Chasing without radar technologies

[Ryan Sandberg]

I am fairly new to storm chasing but have been researching all I can about severe weather. I am really excited to chase this spring/summer around my region (SD, ND, NE, MN, IA) but I can't afford the data plans to be able to have internet on my laptop while chasing. I also do not have a smart phone. I know that before these technologies, chasers were still able to intercept storms and get great chases. I have a NOAA weather radio that I plan on bringing with me while chasing to help me out as well as road maps to navigate.

What advice is there for someone like me, who can't afford those technologies right now, to still have successful chases?

 

[ELY M.]

wifi is everywhere nowdays and it is possible to bring laptop with you and check the radar, weather models, and soundings on your trip.
in those areas you are planning to target are likely to have wifi available.
Hyvee foods and macys and many other stores have free wifi.
even some gas stations have wifi too.

 

[rdale]

If start by taking a few years to not chase and instead observe from home. Much safer start.

 

[Travis Davis]

I saw my first three tornados without any data. I also saw my best tornado (4-14-2012 near Waynoka, OK) without data due to the network being unavailable / bogged down. Data is nice to have to look at Sat and radar data, but you can manage good by getting on storms in a target area or listening to spotter reports ect to get on a good one.

 

[Alex Heimberger]

Mcdonalds has wifi & pretty sure most libraries have usable computers with internet now-a-days. It would be good to check out a skywarn class in the next few months. You can learn some basics & get certified as a trained spotter. Also, get a nifty handbook that can travel with you in the vehicle. There's also great storm chaser tours. The tour could help out learning some basic stuff too. They can be pricey though.

 

[Bob Hartig]

Try to hook up with an experienced chaser. Seriously. That way you can not only experience storms without compromising your safety, but you can also learn much faster. If you choose to chase by yourself and you're going strictly by visual, then keep enough distance between you and the storm that you can get a sense of the big picture (i.e. the storm structure) and have enough time to make smart decisions.

 

[Ryan Sandberg]

I guess I didn't think about all the public places that have wifi. At least I would be able to check up on situations as I went along.

I am going to a Skywarn class in a few weeks and am excited to become a certified spotter. I am almost finished taking notes and reading "The Storm Chaser Handbook" and am going on a tour this summer as well. I am doing everything in my power to better my knowledge and experience.

I would love to hook up with a more experienced chaser and ride along with them. My hopes are to meet more people that chase so I can network and get opportunities to go out with more knowledgable chasers.

 

[Skip Talbot]

Bob hit the nail on the head. You are absolutely going to want to team with other people. I'm not trying to be discouraging, but honestly data is cheap compared to other chase expenses. A month's worth of data costs as much as a single tank of gas, and a tank of gas doesn't get you that far on a chase. I think you can blow a lot more money on gas than you would have on data by driving around and not having a good idea what's going on around you with that snapshot view radar can provide. More importantly, I think you could spend even more money chasing without the knowledge and experience needed to utilize these tools and chase effectively. You can overcome these difficulties by learning the ropes and chasing with somebody who does have experience and an efficient chase setup. Many of us didn't have that luxury when we started out, and went out there with no data by ourselves. Chasing legends of decades past had numerous great chase days without data. They, and we beginners learning by trial and error, busted A LOT, however. If money is tight, don't quickly blow it all on the most expensive facets of chasing (gas, food, lodging) if you can split them with somebody who does have the tools you're missing.

 

[Ryan Sandberg]

Thanks Skip. I am avidly trying to get myself out there and find someone or a group that is more experienced to ride with. I might have to look into all that data plan stuff a little more as I become more experienced. I am hoping to connect with other chasers around the Minneapolis area where I live, or possibly a little further out, who would be willing to help teach me the ropes and become more experienced with storm chasing. I am fully aware of how much effort is needed on my part and am willing to do anything I can to become a more successful, experienced chaser.

 

[Bob Hartig]

Wifi is nice in a pinch, but it's not mobile data, and storms are mobile processes that change constantly. By the time you get a radar update in severe storm mode, the image is already at least 4 1/2 minutes old. In that time, a storm moving at 40 mph will have progressed three miles downshear from what the image shows--and that's provided you get a timely update. Moreover, the storm will have morphed substantially. This isn't to discourage taking advantage of wifi, just to say that its most practical value is probably in the preliminary stage when maybe you're sitting at a library or a McDonalds, waiting for storms to fire. Once you target a storm and leave your location, the last scan's usefulness deteriorates rapidly, and you're still just chasing visually. From there on, all you've got to go by is your knowledge of storm morphology and your ability to read the sky--which, if you're new, is pretty sketchy.

Back in the day when everyone didn't have mobile data, there was a practice called nowcasting. You could call a fellow chaser who was at home, watching the storms and how they were behaving on his or her computer, and that person would provide a set of radar eyes, guide you toward a likely storm, and otherwise help you make decisions in the field. That's a handy option to remember.

ADDENDUM: Posted this and then saw Skip's new post. Bang, that says it.

 

[Ryan Sandberg]

Thanks Bob. That is true that public wifi would only allow me to get a rough idea of where storms are located. If I do not end up buying data, nowcasting might turn out to be a useful option for me. My goal for this upcoming season is not necessarily to get on a tornado, but to get familiar with getting on a storm and getting myself in the right position as well as meet other chasers that could potentially help me learn more. If I see a tornado, that will be a bonus!

 

[Marcus Diaz]

Data is overrated. Learn to forecast then live and die by it. Visual chasing is great when conditions allow it. I usually visual chase in the summer when the storms are crawling.

 

[Jeff Duda]

The bottom line: You CAN chase without mobile data. But, you will probably have much less success than those who do have mobile data. Even the best forecast in the world (made at, say, 9 AM the day of), can still lead to no sightings of anything (forecasting skills can only reasonably narrow a target down to perhaps a few-county area at best).

I saw very few tornadoes during the two years when I chased without data. I managed to get to Grand Island on June 17, 2009 just as the supercell was getting there, but only because I saw it on radar from Lincoln and it was moving slowly enough that I had time to drive 100 miles west to get to it. My target was Beatrice that day and an early day MCS killed that area.

 

[Sean Ramsey]

Chasing without data is a little tougher as far as success rates go, but where data is important is when you're in an HP storm with little to no visibility and you have no way of telling what is going on 50 yards ahead, beside or behind you. This has happened a couple of times to me in the past, either when data has dropped or in chasing without data which I did years ago and you end up relying on all that reading and studying of storm behavior that you've done up to that point. It's not a fun feeling when you can't see two feet in front of you with the possibility of driving into a wedge and not even knowing it.

 

[Alex Heimberger]

I am hoping to connect with other chasers around the Minneapolis area where I live, or possibly a little further out, who would be willing to help teach me the ropes and become more experienced with storm chasing. ]

Always welcome to give us a holler. Believe we're 4 hours away from Minneapolis area. Not the most experienced chaser on the planet, but we'll be out there. Getting first aid/cpr certified in a few weeks, so that's always good to have. Could always caravan.