Advice for First Time Chasers in the US Plains

[Kyle Brittain]

(Apologies if this topic has been addressed at length elsewhere and I have missed it - if so, please refer me to the appropriate thread.)

I post this not so much because I am entirely unaware of what chasing is like in the US Plains, but so that seasoned veterans could possibly weigh in on what a person should expect about chasing there who hasn't before. I have been chasing on and off in Alberta, Canada since 2001, so I would consider myself an experienced chaser in a local sense, and I also have a good base of meteorological knowledge for forecasting severe weather in terms of choosing chase targets. Chasing in Alberta would presumably be like high plains chasing in the states, with great visibility for viewing our many occurrences of LP supercells, large hail, generally higher-based storms, and therefore infrequent tornadoes. Some are supercellular, but many are landspouts.

The common things we hear in Canada (and particularly Alberta) about Plains chasing are:
- Storms are generally more intense due to better ingredients (ie. far more low level moisture availability, the EML, etc), and therefore tornadoes are more frequent (with a higher number of strong and violent tornadoes)...though you're still not guaranteed to see one
- Chaser convergences are much worse due to the far greater amount of folks out there chasing (some knowledgeable, some not so much), and therefore driving conditions can be far more dangerous
- Be careful where you eat and sleep, as many small town hotels/motels are filthy and infested with bed bugs, and a bad choice of food from a questionable source could see you laid out sick for days

It sounds exciting, but the above could make some apprehensive. To what extent are these (and other considerations) true? What would you say to chaser with experience elsewhere coming to the Plains for the first time?

I am excited to be coming to Chasercon in OKC this January, and will be joining a May storm chase tour with COD, so I am hoping these will be a good primer on what to expect. However, I would like to chase independently in the area afterwards as well.

 

[James Gustina]

It's a good thing you're going with COD this upcoming May, they will keep you away from crap hotels and crap food. I'll just go point by point to answer your questions.

1. There are absolutely no guarantees on the Plains of what you're going to see. As for the storms, it just depends on the day. The Canadian prairies get storms of equal intensity on a semi-frequent basis during the summer months but Plains supercells barring the freaks tend to be pretty consistent. The danger comes from the ability of supercells to rapidly change in a matter of minutes but thankfully sticky situations can be avoided because of the mostly gridded road network everywhere west of the cross timbers (I-35 basically).

2. This also depends on the day, part of the Plains and the setup's quality. A moderate risk in central Kansas or central Oklahoma on a Saturday in May will be an absolute zoo. A slight risk on a dryline in northeast Colorado in mid-June is usually a good bet to be a lot less crowded. Being a defensive driver is key, especially on the big southern Plains days due to not only road conditions but the sheer volume of morons on the roads at one time. Essentially what I'm getting at is that April and May on the central/southern Plains will likely always be crowded. Later in the season or out onto the High Plains is where the volume decreases rapidly because you're away from population centers/people who are willing to only go an hour or two or you're later in the year when a lot of people have expended all their vacation time.

3. The bed bug problem is real but not to an insane extent. Knowing which brands of hotels to pick and making sure to do a thorough check at non-chains (and lower-end chains) in small towns will make sure you survive just fine. Most of the time, you can usually get into a town near an interstate and find a nice Holiday Inn or the like without any problem. Most High Plains towns (La Junta, Dodge City, Limon, Ogallala, etc.) off the beaten path are still significant enough to have your standard hotel fare. With food, you just have to use your head and also look around for recommendations from other chasers on where to check out. You don't need to keep a comprehensive list, just ask around and you'll usually find someone who knows the area well enough to give you a good spot to chow down.

As for my own advice:
- Make sure you always bring a friend. You may think you're up to the task of a 6-7 hour drive both ways, but the driving gets dangerous even on major interstates after a certain point of being on the road.

- This is a classic one, but don't get "tunnel vision" for a tornado. The RFD, hail, and unnoticed circulations can sneak up on you if you're not paying attention.

- Bring a first aid kit. Not for others necessarily but yourself. I have stepped on prairie barbs and other various objects before and not having something to clean it/cover it is not pleasant.

 

[Todd Lemery]

I'm not sure what kind of dirt you have in Alberta, but don't be too quick to jump down a dirt side road if it's wet, even a if you have 4-wheel drive. On some of these roads you'll be sliding around more than a slab of butter on a hot griddle. The clay down there can be horrendous and not much will end your chasing for the day like having your vehicle stuck in a ditch.
Also, because there's a decent chance of the roads being flooded with chasers, you'll want to take extra care to find a spot to view from that isn't going to interfere with normal traffic flow. You won't make many friends impeding traffic.