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| Improvised Rink - Dec. 25 2004 - Gatineau, Quebec - Colder than normal temperatures across most of eastern Canada combined with the ice storm from a few days ago have left many of the roads completely ice covered. Since the conditions are less than perfect for driving, the streets have been turned into an in-promptu ice skating rink. What better way to spend Christmas day than to glide down the road on ice skates! Also, because of the cold temperatures, the Ottawa River has now frozen over. |
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| Ice Storm - Dec. 23 2004 - Toronto, Ontario. - A vicious winter storm began to hit the Toronto area overnight with heavy snow changing to rain, then to freezing rain and back into snow again. Traffic across the city came to a crawl and at the airport, flights were delayed and canceled. The buildup of ice on trees caused many of them to snap, some landing on cars. |
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| Steam Vortices - Dec. 19 2004 - A cold blast of Arctic air spreading over top of Lake Ontario created ideal conditions for steam to rise off the water. When the wind conditions are right, the steam can sometimes spin into a vortex known as a steam devil. Today the conditions were good for steam devils and many were spotted from the lake shore in Toronto. At the time, the air temperature was -18 degrees Celsius with a wind chill of -30. |
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| Volcano Expedition Preparations - Dec. 09 2004 - Grimsby, Ontario. - In January, I'll be departing for Africa to take part in an expedition to the remote Erta Ale volcano in Ethiopia. Today was spent training for the steep terrain at the volcano. Helping me was Griptech high angle rescue equipment manufacturers, the Grimsby fire dept. and a crew from Discovery Channel. More details to come... |
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| IMAX Forces Of Nature - Nov. 26 & 27, 2004 - I'll be appearing in Gatineau, Quebec at the Canadian Museum of Civilization to help promote the new IMAX film: Forces Of Nature. The movie features incredible scenes of tornadoes in the United States, earthquakes in Turkey and the Montserrat volcano eruption. |
| CBS Mini-Series - Nov. 14 & 17, 2004 - The upcoming mini-series "Category 6, Day of Destruction" natural disaster drama is about three enormous weather systems that ultimately collide over Chicago, creating the worst super-storm in the nation's history. Watch the show closely and you will see footage of me taken in the crashing waves of hurricane Frances. |
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| Solar Storm - Nov. 06, 2004 - Even during a low period of solar activity, sun spots do occur. Sun Spot #696 has been very active and has released nine M-class solar flares recently. The coronal mass ejections from the sun spots may arrive here on Earth and trigger geomagnetic storms, causing aurora borealis aka: Northern Lights. |
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| Discovery Channel - Oct. 19, 2004 - Watch for me as I appear on Daily Planet, the daily science news program on Discovery Channel Canada. Host Natasha Stillwell and I discuss chasing hurricanes and she even takes my chase truck out for a spin. |
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| Mount Washington - Oct. 11, 2004 - I have just returned from a 3 day trip to Mount Washington in New Hampshire. It's the highest peak in the northeastern U.S and it rises up to a summit of 6288 Feet. It's home to some of the worst weather in the world and the highest wind speed measurement ever taken. The fall colours were also at their peak for the season. The view from the mountain was spectacular. |
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| Ontario Science Centre - As part of Earth & Space Week, I'll be appearing at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto on October 18th. I will be giving an educational presentation on Stormchaser Science. For more information contact the OSC website at: www.ontariosciencecentre.ca |
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| Ontario Storm Chaser BB-Q - Sept. 21, 2004 - The annual Ontario Storm Chaser's BB-Q is being held this Saturday, Sept 25th. Hosting the event this year is Tom Stefanac. I will be there showcasing my tornado, hurricane and timelapse video from the 2004 storm season. For more information, go to the VaughanWeather BB-Q site. |
| Hurricane Frances Chase - Sept. 8, 2004 - Frances chase completed!! Many pictures are now posted on the Frances page. Video clips to be added soon. This was a tough chase that challenged my endurance and stamina under far less than ideal circumstances. Many thanks to my chase partners for this trip: Mark Robinson, Scott McPartland and Dave Lewison. Because of the slow forward speed of the storm, we were able to film it for hours and hours. |
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Category 4 Hurricane Frances
- Aug 29, 2004. Hurricane
Frances has become the second Cat 4 hurricane of the Atlantic
Hurricane season. It's currently packing sustained winds of 132
MPH with gusts up to 160 MPH!! Frances may pose a serious threat
to the Bahamas and the East Coast U.S. next week. I will be intercepting
this intense storm if it makes landfall. Stay tuned...
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| Magazine Article - Aug 28, 2004. My chase vehicle and I are featured in the new issue of The Driver automotive magazine. On news stands now. |
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| Tropical Double Trouble - Aug 12, 2004. Tropical storm Bonnie made landfall today in Florida and Hurricane Charley is not far behind. Charley is forecast to sweep across the Florida Keys and then make landfall on the Gulf Coast as a Category 2 or 3 storm. Having 2 tropical storms hit the same state within hours of each other is an extremely rare event and there is likely to be severe flooding in the wake of these 2 storms. The entire State of Florida is currently under a state of emergency. Although early plans were made, I am unable to chase this event. |
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| Hanging Out - Aug 01, 2004. Doing some climbing at the Macdonald mine near Bancroft, Ontario. |
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| Highlights Trailer Now Online - July 22, 2004. The 45 second trailer promoting my 2004 highlights DVD is now on the web. It will feature all my U.S. tornado chases from 2004 as well as Canadian chases from all 4 seasons. It's currently being assembled and will be ready in the fall at the end of hurricane season. New chases will be added to it as they occur. View the trailer HERE (1.3MB) |
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| Flooding in Fergus - July 17, 2004. Roadways became flooded after a nearly stationary thunderstorm dumped heavy rains over Fergus, Ontario. One motorist was unsuccessful at making it through the floodwaters. Funnel clouds were also spotted with this storm system. Footage aired on The Weather Network |
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| Lightning Storm - July 14, 2004. A strong lightning storm lashed the Toronto skyline at 3:30 this morning. The C.N. Tower took several hits which was no surprise. It gets struck by lightning about 70 times a year. The same storm system produced a confirmed tornado near Exeter, Ontario and prompted a waterspout advisory for Lake Erie. |
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| Website Updates - July 03, 2004. I've added numerous stories and pictures as well as re-organized the Photo Galleries section with more details from the 2004 tornado outbreaks. |
| Television Appearance - June 24, 2004. I will be making an appearance on the Daytime Live talk show on Rogers Television (Simcoe-Grey Region). I'll be showcasing new tornado footage from my latest chases this year. Joining me will be Marj Sawer who'll be sharing her experiences as a survivor of the 1985 Barrie F-4 tornado. |
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Tornado Warning Issued For Toronto !! - June 14, 2004. Environment Canada issued a Tornado Warning for the city of Toronto: Tornado Warning for: This is a warning that severe thunderstorms
with tornadoes are imminent or occurring in these regions. Monitor
weather conditions. Take immediate safety precautions. Many people tend to think that "Tornadoes don't happen here"...Well yes indeed they can. I was unable to chase today but I've been following the situation closely all day. I'm waiting to hear if there were any confirmed tornadoes in Ontario from these storms today....stay tuned. |
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| Guest Speaker - June 15, 2004. I made an appearance as a guest speaker for the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, Ontario. It was part of their public educational activities series. The topic was Severe Weather Forecasting & Chasing. Many thanks to Mark Robinson for allowing me to come in to show some of my newest footage and discuss the techniques involved in forecasting. |
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The 2004 Tornado Chase daily log page
page is located HERE.
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| C.N. Tower Climb - April 24, 2004. Toronto - Today I climbed the stairs of the C.N. Tower. It's the world's tallest building and free standing structure. The tip of the tower is 553.33m (1,815 ft., 5 inches) high. The climb was up the stairwell's 1776 stairs & 144 landings to the observation deck at 342 m (1,122 ft). I was able to complete this climb in 18 mins, 31 sec. The climb was to help support the World Wildlife Fund. |
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| First Storms of the Season and Documentary Film Shoot - April 18, 2004. Southern Ontario - Today and yesterday morning the first rumbles of thunder ushered in the beginning of the 2004 thunderstorm season. Several severe thunderstorm warnings were issued by Environment Canada. I also spent the day with a film crew from CTV. We were shooting footage for an upcoming television documentary on weather and how it affects people's health. | ||
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| Discovery Channel T.V. Shows - April 14, 2004. I will be featured on the Discovery Channel series Disaster Detectives. The episode is entitled: "Tornado Chasers". The show airs in Canada on Wednesday, May. 26th at 10:00 Eastern. Some of my tornado footage will also be featured on the episode: "Science Of Tornadoes". More schedule information can be found HERE. Information on U.S. broadcast dates will be added as it becomes available. |
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| Lightning Protection Sponsor- April 07, 2004. Wilcan, the makers of High Performance Electrical Surge Protection have constructed for me a series of custom built, application specific, lightning protectors. These protectors will help to safeguard the sensitive equipment in my chase vehicle from potentially devastating lightning strikes when I'm out filming thunderstorms. Lightning is one of the most dangerous elements that I face while chasing. |
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| Solar Halo - April 04, 2004. Always on the lookout for atmospheric phenomenon, I was able to capture a 22 degree solar halo display in the thin cirrostratus clouds - Toronto. |
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| School Presentation - April 1st, 2004. I joined up with fellow storm chaser Dan Wexler to do an educational presentation for students here in Ontario. |
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| Radio Interview - March 29, 2004. I was interviewed on the Jim Richards Show - CFRB 1010 in Toronto - 10:30 local time. |
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| CANWARN Storm Spotter Training Dates - March 22, 2004. | The dates for the Southern Ontario CANWARN training sessions have now been set. CANWARN (Canadian Weather Amateur Radio Network) is a volunteer organization of ham radio operators who report severe weather when they see it to Environment Canada. What they do is called ground-truthing. They confirm on the ground what satellites and radars see in the atmosphere. Typically, I attend the Toronto session but this year by May 1st, I'll be chasing tornadoes in Oklahoma. Here is the entire training schedule: |
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| City | Date | Time | Location |
| SARNIA | March 30th | 7:00 P.M. | Clearwater Arena |
| LINDSAY | April 3rd | 8:00 A.M. | Lindsay Police Station |
| WINDSOR | April 5th | 7:00 P.M. | Caboto Club |
| LONDON | April 15th | 7:00 P.M. | St. Judes Anglican Church, 1537 Adelaide Street North |
| ORILLIA | April 17th | 8:00 A.M. | OPP headquarters |
| PARRY SOUND | April 18th | 8:00 A.M. | Children's Aid Building |
| KITCHENER | April 21st | 7:00 P.M. | University of Waterloo William Davis Computer Research Center |
| KINCARDINE | April 22nd | 7:00 P.M. | Bruce Power Plant |
| ST. CATHERINES | April 24th | 9:00 A.M. | Optimist Hall - 8 Napier Street |
| DUFFERIN | April 25th | 8:00 A.M. | Orangeville Theater |
| TORONTO | May 1st | 8:00 A.M. | Environment Canada 4905 Dufferin |
| Update - Nuclear Weapons Security Encounter - Updated March 21, 2004. New pics have been added of the "visit" by Dept. of Energy security forces while shooting scenes for the "Tornado Chasers" T.V. show back in May 2003. Near Amarillo, Texas. |
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| Thick Clouds Enshroud the C.N. Tower - March 20, 2004. An angelic statue bears witness to the rain and fog that veils the world's tallest free standing structure - Toronto. |
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| Anti War Protest - March 20, 2004. On the one year anniversary of the coalition forces invasion of Iraq, protests were held all over the world. In Toronto the demonstration was held at Nathan Phillips Square in front of city hall. Thousands attended the event and the police were ready but luckily, the protest remained peaceful. I was there with my camera. |
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| Foul Weather Climbing Tests - March 14, 2004. I tested some of my climbing equipment by scaling the smokestack of a downtown industrial building. The air temperature was -8C with a windchill of -13C. |
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| Stormchaser.ca Wins Web Award - Feb 28, 2004. The Canadian Web Awards has issued this site its highest honor - A rating of Excellent. |
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| Discovery Channel T.V. Shows - Feb 24, 2004. I will be featured on the Discovery Channel series Disaster Detectives. The episode is entitled: "Tornado Chasers". The show airs in Canada on Wednesday, Feb. 25th at 10:00 Eastern. Some of my tornado footage will also be featured on the episode: "Science Of Tornadoes". More schedule information can be found HERE. Information on U.S. broadcast dates will be added as it becomes available. |
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| Chase Preparations - Feb 14, 2004. Despite it being only February and there's still lots of winter remaining, preparations are already underway for the 2004 storm season. Right now electrical upgrades are being done to the chase vehicle. Many more upgrades are in the works and I'll keep updating as they progress. |
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2 of my storm images have been featured in the new WeatherMatrix 2004 calendars | One image is lightning over Toronto, the other is of myself wading into the storm surge during Hurricane Isabel. |
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