Entire month of May storm chase.

[Jeremy Newton]

I am taking the entire month of May to go out and storm chase. I went out from a few weeks in May and June earlier this year. I had a lot of success. The most prolific tornado was the EF-3 Tescott wedge. I can't decide if I want to rent out a condo/hotel for an entire month, or just stay in different cities each night.

When I went out earlier this year, I knew the target areas ahead of time. But, spending an entire month is completely different.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mark Blue]

My advice would be to stay where you end up each night. If you rented a condo in Salina, KS, and at the end of the day you found yourself in the Midland Odessa, TX, area you’d have a long drive in front of you to get back to Salina.

My wife and I had a scenario in 2009 (I think) where one day we chased south TX and the next day the severe outlook was for MT. That just isn’t feasible unless you’re a true road warrior and never get tired. Just my advice, I’m sure others will chime in.

 

[Jeremy Newton]

That was my very first thought. I'm used to sating in very different hotels.

 

[Tony Laubach]

I think this could go either way... if you can find a place in the center of the region for cheap for one month, then perhaps it is worth having a home-base. OKC or Wichita may offer some options. Depending on how much you pay for an entire month, it may be worth while considering hotels can run upwards of $100+ a night. Also, having a home base for the month in a decent metro area will at least give you something to do when the weather isn't working for you. Even if you get a couple hotel nights during the month, you'll probably save money in the long run just having a home base.

Having lived in Wichita for my first season, I did see an increase in later nights (i.e. arriving home after midnight), but I stayed very few nights in hotels. It was very nice being in the Alley for a change, and having a steady place to go home to.

I'd honestly, especially this far out, take a look at what you can get a place for during the month of May somewhere in the central/southern alley. Keep in mind, too, the climatology of May and where things typically are highlighted during that time of year, so chances are small that you'll spend a lot of time in Montana or the Dakotas compared to TX, OK, and KS.

 

[Quincy Vagell]

There are a couple of ways of looking at this...

If you take the whole month off, there’s a strong likelihood that you’ll have several off days spent not chasing, especially in the first half of the month. In that case, staying at a home base and doing things locally to pass the time will be cheaper.

On the flip side, as mentioned, targets can vary by 500-1000 miles or more by the day. If you centered around Amarillo/Dodge City/Oklahoma City/Wichita, you could probably minimize the need for extremely long travel. In May, especially during the second half of the month, target areas expand and most will do the majority of their chasing in western/central Kansas and surrounding areas from the panhandles to eastern Colorado. In that case, you’d probably be within 4-5 hours from home on most chases. When I chased with Ian Livingston for a week and a half stretch at the end of May in 2016, we almost exclusively chased between the Texas panhandle and the western half of Kansas. In that pattern, we could have booked a place in Dodge City and ended up just 2-3 hours from there at least 75% of the time.

Weigh the pros and cons.

Pros of home base:
Can leave and go as you please
Save money vs. nightly hotels
Can rest and/or stay local on down days

Pros of hotels:
Can shorten travel time/distance
Check in at a reasonable hour most nights
Far more options

Cons of home base:
May require long drives to/from chases
Added cost for gas
If the pattern is anomalous, it may be out of the way
Less flexibility in general with chase targets

Cons of hotels:
Cost can add up quickly, especially in certain areas
Some require check in before certain times
Can’t stay past 10/11 a.m. for single night stays

I’d lean toward using hotels and traveling where the pattern takes you, unless...

1. You can get a really good deal for a month’s rent
2. You are willing to be more selective with targets (for example, if you stay in Wichita, opting out of chases in Southwest Texas, for example)

I do think 50-75% or more of chases in late May will be in or close to western/central Kansas, but early to mid-May is more of a wild card...

 

[JamesCaruso]

Entirely depends on your financial situation. You mention basing out of a hotel as an option. I can’t imagine that committing to the same hotel for a month is going to save you all that much money. So compared to that, I would rather just hit the road and stay where I needed to stay on any given night. Committing to a condo (instead of a hotel) for a month might save you some money, but you’d have to do the math. If money were no object at all, I would choose a base in OKC, ICT or DDC (DDC being the least desirable; OKC and ICT have lots more to do on down days), and if I ended up too far to drive back on a particular chase day I would stay somewhere else that night, even if I also had to pay for my “base” place and pay a double fee that night.

 

[James Wilson]

It all depends on the next day’s chase location and time you quit chasing on the current day.

If the target area for the next day if a long drive I try to cut some of that drive down after a chase. The reason being the target can change and be FURTHER away. Now if I quit chasing late and especially if it was a bust (No uploading/editing video) I usually just go to bed nearby. This might require an early start to the day however to get to the target.

I would NEVER have a pre-arranged place to stay unless I am 100% confident the next day will also be in the same general area. I will NEVER have multiple days booked ahead of time because conditions do and most likely will change resulting in a different target all together.

I hope this helps and of course only what I do ….

 

[James Wilson]

One more point ... have you considered camping? This can be in a vehicle like @Skip Talbot does or actually outside like Stephen Locke does. This could be an option from time to time not every night.

 

[Marc R. O'Leary]

One more point ... have you considered camping? This can be in a vehicle like @Skip Talbot does or actually outside like Stephen Locke does. This could be an option from time to time not every night.

I always carry camping gear in my car. I camped after the Eads, CO chase as once I decided to abandon the chase in Colby, KS, I got a call from my wife saying there was a blizzard back home. Glad I stayed put as I heard some chasers had a pretty treacherous time getting back to the Denver area.

 

[Todd Lemery]

I would trade the first week in May for the first week in June if given the opportunity to choose one month straight. Too often in early May the moisture gets pushed out into the gulf and then when it’s just returning gets pushed out again. That could easily stick you with a week or more straight of going sightseeing.
I always find a hotel as close to where I finished chasing that day as possible. The more consecutive days in a row chasing there are, the more tired I get. The extra hours you pile on driving instead of getting some R and R accumulates pretty quick. Too many times you’ll be forced to accept a secondary target if you return to a “home” base every night just because the drive is too long.

 

[Quincy Vagell]

I definitely agree about trading the first week of May for the first week in June. Given how recent years have gone, I’d probably favor the second week of June over the second week of May, but that’s more of a personal preference. (Deeper into June gets you more into areas farther north, such as Nebraska, South Dakota and eastern Wyoming.)

 

[MattLuttrell]

I've done Woodspring extended stay hotels and have seen many other chasers in the lot. Also have done back of SUV when needed.

 

[Adam Lucio]

The best thing about taking an entire month straight is it puts you out there on those low key, mesoscale setups that end up going big that only a handful of chasers score.

AirBNB is a great alternative to hotels. So many awesome, unique places you can stay and many of them are only around $50 a night. Going solo can mean long grueling drives between daily target areas. I've been there done that. A vehicle you can cat-nap comfortably in also helps this. Sometimes just 2hrs can recharge you for the entire day.