Titan U - Notable Online Weather Endeavor

Dalhart Weather Review 
by Aaron Graves

NOTE: As of this blog post (2-20-15) Dalhart was forecast to receive up to 7" of snow this weekend, with the heaviest snowfall Saturday night. Keep and eye on the forecast. 

Chris Sanner and company are raising money on
Kickstarter to launch a unique online resource for
weather enthusiasts, storm spotters, and the
general public. Sanner's photo is from a
storm near Dumas, TX in 2010.

The Internet has changed many things since it came along, including our perception of weather. In decades past, our knowledge of a major weather event was limited to a few minutes of footage on the evening news. Our weekend plans could not be finalized until the weatherman appeared on TV.  

Nowadays, you can watch a hurricane unfold online in real time. The week's forecast is a click away. Weather has even become entertainment, complete with it's own reality shows. 

This has created some problems, but that is not the purpose of this series. I want to highlight reliable and useful weather resources you can use. In a previous article, I talked about the National Weather Service's website: www.weather.gov. This time around, I want to introduce you to Chris Sanner and "Titan U". 

Chris Sanner has developed a reputation for being a responsible weather enthusiast. He has set out not only to document the beauty of nature, but to help educate the public. I had the opportunity to interview Sanner some time ago for a newspaper article that never made the final cut. Sanner is currently raising money on Kickstarter to launch a new web resource entitled "Titan U." 

Sanner, in his late 20's and married, has a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcasting from the University of Oklahoma. He grew up in Velma, Oklahoma. He is a part-time storm chaser and film maker. 

"Growing up in the rural parts of tornado alley, weather was always 'there' and in your face so to speak," Sanner said. "I [chase] because I'm in love with nature, creation, and just seeing God's majesty displayed in the sky. To me it's hard not to feel completely engrossed in what is one of the greatest natural wonders on earth."

Sanner and his friends - including Brandon Goforth, Josh Ward, Brandon Sullivan, and Brett Wright - founded the Tornado Titans website several years ago. "I've always wanted to do more than just post raw videos onto YouTube," Sanner said. "I've always been a firm believer that you need to have exceptional quality to stand out on the web. There's so many videos of people chasing tornadoes and storms, but 
there's only one or two folks out there doing professional quality productions." 

Sanner and company produced a web series for three years which included some footage from the Texas Panhandle. They capped it off last year with a well-reviewed documentary on storm chasing entitled "The Bear's Cage".  With such endeavors, Sanner has gone on record that storm chasers need to be well informed, level-headed, and safe. 

"I try my very best to stay a good distance back so I can fill the frame of my camera with the storm and (if it's there) a tornado. Zoom lenses make it very easy to chase safely while also still getting a spectacular view," Sanner said. "While the ground level of a tornado is fascinating, the beauty and awe of storms is achieved on the big scale, and that's more of what we want to convey. My concern has always been there are people who literally do not know any better getting very close to things."

That is one of the reasons why Sanner is raising money for "Titan U". The project is "meant to enhance public awareness of severe weather and also help train storm spotters on how to better identify storm 
features," Sanner says. "Our goal with Titan U is to create a more prepared public and a more highly trained storm spotter.. to hopefully limit the loss of life from storms during the incredibly active Spring and Summer months."

You can find out more about Titan U at Kickstarter.com. Search for "Titan U" and consider donating. 

***

After a warm start to February, Dalhart received another 2.5" of snow the past week. A half inch fell on Feb. 11, and another 2" on Feb. 16. However, the snow did not stick around too long, with daily high temperatures still climbing into the upper 40's to even 76 degrees on Feb. 14. Last week's snow brings our monthly precipitation to 0.09". 

Has this been an exceptionally snowy and wet winter? Well, consider, since winter began late last year, we have seen 21.7" of snow, a good 9" above normal for this time of year. Also, since Jan. 1, we have recorded 1.81" of precipitation. That is an inch above normal as of Feb. 16. 

Expect temperatures to warm back into the mid 60's through the end of the week. More snow and cold temps are a possibility for the weekend. As always, keep an eye on the forecast. 

High and low temps the past week

Feb 10: 70, 34
Feb 11: 46, 28
Feb 12: 53, 24
Feb 13: 68, 27
Feb 14: 76, 28
Feb 15: 46, 23
Feb 16: 43, 23