How You Became Interested In Storms/Weather?

[Gaetan Cormier]

Like so many others, my interest in storms dates back to when I was about 4 or 5 years old... Still remember watching storms on the balcony with my mother.

The event that got me into storm chasing is the derecho of july 4th 1999. Man, that was so intense never seen anything this violent since then and it gave me the itch for storm chasing

 

[Andrew Constans]

One of my first memories was being put in the bathtub by my mother as our apartment in the North Minneapolis suburbs got rocked by what I'm assuming was a tor-warned storm (she doesn't sweat severe stuff much, she's from Mississippi). Another is sitting in the basement of our home in South Minneapolis in the same situation and then living without power for 3-4 days. My grandfather is a ham (WOVC) and participates in the Minneapolis Skywarn program and really got me into weather. My interest got to the point where I would watch the weather channel all day when there was a risk of severe weather. Unfortunately Minnesota didn't have a ton of chase-worthy storms, so I lost interest in chasing simply because I wasn't able to do it. I do recall back in 6th grade my closest friend and I set a common goal to go storm chasing in Oklahoma/Kansas/Nebraska one day; thankfully with my move to Nebraska, I get to live that dream once every week or so!

 

[James Wilson]

For me it started growing up in New Mexico and seeing dust devils all the time ... we used to run into them and ride our bikes through them. We had no clue we could actually get hurt ... it was fun being in them and getting sand blasted.

 

[Matt Salo]

As a kid growing up, I was DEATHLY afraid of severe weather. Any little dark cloud scared me. Then July 18th, 1986 happened. I was 12, and had never seen a tornado with my own eyes. That day, I witnessed the infamous Brooklyn Park/Fridley MN tornado from my front yard, as it was being broadcast live on TV from the KARE11 news chopper. That day, I went from deathly afraid of severe weather, to completely obsessed. From that point on, every time severe weather was approaching, I was out in the yard watching it. Once I turned 18 (Fall 1991), and I had my own vehicle (spring 1992), I would move from the watching it from the yard, to being on the road chasing it. Been doing it ever since.

 

[Randall Bragg]

I was raised in Midwest City OK, a suburb of OKC. My early nightmares were of tornadoes destroying our home and/or harming my parents. I was fascinated and fearful of mother nature's most violent demonstration of shear force and from March-June I learned to be weather aware. I even believed that tornadoes came after me, like a demon searching for sinners (weird right?). Just like a surfer is aware and respectful of sharks, likewise, I respect and am in awe of twisters! Most surfers live by the ocean, I live in tornado alley. Therefore, I decided to face my fear head on by educating myself on the why, where, and how of supercells and tornado genesis. My first thoughts on career were of broadcast journalism and meteorology until math reared its ugly head. I started chasing in 1982 and haven't stopped since. So, in answer to this question, I am a storm chaser because I will not live in fear from ignorance, I conquer fear by understanding the sky.

 

[JamesCaruso]

... My first thoughts on career were of broadcast journalism and meteorology until math reared its ugly head...

Similar thing for me, math was a major obstacle. So I became an accountant instead. Which everybody thinks is math but it's just arithmetic with maybe a little algebra.

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[Derek Smith]

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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That is truly amazing, I wish I could get my father to participate with me. He thinks I'm flat out insane for what I do.

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