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I have originally put together this web site back in 1996 telling you a little about myself. Since then, it has outgrown so many "hosts" that it needed a final home as "Sky-Chaser"! This should be an easy name to remember for flying, skydiving, and storm chasing. I am a computer programmer, writer, sky diver, amateur photographer, extreme storm journalist, and computer artist. I enjoy flying and aerobatics, boating and jet skis, surfing, HAM radio, skydiving, and videography. I am also a volunteer SKYWARN storm spotter for the National Weather Service as well as a licensed HAM radio operator. "Sky-Chaser" Consulting, as this site reflects from a business standpoint, mainly specializes in storm chasing, hurricane chasing, and other documentation of extreme weather events for media, educational, charity / benefits, and public awareness goals. This site also contains my computer consulting services in PICK (Universe, Unidata, and similar Multivalue-DB oriented) programming for many major business requirements. The "Sky-Chaser" site also has lots of information about my other sports, hobbies, and lifestyles besides storm journalism and computer consulting. I feel you should enjoy or even be able to utilize some of the areas on this web site for anything from education to entertainment ... And be sure check back often, because it is updated on a continuous basis! |
Chris Collura - KG4PJN - Skywarn FL B036 - Sky-Chaser Consulting
Since 1996! ... Last Major Site Update: Sunday, March 21, 2010
Storm and hurricane chaser Jim Leonard hosted a fantastic chaser party and BBQ at his place in upper Metacumbe Key in the beautiful Florida Keys on March 20, 2010. The turnout was great and we all had a great time ... Thanks Jim! Some picture of this yearly event are posted in my STORM CHASING section for PICNICS and PARTIES, and clicking the image above should take you right to that area. You can also jump right to it using the link provided for it HERE.
I just got back from a week and a half trip in Northern California spending time with best-friends of mine, taking advantage of time off as I am between jobs. California is a place where you can literally surf and snow-ski in the SAME day, and can be an outdoorsman's paradise for hikers and sight-seers alike. My last trip involved some awesome hiking, skydiving, beach and surf fun, and great weather to boot. Check out my pictures from the "Golden Bear" state, with anything from 25+ foot waves to the 3,000 foot cliffs of Yosemite in my OUTDOORS section of this site. You can also jump right to the link by clicking the image above, or the link provided for it HERE.
For the past WEEK, the National Weather Service had some "strong wording" about the "severe weather potential" associated with a strong low pressure system and front that was forecasted to affect the state of FL around March 2, 2009. A day before the "promising" event, SPC issues a slight risk, then the day of the "event", its DOWNGRADED to a "see text", then the "event" turned out to be a 30 MPH wind gust and some moderate rain. Of course, the SPS "storm reports" for March 2, shown to the right above, says "No Reports Received" ... In fact, February 2010 goes down in history as the first month with no reported tornadoes anywhere in the USA since the 1950's! This certainly is NOT encouraging.
The other two images above to the left and middle show the grim effects of the 2009-2010 "El Niņo", with some of the coldest weather (for Southern Florida) in a very long time. And, to add more to the lack-of-storms and shivering frustration ... The 10-15 foot high northeast swells THAT NORMALLY accompany strong cold fronts in FL also NEVER happened. Flat surf, too cold for the beach, yes - Even surfers in FL are probably more frustrated than storm chasers! My SeaDoo watercraft sits in the storage - too "cold" to even take that out to enjoy on the water or the lake, which is choked with water weed and dead fish because of the "killer" cold weather since January! This cold pattern, persisting into March, is not normal. Normally, El Niņo causes MORE storms in FL, but this one is very different. This will also result in cooler water temperatures and probably hurt the potential hurricane / storm chase seasons in 2010 - I am not ready to repeat 2009.
Finally some interesting weather rolls through South and Central Florida on Wednesday, February 24, 2010. Some of the thunderstorms contained brief / shallow mesocyclones and some areas (near West Palm Beach) reported golfball sized hail. It is a nice change to have a warm and moist air mass (ahead of a strong cold front) with strong and severe thunderstorms ... Hopefully chasing will be good as we head into March 2010 in the south.
The image above, courtesy of the National Weather Service and the US Air Force, shows the snow cover over the continental United States on February 13, 2010 (6z). The scale is in inches. Not suprising is the amount of snow cover over the northern states, however, check out the snow swath over the deep south, even into the panhandle of Florida! It is very unusual to see the entire 48 states having snow covering a portion of them. Alaska, obviously has snow cover as well, and even Hawaii, but on the peaks of the tallest mountains (Mona Loa and Mona Kea) on the big island. This means that at this point, the entire 50 states of the US have snow. You can check out anything about winter weather on a special page I have for it on this site in the WINTER section, or click the link HERE to jump right to that area.
I attended the National Storm Chaser Convention (ChaserCon) in Denver, Colorado from Febuary 12-14, 2010. This event continues to be a "must-not-miss" event for storm chasers year after year. This year was a very impressive turnout and I have put together some pictures of the event in my STORM CHASING EVENTS area on this site. You can also jump right to the area by clicking the image above or then link provided for it HERE!
CHASE 2008 - EXTREME SEASONS DVD
Now available - "Chase 2008 - Extreme Seasons DVD" - See mother nature and weather at their worst with the 2008 "Extreme Seasons" DVD! Nearly two hours of compelling footage ranging from blizzard winter conditions to a tropical hurricane's fury, with many others "in between" ... See hurricanes, fires, tornadoes, flooding, daring rescues, car-crunching hail, even a chilling lake-effect snowstorm (aka "frozen hurricane" in Michigan! This presentation is not for the faint-of-heart, and some footage will have you on the edge of your seat as see you just about every extreme and raw power of the four seasons!
For more information on this new DVD project just released, and how to order a copy of it for yourself, please click the image above, or click the link HERE to learn more! Price is $25.95, and that includes shipping!
Sky-Chaser BLOG Page
Airshow! Aviation At Its Finest
Alcatraz Island And Prison
America - Tributes Plus September 11, 2001
Art And Drawings Gallery
Aviation And Flying
Car Burglary At Miami TGI Friday's
Chris Collura's Career RESUME
Goodies And Cool Stuff
Information On Diabetes
Internet Fraud - Always A First Time!
Outdoor Activities And Boating
Pets And Animals Page
Roller Coasters And Extreme Rides
Sky Diving And Other Extreme Sports
Software Products Page
Special Offers And Media Sales Page
Storm Chasing By Chris Collura
Surviving A Roll-Over Car Accident
Tesla Coils Plus "Weird Science" Stuff
All of my stock-video footage is also managed by my agents at Conus Communications. Please refer to CONUS first as they can be of much better help at providing any fulfillment of STOCK video requests (this does NOT include DVD productions offered on this site). For such STOCK footage requests, please contact Chris Bridson at CONUS. Their phone number is (651) 642-4576, or you can go to their official web site at the link WWW.CONUS.COM.
You can review all production videos, DVD's, documentaries, and stock video on my OFFERS page which can be viewed by clicking the link HERE. Please not that you can request STOCK video through me directly, or through the CONUS archive, which is much easier!
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"I Thrilled All The Visitors Below!"
View Information About The Author Of This Site
This entire web site is the work of Christopher Collura (myself) and is intended for informative, entertainment, and educational purposes. The intent is to show the pure thrill and essence of natural phenomina, extreme sports, experiences, and many other unique things or events, many from viewer's perspective. Please click the link above to find out more information about myself, the author of this great web site.
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