Anyone wanna help out a new chaser?

[Evan Hawkins]

I've been studying meteorology for a while now (from a distance) and I wanna start actually chasing, the problem is, I don't know where to start, I already have a truck picked out and owned (2012 dodge ram dually [3500]). I want to turn the truck into a chase vehicle, I have a vision but I'm not sure if it would work (I'm a twister fan and want to remake the dodge from the new movie) I also want to remake a working replica of Dorothy from twister. Would anyone be able to point me in the right direction, thank you, please reply whenever possible, I'm in a pickle here.

 

[Evan Hawkins]

also if anyone wants to email me please do so here: [email protected]

 

[John Farley]

IMHO how fancy a chase vehicle you have is the last thing a new chaser should be worrying about. What is much more important is to learn as much as you can about weather, storm dynamics, understanding what is going around you, and forecasting. You don't have to be a great forecaster starting out, but you should try to understand as best you can what are the conditions and processes behind forecasts you see. There are lots of good resources for this in various parts of StormTrack, and I would also encourage you to read as many chase report threads as you can, to get some sense of what actually occurs out in the field. Going out a few times with more experienced chasers before you go yourself and/or starting out with a knowledgeable chase partner can also help. If you do these things, you can chase with most kinds of vehicles; if you do not, the fanciest most decked-out chase vehicle will do you no good.

 

[Todd Lemery]

I second John on everything he said. What I would add is to keep a safe distance from the storms until you get comfortable understanding what the storm is doing, how is it developing, moving and being able to identify the storm’s features.
I personally believe it’s much safer chasing with a partner. There’s a lot going on while driving and having someone keeping tabs of everything helps prevent you from taking your eyes off the road.

 

[Luke Penney]

I’m a newer chaser myself (i.e., take what I say with a grain of salt, but I’ve also done the get-started-with-storm-chasing experience myself in the last two years).

I’d agree that the details of the vehicle isn’t the most important thing – in general, the main thing you need your vehicle to do is get you where you want to be.

What I’d start with is:

• In the days beforehand, how do you know where conditions are likely to be good?
  • (E.g., learning how to use weather-forecast models. The SPC can also give you a high-level overview, but do note that they’re looking for somewhat different things than storm chasers are, and they aren’t always right. You just need a computer/phone as hardware for this.)
• Day-of, how do you know what to plan for and where to go?
  • (E.g., the above, plus radar, satellite, and analysis of current conditions.)
• On the chase itself, how do you know what’s going on with the storms and where you should be?
  • (Live radar is extremely useful, and I found it was worth my money to pay for a quality app for this [RadarScope], whereas all the other software I currently use is free. Also, mesoanalysis and satellite, like above. You’ll need cellular data or similar to be able to use these while driving around.)

The hardware requirements that are truly necessary are small: I’ve gone chasing with just a car and a smartphone before. (But if you’re wanting more-advanced things, you’ll have to talk to someone more experienced than me.)

You can practice a lot of this “virtually” when the interesting weather is all far away from you – use the tools to forecast where good chase conditions might be, and plan what you’d do if you were there (e.g., what locations you’d try to drive to, how you’d approach the chase).

 

[Jason Boggs]

Don't worry about fixing your car up. Worry about learning to identify storm structure, storm safety, and save money to BE ABLE to chase! No need in having a look at me car to do this with.

 

[Warren Faidley]

My suggestion is NOT to go out on your own. Find someone in your area who has good experience around storms. Maybe a local storm spotter. Trust me, it will be safer more enjoyable and a lot less stressful. I believe this site has a thread for finding chase partners, to share fuel costs, etc. Don't forget that large hail will destroy a vehicle.

 

[Evan Hawkins]

Thank you all for the responses so far these help a lot