MESO Newsletter -- February 2000


    Congratulations to one and all for making it through another off season.  
However, with hurricanes and tornadoes in December, and additional severe weather 
in January and February... those of us who track and study severe wx were not 
treated too shabbily by Old Man Winter.
    
    Everyone at MESO is already in chase mode.  Equipment is being tested and 
retested, systems are being upgraded and revamped.  As most of you know, we use 
cellular connection to the Internet for data feed while we're chasing... as do 
most chasers.  Having grown somewhat tired of $1200 a week cell phone bills, we 
are trying out a new system this year.  We will be using a plan called Single Rate 
USA, which runs for about $160 a month, free roam, free long distance, 1600 free 
minutes a month, $.20 a minute for overage.  In our case, it also required a phone 
update (Motorola Star Tac 8860) and a few other equipment updates, but it will 
still be cheaper overall.  I am currently in the process of reconfiguring one of 
the laptops to work with the new stuff.  Our next newsletter will announce the 
success or failure of the system, as well as any bugs we encounter.
    
    We will also be using an acoustic coupler while in the field, that will allow 
Internet hookup through pay phones.  Hopefully this will get us faster and better 
connections while waiting out the weather.
    
    There has been a lot of talk in chaser circles about the recent killer storms 
that just "popped up out of nowhere" in Georgia.  (Hundreds of chasers, spotters, 
wx personnel, etc., had been tracking these "out of nowhere" storms for hours... 
they did NOT pop up out of nowhere~neither did the watches and warnings). 
Discussion has revolved around revamping the entire watch/warning system to making 
weather alert radios mandatory in mobile homes.  Granted, the work of warning has 
a long way to go, but many feel that people disregard warnings and watches anyway.  
    
    At any rate, this is a topic of discussion that we deem to be of EXTREME 
importance.  To this end, and to provide a free and open forum for serious 
discussion of weather and chasing related events, we have opened up a chat room.  
Scheduled chats on various topics will be posted.  The room remains open all the 
time for the use of everyone... currently.  If abuses start to run rampant, we 
will have to furnish passwords and control it a little more carefully.  Please 
keep the usage of this room to discussions of chasing, severe weather, disaster 
preparedness, etc., keep the language clean (we often have youthful visitors) and 
observe common courtesy.  You may access this room (eventually, the server has 
been having troubles with it) from the main page of www.mcwar.org.   If you have 
trouble accessing the room with your browser, drop a line to Brian McNoldy at 
mcnoldy@mcwar.org
    
    This is the time of the year when the educational channels start running all 
their chase and storm programs.  This is also the time of the year when people who 
have never done so before start thinking "Maybe I'd like to try this storm chase 
thing."  I cannot stress enough just how DANGEROUS storm chasing is.  There are 
only two things that decrease the danger level, proportionately I might add... 
knowledge and experience.  At our web site, there are two articles (listed 
conveniently in the ARTICLES section) that we put together to share things we have 
learned about chasing over the years.  Anyone wishing to become a chaser 
(synonymous to anyone wishing to invest thousands of dollars and years of study to 
wait by the roadside for hours in the blistering heat for an impossibly strong cap 
to break) should at least glance at these articles.  And remember, there is no 
shame in getting your "feet wet" with a commercial chasing organization.  Silver 
Lining Tours and Cloud 9 Tours are a good way to find out if chasing is for you 
without endangering yourself or others that might be depending on you.  If any of 
you veterans want to take on some expense-sharing newbies that will not be 
dissuaded, let me know.  We cannot accommodate more chasers this year, as our 
roster was full back in September, but a few persistent souls are still looking 
for someone to show them the ropes.  Contact me.  Remember, one advantage to 
carrying rookies on board... they don't end up behind you or in front of you on 
the road.
    
    I am proud to announce that MESO enjoyed a record month.  In our educational 
program, more people were addressed about severe weather preparedness than in any 
other single month.  Furthermore, our web stats were as follows:
- 932 visitors from 22 nations (previous records were 659 visitors from 19 nations)
- 310 Mb of data downloaded (previous record was 220 Mb)
- Once again, the US Air Force (AFWA) domain was one of the most frequent visitors.
   (I have yet to figure out what we're offering that they're interested in!)
- We introduced a MESO Chat Room, which got 149 visitors between its creation on 
   2/24/00 and the end of the month.
- Our 2/13 Tornado Outbreak page got 55 visitors, not to mention countless 
   compliments.

MEMBER NEWS
    
    We would like to welcome to our ranks a new member: Jason Breakiron.  Jason is 
well known in chaser circles, and runs Severewx@onelist.com (Co-Owner with John 
Jensen), Weatherwarning@onelist.com (List Manager), WeatherFun@onelist.com (List 
Moderator), VA_StormNet@onelist.com (Virginia Area StormNet List Owner), and 
WX-OBS@onelist.com (Co-Owner wth Jesse Farrell(CASI).  I've been cyber chasing 
with Jason a few nights, and his presence adds a new dimension to the whole affair.  
Our discussions to out to hundreds of people, and thru Jason's lists, communities 
have been jolted into regarding watches that they ordinarily might have blown off.  
Jason is also an advanced Storm Spotter for nws-lwx Sterling, Va  (effective 3/9).  
The saying "Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it" 
does not apply to Jason.
    
    Carole Frei decided to participate in CSU's rain and hail study called 
CoCo RaHS.   It sounds like fun!  Lots of data collecting!  Hopefully, Carole can 
join us this year on the annual team chase.

    Allan Detrich and Steve Chambers have not revealed their secret project for 
Chase Y2K yet.  However, I have been assured that it will be soon.  We have 
dedicated a week of chase time to working with this new project in the field. 
    
    John Bender, our vice president and creator of McWAR, was at long last 
recognized on Storm Tracks "Who's Who" in chasing.  John has been chasing storms 
for over 30 years, and was with Skywarn from day one.  We have added a picture 
gallery on our mobile lab, McWAR, to the gallery of www.mcwar.org.
    
    Geoff Mackley, intrepid cameraman, has been sent to the four corners of the 
universe by the Discovery Channel.  Here's some clips from Geoff's mail:

1) Subject:  Hello from Tanna Island
 
   Hello all from Tanna..short message only for now..Yesterday we became the first 
   people ever to ab-seil into Yasur volcano... the heat proof suits really do 
   work... the show from the volcano was beautiful... especially at night. 
   Discovery crew are great, hell, they have a crane, rails, the works, 300kg of 
   gear... our doco will look really aewsome... anyway must go, this filming 
   business is bloody hard work.

2) Subject:  Hello from Vanuatu

   Hello all, back in Port Vila for 1 day, the volcano put on a beautiful show 
   last night. The rain had completely destroyed the road so there was some Camel 
   Trophy type driving involved. This clapped out old Landcruiser had the hand 
   brake fail on a hill and I ended up running after it and diving through the 
   door only to find out it was left hand drive...so I had to fall on the floor 
   and push the brake...stopping just before it went in a river with all our gear 
   in it!! Also there were problems with rats and a hand sized spider in our hut... 
   off to Lopevi Island tomorrow...a completely uninhabited island north of here...
   an active volcano of course...see ya later.

3) Subject:  Adventure on the South seas

   Hello everyone We have just spent two days at Lopevi volcano in Northern 
   Vanuatu, a major event has just happened there, a pyroclastic flow similar to 
   the Mt St. Helen's eruption, the whole side has gone out of the volcano, 
   millions of cubic metres.. completely obliterating a mature forest and leaving 
   huge trees sheared off like matchsticks over many kilometers, we have footage 
   of the destruction, IV,s and aerials. No one knows about this yet and I have 
   the only footage, we left when our boots started melting... the ground 
   temperature was over 200 degrees C.  To get there was more dangerous, a very 
   small boat was hired from the natives for the ocean crossing... to get to this 
   boat required rowing in a dugout canoe through the breakers... I was not amused, 
   I left the big camera behind and put the other gear in a waterproof case. On 
   the way back was worse, the sea got rough, we had 12 people in a boat made for 
   3, about 500kg of coconuts, etc., and to top it off they were catching huge and 
   ugly looking fish that weighed about 100kg each, I was convinced we were going 
   to sink, waves were coming inside and they were bailing furiously... I put on 
   the only life jacket.  We got to shore and were picked up by a mad Austrian 
   pilot in a small plane. I had heard he was mad but saw no evidence of it until 
   he quietly tells me to fasten my seat belt for a "small adventure"; this 
   involved flying at high speed inside a precipitous gorge doing outrageous turns.
   I asked him to do it again so I could film but he said that Civil Aviation 
   "would not be amused" All in all a fantastic few days. Oh well, it is back to 
   boring old New Zealand ....for a few days.


This month, our interview was with Brian D. McNoldy, President of MESO.  A special 
HI goes out to Brian's grandmother, who recently suffered a heart attack.  She's 
recovering marvelously though, and is our newest subscriber!  

Nancy:   Brian, you have a long standing love affair with the atmosphere.  When 
did you first become "hooked" on weather? 

Brian:   I was mesmerized by the weather for as long as I can remember, but I 
guess I got "hooked" about 10 years ago.  The more I learned, the more interesting 
it became, and the more there was to learn. 

Nancy:   You were one of the original seven chasers that later went on to form 
MESO.  What was it that made you decide to take a chance going to places you had 
never been to spend 10 days with people you had never met? 

Brian:   The love of the unknown, an adventure bigger than anything I had ever 
experienced, and mostly, a chance to witness firsthand an incredible force of 
Nature. 

Nancy:   We were extremely fortunate to gather together so many diverse and gifted 
people, and for us all to get along so well together.  Traditionally in situations 
like that, there can be huge ego clashes, yet we seemed to then and seem to now 
fall over backwards to keep those clashes at a minimum.  What do you think that 
special ingredient is that bonded us all so close so quickly? 

Brian:  A common dream. 

Nancy:  Well said.  As MESO's president, how would you rate our development as a 
group, and how satisfied are you with our progress? 

Brian:  I'm bordering on speechless.  I'm thrilled.  In the past few months, I've 
seen MESO's membership get more involved, our public education program expand, our 
support group grow into the hundreds, and people literally lining up to join MESO. 

Nancy:  What direction would you like to see our organization move toward? 

Brian:  I'd like to maintain an established core of diverse and ambitious members, 
I'd like to see our severe weather awareness (public education) program grow even 
larger, and I'd like to see MESO as a "role-model" in the chaser community... not 
as perfect storm chasers, but as a model of how teamwork can deliver success.

Nancy:   Our core membership spans the entire country and beyond.  Except for a 
few rare instances, the only time we meet in person is for our team chase in 
Tornado Alley.  What would you say the biggest challenges are in keeping us all on 
the same page; all functioning as a team? 

Brian:   Presiding over a geographically diverse group is no easy task.  With 
members in 8 states and 3 nations, it would seem like an impossible one.  But the 
advent of email has allowed us to function as a team throughout the year.  We are 
all in regular contact mostly thanks to email.  Without it, I suppose we would use 
"snail-mail," but we'd be much less effective (and poorer!). 

Nancy:   What is your favorite chase memory?  

Brian:   Somehow I knew you'd ask that.  Yet I'm still not prepared.  There is a 
favorite memory for each category... storms, pranks, meals, etc.  I guess one of 
the most vivid experiences was driving near Coldwater, KS in 1999.  We were 
maintaining a "safe" distance from the core of a tornadic supercell.  The winds 
were fierce, the debris was flying, and I was driving the lead car in a convoy... 
trying to keep the vehicle on the road.  That day was amazing. But I would have to 
say my favorite memory is standing on a lonely county road near Geuda Springs, KS 
in 1998.  We had stopped the vehicles so we could watch a supercell pass just to 
our north.  We could hear tornado sirens blaring in the distance, the warm humid 
winds feeding the storm blew dust and debris past us, there was lightning 
everywhere, and dark greenish-black clouds spanned horizon to horizon.  

Nancy:   What, not the biscuits and gravy in Medicine Lodge?  Yes, that was a very 
special chase for us all...we learned more about ourselves and each other in those 
few hours than in the months before!  
There are more and more qualified people out there storm chasing, but there are 
also more and more people out there that are totally clueless, if not dangerous.  
What do you see as the future of chasing, and what would you advise those who dare 
to "chase the wind." 

Brian:   I see more of both types entering the field.  Although it seems heartless, 
I guess I expect Natural Selection to play its role.  "Chasing the wind" is not a 
game, nor should it be taken lightly.  A storm chase is loads of fun, but without 
the knowledge, experience, AND respect, it can easily turn into a deadly encounter.  
Hopefully people realize that... it's not like the movies.  

Nancy:   You are currently doing graduate studies at Colorado State, and working 
as a research assistant.  What are you working on now, and what are your plans for 
the future? 

Brian:   My current research is on validating a satellite-based retrieval 
algorithm with actual data collected by a network of commercial aircraft.  It's 
part of NASA's "Water Vapor in the Climate System" program.  My plans for the 
future are clouded... but it's possible I will be staying here to earn my Ph.D., 
and perhaps use new satellite data to analyze hurricane structure. 

Nancy:   In our "off hours," we have both (as well as others) acted as remote data 
assistants to other team members in chasing situations.  What comes to mind most 
vividly is guiding Geoff through Hurricane Georges.  You spearheaded that whole 
operation, providing the most relevant data.  I got a glimpse of the pressure of 
guiding someone through a life threatening situation.  How did you manage to bear 
up under that kind of pressure... knowing that you don't drink!!! 

Brian:   It is stressful, and I had to really learn for the first time how 
important it is to trust my instincts.  There are a dozen models spewing out data, 
there are agencies like the NHC issuing forecast tracks, and then there was me.  
Geoff and I were in frequent contact as I guided him from New Zealand, then to Los 
Angeles, then to the Florida landfall, and finally to the major Mississippi 
landfall.  I tried hard to monitor everything (satellite, upper-level winds, etc.) 
so I could place him under the eye at the right time.  He got there at the right 
time and within 5 miles. 

Nancy:   My "alternate route" would have been more exciting...I don't think anyone 
has ever filmed a hurricane from 15 feet under water.  OK, one last question for 
the road.  Hurricanes or Tornadoes?  The sea or the plains?  Which holds your 
heart more securely? 

Brian:   Is this a trick question?  Who's listening?  I think I'd say I enjoy 
forecasting the track/intensity of hurricanes more than tornadoes.  But, there is 
nothing like forecasting then chasing a tiny elusive storm and possibly witnessing 
pure concentrated power.   As far as plains vs sea goes, I love the plains.  It's 
so open, I feel so free.  The warm winds and infinite views of the land are very 
special to me. Hopefully, I'll never have to make a clear-cut decision! 

Nancy:   Thanks Brian.  Now we can concentrate on the more important issues like 
how we can get Geoff back for the snake-in-the-bed bit!   


To all of you, thank you for the many letters of support, assistance, and 
friendship.  Remember, we welcome outside contributions and additions to our 
newsletter.  


Nancy "El Nano" Bose
MESO, http://www.mcwar.org