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Andrew Pritchard

@skydrama

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Meteorologist @NutrienAgRetail | Focused on Disruptive Weather | Award Winning Weather Risk Communicator | Observer of Severe Storms ⛈️🌪️💨

Urbana, Illinois
Joined February 2010
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
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@skydrama
Andrew Pritchard
7 days
Life imitates art... on the left, the summer Twisters promo poster, and on the right is a photo of me standing in front of the Carbon, Iowa tornado (while looking at the Greenfield tornado out of frame right!) on May 21st, 2024 snapped by my brother.
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Andrew Pritchard
6 years
December in Illinois!
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Andrew Pritchard
2 years
Wow! Crazy looking roll cloud just rolled over Champaign-Urbana!
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Andrew Pritchard
3 months
Apocalyptic scenes between Carbon and Greenfield, Iowa. Multiple wind turbines completely shredded, one on fire, power pole stumps left behind with entire poles gone. Strong strong tornado.
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
Vibrant shimmering, #aurora coming directly overhead now in Champaign County, Illinois. This is unreal, haven’t seen anything like it since the middle 2000s. #aurora #NorthernLights iPhone photo:
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Andrew Pritchard
3 years
My jaw was in the west Texas dirt for much of the evening while this spectacular supercell thunderstorm spun away on the horizon. We never moved from this spot. Northwest of Lubbock, Texas on Sunday evening. #txwx
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Andrew Pritchard
3 months
This video shows people parking under a bridge, exiting their vehicles, and then being pelted by debris, all in the name of safety with a tornado that they could have easily driven away from. WE HAVE TO STOP DOING THIS!!!! LINK:
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Andrew Pritchard
5 years
Massive tornado, 810 PM, north of Joplin, MO
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Andrew Pritchard
4 months
That lightning flash in the vid is freaky. Twister drive-in scene!
@wpricejr21
Will Price
4 months
Here’s some footage of the barnsdall tornado moments before it hit the refinery in barnsdall @ReedTimmerUSA @ryanhallyall
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@skydrama
Andrew Pritchard
3 months
The Greenfield, IA and it’s wild Octopus like multiple vortex structure was a total doppelgänger of this infamous video of the 1991 Andover Kansas F5:
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
Trying to wrap my head around what just happened. Observed a pair of tornadoes just outside the Champaign-Urbana, #ilwx city limits 8:40-9:00 AM on Monday morning, one from close range. Video coming…
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
The words "oh my god" kept whispering out of my mouth as the #aurora surged across the northern horizon. Visible shimmering on the horizon with red pillars directly overhead in Champaign County, Illinois. Best I've seen since 2005! 📷Here's a quick superwide DLSR shot:
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Andrew Pritchard
3 months
Multiple wind turbines have been destroyed by a tornado near Carl, Iowa - one of which is fully involved in fire. #iawx @NWSDesMoines
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@skydrama
Andrew Pritchard
5 years
What a storm! This thing was sucking in 40-50 MPH easterly inflow! Bailed on the storm when the huge, wet RFD caught me in Clinton, IN and began shredding trees with hail and powerful winds.
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@skydrama
Andrew Pritchard
4 years
Large violent tornado Divernon IL now
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@skydrama
Andrew Pritchard
2 years
Incoming! My last view of the storm near Sadorus, #ilwx before I bolted for the car and was over taken by high winds and small hail.
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@skydrama
Andrew Pritchard
3 years
This is the Parsons Manufacturing Plant in Roanoke, Illinois before and after it was struck by an F4 tornado on July 13th, 2004. 120-140 workers were inside when it took a direct hit. How many workers were injured/killed? ZERO. Storm shelters and safety plans save lives.
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@skydrama
Andrew Pritchard
4 years
Estimating 70 MPH gusts on Hwy 47 just north of Morris, IL at 3:25 PM CT #ilwx @NWSChicago
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@skydrama
Andrew Pritchard
2 years
TWISTER at the drive-in!!
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Andrew Pritchard
5 years
OH MY GOD. Structure of the year now over eastern Champaign County, IL - 6:20 PM CT
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Andrew Pritchard
6 months
Jaw-dropping radar representation of a supercell with an ongoing, significant tornado in Kansas right now. #kswx
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Andrew Pritchard
2 years
Gibson City, #ilwx right now.
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Andrew Pritchard
5 years
Jaw-dropping shelf cloud moving into Champaign County, IL at 11 AM #ilwx
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
Tornado west of Champaign Illinois right now seek shelter north side of Champaign Urbana #ilwx @NWSLincolnIL
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Andrew Pritchard
3 years
Tornado in progress northwest side of Pella Iowa 643 PM @NWSDesMoines
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Andrew Pritchard
3 years
Everyone knows rain showers move north in Indiana and south in Illinois.
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Andrew Pritchard
2 years
Morning mammatus!! Absolutely stunning view of intense thunderstorms to my west as the sun rises above the horizon this morning. #ilwx
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
Highway 101 near Brooklyn, Illinois right now #ilwx
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Andrew Pritchard
6 years
Beardstown IL now, 325 PM CT @NWSLincolnIL
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
FLIGHT SIM TORNADOES 🌪️🌪️🌪️
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@MSFSofficial
Microsoft Flight Simulator ✈️
1 year
Introducing Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: The Next Generation of the Legendary Franchise. #MSFS2024
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
Tuesday's potential severe weather setup features a moisture rich, expansive warm sector and may again favor multiple rounds of severe thunderstorms over a large geographic region. A dangerous story is beginning to emerge as we draw within 84 hours...
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Andrew Pritchard
3 years
Sophie has been moved from the ICU to regular room! She walked herself there. 👀
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
Second tornado in progress north of Urbana, Illinois at 8:55 Am #ilwx @NWSLincolnIL
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Andrew Pritchard
4 months
Absolutely incredible, multiple damaging tornadoes near Waverly Nebraska #newx
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
We interrupt this pending severe weather outbreak to let you all know that Sophie's 18-month post-op MRI was stable showing no brain tumor regrowth this morning. Bonus nugget of good news, she gets to stretch the frequency from every 3 months to every 4 months between scans.
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Andrew Pritchard
3 years
The indescribable west Texas supercell of May 16th, 2021
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Andrew Pritchard
3 months
Significant tornado in progress 5 miles southwest of Carbon, Iowa right now.
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
Honestly this is one of the coolest tornado videos I have ever seen. Jaw dropping scene captured with incredible composure. Best part is roughly minutes 3-6. Intense Close Range Intercept of Violent Wedge Tornado - Iowa High Risk ... via @YouTube
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
Pillars visible with the naked eye in Champaign County, Illinois! #NorthernLights #aurora
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
Stunning, challenging tornadic supercell in western Illinois today. Here is a full structure shot with the developing tornado near Industry, Illinois at 6:45 PM this evening. #ilwx
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Andrew Pritchard
4 months
Many farms have taken hits from tornadoes across Nebraska and Iowa today. Ammonia leak seen here near Defiance, #iawx after a damaging tornado swept through 20 minutes ago.
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Andrew Pritchard
6 years
Brett Adair's car is floating away in storm surge from #HurricaneMichael . They abandoned the vehicle and "climbed a house to safety" about 15 minutes ago. No idea where or how they are doing:
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Andrew Pritchard
2 years
Wait what
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Andrew Pritchard
2 years
Big tornado approaching Gilmore city Iowa at 620 pm
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
Did you all catch that meteor? 💫
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Andrew Pritchard
2 years
WOW! High winds, dangerous lightning and torrential rains slamming Champaign-Urbana, #ilwx right now.
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Andrew Pritchard
3 years
May 16th, 2021 | Anton, Texas A "this is why we chase" storm.
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Andrew Pritchard
4 years
TORNADO north of Macon IL on hwy 51 NOW @NWSLincolnIL
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
"SUSAN, GET MY PANTS" 25 years ago today, one of the all-time greatest tornado videos was filmed: Columbus, Nebraska Tornado 6-23-1998 #2 via @YouTube
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Andrew Pritchard
3 years
Peoria has decided that a Winter Storm Warning isn't quite enough.
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Andrew Pritchard
19 days
I met another person who documented the June 2nd, 1990 tornado at Albion-Ellery, Illinois. The 82 year old recounted he was pulling a 4-H fair pig in his trailer when a crack of thunder drew his eyes to the developing tornado. 1/2
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Andrew Pritchard
2 years
YouTube video thumbnails, reality vs fiction:
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Andrew Pritchard
5 years
Here's me having a visceral reaction upon getting my first look at the flying saucer/liberty bell supercell structure behind me. I love storms.
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
Last 72 hours of ring-of-fire
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
I'm not trying to overlook May, but as a resident storm lover in the Midwest it's hard not to be giddy about the prognosis for the coming summer pattern. Strongest signal in years for an active June-August with northwest flow and routine thunderstorm activity Plains to Midwest.
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
Corn laying over from high winds near Farmer City, #ilwx @NWSLincolnIL
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Andrew Pritchard
8 years
Probably my image/scene of the day. Sitting in damage path of tornado where it passed 5 min earlier. #ilwx Homer, IL
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Andrew Pritchard
6 years
Multiple tornado touchdowns, Wilton Center IL 655 pm @NWSChicago
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
A late-week storm system is already displaying high-end severe weather potential across a wide geographic region from the Midwest to the South on Friday, March 31st. Long way to go and plenty of details to sort out, but this is a strong signal at day 5:
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Andrew Pritchard
4 months
Minden, Iowa vicinity taking an impact from a major tornado right now #iawx @NWSOmaha
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Andrew Pritchard
3 years
UPDATE: SHE DID IT. THEY DID IT. Sophie came out of surgery at Noon. Surgeon says he removed “more than expected”. Her foot and toes were getting tired near the end, and that may get worse before it gets better as swelling sets in. Fully expected to be temporary.
@skydrama
Andrew Pritchard
3 years
Our Sophie was taken back with her surgical team at 7:30 this morning. I expect updates every few hours until they complete the procedure early this aftn. Thank you so much for all of your grounding advice as the anxiety for this date mounted. I’ll update you on the other side!
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Andrew Pritchard
4 years
A few more still images of the tornado between Farmersville and Divernon, Illinois between 5:15 and 5:30 PM this evening. #ilwx @NWSLincolnIL
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Andrew Pritchard
3 years
Folks, bad news about to enter the feed. There was some late concern around Sophie's last MRI, and we found ourselves at Northwestern Medical in Chicago this morning. Her tumor has grown back, ~2". They're recommending another brain surgery late summer. I love her so much. Damn.
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Andrew Pritchard
6 years
A good friend of mine just messaged me with video/photos of a possible waterspout/funnel cloud north of Cleveland, OH. Video from the Lincoln Electric Welding School in Cleveland - 10:24 AM ET @NWSCLE
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Andrew Pritchard
2 years
What a sunrise!! Intense storms and a vibrant mammatus display to the west were lit up a glowing orange color in the early morning sunrise. Viewed from Champaign County, #ilwx
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Andrew Pritchard
7 months
Look, ya don't look cool lamenting a Hollywood flick and it's scientific shortcomings - just go buy some popcorn and be glad they're making another damn movie about tornadoes.
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Andrew Pritchard
2 years
Finally, our question has been answered... What would have happened had the dad in the opening scene of Twister just let the door of the shelter fly off without going out with it?
@alyssa_dock
Alyssa Osterdock
2 years
Scary video of the Lockett tornado literally ripping the doors OFF a storm cellar. One family told us that KAUZ weather coverage was the ONLY reason they knew to take shelter. I’m asking you all to keep that in mind next time you’re angry about not getting to watch your show.
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Andrew Pritchard
2 years
@howardeskin A lot easier when your job is to talk about what other people did yesterday.
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Andrew Pritchard
5 years
So 3 years ago yesterday @donkeydownburst and I missed a tornado because we didn't turn around and look at it (we were under a mile away, right behind us) but we DID see this classic downburst from an early supercell near Springfield, IL.
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Andrew Pritchard
3 years
An all-time favorite @OldTakesExposed RT
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Andrew Pritchard
3 years
Good news!! Sophie had her post-op + stitches removed and we got a bonus. The pathology results came back - the tumor was unchanged/did not upgrade. No follow-up treatment/chemo needed. Here’s a photo of Sophie and I doing normal life, something we’ll get to do a lot more of.
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
There is no red tomato like a red tomato grown in your garden.
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Andrew Pritchard
3 months
Reed is a friend, and there are some storm chasers who put together a wonderful, informative streaming experience, but this take is not correct. Maybe true for major global news networks but nothing beats a local met who knows your backyard, giving distraction free updates.
@ReedTimmerUSA
Reed Timmer, PhD
3 months
For severe weather, a majority of news media is less of a source of life-saving real-time information and more of a place to just watch damage footage the next day. If you want real-time information from the front lines of severe weather, follow storm chasers on social media
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Andrew Pritchard
2 years
Significant tornado southwest of hay 3/Gilmore City, Iowa at 6:25 PM CT. At least one farmstead sustained damage along Hwy 3.
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
That’s not fog, that’s supercell juice.
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Andrew Pritchard
2 years
Fantastic supercell structure north of Wingate, Indiana. RFD cut and rotating wall cloud at 6:25 PM #inwx @NWSIndianapolis
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Andrew Pritchard
1 month
Storm chasers be like”aw man Twister and Twisters are SO FAKE and get all the science WRONG” and then tweet and say some of the most scientifically inaccurate things you’ve ever heard while screaming at their chat to call a scud bomb into the National Weather Service.
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Andrew Pritchard
2 years
Vintage tornadoes photographed on film just hit differently.
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
Classic downburst from a supercell in west-central Illinois on March 15th, 2016.
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Andrew Pritchard
6 years
Holy cow! A friend of mind pointed out that the updated Google Maps satellite layer photos were taken apparently just a day or two after the Homer, IL tornado of September 9th 2016. You can see the entire track cut through fields, and amazing detail when zoomed in!
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
1) Glad Marcus is okay . . . . . . . . . . . 2) that definitely does NOT have to be "the life of storm chasing"
Marcus is okay i just talked to him. hit his head a bit but he's okay. car has no windows. this is the life of storm chasing but that was fucking terrifying.
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Andrew Pritchard
6 years
Wide angle view of the Beardstown, IL tornado on Saturday, December 1st. This tornado was rated an EF-1 with winds of 105 mph and was on the ground for a total of 4.3 miles.
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
The last time I spoke to Tim Samaras wasn’t in a field under a storm, but at the premier of Sean Casey’s IMAX film in Chicago. I was going on about how his Driven By Passion DVDs got me thru the dead of every winter. The idea that the wind took one of my hero’s messed me up.
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Andrew Pritchard
3 years
Our Sophie was taken back with her surgical team at 7:30 this morning. I expect updates every few hours until they complete the procedure early this aftn. Thank you so much for all of your grounding advice as the anxiety for this date mounted. I’ll update you on the other side!
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
!!! Photogenic supercell continues near Anderson, Indiana #inwx @NWSIndianapolis
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Andrew Pritchard
4 months
Here’s one for the “QLCS tornado does not equal small, weak spin-up tornado” chapter. After the Minden-Harlan, Iowa significant tornado, @donkeydownburst and I stopped to catch our breath in Defiance as the trailing linear complex moved through. The storm had other ideas.
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Andrew Pritchard
4 years
Results of Sophie’s MRI were just released to us. NO CHANGE. Healthy brain.
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Andrew Pritchard
4 years
Twilight on the frozen tundra of central Illinois. A shallow layer of ground fog for added vibes. Photo taken two miles south of Monticello, IL.
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Andrew Pritchard
4 years
Brief, weak tornado from close-range near Dawson, IL (east of Springfield) at 7:00 PM CT #ilwx @NWSLincolnIL
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@skydrama
Andrew Pritchard
1 year
Went up to Chicago with Sophie, ate a bunch of Chinese hot pot, and then she went and got a squeaky clean MRI marking ~2 years since her 2021 craniotomy to remove a brain tumor with no regrowth. ❤️
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Andrew Pritchard
8 years
Classic microburst hitting the ground and spreading out from the supercell near Springfield yesterday @NWSLincolnIL
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Andrew Pritchard
1 year
I’m old enough to remember when the first storm chasers to make a blunder and be impacted by a strong tornado were so ashamed the video never saw the light of day. Now folks are so ashamed they’ve got to tweet their shamiest images every two hours to remind us today about THEM.
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Andrew Pritchard
2 years
Canadian storm chasers during storm initiation: "Pretty little storm going up" US storm chasers during storm initiation: "deranged psychotic updraft tower on new explosive nuclear cell pre-wedgegenesis"
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Andrew Pritchard
4 years
So, I just caught the cutest little funnel cloud hanging down from a little fair weather cumulus cloud over Urbana, IL.
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Andrew Pritchard
3 years
What would a QLCS tornado moving at 100 MPH even look like? Tornado warning Columbus NE via @YouTube
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Andrew Pritchard
9 months
The March 13, 1990 tornado outbreak is hard to comprehend. Pretty much all highly visible, classic supercells and tornadoes too. The internet would break if this happened present day.
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Andrew Pritchard
9 months
In one day, Illinois' weekend forecast went from winter storm, to severe thunderstorms, to a few scattered rain showers. An exercise in how communicating the most extreme possible outcomes to your audience a week out may exhaust your audience.
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Andrew Pritchard
2 years
Another memory from 2010 This will probably always be one of my favorite shelf clouds. June 18th, 2010, the second of a pair of severe bow echos to blast through northern Illinois that day. The storm itself wasn't even all that intense, but the drama was on outside Shabonna, IL.
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Andrew Pritchard
11 months
As replies to this original tweet have noted - this is a mass casualty event in the making. Never, EVER seek shelter: - in a wide, expansive space such as a gymnasium or cafeteria - in a room lined with windows - in a room with an open truss roof
@WX__Jake
JakeWX
11 months
Tornado currently on the ground headed towards my direction. Currently sheltering. Stay safe.
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Andrew Pritchard
2 months
Tornado in progress, 3 miles southeast oh Hoopeston, #ilwx @NWSChicago
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Andrew Pritchard
5 years
Monster tornado warned HP supercell near Ridge Farm, IL right now. 430 PM #ilwx
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