2009 Chasing

Well, today is March 23rd and there is a big system moving through the Cental plains. While conditions aren't optimal quite yet, this system has produced a few nice cells on radar. I'm still at work in MN waiting for an opportunity to chase, watching the models, staring at radar, dreaming of the day when we will be on the road again, watching the storms roll in from the West.

Last year, 2008, was a slow year for us. We were busy and didn't get on the road much. This year will be different. This year we are on the chase again!

Tonight, while having a glass of wine with Dave, I sat peacefully with the door open, watching lightning stike and thunder rumble in 45 degrees outside. How wonderful!!! The first lightning of the year!!! I feel alive.

Fianlly--tour schedule for 2008!!!

Hello,

We will post information on February 17 on our website http://www.twistersisters.com regarding tours for 2008. If you are interested, please contact us immediately because I anticipate the tours will fill quickly.

ThanksPeggy

Weather Warnings for the hearing impaired

An excellent point was brought up recently--what if you are hearing-impaired and can't hear sirens or weather radio warnings? Well, there is some good news on that. Please go to the link below:
http://weather.gov/nwr/special_need.htm

If you have any friends or relatives who might benefit from this, please pass it on!

Storms in California

I noticed some comments on another entry about the tornadoes in California. Well guess what, there is a mesoscale discussion (precursor to a watch) right now (Sunday 12:30 PST) for coastal areas just north of Los Angeles. I wouldn't be surprised to see another small tornado in that area today.

When I lived in LA in 1982 we had several tornadoes in LA and Long Beach. We lost a bunch of our trees in Palos Verdes. My daughter was born during a tornado watch in LA county in March, 1986 ( how appropriate, she surely was an F5).

So California folks, be alert. It's not just mudslides, fires, and earthquakes, you've got the tornado thing going too!

More severe weather for the South?

The storm prediction center is interested in a large area of the southern United States on day 7. Go to http://www.spc.noaa.gov and look under "Convcetive Outlooks", days 4 through 8. We should keep an eye on this system considering we have already had 88 tornadoes this year! I will keep you posted.

Another season for "Twister Sisters"?

Hi all,

We should soon know if there will be another season of our show. We certainly hope so and hope to see some of you as guests. If you would like to an express an opinion on this, please contact WE at CONTACTWE@we.tv and let them kknow. This is the time of year the networks make their programming decisions, so it is important to them to know what viewers like.

Thank you so much!

Peggy

Thank you...

Thank you all for your comments. I do understand Jamie's feelings but she is really incorrect when she feels we are interested in seeing tragedy. We are scientists, we are interested in learning all we can about tornadoes and help to improve warning times by reporting to the National Weather Service. Many people do not know that radar cannot "see" a tornado, it can only locate the area where a tornado may be forming. Only human spotters/chasers can see the tornado and report it in. That is why there was a 20 minute warning time for Greensburg, which undoubtedly saved many lives.
Most tornaodes are very brief, only a few seconds on the ground, and affect no one. This is what we want to show our guests--the extreme beauty and power of Mother Nature. Unfortunately there are cases where tornadoes affect lives and property--although this is rare it certainly happens. We never want to see that but if it does happen we want to be on the scene to warn and help if possible.
We will never eliminate tornadoes but if we can mitigate their impact on human lives by contributing in some small way to the warning process, then we will feel we have been successful.