Stormtrack, The History of

[Jason Foster]

I think a good thread about the history of Stormtrack is needed as many now only have a distant memory of the print edition and even the beginnings of the online site and webforum are starting to become a long term memory rather than "just yesterday".

by Tim Vasquez (2/6/07)

# November 1996 - Stormtrack appears on the Internet at www.telepath.com/www/storm, shortly after peaking at 930 subscribers in the storm chase frenzy following the film Twister. The front page starts up as a fairly dry events calendar, but the chase logs are loaded with photos.

# July 1998 - Stormtrack gets its own domain name at www.storm-track.com. The site becomes a regularly-updated chaser news page and hosts a popular chaser directory.

# October 2000 - Stormtrack Magazine merges with the legendary NIU Storm Chaser Homepage and moves to operations at www.stormtrack.org to eliminate the old hyphenated domain name. Cyberchase guru Gilbert Sebenste helps out for a few months to keep the site going.

# February 2001 - Stormtrack starts its first online message board using Ultraboard.

# January 2002 - Stormtrack Magazine sends out its last paper issue after a 25 year run, and becomes an online community.

# February 2002 - Stormtrack closes Ultraboard and hosts its forum on Yahoo Groups. The Ultraboard incarnation saw about 10 posts a day, accumulating over 2000 posts during its one-year run. Take a trip back in time and view it (note: posts are nonviewable; sorry, it's out of our control).

# May 2003 - We develop our first community blog system, with hundreds of stories posted during 2003. Take a trip back in time and view it!

# December 2003 - Our first major forum is developed using phpBB. The board gets vandalized while I'm in the hospital with our newborn son, so we quickly appoint a team of moderators who become our community's backbone.

# July 2005 - Stormtrack experiments with a separate forum area for established, experienced chasers called "The Core". It proves to be too controversial of an idea and is withdrawn.

# October 2006 - The Stormtrack forum becomes a vbulletin system and is moved to its own dedicated server in San Diego. David Drummond of Dryline Hosting becomes our forum technical administrator a couple of months later.
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Of course since then there hasn't been a ton of changes to the overall Stormtrack experience. I know that the website side was dropped and although you can still find many of the pages, they are not supported. I also remember about a year and one-half ago Tim V. upgraded the servers after the existing servers were severely taxed by high volume traffic on the forum.

Tim Vasquez can elaborate more on significant upgrades and changes (if any) since he last wrote the above time line. I'm couldn't remember all the transitions myself and didn't find much in my quick searching.

Of course there was a deep history that started way back in 1977 with a simply 2 page Newsletter established and authored by David Hoadley.
(page 1) (Page2)

In 1986, Tim Marshall became Senior Editor of Stormtrack and took over primary operations of the print edition (and primarily used an IBM typewriter to make the issues). It was also at this time that Gene Rhoden assisted in connecting ST with Don Lokke to upgrade the publication by printing the then 161 subscribers issues. This also meant that in July 1987 the first glossy cover could be included in the newsletter. Later in 1989 Robbie and Cheryl Wright (Master Graphics) took over the printing of Stormtrack (until it's conclusion in January 2002).

Tim Vasquez joint the ST team I believe in 1995 when Tim Marshall saw a drop off of subscribers (likely due to the internet's first explosive expansion). Marshall ask Vasquez to look into the internet for possible publication of ST there in place of the print edition. When Vasquez returned from being stationed in Korea, "Twister" (the movie) had hit the scene and subscribers had ramped back up, but also the first internet presence of ST debuted on November 5th, 1996. And that brings us up to the Internet Years of Stormtrack. Oh...I should mention that in late 2005, Stormtrack ownership was moved from Tim Marshall to Tim Vasquez and has resided with him since.

There is a rich and deep history with so much more to tell and many more people that have contributed over the years. I personally have been a big fan for many years. In many ways I'm sorry that the originators and contributors from years past don't have a large presence on Stormtrack these days, but I still find what they have written in the past still very relevant today. In fact I find it particular interesting what David Hoadley wrote on the first line of the first edition of Stormtrack.

I thank everyone over the years that started, continued and contributed to the rich history and aiding in the bringing together the many, many chasers that have come and gone (or stayed) over the years. In many ways I believe that the greatness that chasing is directly a result of the efforts of those individuals. So once again....Thank You!

 

[Scott Weberpal]

There is a history of stormtrack under the FAQs, but perhaps not quite as exhaustive.

http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/faq.php?faq=vb3_board_faq#faq_stormtrack_history

 

[Dave Gallaher]

As one of the early print subscribers (around 1978, I think), it's hard to describe what a revelation the old two-page printed StormTrack was. Today's perception of storm chasing, which has gone from obscure to outrageous, renders the old days of only a few meteorologists in the field and a VERY few hobbyists, championed by David Hoadley, almost mythical.

I've thrown out much in my life, but still have all my paper and slick cover ST's.

I remember the first time I showed a paper copy to a couple friends in south Florida who knew of my ongoing attempt to view tornadoes. Their response: "You mean there's more people like you out there?"

 

[Bob Hartig]

Jason, thanks for sharing your thoughtful, well-written commentary. I wish that I had subscribed to the print edition of Stormtrack when I first became aware of it back in my college days. I likely would have started chasing much sooner than I did (though at least I can claim pre-Twister status). I feel a certain reverence for David Hoadley and other early chasers who were out there prowling the plains long before storm chasing became popular or forecasting data and radar so universally and instantly accessible.

The online version of Stormtrack has been a real blessing--a rich source of information, education, and connection with other chasers. Maybe we need a Stormtrack historian.

 

[Shane Adams]

I admit that earlier in my chasing career, I was mindful and respectful of Hoadley and the other chasing pioneers, but didn't really appreciate or relate to them like I should've. But the older I get, the more appreciation I have for Hoadley and what chasing was so many years ago. I've always been old-school (at least for my generation) and the older I get, the more I see the world passing me by with technological advancements and whatnot. I just don't care. I like being stubborn and set in my ways. I like that I feel more comfortable with a solid forecast at home and then out the door with paper maps and a NOAA radio. And the more technology distances itself from me, the more I relate to David Hoadley and those early years. While I'll never know that level of chasing (Hoadley in the 50s &60s), I will appreciate it more and more as the years go by, and enjoy it just as much as Hoadley did so many years ago in the N Plains, with the sky, his camera, and the open road ahead of him full of endless possibilities.

 

[Bob Hartig]

Beautifully stated, Shane, and amen to the approach you've taken and stand by.

Being both a storm chaser and a jazz musician, I at times draw parallels between the disciplines of chasing and jazz. They're two unrelated fields, but each is a recent American art form (yes, I believe there is an art and intuition to storm chasing) and as such, have similarities. One similarity is the sense of identifiable roots. The roots of jazz go back farther than those of storm chasing, but in the broad arch of music history, jazz is still very young. In both jazz and chasing, there is--or should be--a high degree of respect for those who paved the way.

I recall a thread a while back on what makes for a "veteran chaser." Lots of people, including me, leaned in with their opinions. In the end, the term "veteran" proved to be predictably fuzzy. Roots, however, are a different thing. When it comes to those, I think most of us can name a few names with which everyone would agree.

I both envy and respect that handful of individuals, most of whom are with us today and would no doubt buck at the idea of being called patriarchs. They just did what they did and do what they still love to do. As for the rest of us, I suppose it's ours to feel a bit sentimental about those who lit the path for the rest of us; and nostalgic for an era in chasing we never knew, or at best just touched on for a brief time before acquiring laptops, anemometers, and other bells and whistles. Nothing wrong with those, but I'm grateful to have gotten my own start with just a car, a NOAA radio, a bellyful of ignorance, a desire to learn, and a passion for the sky.

 

[John Farley]

Jason, Shane, and Bob, thanks for the great posts! I wish this thread had a "thank" button - there would be a load of thanks!