A Free Thunderstorm/Tornado/Storm Chasing Guide

[Jeremy Den Hartog]

Hello,
Being that I'm new here, I figured I'd make my first post useful (hopefully at least) . A couple years ago I made a basic guide for thunderstorms, tornadoes, and storm chasing that originally I was going to sell to help fund my storm chasing expeditions - but I never really did. Please note, this is a basic guide geared towards newer people to the world of storm chasing, etc. Also, I should mention, since the guide is a couple years old, the Fujita scale information has since changed and has not been updated to the new 'enhanced' scale in the guide and some of the other info may be a bit dated now too.

Anyhow, here is the guide:
http://www.mankatoforum.com/ultimate_weather_guide.pdf

 

[Jason Harris]

Nice presentation Jeremy: great pics, diagrams, and some facts I hadn't heard before like the tornado 45 minutes in the SD cornfield, the "rings" inside hail, but isn't the claim that "no wind instrument" has taken a direct hit something that should be updated also besides the EF scale? I've read that account before and always found it fascinating-of the farmer "Will Keller" looking up seeing the lightning criss-crossing the tornado and wonder if there were external observations of this tornado as well as his "internal" one and which tornado this was historically? Sounds like a multi-vortex eh? P. 22 needs spelling changed from "loose" to "lose" (their lives.). I wonder how many people have violated the "never chase alone" rule you mention? (I have for one, though not in tornado alley, only in MI/FL, and usually I've been lucky enough to communicate with someone reliable on the phone for tips with radar updates etc. since I still don't have a cell plan for chasing).

Seems like that pdf is something that maybe your skywarn group or other spotter-related groups would appreciate?

 

[Damon Poole]

Severe Weather Guide

Excellent Job! That's one of the best guides I've seen in quite a while. Two Thumbs Up!

 

[Jeremy Den Hartog]

Thaanks guys - glad you liked it

 

[Darrin Rasberry]

Good primer! Might want to update it to the EF-scale, though, and I'm not exactly sure whether those F-ratings on "tornado types" are entirely accurate.

 

[Jeremy Den Hartog]

Good primer! Might want to update it to the EF-scale, though, and I'm not exactly sure whether those F-ratings on "tornado types" are entirely accurate.

Thanks, and yes you are right - they probably aren't to accurate. I considered removing them or should at least have mentioned they are just 'guesstimates' and that any size tornado can cause any level of damage.

 

[Darren Addy]

Nice work! I wasn't expecting such a professional looking layout/graphic design.

 

[Scott Nelson]

Great job Jeremy!!! Very professional. Looking forward to my son reading this as well.

 

[Larry J. Kosch]

Great job on the primer!! I'm adding my two-bits to those that mentioned updating the EF tornado scale. You may want to add a section on how Doppler Radar has progressed over the years (DOW trucks, etc>). I have seen that series "Storm Chasers" on the Discovery Channel. I'm curious as to whether that film-maker guy ever got that "money shot"? LJK.

 

[MatthewCarman]

Great job on the primer!! I'm adding my two-bits to those that mentioned updating the EF tornado scale. You may want to add a section on how Doppler Radar has progressed over the years (DOW trucks, etc>). I have seen that series "Storm Chasers" on the Discovery Channel. I'm curious as to whether that film-maker guy ever got that "money shot"? LJK.

Not yet. Sean Casey will have to try again this year.

Keep up the good work Jeremy.

 

[Scott Bilyou]

I'm new to this, so this will be a help to me. Thank you for making this available.

 

[Jeremy Den Hartog]

Thanks for the kind words and suggestions - I'm seriously considering updating and adding content and then given it away for free again here. Anyone interested in helping out?

 

[Greg Blumberg]

I really enjoyed your guide. It's basic and is very, very understandable which is awesome. Occasionally guides go way over people's heads when they read them. For me communication is key, and you have got that. Another thunderstorm ingredient you might want to add is shear, however that can get complex when determining types of thunderstorms.

BTW, where did you get that large picture of the supercell from the side? That's absolutely beautiful. Do you have a copy for backgrounds?

 

[Chris Kennedy]

Excellent Work!!! More reading material I love it!

 

[J West]

That's a good document...excellent format. Update it a bit and turn it lose again.