapids for some dinner and sampled torrential rain and pea-sized hail a couple of times as the cold front caught up with us. Later we saw several semis and other vehicles that had been blown off of I-80 in the Grinnell area.

This has already made the rounds but the Grinnell storm apparently hailed on four runners who were caught outside. Ouch. Now imagine how things would go if it was hailing baseballs and you were "seeking shelter" in a ditch from a tornado. Yikes. The Grinnell storm also caused quite a swath of wind damage as it passed through. Here's the preliminary report from the NWS about the event. Peaks winds of 95-105mph caused the walls to blow out of a couple of garages and blew the vehicles off of I-80. Interesting start to the season but the tornado count so far this year is hovering around the 50-year minimum.

Last week I mentioned that seeking shelter under an overpass is dangerous and is no place to seek shelter. So what should you do if you're about to be struck by a tornado and you're out in the open or you're in a car with no suitable shelter nearby? Last year the American Red Cross and the National Weather Service issued a joint statement after a year of "evidence-based research" that they have revised their recommendation in this case. If you cannot quickly walk to seek shelter in a basement or sturdy building, they now recommend that you:

• Immediately get into a vehicle, buckle your seat belt and try to drive to closest sturdy shelter.
• If flying debris occurs while you are driving, pull over and park. Now you have the following options as a last resort:

Stay in the car with the seat belt on. Put your head down below windows, covering with your hands and a blanket if possible.

If you can safely get noticeably lower than the level of the roadway, exit your car and lie in that area, covering your head with your hands.

• Your choice should be driven by your specific circumstances.

Read the full text of the joint statement here [pdf]

Eight tornadoes were reported Sunday in North Carolina causing significant damage and injuries in some areas. This video shows a tornado tearing through High Point, NC where it damaged dozens of homes and businesses. Cars had stopped on the interstate under an overpass to avoid hail and/or the tornado and were blocking traffic leaving the cars behind them in the path of the tornado. This illustrates exactly why stopping under an overpass is a terrible idea.

A blizzard is impacting the upper midwest from Iowa northwest through portions of Minnesota and the Dakotas. Here in Iowa, a 30-40 car pileup closed I-35 north of Hwy 30 due to the blizzard conditions. About a dozen other highways are also closed in Iowa due to accidents and drifting. 5.8" of snow has fallen so far at the Des Moines airport:

I experienced sustained white-out conditions near downtown Des Moines earlier this afternoon. One of the biggest events of the winter season here.

Check out this time-lapse video of our intercept of the Aurora, Nebraska tornado. You can hear the sirens wailing in Aurora at the end of the video.