Storms and Dating: Can the Two Mix?

[Daniel Christianson]

Tornado or Rotten Tomato?, Chase or Date?, Dark Skies or Beautiful Eyes?, Man Time or Bonding Time?, True Love or Love? hmmmmm.... sorry but im gonna have to go with Chase, i mean its bust either way lol... i think it really depends on how much you really love chasing but as said before a chaser knows ahead of time if its going to be chase or date... ok someone slap some sense into me please

 

[Forrest lambert]

well the way that i see it, i dont have a problem with this thread cause my wife loves tornadoes and shes from the midwest, (tea, south dakota which is south of sioux falls) so i guess im good there

 

[Stephen Levine]

The only real problem I've had is that when I say I'm chasing for 3 or 4 weeks and the girlfriend/boyfriend can't go because of work or other reason, they get really mad.

Oh, and if your chasing without them, you'd better call them at the end of each chase to tell them all about it (made that mistake before).

And lastly, if your gonna marry someone, don't plan a wedding for April, May, or June. If you chase hurricanes, don't make it from June through November either.

Guess I'll be getting married in December or January when the time comes.

My wife and I had been planning a storm hunt vacation in January '07 for June 1-5. We were not married then. In the Spring, the marriage bug bit us and we got married on May 31.
The next day, we headed out for our trip that became our honeymoon, or as we titled it, our "hunty-moon". Goes to show that when you stick to your passions, anything is possible!

It was quite an experience watching her drive us through a core punch in West Texas, head down like a goose and unstoppable. It was her first experience of that sort.

It took me alot of practice to get to this woman who shares this passion with me. Will be submitting a couple stories from my single life in a later post.

 

[Adam Lucio]

Hey everyone who said they're lucky enough to land a girl who is interested in chasing I have one question...

Do they have any sisters?!?!

Most girls I meet tell me its neat and interesting, and they like the photos, but thats about the extent of the interest Ive seen around here...

Although there was one girl I met who didnt even know I was a chaser, and I heard her mention how much she was into it, so I let her talk, not telling her anything about myself...she talked for awhile...and then when I told her I was a chaser she suddenly wouldn't give me the time of day and Ive broken my golden rule when it comes to women...I tried more than once to strike up friendly conversation....oh well.

You weather women are wacko!

 

[Andrew Pritchard]

Hey everyone who said they're lucky enough to land a girl who is interested in chasing I have one question...

Do they have any sisters?!?!

Yeah, she does. She lives in Chicago too.

She's taken though, and not as cool as mine.

 

[Danny Neal]

My girlfriend begs me to take her chasing but I tell her no. She gets freaked out by the tiniest of spiders....I can't imagine her reaction to golf ball hail and blinding rain. Usually girls I have dated though I was joking when I said I chase storms, until the video and pictures come out....lol then the talk of how much a freak I am and how crazy I must be starts. Right now I have a good two year relationship with someone who wants to learn as much as she can about the weather. I dunno if I could stand 6 hours of....."I am bored.....Whens it going to storm?......Why are we just sitting here in the middle of no where?......What does this radio do?........Oh can we stop and take pictures of the cows.....and the list goes on.

 

[David Drummond]

I hope you're not including newbie chasers like me in that! I would totally expect the unexpected as I still don't have a clue how to forecast properly. Of course, Britain doesn't get proper storms anyway, but thats by the by. And yes, the storm wins. When I talk about storms people get interested, so I would absolutely chase, and I would absolutely expect the guy I was with to join me. And love it.

I can't speak for overseas, but here in the U.S., even an every day non-chaser can look at the SPC outlooks, figure out if they are in one, and and least not be "surprised" by any storms, so yeah, I would include newbies (at least here in the states) in that.

 

[David Drummond]

With a few exceptions. 4-20-04 I missed a big (unexpected) day in IL. Even when tornado reports began coming into LOT, the office was still skeptical there were any tornadoes at all because it was so unexpected. Anyway, missed that day because I was out on a date. Vertical shear profile was phenomenal for tornadoes, but it was cloudy and grungy all day and zero destabilization took place until very late in the afternoon, and by that time I blew the day off and went out with my girlfriend. (I don't think SPC even had a slight risk in IL that day). Regardless, once I heard about the tornado outbreak which was occuring an hour from home, it was too late to head out anyway. I still kick myself for that day as I would have at least wandered south a little earlier in the day just to get in some warmer weather had I not had the date (I think it was around 40 F where I was and near 65 F only 40 minute or so south...nice WF gradient).

You just proved my point Scott. Storms that day weren't really unexpected for you. Perhaps tornadic storms weren't really expected, and certainly the outbreak, but you knew something was in the mix.

 

[Terry Tyler]

My girlfriend begs me to take her chasing but I tell her no. She gets freaked out by the tiniest of spiders....I can't imagine her reaction to golf ball hail and blinding rain.

lol, i get scared of spiders too!

i never thought bobbie of all people would start trippin like she did, cause she knows i know my bit about storms...i guess the problem runs into if they trust you or not...

bottom line for this whole thread...it doesnt really matter what someone else thinks about your deal, if my girlfreind told me i could either be with her, or quit chasing...drinking...watching tv...whatever...i would say, hey...if you dont like it, then you need get up on out of here then...

if they dont like you for you, then you need to let it go...like scantlin said...B.A.S. haha!

 

[Dick McGowan]

I have had the same girlfriend, on and off for the past 5 years. Over the past several years, we have broken up about a dozen times, because I'm "never there." She hates storm chasing, and the mention of anything about storm chasing, instantly pisses her off. Storm chasing is my "other girlfriend" and in 2007, she slowly began to "share" me with Mother Nature. It just takes compromising on both ends. So if I have to go to some arts and crafts show for an hour every once in awhile and pretend I like it, she "lets" me chase storms. She has given me the "it's me or the storms" several times, and rest assured, she hasn't won that battle yet. She knows I love the beauty of the atmosphere, and knows it's something I am very passionate about.

I tricked her into chasing on our way down to south Texas for my sister's wedding in June. I told her we were taking a shortcut around the Dallas traffic and that it would be a good idea if we went west out of Ardmore OK. Well, after about 30 minutes, she saw the anvil of the storm, and threw a fit. We sat there and watched a mediocre storm for the longest time and she actually enjoyed it! One thing she mentioned to me was, "I hate the way you are when storms are around." I get into this "mode" of ADD where I'm looking at radar, and at the storms and I guess she doesn't like it lol.

I've taken a girl out chasing before, and she had to use the restroom every 15 minutes. I've also waited on girls who changed their minds about chasing a certain day, so we waited for her, and missed out on some good days...another time she nearly destroyed a few great days. Needless to say, I will only chase with a couple of females any more.

Good luck to anyone who finds a girl who shares the same interest in this hobby, it seems like a long shot.

 

[fplowman]

Most serious storm chasers won't have an "unexpected storm hit". They will mostly likely be anticipating something a few days in advance.

[Marty Feldman face]
You mean like in "that one movie" where they are all sitting around the table eating and one of them says "we gotta go, we gotta go there is an F4 tornado on the ground 40 miles to the north". Or something to that effect? lol [ /Marty Feldman face]

In all seriousness though. I took my fiance' on a chase on about our 3rd date. And she loves to chase with me. We are getting married in February after 3 years of chasing together. She isn't as die hard as me but she still likes to go with me sometimes.

 

[Susan Strom]

The few ladies I have met out here in Idaho liked the idea of me shooting lightning photography but didnt quite understand the intensity of my passion. One experience I had was I went on a movie date (dinner was first) and after the movie we exited the theater and to the NorthEast there was lightning. It was like someone punched me in the stomach, all of a sudden I was in storm mode yet trapped cause I wanted to continue my date yet the chances of new lightning photographs was fading away. It was a tough situation and I know she noticed it. But what was I too do?

Oh man!! How many of us have felt that way, done that one before!! It's terrible. You're on a beautiful date...a couple hours go by...you're laughing, enjoying yourself. Then the sky starts flashing. Worse, you KNEW there was a slight risk...and the Day 1 had text...but you kept the date anyway.

Torture now comes in the form of lightning reflecting through the windows of a fine restaurant in Scottsdale, bouncing off your wine glass, causing you to squirm. You catch a tantalizing glimpse of CG in the corner of your eye. You smile at your date, sincerely enjoying the conversation, meanwhile trying to talk yourself into believing that the brilliant blue-white flashes outside are nothing more than the photo radar camera...but knowing in the pit of your stomach that is a sick sick lie. The agony!

Are we doomed?

 

[Doug_Kiesling]

Well, the answer is simple, find someone that is into road trips and chasing and having fun. I did Here's a photo that Bill took when we were sledding last weekend. Cullen kept daring me to go down the killer hill and it was a blast.

 

[JIM SELLARS]

[/QUOTE]

WHAT A GREAT PHOTO....IT SAYS IT ALL!!!...

 

[Doug_Kiesling]

WHAT A GREAT PHOTO....IT SAYS IT ALL!!!...

Thanks but Bill gets all the credit for the photo.

But the answer to the dating and chasing question is that when you find the one, it's not even a question that needs to be asked.

Here is another one from Cullen where Bill is getting in his smack down shots for everyone