Former Spotter. First trained and certified in the early 2000s. I have been fascinated by severe weather and tornados since I was pre-teen. I became more of a weather nut in my late 20s, early 30s and eventally became a trained spotter and occasional chaser. Now I’m pushing 70, and to be honest, I’m not in the physical condition I really need to be in in order to safetly go out and chase storms. So, I park myself at home when the weather turns bad, and I track the storms and hunt for potential problems using my access to Radar.
Radar Omegan: I’ve worked with a number of Radar programs and apps over the past twenty years, and at the current time Radar Omega seems to be the best one for my options and seems to be pretty popular with the YouTube meterologists like “Max Velocity”. Most of the people you seen doing weather tracking and following chasers are using Radar Omega, mainly because of the ease in switching between radar products and the ability to break a single screen into Quads, showing four different radar products at once. It also offers simutaneous useage on my Computer, my tablet, and my phone independent from each other.
MPing: This is a nice little app that I have on my Android phone and tablet. it allows the averge person to make weather condition reports to the National Weather Service, and to a database that relays the reports out to certain weather radar apps. This program gives the person different weather conditions to report, then adds the person’s location when they hit the submit button. Its a lot more User Friendly than other means for reporting storms.
I am an Independent. I do not work with or for any storm chasers or weather organization. This is a hobby of mine, therefore, the more expensive aspects of running radar and chasing have been disconnected from my feeds, such as Radar data from Allison House. I do not make regular reports during the summer, the weather conditions move faster than most Social Media posts do, and I have never had a following for my previous web sites regarding weather. I may, during the winter months, post information related to approaching winter storms, or you may see me post pictures and screen shots of my radar, my feeds I receive, or photos of weather events I tracked. But it’s not going to be something you’ll see on a regular basis.
Storm Chasing:
So, you think you want to go Storm Chasing. That you would love to jump in with a Storm Chaser and just go. The chances of you getting in with an experienced, well-trained and well-prepared Storm Chaser or very slim. Most of them are already cramped for space, and others are too busy trying to find the right storms, trying to get the right videos when they do encounter a Tornado to have to worry about spectators riding along with them. Everyone in a storm chase vehicle has a job in most, if not all, cases. So, your best option is getting a seat in one of the Storm Chaser Tours that are out there.
So, think about it. The popular tours are usually ten days. You’re going to spend ten days as a body in a eight to ten passenger van. Hours of racing across country, or sitting at some out of the way gas station or convience store. Sitting out in the middle of nowhere waiting for storms to develop, or storms to catch up with you. Long days, a lot of road time, fast food, gas station food, and cheap hotels. For this … the cost usually runs in the range of $5,000 per person. And there is no guarantee that you’re going to see a tornado.
So, what now? Jump in your car and just go? Once you do that you have become a part of the problem. There are too many adveturers out there who go out and chase the storm chasers. People that don’t understand what they could potentially be dealing with. What to do if you find yourself in the wrong place. The professionals have communications other than their cell phones. They have multiple views of the weather on radar. And they are trained on what to do if they find themselves in the wrong place.
“In the Eye of the Storm – Chasers,” had an episode in which a chaser found out how quickly things can get ugly. Chasing a tornado, the conditions were not good and they found themselves being approached by a Tornado from the driver’s side of the car. Their only option, get low, take the car into the ditch and hope that the tornado is not strong enough to suck them up our out of the dtich. People die in their cars when struck by mild tornados.
Storm Chasing is Dangerous. You are probably safer sitting at home and watching the live feeds on YouTube, watching the documentaries or series on Television. HBO has just released a new series of “In the Eyes of the Storm”, called “Chasers.” They follow a number of Storm Chasers, experienced Storm Chasers, through the 2025 Tornado Season in the Northern part of the Central US.
Would I like to go out again? Yes! Under the right circumstances … special circumstances. If I was invited to go out in the Dominator, I would find it hard to say no. is that going to happen? Very unlikely. I could work the radar for them (smile).
