Driving Long Distances to See Storms, Is it Worth It

[Shane Adams]

I live in central Oklahoma, so I can fully understand what it's like to drive long distances for chases. It's one thing when you live on the Coast or the Midwest, but when you live in the Plains and still find yourself averaging over 500 miles a chase, it gets a little annoying.

But is it worth it? HELL YEAH

 

[Brian McKibben]

I too live in Central OK. Whether or not it is worth it to chase long distances...Well for the most part that depends on what you have at the end of the day.

I have chase a few times distances greater than 1200 miles to come up with nothing. Those are the types of days when it is frustrating and you think about retiring from storm chasing because you spent so much on gas and you had bad luck.

On the other hand, there have been days when I chased distances greater than 1000 miles and would do it again in a heart beat. The key is to make sure that if you are going to chase that far away, that you are confident that tornadoes will occur. This does not mean that you should chase only days with a High Risk, (as many remember the infamous June 24th, 2003 Manchester SD tornado was on a Mod Risk that was not even hatched) but you should make sure that you are confident in your personal forecast.

I do envy you guys in MI that chase the storms in the Midwest. That is definitely a long drive, I have done it before.

 

[Jerry Funfsinn]

Speaking of it is worth it or not. I was dressed and packed and leaving at 4am this morning for Colby Kansas. Due to other plans coming up I delayed the trip for another day. Laughed like an idiot as I watched the radar this afternoon commenting about the chasers dream of a slow moving supercell producing numerous tornadoes in NW KS. Yeah I definitely would have been there but such is the life of a chaser. Those 10 hr leeway drives suck sometimes.
Jerry Funfsinn

 

[Warren Eckels]

Short finances, old car, lower standards

Irregular employment, saving for school this fall and an older car have conspired to keep me close to home.

But two days ago I enjoyed watching a cumulus cloud develop into a large thunderstorm with three rain shafts and CG lightning on an unplanned interception along I-65 that started south of Rensselaer and ended in my driveway. Then yesterday I rounded another garden-variety storm/shower in an arc from Cedar Lake, IN to Grant Park, IL to Momence to Roselawn, IN (just to see two beautiful growing Cb and a gust front four miles from my front door on the way back!)

 

[John Erwin]

I've done roughly 3200 miles this year for chasing, the bulk of that was for the week long trip to the plains at the end of May. It's too far to do all the time, but I make a vacation of it and have alternative activities planned if I bust... this year I made a point of seeing parts of Colorado I hadn't visited before.

As for the rest of the year I simply wait for something closer to home to show up.. which isn't often! 8)

 

[Jason Boggs]

After seeing all those miles you guys put on your vehicles...Thank God I live in Amarillo!!!

 

[David Drummond]

Last year, between my vehicle and Graham's we logged right at 50,000 miles on the plains. A few days we were running both vehicles together, but most days that was done in one vehicle, anywhere from Texas to Iowa and everything in between.

Even local chases, it's not uncommon to log 300+ miles or more.

Is it worth it? 21 tornadoes last year and expriences and images of a lifetime tells me it is. 8)

 

[Sarah Berling]

It is easily a four hour drive from Albuquerque to anywhere remotely stormy (for lack of a better word), even Carlsbad. If you take I40 east, after about four hours, you'll hit Amarillo and you can just go from there. But if I wanted to actually catch anything, I'd have to be up very early to get a move on. Would I do it? Heck yeah. Longest chase I've done thus far was from Norman OK to DDC to GCK (taking the scenic route) and back...about 14 hours and 800ish miles. It was totally worth it, though. One of the most electric storms I've ever seen. Completely amazing.

Sarah

 

[Tony Laubach]

I once made an 1800 mile round trip for a bust once. While I don't like to do that often, it was well worth it! I love the road trips!

Last year, I logged over 15,000 miles and figure to do the same if not more this year. I also figure on logging another 1,000 miles starting tomorrow for the venture into extreme Southern Kansas and likely beyond... ya damn right its worth it!

 

[Mikey Gribble]

All those long drives end up making you appreciate the pay off all the more IMO. I hate being stuck in the car for 20 hours just as much as the next guy, but it comes with the territory. It really gets bad after several days in a row. If you want to see tornadoes though, you have to go where they are. I think it just boils down to how dedicated you are to storm chasing. If it is just a hobby, then you probably aren't willing to drive very far from home. For those of us who have crossed another line, storm chasing is an obsession and no distance is too far. The longest bust for me was Saint Cloud Minnesota. It sucked pretty bad, but I don't regret it.

 

[Jeff Wear]

The way I see it the less you're willing to drive the less you're going to see. 500+ mile cap busts are never fun but they sure beat seeing what you missed on a day you didn't go out.

 

[SteveCarter]

it's worth it

I live in South Carolina and drove over 2,600 miles in 4.5 days earlier this month. I was ALL over Kansas, and part of Oklahoma. 0 tubes, ONE super. I would do it all over again - in a heartbeat. Next year, I'm going from early March, all the way thru June. I'll leave on a chase, then come home until the next major event starts to unfold. It can be expensive though. Average day = $15-20 for food, $30-40 for gas, $60-90 for a Hotel, and about $10 a day for misc. I expect to be chasing about 40-50 days next year. If I figured it up right, this should be between $4,600 - $8,000. That sounds like a lot, but....we spent more than that for 10 days in Hawaii 2 months ago. The excitement of a possible tornado, and the freedom of the road to go WHEREVER nature dictates, is overwhelming. When I get back from chase, I start getting excited about the next one! It's like oxygen - without it, I'd die. Sounds overly dramatic, but NOTHING compares to it.

 

[David Drummond]

We we do those multi-day, multi-state chases we try to make it more fun and camp out...plus it saves on motels! WIFI or cell data takes care of those needs. Or, staying with friends in different places as well helps save on the motels. Camping at the end of a long drive is just relaxing!