How You Became Interested In Storms/Weather?

[swilson]

Weather has always been a big part of my life. I think it was the adrenalin rush of a storm, in particular a tornadic storm, that kinda got me hooked into loving weather as much as I do.

The biggest storm I remember was the Albion PA storm of May 1985. I was only 5 years old then. It leveled the town which was 10miles from my house. That was perhaps a true game changer. So devastating and something I and many other people will never forget. God rest the souls that died that day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_United_States-Canadian_tornado_outbreak

Boy did that bring back some memories...


Another case dear to me was the rotating funnel I saw in the sky a few years later, a friend told me he had a tornado in the back field and showed me the damage. At the time I didn't believe it. Then I put two and two together and the position of the funnel I saw (above the tree line) made sense with his damage report. Not many believed me but I still feel it was legit

 

[Rich Long]

With me I was terrified of the storms. I never knew what was going on when the house shook. So (I was 7) mom and I went to the Salvation Army Thrift Shop and found a book from the Life Science Library's "Weather". This was in the 80's and the book was copyright 1965. I read it front to back and built the weather station they have plans for. That started me learning and i never stopped. I still have this book and it's funny to look at it now. There is a picture of four forecasters from NWS standing around a large printout in their birth control glasses and pocket protectors!

 

[Ric Burney]

I've always loved storms. We luckily moved to a west-facing house on the west edge of Snyder,TX in 1969. Front row seats! We could watch storms build on the horizon, growing and strengthening as they approached. It was nice to be able to just sit back and watch the whole story unfold in front of you.
Dad worked in the oil fields in the area and I rode w/ him a lot growing up. We got to see and be up close and personal with all types of wx. Mom on the other hand was the one that took a few pictures then disappeared into the house during the severe stuff. She would later do paintings from some of the photos.
When I got my drivers license I would join other friends and ride around the area during severe stuff. That was a blast.
The low, heavy thunder is always a big favorite, the kind that makes your insides shake.
Experiencing the sometimes monstrous hail, thinking it was just about to come right through the roof. Watching wall clouds coming toward the house while small funnels were trying to form, looking straight up at them as they 'hopped' over the house. We were lucky, never took a direct hit in all those years.
We sat in on the weather classes given to the fire department and did some spotting. But mostly were just able to enjoy the storms as they moved along open country side (we certainly had enough of that to go around).
Spent a few weeks each spring and summer in Colorado. My uncle was a pilot for United and was a veritable walking weather encyclopedia. My interest grew even stronger as I gained knowledge of the 'mechanics' of storms.
Went to college in Lubbock (get yer guns up). Unfortunately I was unable to pursue anything worthwhile like meteorology due to a variety of lifes monkey wrenches being constantly hurled my direction. I then spent many working years back and forth between Dallas, Snyder, Lubbock and Amarillo. Got to see lots more storms during those travels even though that wasn't the main reason I was on the road.
Spending years growing up out there then moving away it seems ironic now that I would have to drive 5-6 hours back out there just to experience the same things

 

[Brad Dormer]

Extremely old, but a good topic, I got interested in weather when I saw a tornado on my block in 2004, it blew my neighbors shed across the road, I then knew I was into weather as I sat there and watched out the window as my parents were in the storm cellar as the storm blew over. Being in Nebraska and all, another thing that got me interested was watching the clouds moving fast across the sky as well as the Pilger Nebraska twin tornadoes.

 

[Ethan Lang]

Living in central Nebraska nighttime convection was common and when I was 2 or 3 yrs old I hated storms and was always scared of them because I thought every storm had a tornado. At about 7-8 I knew that the only way to get over that fear is to learn more about storms and by the time of my ninth bday I was completely obsessed

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[Ethan Schisler]

I became interested in weather as a child, quite young, however what really set me off about tornadoes and severe weather was when I got to witness my first tornado in 2004 (5/30/2004). Ironically it was in nearly the same area as the tornado I saw yesterday in West Central Illinois. During those years, my father and I would often go out and attempt to "chase" storms that were close to home with the NWR in his truck and sometimes a road map. Those years of 2003-2004 were pretty active in Illinois, I often dream of us getting another season like that, and having the camera equipment and knowledge that I've acquired over the past several years.

 

[Ethan Lang]

Right now me and my dad chase he knows hardly anything about tornadoes but he is good at driving so I just tell him where to go

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[Todd Lemery]

I always loved storms and would stare out the doors and windows with my two brothers watching the lightening. In 1972, when I was seven our house was hit by lightening which caused a shower of sparks from our TV and caused a fire in our basement. I remember not being scared and really feeling excited when it hit. A couple of years later a small tornado went through my small hometown casing minimal damage. The big deal was that my dad actually was able to see it. To put it lightly, I was jealous. Ever since then I first wanted to see a tornado for myself and then I wanted to see more and more. It proved very difficult chasing for a long time, because I live in Michigan's upper peninsula and wasn't even aware of what part of a storm tornados formed.
As a side note, my brother is thinking seriously about moving down to the Southern plains with his wife. I feel that old jealousy returning....


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[Marc R. O'Leary]

I spent a good 4-5 years trying to catch lightning with an old Konica point and shoot...my wife, seeing my frustration, finally said 'just go buy a real camera'...and within a couple days I had my first bolt. That was it, I was now officially hooked. The hunt for lightning led me to learn more and more about weather, and an accidental run-in with a tornado (Southlands Mall, Aurora CO) while going out to set up for lightning set that particular hook. And while I still chase primarily for lightning, I'm slowly getting more into chasing what I call 'day-time' stuff, structure and of course tornadoes.

I can't ever see myself stopping at this point. Why would I, its a damn blast! I get to see places most people will never go and see amazing things that are often a once in a lifetime event. My wife asks me why I need more lightning photos (I probably have tens of thousands at this point), I just say: Well that one will only ever happen once, and I caught it. And that one. And that one...and see my signature.

 

[Kem Poyner]

There seems to be a window of time during childhood when a traumatic event can become an obsession later in life. Such is the case with me. When I was 5 years old the mobile home that our family lived in was destroyed by a tornado. We had just sat down to eat supper when it hit. Everyone was injured but we all survived. It was 1964 in Waterloo Iowa. I have tornado dreams nearly every night since that day. I have studied tornados since I was a teenager and have chased in the alley for 20 years now. Here are some pictures form my childhood event.

 

[John Olexa]

A close bolt of lightning in 1994 got me started. Here is my story.
http://www.desertusa.com/mag07/mar07/lightning.html

Was looking back at all the replys... wow
RIP Susan.

 

[samuel stone]

I never had a single event spark my interest. my earliest memories of my life are of watching the weather channel when I was 3.. I never had a point where I was like oh wow storms are awesome. It has simply always been that way. my parents say when I was 2 years old all I would do was look out the window and point at weather. I do not identify with the seemingly popular phenomenon of having some event all the sudden spark my interest.

 

[Quincy Vagell]

For weather in general, it started at a very young age. The first weather-related event that I found myself recollecting was Hurricane Bob. I was just three years old, but living in eastern Connecticut, was fascinated by how much rain and flooding we had. My kindergarten (Superstorm of 1993) and first grade, I become very interested in weather and knew by second grade that I wanted to become a meteorologist. As a kid, I always wanted to be outside in weather, even if it was a raging snowstorm or a thunderstorm.

The chasing interest was there, subconsciously, from a very young age. From about the same time that I started finding an interest in weather, I started having reoccurring (but usually different) dreams about tornadoes, either chasing one or being chase by one. I filmed severe storms from a local level as a kid, but didn't start trying to "chase" until college. After my first trip to the Plains to try chasing in October of 2013, I was sucked in and it's been a passion ever since. Chasing for the first couple of years was trial by fire, but I've learned so much from being out in the field, much more than I could have ever learned in a classroom.

 

[TJKLECKNER]

What got me interested: "You've never seen it miss this house, and miss that house and then come after you!"

 

[JamesCaruso]

I am not in the "triggering event" camp. I have been intrigued by storms for as long as I can remember. It's kind of like trying to recall some particular moment when I first became interested in girls My bedroom was in our finished basement, but if there was a severe thunderstorm watch I would sleep upstairs on the living room couch, hoping that the thunder would wake me. Growing up on Long Island, my "first love" was actually hurricanes; in fact, after Gloria in 1985, I briefly considered transferring colleges to go to a school of meteorology (but ultimately stuck with accounting instead ). I had some vague "dream" of wanting to see a tornado, so I took one of the first available tours - with Marty Feeley in 1996. I saw no tornados that year, but I was still hooked on supercells, the Plains, and the whole chasing experience.

I do have a memory of being around 10 or 12 years old and getting caught in a severe thunderstorm trying to walk home after baseball practice. It was pretty intense to be out in it with no available shelter; I recall screaming in fear... But I don't remember it as being at all associated with a newfound fascination with the weather. If it wasn't for so many other people reporting a seminal event, I might not have even remembered it in this context.