~ Early Web Links ~

Atmospheric Optics (atoptics.co.uk) is a comprehensive reference site dedicated to the science of light phenomena in Earth's atmosphere, covering rainbows, halos, glories, coronas, mirages, green flashes, and much more. With an optical phenomenon of the day (OPOD) feature, a blog, and detailed explanations of how sunlight interacts with atmospheric particles, it is an essential resource for anyone curious about the colorful mysteries of the sky.

Skip Talbot has documented over 458 storm chases since 2003, logging 288,186 miles and 156 tornado intercepts across more than two decades of pursuit. The site features yearly chase logs, a gallery, time-lapse videos, and detailed statistics that make it a fascinating firsthand record of storm chasing as a serious hobby.

Lightning Wizard provides detailed convective weather forecast maps for North America, Europe, and the Caribbean, pulling data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and the National Weather Service. The site covers advanced meteorological parameters like CAPE, bulk shear, and MSL pressure across multiple forecast time intervals, making it a valuable tool for storm chasers and weather enthusiasts.

Hosted at Iowa State University, this Meteogram Generator produces hour-by-hour weather forecast charts for locations like KSEA (Seattle) by pulling data from multiple numerical models including NAM, GFS, RAP, and their MOS variants. Visitors can configure plots for temperature, dewpoint, wind speed, precipitation, snow accumulation, and more, then compare model output side by side across an extended forecast period.

Ben Holcomb's storm chasing hub is a sprawling personal site featuring tornado videos, pictures, past chase logs, statistics, and equipment guides built over nearly two decades of active chasing. This links page alone connects to hundreds of fellow storm chasers and meteorological resources, making it a valuable hub for the storm chasing community.

Phil Kurimski's personal storm chasing site documents decades of tornado and severe weather pursuits, with detailed chase logs spanning from 1998 through 2018 organized by date. Visitors can explore chase videos, storm photography from across the Great Plains, weather research including a published NWA paper, and a wealth of meteorological resources.

The Rocking L Ranch Weather Station is a personal weather monitoring hub located in Nampa, Idaho, run by amateur meteorologist NV6B using a Davis Instruments Vantage Pro 2 Plus system. Visitors can explore live conditions, NEXRAD Doppler radar maps, yearly rainfall totals, webcam feeds, and a 7-day forecast history for the Canyon County area.

Andy Fischer, known as Tornadohead, documents his storm chasing expeditions from 2001 through 2008 with individual chase accounts organized by year. The site includes cumulative maps tracking counties chased, observed supercells, and tornadoes across both the northern and southern plains.

Hosted by the University of Wyoming's Atmospheric Science department, this site provides access to real-time and historical upper air data including soundings, upper air maps, and balloon trajectory forecasts for the US and Wyoming. It's a go-to reference for meteorologists, students, and weather enthusiasts needing professional-grade atmospheric data.

Frank Singleton's extensive weather and sailing resource covers marine meteorology, GRIB files, GMDSS services, weather communications, and practical forecasting guidance for sailors and cruisers. With cruising logs dating back to 2000, links to national weather services, and coverage of topics from basic atmospheric theory to climate change, this site is a remarkably thorough reference for anyone navigating at sea.