Do Storms Give Your Street the Brush?

[Dan Nichols]

........And what are you doing about it? Personally I best enjoy storms right on my front porch. I can see the different sky colors, watch the rain come down, hear the crashing thunder, and even see neighbors' reactions right while sitting in my easy chair. Unfortunately, I've seen all too many storms "go around me", as they say, with little more than a few muffled rumbles and a brief shower. People from elsewhere would talk of "That teriffic storm" which would invariably be the local flop I saw.

So this is what got me into chasing. I have chosen about a dozen spots designated as my intercept destinations which appear to get more intense storms; half of which I visit frequently. Which area I choose to visit all depends upon where the radar will direct me. My "game plan", which might differ from some, is to get to the new location BEFORE the storm does, so I can enjoy the whole sequence of events from beginning. Otherwise, it's like arriving at a concert, looking for your seat while the music is beginning! My chase range is usually quite small: no more than about 40 miles, one way, and often much shorter.

However, it would be beneficial to hear others folks' experiences with storm reception in their own neighborhood, and what they may feel is either the cause of getting teriffic storms, or the "cold shoulder".

Dan Nichols

 

[Shane Adams]

Interestingly enough, my philosophy on "backyard" chasing is the polar opposite of yours. Having been chasing for years, I'm well-experienced with the art of getting there BEFORE the storm, but doing it hundreds of miles away from home. If my target is my home area, then I sit on my arse watching radar and won't move until something starts brewing. Of course I can count the times that's happened in 12 years on one hand...minus the thumb

 

[Stephen Levine]

This is the very thing that got me into storm chasing back in 1977. That Summer, in Springfield Ohio, we were on a cycle of a new cold front about every 4 days. For three times in a row, the front would come through with sprinkles, then about 25 miles to our S & E, thunderheads would literally explode into being. Finally for the 4th time, I declared that I was sick of this pattern and if they won't come to me, why then I will go get them. My first intercept yeilded a truly spectacular storm, and I was bitten by the bug from that day on.
My neighborhood tended to lie between two well-greezed storm paths, one to my north and the other to my S & SE. Every once in a while, a good kicker would balance everything out in my back yard.

 

[Jeff Miller]

"Local Chasing" may be more and more appealing, especially to those who have constraints due to financial concerns (gas), logistical concerns (work), safety concerns (16-17 year old chasers restricted by parents to a specified circumference), or newbie concerns (lack of experience).

Local chasing does not take as much effort or forecasting - in fact, the forecasting part is really not part of it since it mostly involves looking at radar and intercepting an already developed storm close to your local area. But it is still as dangerous as any chase - severe weather can be a killer 5 miles from your home or 500 miles.

In Toledo, OH when I first started chasing in the late 1990s, I learned you have the advantage of knowing your locations extremely well. You know every turn, crook and bend of the road so logistical road concerns aren't as big of an issue as a long distance chase when you are less familiar with the area. This can be a plus.

Of course the biggest downside to all of this is you have to wait for the storm to come to your local chase playground. Is this chasing? I'd call it mini-chasing personally. It's not as far, not as expensive, and more restrictive - and you don't really forecast. You wait for it to come to you. But if you do intercept a gigantic, tornadic supercell, it doesn't matter if it's a local chase or a full blown 3,000 mile forecasted chase where you nailed your target from 5 states away - the end result - your catch - is what is important.

 

[Dan Nichols]

I commend and envy all of you who know your long-distance meterology. But for me, "mini" or local chasing is far easier than intercepts involving great distances. I learn and 'practice' my routes, carry the Weather Channel on my cell phone, and know which exits have the plazas with overhanging protection from rain where I can maximize my storm enjoyment. My knowledge of meteorology is too scant to take a chance on long distances involving unfamilliar routes, some of which could even turn into dirt roads; or risk getting into an unexpected traffic jam in which you've lost every advantage you've gained -- not to mention that meanwhile you've just missed the Big One in your back yard! I know many of the more localized storm patterns, and that's what I prefer to stick with for now.

 

[Bob Hartig]

How about the times when you've driven several hundred miles only to wish like crazy that you'd just stayed put, gone about your daily routine, and let Mother Nature deliver her goods right to your front door?

This year I blew not just one, but two of the best local opportunities I'm ever likely to see. The first was because I simply refused to believe what was staring me in the face on the radar screen and overhead, where different cloud layers were indicating totally unexpected low-level helicity. Consequently, when a supercell matured directly overhead and went on to drop an EF-3 twenty miles to my east as the surface winds backed, I was sitting on my butt in the Hastings library when I could have, should have, been chasing. Not sure whether to blame lack of experience or just sheer stupidity, but in any case, by the time I finally did take off after the storms, I might as well not have bothered.

I can't feel too bad about the second incident, because I did latch onto a terrific storm with some great structure. But I still find it ironic that I drove well down into Indiana to see it when I could have just sat in the Hastings library once again--my daily practice back in October--and a monster classic supercell would have come straight to me, with the meso marching pretty much directly over the downtown area. I saw a video clip taken by one of the librarians' daughters from her home a few miles south, and all I could do was drop my jaw and slap myself alongside the head.

But wait--there's more. Last year, I was returning from chasing the late-September outbreak that produced the Carbondale, IL, wedge. It was the day after, and I was heading home through Indiana when I got a call from my chase buddy informing me that a tornado had just passed through Caledonia, the small town where I live. Evidently, an area of rotation had developed in an otherwise garden-variety thunderstorm, and a weak and totally unpredictable tornado blazed a short trail just a quarter mile from my apartment, unroofing a local business, damaging a dairy farm, and scaring the crap out of the gal at the corner gas station. Sure wish I'd been home that day.

 

[Susan Strom]

Storms often give my whole city the brush. A typical lightning chase for me is about 8 hours, from 6pm-2am. This is done several times per week from July-Sept. I drive an obscene number of miles all over Arizona. It's necessary to find the most intense lightning spots. These are usually in the high country, old west towns or central deserts. The more remote the better, away from cities vastly preferred. I'm also only a day's drive to the dryline. I love to drive very long distances. TX is only a day. I've ended up in Iowa, Arkansas, Missouri and other places coaxed by a storm. I coffee up, get my gear, put my radios in, plan the trip and go. Pure bliss, my long drives.

 

[Tarmo Tanilsoo]

My village also gets storms. Due to many factors, I am doing only backyard chasing. I have caught many good storms in my home farm... Over here, the weather has a habit to put the storms to a right place and all I need to do is take a camera and shoot... Of course, my area is also in Baltic Tornado Alley(read here more about it)

 

[Dan Nichols]

Bob, you've summed it up right there! And a short chase is far easier to abort, if need be, if things are coming together back at your home turf. Sometimes too much weather knowledge, incoming data, and hard/software can be a deterrant to enjoyment. Though I'm always open to more weather savvy, I know little about "wedges" or "helicity", and just go by my cell phone, cloud observation, and local radio alerts.

 

[Jerry Funfsinn]

For the first years I chased the local ones were the best for me. Although until I felt confident enough to distance chase
I stayed locally. I often stated to new chasers that some of my best chases were local chases and that was never more
true one April day in 2004. Due to a vehicle breakdown I was unable to chase out on the Plains where I wanted to be. Had
that not been the case I would have missed this ten miles from my home.

Don't get me wrong I've had the out of state chases where my wife calls and states "There's a tornado warning and the sirens
are going off what should I do." Those stung alot but call it luck or the grace of God I'm glad I did not miss this or that would
have been the worst drive home I ever had.

Jerry Funfsinn
CreativeJetstream.com

 

[Kevin Bowman]

i live right near ohare in Chicago, in the past 2 year i have had 2 supercell hooks move directly over my house (9/22/06), one later producing a tornado 5 miles down the road going out over the lake and last year that derecho knocked out my power for 3 days 8/23/07). the only bad thing is i dont film or photograph anything because im to busy alerting my friends and family about the storm

 

[Bill Tabor]

This is very similar to how I got my start chasing Dan. I always used to watch at home and loved storms. For some reason my habit was to start a pot of coffee and sit out on the porch while they were ongoing - very leisurely. Inevitably all those storms don't come out to play so eventually we have to go chase them down. In my opinion though it is never as leisure chasing though, and sometimes it is a pure rat race.

I'd say the reasons they don't come by are just statistical. Most will pass, for others you will be in the bullseye. I've noticed an odd phenomenon in Austin though (Travis County) the storms (usually approaching from the west or northwest) always seem to split and some go north and others south of town. Currently I live in the southern edge of Williamson country right on the border of Travis so I am just almost in the 'storm zone'. It has been quite a bit more active here also over the last 7 years. I've chased tornadoes just down the street, and one of the tornadoes from the Jarrell tornado family tore the lid off the grocery store just a mile or two away. The real action zone for me seems to be just about 5 to 10 miles further north. I think the reason for the splitting may have something to do with topography and possibly localized low level cooling from the Highland Lakes chain which stretches west and northwest.

 

[Darin Brunin]

Storms don't....but it's an ongoing joke between a few people and I that the SPC doesn't like Douglas County, KS. You name it....watches, MD's, outlooks, etc. always seem to be outlined to end at the surrounding counties. It seems like it's become such a common trend that we joke about it before we expect a product to be issued and sure enough, it happens. Of course, there's no truth to it, but it's pretty amusing to think we're getting snubbed.

So next time, when one of you SPC forecasters issue a product for this area. Remember the sad looks you put on our faces when we get left out .

 

[Dan Nichols]

I'm pleased with both Bill's and Darin's offering clues as to why storms go where they go. I've seen some really good ones pass right through, but generally four out of five -- I'm only considering those events passing nearby within 5 to 15-or-so miles -- storms here are usually near misses. In fact, the usual patterns and directions are themselves quite predictable, often lending themselves well to an intercept without the help of any radar or "hi-tech".

 

[Jon Person]

About once or twice a year an organized supercell will form over the Colorado Front Range and visit the neighborhood. I'm laughing along with others here who venture quite a ways from home only to come back where the real weather is! On June 2nd, 2005 I left my home for E CO. As I got in the truck, a little thunderstorm was forming over the mountains; I didn't think anything of it. As it turns out, this same storm turned into a monster as it ventured into the open plains. I drove all the way to Burlington (near the KS border) then all the way back to Limon to intercept the storm, when really I could have just started chasing right from the front door! Oh, the irony