Skywarn Spotter? Ever asked if you're a storm chaser from the decals on your car?

I had someone come up to me and asked if i was going to be around for a few minutes because someone really wanted to meet me. I said well i think so but that could change in a moments notice, and im thinking to myself why on earth does someone want to see me being that i was 200 miles from home and didn't know anyone. A few minutes later a car pulls up and a boy around 10 comes up to me with a few tornado books and tells me he has been buying weather books and studying them every chance he got since he was little and said he's always wanted to meet a real storm chaser and asked if i could sign them. I wanted to tell him i was a nobody, but seeing the look on the kids face i couldn't say no. Not exactly a bad thing i guess, just really caught me off guard from the usual "I hope your not intercepting here" speech.
Awe, that's a cute story nevertheless haha. I remember being that kid when I was little too. Mountains of little weather picture books I got from the library, and as many memorized lines from Twister as possible! 😆;)
 
Hello!

I am a SKYWARN Storm Spotter down here in Southwest Florida (Naples/Fort Myers) and recently put the SKYWARN Storm Spotter sticker on my 2011 KIA Sorento. What would be a normal day pulling into a Costco gas station to fill up with no stickers on the car wound up turning into a conversation piece as I had a couple of folks from Indiana down here on vacation ask me if I had some interesting storm chasing stories. I chuckled and told them that I didn't have anything "interesting" to tell them, but when the road disappears in front of you from a heavy downpour from our summer afternoon thunderstorms that makes driving a little "interesting." And, what makes it more "interesting" is making sure you keep your car on the road so you don't wind up in the canal that runs along side of it. ;)

Happy Storm Chasing!

Jason M. Perretta | KD4HML
Fort Myers, FL
Haha, honestly what made it funnier is that I'm a spotter from Indiana and I go to Florida almost every year. My cousins usually go to Fort Myers while we go to Vero Beach. Anyways, try not to wind up in any canals! Honestly they're pretty sketchy lol!
 
Being a total armature who drives clapped out old crap in excess of 300,000 miles, (My yellow truck has over 400k) I do get a lot of questions about the tornadoes painted on the side of my various vehicles.
(My 1995 Chevrolet Suburban before my crappy paint job)
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(After I my crappy paint job)
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(My 1974 GMC C1500)
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Needless to say, I get more questions about my vehicles then just storm chasing.
 
I have no stickers or anything.
If I do go through Skywarn next year (would like to, hopefully the day/time will work out), that would be the one sticker I'd consider putting on my car...but also don't want to draw attention to myself.
 
That yellow truck is sick!


If you want to see more on it.
 
We have been stopped at gas stations, stores restaurants. People usually come up and ask if the storm will hit them. We like to engage the public so we chat a little bit and do some basic education. Funniest question: Will the tornado hit my house? Answer: "Well no tornado yet and I don't know where you live so hard to say"
 
Not so much with vehicle decals, although I have a license plate frame... My supervisor and branch manager at work have both called me a storm chaser on more than one occasion, though I've tried to explain the difference... I'm sure they're just poking fun.
 
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