Wesley Luginbyhl
EF4
Just remember you used the word 'idiots', not me.
I was jealous of the 'idiots' though.
The Perfect Chase Day
- Thread starter Adam Lucio
- Start date
Just remember you used the word 'idiots', not me.
I was jealous of the 'idiots' though.
Dan Robinson
EF5
Some thoughts to add to this thread. We've posted examples of our personal great chase days, but what are the elements that make for a great/perfect chase? Here are mine - the more of these that are characteristics of the chase, the better and closer to "perfect" it is for me.
- Photogenic, long-lasting tornadoes
- No or minimal rain wrapping
- Close enough intercept for crisp contrast and lighting
- Close enough to hear the sound of the tornado
- Slow enough moving tornado(es) to allow for stationary, outside-of-vehicle observation & tripoded video
- Tornado causes minimal damage and no loss of life
- Close to home
- Occurred as a result of a "nailed" forecast, after arrival early in the target area
- Happened in a secondary target area that fewer chasers were on
- Few or no other chasers on the storm
- Having your report(s) be responsible for a tornado's warning/logging in official data and LSRs
- Happened outside of the Great Plains
- Video and photo settings/techniques were correct and images/footage turned out great
- Good lightning from the storm near and after sunset
- Video sales made to pay for the chase
I have yet to have a chase in which *every one* of these factors were true, but in general, if I get more than 4 of these at a time, it was a very memorable one.
- Photogenic, long-lasting tornadoes
- No or minimal rain wrapping
- Close enough intercept for crisp contrast and lighting
- Close enough to hear the sound of the tornado
- Slow enough moving tornado(es) to allow for stationary, outside-of-vehicle observation & tripoded video
- Tornado causes minimal damage and no loss of life
- Close to home
- Occurred as a result of a "nailed" forecast, after arrival early in the target area
- Happened in a secondary target area that fewer chasers were on
- Few or no other chasers on the storm
- Having your report(s) be responsible for a tornado's warning/logging in official data and LSRs
- Happened outside of the Great Plains
- Video and photo settings/techniques were correct and images/footage turned out great
- Good lightning from the storm near and after sunset
- Video sales made to pay for the chase
I have yet to have a chase in which *every one* of these factors were true, but in general, if I get more than 4 of these at a time, it was a very memorable one.
Last edited by a moderator:
Laura Duchesne
EF5
My perfect chase day... June 5, 2006 near Huron, South Dakota. The day went perfectly... on our way to the target, we stopped at the site of the Manchester tornado then went for ice cream at Dairy Queen. We then continued west and found our supercell. It produced a couple brief tornadoes, including a nice cone over a lush green field. We didn't deal with any traffic and nothing went wrong during the chase. We got several opportunities to stop and watch the supercell evolve. I even heard hail roar for the first time! It is a "feel good" chase.
Attachments
T Farncombe
EF0
My perfect chase day: August 7, 2013, near Arthur, Ontario, Canada. This was by far the most exciting, successful, expectation-exceeding day that I have had chasing. Out solo, I was on the storm from its infancy, then caught the entire life of this beautiful white tornado which was on the ground for twenty minutes. Capturing a tornado in Ontario is not an easy feat; there aren't many to begin with and most are extremely short-lived and often hidden, wrapped in rain. To top it all off, it passed harmlessly through forest and farmland, not causing any major damage. This was a very special tornado and a home-turf chase I will never forget.
Shane Adams
I don't understand why this is on the list. Can you expound?
Dan Robinson
EF5
The extra novelty factor - two tornadoes being equal, if I saw it in Kentucky as opposed to the same one in Kansas, it would add to the satisfaction by virtue of it being the more rare thing. Those rare gems are some of my favorites.
Brett Roberts
EF5
Lots of votes for Rozel (2013-05-18), and that's probably my personal best chase too. Still, when throwing around a word like "perfect," I can't help but aim a little higher than a storm that was absorbed into a squall line less than an hour after its first tornado -- and was surrounded by underperforming, high-based, nontornadic dryline convection.
Days that seem like candidates in my mind, even though I witnessed none of them:
- May 29, 2004 (Harper-Sumner Co., KS). This seems like the best southern Plains storm in the modern chasing era, with somewhere around a dozen intense, high-contrast, photogenic tornadoes of all shapes and sizes over perfect terrain. If you were on the storm from the first tornado and played it well, this would be hard to top for the rest of your career.
- June 24, 2003 (Manchester, SD). This is probably the northern Plains' answer to Harper Co. 2004. Again, countless tornadoes from a single storm, several of them photogenic and spanning a wide array of shapes and sizes. The Manchester tornado itself was of course more jaw-dropping than any individual tube on Harper Co., although there probably weren't as many true quality tornadoes with this storm.
- May 31, 2010 (Campo, CO). Only one really noteworthy tornado, but in my mind, it's probably the best tornado since at least 2000 for chasers. Among the top 3 most beautiful on record, barely moving, crossed the major paved highway at a snail's pace, deep blue skies behind the storm. This will probably be the gold standard for photogenic tubes that I'll spend the rest of my chasing career trying in vain to match, unless I'm extraordinarily fortunate.
Those are really the top tier in my book, at least since 2000. If you allow for just one or two faults (storm motion, rain-wrapping, haze/cirrus reducing contrast, terrain/population/roads, sunset before the best show ended) on otherwise awesome days, the book opens up way too much... Pilger, Coleridge, Bennington, Rozel, Langley/Salina, and Tipton/Manitou all just in the past few years and off the top of my head. Don't get me wrong -- I'd be elated to have just one day in that realm this spring. But for the three I listed, I just can't think of anything significant to complain about for those who were on the storm, no matter how high your standards.
One note about some of the X-factors like rarity of location, season, lack of chasers in the vicinity, and overperforming low expectations: those are all positives to me, and on most days they play a huge role in how happy I am with the result. It's often more enjoyable to go out with zero expectations close to home and see even a short-lived tornado or awesome structure than it is to see a "decent" but unmemorable tornado on a HIGH risk you lost sleep over for a week leading up. But at the very high end, I think a lot of those factors start to fall away for me, at least to the point that they'd only be a negligible cherry on top. If I played Campo or Harper Co. perfectly, the fact that there were lots of other chasers around or that it happened in the traditional season and region wouldn't even enter into the equation -- it would still be my favorite chase, I imagine.
Days that seem like candidates in my mind, even though I witnessed none of them:
- May 29, 2004 (Harper-Sumner Co., KS). This seems like the best southern Plains storm in the modern chasing era, with somewhere around a dozen intense, high-contrast, photogenic tornadoes of all shapes and sizes over perfect terrain. If you were on the storm from the first tornado and played it well, this would be hard to top for the rest of your career.
- June 24, 2003 (Manchester, SD). This is probably the northern Plains' answer to Harper Co. 2004. Again, countless tornadoes from a single storm, several of them photogenic and spanning a wide array of shapes and sizes. The Manchester tornado itself was of course more jaw-dropping than any individual tube on Harper Co., although there probably weren't as many true quality tornadoes with this storm.
- May 31, 2010 (Campo, CO). Only one really noteworthy tornado, but in my mind, it's probably the best tornado since at least 2000 for chasers. Among the top 3 most beautiful on record, barely moving, crossed the major paved highway at a snail's pace, deep blue skies behind the storm. This will probably be the gold standard for photogenic tubes that I'll spend the rest of my chasing career trying in vain to match, unless I'm extraordinarily fortunate.
Those are really the top tier in my book, at least since 2000. If you allow for just one or two faults (storm motion, rain-wrapping, haze/cirrus reducing contrast, terrain/population/roads, sunset before the best show ended) on otherwise awesome days, the book opens up way too much... Pilger, Coleridge, Bennington, Rozel, Langley/Salina, and Tipton/Manitou all just in the past few years and off the top of my head. Don't get me wrong -- I'd be elated to have just one day in that realm this spring. But for the three I listed, I just can't think of anything significant to complain about for those who were on the storm, no matter how high your standards.
One note about some of the X-factors like rarity of location, season, lack of chasers in the vicinity, and overperforming low expectations: those are all positives to me, and on most days they play a huge role in how happy I am with the result. It's often more enjoyable to go out with zero expectations close to home and see even a short-lived tornado or awesome structure than it is to see a "decent" but unmemorable tornado on a HIGH risk you lost sleep over for a week leading up. But at the very high end, I think a lot of those factors start to fall away for me, at least to the point that they'd only be a negligible cherry on top. If I played Campo or Harper Co. perfectly, the fact that there were lots of other chasers around or that it happened in the traditional season and region wouldn't even enter into the equation -- it would still be my favorite chase, I imagine.
Last edited by a moderator:
Bob Schafer
EF5
I think that Mulvane deserves to be on your list, but now we're starting to go around in circles, because some other really, truly epic events have already been mentioned as well.
edit: Here is my story about Campo. Skip to the next post if you don't like stories.
I woke up knowing that there was a chance I would want to chase in SE CO. In fact, I LIVE in SE CO, but 90 miles from Campo.
Some time early in the afternoon I saw that a storm had developed down there. My thought was "f***." There goes my chance for chasing today. I wasn't ready to chase. The car needed gas, and it wasn't ready to go. I would have to prepare and load the cameras, GPS, computer, etc., and I was 90 miles away. I wrote off the day's chase, made myself lunch and put the Rockies game on the TV. After lunch was finished, I watched the game some more, then washed the dishes. The storm was still there. Unbelievable. Are you f'ing kidding me?
At some point, I decided "screw it", I'm going, as insane a decision as that was. The storm endured. It took me almost a half hour to get the car ready to go. 20 miles later, I stopped in Lamar and gassed up, then headed south on 287.
Got there a half hour or so before the "main event".
Damn. I still think the fact that that storm survived all day long is as unbelieveable as the tornado itself.
Last edited by a moderator:
Skip Talbot
EF5
There's a perfect chase every year or two if you play it right judging by some of the listed events on here. Even "all time greatest" events like Mulvane are more common than people think. This reminds me of some discussions we had in the chat recently about tornadoes that looked just like Mulvane with high based, slow moving, fully sunlit rope/trunk drillbits, maybe a rainbow or two in there as well.
Watch video >
Shane Adams mentioned Rice, TX in 2010:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UDnFTA_Gjk (somebody have a better link?)
There was one last year in southeast Kansas:
Skip Talbot
EF5
It's geeky as hell, but I quantitatively judge some chases based on "tornado pixels". At a fixed focal length, how many pixel-seconds of tornado did you get? Meaning a frame filling stovepipe you shot for 10 minutes would vastly outweigh a telephoto of 12 tornadoes occurring over the same duration of time. At the same focal length, you'd have a lot more tornado in your shot with the first example. The pixels would have to be weighted too based on:
- color (pink tornado is way better than a grey or black one)
- contrast (the more it stands out from the background, the better the score, a no-contrast tornado is worth almost no points)
- texture (can you see the shading on the funnel or texture in the debris cloud? That's better than flat colored, or all black tornado)
- structure (exquisite structure above exquisite tornado is much more valuable than exquisite tornado with no structure)
- scenery (blah brown field with empty foreground not as good as postcard pretty location)
- intensity (More powerful tornadoes are more impressive, even if they don't hit anything, and hopefully they don't)
- rarity (bonus points if it's January in Maine, or if you have 5 concurrent ropes)
There'd have to be a human category (food, friends, how enjoyable/difficult) in there if you want to talk about a perfect and well rounded chase, but the above I think would basically cover it from the photogenic storm aspect.
The rest is fluff to me, or perks that don't really matter in the end, including how many chasers are there (that's fine if they don't get in the way), how close it is to home, if I make money on the chase, or if I report the tornado (that's just an objective responsibility to me and not something I take much pride or enjoyment from).
Shane Adams
Been over a decade and I'm still trying.
Dan Robinson
EF5
Skip has a point in that there's always that "perfect" tornado somewhere every year. It's usually on a 2%-5% type day outside of the traditional chase alley, or on its fringes. The Traer, Iowa tornado last year and that North Dakota oilfield one comes to mind.
Those are relatively minor factors for me also (hence why they're low or last on my list). I make reporting a priority also, but it's a rare thing when it actually was integral in either the warning process or contributing to storm data (like some of the Midwest events). It's nice to know when a report makes a real difference in some way.
(EDIT: I realized that item in my list made it sound like calling in tornadoes in general was a special thing - I meant that when a called in report is actually what a warning is based on or is the sole reason the tornado ends up in Storm Data.)
Those are relatively minor factors for me also (hence why they're low or last on my list). I make reporting a priority also, but it's a rare thing when it actually was integral in either the warning process or contributing to storm data (like some of the Midwest events). It's nice to know when a report makes a real difference in some way.
(EDIT: I realized that item in my list made it sound like calling in tornadoes in general was a special thing - I meant that when a called in report is actually what a warning is based on or is the sole reason the tornado ends up in Storm Data.)
Adam Lucio
EF5
Its a complex formula as to what makes a chase day perfect. Each chase is so vastly different than the next (one reason I love it.)
For me the heaviest weighing factors come down to the tornadoes themselves.
Did the tornado provide the chance for quality video. Usually to accomplish this in my own personal definition it would have to be large, violent with turbulent motions and horizontal/helical vortices. I would have to be able to get some shots up close and dramatic as well as have a chance to sit back, not move, set up the tripod and enjoy the show. This is hard to accomplish with just one tornado, so typically a day would have to feature multiple tornadoes for this to happen. Slower storm speeds make this easier to accomplish, though its not necessarily a requirement.
Bonus points come if I nailed the forecast, was on the storm from birth to death. Even more bonus points if it was a seconday target while everyone else derped around elsewhere. This is easier to accomplish in the midwest and why I chose to gamble there on April 28th last year (ended up losing that time but oh well.) This brings the location factor into play. There IS a more rewarding feeling about nabbing a quality tube outside the alley. It just takes more skill, and less chasers always makes for a more enjoyable chase.
So, the perfect chase day for me would basically be Roanoke, IL July 13th 2004. If you don't know it, look it up
The tornado looked like Rozel, was slow moving and long lasting enough to allow for various video shots, on a day not many chased based on location and parameters. Its close to my home so bonus points there over events like ND oil field 2014.
For me the heaviest weighing factors come down to the tornadoes themselves.
Did the tornado provide the chance for quality video. Usually to accomplish this in my own personal definition it would have to be large, violent with turbulent motions and horizontal/helical vortices. I would have to be able to get some shots up close and dramatic as well as have a chance to sit back, not move, set up the tripod and enjoy the show. This is hard to accomplish with just one tornado, so typically a day would have to feature multiple tornadoes for this to happen. Slower storm speeds make this easier to accomplish, though its not necessarily a requirement.
Bonus points come if I nailed the forecast, was on the storm from birth to death. Even more bonus points if it was a seconday target while everyone else derped around elsewhere. This is easier to accomplish in the midwest and why I chose to gamble there on April 28th last year (ended up losing that time but oh well.) This brings the location factor into play. There IS a more rewarding feeling about nabbing a quality tube outside the alley. It just takes more skill, and less chasers always makes for a more enjoyable chase.
So, the perfect chase day for me would basically be Roanoke, IL July 13th 2004. If you don't know it, look it up
The tornado looked like Rozel, was slow moving and long lasting enough to allow for various video shots, on a day not many chased based on location and parameters. Its close to my home so bonus points there over events like ND oil field 2014.
STEPHENWILSON
Enthusiast
I remember that day, it was my first chase. Got the snyder tornado for almost 20 mins on camera.
Jarod Carlisle
EF0
Gotta say, Rozel was definitely the day that stands out for me in the limited success I've had over the years. 5 tornadoes in a span of a couple hours on a system many gave up on and headed south towards Coldwater, for once my stubbornness paid off.
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
