End of May summary...

Wow.

It's been an amazing year so far. I haven't had time to figure out all the numbers, but my rough figures (since March 22nd) are:

20 chases

18 tornadoes

7 tornado days

Over 12,000 miles

I've been in 10 states, and chased 9 of them:

Illinois (4 tornadoes)

Wisconsin

Iowa (11 tornadoes)

Nebraska

Kansas

Oklahoma (1 tornado)

Tennessee (just passed through)

Mississippi

Alabama

Missouri (2 tornadoes)

We've had video on CNN, ABC, CBS, and The Weather Channel. I've stopped cars on the interstate from driving into a tornado, and I've checked houses to see if people were injured minutes after a tornado hit. I've driven through some of the worst conditions imaginable, seen (and been hit by) hail up to and a little larger than baseballs. I've seen tornadoes up to a mile wide. I've been 200 yards from a violent EF-3, and been hit by a weaker tornado.

If there's a year I've been waiting for all my life, this is it. And, I needed to make this one count...I may not be able to be out at all next year, depending on how things progress with the Navy. But, for now...it's been epic. And, here comes June.

Ellsinore, MO wedge tornado

Wrapped up our chasing for the week with a 1/2 to 1 mile wide wedge tornado that passed about a mile in front of us on US Highway 60, just west of Ellsinore, MO.

Will work on chase logs as time permits!

Violent Canton, OK tornado - 5-24-2011

Captured a large tornado in Canton, OK yesterday...touched down 200 yards in front of us, and transitioned from a multi-vortex into a wedge right in front of us! Absolutely incredible...best chase of my career to date.

Illinois tornadoes, 5-7-2011

Sleeper day ended up verifying nicely, as we got at least 3 or 4 brief non-condensated tornadoes in east-central IL, all at very close range! Check out our video below...we couldn't get all of the tornadoes on video, as they were dancing around us for a while.