Some great advice given already.
Beyond all the other specifics I could mention, I suggest having the right general mindset near and around storms is the most important thing you can learn.
Enjoy the whole process from forecast to driving to busts. Don't get upset at the busts and have fun no matter what. Gradually and deliberately increase your skills by taking off little pieces in a safe and controlled manner. For example, don't park in front of a tornado producing super cell on a high risk day like I did on my second chase. Don't chase spotter icons or do things because a group does.
Above all, close to storms- always have situational awareness of these key factors properly prioritized:
1.) Road safety and courtesy: safe and courteous driving and parking above all else, period, no matter what is happening with the storm. Don't become a yahoo chaser being rude aggressive or otherwise dumb. Those types get people annoyed, hurt, or killed.
2.) Storm proximity and dynamic awareness: is a supercell bearing down on you with huge hail and a tornado? How long do you have before you are hit by the storm? Where in the storm visually are hazards, and what are the hazards? Where are your safe outs at each moment? This should not require technology- this should be constantly assessed and loaded into your brain based upon reading visuals and perhaps input from technology but never reliant on technology working to be safe.
3) Technology: is radar current, forecast, nowcast, surface obs, etc.
If you do chase alone, remember to be extra cautious, to the point of missing storms for safety. Only do one thing at a time the proper way- drive, stop and then look at radar or computer, etc. Even a quick glance can lead to catastrophe. Over time if you have the right mindset and always remember you or others could be killed by distractions, you can learn how to lightly multitask, but really as has been said, solo chasing is tough and not nearly as safe as a team approach. When I chase alone, I just dial way down my capability set and have a firm set of rules on how to be safe doing all the tasks. I generally stay back a bit further too to give myself time to deal with navigating, forecasting, radar, etc.
Chasing with people will help you in many ways from sharing the workload and long haul drives, learn what things look like much faster- hail cores, downbursts, wall clouds, meso rotation, collar clouds, inflow tails, gustnadoes, outlfow, RFD. All this takes a while to learn to spot visually. You also may have more fun, depending. I do about half solo and half team chasing these days.
Beyond all the other specifics I could mention, I suggest having the right general mindset near and around storms is the most important thing you can learn.
Enjoy the whole process from forecast to driving to busts. Don't get upset at the busts and have fun no matter what. Gradually and deliberately increase your skills by taking off little pieces in a safe and controlled manner. For example, don't park in front of a tornado producing super cell on a high risk day like I did on my second chase. Don't chase spotter icons or do things because a group does.
Above all, close to storms- always have situational awareness of these key factors properly prioritized:
1.) Road safety and courtesy: safe and courteous driving and parking above all else, period, no matter what is happening with the storm. Don't become a yahoo chaser being rude aggressive or otherwise dumb. Those types get people annoyed, hurt, or killed.
2.) Storm proximity and dynamic awareness: is a supercell bearing down on you with huge hail and a tornado? How long do you have before you are hit by the storm? Where in the storm visually are hazards, and what are the hazards? Where are your safe outs at each moment? This should not require technology- this should be constantly assessed and loaded into your brain based upon reading visuals and perhaps input from technology but never reliant on technology working to be safe.
3) Technology: is radar current, forecast, nowcast, surface obs, etc.
If you do chase alone, remember to be extra cautious, to the point of missing storms for safety. Only do one thing at a time the proper way- drive, stop and then look at radar or computer, etc. Even a quick glance can lead to catastrophe. Over time if you have the right mindset and always remember you or others could be killed by distractions, you can learn how to lightly multitask, but really as has been said, solo chasing is tough and not nearly as safe as a team approach. When I chase alone, I just dial way down my capability set and have a firm set of rules on how to be safe doing all the tasks. I generally stay back a bit further too to give myself time to deal with navigating, forecasting, radar, etc.
Chasing with people will help you in many ways from sharing the workload and long haul drives, learn what things look like much faster- hail cores, downbursts, wall clouds, meso rotation, collar clouds, inflow tails, gustnadoes, outlfow, RFD. All this takes a while to learn to spot visually. You also may have more fun, depending. I do about half solo and half team chasing these days.
