Mike Krzywonski
Since this thread has turned into a discussion about inverters, can anyone recommend one for a rental car?
-
While Stormtrack has discontinued its hosting of SpotterNetwork support on the forums, keep in mind that support for SpotterNetwork issues is available by emailing [email protected].
Chasing Correctly
- Thread starter James Wilson
- Start date
Skip Talbot
EF5
I think it is Dustin (maybe he'll pipe up), who uses an inverter in a rental. Not sure which one he is using, but he puts alligator clips on the battery terminals and feeds the wire in through the driver side door near the side mirror. He says it works well, the cable is tight, and doesn't leak.
John MacKay
EF2
Mostly, one needs to study storm structure so you know what you are actually looking at. Storm spotter classes were going into much more detail on storm structure just as I was leaving KS. That's generally a quick way of learning from a book-level point of view.
The second thing is to know the movements of the storms you are chasing so you can position yourself in a way you have both escape routes (in case of a right-turn on a supercell) and chase routes. A weather radio and an atlas go a long way in directing one to a storm and keeping you out of danger.
But, another big part of success is to have some radar image so you can see other storms outside the weather radio's coverage area and what storm looks the most promising (look at it as a starting point of reference, but use your knowledge after that). And if you don't have that, have access to someone with storm knowledge and a radar image to give you that information. I wouldn't have seen the Galatia tornado (May 24, same storm as the LaCrosse tornado) if I didn't have my sister call with radar information from a local TV station.
The piece generally leading to my demise has been lack of radar in the field and refusal to drive suspect gravel roads. There are scenarios (such as May 5th, 2007 where I was nowcasting for a fellow chaser) where a bunch of junk (non-severe up to borderline severe storms) develops in the morning and leaves a cloud deck that makes detecting the right storm impossible without radar (since you can't see how high the storm clouds go and the intensity of them).
Regardless of all of this advice, the best thing is to go out on many chases and learn from any mistakes you make. Your chase history is important in making more correct decisions in going after a storm (or choosing which one to go after).
The second thing is to know the movements of the storms you are chasing so you can position yourself in a way you have both escape routes (in case of a right-turn on a supercell) and chase routes. A weather radio and an atlas go a long way in directing one to a storm and keeping you out of danger.
But, another big part of success is to have some radar image so you can see other storms outside the weather radio's coverage area and what storm looks the most promising (look at it as a starting point of reference, but use your knowledge after that). And if you don't have that, have access to someone with storm knowledge and a radar image to give you that information. I wouldn't have seen the Galatia tornado (May 24, same storm as the LaCrosse tornado) if I didn't have my sister call with radar information from a local TV station.
The piece generally leading to my demise has been lack of radar in the field and refusal to drive suspect gravel roads. There are scenarios (such as May 5th, 2007 where I was nowcasting for a fellow chaser) where a bunch of junk (non-severe up to borderline severe storms) develops in the morning and leaves a cloud deck that makes detecting the right storm impossible without radar (since you can't see how high the storm clouds go and the intensity of them).
Regardless of all of this advice, the best thing is to go out on many chases and learn from any mistakes you make. Your chase history is important in making more correct decisions in going after a storm (or choosing which one to go after).
James Wilson
EF5
I really apreciate all the advice, i will use it all to do it correctly.
Similar threads
