Y'know, I've had stretches like that, too. Years where I chased and my cameras never cleared leather. Where those tornadoes on TV must be some Industrial Light and Magic CGI stuff, all designed to make a fool out of me
Y'know, I've had stretches like that, too. Years where I chased and my cameras never cleared leather. Where those tornadoes on TV must be some Industrial Light and Magic CGI stuff, all designed to make a fool out of me
Grady Joslin
EF0
Well, it looks as if I have a lot to learn as well. I've been chasing since pretty much since I graduated high school in 2001. Now being 26, I've only seen two tornadoes.
I did make a mistake this year which I feel stupid for doing. I was tracking a tornadic storm that produced an EF0/1 tornado in Borden, Indiana, I was 12 miles east in Sellersburg. I was actually on route 403, and saw what I thought was a rotating funnel cloud. I kept watching it but it was so erratic. I hesitated calling it in/radioing it in but managed to grab a few pictures of it. Later that night I send the photos to the local NWS trying to see if they could confirm it or not. I guess they thought I was jumping the gun or something. The response I got was more or less "Thanks for letting us know, nice pictures, now go play now." Eh not that exact way but its how I was reading it. Now I am just very hesitant to send them anything in fear my credibility pretty much shot with them. I try not to report every little thing I see unless I am sure but I guess where I am at, its not as easy as it is in the plains. I chase mainly in the Kentucky/Indiana area and I'll keep trying at it. I've been picking up any book I can find on forecasting and reading these forums and any thing I can pick up on.
I did make a mistake this year which I feel stupid for doing. I was tracking a tornadic storm that produced an EF0/1 tornado in Borden, Indiana, I was 12 miles east in Sellersburg. I was actually on route 403, and saw what I thought was a rotating funnel cloud. I kept watching it but it was so erratic. I hesitated calling it in/radioing it in but managed to grab a few pictures of it. Later that night I send the photos to the local NWS trying to see if they could confirm it or not. I guess they thought I was jumping the gun or something. The response I got was more or less "Thanks for letting us know, nice pictures, now go play now." Eh not that exact way but its how I was reading it. Now I am just very hesitant to send them anything in fear my credibility pretty much shot with them. I try not to report every little thing I see unless I am sure but I guess where I am at, its not as easy as it is in the plains. I chase mainly in the Kentucky/Indiana area and I'll keep trying at it. I've been picking up any book I can find on forecasting and reading these forums and any thing I can pick up on.
Jeff Hawkins
EF3
Haven't been on ST in a while, so I thought I'd see what the hot topic has been for the last while. Some things never change...
after 10 seasons on the Plains, the atmosphere still surprises me from time to time. That's one big reason why I'll chase as long as I can: no storm is ever exactly the same.
And I agree with Shane. I started out with very few gizmos and gadgets, and I missed tornadoes for about 3 years. It was incredibly frustrating; I began to wonder if tornadoes really existed.
As I've noted, my first real chase season was this past year. I started out, like others, with minimal gadgets. For me it was a scanner radio, and looking at SPC forecasts on my home computer before leaving. From reading this and other posts I will feel like I've done something wrong if I DO see a tornado in the first 3 years....like I've cheated!
