Chasing blizzards - what's the point?

[Dan Robinson]

After all, rainbows are really pretty - they are just too common.

Strange as it sounds, I've done a few rainbow 'chases' in order to get still shots over city skylines and landmarks like the Gateway Arch. To get a good rainbow in a particular spot like that is actually pretty rare. The biggest and most vivid ones are close to sunset, and usually only happen when the trailing stratiform precip of a line of storms has clear skies right behind it. And then you need the storm to move through 30 minutes or so before sunset. Too early, and the rain moves out too soon. Too late and the sun can't break through before it dips below the horizon. Then you need it to happen at the right time of year so the sun angle puts the rainbow in a good spot in the sky for the composition you want. To my knowledge there have only been two or three such events over St. Louis in the past 5 years. I try to keep tabs on when those conditions come together over downtown, and have only caught one good one in 5 years.

But yeah, if you follow right behind a squall line or supercell, you'll see a lot of great rainbows over open fields. It's just getting one to happen where you want one takes forecasting and 'chasing'.

 

[Jason Foster]

LOVE SNOW!

Like others have mentioned it is more the interaction and being "in the thick of it" much like a hurricane. Obviously different monster than a hurricane, but there are some parallels. Tornado chasing is about a special subset of skills that follow forecasting, navigation, negotiation, and instinct. Much of that is not needed for snow storms (or hurricanes). Survival modes, preparation, patience, and most fascinating to me, the human impact element (storytelling).

The "chasing" is there, but not so much for a particular meteorological aspect (aside from squall lines, lake effect bands, etc.) but there certainly is a matter of challenge to A)stay mobile and B)not freezing to death. That is pretty fun. I've failed and succeeded in both realms. Well...not fully to death but I have well overdone the cold while film.

Speaking of streaming, back before SS and CTV, I did a number of winter snow streams on Livestream (or Mogolus as it was called at the time). Very popular. I later had someone say it reminded them (a stretch in my mind) of Les Stroud's show "Survivorman". But I get it...as it was about dealing with the extreme conditions. Funniest part though was constantly getting stopped and searched by various DC police agencies (Secret Service, Capitol Police, Metropolitan Police) each storm. It almost was a side joke (but added viewership) that....OK, when is Jason gonna get pulled over now.

 

[John Farley]

Being both a chaser and a skier, I've got to chime in on this one. I have always loved a good winter storm, even before I took up skiing. And one of the things I like about skiing, as I said in a thread I recently started in the Winter Weather section of ST, is that being in the mountains allows you to observe a lot of intense winter weather. One nice thing about my current neck of the woods (northern NM and southern CO) is the frequency of thundersnow - usually an event or two, sometimes more, over the course of the winter. And unlike Midwestern and Eastern thundersnow (except lake effect), it often occurs in isolated or localized cells, more like summer storms than the thundersnow that occurs in synoptic-scale winter weather events in the Midwest and East. Once in a while you can even get shots of CG lightning associated with snow or graupel, an event that is probably even more rare than a tornado.

Occasionally when skiing on a day with potential for one of these events, I will spend part of the day hanging out on parts of the mountain with good views of the incoming weather. Cuts down on skiing, but often results in some good winter weather structure shots. A good strong snow squall can look a lot like a summer thunderstorm. I have never done any long-distance drives to chase winter weather events, but if I had lived somewhere closer to Buffalo I probably would have gone for that massive lake effect snow event earlier this winter. IMHO, seeing an event like that would surpass a low-contrast, rain-wrapped tornado any day.

 

[Chris Heater]

I will also make fun of anyone who live streams a blizzard. I can't believe anyone would pay to see a screen full of gray/white with, at best, very fuzzy detail, and essentially, a video with no texture or real content. Take a still shot with a decent camera - that will tell the story much better than any video.

Surprisingly enough - I sold a live stream during the blizzard in Chicago this year. It all depends on what your pointing at and how interesting you make it. In this particular case - the selling point was a good sized blizzard to Chicago standards and the fact my live stream was, according to those watching it, crystal clear and high definition. Part of that was likely because Chicago is a 4G XLTE area. Was my main reason for being up there to live stream conditions for others to watch? Of course not - it was for my enjoyment and it was a blast to be out there witnessing a blizzard in a metro area. It was an added bonus to show those conditions off to anyone watching WNTV or my live stream

 

[Alex Heimberger]

Understand most reasons to go out and chase a blizzard. Just not my cup of tea. Don't get me wrong, love some snow. Rather be thrashing it on a snowboard then driving or getting video of it. Fresh powder's bees knees.

 

[Steve Miller]

I'll admit right now that I have made more money off winter video than I ever have off tornado video. I do not chase snow though, it tends to chase me.

1. I'm in an area where snow and ice are rare so it makes for great news stories.
2. Snow events are long enough in general that media will carry a live feed nearly every time, in addition to taking in stock footage.
3. The island effect happens here once or twice per winter. The island effect is when a winter storm occurs and no one can get in or out of the area. Video becomes even more valuable.

 

[Shawn Kellogg]

I'm with you, but I live in a major lake effect area (Northern Mi.) so it has never been a thrill unless we get a couple of feet

 

[Dan Robinson]

Winter weather footage paid for a lot of my chasing between 2004 and 2009. I haven't been doing as well with it this year despite hustling to cover most events that have hit around STL.