From the UK - Should I fly into Denver or Dallas?

[Quincy Vagell]

As others have echoed, if we're looking at the second half of May (which is climatologically favored to be at/near prime chase season), I'd give a slight edge to Denver. Eastern Colorado/western Kansas perform quite regularly this time of the year and access to I-70/I-135 can get you east and south across Kansas fairly quickly. The OK/TX panhandles aren't far away either and they tend to light up around this time as well. Late May is also when the northeastern Colorado upslope period really starts to heat up, as some years will have a lot of activity only a couple of hours away from Denver.

Dallas isn't a bad option either, especially if we're talking about early to mid-May. The issue with Dallas is traffic and that if a target area is in the central Plains, you're going to have to drive several hours to get into position. The other problem with the first half of May is that down periods are more likely, even if that is when North Texas/southern Oklahoma tends to peak with tornado threats. While in Dallas, you'll almost always have to go north to chase, but while in Denver, you may go east, southeast or even north/northeast.

This may not be an option for the OP, but others who may be debating, a larger hub that often gets overlooked in Kansas City. Sure, it's a better option if you're looking to chase between the last week of May and any time in June, rather than earlier in the season, but it seems to be fairly reasonable with prices for flights. Geographically, it's in a prime location if you're chasing in late spring, being only a few hours of most parts of Kansas/Missouri/Nebraska/Iowa. Like the other two cities, there is a lot to due around Kansas City as well, from sporting events to breweries, dining, etc., where there is downtime.

 

[Paul Knightley]

Hey Paul!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Denver. Are you heading out this year? We just booked flights a couple of days ago so really looking forward to it! I'm presuming you rented a car? If so do you have any recommendations?

Cheers Paul,

Chris T

Hi Chris,

Yes, we'll be out. Picking a car is based on personal preference - a larger car = more costs, but also, generally, more comfort. We go for an SUV, as we're basically spending most of the holiday in the car and so we want it to be a nice environment. Besides, you have more room for luggage and equipment, as well as multiple power points for hooking up your various chargers, laptop, and so on.

Regarding things like breakdown cover - we tend to just add it on at the rental desk - you can often get a bit of a deal, e.g. they might give you a free additional driver, or maybe even a modest upgrade if you take some extra cover. Certainly make sure you are fully covered including windscreen cover!

When it comes to things like motels - join all the rewards programmes! We've enjoyed several free nights after collecting points!

 

[Kai-Asle]

Hi all.
Interesting thread. I'm a chaser from Denmark. I've been chasing since 2006.

11 times we've flown to Dallas. The first night we usually stay at Days Inn in Irving at the end of the runway.
It's a very short drive from the airport. Behind the motel close by you have Wallmart, Verizon, AT&T and Chili's.
All you need upon arrival. We always rent cars from Expedia. That way you are sure what insurances you get.

However the last couple of years tickets for Dallas have become increasingly pricy. Therefore Denver sounds tempting.
In 2014 I actually chased just outside the airport. So I'm glad I found this thread. Thanks.

A lot of good suggestions and advice have already been given. But I would recommend Wyndham Rewards programme. One of the best I've tried.

I conducted a very non-scientific study. It seems that most of the time we've gone West of Dallas.

2006 - Dallas, May 16th, West, New Mexico.
2007 - Wichita, May 1st, South, Oklahoma.
2008 - Oklahoma City, May 5th, Southwest, Texas Panhandle.
2009 - Dallas, May 10th, East, Shreveport, Louisiana.
2010 - Dallas, April 29th, North, Kansas/Nebraska.
2011 - Dallas, May 22st, North, Oklahoma.
2012 - Dallas, May 4th, Southwest, Texas.
2013 - Dallas, May 12th, Southwest, Texas.
2014 - Dallas, April 20th, Northwest, Texas Panhandle.
2015 - Dallas, May 17th, Northwest, Oklahoma.
2016 - Dallas, May 20th, Northwest, Oklahoma.
2017 - Dallas, May 9th, Northwest, Texas Panhandle.
2018 - Dallas, May 15th, Northwest, Texas Panhandle.

See you out there in May.

Kai-Asle

 

[Dan Robinson]

Denver would be my choice between the two for reasons already covered, particularly later in the season.

Interesting, I didn't realize that the only direct flights from Heathrow to the Midwest/Plains were Denver or Dallas (and Chicago). What is the typical departure airport for cross-country flights in Europe? Are there other options? I would have suggested KC also per Quincy's post, but that would require at least one stop and plane change. Wichita would seem to be worth the one extra plane changeover in terms of getting to a more central location in chase alley. For an extra 2-3 hours of air travel time, it's might save you 6-8 hours of driving. Just thinking of a typical end-of-trip deal where you end up in eastern KS at the end of a wave ejection sequence kind of like the May 22-26 2016 period.

 

[JamesCaruso]

^^^ Agree with ICT as probably the geographically ideal base in my opinion. I usually go with Denver more because I can get a direct flight and there are more flight options, enabling me to be flexible about when I start my trip and still get out there the night before the first chase day. As Dan says, ICT is particularly good as an ending point; there were many years that I started in Denver, waited to schedule a flight home until I figured out what would be convenient, and ended up heading home out of ICT. Great city to hang out in too, love the Old Town area, the minor league baseball stadium, great bars and restaurants, nice way to transition back to real life on the last night of a chase vacation.

In case you’re wondering how I get around the cost of such last minute flights, I still have a ton of miles from when I used to do a lot of business travel; and also from my airline credit card. By using extra miles, I can get a flexible ticket, or just book last minute. Also Southwest has reasonable last minute fares, although I refuse to use them anymore, for other reasons I won’t go into here. Ironically, it’s actually the rental car issue that becomes the biggest financial concern: it can be ridiculously expensive to rent in one location and return at another.

 

[Chris T.]

Hey all,

Thank you so much for your advice (above)
Was fortunate to see some spectacular storms and along the way met some great people. I felt like I learnt a lot.

Definitely would love to come out again next year! Until then I'll hope for some late-summer storms to hit London.

If you're interested, I've attached a few images from our time chasing. Thanks again!

Chris

 

[Paul Knightley]

Good stuff!


We did fly to Denver this year - on May 20th - and were greeted with snow, which gave 10cm/3 inches by the following morning!

This was at dinner on the evening of the 20th:

 

[JamesCaruso]

Good stuff!


We did fly to Denver this year - on May 20th - and were greeted with snow, which gave 10cm/3 inches by the following morning!

This was at dinner on the evening of the 20th:

Wow Paul that’s amazing, what a unique experience, to start a chase trip in a snowstorm! That’s got to be a first!

 

[Lou Ruh]

Wow Paul that’s amazing, what a unique experience, to start a chase trip in a snowstorm! That’s got to be a first!

Not really. Back in mid-May 2015 we drove through real snow near Somerset, PA on our way out to the Plains. Not quite to the level that Paul saw, but, it was real (unfortunately, no pictures).

 

[Chris T.]

Good stuff!


We did fly to Denver this year - on May 20th - and were greeted with snow, which gave 10cm/3 inches by the following morning!

This was at dinner on the evening of the 20th:

Man, that must of been pretty unexpected!

Furthermore, only recently came across Torro! Great stuff Paul.

CT

 

[Paul Knightley]

It's not unique, as Lou says, but pretty unusual! In the 19 years I've been coming over it's the first snow I've seen away from the very high mountains. On the other hand, in 2005 there was a heavy snowfall in S Dakota around the time we arrived, and when we chased near Rapid City on May 20th that year, we found big piles of snow in shopping mall car parks, where it had be pushed away and hadn't melted form the big piles yet!