How Realistic is it....

[Payton Gannaway]

Hey guys, new as a member of the forums but have been browsing around for the last couple months. Had a really quick question. First of all, I am going to school at OU and am majoring in petroleum engineering. It is definitely the degree that I am going to finish with. However, I have always had an intense interest in chasing and was wanting to get into it if possible, but was wondering how realistic it would be for me to be able to do. I am pretty loaded with the coursework here but am done with classes at noon, and weekends are free. Since I live in Norman, would it be realistic for me to be able to chase a few weekends and afternoons here and there or is it a lot more time consuming than that? It seems to me that I am close enough to where the action is that I should be able to drive a few hours and make it where most of the action happens. If you have any suggestions let me know, thanks.

 

[Andrew Ryan]

You can make it as time consuming as you want. But if you want to effectively use your time out in the field, then you're probably gonna want to learn how to forecast. But that opens a whole can of worms. There's a lot to chasing. So, if you limit yourself, you'll limit what you will be able to see.

If you limit yourself to only a couple of hours from Norman, you'll severely limit the number of opportunities and success with chasing. Even though Oklahoma is the "epicenter" of severe weather, chasing will probably take you much further than a couple of hours. But sometimes you get lucky and stuff passes through, but I wouldn't count on it!

 

[Skip Talbot]

College was the most flexible time for me to be able to chase. I could push my coursework around to other days. Most of my professors didn't care if I missed a lecture, and some semesters there was a day during the week that I didn't have class. I would say take advantage of this while you still can.

 

[James Wilson]

This time of year a four hour or less drive from Norman can usually end up with some good weather. I live in KC and usually head out around 10am or so to my desired area of interest. I can be in Liberal Kansas or almost to Texas in just about five hours which covers a large area. If you do not mind the drive back at night and arriving late at night you can do afternoons fairly successfully from Norman.

 

[Steven Marshall]

Gees, hes living in Norman and is having trouble finding chase opportunities???? LOL..
Just step outside when you hear thunder! We should all be so lucky!

You are in prime country freind, have at it but if doing it alone as a newbie, be extra careful. There must be another chaser close by to ride with the first season...just to get your feet wet.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[Adam Lucio]

yea, no offense but I dont sympathise for people who live down there and complain they cant chase because theres too much driving or time involved. Try coming from the midwest or god forbid the east coast where you have to sacrifice a whole day just driving there!

Sure you can come right back on me and say "Move if you dont like where you live"

My answer to that....IM TRYING! Been saving for years...if someone wants to hire me as a maid or knows of a decent job that will allow me time off to chase...im all ears!

Anyways Payton, it is possible to chase. Just ask yourself what kind of chasing you want to do and make it happen. You dont need to start off by spending 30hrs at your PC forecasting a setup to the point where your eyes bleed from staring at the monitor so long. Get some basic education and start observing local storms when its convenient. Since you live where you do...Im guessing the opportunity will come soon.

Also, if its something you really want, dont bog yourself down with obligations. Every person that knows me knows I make no commitments during the months of March April May and June. You will never see me booking a 4 day trip to the Dells in May and stuff like that.