Chase Log: August 12th, 1999

Click on any of the SPC products below (Convective Outlooks, Watches, or MCDs) to see the SPC's "Severe Thunderstorm Events" page pertaining to this event.

MAP

Total Distance: 400 miles
Target Area: Blue Earth, MN
Chase Area: Le Centre to Northfield, MN
Maximum SPC Risk category: Moderate
Watches:
Mesoscale Discussions (MCDs):

Coming off the high from the previous successful chase, we decided to play this moderate risk day. Shear and instability were impressive and a few tornadoes were expected, mainly along and south of I-90 in southern MN. We left my house by 11am, with an intial target somewhere near Blue Earth. We stopped in Blue Earth to get some radio supplies at the local Radio Shack. We continued southward across the IA/MN border, and then eastward along IA Hwy 9. We stopped to get a map at the local gas station and looked for a library where we could get internet access and check the latest weather. So, we stopped at a small town library where we ended up talking to the libarian for quite some time. By then, it was already nearly early evening and it was getting quite apparent the we were experiencing our first bust / cap bust. Feeling disappointed, especially compared to the incredibly successful chase a couple of days before, we decided to take Hwy 169 back north towards the Twin Cities. As we crossed I-90, we were able to see storms start to initiate to our north. As we got through Mankato, we received tornado warnings for the nearby storm through NOAA weather radio. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. We hauled north on 169 and went east on a small, local road. While I cannot remember for the life of me what route we took, we did end up seeing at least one funnel cloud and possible tornado in northern Rice county, but this is hard to confirm since I haven't seemed to have gotten it on video, as the only light to view the funnel cloud was from lightning flashes. This was our first night-time chase and we did end up catching a funnel cloud, which made this chase worth it.