TORNADO OUTBREAK EXPECTED MONDAY!!

Here are a couple of maps. The first is courtesy of the National Weather Service in Tulsa and is a graphic of what is expected for Monday afternoon & evening. The second is courtesy of the Storm Prediction Center and shows what is called a moderate risk of severe weather for Kansas & Oklahoma tomorrow. Bottom line is there will be severe weather, and please make praparations now for tornadoes, large hail, and severe winds. Listen to local radio and TV for updates and keep your NOAA weather radio on. This could be pretty nasty but if everyone will stay calm, we will get through it.....

MAJOR TORNADO OUTBREAK TODAY!!

Models continue to indicate another tornado outbreak for parts of Arkansas, Tennesee, and Mississippi today into tonight. Destructive long track tornadoes are a real threat in these areas. I ask all who read this to please maintain a heightened awareness today. Keep your weather radios and televisions on and be ready to take cover. Do not even try to chase this event--veteran chasers have described the Yazoo City tornado from last Saturday as a "black mass of clouds", and a "rolling black fog" not to mention that these tornadoes will likely be rain-wrapped so you may not know what is coming at you. Also radar data may fail as it did last Saturday so keep an eye on your radar data.

Prayers are going out for the folks affected by last nights tornadoes.

Passion and compassion

Picher, Oklahoma, 2 years after the tornado

Picher, revisited

On a stormy spring day in 2010, we drove by a small town plagued by tragedy. A town that once was a thriving community, a town that was dealt a final blow on May 10, 2008. A massive EF-4 tornado tore through what was left of the town that terrible day. 6 people lost their lives in Picher Oklahoma that day, and dozens were injured. Hundreds of lives were changed forever.

I head up a disaster relief ministry called Mission of Compassion and the day after the tornado devastated the area, we jumped into action. We gathered up food, water, and cleaning supplies and drove the next Saturday to the areas that were hardest hit by the storms. You can visit my blog here and read about the trip. Little did we know that Picher would never rebuild. Still, we left water, food, and hugs with the victims and relief workers that day.

My son, his best friend, and I were on a storm chase that led us through Picher just the other day. On the way home, we decided to stop by and take a look at the town. Was I ever surprised! It was like a ghost town! Keep in mind, FEMA and all government relief money went to relocate the victims instead of rebuilding due to the fact that the area had been declared hazardous and is a Superfund buyout site, but the scene was still surreal. I have never seen a ghost town in real life until now. There was even an auction in the middle of town selling off someone’s belongings.

As we drove through what used to be a nice neighborhood, my heart sank. I could hardly bear to see all the destruction-most looked as if the tornado had just gone through. Trees were still laying on homes, windows blown out, roofs missing off of homes, etc. Some homes had been razed and replaced by empty lots and overgrown vegetation. Trees were torn off at about the 15 foot level and mangled. The streets had deteriorated and had grass growing up in the cracks. Power poles were missing and electric service meters were gone from the homes that were still intact. Nary a car or person in sight, save for the activity of the auction.

It was here, in the middle of “ground zero” that I began to weep and to question my passion, storm chasing. I thought to myself why do I chase something that is so destructive? I hate to see people suffer, why do I chase tornadoes? The answer came quickly for me. What if all the TV stations and the National Weather Service had no spotters or chasers to provide ground truth? What if there were no warning sirens activated in Picher that day? Would it have been six lives lost? Or sixty? God only knows, but I am determined to do my part by calling in severe weather my TV station or calling the local emergency manager to inform him about the situation. It’s my passion. It’s who I am.

I am a storm chaser.

Jeff Smith

Photos of the sunrise....

Facebook friends; to be? or not to be...

Friends, Romans, and Countrymen, lend me your ears!
Do you wanna be my Facebook friend? Well then, let me enlighten you on a few of my "rules"...
1. DON'T SEND ME FARMVILLE INVITES!!! Yes, that was all caps.
2. please don't bore me with posts like "I'm going to bed" or "I'm awake now".
3. Make sure the words supercell, tornado, storm chaser, lightning, or any other weather words are not part of your Facebook "name", please!
4. Please honor my Christian convictions by not posting exceptionally rude, nasty, or dirty posts in your status updates. I respect your choices in your lifestyle, please respect mine.
5. Keep in mind that while I welcome questions from new chasers, spotters, and the like but please PLEASE do not act like a veteran chaser when you're not. That will get you on the dreaded chaser blacklist fast!!

These new rules are a direct result of a "friend" that decided to get cute and post something really nasty in his status, sparking a whole host of other nasty remarks. Now please keep in mind that I am very tolerant up to a point, but when that point is breached, then I'm done. Now I don't mind occasional four-letter words now and then, but this dude's post was totally off the charts. Trust me, I am not Mr. Perfect either, and I don't want to come off like that. But knowing that I am a youth pastor, I cannot let my youth friends see that I in any way condone that sort of garbage (speaking of the nasty stuff).

Wow, that sounds kind of uppity, huh? Despite the way that it sounds, I do consider it a privilege to have so many friends on FB and I wish to keep it that way, but I cannot and will not tolerate junk posts like this fella posted yesterday.

Respectfully,
Jeff

Sunrise in Verdigris 2-18

Been missing the ol' sun! Glad it came out to play today! Here are a couple of pics from rural America. Enjoy!

Well, let's post something!!!

Wow. Just looked at my last post and it was about the historic ice storm that couldn't..lol. Let's see, what have I been doing...new heater core in my truck, can't find my Ram laptop stand, bought a 2001 Tahoe 4X4 to chase in this year, recovering from bronchitis, been busy with Extreme Chase Tours, being a dad, husband, youth pastor, working, and whatever else I have forgot. Oh yeah, and been seriously trying to avoid all the chaser drama that is happening. Like every other year, chasers get a bad case of SDS and think they own the world, and get on each others' cases. You can always find good entertainment with the chasing community!!