[Lorraine Evans]

 UK TO USA - UKww STORMCHASE 2006

          

        

              © Stu Robinson 2005

In just 17 days  the first of our 9 UKww 2006 chase teams are set to depart for the USA and kick off our annual pilgrimage of UK chasers to the Great Plains with the aim of tracking down and intercepting some of the most impressive convective weather action they are ever likely to see in the areas of the Great Plains that are a mecca to storm chasers the world over. Our chase teams for 2006 and their departure dates are as follows:-

Matt Hatton, Paul Sherman, Peter Holmes and Ozzie leave April 30^th and return May 21^st
 

James Banham, Steve Lansdell and Pete Scott leave May 4th and return May 28^th

Ian  Miller, Tony Gilbert and Colin Morris leave May 7th and return May 21st. Tony Gilbert will stay on to drive for Silver Lining Tours from May 27th through to June 10th.

Stu Robinson will be driving for Silver Lining Chase tours and leaves May 12th and returns June 5^th.

Alister Chapman should be flying out to Oklahoma  and will be driving for Silver Lining Tours from May 13th to May 26th along with Stu.

Paul Knightley and Helen Rossington leave May 16^th and return May 30^th

Lorraine Evans and Gareth Poile will be leaving May 22^nd to join Dave and Tracey Ewoldt until June 1^st

Tony Gilbert will be driving for Silver Lining Tours from May 27^th to June 16^th  

Mark Humpage and team will be leaving for the States via a last minute chase so watch this space!

We will be running our UK to USA chase threads and reports slightly differently this year… instead of having a separate forum dedicated to the chase we will include chase report threads and information via the North American Weather Chat forum. We think that this will make it easier for people to track the threads and stay updated as to what our teams are getting up to in Tornado Alley. A short introduction to each chase team will follow very soon, so you can become better acquainted with the people that will be offering a unique insight in to the art of storm chasing! Most of our teams have been chasing for several years now and have much experience with supercell thunderstorms, dodging large hail and taking breathtaking photography of some of the most powerful storms on earth.

Tony Gilbert and Stu Robinson are drivers for Silver Lining Chase Tours (SLT) this year (SLT are also a UKww CSOUK) If you are unfamiliar with the meteorology or terminology behind severe storms then you can refer to a very informative guide that chaser Martin North has written http://www.ukweather....php?page_id=53

Our chasers go remembering the 3 basic mantras of all responsible stormchasers- respect for safety, courtesy and clear objectives - all part of the investigative chasers ‘code of conduct’. There’s a large element of research as well in what they’ll be doing; taking detailed notes, observations and of course learning what to look out for so that they can share such knowledge with others. Many will be with some very experienced chasers and chase teams whilst other will be venturing out for the first time. They will be using and utilising the latest scientific equipment in their quest and this year chaser.

Please join me in wishing them a very interesting, successful and safe trip. Whilst we wouldn’t want to wish for devastating tornadoes the reality is they occur and if the teams can learn something useful from such potential encounters and add that knowledge to their future chases then all well and good.

Here we will keep you updated on their progress as they begin to clock up the miles chasing throughout the Plains. We don’t know, like you or them, exactly what will happen each day and can only wait, watch, observe and report... So watch this space as our first team leaves April 30th and the others follow throughout May. More or less anything can happen...and it probably will!

[Lorraine Evans]

You can now meet the first UK to USA chase team here

And see the highlights from last year here

[Lorraine Evans]

We have an addition to add to the teams...Alister Chapman will be driving for Silver Lining Tours from May 13th to May 26th.

 

 

[Stuart Robinson]

Is Al's trip starting the 6th confirmed yet ~ not to my knowlage :) from the 13th is confirmed however.

[Lorraine Evans]

As most of the teams have been back for a few weeks, it is almost time to wrap up the UKww stormchase 2006...it was a slow year but we were still treated to some exciting reports from the teams. We do have one chaser who has yet to depart...will Mark Humpage make it over to the Plains to pick up any last bursts of activity before summer really sets in? Be sure to check back as and when we get more news...

In the mean time, we hope you enjoyed the coverage and I will be putting together a thread to look back at some of the memorable chase days and experiences that our teams had this year. I would like to thanks the chase teams for sending back their reports and sharing their experiences with us and stormchase 2007 will be with us before we know it!