Driving Long Distances to See Storms, Is it Worth It

[mikegeukes]

If I lived in Nebraska, Kansas, or Oklahoma, the driving part would not be that big of a issue, but living in Michigan and having a father dependent on you is the big problem I have with driving long distances to see storms.

Why I often do not like to drive long distances these days:
-Besides being tired and being stuck in a car for hours, are the following:

-Interstates: Afterwhile, the same scenary, traffic and noise from the payment gets on my nerves. Metropolitan areas traffic can be a mess.

-US Highways: During the day can have a lot of traffic. Driving through towns can slow you down, if you are in a hurry, or being stuck behind slower traffic can be annoying.

-Metropolitan Areas/Suburbs: Besides the traffic, traffic ligts, stop signs, really gets on my nerves;

-Main Reason:
My Father: The last 5 years, I have more or less took care of my dad, The last 2 years, it was almost a 24/7 type of deal. My father is now in a senior assisted living facitlity. I live in the family home and have to sell the house, because my dad owes quite a bit of money to the bank. He no longer can drive, so I have to constantly run errands for him and take him places. I am not allowed to stay out long, and enjoy myself, because I still have to answer to my father and his house. I was in Iowa, last weekend, I would like to stay out in the Central Plains for a week, but I cannot because of my father, he guilts you in returning, saying I got to go here and I need this and so on. I have try to convince him to move to Kansas, Nebraska or Oklahoma, with no such luck, with the occasional maybe.

I can drive about 500-700 miles in a day, is my limit. But to venture out to the plains often means looking at the day 3 and then deciding if you want to drive all that ways and back to Michigan, Bottom line, is I always forced back to Michigan, because of my dad and his house, I am very tiired of this, and past up many opportunities to chase the plains because of my dad, Be so much nicer, if he and I were living in Lincoln NE or Norman OK,

How many miles from my town to various cities in the plains I listed below.

GRAND RAPIDS MICHIGAN TO:

KANSAS:
Total Est. Distance: 810.06 miles -Chanute KS
Total Est. Distance: 980.17 miles -Colby KS
Total Est. Distance: 1034.38 miles -Dodge City KS
Total Est. Distance: 939.33 miles -Great Bend KS
Total Est. Distance: 727.80 miles -Lawrence KS
Total Est. Distance: 862.96 miles -Salina KS
Total Est. Distance: 882.15 miles -Wichita KS

NEBRASKA:
Total Est. Distance: 779.12 miles -Grand Island NE
Total Est. Distance: 847.76 miles -Lexington NE
Total Est. Distance: 685.70 miles -Lincoln NE
Total Est. Distance: 914.83 miles -Mc Cook NE
Total Est. Distance: 719.19 miles -Norfolk NE
Total Est. Distance: 905.89 miles -North Platte NE
Total Est. Distance: 630.09 miles -Omaha NE
Total Est. Distance: 813.47 miles -O"Neill NE
Total Est. Distance: 1098.93 miles -Scottsbluff NE
Total Est. Distance: 924.45 miles -Valentine NE

OKLAHOMA:
Total Est. Distance: 1083.16 miles -Altus OK
Total Est. Distance: 1041.21 miles -Ardmore OK
Total Est. Distance: 964.01 miles -Norman OK
Total Est. Distance: 945.54 miles -Oklahoma City OK
Total Est. Distance: 933.44 miles -Ponca City OK
Total Est. Distance: 841.04 miles -Tulsa OK
Total Est. Distance: 1042.64 miles -Woodward OK

TEXAS:
Total Est. Distance: 1205.10 miles -Amarillo TX
Total Est. Distance: 1168.61 miles -Childress TX
Total Est. Distance: 1113.57 miles -Dallas TX
Total Est. Distance: 1325.03 miles -Lubbock TX
Total Est. Distance: 1438.67 miles -Midland TX

Mike

 

[bill mudd]

Mike I feel your pain - why not fly - its cheaper in the long run - this weekend will be a good time to take 3 days and hit the panhandles of texas and OK for example - and fly back....just a thought - and your caretaking would only be missed for 3 days NOT 6

 

[Jerry Funfsinn]

Coming from Illinois, I am a regular distance chaser. Last weeks trip was 2200 miles round trip to CO/ KS. I'm resigned to the fact that to see supercells I have to go to them because I would wait a long time for the right conditions to come to me. Driving to a target does not bother me, what bothers me most is narrowing down a target while enroute. Decisions are made based on time to travel to target. I'm often leaving at the wee hours to drive to the plains based on the current forecast ,(models mind you). I often wonder if someone from say TX or OK would drive to Illinois for a "good event". Heck I drove to Michigan last year for a "good event" and even half way to Arkansas this spring. Have storms will travel.
I think everone can relate to the homestrings pulling you back when you are out. Whether it be family, job, "forgot to leave water for the dog"...oooops, the season comes once a year and take it if you can.
Jerry Funfsinn

 

[Dave Lewison]

Try living in New York!
At least in IL, you have the option to drive to a target area in W. OK/KS/NE and you could set out on the same day you chase (albeit in the wee early AM hours, which is rough). For me, that's pretty much impossible, as it takes a good 27 hours to get to central KS from here. Flying is pretty much the only way, but booking flights at the last minute can be very frustrating.

That's why I've been carefully reading long-range posts on here about the upcoming weekend. Might be possible to fly out for a 2-3 day chase. Airlines like JetBlue and Frontier will let me make last-minute reservations without a severe penalty (well, by "last minute" I'm talking 48 hours), but the only place I can really fly into is Denver. But, Denver's within striking distance of most of the western "Alley" with a reasonable 6 hour drive.

Anyone have any airlines or other methods they prefer for last-minute chasing? I'd be curious to hear from other long-distance chasers out there!

 

[Brandon Clement]

I live just south of Jackson, Ms and have made two trips this year. The first I left on May 10 in the afternoon and chased on May 11th in the NW Ks area and was a total bust and decided to head to the panhandles for May 12th. I cought an incredible tornado and returned home on May 13th and the total milage for the trip was 2688.

The second trip I made was last week. I left on Wed. evening and drove straight through the night and checked into a hotel in Dodge City, Ks at 2pm. Chased from south of Dodge City and drove to Goodland area and back arriving at 5am and sleeping until 7am. I woke up and got some breakfast and headed down to the Ok panhandles on Friday and ended up making my way into North Central Texas. After yet another bust drove to OKC to spend the night so I could either chase or go home depending on the models for Saturday. You can guess what I did! Left OKC and drove to Emporia, Ks. After sitting in Emporia realizing that my only storm to chase was going to be a tornadic storm north of Topeka I took off and ended up in Iowa. After the chase I returned home logging in at 3029 miles.

Was it worth it? The first trip was worth every penny, mile, hamburger and hail dent. The second was horrible and I wish I never went! The second trip could have been great if it wasn't for a wrong turn in Topeka and a closed road that I was going to take after the wrong turn. Then after finding yet another route there was a detour. So finally after finding an open road in route to a tornadic supercell I was pulled over because the cop wanted to know where the tornado was and missed everything. I spent four days, almost a thousand dollars and saw one quick night tornado from the tail end of a mcs. south of Goodland on June 3rd at about 1:20 Am. I never even got to see a sup.

I guess it just depends on how much you like to chase and how bad driving effects you. My girlfriend accuses me of being a truck driver in a former life, lol. Most of all it just depends on what you see when you get there that makes it either worth it or not.

 

[Tim Stoecklein]

Driving long distances to see storms, is it worth it? Not to me Mike.

Keep in mind that I'm a "to each their own" type of person, and this in no way praises or puts down chasers for their "marathon" drives. I personally have rarely driven more than 300 miles round trip on a chase. I just can't seem to justify it to myself. I think it's more financial than anything, but I also find my time away from work awfully precious.

If it's a sunny 80 degree day here in Manhattan and there's a high risk in SW Kansas, I'm just as happy going kayaking on a local river as I would be driving all the way out there to see a good storm. However, if I was already on my way home to Ness or to eastern Colorado I would be all over it as a detour!! I'd like to make some long-haul chases given the right travel partners, the right amount of time away from home and office, and the overflowing funds to do so, but the opportunities have not presented themselves yet.

Some would say that I have no passion for the hobby based on the above statements, and I don't really care, but they would be sorely wrong. Some have the mentality of "I'd skip three meals just to have the money to chase tomorrow", that's fine, it's just not for me.

I moved back to Kansas so that I would be in a good zone for severe weather and would have MANY opportunities to observe the wonders of Mother Nature. I have not been disappointed thus far with the opportunities in my backyard, but as someone mentioned in another post, you really can't go wrong with living anywhere near Republican County

It also helps that I make it back to Ness and the in-law's place in eastern Colorado quite a bit during the season. Those are two places that certainly provide their share of "opportunity chases"!!

For all those marathon chasers out there, enjoy it, have fun with it, and we'll see you in my backyard or along I-70 :wink:

Tim

 

[Ken Johnson]

I too live in Jackson and chase every chance I get. My job does not allow me to take a lot of time off and I don't get to go on most good chases. When I do, I have several obsticles in the way. First, the wife. Since I don't get much time off, she wants me to spend it with her when I do and doesn't really like me hitting the road. A typical trip for me is leaving on Monday afternoon...driving all day and night...getting close to the target area...getting a hotel to sleep in for a few hours...driving the rest of the way...Chasing and then turning around and driving back. If I'm lucky, I get to chase for a few days, but most of the time it's about two...

This year, I left last Wedenesay. This was the first chance I got to chase all year long...Drove from Jackson to Memphis. Met up with some chase buddies from Alabama. We left Memphis at 7pm..drove across Arkansas and made it to Ponca City around 2am and got a hotel and slept for 5 hours. Got up, looked at the data, headed west to DDC...Got there by 2PM, only to watch puffy cumulus and not TCU's...Finally a storm developed to the south, went tornadic in a hurry...By the time we made it...Yep, it crapped out. It turned out to be a cap bust day. I had to be back on Friday...SO we left around 8PM and I made it back to Jackson by 11am the next day. Whew...all that for nothing, but I'm sure there will be another trip like this at some point....Not to mention how much money it cost to go on a quick trip like this. It's still fun getting to spend time with friends I only get to see this one time of they year..

 

[Ben Cotton]

Mike, I feel for you and I wish you could get out more often. I think this is a very personal question, though. I left straight from work on Friday of last week and drove over 1500+ only to end up busting. It was expensive, it took my weekend from me, but I can't be too bitter about it. (I also can't bring myself to say it was worth it.) This weekend looks like another opportunity. Will I go? Maybe. You chase when you can and you don't when you can't. Being in a situation where you can't chase very far or often, I think you shoudl relish every chance you get? You have to be more judicious about when you go, but when you do go, enjoy it - no matter what happens. At the end of the day, whether the chase was worth it or not depends entirely on how you look at it.


Ben

 

[Carla Bisby]

Originally posted by Jerry Funfsinn
Have storms will travel.

Same here. Since there's rarely anything decent to see here around STL I have to travel quite a ways to get good storms. I think they're worth it.

 

[Bob Hartig]

Mike, I know what you mean. Michigan is beautiful and I love this state, but stormchasing country it isn't. Living here and dealing with the responsibilities of life can make it hard to get any decent and consistent field experience. My job permits me flexibility in theory and is generous with vacation time, but the reality of my work is such that it's hard for me to take time off. It would be even harder if I had a parent to care for, as you do. For you, moving to the Great Plains might be a viable solution, and if you pursue it, I wish you well. For me--well, I just have to do my best to manage with what I've got. That makes me more opportunistic than proactive, though I'm willing to log 700 miles if conditions look promising, and farther if I can break away for a 2- or 3-day excursion. A few weeks back my buddy and I racked up 1,800 miles in two days and came back emptyhanded. Two or three times a season of that is okay, but I just can't afford to do it regularly--it's a strain on the wallet and the nerves. But them's the breaks when you live outside the alley.

 

[Steven Williams]

A few weeks back my buddy and I racked up 1,800 miles in two days and came back emptyhanded.

I did 4200 miles in 10 days and I thought I had done a lot of driving!
My first experience of chasing in USA and thought the Panhandle/New Mexico offered the best chasing. 26th May to 5th June.

 

[Dan Robinson]

I drove over 15,000 miles in the Plains in 2003, four separate trips from WV and back, and saw absolutely nothing. No tornadoes, no supercells, no structure, no good lightning.

2004 was the exact opposite, and the catches last year made me forget about 2003.

Success in storm chasing requires persistence and a willingness to get yourself there time and time again until you are rewarded. There's no other way to do it.

 

[nickgrillo]

Yeah, it is rough driving all those miles just to see storms. I have it even worse then you, Mike, I live an extra 2HRS east of where you live. I basically chased in MI only in my first year of chasing in 2002, then I continued southwestward, with traveling to IL in 2003, and by 2004 I was going to MO/IA occasionally. Now, this year, I have been on the Plains practically the whole season, and it is totally worth the drive to get away from the constant crap I had to chase up back in MI...

I think your moving out of MI soon, just like me, right?

Make the drives when it calls for it, it may not always pay off, but when it does - it only feels even sweeter!

 

[Craig Maire II]

Traveling long distances, is it worth it?

I also think it is worth it to drive long distances to see good storms, I have seen tornados/very large hail in both Nebraska and Missouri this year and no tornados in Iowa so far, I'll definitely be doing more long distance traveling again very soon.

 

[Brad Emel]

I think it is worth the drive to see good storms. Like so many of you, I'm a good distance away from supercells you can actually see. My chase vacation was 7 days and I put 4200 miles on my new Xterra. I doubled the miles on it!

I try and get away to chase whenever I can. We just bought a house so that might cut into my chasing a bit.