Living Outside Tornado Alley

[Bob Hartig]

Living in Michigan means that I have to travel a considerable distance to get to prime chase territory. I get happy when I see action shaping up for Illinois, since it's close by and so much of it is beautiful chase territory with a great road grid. But until this past year, the demands of a desk job limited my ability to just hop in a car and head for Kansas, Oklahoma, or Texas when the weather was shaping up. Even now, while I have more flexibility, I'm not rich, and I'm selective about what merits a long-distance trip to the plains. Without minimizing the challenges that any chaser faces, obviously living inside tornado alley offers an advantage.

So, what about those of you who, like me, live outside the alley? How have you gone about chasing storms?
* How do your occupation and finances affect your chasing?
* Do you normally find a few opportunities each year to chase locally? Is chasing where you live even practical? (In Michigan, it's okay--lots of trees, but decent roads, handy bridges, and enough open space to make for viewing.)
* Overall, how has your location affected you--both in challenges and opportunities--in your growth as a storm chaser?

 

[Jason Foster]

Washington, DC area is extremely hard.

So, what about those of you who, like me, live outside the alley? How have you gone about chasing storms?
* How do your occupation and finances affect your chasing?
* Do you normally find a few opportunities each year to chase locally? Is chasing where you live even practical? (In Michigan, it's okay--lots of trees, but decent roads, handy bridges, and enough open space to make for viewing.)
* Overall, how has your location affected you--both in challenges and opportunities--in your growth as a storm chaser?

I'm coming from the Maryland side of the DC metro area. To chase in the Plains takes considerable planning. I usually start serious plans the first of January. I have spread sheets and charts that help with budget planning and timing of vacation. When I wasn't working for myself, my previous architecture job was very flexible. I had one of the best bosses that let me chase upto three weeks without much issue. It wasn't counted toward my normal vacation either. The time off was considered non-payed vacation, but I still got three weeks paid vacation toward the end of my 12 years at the firm.

Local chasing is near impossible, but I have found ways to make it quite successful. I grew up in the area in which I live, so I know the area backwards and forwards. I've began exploring the county before I could drive, by taking long bicycle rides. I also keep notes and memorize favorable spots as much as possible. I know my best spots, and likely why many of my chase photos look simular, because I have to stop in the same places to have a chance of photographing storms. That includes severe summer weather and winter weather. I have multiple photos from a parking garage in Bethesda Maryland because it is a great elevated location, and is near to my old job.

When possible, I try to head north toward I-70 in Frederick or Howard County. This area is much less congested. I also, when forecasting a target 12 hours in advance of initiation, will travel to the eastern shore (east side of the Chesapeake Bay). This area is flat, with minimal trees, and great road network.

I have not done so yet, but would consider heading to Ohio for a chase set-up. It is about equivalent distance from my home to a target as I would do in the Plains. I would need a second day to travel home again.

Locally I primiarily target storms for lightning, but I'll chase just about anything. Especially in the spring, as I can take trial runs for new equipment, vehicles, or vehicle upgrades (like new tires).

But the bottom line, it really isn't that fun to chase locally, so I look foward each year to heading to the Great Plains. I am curious as to how my next job will like me (or let me) chase for three weeks or more.

 

[Jason Branz]

Growing up in the Alley, I definitely miss it during chase season. Planning for the big trip starts early, first by considering the dates of big events from previous years, then discussing schedules with co-workers. Luckily my job pays well and allows for flexibility, which allows me to save money and time off for the spring. It's funny seeing the reaction of my non-met coworkers when I tell them I'm going to Oklahoma or Kansas for my big vacation...I'm usually met with either blank stares or a "WTF?" look.

As for chasing around here...the tornado maximum for CA is right here near Sac (John Monteverdi has a good paper on this). The reason is terrain...the Central Valley runs roughly NNW-SSE and surface winds blow in from SF Bay. When the winds reach the eastern side of the Valley, they diverge. So in the winter and spring, surface winds in the Sac Valley (Sacramento, Chico, etc) are usually SSE to SE, while in the San Joaquin valley (Fresno, Bakersfield, etc) they're from the NW. Sometimes an interesting eddy sets up in the central part of the Sac Valley, near Marysville, which aids in convergence and SRH.

The valley floor is flat with few trees, a good road network, but with heavy traffic. Usually the good stuff is north of Sac, so I'll hop on I-5 north and fight the traffic through town. If we have a "tornado season" here, it's probably from about December through March. However, it merely whets the apetite for a trip to the Great Plains.

 

[Adam Lucio]

I live in Chicago so chasing locally is a bit of a pain. Traffic and red lights and railroad tracks everywhere. I do chase locally all the time, even if i know all im gonna get is pea size hail and some decent CGs. I just love being in the storm so i will race after anything with thunder. and a 50+ dbz return on radar.

You really cant chase in the city, so I just drive to where I think the best part of the storm will be, and wait. Ill stay with it as long as I can but eventually it will pull away from me so I head home. Its always awesome when A decent setup happens downstate, because like you mentioned, the chase-ability of central and eastern IL is awesome....but we only get 1 or 2 good setups a year.

I dont plan big chasecations because if I went out for 2 weeks and it happened to be during a death ridge id probably drive off a bridge on the way home. Luckily my work is ok with me taking 3-4 days off on short notice, so once I see a good setup starting to take shape, I reserve the days off and if I dont think it will verify I cancel them and wait for next time.

I dont budget too much, my credit card takes a beating during chase season, and I spend the rest of the year paying that off. It works well enough for me.

Also, when it comes to family and friends...I always make sure I tell them I make no commitments between March and June...and whenever I plan something in advance I always say "weather pending"

 

[Simon Timm]

I really don't travel very much to tornado alley, because of the recent events in the economy. I usually have to deal with what is given to me in Wisconsin. Wisconsin usually has some pretty good storms, but the winters are terrible!

 

[Danny Neal]

So, what about those of you who, like me, live outside the alley? How have you gone about chasing storms?
* How do your occupation and finances affect your chasing?
* Do you normally find a few opportunities each year to chase locally? Is chasing where you live even practical? (In Michigan, it's okay--lots of trees, but decent roads, handy bridges, and enough open space to make for viewing.)
* Overall, how has your location affected you--both in challenges and opportunities--in your growth as a storm chaser?

So, what about those of you who, like me, live outside the alley? How have you gone about chasing storms? Like Adam, I live on the SW side of Chicago. I am usually all over the local events since I know my time is severely limited to actually get back to the plains like I have in the past. Missing high school was easy, I would do all my work in advance and turn it in so I wouldn't fall to far behind if I missed a week. It is harder to do so in college (at least in my case it was). Now as a newbie on the fire department I basically have to be there 4 out of 7 days a week to train and what not. So this upcoming Spring is going to very interesting as to how I am about to do things.

* How do your occupation and finances affect your chasing? As I said above, being a newbie/probie on the FD it will be very hard to free up time in advance, but I am passionate about chasing so I will find a way to get out there. I will pull marathons again if I have to. I don't get paid much on the job yet, but I have more than enough $$ in the bank to get me through several chase seasons so finances really isn't too big of an issue to me. I would have no problem spending a week out on the plains.

* Do you normally find a few opportunities each year to chase locally? Is chasing where you live even practical? In the past I was chasing every event from STL to MKE and from IND to DVN (02-05). Then time and responsibilities changed and I limited myself to the northern half of IL(except on really good days) There are always chase days in Northern and Central Illinois, and most of them are easily with in reach and can be done in a matter of a six hour round trip. Some of the best chasing terrain in the country exists in IL, as Andrew Pritchard said before....."the secret is out"

* Overall, how has your location affected you--both in challenges and opportunities--in your growth as a storm chaser? Honestly, it has spoiled me in my opinion. Gridded roads with flat terrain and endless prairies almost makes chasing in IL too easy. The only thing that is lacking is, of course, classic supercells. If you ever wanted to get comfortable being around HP sups on amazing road networks, then I suggest you head to Central Illinois as soon as you can! In all seriousness though.......getting familiar with storms is essential no matter where you chase whether it is Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, or Illinois. Chasing in Mississippi in 2002 was the most on edge I have ever been to date. Nothing like having embedded supercells screaming at you at 60 mph on winding/tree lined roads. Chasing there and SE OK and W AR have made me realize how lucky I am to have extremely chasable terrain at my doorstep.

 

[joel ewing]

I'm a 4th generation Nebraskan who has lived in Tucson, Arizona for decades. I've been chasing for 20 plus years. I own a retail business in Tucson, and I literally shut it down either in mid-May or the tail-end of May annually (depending on the wx. conditions in the alley) for roughly two months, to go chasing in the alley. I have utilized this very unique schedule totally to my advantage. For example...at least a month prior to my closing down...I run television, newspaper, and sometimes radio ads announcing that it's "Joel's Annual Tornado-Chasing-Vacation"....and urge folks that they "better get in here fast before I close down to go chasing". This works very, very well for me. I've always firmly believed that retail customers can be "trained"...and I've found through experience that this is indeed true. I really work the "tornado chaser" end of it. For example, in my print ads I've had artists draw (in cartoon form) me running for my proverbial life from a big, menacing tornado...complete with a big snarling, toothy, mean looking, ready to munch my fanny funnel. On radio ads, I've utilized high wind sound effects, etc. etc. in with my verbal message.
One of the coolest side-benefits of putting the "chaser" info out there, is that over the years I've met some extremely nice customers who share with me their own terrifying tornado experiences. Sometimes they'll lift up their pantlegs or pull their shirt up so I can see scars. I could start another thread on this as there have been so many...but one comes to mind readily. About 7 yrs. ago I spoke to an elderly woman who grew up on a ranch near Waco, Texas. Well, most of you S.T. readers will recognize the significance of the word Waco. In 1953, one of the most wicked tornado disasters in American history occurred around Waco. Anyhow, she shared with me....and I'm quoting here " Ya know....they never did find my Uncle's body". Now, as she was telling me this, she got kind of a faraway look in her face..and her voice dropped quite low....like she was remembering something very very painful. I asked her what did her family think happened to him....do you suppose that he was picked up and perhaps dropped into a nearby lake, or something? She thought quietly for a second...then said "no....I think that tornado was so big and so powerful that his body was sucked up and he just "vaporized"....sorta like every atom in his physical makeup just kinda exploded". Well, what could I say to her after that?? I mean, man....what DO you say??
Well, sorry....I've gotten off a track here a little, but THIS is how I handle chasing from afar. I just build it into an annual vacation, fly into Omaha....rent a 4x4 SUV...take out the maximum insurance...and stay out for a month or more. In a nutshell...I work my proverbial bootie off 10 months of the year, then spend some of that $$ doing what I love to do almost more than anything on God's green earth. Thanks for listening...Joel in Tucson

 

[Bob Hartig]

Joel, thanks for sharing your reflections. There's a lot of heart in what you've written.

 

[Charles Kuster]

I do live outside of tornado alley, but not by much. It is about 300 miles from Leadville to Goodland, KS. This generally forces us to leave the day before an outbreak just to make sure that we are not rushed on the day of the event. It is not a bad base location at all. The worst part of the drive is through the mountains between Leadville and Denver.

Local chasing is essentially not an option. There has never been a tornado in Lake County. In fact, it frequently snows in June and sometimes July.

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

I live out side of the Alley 9 mo out of the year - but that may change in the next couple of years. I live in CA near the central coast in Silicon Valley.

This has been my first year of storm chasing, as I work with the Emergency Mgr for Buena Vista Co IA since my family farm (110 years in our family - it has now passed to me and my siblings) is near Storm Lake IA. So basically, I am a farmer that lives in CA too. The West Coast - in particular CA - may seem like a nice place to live, but it has become so overrun by gang-bangers/crime/violence that I find it undesirable any more. It is just not the same CA that I used to know and appreciate - sad really. The cost of chasing is directly proportional to the cost of fuel - IMHO. Cost is always factor when one considers the ditances travelled. Lord willing, I will do more chasing and eSpotting this year...

The CA winters are very mild, as I can remember only a few winters that got down into the 20's. And if it did - it was only for a short time. In Winter, it can be in the 30's, 40's, and 50's for about 2 months.

We had a tornado here in Sunnyvale Ca (2 mi N) in May of '98, and I watched it all unfold - remembering what I recall from a college intro course to Met that I took some years earlier. The cell that gave birth to this tube was huge - looked like a locomotive in the sky - literally. The tornado was anti-cyclonic and did little damage. It whet my interest in storm chasing - that - and my dissatisfaction with CA and its gov't, politics, and crime out of control in various areas. The Plains look very desirable to me any more now that CA wants/desires to "go down the tubes".
You might not have some of what CA has on the Plains, but you only have a fraction of the crud that CA has - consider it a plus Plains dwellers!

If I have to drive to the plains (2300 mi drive in April on I-40 thru TX/OK I-35 then northward, and 1600 mi on I-80 back to CA), the drive is great and I look forward to it this year despite the journey. Arizona and New Mexico are some beautiful country to drive thru - if you have never done it - I recommend that you do it some time. I may just decide to live in IA, but I may be considering moving to NM. You end up driving some distance in most chases - so NM's proximity to the dry line and the Plains is beginning to make the most sense at this time. Either way, driving great distances is a part of chasing the storm.
Ramblings...

 

[Susan Strom]

I live in Arizona; I can work with two chase seasons.

For Plains chasing, I love to drive really long distances and have gone back and forth across the Plains many times, Illinois, Arkansas, doesn't matter. I'm also just a day's drive from West TX. It really doesn't seem far to me, maybe because everything out here in Arizona where I live seems far anyway. I've chased in 10 states.

Lightning is my #1 quest and because of that, the Southwestern Monsoon is my "main" chase season. I aim for extreme mountain or desert vistas with the lightning.
http://www.lightninglady.com/photos/StromDarkBeauty.jpg
http://www.lightninglady.com/photos/StromMogollonThunder.jpg

I chase nocturnally for the most part, getting my best work done from 11pm-2am, telling a relative or friend if I head off to some remote corner of the mind-boggling terrain that is Arizona.

My alltime favorite places to chase are the Mogollon Rim of Arizona first, the Central Deserts of Arizona second, Southwestern Kansas/tri-cities third.

I have April-June for Plains access; July-Sept for Monsoon. I consider myself a Southwestern Monsoon chaser first, and a Plains chaser second. My preference is Monsoon because of the wild terrain and bizarre light, and strange layers of history, such as 1,000 year old Indian ruins, ghost towns and the general untamed feel of the place.

One thing I wanted to add, the Southwestern Monsoon is available for those who want to stay in chase mode after the Plains season wraps up. The big draw is the chance to get intense lightning with bizarre terrain. Monsoon is difficult though, I don't want to make it sound like it is easy. This gives a feel, explaining where some of the lightning can be found. http://www.lightninglady.com/gallery

 

[John Hudson]

Living in southern Manitoba means I'm a long way from the Alley, but the journey to Kansas or Oklahoma is the deal I look forward to all winter long. I really do enjoy hitting the road and cruising the I-29 through the Dakotas, Nebraska and finally......Nirvana. I am fortunate that the kind of work I do means my hours and days of work are flexible, so I can take that one or two weeks in May at my discretion.

At home, there are plenty of opportunities for chasing from mid May onwards, especially if you dig lightning. And, we do have a few tornadoes every year (including the awesome F5 in '07), although they tend to be very weak and short-lived, in most cases.

I try to sock away some money each fall/winter for my next chasecation, although the price of fuel meant that I went somewhat over budget this past season. Of course, now the fuel is cheaper, but the Canadian $$ is tanking big time, so the exchange will hurt next year. I guess that's what they call "give and take".


John
VE4 JTH

 

[J. Sims]

I live in Arizona; I can work with two chase seasons.

For Plains chasing, I love to drive really long distances and have gone back and forth across the Plains many times, Illinois, Arkansas, doesn't matter. I'm also just a day's drive from West TX. It really doesn't seem far to me, maybe because everything out here in Arizona where I live seems far anyway. I've chased in 10 states.

Lightning is my #1 quest and because of that, the Southwestern Monsoon is my "main" chase season. I aim for extreme mountain or desert vistas with the lightning.
http://www.lightninglady.com/photos/StromDarkBeauty.jpg
http://www.lightninglady.com/photos/StromMogollonThunder.jpg

I chase nocturnally for the most part, getting my best work done from 11pm-2am, telling a relative or friend if I head off to some remote corner of the mind-boggling terrain that is Arizona.

My alltime favorite places to chase are the Mogollon Rim of Arizona first, the Central Deserts of Arizona second, Southwestern Kansas/tri-cities third.

I have April-June for Plains access; July-Sept for Monsoon. I consider myself a Southwestern Monsoon chaser first, and a Plains chaser second. My preference is Monsoon because of the wild terrain and bizarre light, and strange layers of history, such as 1,000 year old Indian ruins, ghost towns and the general untamed feel of the place.

One thing I wanted to add, the Southwestern Monsoon is available for those who want to stay in chase mode after the Plains season wraps up. The big draw is the chance to get intense lightning with bizarre terrain. Monsoon is difficult though, I don't want to make it sound like it is easy. This gives a feel, explaining where some of the lightning can be found. http://www.lightninglady.com/gallery

The area where I live gets little to no weather it just seems to go around my town and into the Sedona area. And not having a car makes the issue worse.

I am moving to Kansas to chase more and I won't have to drive far.