Post your 2014 chase stats here!

[Brett Roberts]

CHASE DAYS: 15
CHASE MILES: ~11800
BEST DAY: June 16
WORST DAYS: April 27, May 21, June 3
TORNADO DAYS: 2 (June 16, September 1)
TORNADOES: 6 (5 on June 16, 1 on September 1)
STRONGEST TORNADO: EF-4 on June 16
LARGEST HAIL: Golfballs? on May 10
STATES CHASED: TX, OK, KS, CO, NE, NM
LONGEST CHASE: May 21 (~1500 mi.)

This would've been hands-down my career worst season (of 9 to-date) if I'd sat out Pilger, which I was dangerously close to doing. I've never been anywhere near as down on chasing as I was by late May and early June this year. What an awful March 1-June 15 -- about as bad as it gets, if you consider endless teases and busts to be worse than a year that's just completely dead and allows you stay home without much worry (e.g., 2006). If something could go wrong in pre-Pilger 2014, it did. I think anyone who chased (successfully) any of the June 16-18 period may forget just how brutal this year was before that. And while June 16 was easily a top 5 chase for me, my greedy side can't get over leaving NE that evening instead of staying for one more shot the next day, given I was already so far from home. The Pilger storm was pretty tough to chase solo and keep up, whereas Coleridge would've been as perfect in that regard as it gets. I scored my first September tornado on Labor Day SE of Wichita, and it was probably the flukiest of the 60+ tubes I've bagged. I've long lamented that despite chasing fairly aggressively (15-20 days/year), I never seem to bag the "needle-in-haystack" events like Campo. This was no Campo, but for once I felt like I got a truly lucky break on a tough day, and it's everything I imagined it to be!

One other comment: I would suggest that June 16-18 of this year was the best three-day sequence in recorded chasing history. Each day offered truly spectacular, cyclic storms with large and photogenic tornadoes that were hard to miss if you chased at all. Tough to think of any rivals to that. Definitely some incredible two-day sequences to consider, but any "classic" three-day sequence (say, May 22-24, 2008) I can come up with had at least one day that fell short of epic status. In the case of June 16-18, I think all three could end reasonably up in the top 10 days of this decade.

 

[Adam Lucio]

2014 for was a pretty neutral year stat wise, but overall an under performing year for good, quality tornadoes and storms. The obvious exception to this is the Pilger day, which saved my season and gave me something to hold on to so I didnt slip into insanity. The S plains were just....dead, with all the cap busts to start off the year and then a near record quiet season. To be fair though, that region needed a break after 2013.

Chases: 15 (5th place out of 8)
Tornado Days: 4 (tied for 5-6-7th place with 2012 and 2009)
Tornadoes: 15 (3rd place)
States Chased: NE, IA, OK, KS, IL (Fewest of any year)
Largest hail: 1.75" (golfball)

Some random factoids (good and bad)

- Got my first ever speeding ticket on a chase near Beloit, KS for doing 76 in a 60
- All my tornadoes were in Nebraska, and because of this, NE is now the state Ive seen the most tornadoes in.
- The only milestone I achieved this year was the most number of violent tornadoes in a single chase (4 EF-4s on June 16th - Stanton, Pilger 1 and 2, Wakefield.)

Days I wish I would have played differently:

- April 27th, my original target was the KS/MO border which saw the days best tornadoes, but I literally abandoned it at a fork in the road for the "cold core" target in Nebraska, and while the target still got us a tornado, it was nowhere near the photogenic quality as my original target.

- April 28th, I wish I would have done the noob move and chased the high risk, instead of gambling back home. This is purely hindsight though.

- June 14th, I wish I would have sat this day out, and instead chased the 17th and 18th. Missing those 2 days was purely a result of bad logistic planning. I took off work to chase the lesser days before, as well as ran out of money.

Despite a tornado count that lands the season in 3rd place, the only real good tornado day was Pilger. 6 of those tornadoes were barely visible wedges and birdfart gustnado HP hybrids on May 11th I almost wish I didnt have to count. I sat out a lot of marginal days that could have provided some great structure shots, but as much as I love structure, missing it doesnt bother me. Definitely not a great year, but I've had worse. Ill be happy to see it go though, bring on 2015!

 

[Ethan Schisler]

2014 was a good year for myself. Best days ended up being June 16th and April 28th. Had several nice structure days as well. Personally was one of my best and most enjoyable since I started chasing 5 years ago. Not much for numbers as I would rather let the images speak for themselves. Never got stuck or any speeding tickets, nor did I add any more horrific hotel stories (surprising since I stayed in Arkansas a couple nights...). Only problem I will have is trying to top June 16th, not sure I will beat that one for a while. Here are a few of my favorite images that I shot this year (if they are allowed):

 

[Matt Ashworth]

This year was my second year chasing and was by far better than last year for me.

Chase Days: 11
States: CO, WY, NE, KS, OK, SD, TX
Tornadoes: 4 (One condensation funnel and three land spouts, all in CO) (I also saw plenty of small spin-ups and shear funnels across CO, KS, and NE)
Best Day: May 7th Akron, CO
Worst Day: June 3rd Kearny, NE

Firsts:
My first tornado (May 7th Akron, CO EF-0 rope tornado http://eon-krate32.deviantart.com/art/5-7-2014-Akron-CO-Tornado-452836453 )
Chasing auroras (January 5th Scottsbluff, NE)
Chasing in South Dakota (also first time going to SD)

Lessons learned:
Don't push yourself beyond your limits if you can help it.
Never let the adrenaline rush get the better of you (and lead you to make poor chasing decisions)
Stay away from chaser circuses (June 3rd, NE)
Nebraska is a cruel land of empty promises (chased there on three separate and promising occasions, all busts, though I did not chase the Pilger storm)
Sometimes trusting your gut over real-time reports can mean the difference between a great day or a bust (May 7, Akron)

 

[Todd Lemery]

2014 was a horrible year with zero tornados for me. The days that would have been productive were shot in the butt by being late to the party. I live in Michigan's upper peninsula and by the time my chase partners wiggled their way out of work, got their stuff together and said goodby to their families we were already late. We would leave at night and drive for a few hours before catching a hotel. The next day would involve not being in position for initiation and trying to wiggle our way around storms late to try to get in position while arriving from the wrong side. The times we were actually on time turned out to be busts.
The big lesson learned here is to leave at least a day or two early. It's a lot easier to make adjustments when you're not still hundreds of miles away. Chasing MSC's aren't as much fun.
Did meet a bunch of nice people though!

 

[Michael Towers]

The 2014 season didn’t produce any tornadoes for me but with the exception of the season starting 700+ mile bust from my home to western Oklahoma it did offer up at least one supercell on each chase day so overall it was far from anything I’d consider a failure. It certainly was a year that diverged from the usual chasing haunts, with the exception of that initial bust I never again touched foot in Oklahoma and never saw Kansas, Texas or Colorado either. No, instead of pursuing nature’s fury in those places of preference I found myself again and again in Nebraska and Iowa but not unfortunately on the big play of the year. I’m still kicking myself as I opted to chase Nebraska on the 14th instead of waiting for the system that followed and produced the perhaps once-in-a-lifetime event as well as three day mayhem that could have made the year a truly spectacular one. Of course there’s no telling what I’d have witnessed but I’d like to think that with my experience and with my forecasts nailing the target each day I’d have seen something of significance.

The one thing I improved on the most this year was actually getting to my target area on time. I’ve been notorious in the past with not giving myself enough margin for error and when that error does happen the result can be an epic failure (e.g. Bowdle). No, this year I was positioned in my target well in advance of initiation each day with the exception of 6/14 as I got to the target just in time after having to return home an hour out after realizing I forgot my video camera. How the hell does something like that happen? I can see forgetting something trivial like spare batteries or something of the sort but THE VIDEO CAMERA? Might as well forget the laptop while we’re at it, definitely my bonehead move of the year but I still did make it to the storm on time where on previous years I’d have been totally screwed.

Chase trips: 5

Chase days: 8

Miles: 6,000+

States chased: OK, AR, IL, IA, MN, NE

Tornadoes: 0

Supercells: 8

Bigfoot sightings: 0

Worst place I chased: AR

Place I’ll never chase again: AR (except perhaps the Delta area or maybe if it looks like a really really good set-up and I’m somewhere in the neighborhood already)

Biggest lesson learned: Don’t give advice to people when you don’t know what you’re talking about.

Source of above learned lesson: It was the morning of June 30, I’d chased the day before in western Iowa and was staying at a Holiday Inn Express just west of Des Moines planning on another day of chasing before heading home. On chase days the first thing I usually do after waking is briefly check the SPC forecast before going about the morning routine and then subsequently settling in to do a thorough check on data and make a forecast. For whatever reason I blew off the obligatory check, showered and headed down for some food in the hotel’s designated breakfast area. There I met two nice elderly ladies who were expressing concern about the possible hazardous weather. I asked them where they were going and I think they said somewhere in Nebraska or perhaps Colorado but either way they were heading west. I told them don’t worry, it’s only 9am and if you leave soon enough you’ll most likely be well past the bad weather when it blows up. Expressing a degree of relief they thanked me and having just finished their breakfast headed out chatting about getting packed up and going. Feeling good about easing their worry I finished my breakfast and then headed up to my room wondering about how late the action might be and how late I might ultimately get home as I had to work the next day. Worst case I’m in western Iowa at 9pm and make it home by 3am, not great but nothing I haven’t done before and well worth the loss of sleep if I see something great. So what a shock it was when I get online and discover that not only will the action be early but it’s already started and there’s a nasty line with embedded supercells just to the west with the worst core areas barreling east on a path right over I-80. My first reaction was oh crap, I better get moving. My second reaction was oh crap, those old ladies are going to be heading right into the teeth of some very bad sh*t! I ultimately had a very harrowing but successful chase, got right into the notch of a beast of a cell before retreating as the circulation passed within a mile and threatened to topple large trees across the road. But if those poor ladies followed my advice they likely got hammered, reports of gorilla hail along I-80 with extensive damage to vehicles and property. I still feel bad and hope that upon seeing the dark black foreboding sky they disregarded my advice as that of an idiot and hunkered down in the hotel for a few more hours until it passed.

Ultimately I’m happy to have been able to get out for another season and witnessing the unbelievable beauty and power of Mother Nature. Even though I didn’t see a single tornado I still had some great times and made memories I’ll never forget. I’m looking forward to 2015 and hoping I’m fortunate enough to be able to appreciate the magnificent storms once again.

 

[Joe Pudlik]

Chases: 7
Miles: 7,082
States: 6 (IA/IL/KS/MO/NE/OK)
Tornadoes: 7
Tornado Days: 2
Strongest Tornado: EF-3
Tornadoes By State: NE: 7
Strongest Wind: 70-80MPH
Largest Hail: 1.75"
Days I Should Have Chased, But Stupidly Chose Not To: 6/16, 6/17

Milestones/Firsts...
-All tornadoes seen were in a single state, Nebraska.

 

[Zack Cooper]

2014 Chase stats:
Chases: 13
Miles: 8,050
States: Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming
Tornadoes: 2
Tornado days: 2
Strongest tornado: EF 2
Strongest wind: 70 mph
Largest hail: 2.25"

Firsts
-First time wrecking a vehicle during a chase (Not a chase day, just during my chasecation)
-First time accidentally getting in large hail
-First time chasing in Colorado and Wyoming

 

[Max Olson]

2014 Chase Stats
Chases: 24
Miles: Not even going to think about that
States: Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Dakota
Tornadoes: 14
Tornado Days: 7
Strongest Tornado: EF4
Strongest wind: 70
Largest hail: 3.00"
Overall a good year, I was able to chase MUCH more than usual which let to a decent amount of tornadoes, finally saw a South Dakota tornado and a solid Texas tornado.

 

[Mike Smith]

Went out twice. Was part of the big southern Nebraska bust. However, got terrific shots of downbursts hitting the ground in southwest Kansas exploding soil. As those are rarer than tornado photos, I'm happy being 1 for 2.

 

[John Fertsch]

Dedicated a day just last weekend entirely for chasing here in Montgomery, AL. Was nice to get focused and track everything. However everything went to our east. Either way, still was great to get out there.

Prior to that, the last couple of systems that blew thru with Tornado Watches were around 3 to 5 am and had pretty much tracked them for about 20 or so hours. Not fun tracking them while being sleep deprived!!! They were deffinetly stay in nights. Would not risk driving around like that...

Best Wishes to all!
73's KJ6MTJ



KJ6MTJ
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[calvinkaskey]

Tornadoes- prob 2 one in Stedman, NC (unless anyone else has anything might be most comprehensive and photogenic tornado videography on entire east coast this year)
- other (probable) in Kirkwood, NY
Funnels- one confirmed by NWS near Emporia, Va (prob on video) another one more evident but might be same one

Hail- up to half inch near Sidney, NY

Winds- up to 40 mph several different locations

Biggest even covered- July 3rd microburst in Madison County, NY 7x2 mile area of 60-90mph winds

Flooding- widespread flash flooding from April 29th tornadic event in NC around Greenville area

Other noteworthy encounters- best mammatus ever seen on May 22nd near Binghamton, NY, best cumulo-form thunderstorms seen with April 29th NC tornado, horizontal vorticies seen for first time on Feb 21st in NC and Apr 29th NC, most photogenic roll clouds ever seen Feb 21 NC

FYI- est. tornado intensity F-2 Stedman area, weak F-1 Kirkwood

 

[Adam Reagan]

I was only able to go on four meaningful chases this year. No tornadoes but I did see multiple gustnadoes in Nebraska on June 3rd. I also saw two wall clouds in and around Murfreesboro.

 

[Brad Goddard]

2014 Chase Stats:

Chase Days: 19
Miles Driven: 14,480
Tornado Days: 7
"Meh" Tornadoes: 13
"Good" Tornados: 3


2014 Ended up one of my best years. I really had to work for it though. I was in NM twice within two weeks of each other (This is about as far from home as I can get other than MT which I set foot in as well). After all that driving I was rewarded on July 6th with my best chase of the year in eastern Iowa, less than 100 mi from home. Two very photogenic tornados near the towns of Reinbeck and Traer IA. Over all I was satisfied with how I chased this year. Most days were forecast well and I didn't miss much on the days I chased. My biggest mistake was taking a chance on a questionable road east of DIA on 5/21. Ended up getting stuck and had to leave my vehicle overnight before getting pulled out (thanks for the help Skip/Jen!). Im looking forward to doing it all over again in 2015 with hopefully a bit more active season

 

[William Reid]

Happy New Year! Here is a link to my chase season summary:

http://stormbruiser.com/chase/2014/12/28/2014-storm-chase-season-summary/

It was a generally poor May and June weather-wise and chase-wise, but we found a few gems.

William Reid
Westlake Village, CA
Tempest Tours
stormbruiser.com