Storm over West Chester, May 14th, 2010

A year has passed since I encountered my first tornado in Kirksville, Missouri last May 13th. But, I've found that instead of having quenched my thirst for seeing a tornado, I've developed a seemingly insatiable hunger for observing severe storms. What was a growing hobby a year ago has blossomed into a full-time passion, weather enthusiast has become a full-blown weather nut.

My friends and family have been largely supportive, if somewhat confused, by this new direction in my life. Even when I'm unbearable and rambling and ranting and raving about how amazing that inconsequential cloud off in the distance is, they've been okay with it (at least to my face). Which is nice, and mutually beneficial as well, since now I've become their new favorite source of personal weathercasts... And while an episode of "Storm Stories" on The Weather Channel and a front page spread in my own Daily Local News have lent an air of credibility to my opinions, I'm still just an amateur weather geek, not an actual, degree-holding meteorologist.

Having been away from the massive storms in the Midwest, I've been forced to subsist on the "scraps" tossed to us East Coast weather peasants... The mere hint of a cumulus tower going up has quickened my pulse, and yet time and again, the storms have let me down, often dying just west of me with a rather punitive regularity. But a funny thing happened through all these failed storms - I've grown an appreciation for minute details in the skies overhead. There are brief, fleeting moments where a few layers of cloud might separate briefly and reveal breathtaking cloudscapes behind the curtains of rain and condensation, and I've been lucky to be in exactly the right place at precisely the right time... It's as if, with sympathy, the weather gods have sent me my own consolation prize.

This new perspective and appreciation has, if you will, allowed me to weather the proverbial storm (or lack thereof) and until the past month, I've managed my want for storms through the live internet streams and Facebook photo postings of fellow chasers I've befriended over the previous twelve months. But now, on the eve of my long overdue return to the American Plains, nothing can calm the growing fire inside. My days of chasing vicariously are over (for the next two weeks), soon to be replaced by the next chapter of my storm chasing adventures in Tornado Alley. So check back for updates and photos of my time in search of Big Weather...

Storm approaching West Chester, May 27th, 2010