New to the community and looking for advice.

[Joel Matey]

Hey guys,

I'm new here and I just wanted to introduce myself and ask a few questions. My name is Joel, and I have been interested in severe weather (especially tornadoes) for a long time. Until now, my intimidation for the extensive study that would be required to successfully and safely chase storms has prevented me from persuing the hobby. Not to mention, I had no clue how to find somebody to do it with me. But, I have now made a commitment to hit the "books" and it is my goal to (at least) do one chase by next spring. It will take effort, but it is a passion I just cannot ignore any longer. Anyways, this novice has a few questions for you guys:

1) What books or articles should I be reading? I have found a few good sites online, and I have already learned about the wealth of material Tim Vasquez has written. It is without question I want to purchase his "Storm Chasing Handbook," but for a book on forcasting (which I really want to learn) should I purchase his "Severe Storm Forcasting" or would it be better to read his "Weather Analysis & Forcasting" first? Also can you guys recommend any good meteorology textbooks? Just to put it out there, I am also definitely going to purchase the Storm Analysis 101 DVD.

2) I know for most chasing is a hobby and not a career, and it is an unpredictable hobby in that severe weather can spring up any time during the week. Thus, do you guys find it hard to chase with your professional work? It might not be known how severe an event's going to be until a few days (or less) in advance. It might happen in the middle of the work week. How do you all keep the hobby practical in this regard?

3) When chasing season comes, I will defiantly hope to find a partner(s). I'm sure this forum will be a good way to do that. i guess posting a simple request will be the best way to go about this? I would love to go with a more experienced person in order to learn the ropes, and I would be willing to do whatever it takes to help out (read road maps, ease the burden for gas/lodging cost, etc.)

On a side note, I hope to become a spotter as well so that I can turn a hobby into an edeavor that will help the local community.

It's great to be here and thank you for all the advice!

Joel Matey

 

[STexan]

where is home for you? A lot of what you're asking depends on your location and what your job and/or financial well-being will or will not let you do. You'll figure it out when the time comes. The SPC IMO is doing great job these days in their long term storm forecasting (4+ days out) and this helps a lot to plan for a go or no-go some days ahead of a possible event day.

 

[Joel Matey]

Hey Robert,

I live in Denver, CO right now, which is not a horrible location to be based out of for this. I work as a baggage handler for an airline right now (my degrees are in aviation). I'm just starting out in my career so I don't know where I'll be next, but you're right, I'll figure it out eventually.

 

[Greg McLaughlin]

Since you are in Denver, you have access to the high plains and beyond. If I were you I would start with some local chasing. Know your limitations. When you are out watching storms, take notice of the cloud features and what the sky is doing. In all honesty to get good at storm chasing, you will have to gain some experience first. SOme chasers catch on really quick and others it takes longer to become good at it. No worries. Chasing storms and tornadoes is about the marvel and beauty of the sky, not a popularity contest. Be willing to accept failure. Every chaser busts. Sometimes you find yourself on a losing streak when it comes to finding tornadoes. As you mentioned, learn as mucha s you can. The amount of information available these days didn't exist when many of us started chasing. Keep asking questions.

I wish you the best out there. Remember to stay safe. Respect other people and have fun.

 

[Marcus Diaz]

Just FYI...there's 2 places that I'm sure any veteran storm chaser would love to call home. Norman or Denver. Me? I plan on moving to Denver eventually, or perhaps North Platte.

 

[David Biggar]

2) I know for most chasing is a hobby and not a career, and it is an unpredictable hobby in that severe weather can spring up any time during the week. Thus, do you guys find it hard to chase with your professional work? It might not be known how severe an event's going to be until a few days (or less) in advance. It might happen in the middle of the work week. How do you all keep the hobby practical in this regard?

It really depends on the line of work. You can try to plan vacations for extended (2 week blocks) during the season, but there is a large chance that those weeks you pick could be sunny...always expect busts. If its easy to get out of a few shifts, you probably won't have a problem. I have to travel out from the left coast, this means my expenses go up the longer I wait. Fortunately my career is in weather so I can swing chasing anytime a good setup is coming along.

3) When chasing season comes, I will defiantly hope to find a partner(s). I'm sure this forum will be a good way to do that.

http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/showthread.php?29553-2013-Chase-Partner-Thread

 

[Jeremy Perez]

Joel, Tim's books are great resources, as well as Mike Hollingshead's DVD.

In addition to those, I can't recommend enough the value of crawling through the years of material in the 'Advanced Weather and Chasing' and 'Target Area' forums to view very specific, in depth discussions on forecasting, storm structure/dynamics, and chase strategy. There's so much good info in there, including learning from the successes and mistakes of such a wide spectrum of chasers. If you haven't already, definitely look up some of the old 'Chase Case' scenarios. Start with the first set-up post (don't look ahead) and jot down where you would target and why, and then gradually go through the updates and note how you would respond to the latest conditions and see how successful or goofed up your strategy was for that case. It's an excellent learning experience.

Wishing you the best!

 

[Joel Matey]

I really appreciate all the advice guys!

 

[Rob H]

Hey guys,
1) What books or articles should I be reading?

Read anything and everything you're interested in. Tim V's books are good, but they're a little dry in places and can lack in practical application so I wouldn't just stop with them. You probably don't need any college text books or anything. Searching the archives here have some good information, like if you're interested in drylines search for "dryline" here. Go to the AMS Journals page, search for "dryline" there, and read some of Howie Bluestein's stuff from the 1990s on the subject.

Start on Haby's Hints at this page: http://www.theweatherprediction.com/severe/
and just work through the four ingredients of severe storms, and continue following links.

Take a few quick online courses at METED: https://www.meted.ucar.edu/

Once you understand the basics enough, go to the SPC events archive: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/exper/archive/events/
Find some big days, and step through the satellite/radar/observation loops and apply what you've learned to real scenarios.

2) I know for most chasing is a hobby and not a career, and it is an unpredictable hobby in that severe weather can spring up any time during the week. Thus, do you guys find it hard to chase with your professional work? It might not be known how severe an event's going to be until a few days (or less) in advance. It might happen in the middle of the work week. How do you all keep the hobby practical in this regard?

I typically know I'll be chasing 7-8 days in advance on most major setups. I talk to the boss and the wife and make sure its OK. I frontload as much work as I can so its not an issue. I usually decide for sure the night before I need to leave. It helps that I'm in IT and most IT positions let you burn vacation time whenever you want and on short notice. The alternative is to take a scheduled chasecation. The last 10 days of May and first 10 days of June almost always have some good events to chase.

3) When chasing season comes, I will defiantly hope to find a partner(s). I'm sure this forum will be a good way to do that. i guess posting a simple request will be the best way to go about this? I would love to go with a more experienced person in order to learn the ropes, and I would be willing to do whatever it takes to help out (read road maps, ease the burden for gas/lodging cost, etc.)

The annual chase partner thread that others have mentioned is great. Otherwise just meet people at conventions, on Facebook, or under the meso. I'd argue the single most important thing you can do when starting out is to find a good, experienced person to take you under their wing. None of the books out there teach you what it's really like to chase. Like any community, you can find some toxic elements. Don't be afraid to do your own thing and keep looking for cool people to hang out with.

 

[Matt Ashworth]

Joel,

I've begun my chasing hobby this year with a fellow chaser from southern Denver (who already has a few years under his belt). I live in Longmont at the moment, so there are definitely people around the area if you need a partner.

I would definitely agree with Rob that reading about chasing or watching people chase through videos or TV shows is absolutely nothing like actually being out there on a chase. First-hand experiences this year definitely opened my eyes to how storm chasing is really done, and what it's like to be staring right into the core of a violent storm (Wichita, KS on May 19th).

At least here in Colorado, storms are still popping up every day/every other day, so there's definitely still opportunities to go out on local chases to get a feel for what it's like to be out there when storm season is in full swing.

Feel free to contact me if you see a good opportunity for a chase. I don't have much equipment, but I've got a thousand miles (or two) of experience chasing storms across the Plains.

Matt/Zenith

 

[Joel Matey]

Thanks Rob for that advice! I really appreciate it!!

Feel free to contact me if you see a good opportunity for a chase. I don't have much equipment, but I've got a thousand miles (or two) of experience chasing storms across the Plains.

Hey Matt I would definitely be interested in chasing with you if there is a good setup. I can send you my number through a PM if you want to contact me if you ever see something good coming up as well.