Could you do it?

[Shane Adams]

IMO nobody who started in the age of home internet could. The guys who used to kickass consistently in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s did it without the benefit of being able to sit on their arse all the night before and soak up data. Even those chasers who don't use toys in the field still depend on the internet at home for their very lives. make no mistake about it, chasing was way harder and required way more skill from about 1993 and earlier, before the internet was common in homes.

Guys like Gene Moore, Jim Leonard, Tim Marshall, Jeff Piotrowski, Bobby Prentice, and others...they had consistent success without the benefit of internet. Anyone can see tornadoes with all the mobile toys available now. Any chaser who knows their stuff can see tornadoes without the toys, if they have internet access the night before. But how many of us who started after 1993 could do it without having internet at home? I'd say none.

 

[Jason Foster]

How about a challenge

Maybe some of us could step forward in 2010 and say we will chase the entire season without any mobile internet. Make it a challenge and see how we do. I'd be up for that in 2010....not this upcoming year though.

 

[mikedeason]

IMO nobody who started in the age of home internet could...

...But how many of us who started after 1993 could do it without having internet at home? I'd say none.

I'll disagree in so much as the observational and forecast data was still available in pre internet days to the hard core chasers who either had the money to afford delivery methods, visited NWS offices, Flight Service Stations or other organizations which had the data or they worked as a meteorologist or met tech and had data access that way. Granted, the data has increased in accuracy as well as temporal and spatial resolution and is available much sooner than in the old days. But I still don't believe most (I won't say all) chasers in the pre-internet days lived in a meteorological vacuum, devoid of access to data to soak up.

I think the real difference today is in the easy availibility of short fuse, near real time and "nowcast" information. I know when I started it didn't matter if I spent the night before looking at data and model runs (which I had available through my job at the time, not the internet) or I just got up out of bed and jumped in the car and took off. Once you hit the road, you were pretty much on your own unless, at least for a few years, you stopped at a WSO/WSFO or FSS along the drive to your target area.

 

[William Rayner]

2009 will be my 22nd year of chasing and I still don’t have any of those neat toys. When I started, Tim Marshall was still mailing Stormtrack to subscribers and there was a highly informative PBS weather show each morning that gave good forecasts of storm potential.
Living in the Pacific Northwest, we only have a chase window of two weeks or so each spring so the toys have to be kept to a minimum. But I’ve got a laptop now, which is vital for accessing the Internet while on the go. No cellphone (the roaming charges would kill me), no onboard TV link, no scanner, no antennae sprouting from every orifice. Remember, this is a rental I’m driving here.
Still, we manage. We’ve seen our tornadoes (with or without the accompanying horde of fellow chasers) and if not, there’s always lots of great storms.
Just jump into the car and look at the sky, baby!
Bill Rayner

 

[Erik Burns]

Well I have only been chasing for 5 years. When I started all I had was a weather radio, maps, cell phone and nowcaster( when I have one handy ).

It was tough but still got on awesome storms and saw a couple of tornadoes but I do so much beter now with all the gizmos. I don't think I could ever go back.. Like so many others have said each chase day is so precious why not use all the tools at hand.

 

[Dan Robinson]

I recognize that all of the technology has resulted in me probably never being able to attain the skill level of the first-generation veterans. In other words, if it was all taken away (the technology, that is), I'd find that I'd be seriously lacking in my skills compared to what would have been if I'd have chased the 'old way' all these years.

Ironically, if that had been the case, I'd have ended up being a better chaser today, but I would have seen far less tornadoes in the process.

 

[James McCormick]

Call me a romantic but one of the best parts of the chase for me is still running around a small town yelling 'where the @#$@ is the library?!' I don't mind a chase here or there where I don't stop at a library, and I'm too poor to get any of the gizmos. I don't see as many tornadoes as the rest of you guys, either, but what the heck, and I do get a few. And I think most everybody can do what I do. So, yes, I think most chasers can do without most of the gizmos.

As for the older school chasing idea - I actually think most of this group could do it. I think it requires having an entire day off, instead of maybe a noon or later departure when you have a better expectation of exactly where stuff will happen, but there's a pretty good 'feel' that I would guess most of us have. Especially if you can get on the updrafts as they develop, before the precip core gets really complex/annoying.

 

[Robert Edmonds]

Call me a romantic but one of the best parts of the chase for me is still running around a small town yelling 'where the @#$@ is the library?!' I don't mind a chase here or there where I don't stop at a library, and I'm too poor to get any of the gizmos. I don't see as many tornadoes as the rest of you guys, either, but what the heck, and I do get a few. And I think most everybody can do what I do. So, yes, I think most chasers can do without most of the gizmos.

LOL, only a few years ago I remember not having WXWORX. If I couldn't find WIFI, the library was the next best place. I met some chasers from Europe at the library in Dodge City.

Anyhow, before I realized I could bring my laptop, that's how I chased. Be that only for a year or two... But I wouldn't go back, info is golden on a chase.

 

[Nathan Edwards]

I was pretty much forced into chasing this way once this year and whilst I was semi successful, there is no way I'd do it again, due to the danger involved. It was May 14th, and I'd previosuly picked a chase start town of Brady, Tx despite being located in OK from the night before. I woke up late and was able to get net access in Decatur, TX on the way down to confirm things were still looking ok for the rest of the journey but I was in too much of a rush to re-evaluate any start location decisions. By the time I got to Brady, Supercells were visible towards Eden. I didn't get any sort of wifi signal out this way and my phones had no signal either, so I pretty much winged it for the rest of the evening. Without data, I stuck to the main highways venturing no more than 100m or so down any farm road before turning back. The cell had great structure for a while but somehow failed to produce from what I saw (although tornadoes were reported right in my vicinity Idoubt their existance).

At that point I was thinking that chasing 'naked' wasn't a big deal. I then however got overtaken by the storm trying to beat it through Brady, which may not have happened had I had upto date radar. 80mph winds were blowing signs and large branches down onto the road right behind the car and I ended up in an unecessarily dangerous situation. Then behind the storm, I had pretty much no way of core punching back ahead of it without running the risk of giant hail or driving into a rain wrapped tornado. That pretty much ended my day right there. At the end of the day, if I'm to be honest about the experience, luck played a lot in getting into a decent position. There's no real way I could have expected to arrive at the perfect time to see the storm really start to erupt in the distance, and then have the hook of the storm go directly over the town I pick as a start location 30 minute later.

Keeping ahead of the storm seems pretty essential when running without data, as the visual clues are essential. I'm sure some people who are more experienced may well be able to pick up on these and keep themselves in a better position, but until I've chased more, I'm going to stick to chasing with data where possible!

 

[Jay McCoy]

I guess I am one of the old farts who started with nothing but models printed on huge sheets of paper up at the tv station and hand drawn forcasts. My 1st chase was in 1985 and I didnt score my 1st tornado until 1986. When I went out I had my drawn maps, a road atlas and an AM radio in the car (to get warnings). I didnt even own a camera. There wasnt the SPC to tell you where to go. Back then you had to get on a storm and stay with it. You didnt know if a storm 40 miles away was bigger or not. It was alot of luck and patience to actually score a tornado. maybe score 1 out of evey 10 times at best. if I had todays technology back then I can promise my overall tornado count would be substancially higher. I can catch more tornados in 1 season now than I did in my 1st 10 years. If I caught 4-5 a year that was a great year. Now thats considered a good day. Back in 2004 alone I caught over 40. Thats more than I did the 1st 10 years total.

With internet, data cards, Live radar, and real time Obs its very easy for even a new chaser to be able to score a tornado. I think the "skill level" of forcasting and reading a storm by eye has dropped in the past 10 years. I dont think there are more than few of us who still do hand analysis. Most look at a model or 2, the SPC, and maybe a couple sat pics and are out the door.

I do miss the times I spent just watching a storm develope and cycle. I miss the nuances of its life but I wouldnt go back to those days now that I do have radar and live data. We have become spoiled but its better than all the days I missed a tornado 25 miles away on another cell and never knew it or all the days I had to back off due to not knowing how intense that hail would be. With todays technology we can get closer than ever to the inner beast of the storm.

But if I had to I know I could go back to the "old" ways. I seriously doubt many of todays chasers could. they were brought up with internet, GPS, and live data and would be totally lost without their toys and the SPC to tell them where to go.

1 thing I do miss is the emtpy roads. back in the 80's you might see 1 or 2 others out there (like Chuck or Tim) if lucky but nothing like todays hordes with 2 mile long caravans of mesonet laden vehicles.

 

[Matt Hughes]

Like many others my best year was with nothing more than the radio or a small TV. While I do feel that the technology does hinder some of the instincts that are vital to chasing storms, I wouldn't want to go back to those days again. It really does simplify things but it's not like tornadoes are on every street corner waiting to be seen right!?! And you can have your paper maps... GPS with Streets and Trips might be even more important to me than radar!!!

 

[Angel Dimitrov]

chasing in old style

Hello,

For me it's quite obvious when the storm will come. The internet can be very helpful, but it's not the only prerequisite. Meted and AMS can give you an insight.

Simply look at the morning sky during the spring - rapid falling of the pressure, moderate to strong southeast, clouds at all levels running at the sky from southwest-west, altocumulus indicating instability at mid level, dewpoint over 20-22 degrees Celsisus, it can't be too hard to predict that something is going on. If you travel 50 km around your home no special equipement is needed. Simply the storm is in your visual range (no stratus case). Traveling hundreds of miles can make you tired, if you do not see storm - and disapointed, wasted money for gas and for expensive computer gadgets and mobile internet connection, while a local chase will be much more enjoyable, take food (you are chasing, but basically you are traveling), road map, compas, and few bottles of water, plus a photo camera. May be you are going to capture beatiful colorful sunset with lightnings. For me the tornado is not the goal of any traveling - simply it does NOT happen at all.

Angel

 

[Mike Ridgeway]

Simply put for me, it was:

1. PBS's AM Weather
2. A stop at the local NWS (we'd bring donuts)
3. Hit the road listening to am radio.
4. Sometimes calling the NWS back home in Idaho to get updates. I only did this when I knew the skies were clear in Idaho and the guys behind the desk were probably bored.

It's been an interesting evolutionary process, kind of like 8 tracks, cassettes, CD's, and now Ipods.

 

[Danny Cheresnick]

Maybe some of us could step forward in 2010 and say we will chase the entire season without any mobile internet. Make it a challenge and see how we do. I'd be up for that in 2010....not this upcoming year though.

I love this idea, I'd absolutely go for it. I think basically any technology, besides old school scanner and paper maps, would be put away as you leave in the morning after you made your forecast. I think the results could be pretty interesting, some people would do far better than expected.

 

[mikegeukes]

Had a interest in thunderstorms since I was 4 years old.
Starting chasing Southern Michigan, back in 1976.

Data sources was almost non-existent. A.M. Weather on
PBS, Local TV station did have their own weather radar,
NWS Grand Rapids had no radar, and used crude DIFAX
images from the NWS Muskegon radar. AM and FM radio,
were terrible on covering severe weather.

Living in Michigan, which only averages 17 tornadoes a year
and the NWS Grand Rapids County Warning Area averages
only 5 tornadoes a year, and 3 tornado days a year.
Seeing tornadoes is rare in our state, most storms are linear,
few supercells and visibility for the most part just stinks.

I would watch A.M. Weather and the local news station,
look at the radar, see where the storms where and drive
toward the storms, often I would see some storms in
the area and drive to the storms.

Basically, I would core punch every storm, if you
wanted to see anything, I drive through the storms.
If the storms were severe or not severe, I went out
at every opportunity to see thunderstorms. I never
kept track of whatever I chased. I would say, I core
punched well over 600 storms in Michigan, and for
the most part, the storms are duds. But, I learn a lot
from doing this, but when out in the plains, I do not
do this.

As time evolved, in the 80's there was dial up for
weather. I had a Commodore 64 and would get
CompuServe for weather information and I used
AccuWeather for one month, data was real costly
and the connection speeds were slow. TV stations
gotten better in covering severe weather. NWS
Grand Rapids eventually got a tv monitor and
got images in color from NWS Muskegon.

I would visit NWS offices from time to time.
Then, later on, I used a small tv, scanner, cb radio.
Would stop at libraries for the internet and at one
time own Baron Wx-Threat. Now, I have a laptop
with ATT air card. But own no other stuff.

Currently, I only chase locally. I have been
my father's caretaker off and on since the
year 2000. He is 79 years old, cannot drive,
walks with a cane. I run all the errands for him,
take him to doctors, dentists, etc. Myself, I
need 2 foot operations in the future to correct
10 hammertoes and 3 bunions. So this limits
my chasing also. I was force to sell my camera
and camcorder and a couple of other items for
money, since my dad and I are having financial
rough times.

I look forward to chasing the Great Plains again
someday, but I do not see it in the near future.

In summary, if there was a storm, got into the
car, went after it, with no data, in the early days.

Mike