hey, new to the forums and seeking advice

[Jake Tyson]

hey, glad to have found this great place.

anyways, some back story.
my names jake, and ever since i was a lil kid i have been fascinated, intrigued, and yes sometimes scared (anyone who says theyve never been is lying) by storms. and now i am hoping to further my knowledge by going to college for meterology. and in particular severe weather (mostly tornadoes, but also hail, derechos and microbursts intrigue me).

anyways im here for a couple of reasons

1. i need help finding a meterology school in georgia.

2. i am planning a chase for next year.
my equipment so far is: 1995 4x4 jeep grand cherokee, a good laptop, a portable fridge, and a basic collection of general weather and some severe storm books.
i need ideas for gps units (usb or bluetooth, what models) Power inverters (how much power) Mobile radar (grlevel or weatherdefender, or if there is something better with same features) and radio units (C.B. or HAM or both)


3. Would spotter training course be a good thing to take, and if so how do i contact someone for info.

and

4. i need any and all advice you all may have for me, the only thing i have to say is dont try to discourage me, because i know this is what i wanna do.





Thanks to anyone who reads this, and double thanks to anyone who replys.

Jake Tyson

 

[Andrew Revering]

Hey Jake... here are a list of atmospheric science schools:
http://www.uscollegesearch.org/atmospheric-sciences-and-meteorology-colleges.html

A standard GPS connected directly to the laptop is a Holux GM210 or similar. You can find any of these cheap USB laptop GPSs (no display) on eBay for like $30. I recommend any TomTom unit for a interactive navigation tool. On the laptop DeLorme StreetAtlas and GrLevelX for radar software, use GPSGate to split the GPS signal between software apps, and I use F5Data for forecasting the night before.

Definately take the spotter class. It's free, should be about 3 hours long and is a great jumpstart. I would also look YahooGroups to see if you have a local/state chaser email list to join where you can connect with some locals to learn from and chase with.

Welcome to the world of chasing, and above all... make sure you're using a ham radio to report what you see or at least call in your reports to the NWS (see Skywarn Training above).

See you on the road.
Andy

 

[Chris Nuttall]

First, welcome to the forum. Now, let me try to answer your questions.

1. i need help finding a meterology school in georgia.

According to the AMS listing of colleges with meteorology programs, Georgia Tech and the Univ. of Georgia have met. programs. If you are wanting to pursue a career in forecasting, whether it's in the private sector or gov't, make sure that the program you choose fulfills the federal education requirements for a meteorologist. Otherwise, you might handcuff yourself and limit job opportunities in the future.

2. i am planning a chase for next year.
my equipment so far is: 1995 4x4 jeep grand cherokee, a good laptop, a portable fridge, and a basic collection of general weather and some severe storm books.
i need ideas for gps units (usb or bluetooth, what models) Power inverters (how much power) Mobile radar (grlevel or weatherdefender, or if there is something better with same features) and radio units (C.B. or HAM or both)

Sounds like you have a good start with equipment, but I'd ditch the fridge and just get an ice chest. A portable fridge is just going to be another thing that has to draw power from your car battery. I don't know how much power they draw, but if you are just powering a laptop, a 300-400 watt inverter should be just fine.

I recommend a USB GPS. On a normal chase day, you'll be running a GPS for upwards of 8-10 hours during the day. Since Bluetooth runs on batteries, you run the risk of the batteries crapping out at the worst possible time, like when you're lost and desperately need a road option to get to/escape from a tornado. A lot of folks on here use the Delorme USB GPS. Some use the Microsoft puck. There are others out there, too. Just make sure it can output in NMEA format.

Radar software...GRLevel 3 for use on the road without a doubt. Highly customizable with shapefiles and placefiles, and the radar updates are quick and small downloads. For analyzing from a fixed base of operations, I'd use GRLevel2 or GRAnalyst.

Forget the CB and get a mobile ham radio and your license. It's a ton more useful than a CB is for chasing simply based on range. CB only has a range of a couple of miles, but ham can hit the repeaters and broadcast on the order of 50 miles with only a 5-watt handheld. 98% of any communication I've done with chasers in other vehicles has been through 2m/70cm simplex work. Skywarn nets are also through amateur radio use, and these can provide a great source of information about a storm.

For books, there are tons out there, and too many to name. Some of them have been written by members of this forum. Let me refer you to this thread.

3. Would spotter training course be a good thing to take, and if so how do i contact someone for info.

Yes, take a spotter training course. They are typically good presentations that can teach you exactly what to look for in the field. Your local NWS office will probably conduct several of them around the area. Look for these to start in February or March. Check their website.

The SpotterNetwork website also has a good training program available. However, I would do both the NWS and SN trainings. You can never have too much training. Spotter training is not the end solution either. If you plan on doing serious training, you need to get a solid background in meteorology to interpret what you see and anticipate what will happen.

4. i need any and all advice you all may have for me, the only thing i have to say is dont try to discourage me, because i know this is what i wanna do.

This place is a good resource. If you are serious about wanting to start chasing and serious about learning meteorology, many folks around here will be more than happy to pass on some tidbits of information that we've gleaned over the years.

 

[Randy Bowers]

1. i need help finding a meterology school in georgia.

You might want to consider the University of South Alabama in Mobile. It may be a little further than you want to go, but it's worth it. It's a top-notch program. USA places a very strong emphasis on synoptic meteorology, with two courses of 6 credit hours totaling 12 in the curriculum. Although the program is well-known for its qualitative aspect and has had many graduates go to work for the National Weather Service, private weather, and broadcast weather, it is certainly not lacking in the quantitative aspect. Many graduates go on to pursue their Master's degree. We have quite a few students that have either graduated from or are currently in graduate school at Penn State, OU, Florida State, UAH (Huntsville) and more. You should be able to get in-state tuition through Academic Common Market since Georgia doesn't have a compatible program to my knowledge. There are quite a few students who are either in the program now or have been in the program who are from Georgia. Click on the this link for more information on USA's meteorology program: http://www.southalabama.edu/meteorology/index1.html or feel free to ask me any questions that you have about the program. There are also quite a few other USA graduates on this forum that would be able to help answer any questions you have as well.

 

[Tyler Burg]

Go with GR3, pretty cheap and very customizable. You really have everything you need already, anything else you add just makes things a little easier.

4. i need any and all advice you all may have for me

You found the right place. Stormtrack is the best storm chasing reference site on the web. I'd suggest going through forecast threads and learning as much as you can from things that have been posted there. The best way to learn to chase is to go out and do it, you get better at it the more experience you have. You need to have a good understanding of storm structure as well. I'd suggest picking up a few of the DVDs from chasers on here, it's a great way to learn storm structure. Also read through the report threads.

If you just type your question in the search box at the top, It's really guaranteed that there are at least a few topics on it already, and I'm sure that not all your questions will be answered on here, so check that out. Also it's a great idea to check out chasers websites and read the accounts, not just look at the pictures or video. Good Luck next year.

 

[Lanny Dean]

My ideas...

1) Ditch the fride. It is a waste of time, space and battery.
2) Attend a (or as many as you can) Skywarn spotter training session. You can call your local NWS (National Weather Service) office for more info and dates.
3) Read, read, read, read. Did I mention read? Read all you can about storms, storm structure, supercells anything chase related. Soak up as much as you can!
4) Find someone who has experience chasing. If they do not mind, use them as a teacher kinda like an "elemer" and soak up as much info as they can give you.
5) Take a look at other peoples websites/blogs. Sometimes these can be very valuable listing not only chase accounts but also forecasts(some real time) pictures(which will help to teach you structure) and many other valuable tools that may be of help to you.
6) Spend as much time as you can learning everything you can chase related.

 

[Shane Adams]

i need any and all advice you all may have for me, the only thing i have to say is dont try to discourage me

I'm not trying to discourage you, but I am gonna give you my advice.

You asked a ton of questions about gear. That is the last thing you should be worried about. Acquiring gear won't close the gap between you and catching a tornado with no experience. Another key point is, you live in Georgia. That region is a topographical nightmare for chasing, with several areas of trees and hills. The chances of success based in Georgia are slim, for any chaser. Lastly, you mentioned wanting to start school in meteorology. Schooling often times coincides with the best severe weather events, which means you could miss many of the best events of the season. To top this all off, you have no experience chasing storms.

As a new potential chaser, you must realize that you are going to fail miserably while you start to gain experience and knowledge. This is not discouragement, this is the truth. My advice is to just get out there and chase storms. You won't even know how in the beginning. How long it takes to develop as a chaser depends on the person, but you have two major strikes against you already (school, location). All I can do is wish you luck.

i know this is what i wanna do.

You'll definitely know one way or the other, and it won't take long to figure it out.

 

[Bart_Comstock]

Welcome to the site and chasing! This hobby can be both very rewarding and frustrating. It can also be very time consuming and expensive depending on your level of dedication to it. Bellow is my responses to each of your numbered questions in the order that you asked them.

1. The link Andrew posted is a great source and although the cost may be higher to go out of state I certainly wouldn't put a wall around Georgia and trap your self to more limited options.

2. Hear are my thoughts as far as the equipment you need.​

• For a GPS device I recommend the US Globalsat BU 353/355 which goes for around $50.00 online. This is the one I own and I have never had a issue with it. In fact Tyler Constantini had his mounted on the roof of his vehicle and after it took a direct hit from a large hailstone and flooded it took 9 hours to finally fail and once it dried out it was working fine again. I have mine mounted on the dash but one can mount it externally as it is magnetic and also water proof and about the size of a half dollar. Here is a link to Tyler's blog post about his GPS unit: http://www.tornadonerds.com/index.php?entry=entry090617-211517 Once you have your GPS device I would buy Delorme Street Atlas to use on your PC for navigation and spend the $11 on GPSGate to split up the signal so you can run it on several programs.
• Ditch the mini fridge. All it will do is take up space and waste power and you will not use it.
• For a radar program I recommend GRlvl3 since it is cheap and simple and reliable.
• Get an air card through Sprint or Verizon so you can get data in the field. Georgia is a very difficult place to chase in due to the topography and road network. If you are new to chasing and you are simply trying to go by your eyes out there you can get your self in some serious trouble if you don't exactly know what the storm is doing and so live radar updates will help.
• Get a 400watt power inverter and some extra fuses for it and hook it up directly to your battery if you can. You can go a bit larger if you like but 400 should be plenty.
• A HAM radio will be much more helpful than a CB radio since mostly just truckers use the CB radio. A HAM license is incredibly easy to acquire and the advantage of a HAM radio is that you can send in your reports to your local NWS WSO with it and in the event of a emergency or the loss of cell service you can always find someone on that you can call for help too.
• Buy a cheap still or video camera to document your first chases and successes. Trust me, you will be kicking your self later on if you don't have a way to document your first tornado. You don't need to go our and spend more than 100 or 20o dollars to get a cheap and effective MiniDV camcorder.

3. ABSOLUTELY! Go to as many as you can and be sure to take notes. You should also check out the online training course offered by Spotter Network. Lanny's suggestion to read, read, read, and read is absolutely a must do. Study as much as you possibly can about forecasting severe weather and how to chase and visit as many blogs and chaser's sites as you can and go over their chase logs to pick up tips. Watch storm videos on youtube and search through photos online to help learn structure and never ever feel to shy to ask for help or advise from other chasers. No question is to silly or stupid, especially if you are just starting out. Here is a good thread to skim through and find some good online learning sources: http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/showthread.php?t=22060

4. I don't want to sound discouraging but like Shane said your state down right blows for chasing. It can be very infuriating chasing in the jungles of the deep south and possibility of a bust for even the most seasoned chaser in your part of the country is significantly higher than in the plains states because of the lack of roads and unfavorable terrain. I highly recommend saving up to head out into the plains in mid to late May for a week or two and before you commit to doing so I would ask around and find someone that would be agreeable to have you either ride along with them or at least let you play as a "klingon" and allow you to tail them.
The fastest and safest way to learn how to chase is to have someone more experienced go out with you and show you the ropes because no two chases are alike and pictures and text will only do so much to help.
Be bepreaded for the fact that you will fail miserably in the beginning but don't let it bring you down as we all did when we started out. Chasing is just like learning to walk. No one just jumps on their feet as a kid and is able to start running like a cross country runner. It takes time, patience and determination and the acceptance that you will fall on your but a lot when you first start out. It is also to keep in mind what your goals are. Some only consider it a sucess if they get a tornado while others just favor great structure and see the tornado as icing on the cake.

​

Once again welcome to site and I hope you have a very fruitful and educational 2010 chase season.

 

[Jake Tyson]

ok, thanks for all the advice so far guys, to clear some things up,

i will not be chasing in georgia, the trip im planning is to go out onto the great plains.

so, ditch thefridge and get a cooler. Check.

and im gonna buy a golbalsat bu353 which i found on ebay for $22

i know im gonna fail, of the 3 weeks last summer (09) i went out I only saw a funnel, it never lowered all the way. and i know the reasons for this are, i was alone, i didnt know what to lok for, and i was using just the most basic of equipment.

 

[Bart_Comstock]

I'd ditch the cooler too and just stick to jerky and a few bottles of water here and there. Too much downtime while driving with access to a cooler can lead to the over consumption of fluids and food and lead to you having to use a rest area at the most inopportune time.

 

[Shane Adams]

ok, thanks for all the advice so far guys, to clear some things up,

i will not be chasing in georgia, the trip im planning is to go out onto the great plains.

so, ditch thefridge and get a cooler. Check.

and im gonna buy a golbalsat bu353 which i found on ebay for $22

i know im gonna fail, of the 3 weeks last summer (09) i went out I only saw a funnel, it never lowered all the way. and i know the reasons for this are, i was alone, i didnt know what to lok for, and i was using just the most basic of equipment.

Sounds like you're very realistic about this, so all I have to say is "welcome to chasing and best of luck."

 

[Bob Hartig]

Lot's of good advice here. I'll just add, study the weather around you. Every place has weather you can learn from, even if it's garden variety. Besides, Georgia is in Dixie Alley, so you should get your share of favorable setups to help you develop your forecasting skills, even if the terrain makes chasing impractical.

 

[Richard Dickson]

Jake,

To join in with the rest of the folks, welcome to ST.

A couple of thoughts to consider. If you have the time and the dollars, a great place to get you going would be one of the tour chasing groups. They typically have seasoned people leading them who are generally willing to help the new person with all of the questions and some can provide a lot more storm information than your can absorb. There are a number of threads discussing the good, bad and ugly tour groups if you want to run a search at the top on this page. If you want, drop me a PM and I can recommend one that I've had great luck with.

The other thought is that everyone is telling you to read everything you can get. The problem for the newer person is "Where do I start"? There is a thread at the top of the Educational Forum called 'A List of Learning Resources' that should give you more than enough material to last the winter.

Good Luck!

 

[Andrew Stoller]

The only thing I can add is, with a 1995 vintage Jeep, make sure maintenance items are up to snuff. Belts and hoses, charging system (battery/alternator), tires (especially the spare - make sure it's in good shape and at the proper pressure), things that could strand you. Yea, you want to make sure fluids are changed regularly, but for long distance chasing, I pay key attention to things that might leave me stranded!

I drive an older vehicle, and I wouldn't even think about heading out storm chasing without making sure the above mentioned items are checked.

 

[Ric Burney]

Welcome to ST. I can't add too much more to the good advice the others have already offered except that I found these books:
http://www.weathergraphics.com/chasing/
and;
http://www.weathergraphics.com/fcstbook/
to be 'must read' material.
Also, I found a met text book, "The Atmosphere" (10th ed. on ebay for cheap) to be a handy resource.
Again, welcome to ST and best of luck to you.