Technical Library
This area is meant to be one of the biggest collections of chase documents on the Internet.
These articles and graphics are copyrighted by their respective
authors. To use or reproduce them, you will need to obtain
their express permission.
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Chase Accounts
- About Storm Chasing
- Chasing Tornadoes, by Tim Marshall (Weatherwise Magazine, August 1983)
- Storm Track Auto Emergency Guide, by Tim Vasquez.
Tips on maintenance and troubleshooting, written in 1997.
- Selected Internet Resources for the Beginning Storm Chaser,
by Allan Rosenberg, June 15, 1999. Slightly outdated set of links from 1999, but
some of them are still good.
- Cancer Within, by Rich Thompson and Roger Edwards.
A look at some problems that plagued storm chasing in the 1990s, and are still
relevant today.
Also a response by Matt Crowther, ~1997.
From Gilbert Sebenste's Storm Chaser Homepage.
- Educational Material for Chasers, by Tim Marshall,
September 1996. A list of books and videos for learning more about severe weather and chasing.
- Suggested Readings for New Chasers, by Tim Vasquez,
February 1997. Are you still not sure what to read and study up on? Take a look at these
suggestions.
- Chase Thoughts for 1997, by David Hoadley, November 1996.
Some thoughts on storm chasing as we head into the 1997 season. Revised March 1998.
- January 1997 Commentary, by Tim Vasquez, January 1997.
Some additional thoughts regarding storm chasing as the new season approaches.
- Why Chase Tornadoes?, by David Hoadley, March 1982.
Former STORMTRACK editor David Hoadley provides timeless answers to one of the big questions
chasers constantly hear.
- A Passion For Prediction
by Tim Marshall (Weatherwise Magazine article). What makes chasers tick?
- Storm Chaser Safety Rules, by Tim Marshall,
Stormtrack, Mar/Apr 1994.
- What You See Really Does Matter, by Roger Edwards.
There is something we can do to bridge the gap between storm chasing and operational
meteorology, to the benefit of both.
- Fair Fees for Storm Footage, by Martin Lisius, 1996.
A Storm Chaser Homepage article.
- Irresponsible Media Storm Chase Practices, by
Roger Edwards and Charles Doswell, 1995, with
reply from the media by Paul Bouchereau.
- Storm Video Piracy Alert, by Martin Lisius
and Warren Faidley, 1996-99.
- Registering that Terrific Storm Footage in 7 Easy Steps,
by Martin Lisius.
- Chasing Central California, by Ken Nakamura,
November 1987. While most chasers don't roam the San Joaquin Valley of California,
many of them keep a close eye on developments there. Why is that?
- Fringe -- Poetry, Tales, and Anecdotal
- "Bear White Child"
and the First American Tornado Chase , by John Weaver, March 1980.
Tornadoes have roamed the Great Plains long before Europeans settled
the continent. We all know that the American Indians were very much in
touch with nature and the elements, so we are presented the question:
What sort of effect did severe weather have on the Indians?
- The Oz Tornado, by
Tim Marshall, November 1993. Just how did they create that tornado in
the Wizard of Oz?
- A New Season,
by David Hoadley, March 1991.
- Twister: A Storm
Chaser's ballad, by Charles Vlcek, November 1979.
- International Interest
- Indian/Bangladesh
Tornadoes, by Tim Vasquez, November 1997. An in-depth look at
tornadoes in eastern India and Bangladesh, what causes them, and a
case study. And you thought only the Great Plains had dryline
supercells!
- A Korean
Squall Line, by Tim Vasquez, November 1997. Take a look at a
severe squall line in Korea, using the familiar WSR-88D NEXRAD radar.
- Russian Storm Disaster of June 20, 1998.
A strong downburst ravages Moscow.
- Case Studies
- April 2, 1957:
Dallas' Date With Disaster, by Chip Mahaney, May 1997. An essay
about the 1957 Dallas tornado with surface maps and photographs.
- Analyses for the 24 Jan
1997 Alabama/Tennessee tornado outbreak, by Tim Vasquez, January
1997. These are simply some upper air and mesoscale surface analyses
for the day of the outbreak.
- The Saragosa,
Texas Tornado, May 22, 1987, by Bill Alexander, September 1987.
One of the big tornado disasters of the 1980's occurred in a small
west Texas town. Bill explores how the storm developed and what the
tornado's effects were.
- Warp Chase: June 6, 1989, by
Tim Marshall.
Tim knew his chase luck was running hot when he heard the plane was on-time for
departure and was #1 for take-off.
- April 28, 1991
Tornado-Producing Mini-Supercells, by Jon Davies, January 1993.
Jon Davies describes an interesting outbreak of small supercells in Kansas.
- Countdown to Disaster: Chasing the Andover Tornado
by Tim Marshall.
- November 21, 1992
Houston, Texas tornado damage, by Tim Marshall, January 1993. A
glimpse at the damage created by a rare late-season outbreak of
tornadoes in the Houston area.
- May 5, 1995 Fort
Worth hailstorm, by Tim Marshall, May 1995. A tremendous hailstorm
swept through eastern Fort Worth. Take a look at why insurance
premiums are skyrocketing in the Dallas-Fort Worth area!
- June 8, 1995 Pampa,
Texas tornadoes, by Alan Moller, November 1995. It was the biggest
supercell outbreak of 1995. Join veteran chaser and NWS forecaster
Alan Moller as he travels with Chuck Doswell in the shadow of the "big
one". Review the maps and weather data, too.
- June 22,
1995 Colorado Mini-Surprise, by Greg Stumpf. Greg stumbles across
an unusual rotating storm while vacationing in Colorado.
- July 23, 1995
July Surprise, by Bruce Haynie, September 1995. With warmer
temperatures aloft and weak dynamics, photogenic tornadoes are quite
rare in the southern plains in the middle of summer. Not so for chaser
Bruce Haynie, who observed this storm near Amarillo recently.
- Explosive Development of an
Eastern Kansas Thunderstorm 11 July 1978,
by Tim Marshall.
- Storm-Scale Structure of the
5/19/82 Pampa Storm, by Tim Marshall.
- Chasing Tornadoes
(The 5/19/82 Pampa Storms), a Weatherwise magazine
article by Tim Marshall.
- Mesocyclone Evolution of the
4/12/81 Warren, Oklahoma Tornadoes, by Timothy P. Marshall
and Erik N. Rasmussen.
- Forecasting and Meteorology
- Dryline Magic,
by Tim Marshall. Explains the dryline as it relates
to chase days.
- A Look at Hodographs, Helicity, and Supercells,
by Jon Davies. Stormtrack, Jan/Feb 1994.
Just what is a hodograph? And what does it have to do with thunderstorm
rotation or potential for tornadoes?
- When to
Chase, by Bobby Prentice, December 1992. So when is the
best time to chase? Bobby Prentice, a NOAA meteorologist, digs into
112 years of tornado climatology to come up with some objective
answers.
- The Cap: It's Boom or
Bust! by Tim Marshall, May 1988. The cap often makes or breaks a
chase day. Unfortunately, we sometimes ignore its details, looking at
dynamics and surface features instead. Tim Marshall emphasizes the
importance of the cap to storm chasing and how we can better use
stability indicators to forecast development.
- Dryline
Storms, by Tim Marshall, January 1992. A lengthy but excellent
description of the Great Plains dryline, its structure, and its
behavior. A must-read for any chaser.
- A Look at the
Energy-Helicity Index, by Jon Davies, May 1995. The
energy-helicity index (EHI) links together shear and instability to
provide a meaningful indicator on whether the probability of a
rotating storm is high. Jon Davies explains further.
- Forecasting
Supercell Type, by Richard Thompson and Roger Edwards, July 1994.
This article helps clarify the distinctions between LP, classic, and
HP supercells.
- Temperature Variations in a Cliff Environment
by Tim Marshall. Devoted towards learning the behavior of temperature
and winds surrounding a cliff environment.
- The Effect of Nocturnal Rain
on Temperatures in a Forest, by Tim Marshall.
- Topographic Influences on
Amarillo Radar Echo Climatology, by Timothy P. Marshall
and Richard E. Peterson.
- Tables and Equivalents,
detailing the Fujita scale, the Saffir-Simpson hurricane
scale, hail sizes, and the TORRO hail scale.
- How Reliable is the Day 2 Outlook?, by
David Hoadley, Stormtrack, Sep/Oct 1994.
- Related Journals, Periodicals, and Publications,
by Gilbert Sebenste, as printed in the Storm Chaser Homepage, 1996.
- Damage and Engineering
- Performance of Structures
during Hurricane Alicia and the Altus Tornado
by Tim Marshall.
- Damage Survey of the
Tornadoes near Altus, Oklahoma on May 11, 1982
by Tim Marshall.
- Hurricane Andrew Storm Survey
by Tim Marshall.
- Damage Survey of the Binger,
Oklahoma Tornado of May 22, 1981
by Tim Marshall.
- Hurricane Elena Damage Survey:
September 2, 1985,
by Tim Marshall.
- Goshen United Methodist Church
Damage Survey,
by Tim Marshall, March 1994.
- Tornado Damage Survey of
Northern Alabama and Georgia: March 24, 1994, by
Tim Marshall.
- An Engineering Analysis
of the Grand Island Tornadoes,
by Timothy P. Marshall and Dr. James McDonald.
- Lessons Learned from
Analyzing Tornado Damage,
by Tim Marshall.
- Damage Analysis of the
Mesquite, Texas Tornado (Dec 1984) by Tim Marshall.
- Effects of Urbanization on
the Mingo Creek Watershed, by Tim Marshall (1984).
- Damage Survey of the Moore,
Oklahoma Tornado (May 3 1999), by Tim Marshall.
- Damage and Radar Analysis
of the Nashville, TN Tornado, by Tim Marshall.
- Utilization of Load/Resistance
Statistics in a Wind Speed Assessment, by Timothy P. Marshall.
- People
- The Meaning of
Chasing, by T.J. Turnage, November, 1997. What is it that drives
storm chasers? This in-depth commentary explores some of the issues of
the hobby.
- Dave Hoadley:
Chase Fever, The Early Years, by Tim Marshall, January 1987. He
was one of the pioneers of storm chasing. Not only that, he started
STORMTRACK magazine. In this paper, we find out just what chasing was
like decades ago.
- Storm Pioneer: A
Biography of Neil B. Ward, by Gene Rhoden, November 1990. Neil
Ward can easily be considered the father of storm chasing. His efforts
to verify radar data and explore model tornado flow, combined with a
strong personal interest in severe weather, made him one of the
outstanding storm researchers of the century.
- Chat with Tim Marshall, February 16, 2000.
An online chat with Tim Marshall hosted on Stormtrack.
- Articles on the
life of Dr. Ted Fujita, This is a collection of articles by Tim
Marshall, Les Lemon, Randal Zipser, Joel Genung, Dr. Greg Forbes, and
Dr. Roger Wakimoto on the life of one of the greatest meteorologists
of all time as featured in the November 1998 issue of STORMTRACK.
- Gene Moore sparkles
again, by John F. Weaver, July 1981. A detailed description of a
close call with lightning. A reminder of why it's so important to pay
attention to lightning hazards around thunderstorms.
- The 1995 Storm
Chaser party, by Tim Marshall. A look at the 1995 Storm Chaser
party in Norman, Oklahoma.
- 10 Questions: Matt Sellers, by
Shane Adams, 2000.
- 10 Questions: Roger Hill, by
Shane Adams, 2000.
- Humor
- Photo Funny -- Bruce Haynie
shows a humidity calculator to a sheriff. But what might he really
be saying? This contest was run in 2000.
- Humor Links from the Storm Chaser Homepage, 1997.
Outdated, but maybe useful?
- Classic Funnel Funnies.
STORMTRACK published a new cartoon in each issue, handcrafted by
pioneer chaser and original STORMTRACK editor David Hoadley himself.
Here's a sampling of the 100+ cartoons that were printed.
- No trouble at all... be on your way in an hour, December 1977
- Just leave the money and let's go!, September 1978
- It followed me home! Can I keep it?, May 1979
- The ideal chase car, July 1980
- TOTO takes a trip, November 1981.
- The sophisticated chaser, March 1982.
- The dedicated chaser knows no bounds, January 1983.
- Forecast in the "Twilight Zone", March 1983.
- You shoulda been here last week!, May 1984
- Murphy's law for chasers, March 1985
- It is important to obey the rules of the road..., November 1986.
- The New Sophisticated Chasers will be armed with portable laptops..., March 1987.
- Days that don't rotate!, January 1988
- Paw! Them fellers just left yer new heater!, September 1989
- Chaser judgement -- when chasers need to weigh the odds, July 1990
- Early neanderthal storm chasing, May 1991.
- The unsuccessful chaser, January 1991.
- How to be a storm clown in six easy lessons, September 1991.
- The neurotic March chaser, March 1992
- Storm chase parties -- mostly hot air, January 1993
- The reality of increased media exposure on storm chasers, March 1994.
- When priorities clash, July 1994.
- Finding the good dryline!, July 1995.
- In a good year, when there is too much of a good thing, January 1996.
- We're going the wrong way, May 1997
- Storm Track Archives
- Back Issues (minus graphics) --
Jan-Feb-97,
Mar-Apr-97,
May-Jun-97,
Jul-Aug-97,
Sep-Oct-97,
Nov-Dec-97,
Jan-Feb-98,
Mar-Apr-98,
May-Jun-98,
Jul-Aug-98,
Sep-Oct-98,
Nov-Dec-98,
Jan-Feb-99,
Mar-Apr-99,
May-Jun-99,
Jul-Aug-99,
Sep-Oct-99,
Nov-Dec-99,
Jul-Aug-00,
Sep-Oct-00,
Nov-Dec-00.
- 20th Anniversary
Issue, November/December 1996. The full text and photos from our
20th anniversary issue.
- Premiere StormTrack
Issue, page 1, December 1977. It is fascinating that the
commentary for this first issue covers chaser etiquette. It's a theme
that has become even more prominent in recent years.
- Premiere StormTrack
Issue, page 2, December 1977.
- Reference and Miscellaneous Information
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