Turnpike Chasing; Uggh.

[mikegeukes]

Kansas Turnpike not very friendly, in terms of exits especially between
Topeka and El Dorado, with 4 exits, 30 miles, 20 miles, 34 miles and
16 miles, between exits.

East Central excellent chase area.

Mike Geukes (Lansing, Michigan)

Weather Links to Current Weather, Forecast Models and Data,
and Other Weather Links
http://geukesweather.blogpsot.com

 

[Jeff Richardson]

Like many others have said, turnpikes are to be avoided unless you're using them en route to your target area. I'd be a millionaire if I had a dime for every trip I've made on either the Turner or Cimarron Turnpikes in OK headed to a chase target.

South central KS and north central OK offer some of the best views anywhere. Great road networks and decent cell and data coverage. Of course, I love west TX too but only head out that way a few times a year due to the very long drive from Tulsa.

Tim Vasquez has written extensively in his Storm Chasing Handbook on the topic of great plains topography and chasing. Bobby Prentice also has a good online article on the subject as well.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

Central IL/Northern Indiana/Northwest Ohio have great areas that are virtually treeless, paved grid roads and visibility for a long ways. And there's no chaser convergences

 

[Richard Dickson]

Might not be applicable everywhere, but the Interstate System and many of the turnpikes are designed with signage that will let you know exit locations for which side of the road.

Next time you see the big sign that says Wichita - two miles, look at the little sign at the top of the big one that says exit 81A or something like that. If the little sign is towards the right side of the big sign, you will exit to the right. If the little sign is towards the left side of the big sign, you will exit to the left of the main roadway. Makes it easy to figure out which lane to get in once you have the code.

 

[Leah Robertson]

Yeah, the Kansas turnpike can be a major pain while chasing although it's a great way to get from NE Kansas to Wichita in about 2 hours and vice-versa.

I have to agree with others that the Texas panhandle is a magical place of hope and wonder (Charlie the Unicorn reference) when it comes to chasing. I know I'm a little biased to the area as I lived in Amarillo for a few years and was in heaven watching the storms come rolling in with nothing to obstruct your view. The gridded roadwork, low populations, and flat terrain make it ideal to chase. Plus, the haze is not nearly as bad compared to areas east of there...Gotta love the dryline!

Another region I'm particularly fond of is eastern Colorado/New Mexico, especially when it comes to beautiful storm structure. There's nothing like
heading out with my homies in a pimped out hail-dented Honda Civic, rims spinning while listening to gangsta Mexican polka music near Tucumcari NM waiting for the dryline to fire up.

 

[Steve Miller]

One more reason to not use the turnpikes - the OHP closes them for severe weather when a cell is set to cross one. Generally this is a tornado warned storm. Never seen it happen for a severe storm.

 

[Brandon Goforth]

My personal favorite area...TX Panhandle. There is absolutely no place like the Caprock. The road network is good and visibilty is awesome.

Heh? The west TX PH I agree with you on, but the eastern half isn't that great as far as road networks are concerned. Mainly just a bunch of ranch and oil field roads that wind around with random dead ends. And I for one would certainly never say that the Caprock has good road networks, at least from my own experiences out there.

 

[Jason Boggs]

Brandon, the road network isn't that great north of I-40 but it gets a whole, whole lot better south of I-40. Again the area between Lubbock and Midland can't be beat at all. It's by far the best area in the world to chase.

Actually, the eastern TX panhandle does have a better road network than the western half.

 

[Adam Lucio]

Central IL is also my favorite, between the I57 and I 55 corridors is flat and open with good data all over and plenty of roads. All it needs is more storms lol

I have allot of experience chasing in a metro area, because I live in one and will go after any storm that pops up just to see some lightning. I was doing it since I was 16 before I started to take chasing to the next level...It sucks, but you gotta do what you gotta do! All i can say is...know how fast the storm is moving and where you need to get to. Ive been able to get where I want just in time many times, and that's with traffic lights and even worse....railroad crossings.

...and on days when traffic is so horrible during a chase, i humor myself. I tried to pick a song with music and lyrics that fit the situation....this was 3-31-08.

 

[Stephen Locke]

chase music

Another region I'm particularly fond of is eastern Colorado/New Mexico, especially when it comes to beautiful storm structure. There's nothing like
heading out with my homies in a pimped out hail-dented Honda Civic, rims spinning while listening to gangsta Mexican polka music near Tucumcari NM waiting for the dryline to fire up.

OK that was priceless . . . But I thought TOOL was the best storm chasing music . . .

One time I was on a storm on the high plains of Colorado at 2am and Sober came on over the radio out of Denver, thought I'd died and gone to heaven . . .

 

[Stephen Locke]

There's nothing like
heading out with my homies in a pimped out hail-dented Honda Civic, rims spinning while listening to gangsta Mexican polka music near Tucumcari NM waiting for the dryline to fire up.

OK that was priceless . . . But I thought TOOL was the best storm chasing music . . .

One time I was on a storm on the high plains of Colorado at 2am and Sober came on over the radio out of Denver, thought I'd died and gone to heaven . . .

 

[Bob Hall]

As many others have noted Interstates and Turnpikes are incredibly useful tools early in the chase day to cover large amounts of land quickly. They can rapidly become nightmares as storms start to go warned. My personal worst experience was in South Dakota on 06-06-07 on I-90. The ditch between eastbound and westbound lanes was huge and insurmountable even in a Jeep. We had no choice to but to continue west into a tornado warned storm to make it to an exit. Hitting a deer in Mitchell, SD completed the fun for the day. We made it to a Sioux Falls Holiday Inn ten minutes before final call. Those were the most needed martinis of my life.

My favorite place to chase is central Kansas. Generally there is a paved section road every six miles with good gravel farm-to-market roads every mile. There are of course exceptions, but the road network is the most amenable to chasing I’ve found and the lack of trees isn’t unhelpful either.

 

[Jason Young]

The area I like the most is SW Ok. all of the Tx panhandle and western Neb. The area I dislike would be SC Ok. way to much tree's and hill's.

 

[Eric Flescher]

I really consider more the highway system although it is with the intention for manueverability looking for clear and open spaces.

I don't try the turnpike unless I am in a hurry. Near Wichita etc I have found myself not catching the right exit or getting turned around as the signs I feel are not good enough, too late to catch etc.

I like I-70 and I-435 and I-35. Although it difficult which way to go North either I-435 and I-35 (does anyone else have that difficulty?). Being in the Kansas City area that's where I am at most of the time. I know most of the good and nice overlooks and the spots to look North East South West to have good untreed views. However i am still finding more.

 

[Verne Carlson]

Favored Chase Areas Map

Based on everyone's responses in this thread I created this very unscientific map. Curious to see what everyone's preferred areas are. I have to agree with the Texas caprock region!