How close is to close?

[ChristianTerry]

Im posting this thread because I plan to start chasing a little in 2011. I would like to know the best distance to shoot video from the funnel without getting sucked up. I see all these people that get extremely close to the tornado, but I am not ready to get that close. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[James Gustina]

I'm gonna take a guesstimate here and say around or a little bit under a mile. But it depends on the tornado/storm. If the storm is moving faster than say, 35 MPH, than being that close is probably not a good idea unless you have a clear escape route. But I'm not an expert or anything on this. Anyone else got an idea?

 

[Damon Scott Hynes]

Depends on the storm. I was within 100 yards of Aurora 2009 and felt in control of things. But getting within 100 yards of Hallam 2004 would have been suicide.

All the gonzo videography you see on Stormchasers? Put a camcorder you're not too attached to inside a clothes dryer and you get the same thing

 

[Joshua Nall]

I don't have much experience with it, but I'd think you'd want to start shooting video as soon as you see the funnel. If it develops to the ground and gets so close that you find it hard to stand up or if rocks and limbs start to hit your vehicle your too close lol... But that is just opinion... there are obviously some chasers that have a good relationship with their Creator and do not view death as an enemy.

 

[Brandon Jenkins]

When you have that "Jurassic Park" moment and you look in your side view and see a tornado directly behind you while reading the words "object in mirror are closer than they appear", you are probably too close

 

[Chris Gullikson]

Getting close can be really cool and give you quite dramatic video but being a mile or several miles away has its advantages as well. Positioning yourself correctey will allow you to get out of your car and setup on a tripod to capture the tornado and the incredible structure that is often associated with the mesocyclone.
As far as how close...well there are countless examples that getting very close to wedges and even inside smaller tornadoes is reasonably safe....although luck may have a bit to do with this.

 

[Joerg Kudella]

Im posting this thread because I plan to start chasing a little in 2011. I would like to know the best distance to shoot video from the funnel without getting sucked up. I see all these people that get extremely close to the tornado, but I am not ready to get that close. Any ideas would be appreciated.

As a german chaser, I´m probably the last one to give you advices. I only can come up with 7 weeks of chasing in the plains (to be continued next year!) in total...however, the way I see it, the tornado is the last thing you have to worry about, when intercepting a tornadic storm.
You have to deal with dangerous lightning, hail and RFD winds, which can be very challenging, especially, when you are facing fast storm motion, poor road network or bad chase terrain...you might never have enough time to stop and to put out all your gear to take good shots. That´s what sometimes messed up things for us in early May this year.
As a relatively unexperienced chaser, my natural will to survive keeps me from getting to close to a tornado...If I would have been on the Campo Cell this year for instance, I would have gotten really close, because the behaviour of this cell was predictable and it was a slow one too...maybe half a mile or something...but not without having an escape route!
If you are intercepting a slow moving supercell you certainly can get close, if all before mentioned parameters are ok.
Frankly, I admire those experienced chasers for getting that close to tornados, I would crap my pants, before getting that close

 

[ChristianTerry]

My main concern would be the hail, and driving into a tornado in the core. I have a predicament right now as to how you really get internet on the road and what software is good. So that is my main concern. But in a LP cell, I would like to get close enough to take some vids of the very bottom of the funnel where the damage is happening.

 

[Verne Carlson]

Getting close to a tornado comes down to 3 things - IMO

1) How experienced you are and your comfort level with getting that close.
2) The nature of the tornado, it's speed, path and predictability.
3) Your surroundings. Trees, powerlines, debris in the tornado that may impact you. Stay out of the circulation.

You can play with these three things and push the boundaries but it's very risky. If you are zoomed all the way back and the tornado still fills your viewfinder you are too close!

 

[Bob Hartig]

Like Damon said, every storm is different. My thoughts: If you don't have the Storm Chasing Handbook by Tim Vasquez, get it. Study storm structure; not only the book, but lots of other resources will help you with that. And absorb Tim's chapter on chase strategy.

Finally, pay attention to your comfort level. Don't take your cues from what you've seen on TV and in other chasers' close-range videos--learn to swim before you go diving into deep water with a 12-foot alligator. Up-close-and-personal is a recent development and it's just one style, not the historic norm, which has been much more conservative. You'll enjoy a storm's overall structure more, and learn more about it, by keeping your distance.

 

[Jason Boggs]

Christian, it would be well advised to keep a safe distance until you get several years of chasing under your belt. When I say safe distance, I mean nothing under a mile away. Like others have said, it all depends on the situation. Inexperience can become a killer when it comes to storm chasing.

Instead of worrying about how close you can get, focus on reading the sky and learning about storm chasing first. It's not always "cool" to get close to tornadoes. Sometimes it's just pure stupidity. Again, focus on things that matter, and your experience out in the field will be much more rewarding.

 

[ChristianTerry]

Christian, it would be well advised to keep a safe distance until you get several years of chasing under your belt. When I say safe distance, I mean nothing under a mile away. Like others have said, it all depends on the situation. Inexperience can become a killer when it comes to storm chasing.

Instead of worrying about how close you can get, focus on reading the sky and learning about storm chasing first. It's not always "cool" to get close to tornadoes. Sometimes it's just pure stupidity. Again, focus on things that matter, and your experience out in the field will be much more rewarding.

Agreed. I haven't yet seen a tornado, but I have had some close moments with straight line winds here in Houston and have taken this into consideration.

 

[Jason Boggs]

As far as escape routes, try to find roads that are 90 degrees to the tornado. So, if a tornado is to the west of you moving directly east, a north south road would be a good escape route. Going south would be the best bet, but north would be ok too. However, going north might put you in large hail if you get caught in the core.

Just remember to move at right angles if you can when a tornado is sighted.

 

[Damon Scott Hynes]

To amplify: Google Aurora Tornado 2009 and look at all the various chasers' webpages. Those who got close--got great photos. Those who statyed back and went for the structure shots--got great photos. Mike Hollingshead's stuff makes me cry just looking at it.

 

[ChristianTerry]

To amplify: Google Aurora Tornado 2009 and look at all the various chasers' webpages. Those who got close--got great photos. Those who statyed back and went for the structure shots--got great photos. Mike Hollingshead's stuff makes me cry just looking at it.

Personally on the Aurora storm, I think the long range photos were better. One reason is from a video I saw of somebody going past a factory the storm hit. They were so close to it that you couldn't tell where the tornado actually was because of dust and the whole screen being obscured.