2025 Chase Season Epilogue

[Mikaela Norris]

Your 'peak' experience is a moving goalpost, James.

This is something I discovered just last year in 2024. My personal peak moved several times throughout the season. At the beginning my peak was just seeing a supercellular tornado. Then it was seeing multiple tornadoes in a day. Then it became a very synergistic chase, where despite seeing no tornadoes, I felt perfectly in-tune with the supercell and had a road network that allowed me to move with it and see several cycles with several rotating wall clouds and funnels. Finally, my peak was seeing a wedge, being close enough to hear it roar, and ending with a front-lit, photogenic stovepipe phase (see my avatar photo). Despite ALL of those peaks, I still want more.

One thing I've noticed the younger chasers do (especially the YT chasers) that us older folk don't do is work together to help each other ensure success, whether it's forecasts, equipment or roadside support when someone incurs vehicle trouble. Most our age have chased in individual silos from what I can see, including me. Maybe someday we here on ST can work together in similar fashion to make chasing life easier for each other and bring up the collective success rate and possibly provide the extra motivation to make the effort to chase the not so obvious stuff. Just a thought.

You make a good point here about the current batch of youtube chasers working more collaboratively vs. previous generations of chasers. I'm sort of in between those 2 generations. I technically went on my first chase back in 2008, but life happened and I was never able to get out as much as I wanted to to build any success until the last 5 years or so. I just hit my mid-30s, so I feel like I'm just a bit too old now to really be counted amongst the younger generation, but I'm a bit too young and inexperienced to be considered a veteran chaser. My chase style has been greatly influenced by the styles of folks here on this forum, so I find myself chasing in an "individual silo" as well rather than collaborating with other chasers. Even when I would encounter other chasers out in the field, it never really goes beyond a brief chat on what we are thinking about the setup or storm at that time. There is a common meme phrase that floats around social media: "Born too soon to X, but born too late to Y." For me it looks sort of like "Born too soon to be a chase streamer, but born too late to sell photos and video." I really feel like that describes how I fit into the chaser generations.

 

[Sean Ramsey]

You make a good point here about the current batch of youtube chasers working more collaboratively vs. previous generations of chasers. I'm sort of in between those 2 generations. I technically went on my first chase back in 2008, but life happened and I was never able to get out as much as I wanted to to build any success until the last 5 years or so. I just hit my mid-30s, so I feel like I'm just a bit too old now to really be counted amongst the younger generation, but I'm a bit too young and inexperienced to be considered a veteran chaser. My chase style has been greatly influenced by the styles of folks here on this forum, so I find myself chasing in an "individual silo" as well rather than collaborating with other chasers. Even when I would encounter other chasers out in the field, it never really goes beyond a brief chat on what we are thinking about the setup or storm at that time. There is a common meme phrase that floats around social media: "Born too soon to X, but born too late to Y." For me it looks sort of like "Born too soon to be a chase streamer, but born too late to sell photos and video." I really feel like that describes how I fit into the chaser generations.

It was much the same way for me when I started what I call "real chasing" (more than a handful times of a year and further than a couple of hours away) back in 2009. I've met some good people along the way, but unless you were "known", you might as well be invisible, which it still that way in many ways (definitely for me, which is more than fine). Honestly, chasing has always been approached from a competition standpoint as opposed to a collaborative effort so you get a bunch of individuals working to gain clout "siloed" with only a handful making any gains, whereas now you have multiple chasers rising in the ranks together, seeing these epic storms the last two months that the rest of us are drooling over. My opinion is that the young group of YT chasers working in unison are quickly changing the hierarchy of who's who in the chasing world, which has been kind of fun to watch.

 

[Dan Robinson]

At least from my perspective, I think that the levels of collaboration have probably been the same through the generations. The competitive aspects and closed circles of info sharing have always been a thing (CFDG, etc) but the spirit of helping each other has been there, too. That's part of the legacy of this very forum and web site. This place was just as hopping in the 1990s and 2000s as what we see today on social media.

When I was first learning how to chase the Plains, I craved every bit of info I could get. A part of me was bummed I wasn't included in the 'elite' chaser circles to glean from their expertise. But I also see how that would result in them giving away many times hard-earned, valuable and privileged information (like the day's chase target). I didn't really deserve to just be handed that on a silver platter. I had to go out there and learn a lot of the craft on my own to get to where they were. I'm thankful for that now.

It's hard to *not* chase solo, especially if you're still maintaining other aspects of life (family, job, etc). Adding another person's schedule and their other limitations to the mix has a huge impact on what you're able to do (like sleep in your car to save money on hotels, as one example). I used to have chase partners up until 2006. It was just so hard to have a big pattern coincide with others' ability to get time off, drop everything and go. We were lucky to have one 5-day stretch in a season that everyone could make an entire trip together, and good luck on a nice period of flow on the Plains happening during that time. Chasing with other 'hardcore' chasers wasn't easy either, as we were all coming from different parts of the country. There was never a meet-up place that didn't mean an extra 8-10 hour drive for at least one of us to get back to our cars afterward.

This is a good discussion, maybe warranting a break off into it's own "Chasing across the generations" thread?

 

[JamesCaruso]

I was never able to get out as much as I wanted to to build any success until the last 5 years or so

I know the feeling. I haven’t been able to get out as much as I wanted since 1996. That’s why I can’t wait to spend more time out there as my personal / family commitments wane. Still have way too many professional commitments, but at least I can work remotely.

The competitive aspects and closed circles of info sharing have always been a thing (CFDG, etc)

Yeah that whole CFDG exclusivity always pissed me off to be honest. That’s the same group of veterans that never participate in ST and are now somehow content to scatter their treasures across the non-curated, algorithmic streams of social media.

This is a good discussion, maybe warranting a break off into its own "Chasing across the generations" thread?

Great idea Dan, I will set that up, move the posts, and set up a cross-reference when I get a chance.

 

[Zack Ruddle]

This year wasn’t a high-mile chase season for me, but honestly, I feel really good about how it turned out. This was my first season doing any type of serious chasing so 2025 ended up being more about building confidence, sharpening skills, and figuring out what works (and what doesn’t) than stacking intercept counts. I had a couple of chases that were progressively more fruitful, but unfortunately no tornados yet. A lot of little wins though, and saw some amazing structure. I've learned I need to either improve my photography equipment or up my risk profile! I was equally proud of the days I chose to stay home that didn't produce. Being work from home, I'm also exploring options for building a dedicated chase vehicle for 2027, hopefully that will extend my range.

I'm looking forward to notching a few more wins next season and finally scoring that tornado shot!

 

[Brett Roberts]

I'll admit to a complex mixture of feelings watching some of these young streamers absolutely tear it up the past couple years. The realization that "they've seen more in two years than I've seen in twenty," like James described, touches a nerve. It's not completely true in some respects (at least for me), but the fact that it's even debatable is sobering.

Needless to say, I have absolutely nothing against most of these streamers, save for one or two with a long rap sheet of bad behavior. But I think it's important to recognize the sheer luck of the past three years being far more active for Plains quality-tornado-days than most preceding years. The stars have aligned perfectly for the cohort that ascended to streaming prominence circa 2023, give or take a year. Live chasing as a parasocial phenomenon with surprisingly large fanbases really took hold just as we abruptly rocketed out of a decade of, on average, shitty Plains seasons. This has afforded the current YouTube stars a magical run where grinding day in and day out all spring has yielded the kind of bonanza most of us could scarcely imagine over all the years we've been at this. And just to be clear: even despite the advances in forecasting, tech, and the mutually cooperative behavior discussed over the last couple pages, some of these guys clearly are just damn good at what they do. If you look at Croff or McKinney, two examples of streams I've watched with a mixture of awe and disgust too many times this year (and who also seemed to be on every good storm I did see)... their spoils since 2023 are pretty much like an extended version of Andy Gabrielson's (RIP) fabled 2010 season.

It's fascinating how much our individual psychology varies, and relatedly, our individual circumstances. If I were to echo sentiments like Dan's or Sean's along the lines of "no regrets" because of other life priorities, or rattle off a list of logistical hurdles justifying why I'm not really in a position to be jealous of their results, I'd be pretty disingenuous. I understand and partially accept why I've only gotten in on a slice of this mid-2020s magical run, and can even appreciate that I've seen as much as I have. But what those guys who nailed almost every big day since Keota in 2023 have done is pretty much on the Mt. Rushmore of what we all care deeply and passionate about, and what most of us have made tremendous sacrifices for a long time in the hopes of one day cashing in on.

Put another way, if we've endured all the downsides and sleep deprivation and enraging busts over a period of 1-3 decades using a "logistically reasonable" approach like "I only make a long trip in May because climo says it works most years"... the cumulative downside, monotony, and frustration over all those years has probably been a lot more than what these full-time YouTubers have endured over just a few years. They've completely eclipsed most of our peak experiences without paying nearly as many "dues." Had they gone all-in starting in, say, 2017 instead of 2023, it would've been a much different outcome. In fact, I'm sure there were plenty of folks who had the misfortune of quitting their jobs and going "all in" during that awful era... and I don't even remember their names now!

Also, importantly, it's likely that any of us who use the unprecedented success of this era's top achievers as motivation to clear out obligations or move up the risk-reward curve to chase harder starting next year will simply find a similar experience to those who went all in starting in 2017 or 2000. The bottom line is that, no matter how good you get at handling what this stupid hobby throws at you with maturity and grace, we're all just getting buffeted around by brutal luck that varies wildly from one chaser to the next. None of it is close to "fair," even over surprisingly long periods... and knowing you've had a long tenure chasing based on climatologically and meteorologically sound decisions is cold comfort for bad luck or ephemeral bad decisions when it really matters.

I'll wrap up by saying I'm not nearly as apoplectic as this all may have sounded... and the reason is simply because I feel like I've had neutral to somewhat good "luck" the past few years. I wish I'd chased more days that I technically could have (including last Sun-Mon), and I wish I'd made different decisions on several days I did chase. But I've also stumbled into seeing great stuff on days I probably didn't "deserve" to given my thought process... in fact, that describes a scary amount of my success the past few years. My point is simply that it's always amazing and kind of brutal just how far apart that "luck" can be between two fairly similar chasers, since it's usually just a few days per year and a couple years per decade that truly matter.

 

[Sean Ramsey]

Also, importantly, it's likely that any of us who use the unprecedented success of this era's top achievers as motivation to clear out obligations or move up the risk-reward curve to chase harder starting next year will simply find a similar experience to those who went all in starting in 2017 or 2000.

Admittedly the craziness of the last two months has certainly provided motivation to tackle next spring with a renewed fervor, but this statement is exactly the great equalizer that always tempers my expectations coming directly from that era haha.

Now, having put most of my efforts in the window of 2010-2023, as frustratingly inconsistent as it was, I am very proud of what I captured and accomplished during that time. I was there for Rozel, Dodge City, Canadian, Tescott, Moore 2013, El Reno, Lockett part 1 and two, Crowell and many others that I believe other chasers would consider an important part of our history. Hell I even had an image published on a US postage stamp. But, as with anything in life, it's what have you done lately? Rozel was now 12 years ago, Dodge is now 9 years in the past and even Pilger (one I've always regretted missing for obvious reasons) is now been 11 years. I'm still doing ok the last two seasons with my handful of catches, but it's like having stats of a designated hitter who only plays in small part of the games as opposed to the stats of a daily player. For me, if anything is to be gleaned from all of this it's that I gotta get the hell off the sidelines, especially since I worked so hard to have the freedom to chase as much as I want. I really shouldn't be throwing it away like I have been and have paid a hefty penalty in misses by doing so.

 

[JamesCaruso]

My point is simply that it's always amazing and kind of brutal just how far apart that "luck" can be between two fairly similar chasers, since it's usually just a few days per year and a couple years per decade that truly matter.

I was there for Rozel, Dodge City, Canadian, Tescott, Moore 2013, El Reno, Lockett part 1 and two, Crowell and many others that I believe other chasers would consider an important part of our history.

Sadly, Dodge City is the only one on Sean’s list that is also on mine. Worse, I was actually on chase vacations for most of those and it’s my own fault for missing them.

Luck plays a bigger role than many of us - especially those chasers who happen to benefit from it - would like to admit. Even many “bad decisions” that kept me from seeing those events may only be “bad” with the benefit of hindsight.

Bad luck eats away at confidence over time. I’ve been reading The Confident Mind, which I initially picked up to improve my professional performance, but has made me realize the negative thought patterns I have fallen into with chasing, pretty much expecting something to go wrong on every chase. That’s another thing I want to change as I try to shift toward more chasing in the next few years - using my past successes, even the smaller ones, to improve my chasing mindset and confidence.

 

[Todd Lemery]

The technology and science have admittedly made it easier - but still far from easy.

And while it may allow the younger generation to have more *cumulative* success over the course of their careers than we have because they started with all this tech, we are all on a level playing field *right now*. The advantage of the younger chasers comes only from their freedom and youthful energy. I agree with Tony - it’s not about what they are giving up, they are just enjoying their temporary freedom, and may very well have to pivot one day. But at least they are chasing while they can.

Some of us got married and/or started professional careers at younger ages, and never had that window of freedom. So that’s why I want it so badly now, now that the bulk of the family responsibilities are behind me (at least temporarily, because college graduations, elder care, etc.) and now that retirement is in sight. For over two decades I recited the mantra of there being more to life than chasing, which is of course true. But I’m ready to skew it back the other way. I could easily see the misses mounting up and having regrets when I am too old to chase anymore. I see these great events now and keep thinking “someday I’ll be able to be out there more than a lousy two or three weeks.” But the years keep passing and it’s the same old situation. That’s why I’m getting so antsy to make it a reality.

Interesting thought that alludes to what you’re saying James. I started chasing in 1981. It took me 8 years to see my first tornado. I had no idea what I was doing and the lack of access to any data made my ignorance worse. Unless someone doesn’t even try, I think it would be hard to replicate that level of failure nowadays. You can be strictly an SPC chaser and have a bunch of success. I can’t fairly equate my years of nothing as a beginner chaser to someone who has recently started chasing with more information on a phone than what launched men to the moon.
As far as the awesomeness of being retired and chasing darn near everything, I’m retired and still manage to keep my schedule full of chase killing events. When you retire it’s probably a good idea to do a better job than me of keeping at least May and June free of anything that you can reasonably get out of. It’s better than watching big events from afar because I wasn’t wise enough to just say no once in a while.

 

[John Farley]

For me, if anything is to be gleaned from all of this it's that I gotta get the hell off the sidelines, especially since I worked so hard to have the freedom to chase as much as I want. I really shouldn't be throwing it away like I have been and have paid a hefty penalty in misses by doing so.

The reality is that it is always harder to clear your schedule than you hope, especially if you are trying to keep it clear for the entire time from, say, May through July. I have been retired for 19 years now. And most of those years I probably chased about the same number of days as I did before I retired. However, I have had better success, in large part because it gave me more freedom to be able to go out for multiple days during good patterns. That was hard to do during my working days as a college professor, when you have to be there for your classes, meetings, etc. So now I have more flexibility and have had somewhat more success, but I do not chase more, even though I thought I would. The reason for that is that work was only one part of my life outside chasing. There are still a lot of scheduled events, I still have a wife, extended family, and friends. These things are just as important as chasing to me, if not more so, so there are still going to be times when I can't chase no matter how good the setup. So more flexibility, but not unlimited. And at nearly 76, I just can't do the long-haul drives and lack of sleep like I could when I was younger. I guess what I am saying is that the kind of unlimited flexibility like Sean, James Caruso, and others have expressed as a goal is in fact very hard to come by. You might be able to do it for a while, but it is hard to do for three or four months. After messing up on this the past couple years, I did much better this year at keeping May free so I could chase whenever I wanted. However, May sucked for the most part, at least in the regions where I chase. So aside from one pleasant local chase in NM and a botch of the Arnett day, I had pretty much nothing that month in terms of traditional chase experiences. Fortunately, two good things happened that more than compensated for this. First, in early May I experienced an unusual stretch of local storms with winter precipitation - thundersnow day after day, and the rare combination of snow and hail at the same time on multiple days. Not everyone's cup of tea, I know, but I love thundersnow chasing almost as much as tornado chasing. Second, I had just enough of an opening in my post-May schedule to have a nice stretch in early June that made my season better than any in several years, including a 6-tornado day in NM and TX on June 5. But it doesn't change the fact that, even if you are retired, it is very hard to keep your schedule clear for 3 or 4 months unless you have no family, no social life, and no organizational involvement. And even if you do manage to clear a month, there is no guarantee that that will be an active period that gives you a lot of opportunity. So I guess what I am trying to convey here is the belief that you will have unlimited time to chase once you retire or enter empty-nester status is probably unrealistic, unless you are prepared to make a lot of sacrifices in order to chase. And if you do make that sacrifice, mess-ups and regrets can be just as much a part of the picture as awesome tornado days. Because that is how chasing is.

 

[John Farley]

At least from my perspective, I think that the levels of collaboration have probably been the same through the generations. The competitive aspects and closed circles of info sharing have always been a thing (CFDG, etc) but the spirit of helping each other has been there, too. That's part of the legacy of this very forum and web site. This place was just as hopping in the 1990s and 2000s as what we see today on social media.

When I was first learning how to chase the Plains, I craved every bit of info I could get. A part of me was bummed I wasn't included in the 'elite' chaser circles to glean from their expertise. But I also see how that would result in them giving away many times hard-earned, valuable and privileged information (like the day's chase target). I didn't really deserve to just be handed that on a silver platter. I had to go out there and learn a lot of the craft on my own to get to where they were. I'm thankful for that now.

It's hard to *not* chase solo, especially if you're still maintaining other aspects of life (family, job, etc). Adding another person's schedule and their other limitations to the mix has a huge impact on what you're able to do (like sleep in your car to save money on hotels, as one example). I used to have chase partners up until 2006. It was just so hard to have a big pattern coincide with others' ability to get time off, drop everything and go. We were lucky to have one 5-day stretch in a season that everyone could make an entire trip together, and good luck on a nice period of flow on the Plains happening during that time. Chasing with other 'hardcore' chasers wasn't easy either, as we were all coming from different parts of the country. There was never a meet-up place that didn't mean an extra 8-10 hour drive for at least one of us to get back to our cars afterward.

This is a good discussion, maybe warranting a break off into it's own "Chasing across the generations" thread?

I usually chase solo, for the same reasons Dan outlines above. As to levels of collaboration, I mostly agree - although I really don't follow the Youitubers much, I would guess that the collaboration among groups of them is not much different from CFDG and some "chase teams" in the past. However, one thing I have noticed the last season or two is that there seems to be noticeably less in the way of forecast discussions here on ST. OK, there were quite a few early in the season, but from mid-May on, they really tailed off. For example, I cannot find any EVENT thread at all for June 5, despite the fact that tons of us had our eyes on that day and planned to chase. Back in the earlier days of ST online, there were good forecast discussions for most of the major chase days and even for some of the lesser ones. And (showing my age) back in the days of the WX-CHASE email list, there was a lot of forecast discussion, too.

I suppose some of the recent falloff reflects a fall-off of enthusiasm after the first few early days that look good, and perhaps also disappointment with underperforming setups like Oklahoma in mid-May. But I would guess a bigger part of it is the increased prevalence of big chaser jams, and a desire of people not to attract more chasers to where they are planning to chase. I know I have been influenced by that concern a couple times this year. I would be inclined to guess that is the biggest reason for less discussion of forecast setups in recent years, and it is a legitimate concern. Take that away, and it would probably not be much different from the past. That concern is not entirely new, but it does seem enhanced by the increased prevalence of big chaser jams in recent years.

One other thought - I really preferred the old categories in Target Area where there was one place for forecast discussions and another for post-event discussions. I wonder whether, if we brought that back, it might encourage more in the way of forecast discussions.