New to Chasing

[Jason Boggs]

I can't criticize anything that you did there Darrin. We all do dumb things when we first learn this hobby. The thing is, you gained experience and learned from your mistakes.

They say experience is the best teacher, and for this hobby, I have to agree. I started off in 1998 and I had no clue what I was doing. I literally looked at the weather channel, and where I saw the red color on the severe map, that's where I went. I made some mistakes and did some stupid things, but that is the whole process of learning and gaining respect for Mother Nature.

Once I got a few chases under my belt, I studied and learned more all the time. I learned what to do, and what not to do. I just recommend studying hard and gaining as much experience as you can.

Thankfully, today I have lots of experience, and I'm glad to say that I chase for the best TV station in Amarillo.

 

[Derek Mohr]

You guys all have no idea how helpful every post has been! I'm keeping track of everything and still listening if anyone else wants to add!

 

[Darrin Rasberry]

You guys all have no idea how helpful every post has been! I'm keeping track of everything and still listening if anyone else wants to add!

You add. Like I said, we're on the same footing. I want to learn from your errors; mine are plain to see from two posts above

 

[David Wolfson]

I think the main thing in determining when to solo chase is being able to answer these two related questions for yourself: "Why do I want to chase solo?" and, "What do I want to get out of the experience?"

Apart from the Zen guru level chaser of which there are perhaps ten or so, the notion that one is chasing solo is myth. Everybody else chases with and depends on some combination of information from weather agencies and nowcasting of some sort. Without regard for Question #2, solo chasing just adds a degree of difficulty, expense, and physical danger.

Question #2 is the key. When you can truly answer that in your own mind and heart -- when you know what fulfills you in the experience -- then you're ready IMO.

Personally, the reasons I've been leaning toward chasing solo aren't because I'll see more or "better" tornados -- because I won't. It's not to get competitive, commercial video because it's almost impossible to do nowadays solo and because I don't much care about doing that anyway.
And it's not to be safer and cheaper, because it's not.

Rather, for myself, it's the challenge of staying out of trouble, of trying to be at the right place at the right time to set up a medium-format camera and having some shots actually turn out. Generally most other chasers don't have those priorities. For me it's also about the tactics of time and distance, while for most that's just the means to an end. And, personally being somewhat of a sub-clinical disassociative loner, I love the contemplative solitude of wandering the Great Plains.

 

[Derek Mohr]

You add. Like I said, we're on the same footing. I want to learn from your errors; mine are plain to see from two posts above

I would like to add some mistakes and things but I haven't been out for even one chase this spring...but that makes me think something, the fact that I learned to never EVER turn down an opportunity to go out if there is an offer. I had the chance to go out for 4 days or so and it would have been less than $500 but since I didn't have any days off work I thought I should wait for the next time.
Bad move. The group I could have had a seat with made 14 tornadoes within the time I was gone (including a wedge with a base greater than a mile) and to this day there hasn't been a chance for a next time...other than that I haven't done any forecasting or planned any routes yet.

 

[Shane Adams]

Not to get off-topic or start another ST 'cat fight', but some of the following comments, IMO, are confusing and perhaps misleading to any new chaser seeking basic, to-the-point advice (without personal/philosophical embellishment or musings), so I thought I'd comment on some of them:

Apart from the Zen guru level chaser of which there are perhaps ten or so, the notion that one is chasing solo is myth. Everybody else chases with and depends on some combination of information from weather agencies and nowcasting of some sort.

Can you name them?

I'm unaware of anyone, if we're going to technically dissect the term 'solo chasing' to such extreme proportions, who 'truly' solo chases. How many of you don't have a computer/TV at home, wake up on a given day and decide 'I'm chasing today', and just go...never looking at a television or a computer???

Personally, the reasons I've been leaning toward chasing solo aren't because I'll see more or "better" tornados -- because I won't. It's not to get competitive, commercial video because it's almost impossible to do nowadays solo and because I don't much care about doing that anyway.And it's not to be safer and cheaper, because it's not.

Rather, for myself, it's the challenge of staying out of trouble, of trying to be at the right place at the right time to set up a medium-format camera and having some shots actually turn out. Generally most other chasers don't have those priorities. For me it's also about the tactics of time and distance, while for most that's just the means to an end. And, personally being somewhat of a sub-clinical disassociative loner, I love the contemplative solitude of wandering the Great Plains.

Seems like you're lumping everyone else into one generic category 'below' your own. I think we're all ultimately trying to stay out of trouble, since trouble would mean serious injury or death. The format/brand of camera/vidcam doesn't matter, nor does your reason for taking them...we're all still out there snapping/shooting away. We've all got tactics, it doesn't matter that they vary. And trying to time it right to be there for the show is simply a part of the challenge, for all of us. At the end of the day, regardless of 'why' or 'how', it's all a means to an end; everything we do is to try and see severe weather. Otherwise, you can't call yourself a 'storm chaser' out there can you? Lastly, several (if not all) people who chase solo do so for that 'Zen' solitude. That's the main reason people everywhere choose to do anything alone that could otherwise be done with others. When you break down all the personal attributes you've attached to the overall chasing experience in the previous paragraph, you're just like the rest of us. We all have our own personal reasons, which make us all unique, but at the core we're all very similar animals.

Again, not trying to be 'anti PC', but I figured I'd reply in the same philosophical/technical method you used, to show that simply 'getting deep' about something doesn't make it absolute.

 

[David Wolfson]

I want to thank Shane for (perhaps?) clarifying my musings. My intentions are definitely not to distinguish myself and my motives from others positively or negatively.

My point is that there are very few chasers who abide without data or some sort of nowcasting after they hit the road toward their target. In the "old days" I imagine that meant ringing up or visiting an NWS forecast desk. Now it's cell phones, Wi-fi hotspots, mobile broadband, and spotter nets. "Solo" chasers have a lot of expert resources out there to back them up and keep them out of trouble. Beyond that there's no right way to chase. It's all about one's own goals and aspirations. Just do it -- but best not go nekkid like the few Zen gurus do unless and until you become one.

"Staying out of trouble" isn't so much a means to an end for me, personally, but a point of personal satisfaction. Personally I shied away from several tornados on May 22nd, for example, and actually found it quite satisfying that I did so under the circumstances that day.

 

[Darrin Rasberry]

Apart from the Zen guru level chaser of which there are perhaps ten or so, the notion that one is chasing solo is myth. Everybody else chases with and depends on some combination of information from weather agencies and nowcasting of some sort. Without regard for Question #2, solo chasing just adds a degree of difficulty, expense, and physical danger.

Models and surface obs come from weather agencies. There's not a soul who chases solo in this definition. You can further it to include that chasing in a car shouldn't count, either, since someone else made it, so really the only solo chasers would be people on foot (and naked, lol).

I think you might be confusing his question with "random no data chasing"; I think he means chasing on his own as opposed to sitting with a tour group/experienced chaser.

 

[Darrin Rasberry]

I'm unaware of anyone, if we're going to technically dissect the term 'solo chasing' to such extreme proportions, who 'truly' solo chases. How many of you don't have a computer/TV at home, wake up on a given day and decide 'I'm chasing today', and just go...never looking at a television or a computer???

Looks like you beat me to the reply Shane. /:

As an aside, I did a "no data/no info" chase on May 26th after getting incredibly depressed seeing the destruction at Parkersburg. A frontal boundary was overhead, so I distracted myself with the challenge of playing it without calling anyone or knowing any data, since I hadn't checked the models at all given what was on my mind.

I was lucky to bust out around Davenport. I found out after getting home that the Southeast took the moisture; if it hadn't, I might have stupidly put myself in a situation just as dangerous as the day before. Definitely not a recommended move to anyone to go with absolutely no knowledge about a particular day, more or less for a noob like me.

 

[Greg McLaughlin]

In response to the original question....the best way to get experience at chasing is to go out and do it. When I first began chasing I really didn't have a clue as to what I was doing; I just went and did my best. I had awesome beginners luck, and I was fortunate to not get into any situation that was too dangerous. I don't care about how much you know about forecasting or what your strategies are. As long as you are respectful to others (you know like pulling off the road and not putting your tripod up in the road and things like that) and you enjoy what you are doing I am all for you and any other chaser jumping out there and getting experience first hand.

I will venture out there and say the majority of us didn't have much of a clue as to what we were really doing and what to expect when we first got out there. Honestly, chasing has lost just a touch of the adventure it once had due to the fact that I know what to expect (for the most part) when I go out. I remember how excited I would get over some "squeegy squall line", and nowadays its mostly about getting tornadoes. Anyways I was starting down a rabbit trail.

I admire your honesty and humility for understanding your lack of experience. To be honest I thought I was the shizzle after a couple of years of chasing, but I look back now and realize I have always been just your typical average joe out there trying to see a tornado. I don't know if this is where I had intended to go with this post, but anyway I wish you the best and I say go after it. Like others have said study when your not chasing and try to learn as much as you can. Another great idea to help you improve your forecasting skills and gain confidence is to make forecasts for severe weather days you aren't chasing and watch events unfold tosee how well you do.