I chase by myself 99.9% of the time and have for many many years now. Here are some tips I can give:
* Get a Garmin standalone GPS unit. I have the dezl 770 which works great and shows paved/non paved roads. Paper maps are a no go when chasing alone.
* Keep your head on a swivel while actively pursuing storms. I don't get close and do only still photography, but I still ALWAYS pay attention.
* Don't get distracted by looking at your phone, GPS, etc. I know it's hard, but keep your eyes on the road as much as possible.
* Don't depend on radar as the gospel. Radar is great, but trust what you are actually SEEING.
* Pay attention to your gas tank. Fill it up whenever possible, especially when you get to 1/2 a tank.
* Get your ham radio license if you don't have one. It's a great way to communicate to fellow chasers, and it can be another life line if you get into trouble.
* Charge your phone and keep it charged when possible.
* Keep an eye on your vehicle because that is your most important chase tool. Keep an eye on oil levels, spare tire, hoses, belts, etc.
* Buy a few cans of fix-a-flat and have a few basic tools in your car.
* Carry gorilla tape and clear plastic sheeting in case you happen to get yourself in large hail and sustain a broken window.
* ALWAYS try to position yourself with at least 2 good escape routes. Generally east and south if you can. This is probably one of the top tips I can give you. Always keep in mind what road you would take if you had to escape quickly from a tornado/large hail. Pay special attention to right turning supercells. They can get you quickly if you're not paying attention.
I'm sure I missed something, but these are basically the top tips for chasing alone. As always, the key word is SAFETY!
Thanks for all the tips, I can't agree more with what everyone has had to say. Seems that Garmin unit
@Jason Boggs mentioned must be quite sought after, definitely more expensive. I never owned a Garmin GPS but I did have a Tom Tom years ago and seemed the big problem with it, specifically, was outdated maps and I don't recall that it was able to differentiate between paved and non-paved roads. Not sure if all Garmin units differentiate paved and non-paved, but I will try to do my homework there. It would be worth having even if isn't always accurate, not going to have time to try to look at satellite imagery to find out. I'm also looking for any apps that might do the same but I don't have high hopes on that.
So speaking of vehicles. I'm driving a Toyota Prius Prime, which is the plug-in variant of the normal Prius. So the good thing, aside from getting good gas mileage and no belts of any kind, is that it being a plug in, I can stop the car, leave it on in EV mode and run the AC and all the accessories without using any gas at all. The bad side of the Prius is yeah not super fast and they do sit low, the new ones are lower than the previous generation so that makes dirt roads more likely to be a no go. One's that are both dry and good condition should be fine, whether they stay that way or getting caught on a dirt road with heavy rain may pose a bit a problem. There are other issues I have to consider about the car such as it lacks a spare tire but Toyota was kind enough to provide fix-a-flat and a tire repair kit and of course I do carry an air pump but something more significant than a nail might leave me stranded or waiting on a tow truck which might be a long ways away. So there are certainly better chase vehicles, not going to try to sell that but barring a blow out or baseball sized hail busting out the rear window which will cost over $1200 to replace, it should be fine. So needless to say I will be carrying duct tape but hopefully I won't have to use it. There is a good chance that replacement glass will not be available, so more reason to not get close.
I do have a ham radio license and part of the preparation of the trip I installed a dual band radio (nothing fancy just a QYT 8900), I did get a good antenna however. I think it might even be the same one that Daniel Shaw uses on his chase vehicle.
https://www.diamondantenna.net/nr770hrks.html Seems to work well and that adhesive they use, I sure hope I don't have to try and take it off anytime soon, I really doubt high winds will pose a problem. The radio is a bit under powered at 25 watts but the antenna seems to make up (quite a bit) for it in my testing.
I did also invest in a weBoost drive sleek, which also seems to work pretty well. I do happen to live in a rural area in western NC and cell service is one of those things that is hit or miss. So probably not a bad thing to have around here anyway. My idea was to use my phone as a hotspot and be able to use the phone for navigation and the iPad for radar updates, or vice versa. Both do have data plans but in areas where data might only work through the booster I would be able to use both. Of course, the hotspot idea has it's flaws. But I do have plenty of time to test all the gear and find out ways to make it work better, I guess I'm lucky to live in an area with sketchy cell service since that makes testing out things much easier and help give realistic expectations on how things are likely to perform.
No kidding about Doppler not being gospel. It's good to keep track at what's going on but once you're in position, you should definitely use your eyes. Plus in area where cell signal is weak, you might be looking at radar images that are 10-15 minutes old and a lot can happen in that amount of time.
Good list by Jason. I would add that if you are chasing alone, pass on fast moving storms. If they are moving 30-35 knots or more, it’s really not safe trying to keep track of the road network, the radar/velocity and watching what the storm is doing while driving at highway speeds. You’ll need to be driving the whole time to keep up. There won’t be hardly any time to stop and enjoy.
@Todd Lemery now that's something I might not have given a lot of thought about until I encountered something like that. I have to agree, especially with questionable road networks and storms making turns and so forth.
A couple of more tips here:
* Never get keyed in on one storm. Zoom the radar out once in a while to get a look at other storms that may be heading your way. Example: You're chasing a supercell that right moves and you have to bail south. You look at radar and see a tornado warned cell 15 miles to your SW moving NE. Hopefully you have an option to go east in this situation.
* Never under any circumstance chase at night if you're chasing alone. It's hard enough with another set of eyes.
* Do not speed at night unless it's an absolute emergency. Many things can ruin your day if you're speeding on rural roads in the plains such as...deer/wildlife, flooding/wet roads, debris, not familiar with roads, etc.
I definitely have no plans to chase at night. The only thing I may do is some time-lapse should I find myself in a spot where you can see a storm firing off a lot of lightning that is 50+ miles away. Otherwise, that would be a no go.
I would also think that local law enforcement might be pretty happy to write someone a ticket for 5 over the limit....
That does bring me to a few other questions. Seems that there are mixed feelings about storm chasers. I know that with, anything, there are a few people that ruin it for everyone else. I've come across a few good examples, in my opinion, someone shouldn't do, like lay the horn on a sherriff's deputy because they're blocking the road. While I have no intention on doing anything that would be deemed unethical, not sure if there is a code of ethics or perhaps some things that someone might unknowingly do that might upset locals, law enforcement or other chasers. I would think much of it would be common sense sort of things.
That all being said I appreciate everyone's tips and advice.
