Moved out of tornado alley- how do you handle chase season?

[Josh Murfield]

Hello all,

My wife and I just moved out of Nebraska to the Seattle area back in November. We absolutely love it here, and the only down side we both can see is that the Spring season will be painful, when we start seeing forecasts for big chase days "back home" and we can't be out there chasing. So for those of you in our situation, without the ability to fly back there to chase during that time of year, how do you handle it? Just camp out on Stormtrack reading the "Now" threads whimpering? Or ignore it completely and try to pretend it's not even happening?

I have a feeling I'll be on the now threads whimpering, so I'm trying to think up ways to cope with it now, and hoping to hear from others out there to see how you cope with it.

 

[Andrew Ryan]

Since I technically don't live in Tornado Alley, I know how you feel.

After the month of May, I return home to NY and miss all the setups in June. I personally hate armchair chasing. I really have no interest in seeing a supercell on radar or video stream. But usually once I get home, the "chase" season in the NE is just starting up. So I try to focus on that and not what's going on on the plains.

Once I graduate from college, they may end my "full time" chasing career. But maybe I'll find a way to change that.

 

[Josh Murfield]

Since I technically don't live in Tornado Alley, I know how you feel.

After the month of May, I return home to NY and miss all the setups in June. I personally hate armchair chasing. I really have no interest in seeing a supercell on radar or video stream. But usually once I get home, the "chase" season in the NE is just starting up. So I try to focus on that and not what's going on on the plains.

Once I graduate from college, they may end my "full time" chasing career. But maybe I'll find a way to change that.

That's good, at least you get a small taste of the action, then. Out here I guess we could substitute it with chasing scenery.... or fog or mist. I won't knock it here because it's an AMAZING part of the country that we love, but for that brief time in the Spring, there is nothing like being out there on a gravel road with the screeching NOAA warning tone on the radio while watching a rotating wall cloud- and for that reason during that time we'll be missing the Plains greatly.

 

[Larry J. Kosch]

Miss NE Weather??

Josh,

I can relate to how you will be missing NE weather! I was born and raised in Nebraska. Then I pursued a career in sports journalism in CO for a couple of years. I was not a storm chaser back then, but I was a Big Red football fan. You have no idea how hard it was to keep track of Nebraska football in the Denver papers. You would be lucky to have a brief story about Nebraska football way back on page 10!

Another aspect of my brief time in Colorado is the weather adjustment. In NE, we have our winter, spring, summer and fall seasons. CO has what I would call "adjusted" seasons. You have winter season from November to April, spring season from April to July, a brief summer season in July-August. Then a brief fall season in September-October before winter moves back in!

I have an older brother living in Tacoma, WA. He settled in that area since he retired from the Navy. Guess he likes the weather, the forest-mountain atmosphere of the area. Why sweat out 90 degree humid temps in NE when you can have cool 60 degree weather in WA?? Of course, the drawbacks is the cloudy rainy days, but who cares? It's cooler!

Give yourself a year to relax and enjoy the weather, the scenery and climate. You may be glad to know that WA has a yearly average of one tornado sighting per year. Who knows, you may be lucky enough to get in a storm chase in WA!!

Good luck and GO HUSKIES!! (Not a typo, I'm talking about Washington Huskies, not Huskers!)

 

[Josh Murfield]

Josh,

I can relate to how you will be missing NE weather! I was born and raised in Nebraska. Then I pursued a career in sports journalism in CO for a couple of years. I was not a storm chaser back then, but I was a Big Red football fan. You have no idea how hard it was to keep track of Nebraska football in the Denver papers. You would be lucky to have a brief story about Nebraska football way back on page 10!

Another aspect of my brief time in Colorado is the weather adjustment. In NE, we have our winter, spring, summer and fall seasons. CO has what I would call "adjusted" seasons. You have winter season from November to April, spring season from April to July, a brief summer season in July-August. Then a brief fall season in September-October before winter moves back in!

I have an older brother living in Tacoma, WA. He settled in that area since he retired from the Navy. Guess he likes the weather, the forest-mountain atmosphere of the area. Why sweat out 90 degree humid temps in NE when you can have cool 60 degree weather in WA?? Of course, the drawbacks is the cloudy rainy days, but who cares? It's cooler!

Give yourself a year to relax and enjoy the weather, the scenery and climate. You may be glad to know that WA has a yearly average of one tornado sighting per year. Who knows, you may be lucky enough to get in a storm chase in WA!!

Good luck and GO HUSKIES!! (Not a typo, I'm talking about Washington Huskies, not Huskers!)

haha Funny how all discussions with Nebraskans gravitates to the Huskers! Yes I'm a huge Husker fan, and fortunately this day in age I can still see almost all of the games from here, and with the internet I can get plenty of Husker football news to keep me satisfied. And the Huskers are coming out here to play the Huskies in September- I guess I'll be going to my first Husker road game this next year!

Regarding weather, it is interesting adjusting to the different climate out here. It's great, though- overall it's one reason we liked it- the much more moderate winters (I don't mind the rain at all, it's better than freezing my tail off) and the very comfortable summers. Not to mention the gorgeous scenery- it's quite the place, my favorite spot in the country. So I think all of that more than makes up for missing out on a few storm chases per year.

 

[Keith Mullen]

Tornado alley emmigrant

Hey welcome to the wonderfully rainy Pacific Northwest.

Yeah, chasing out here is...well... difficult at the very best.

We do get more than one tornado a year average - most years by my count are about two to four on the westside.

Armchair chasing as well as constantly trying to keep your finger on the pulse of local weather every single day.

You're in a good location as far as here goes. Keep your eye on the Maple Valley area... storms that initiate from the Kitsap Peninsula and migrate over the water have a good chance of blowing up once they cross the water and hit the PSCZ.... but you need to be there and fast. Theres only minutes before they slam into the Cascade Mountains and POOF.

Welcome to WA.

 

[Josh Murfield]

Hey welcome to the wonderfully rainy Pacific Northwest.

Yeah, chasing out here is...well... difficult at the very best.

We do get more than one tornado a year average - most years by my count are about two to four on the westside.

Armchair chasing as well as constantly trying to keep your finger on the pulse of local weather every single day.

You're in a good location as far as here goes. Keep your eye on the Maple Valley area... storms that initiate from the Kitsap Peninsula and migrate over the water have a good chance of blowing up once they cross the water and hit the PSCZ.... but you need to be there and fast. Theres only minutes before they slam into the Cascade Mountains and POOF.

Welcome to WA.

Thanks! I must say as a newbie to the area, so far I don't mind the rain at all- I actually like it, because it constantly reminds me that it's so much warmer here than back home.

And regarding the PSCZ- you know I've read a bit about it, but haven't really known what to expect. I know it can sometimes mean more steady rain when Seattle itself may only be getting drizzle- but is it a somewhat regular occurance to have little thunderstorms roll across as you described? If so that would be a nice little treat, a definite plus to living in this specific area.

Come to think of it, a few weeks ago we had a rainy night and there was some minor thunder and lightning- even though the local weather on TV and on NWS out of Seattle made no mention of anything but showers in the forecast or even in the next day's weather report. I guess that was my first bonus to living in the PSCZ?

 

[Keith Mullen]

PSCZ

You got it.

That's the joy of having one great, big, huge, Island of a mountain range (Olympics) rising from perfect sea level - all the way to Alpine. Not so much a range as it is truly an odd geographic island.

Depending on where the N side winds and the S side winds come back together again after being forced to either side.... = pretty much the only good forcing mechanism around.

I'm just south (Olympia area) where the PSCZ doesn't extend to.

=)

 

[Josh Murfield]

You got it.

That's the joy of having one great, big, huge, Island of a mountain range (Olympics) rising from perfect sea level - all the way to Alpine. Not so much a range as it is truly an odd geographic island.

Depending on where the N side winds and the S side winds come back together again after being forced to either side.... = pretty much the only good forcing mechanism around.

I'm just south (Olympia area) where the PSCZ doesn't extend to.

=)

Thanks for the info! So the PSCZ is the hotspot (relatively speaking ) in the area- I guess I picked the right spot!

It is interesting for me, coming from the plains, to be out here and see what effect the water and mountains (especially the Olympics as you described) affects the weather patterns. So do you find the weather patterns down there in Olympia can be a lot different than even in Seattle at times due to being away from the Olympics and south of the Sound (as opposed to just east of it)?

 

[Adam Lucio]

So what inspired you to move? I would never move to an area that sees less storms. I already live in Chicago and thats bad enough. Especially on days like yesterday when massive supercells are terrorizing the country and I look outside to see sleet and freezing rain.

I guess it depends on how important it is to you. If you are happy watching things unfold here and getting the most out of local events than it will be a sinch. However if you're a total storm junkie who has to chase then I suggest you and your wife start making arrangements to take chasecations. Thats a whole new can of worms though.

 

[Josh Murfield]

So what inspired you to move? I would never move to an area that sees less storms. I already live in Chicago and thats bad enough. Especially on days like yesterday when massive supercells are terrorizing the country and I look outside to see sleet and freezing rain.

I guess it depends on how important it is to you. If you are happy watching things unfold here and getting the most out of local events than it will be a sinch. However if you're a total storm junkie who has to chase then I suggest you and your wife start making arrangements to take chasecations. Thats a whole new can of worms though.

Hey Adam,

It's funny, most of my friends back home who are storm junkies asked me that same question. My wife and I are storm junkies, but other than chasing we weren't really too excited about living in Nebraska- we wanted a more mild climate (in both summer and winter), wanted the natural scenery that is available out here, as well as the big city amenities, activities, etc. So Seattle fit the bill perfectly for us, it has everything we want except for those moments of excitement in May and June. We figured we had to trade those brief moments of excitement for everything else, since that means enjoying 98% of the time in a place instead of 2% of the time.

 

[Keith Mullen]

PSCZ

Thanks for the info! So the PSCZ is the hotspot (relatively speaking ) in the area- I guess I picked the right spot!

It is interesting for me, coming from the plains, to be out here and see what effect the water and mountains (especially the Olympics as you described) affects the weather patterns. So do you find the weather patterns down there in Olympia can be a lot different than even in Seattle at times due to being away from the Olympics and south of the Sound (as opposed to just east of it)?

Oh without a doubt.

The PSCZ, the Olympia bubble (unofficial local term), The Olympic Rainshadow, the Chehalis Gap, Lake Lawrence effect winds, and on and on...

The Olympia area is almost certainly always much, much hotter on hot days, much, much colder on cold days, and generally much nicer weather (if you consider boring and calm nice) than most of western WA.

Orographics, good S/SE lower flow - with proper placement of a big L just off the coast, are our only real good shots. Rare - but they sometimes occur.

Where's Billy Griffin when you need him? Billy, want to chime in?

 

[Ben Holcomb]

I already live in Chicago and thats bad enough. Especially on days like yesterday when massive supercells are terrorizing the country and I look outside to see sleet and freezing rain.

At least you didn't look outside to nothing like I do multiple times a year or to dreary grey overcast craptacular days. Oh I got it so bad, my name is Adam, I live in Chicago. try living in Michigan buddy.

All kidding aside, plan on driving a lot. That is what I have to do. It sucks, but Oklahoma City is only 1000 miles and a 14.5 hour drive away. And I've gotten to know the drive a bit lately.

 

[Jason Foster]

Josh:

You can still chase, but your going to have to become an expert at the following things:

-You will have to spend extra money, so finding new and creative ways to make money is important.

-start getting familiar with ALL websites and other sources for getting discounts on airfare, car rentals and more. Start learning specific flights that are cheap and what days to book the flights. Start checking prices on car rentals at various locations that you can fly into. I have found DFW to be the cheapest, especially if getting a larger Minivan or SUV vehicle. Also learn the taxes from those locations, as that can be a factor too.

-start learning about the statistical probabilities for good chase days and weeks. From the sound of it, you likely won't be able to spend 4 or more weeks chasing, so except for spot chases, you'll likely give up on April set-ups because of the low probabilities.

-start working on how to work time off from your job. Whether it be pre-planned 'expeditions' of a week or more or last minute spot chases, you are going to have to be really good at time management of your work load at your job, as well as how to convince the various folks to let you off when you need it.

-start to become a better long range forecaster as this will aid in planning out spot chases.

 

[Jeff House]

Ideally you can tell your boss you need two weeks off in spring but you do not know which two yet. If you are willing to drive this works. Otherwise if you want to fly, Jason Foster has it covered above. If you have the time off, try to get out here when odds are in your favor during an active period, as opposed to putting all your eggs in one basket (day). Otherwise, guess you would have to pick the one long weekend. Good luck!