Andrew Khan
EF5
Isn't it true that as long as you have RAD with you, and all your senses, you should be fine?
Does anyone "Night Chase"?
- Thread starter Chris Lott
- Start date
Bill Tabor
EF5
Yeah I night chase. Pretty much always have even though supposedly one of my original rules was that 'I would never night chase'. I will say this about it, that almost all of my hair raising potentially life threatening situations were at night. For me it's not that I am really fearless or 'balls to the wall' - well maybe sometimes :lol: but usually what happens is I am just so excited and intense into chasing that the day ends and I continue through the night. Originally this started out with no no radar and by myself in the vehicle but nowadays I usually have Threatnet or something similar which makes a big difference, but at the same time it can lull you into thinking you are safe. You have to remember that Threatnet is time delayed so the meso you see a safe distance away may really be on top of you. I've scared myself $hitless sometimes which I guess can actually be kind of fun 
- at least after the fact. Lots of times I have no intention to really night chase but the way it works is after you chase all day, you can quit, but the storms don't. Often they just blow up all around you and you are trapped.
Off the top of my head here are some cases (but many, many more):
1) Just south of Medicine Lodge, KS at night - no radar, fairly newbie, paper maps, alone drive into tornadic supercells and torrential rain. Several around me as I listen to NWS warnings and try to avoid tornadoes.
2) Missouri at night following tornadic thunderstorms as they develop around me - videotape of night torn nearby.
3) Hoisington F4 - just north east of town as the tornado leaves and approaches my position in the dark. I get smart and back away.
4) Chase toward Shreveport until dark and cross over into Louisianna - suddenly all storms that I was hoping for all day finally happen and form behind me and to my north and south. I race south as TVS's all around and tornado warnings/lightning inbound. I hole up in a town at a motel thinking I will have to take shelter there. At last moment tornado dissipates.
5) Sweetwater Tx - I take a wrong turn at night on the interstate after a daytime chase directly into the path of a supposed approaching tornado.
6) Oklahoma City at night - a few years ago. Follow tornado reports to NE of town and wait just south of the path and the underpass where other chasers were trapped. Caught in the atomized rain - a bit too close.
7) At night near Aspermont, Tx caught in tornadic inflow jet a few minutes later spot the tornado nearby.
8. Valentine, NE chase and night tornadoes.
9) Brady Night Run - A day chase ended near Paint Rock / San Angelo and I decide to investigate night warnings/reports as the tornado turns in my direction. Every location I race to east is reported on NWS radio as the location the tornado is now expected at. While experiencing power flashes, debris, and wind across the road I race east into darkness to try and get away.
10) Eastern OK, in hills at night I and Geoff Mackley go head on into a night tornado warning and at the last moment turn around as a tornado in the darkness appears to cross the road in front of us. As the wind hits our vehicle gets smacked by some piece of debris.
Here are some links:
http://www.tornadoxtreme.com/2005_Chases/A...il_21st_05.html
http://www.tornadoxtreme.com/2004_Chases/J.../june_12th.html
http://www.tornadoxtreme.com/2002_Chases/M...th/may_4th.html
http://www.tornadoxtreme.com/1999_Chases/1...999_chases.html
I might mention also one time last year I was using Threatnet at night in northeast Tx and decided to drive close to the meso area of a storm. The display seemed to indicate I had plenty of room, but ends up I drove right under a wallcloud with a large (close to ground) developing funnel / potential tornado. That was spooky at night because it was too late to make other road choices. Had to just drive on and try and beat the area of rotation and hope it didn't mature right as I drove past it.
Basically chasing at night is challenging and potentially fraught with peril. Certainly it can be done, and many do. But if you are going to do it just make sure you understand thunderstorm dynamics and structure and know how to chase well during the day. It also helps to have good equipment including radar, and a partner along. Be aware of your position, road options, and what the storm is doing and can potentially do. It is better to chase at night when there is good visibility and cloud bases are high enough to see under and preferably when there is plenty of lightning for illumination.
- at least after the fact. Lots of times I have no intention to really night chase but the way it works is after you chase all day, you can quit, but the storms don't. Often they just blow up all around you and you are trapped.Off the top of my head here are some cases (but many, many more):
1) Just south of Medicine Lodge, KS at night - no radar, fairly newbie, paper maps, alone drive into tornadic supercells and torrential rain. Several around me as I listen to NWS warnings and try to avoid tornadoes.
2) Missouri at night following tornadic thunderstorms as they develop around me - videotape of night torn nearby.
3) Hoisington F4 - just north east of town as the tornado leaves and approaches my position in the dark. I get smart and back away.
4) Chase toward Shreveport until dark and cross over into Louisianna - suddenly all storms that I was hoping for all day finally happen and form behind me and to my north and south. I race south as TVS's all around and tornado warnings/lightning inbound. I hole up in a town at a motel thinking I will have to take shelter there. At last moment tornado dissipates.
5) Sweetwater Tx - I take a wrong turn at night on the interstate after a daytime chase directly into the path of a supposed approaching tornado.
6) Oklahoma City at night - a few years ago. Follow tornado reports to NE of town and wait just south of the path and the underpass where other chasers were trapped. Caught in the atomized rain - a bit too close.
7) At night near Aspermont, Tx caught in tornadic inflow jet a few minutes later spot the tornado nearby.
8. Valentine, NE chase and night tornadoes.
9) Brady Night Run - A day chase ended near Paint Rock / San Angelo and I decide to investigate night warnings/reports as the tornado turns in my direction. Every location I race to east is reported on NWS radio as the location the tornado is now expected at. While experiencing power flashes, debris, and wind across the road I race east into darkness to try and get away.
10) Eastern OK, in hills at night I and Geoff Mackley go head on into a night tornado warning and at the last moment turn around as a tornado in the darkness appears to cross the road in front of us. As the wind hits our vehicle gets smacked by some piece of debris.
Here are some links:
http://www.tornadoxtreme.com/2005_Chases/A...il_21st_05.html
http://www.tornadoxtreme.com/2004_Chases/J.../june_12th.html
http://www.tornadoxtreme.com/2002_Chases/M...th/may_4th.html
http://www.tornadoxtreme.com/1999_Chases/1...999_chases.html
I might mention also one time last year I was using Threatnet at night in northeast Tx and decided to drive close to the meso area of a storm. The display seemed to indicate I had plenty of room, but ends up I drove right under a wallcloud with a large (close to ground) developing funnel / potential tornado. That was spooky at night because it was too late to make other road choices. Had to just drive on and try and beat the area of rotation and hope it didn't mature right as I drove past it.
Basically chasing at night is challenging and potentially fraught with peril. Certainly it can be done, and many do. But if you are going to do it just make sure you understand thunderstorm dynamics and structure and know how to chase well during the day. It also helps to have good equipment including radar, and a partner along. Be aware of your position, road options, and what the storm is doing and can potentially do. It is better to chase at night when there is good visibility and cloud bases are high enough to see under and preferably when there is plenty of lightning for illumination.
Bill Tabor
EF5
PS: I might point out that inflow/rainfree base areas often do not have lightning and so there are times when it is impossible to see the tornado at night unless it hits a power transformer or something similar. You may get whacked without warning.
PSPS: Like I say I do it, but I always swear I am going to stop. Sometimes just too risky as you can tell by Brian's post. I think I should try and wean myself off of it to some degree, but like a moth to the flame I am often just drawn to the action. Even times when I've tried to break off and not chase at night on purpose because of the hazards I have been chased by tornadic storms. Sometimes it's fun. Hell, sometimes it's a blast! But sometimes you will wish you were somewhere else if you do it long enough.
PSPS: Like I say I do it, but I always swear I am going to stop. Sometimes just too risky as you can tell by Brian's post. I think I should try and wean myself off of it to some degree, but like a moth to the flame I am often just drawn to the action. Even times when I've tried to break off and not chase at night on purpose because of the hazards I have been chased by tornadic storms. Sometimes it's fun. Hell, sometimes it's a blast! But sometimes you will wish you were somewhere else if you do it long enough.
Dick McGowan
EF5
Wow, some NOVELS written here. Anyone consider writing a book on this? 
Night chasing is okay unless you're getting pounded by tennis ball size hail with 70-80 mph winds, and you just can't punch it through to the other side of where the tornado is being reported on the ground a mile in front of you.
It's all about positioning IMO. I never have radar, GPS, and wx radio is a piece. On the road for 12 hours straight, your senses fail sometimes, and your awareness is heightened a little. Something tells you something is wrong and to pull the ripcord.
Like Jeff said, you're in BFE, winds picks up, you see an approaching wall, time to find a better spot or call it a day.
So maybe, maybe not, several factors come into play.
Night chasing is okay unless you're getting pounded by tennis ball size hail with 70-80 mph winds, and you just can't punch it through to the other side of where the tornado is being reported on the ground a mile in front of you.
It's all about positioning IMO. I never have radar, GPS, and wx radio is a piece. On the road for 12 hours straight, your senses fail sometimes, and your awareness is heightened a little. Something tells you something is wrong and to pull the ripcord.
Like Jeff said, you're in BFE, winds picks up, you see an approaching wall, time to find a better spot or call it a day.
So maybe, maybe not, several factors come into play.
Robert Edmonds
EF5
First off I never night chase. If it's getting close to the sun going down that's usually the end of the day for me. That's partly because I don't have WXWORX or anything similar. Mainly though it is because who knows what could go wrong and at night you'll have a less visibility and thus less ability to take proper actions for the situation. The only thing I do is take night shots for the lightning, but only from a good proximity to the storm. That's my personal preference.
Anyhow, I remember watching this video on the web where people were driving on a highway or interstate. Suddenly, the lights for the freeway cut out and this semi in front of them is overturned from what I believe was a tornado. Has anyone seen the video I'm talking about? I saw it once but forgot to right down the link. That video was just amazing.
Anyhow, I remember watching this video on the web where people were driving on a highway or interstate. Suddenly, the lights for the freeway cut out and this semi in front of them is overturned from what I believe was a tornado. Has anyone seen the video I'm talking about? I saw it once but forgot to right down the link. That video was just amazing.
Bill Tabor
EF5
Night chasing is okay unless you're getting pounded by tennis ball size hail with 70-80 mph winds, and you just can't punch it through to the other side of where the tornado is being reported on the ground a mile in front of you.
I agree. I think what Brian described is probably beyond the comfort level of all us. Getting trapped under an overpass, or in a town with tornado approaching and no options is past the comfort level. However, with that said, these things can happen and do to the best of us. Those of you that think chasing isn't a risk...LOL - just do what Brian describes at night on a regular basis and you might have a different opinion. It's not a good feeling when you say "I'm screwed". :lol:
Bill Tabor
EF5
Hmm..that brings back a memory I forgot. I wonder if I log all these tornadoes on my list? Anyway, may not be the same event but once I was riding along with Geoff Mackley and the MESO crew as we drove into the darkness and storms. I finally got radar and warnings only to find we were in the current path of a tornado. We parked under an overpass and waited it out in intense wind (I don't know how strong). The tornado passed and a bit ahead were a couple of semi's blown over that we had watched drive on during the onslaught. I heard later it had passed like supposedly 140 yards away when they went back and looked for the damage path.
Another occasion (a couple of years ago) I was headed back from a chase in the Tx panhandle. Day of the Stratford tornado which I was just late for and missed. Heading back at night following the large intense tornadic squall line I headed through Shamrock (I believe) and along I40. Emergency vehicles were everywhere. For a while a tornado had travelled right down the road in the dark. People, chasers, families were oblivious. Cars were overturned, light poles smashed, etc. Not sure but perhaps that could have been the event you mention but I don't know if anyone got video of it. I think that was also the day a chaser waited too long and the tornado ran him over. He abandoned his vehicle and held on to a pole next to the overpass as the tornado proceeded to destroy a gas station across the street.
Yep - night chasing is interesting.... :lol:
Mike Hollingshead
I'm guessing that was Chris Collura's clip from Florida.
Josh Morgerman
EF4
I know this question was probably directed more toward tornado chasers, but I’ll offer my 2 cents anyway. :wink:
I chase hurricanes, and I chase no matter what time of day. A hurricane landfall is such a rare occurrence (compared with a severe-weather outbreak) that I feel I have to chase them whenever they come. Also, I don’t live in a hurricane region, so I commit to the chase and fly to the threatened region well before it's clear what time the storm will be coming ashore.
That having been said, I do not like night chases. In a nutshell, they're a lot more dangerous and the footage is a lot less interesting. Since hurricanes don't usually have a lot of lightning (unlike tornadoes), you’re forced to film subject-matter close to street lamps in order to convey the experience. And with such constraints, the shots can have less variety. The sounds are just as dramatic, but you just can’t see a lot of what is happening.
I have done two "partial" night chases:
* Bret, 1999, TX-- the storm's brunt occurred in my location just around nightfall.
* Wilma, 2005, FL-- the sun rose during the eye, so the front side of the storm occurred at night and the back side during the day (check out my footage http://www.icyclone.com/). Fortunately the most dramatic weather with this one happened by daylight!
I chase hurricanes, and I chase no matter what time of day. A hurricane landfall is such a rare occurrence (compared with a severe-weather outbreak) that I feel I have to chase them whenever they come. Also, I don’t live in a hurricane region, so I commit to the chase and fly to the threatened region well before it's clear what time the storm will be coming ashore.
That having been said, I do not like night chases. In a nutshell, they're a lot more dangerous and the footage is a lot less interesting. Since hurricanes don't usually have a lot of lightning (unlike tornadoes), you’re forced to film subject-matter close to street lamps in order to convey the experience. And with such constraints, the shots can have less variety. The sounds are just as dramatic, but you just can’t see a lot of what is happening.
I have done two "partial" night chases:
* Bret, 1999, TX-- the storm's brunt occurred in my location just around nightfall.
* Wilma, 2005, FL-- the sun rose during the eye, so the front side of the storm occurred at night and the back side during the day (check out my footage http://www.icyclone.com/). Fortunately the most dramatic weather with this one happened by daylight!
joel ewing
EF5
First off, that "living on the edge" stuff is what, in my opinion, has drawn all the yahoos to this endeavor and clogged up the roads during a chase. For the record, I'm not calling you a yahoo personally. Living on the edge is not what chasing should be about at all.
Yes, I've night chased. And on May 16th, '92 in Knox Co. Nebraska I almost drove right into a tornado. Ohhh, I came close. Thankfully, after seeing what I was doing, I hit the brakes....did a 180 (Bat-turn) and hauled butt up to the closest farmhouse light I could see....with the nader right on my tail. I knocked on the door, and when the two very very old folks inside failed to hear me.....I just barged right in screaming "tornado". We made it just downstairs into their celler as the nader went right by the farmhouse.
That night, and the few other times I've night-chased....was always at the tail end of my chase vacation...when I had little to show for the season...and I was desperate to get "something". It made me do what I normally wouldn't think of doing. And believe me, it took me out of my comfort zone in a big way.
Yes, I've night chased. And on May 16th, '92 in Knox Co. Nebraska I almost drove right into a tornado. Ohhh, I came close. Thankfully, after seeing what I was doing, I hit the brakes....did a 180 (Bat-turn) and hauled butt up to the closest farmhouse light I could see....with the nader right on my tail. I knocked on the door, and when the two very very old folks inside failed to hear me.....I just barged right in screaming "tornado". We made it just downstairs into their celler as the nader went right by the farmhouse.
That night, and the few other times I've night-chased....was always at the tail end of my chase vacation...when I had little to show for the season...and I was desperate to get "something". It made me do what I normally wouldn't think of doing. And believe me, it took me out of my comfort zone in a big way.
Susan Strom
EF5
For me, there are two kinds of chases - desert southwest monsoon, during which 90% of my chases are at night. They start around 6pm and go until around 2am. A desert concern at night is the inability to see flash flooding. I did hit a log once in my pickup truck, that was not fun. I will never intentionally cross flash floodwaters. Often, my best luck with the photography comes after midnight.
In the Plains, some of my best chances to shoot lightning have happened also at night, however in the Plains I'd say I'm about 70% day chaser and 30% night. At night, I can't see hail. However, some of my best Plains lightning has been shot at night, or in one case, 4:30am.
In the Plains, some of my best chances to shoot lightning have happened also at night, however in the Plains I'd say I'm about 70% day chaser and 30% night. At night, I can't see hail. However, some of my best Plains lightning has been shot at night, or in one case, 4:30am.
Dan Robinson
The problem with trying to shoot lightning at night in the Plains in the spring is the little pesky thing called 'sleep'. A good lightning show has a way of getting you to not go to bed when you should. Lots of times I had to choose between great lightning shots and getting several hours sleep to get ready for the 500+ mile drive the next day. Notably the nights before 6/12/05, 5/30/01, 6/04/05, 6/12/04 - big chase days with irresistable lightning all night beforehand.
