Have you ever looked back?

[Adam Lucio]

For those who have been around for several years and more, have you ever looked back to how you were when you first started out?

I finally found the blog from my very first intercept back on April 20th 2004 which was actually a very big day here in IL [unknowingly to me at the time.]

I found it funny to read it and critique myself and how little I actually knew then. I decided to add it as on official log on my site:

http://www.aerostorms.com/042004.php

It was a neat trip down memory lane.

 

[David Drummond]

I do it from time to time. One thing that really strikes me, is how much my videography and photography has improved over the years.

 

[cdcollura]

Good day all,

I actually took the time and effort to log each and every chase / observation down since the 1980's.

Here is some of my first "intercepts" (foolish in their ways, but I was a teenager)...

1). OCT 14, 1984 ... 9:00 AM - Coastal observation of large southeasterly swells impacting the beaches along Fire Island at Smith Point State Park near Moriches, New York. Hurricane Josephine was about 250 Miles to the south with winds decreasing from 100 to 85-MPH and turning towards the ENE. Josephine’s outer fringe effects were felt in extreme eastern New England. Conditions observed were 45-MPH NNE winds, cloudy skies with light drizzle, and 8 to 15 foot swells with tides 2 to 3 feet above normal. This was the first storm observed by myself. I used a bike to ride to the beach and a boogie board to observe the waves. Documentation was audio recording from a tape recorder wrapped in garbage bags.

2). OCT 11, 1985 ... 3:00 PM - Penetration of a strong thunderstorm in Margate and Coral Springs, Florida along Atlantic Blvd. The storm had 40-MPH winds, Torrential rains, and frequent lightning as I rode through it on my bicycle. This foolish and dangerous chase was the first thunderstorm I ever intercepted intentionally. Tropical moisture and sea breeze activity spawned the storms near a low-pressure trough.

Yeah, I know ... Chasing with a bicycle is dumb (from lightning) - But I had to get there somehow! I moved to Florida (from New York) in July 1985. Below is the first intentional intercept of a thunderstorm in a car...

3). APR 30, 1986 ... 7:00 PM - Penetration of a strong thunderstorm in western sections of Lake Worth, Florida near State Road 7. Heavy rain, frequent lightning, and 40-MPH wind gusts were observed. Conditions causing the storms were a prefrontal wave and surface heating. A 1984 Chrysler Laser was used to chase the storm.

Below if my first tornado intercept (with a picture of the funnel)...

4). JAN 5, 1987 ... 2:00 PM - Penetration of a severe thunderstorm and tornado interception. With a guest, the severe thunderstorm was encountered near Sample Road and State Road 7 in Margate, Florida. High winds, heavy rains, and small hail was encountered as this fast moving storm crossed the area. Near Pompano Beach, Florida, on Sample Road, A small tornado was observed on the backside of the thunderstorm. The chasers came within one mile of the touchdown area, where 2 street lamps were downed and several trailer homes damaged. A jet stream aloft and a strong cold front allowed the storms and tornado to develop. A 1980 Ford Pinto was used to chase the storms. Documentation was still photographs. A tornado watch was also in effect until 3 PM for this area.

Enjoy...

 

[Joey Ketcham]

I sure do. I remember when I first got my drivers licenses heading out into the countryside during severe weather. I was young, naive and stupid. Had no clue what I was doing, but I did it anyways. I went out with just a camera, scanner and paper maps and that was it. I didn't venture too far out, and often times got into some nice hail.

Those were the fun times, when the technology we have now was unheard of then.

 

[Skip Talbot]

I finally found the blog from my very first intercept back on April 20th 2004 which was actually a very big day here in IL [unknowingly to me at the time.]

I love reading my old chase logs. They bring back a lot of of memories, and yeah I can definitely see how I've changed over the years. Here's my log from that day, and it was significant for me as that was my first tornado intercept:
http://www.skip.cc/chase/040420

And my first chase which was a blundering and foolish attempt at a night intercept during a huge tornado outbreak:
http://www.skip.cc/chase/030510

Some of the banner images are broken as I'm currently overhauling my site.

 

[Chris Allington]

Like Joey, it all started for me about 6 years ago when I got my drivers license. I would wait for storms to initiate near my town, and head out if there were warnings within a county or so. I had a scanner that my dad had bought me for xmas, a crappy point and shoot camera, and a paper map of Eastern Nebraska. I got into a lot of squall lines and hail, and had some fun experiences with cores at night. There was a brief pause in my chasing career while I was a college student at the University of Nebraska. Probably only saw 1 or 2 legitimate supercells and one of them was from far off. It wasn't until the past couple of years that I have started traveling across the Plains.

 

[Chris C Sanner]

I started chasing back in 2003 after waiting years and years to get my drivers license....and I knew very little when I started. Really it's amazing I never found myself in any real trouble and it's also amazing I got as lucky as I did the first few years with all the success I had. It's really an amazing thing to look back and see how much you've grown as a chaser over the years...and it's one reason why I think the only way to figure out how to chase is to actually go out and chase.

I've always gotten the "Man you were such an n00b Chris" vibe every time I go back and read any of my old chase logs...it's kind of fun

 

[Danny Neal]

My first chase I knew absolutely NOTHING. It was a miracle I actually saw a pretty decent storm. Looking back at it and looking at the video, you see a terrified 10 year old boy in the front seat of his van having a death grip on a paper map. I was 99% scared, .5% enthused, and .5% curious. I just wrote a log on my experience actually....

http://northernilstormchaser.com/April-13th,-1998---Havana,-IL.php


I was only 10 so I probably couldn't tell your the logistical errors made or whether or not there was a better storm around. It was more of a father taking his son out to experience severe weather for the first time and I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world......EVER.

 

[Jason Foster]

Oh geez...I hate watching early video of myself with the volume on. Squeaky voice, naming the wrong parts of the storm...arrrggg. And like David D said...the quality (stillness) of the video over the years has greatly improved. In many ways I was so very inexperienced when I started, but luckily I did have a good two years of study before my first plains chase, the previous 8 months being intensive study on chasing, forecasting, storm structure etc. Study material was harder to come by back in the day (mid 90s) so I certainly see why I was naming the wrong parts of the storm (RFD being a frequent mistake).

There are some good memories and bad. I certainly don't miss spending $10,000 on a 4 week chase expedition. I still cringe at that look back.

 

[Jason Boggs]

My first chase I knew absolutely NOTHING.

Same here. My first chase in 98 was looking at the wx channel and trying to go from there. I saw no storms that day, but that day is what started it for me. I chased locally around Pampa, TX for a year or two, but still used the wx channel for most of my info. In 2000, I started learning more and more, and I finally went out on some longer storm chases. The Oct 9th 2001 tornadoes near Cordell was my first true tornado, and I saw plenty of damage in Cordell that night. I saw 3 tornadoes that day.

 

[Chris Wilburn]

My first chase was during the May 4, 2003 outbreak. I absolutely knew nothing. I saw a tornado warned cell heading towards a nearby town and left the house to chase. I had nothing with me & would call friends to see what the television station was saying. I got to the town with the sirens blaring and got caught up in golfball sized hail. I got scared and blasted away to the east. When I hit a north/south road I went north back home. If I only knew the best place to see a tornado was to drop south I would have seen a tornado. I have learned so much since then & I too agree things have changed over time. The thing I think has changed the most in those 6 years is data & radar availability on the road.

 

[Karla Dorman]

OHHHH yeah. After years of storms chasing me, turned tables on them back in 2005 with the capture of a funnel outside my front door. Couldn't have done that before.

Still don't know what the hell I'm doing. Going on my first 'real' chase next season. Going with someone who knows what they're doing. I hope. LOL Nervous? Yes. Excited? YOU BET. C'mon, 2010!

 

[Paul Hadfield]

I look back all the time and a.) can't believe how close I was to certain things, b.) how many of those things I still missed and c.) how many things I had the sense to document even though I wasn't fully aware at the time. Wx radio and paper map days, doesn't matter which side of the Mississippi you are from or how far you roamed, that which tested your critical thinking ability is what real chasing was all about. Thank god for the things we have access to now.

 

[Chris Heater]

I haven't been chasing very long (2 years locally, two long distance...4 years total counting 2009) but i've learned a lot after going back and looking at my videos from 2008 and even this year. The most striking so far locally was the August 19th chase this year. After it only being a slight risk day with only a 5% tornado threat, I was surprised to hear tornado reports flowing in halfway through our chase.

I like the idea of chase logs. I think I need to go back and do that

 

[J. Sims]

Well hopefully this year I will have some memories and get my start. Come on spring 2010!