Profile
Name:
Robert
Channel Views:
8,431
Total Upload Views:
384,076
Age:
42
Joined:
October 07, 2006
Last Visit Date:
1 day ago
Subscribers:
228
Website:
Robert Prentice's Atmospheric Images specializes in pictures and video of violent thunderstorms and their aftermath including: tornado, lightning, hail, and thunderstorm time lapse video. More detailed information can be found on my web site.
About Me:
The turning point was a June evening in 1979 when I was 10 years old. My aunt and uncle were playing cards with my parents at our home in northwest Norman. A supercell thunderstorm formed in Kingfisher County and moved slowly south-southeast across the western side of Oklahoma City toward Norman.
I remember seeing the first tornado warnings on television and then going out to our backyard to watch the storm approach. The evening was breezy and the air was muggy with a sense of excitement in the air. Initially, the storm was too far away to see. However, as it approached an incredible spectacle unfolded.
I went to our back patio door to warn everybody about the impending storm. They gave me the normal yea- yea, sure-sure until I opened the curtains to reveal a storm which resembled the Mother Ship from the 1977 Steven Spielberg movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Their jaws dropped and that's when they began to pay attention.
From that point on I've been hooked. I never even knew there was such a thing as storm chasing until I watched the PBS NOVA Tornado! episode while I was attending Norman High School in 1985. That program was responsible for the development of many new storm chasers. I wasn't able to go storm chasing until I was a freshman at the The University of Oklahoma in Spring of 1987. Unfortunately, 1987 and 1988 were two of the worst years in history for storm chasers. I didn't chase much and I didn't see much. However, things got more interesting the next year.
In 1989, I worked at the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) during the Initial Operations Testing and Evaluations phase of the NEXRAD (WSR-88D) Doppler Weather Radar. My job was as a radio communicator between NSSL nowcasters in Norman and storm chase crews out in the field. I didn't get to chase much, but my knowledge of storms grew exponentially through interaction with my co-workers. It wasn't until 1990 that I experienced routine storm chase success.
Today I continue to study, chase and photograph storms. It is one thing to study weather in a textbook or on a computer. But, many meteorologists are simply lost when it comes to real atmosphere. There is no substitute for the real thing.
I love virtually every aspect of storm chasing: Utilizing meteorology skills to make the forecast; the excitement and anticipation of the chase; the Route 66 experience of the open highway; the ambiance of a big sky on the Great Plains; the history of the people on the Great Plains; meeting friends I only see once a year at a lonely intersection in the middle of nowhere; the sport of trying to predict how the storms will evolve; and the awesome power, beauty, and ambiance of storms. If I have to explain any further than this, you wouldn't understand.
Hometown:
Norman, Oklahoma
Country:
United States
Occupation:
Meteorologist Instructor
Companies:
Atmospheric Images
Schools:
University of Oklahoma
Interests:
Meteorology, storm chasing, photography, videography, weight lifting, biking, football, basketball
Recent Activity
|
This is a video clip of the Deer Trail-Last Chance, Colorado tornadoes from June 10, 2010, shot from US Highway 36 west of Last Chance, Colorado.
|
|
|
|
This is a video clip of the Campo, Colorado tornado from May 31, 2010 mostly shot from Oklahoma immediately south of the Colorado state line.
|
|
|
|
This is a video clip of the Dover, Oklahoma Tornadic supercell from May 19, 2010, shot between Loyal and southeast of Dover, Oklahoma. The Dover to...
more
|
|
|
|
This is a video clip of the Keyes Oklahoma tornado from May 31, 2010 shot looking north from EW 13 Road.
|
|
|
|
This is video of the Moore-Harrah, Oklahoma EF4 tornado shot looking east from the intersection of Oklahoma State Highway 77H (Sooner Road) and sou...
more
|
|
Channel Comments
(20)
I am interested in the weather. I very like tornadoes and severe storms!
Fantastic videos! Subscribe to you and add as a friend.
Scott McPartland