*New Users. Meet and Greet Area*

[Cammie Czuchnicki]

Cheers Chris, although someone did tell me that quite often insurance companies have a mileage restriction to stop people chasing and clocking up hundreds of miles. Will see if I can research any and read their small print.

In terms of learning storm structures etc I am doing all in my power to cram in as much reserach / reading / talking to people as possible to bump up my knowledge and lingo!

 

[Uday Verma]

Not all car rental companies have mileage restrictions,plus haven't encountered any mileage restriction on cars from big cities.Just be clear about insurance part whether it will cover weather hazards or if you need to take an additional cover.
With rental you will always have 24hrs toll free number to get help if you car breaks down and they provide you additional car (most of the times) to continue your journey with full insurance.

Kayak.com is good site to start looking for car deals but there are many other ways of saving money on cars if you want to save

 

[Cammie Czuchnicki]

Cheers Uday - I'll check it out!

 

[Ric Burney]

Another alternative might be to check out some of the storm tour groups. That way you won't have to worry about transportation and you will get a guided tour to the storms. Be sure to shop around and see what each has to offer. The education and experience is worth the money.

 

[Cammie Czuchnicki]

yeah - we were tempted to do that to start with, but have decided to fly solo. we have between now and May next year to take in as much as possible and learn all about these weather systems and our knowledge is growing by the day. the money we would have used to pay for a tour we'll probably end up spending on a vehicle of some sort.

 

[MJ Poore]

Cammie, you need to go to ukweatherworld.co.uk. Plenty of experienced UK chasers there.

 

[Patrick Martin]

Welcome to Stormtrack Cammie and good luck next year. I think you might find purchasing a vehicle a larger headache than you anticipate. Keep in mind you will need to make arrangements to secure car insurance, and provide proof of the insurance before you can drive or register the vehicle. Not to mention you would be completely on your own if it breaks down, and then there are the headaches of what to do with it once your trip is over, sell it, un-register it, cancel insurance, etc.

You should not have any problem finding a car rental agency in any city that will rent a vehicle with unlimited mileage. It'll be a heck of a lot easier being able to spend 20 minutes picking up a vehicle and being on your way than messing around with buying one. There is also the benefit of roadside assistance that Uday spoke of. Just don't tell them you are storm chasing, but rather you are here to see the sights of the midwest. Get the insurance for just in case, but if you study up, and make good decisions, there is no reason for you to return the vehicle with nothing worse than bug splats on the front bumper.

 

[Cammie Czuchnicki]

Sound advice Patrick - thanks for that. We are thinking of flying into Dallas, so will probably pick up a car from there. I am so excited already!

 

[Lucy Blinebury]

Hello, and greetings

OK! So I finally made the plunge, and joined ST. I have been a long time lurker on here, (about 2 years or so).
I am originally from England. (Cambridge, East Anglia) I now live in Indianapolis, IN, and am married to a wonderful guy.

My interest in weather has been a part of my life since I was quite young.
It was sparked by the huge south east England windstorm which happened on October 16th 1987.
I will never forget the meteorologist who was forecasting for BBC news the night before. He said it was going to be a fine day.
Little did we know that over night the next night a huge "cyclone" system would come through and put out winds in excess of 115mph in certain area's.

I remember being at the bedroom window in complete darkness, and not a light could be seen. All night long the winds howled like I never heard before. Anyway to cut a long story short my fascination started there.

I accidentally came close to what was later reported as an EF2 tornado one evening last summer after only having been in the USA 2 months. I never saw it, as it was dark, and my friend was panicking as she drove us back to her place. But I will admit it was the best lightning show I had ever seen, and ever since. But I did see debris such as tree limbs and trash and aluminum scraps in the road as we drove (carefully) through the roads. It was hella windy I remember that. There was a lot of flash flooding.

I remember the adrenaline rush and got my first "experience" of how it would be like to chase storms. It was definately a rush of anticipation/excitement/nerves, and a whole lot more.

I still want to see/chase a hurricane!

I have always been in awe of what mother nature can do, and that we are at her mercy at any given time, somewhere on this planet.

I have gained knowledge by having lurked on this site, and also starting to chase, proper, myself. I am also a registered Skywarn Spotter, and I am currently taking online MetEd courses.

Im hoping to enrol to get my bachelors in Meteorology/Atmospheric sciences, once I have laid the groundwork with the application (a current project).

Anyway, I see some faces I recognize from other networking sites and forums, and look forward to joining in discussion on here with you, and making new friends also, and learning new things, and maybe one day helping others learn new things also.

See you around the forums.

Lucy

 

[Melissa Jablonski]

Hi lucy,Welcome to another Hoosier!Hi Ian, Were kinda neighbors.
Melissa

 

[John A. Sellers]

Hello Cammie and a big WELCOME! In 2004 we met some chasers who were from England and exchanged info with them. Then in 2005 two of them came back over and myself and friend all went on a ten day chase trip. We had a GREAT time and only one day out of the ten that we didn't have severe weather.I hope you make it over to chase and have as much fun as we did.

 

[Vicky Redwood]

Hi Cammie

I am a UK storm chaser that makes the trip to the USA every year, you can PM for info if you like but in short, hiring a vehicle is the best thing to do. My best advice is read, read, read as much as you can. You'll also need to know what you're looking at when you're out there so it would be a good idea to go chasing with someone more experienced otherwise, if you end up in just slightly the wrong side you could get pounded!

Stay safe. Vicky

 

[Mark Blue]

Hey Cammie,

Ric and Patrick served up some good advice. I really do think going on a tour first may serve you well as that way you can see first hand all of the strategies and equipment in use and how decisions are made in the field. They even offer local tours where you can go for a day or two and save a bundle of money over going on a week long tour. In fact, Patrick drives for a week or two out of each year for a well known tour based out of Denver that is headed up by none other than Roger Hill (http://www.silverliningtours.com/).

If however you want to go it alone I understand, but I'm wondering what kind of equipment you plan to use? I'm talking about data in the field and such. When I purchased the equipment I needed for my wife and I to chase it started adding up quite fast. I'm just giving you some food for thought since you are in the planning stages.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

If however you want to go it alone I understand, but I'm wondering what kind of equipment you plan to use? I'm talking about data in the field and such. When I purchased the equipment I needed for my wife and I to chase it started adding up quite fast. I'm just giving you some food for thought since you are in the planning stages.

IMHO I wouldn't fret over equipment. Seems too many chasers are all about the equipment; I really don't think one needs to spend much if any money on equipment to be successful at chasing. Most of the time when you hear chasers talking about the ungodly amounts of money they spend on chasing, it's one of 2 things. 1) Just the costs associated with living on the road. 2) They're spending the money on unnecessary equipment like cameras, lenses, lightbars, a million antennas, decals and the list goes on.... If you're merely setting out to have a good enjoyable time and not out to get the best picture or best video and have no need to draw attention to yourself, you can get by without all the expensive equipment and still see just as many tornadoes as the other guy. IMO and from personal experience, a radio (standard in most cars), a map ($10) and a pair of eyes is all you really need for equipment. All that being said there is some other equipment that can "assist" in aiding your chasing success, a Laptop (most folks already have one and if not you can buy one for $300), GrLevel3 software (most weather nerds already have it and if not $70 I think) and last a GPS unit (again an application not just used for chasing $100). Worst case scenario you spend <$500 on equipment and you'll be far more teched out than is required, and have equipment that can be used outside of chasing as well. Long before equipment will improve your success, hooking up with an experience chaser will, if anything take what you planned on spending on equipment and pay an experienced chaser to let you follow them around, better yet pay nothing and log on to SN and see where everyone else goes (though depending on who makes the first move that day, the latter may not help). Really I can't imagine you could do much better than just going on a chase tour or if you're really looking for a more unrestricted and probably cheaper experience, find a chaser willing to let you tag along for a chunck of cash...

 

[Chad Berryhill]

Cammie,

I know you and your mate decided against tours for your 2010 plains chase, but you might consider www.extremechasetours.com. Lanny Dean and has seen 271 tornadoes in his chasing career. Lanny has a staff of veteran chasers ie Shane Adams. The other reason I recommend Extreme Chase Tours, you are involved in the chase. You get training in all aspects of chasing. You will get one-one training, instead of being crammed like a sardine on a bus (no offense to the other tours). Just a thought, take a look if you have time !

Extreme Chase Tours added remote tours for the 2010 season. This is an option for those not wanting to go on tour. Might be what your looking for, instead of buying and having all the hassle of equipment.

Cheers,