How You Became Interested In Storms/Weather?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jeremy Den Hartog
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Jeremy Den Hartog

This more then likely was asked at some point here but I was unable to find anything by using the search here and browsing the different threads but I was just wondering what caused people to become interested in weather and in particular storms?

For me it was June 16, 1992 when a very large area of strong storms, including tornadic storms moved through eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota (among other locations). This included the monster Chandler, MN and Lake Wilson, MN tornado which was an F5 and can be seen in the video which I have linked to below as it moved into Chandler, MN. I was interested in weather before this but this was the event that really made me want to learn about storms, tornadoes, etc as I grew up in Worthington, MN so I saw the power and devastation of these storms first hand.

Anyhow, here is the video of the tornado which played on the news that night (the people who filmed it were dangerously close) which I remember like it was yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoxUYEYD1CI
 
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As far as I can remember I have always been facinated with storms. When I was six-ish every time it stormed I would have to look at the back sliding glass door. To watch the trees blowing around and watching the lightning. I remember sitting in front of the TV watching the TV METs explain what was going on. When I was 16 and was finally able to drive, I used to go watch darn near any storm that would form in the county. My mom though I was crazy, but oh well. My first tornado was April 21st, 1999 in Carrier, Oklahoma when I was 16.
 
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I went through one of the 1967 St. Louis tornadoes (time has made my memory of exactly which one fuzzy), shoved in the basement of my kindergarten, no news, for what seemed like hours.

Then in 1968 we moved to Hot Springs, AR, where it seemed every thunderstorm happened in the middle of the night where the lightning and thunder kept me awake buried in blankets.

I didn't like how I felt, and I promised myself I wouldn't be that scared again. By 1971 in Kansas City, I was hitting the library for research, watching local newscasts, and going out on the front porch when the weather came in.
 
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Every time this topic comes up, and it does every year or so, it always turns out that most of us became interested in severe weather because of a single specific weather event that affected us personally. I'm no different, for me it was the New Haven F4 of 1989, which I experienced directly but didn't actually see, mainly because I didn't actually look. The fact that I had missed seeing a strong, violent, and rare for the region tornado simply by not sticking my head out the window pissed me off so much that I decided then and there that seeing a tornado would henceforth be a major goal in my life. I've seen plenty of tubes since then, but it was the fact that I didn't see that first one that got me on the road to being a chaser.
 
Well, all my life, storms chased ... me. Never liked them. Must have had some fascination with them, though, because I'd watch or read news reports of storm events, or anything having to do with severe weather.

Wanted to be a meteorologist, but StormFear and svr lack of math skills precluded that dream.

Moved to Tornado Alley 26 years ago, courtesy of the USAF. Not exactly my first choice ... joined to travel, never left. Wanted Alaska. Still wouldn't mind Alaska. LOL!

Had a few panic attacks. Didn't like it. (Still get nervous if tors or large hail in the forecast, especially since there are no underground shelters here.)

Decided four years ago, enough was enough. Decided to turn tables on 'THE BEAST' and take its picture. Now when it thunders, I've got camera in hand and telling the storms to smile. =]

Going on my first REAL stormchase next Spring. Nervous? Yep. Excited? YOU BET!!

Guess I'm livin' the dream in my own way ... just took 50 dang years?!?
 
I moved to SD right after the Spencer, SD and that piqued my interest in severe weather, but In 2001 I found myself in my driveway directly under a meso scared out of my mind but facinated with what I saw just snapping pictures. My neighbor and I followed that storm that briefly dropped a tornado 5 miles outside of Sioux Falls. I missed it but the sirens blew 6 more times that night and kept me one the edge of my seat thinking I would get another chance. I have been hooked ever since.
June 24, 2003 was my first real tornado where I witnessed significant damage. This was an F1 tornado that touched down and destroyed the sub division of Hartford Heights in Hartford, SD. This twister destroyed this community severely damaging homes by taking them off of the foundations and removing entire second floors. I lost my fear but found respect for severe weather.
 
I don't think there is any one pin point event or day for me. As a kid as far back in the 3rd grade I was drawn to weather, I remember reading a book on tornadoes back in the 3rd grade, in the 4th grade we had a few science classes dedicated to severe weather, sadly no other of my science classes from 5th grade on ever talked about weather.

As a kid I would commonly choose The Weather/History/Discovery channels over cartoons, and I enjoyed The Wrath of God on the History Channel.

As a kid I recall only two real severe weather events (excluding weak severe storms which only produced some wind and thunder in MY area which I lived in my whole life). One was in 97 and the other in 98. Both times the sky got green a really dark green. I recall in 97 (the South East Michigan Outbreak) the day after we were driving though a city next to mine and seeing all the damage that the tornado/wind line caused... sadly some people died in the Lake when the tornado/wind line hit, they were in a gazebo by the lake and the wind picked it up and threw it and them in the lake. As a kid I remember that the mets were not sure if a tornado hit or if it was just wind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Southeast_Michigan_tornado_outbreak
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late-May_1998_tornado_outbreak_and_derecho

Since then my county really has only gotten Severe Storm Warnings, and pretty much they are weak, counties to the Went, North, and South of us have had Tornado warnings and events.

Durning the 2007 Mid-October Tornado Outbreak I had a friend on the Michigan State Fair Grounds that day and she said they could see a wall cloud (may of been a false wall cloud) spinning and starting to form downwards though it never did touch the ground.
 
We lived pretty close to a rather large creek when I was growing up and any time it rained over 3 inches or so it would flood. Water would flow over the road to a depth of 2 feet or more. People would try to go through it, stall out, get swept of the road, etc... every time. If it stayed wet for a week or so the road would get so muddy, you literally could not get down the road without four wheel drive. People were all the time getting stuck, coming up to the house, asking my dad to pull them out. He had an old International truck with military tires on it... like 40 inchers or something. It was all fun fun fun to me. Everyone else just wanted the county to fix the dang road. It's fixed now :(

So I can't say it was any one event... but more to do with location and how just the rain so effected my life. Wind and tree damage, an add bonus... hail, even better... to listen to it hitting the tin roof on our carport as a kid, is there any better sound? Well I guess thunder is the coolest sound on earth.... I would leave my radio on A.M. static... so the crackling of the distant lightning activity would wake me up before you could actually hear the thunder. I read books, bought all the tornado videos, etc... one thing led to another, but I guess it all started with a muddy road.
 
Some pretty cool and interesting stories here...sounds like the majority started with an interest when young which eventually grew into what it is today...
 
When I was real young, my dad would take me out on the front porch to watch storms, especially at night. I was initially very afraid of storms at a real young age. He would take me out to watch them and I was fascinated by them. In 1986 my grandpa recorded me a tornado show that featured David Hoadley and his daughter, as well as the NSSL storm chase team at the time. Starting in the 90s I was always watching TWC as well as reading weather books and starting to collect tornado videos. Started chasing in 2001 and the rest is history:)
 
I have always had a passion for the weather for as long as I can remember but never really got intrested in chasing/spotting until 2000. In the spring of 2000 I had lost a friend to a tornado. A few weeks after that I became a storm spotter and started adventuring out and has led me to chasing.
 
Beautiful story, Susan.. Thank you for sharing the link!
Lightning has been my passion since childhood. I was fascinated by it and it's parent thunderheads since toddler days, but also felt fear of it at night sometimes. That fear was completely replaced by awe by age 10.

I sometimes had recurring childhood nightmares of the entire sky cracking apart in lightning.

Started chasing it in 1977, and haven't stopped since.
 
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