🌪️THE EXTREME🌪️

Hi, my name is Bill Harding and I’m a storm chaser and meteorologist from the great state of Oklahoma, U.S.A with an extreme passion for tornadoes.

I was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma on May 17th, 1955 to two very kind loving parents as an only child. My passion for tornadoes started at a very young age. My mother said I was 3 years old when I would scribble pictures of tornadoes onto papers. At 5 years old, my father would always turn on the weather channel for me so I could watch the weatherman and I actually wanted to be a weatherman, but it wasn’t until I was 10 years old when I discovered storm chasers (yes storm chasing has been around since I was a kid, specifically starting in the 1950s, it isn’t that new) and then I was like “I’m gonna chase tornadoes that’s what I wanna do!”

I got my very first job as a store clerk (boring I know) in 1970 when I was 15 so I could earn some money because my plan was to get my driver’s license once I turned 16, then buy a vehicle. I specifically had my eye on a new model truck at the time known as the Dodge D-100. I wanted a red one. And I ended up making enough money that year (back then things were quite cheap) because when I turned 16, I got my license and I bought that truck. I then started chasing tornadoes that June.

In May of 1973, I graduated from Muskogee High School and went to Northeastern State University that fall because I decided to get a degree in meteorology. That’s where I met my wife, Jo (@aint-no-love-in-jo-klahoma) who I met that fall on the first day of school. She was in my same weather class. Me and her hit it off and became best friends. We started chasing together in the spring of ‘74 and in July of that year, I made her my girlfriend.

In May of 1978, me and Jo graduated from NSU and continued our careers as chasers. Then on April 10th, 1979 during a chase in Wichita, Kansas, I proposed to her. I didn’t have enough money to buy an actual diamond ring, so I used my class ring. She still said yes :) We then married on May 10th, 1980.

Me and Jo continued chasing and in the 1990s, me and her along with the team began designing an instrument pack for studying tornadoes called DOROTHY, which was a more advanced design of TOTO. The plan was to gather more information than what TOTO did so we could design an advanced warning system. The reason is because back in the 70s, there was only 3 minutes. In the 80s, 5 minutes. Not nearly enough time for people to take cover. TOTO did upgrade the warning time to 5 minutes, but that still wasn’t good enough, so DOROTHY was designed.

However, during the time me and Jo were designing DOROTHY, the stress of it started to tear us apart. We both were extremely stubborn and refused to take accountability for it. I was starting to want a more stable life at that point as well and we just weren’t doing very well. I made the stupidest decision of my life and left her in the fall of 1995, wanting a divorce. I also left the storm chasing business because I again, wanted a more stable life. But I still loved weather, so I decided to become a weatherman. I then met Melissa Reeves and I proposed to her in the following spring, but I ended up reuniting with Jo that spring to try and get the divorce finalized, only to get sucked back into the action when DOROTHY got finished. The crazy thing is that tornadoes brought me and Jo back together…but poor Melissa got traumatized which I will forever feel bad about. She ended up leaving that night and me and Jo basically got back together, but it wasn’t until after we got the DOROTHY deployed into the big F5 tornado when we rekindled our marriage.

After getting the information from the DOROTHY, a new warning system was installed and warning time has been increased to 9.5 minutes. That’s almost 10 minutes which is definitely a lot more time than before. Me and Jo couldn’t be happier either. I’m very glad we’re back together and I will NEVER leave her again. She is my Jojo. My soulmate. My favorite storm to chase. It basically was a happy ending for us ❤️🌪️.

And that’s about me. If you would like to ask me any questions whether they are storm related, about what we do, or about my life, then feel free to do so!

OUT OF CHARACTER NOTE

Hi guys! It’s the same girl who made Severen’s account! Severen Van Sickle and Bill Harding are my two favorite characters by Bill Paxton, so I absolutely had to make one for Bill Harding as well. Plus, I needed another account to be a tornado freak on since I’m obsessed with tornadoes LMFAO.

I will definitely be making a few changes to the story since I personally think that Bill should’ve also seen an F5 before the one in 1996 (not the same way Jo did of course) such as ones in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

I also will be posting actual chasing events happening in the moment. They are not my photos, they belong to actual storm chasers so credit goes to them. I want it to be both realistic and fictional just for funsies. And just because I’m roleplaying does not mean I am downplaying how life threatening the situation is. Severe weather is very dangerous. Please always take a warning seriously.

That’s the beauty of storm chasing, you win some and you lose some. But I’m still fucking LIVID about it.

Tomorrows’s tornado threat is up in North Dakota and somewhat down in Oklahoma. Both tornado threats are 2%, but North Dakota is more likely to get a tornado than Oklahoma which is crazy because Oklahoma is the heartland for tornadoes.

Anyways, we are going to start our drive from Ohio to Muskogee, Oklahoma because well…we would likely not make it to North Dakota in time because that is 18 hours away. Muskogee is 13 hours. We can make it to Muskogee by 11 am, while we’d get to Bismarck by 5 pm. We don’t wanna miss any action and we’ll take the most available option even if it might not be the best. You have to be flexible. We could just fly, but uh…I like to use my truck 🤣. Rental cars are expensive when damaged so noooo thank you.

I’ll be driving for the entire drive because I feel like Jo needs some sleep because of special reasons that’ll be revealed to you guys when we originally get home.

See you then!

Hello

Here’s a picture Preacher took of the tornado we chased last night.

See the ground circulation? That was in fact, a tornado. Not a funnel cloud.

The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has released today’s convective outlook for severe weather.

📍LOCATIONS📍 • SLIGHT 2/5 RISK 🟨 -> Connecticut, Montana, Massachusetts, North Dakota, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont & West Virginia: A 2% chance for tornadoes (in some locations), a 15%-30% chance for wind gusts and a 15% hatched chance for hail • MARGINAL 1/5 RISK 🟩 -> Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Massachusetts, Maine, North Dakota, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia & Wyoming: A 5% chance for wind gusts and a 5% chance for hail

🕘TIMELINE🕒 Afternoon-Tonight

⚠️HAZARDS⚠️ 1. Tornadoes 🌪️ 2. Severe Thunderstorms ⛈️ 3. Hail 🧊 4. Wind Gusts 💨

SYNOPSIS Thunderstorms with damaging wind gusts and isolated large hail are expected to develop later today from parts of the lower Great Lakes and Ohio Valley into southern New England. Large hail and severe wind gusts are also expected in the northern High Plains and southern Great Plains.

Morning water vapor loop shows a deepening upper trough over the Great Lakes region. This trough and an associated mid-level speed max will spread across the upper Ohio Valley into New England this afternoon and tonight. Strengthening large-scale ascent ahead of the trough has led to multiple clusters of ongoing thunderstorms from eastern Illinois into parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. One or more of these clusters, along with new development by early afternoon, is expected to intensify and spread across the SLGT risk region. Forecast soundings suggest sufficient CAPE and low-level lapse rates to support a risk of damaging wind gusts with this activity. Overnight CAM solutions continue to vary on the likely corridor of greatest concern. However, there is the potential for a rather widespread damaging wind event across parts of Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey this afternoon/evening if sufficient heating and mesoscale organization of the clusters occur.

A large upper ridge is in place today over the High Plains region. A southerly low-level jet is expected to intensify by early evening as an upper trough approaches and low-level cyclogenesis occurs over southeast Montana. This should encourage the development of evening thunderstorms across eastern Montana tracking into western North Dakota overnight. It is unclear whether the bulk of these storms will be just west of the warm sector and elevated, or will be surface based. Regardless, large hail is the primary concern.

A weak upper low is tracking northeastward from west Texas into Oklahoma this morning. A band of stronger winds aloft to the east of the low, coupled with pockets of daytime heating and ample moisture, will promote damaging wind gusts and hail in the strongest storms.

‼️STAY WEATHER AWARE‼️

Well, we’re going to sleep as much as we can before the chase starts. So talk to you guys later!

The tornado threat has diminished and we did see quite a few possible tornadoes tonight. It was hard to tell since it was so dark, but I’m pretty sure we chased a few. Preacher got some shots of funnel clouds that could potentially be tornadoes so I will check later.

Anyways, we are now making a 9 hour and 44 minute drive to Zanesville, Ohio because the tornado threat is expected for Ohio and Pennsylvania now. Jo is the one driving this time and she is going to be driving the whole time because she has a lot more energy than I do due to downing a fuck ton of coffee every day 🤣.

See you guys when we get to Zanesville!

So looking at everything that’s going on, I think we might continue chasing until everything calms down.

There is still a Severe Thunderstorm Watch over northeastern Kansas, south central Iowa, northwestern Missouri and southeastern Nebraska according to the Storm Prediction (SPC) Current Watches.

There currently are three Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa which Joey and Brian are keeping an eye on.

Looking at the mesonet, the settings for tornadoes seem really good until we get to the wind shear.

See, dewpoint temperatures are great.

CAPE values are very high.

And SR Helicity is great!

But when you get to wind shear, things don’t look too good. Deep vertical shear needs to be over 40 kts and it’s currently going 35.

Then bulk shear is supposed to be over 25 kts, but it’s at 20 kts where our storms are. If the 30 could come down then that’d help.

Not sure what to do. We might just kinda sit around, chase and watch and see if anything happens.

Stay safe tonight, people.

We’re chasing after it right now!

We currently are on the Marion and Warren Storm after chasing storms into Iowa. Either way, TAKE COVER NOW!

The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has released today’s convective outlook for severe weather.

📍LOCATIONS📍 • SLIGHT 2/5 RISK 🟨 -> Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Nebraska & Wisconsin: A 2% chance for tornadoes (in certain locations), a 15% hatched chance for wind gusts and a 15% hatched chance for hail • MARGINAL 1/5 RISK 🟩 -> Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota & Wisconsin: A 5% chance for wind gusts and a 5% chance for hail

🕘TIMELINE🕒 Late Afternoon-Evening

⚠️HAZARDS⚠️ 1. Tornadoes 🌪️ 2. Severe Thunderstorms ⛈️ 3. Hail 🧊 4. Wind Gusts 💨

SYNOPSIS Thunderstorms with large hail and severe wind gusts are expected to develop late this afternoon and evening from parts of the Central Plains into the mid Missouri and mid Mississippi Valleys. Strong to severe wind gusts and hail will also be possible in parts of the upper Mississippi Valley.

Morning surface analysis places a low over northwest Kansas near the intersection of weak lee troughing and the western edge of a remnant outflow boundary extending across southern Nebraska. Upper 60s (F)/lower 70s (F) dewpoints are already in place east-southeast of this surface low and outflow boundary. Southerly/southeasterly flow will persist throughout the day, maintaining a large fetch of low-level moisture advection from the Southern Plains into the mid Mississippi Valley. Steeper mid-level lapse rates are also emerging out of the central High Plains, spreading gradually eastward over these moist low-levels throughout the day. As a result, a corridor of strong to very strong buoyancy is anticipated and a brief tornado threat is possible from south-central Nebraska/north-central Kansas along the Iowa/Missouri border into far west-central Illinois by late afternoon.

Expectation is that the outflow boundary will gradually retreat northward while the cold front progresses slowly southeastward across South Dakota and Nebraska. Convective initiation is anticipated along both of these boundaries, beginning over north-central Kansas/south-central Nebraska near the surface low at the outflow boundary/cold front intersection. Most guidance indicates this initiation will occur after 00Z, but earlier initiation appears possible given moist low-levels, robust heating, and mesoscale convergence. Recent RAP soundings indicate minimal convective initiation by 21Z.

Once initiation occurs, strong buoyancy will support intense updrafts capable of large to isolated very large hail. Modest deep-layer shear could limit storm organization, with a trend towards a more outflow-dominant mode. The generally modest mid-level flow also suggests upscale growth into an organized convective line is low. Even so, a combination of convergence along the outflow and/or cold front, as well as modest warm-air advection, will contribute to additional storm development eastward into the mid Mississippi Valley.

Recent surface analysis shows a cold front extending from north-central Wisconsin southwestward through central South Dakota. A low exists along this boundary near the North Dakota/South Dakota/Wisconsin border intersection. This low is forecast to track eastward along the front as it gradually shifts southeastward, moving in tandem with a shortwave trough moving through the Northern Plains into the upper midwest. Buoyancy will be more limited here than areas farther south, but still sufficient for a few stronger, more organized storms, particularly since the deep-layer vertical shear will be stronger. Discrete storms with large hail as the primary risk are possible early in the convective cycle. Thereafter, a trend towards more bowing segments with damaging gusts is expected. Multiple rounds of storms are possible, and the overall coverage is expected to be high enough to merit introducing 15% hail and wind probabilities.

An MCV associated with an overnight MCS is moving across northern Illinois/far southern Wisconsin this morning. Activity associated with this MCV is currently weak and non-severe, but the potential for re-intensification exists this afternoon as activity moves into northern Indiana and southern Michigan. Cloud cover introduces some uncertainty regarding daytime heating and resultant buoyancy. However, if sufficient daytime heating can occur, steep lapse rates and mesoscale organization of the MCS could result in sporadic damaging winds.

‼️STAY WEATHER AWARE‼️

We left for Lincoln, Nebraska this morning at 6:00 AM CDT. It was a 5 hour and 11 minute drive. We’ll be staying here. This motel is pretty decent not gonna lie.

Storms are expected to develop late this afternoon and into the evening, so this gives us plenty of time to plan our course of action.

We are currently under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch where we are which is east central South Dakota.

There also is a Severe Thunderstorm Watch in the west central South Dakota going into Wyoming and Montana.

These are on the Storm Prediction Center’s (SPC) Current Watches which Beltzer sent me.

Now looking at radar, Joey sent me this and we have some potential storms developing. It’s all on which one we want to chase.

Radar.Scope is what Joey and Brian use and this currently is on the reflectivity setting.

Haynes then sent me the mesonet and dewpoint temperatures are in the 70s (F) which is really good for tornadic development. This is on the Wind/Pressure/Dwpt setting.

Here is the 700 mb analysis.

Then here is the 500 mb analysis.

CAPE values are at 2,000 J/kg near the area we’re in which was to be expected.

Bulk Shear - Effective is looking good because the shear coming in towards us is at 45 kts and you want deep vertical wind shear over 40 kts for those mesocyclones.

Bulk Shear - Sfc - 3km is good because you want over 20 kts of wind shear.

SR Helicity - Sfc - 1km on the other hand…it’s 50 m^2/s^2. Tornadic development is not guaranteed with it that low. It still is possible, it just is not guaranteed.

Looking back at Radar and there are potential storms that look good. There’s one right here in Huron that seems to be intensifying, but our other options are Burdette, Manchester, Oldham and Arlington (South Dakota). Arlington looks best though, so we’re gonna go after that one.

Talk to you guys later.