What are your basic coverage areas when you're chasing?

[Michael Towers]

Welcome Josh! Personally I’m not into chasing with others, I always have and most likely always will chase solo, that’s just how I like it. Regarding territory with the exception of Illinois I really don’t like chasing east of the Mississippi River but with the right set-up I’d take a swing at Indiana or Ohio. Due to poor terrain I’ll probably never chase Wisconsin again and you’ll also likely never find me anywhere in Dixie, eastern Oklahoma, southern Missouri or most of Arkansas. My favorite locations are western Kansas, eastern Colorado and the Dakotas...nothing like beautiful storms in wide open spaces! I used to love chasing western Oklahoma but the crowds are insane, I still go there but the congestion sucks.

Iowa is a nice location to be based in

Speaking of sucks, at least on a personal level, let’s talk about Iowa. Probably my most chased state, been in all four corners and most points in between. Total tornadoes? Zero. Minnesota is the only other state I’ve chased in more than once without bagging a tornado. Iowa, so many potentially good set-ups, so many disappointments. Blue sky bust, instant MCS, quick transition to linear mode, under-performing storm…been there done that. The kicker is that sometimes the day does see tornadoes but I don’t. Worst bust ever? Left Des Moines early on 5/11/11 for western Kansas, storms fizzle in western Kansas while Iowa sees multiple tornadoes. Iowa, the bane of my chase career…at least I don’t have to travel that far to get my ass kicked.

 

[Matt Tottle]

Speaking of sucks, at least on a personal level, let’s talk about Iowa. Probably my most chased state, been in all four corners and most points in between. Total tornadoes? Zero. Minnesota is the only other state I’ve chased in more than once without bagging a tornado. Iowa, so many potentially good set-ups, so many disappointments. Blue sky bust, instant MCS, quick transition to linear mode, under-performing storm…been there done that. The kicker is that sometimes the day does see tornadoes but I don’t. Worst bust ever? Left Des Moines early on 5/11/11 for western Kansas, storms fizzle in western Kansas while Iowa sees multiple tornadoes. Iowa, the bane of my chase career…at least I don’t have to travel that far to get my ass kicked.

I was searching for something the other day and came across this little gem that is relevant here:

I think the golden rule about Iowa with chasers is don't bother.

 

[Todd Rector]

lol. as a resident, I concur

July 13th, near Ottawa IL comes to mind.
Also, the corn was so tall driving country roads it was like driving in a tunnel. Praying for the occasional bean field so you could see farther than a half mile...

 

[Brian Rose]

So far just Nebraska and Kansas, but will dip into any surrounding states if time allows. Plan on longer chases this year with lower fuel prices.

 

[Ethan Schisler]

I will concur that while Illinois features some excellent chasing terrain, its pretty modest on how many decent severe weather/tornado days that we get per year. For example, we could go some years and see little to nothing (2009, 2012, 2014 just some recent examples) and other years get several events that are noteworthy, with last year being the most recent example of that. The early 2000s (2003, 2004) here were probably the best that I can remember as far as storms and tornadoes go. We don't see it like that around here much more, sadly. Maybe one of these days again!

 

[chrisbray]

July 13th, near Ottawa IL comes to mind.
Also, the corn was so tall driving country roads it was like driving in a tunnel. Praying for the occasional bean field so you could see farther than a half mile...

Oh my gosh, once June nears an end, the Corn is a huge pain. You are right, so many summers of local storm chasing trying to find a good spot to take lightning shots, praying to find Soybean fields instead of corn.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I usually will only chase locally. I work all the time so I don't really get opportunities to travel and stay overnight somewhere like many chasers on here get to do

However, I mainly storm spot more than anything. I have nothing against chasing. I just feel like I can do more by spotting for the community since after all, I am heavily involved and passionate about local emergency management activities. As a spotter, I usually stick to my county... Williamson County, Illinois located in the more southern portion of the state.

 

[Billy Faletti]

July 13th, near Ottawa IL comes to mind.
Also, the corn was so tall driving country roads it was like driving in a tunnel. Praying for the occasional bean field so you could see farther than a half mile...

July 13th just so happened to occur in just about the worst spot in Central IL to chase. The Illinois River is right there with a ton of trees and a confusing road network, along with Ottawa's stupid traffic and EVERY SINGLE LIGHT being red. And to add to that, 8 foot tall corn.

 

[Quincy Vagell]

I will chase anywhere really, although I am very hesitant to chase north of the Mason-Dixon line in the Northeast, with a few exceptions. Those being a small portion of south-central Pennsylvania (good terrain, acceptable road network and at least a couple of tornado events in most years) and maybe western Upstate New York. (Visibility is surprisingly good in spots, if you're familiar with the area) Before I moved down south, I spent a lot of time chasing up there and narrowly missed an EF-2 long-tracker, missed because rain and traffic would not allow me to catch up. Urban areas are a big no-no too. I'm not sure how far north I would chase in Minnesota/Wisconsin, as that area is pretty rough too.

The area that I will do the vast majority of my chasing in is anywhere between I-25 in the High Plains to I-55 in the Mississippi Valley/Midwest. Again, there are a few exceptions (East Texas, parts of Arkansas and western Louisiana). An area that gets drastically underrated is northeastern Indiana to northwestern Ohio. Sure, you may not get a lot of outbreaks here, but this area is basically on par with Iowa for road network and terrain. Western New Mexico into West Texas (west of I-27) has some of the best visibility anywhere.

This would probably be a good time to plug Jeremy Perez's storm chase map thread. He's done some outstanding work to map out the best combination of road networks, terrain and tree density.

Now that I live in Georgia and plan a next move to probably the Plains someday, I'll rule out the Northeast for future chasing, unless I am back to visit family. I see no reason to drive up there into a generally abysmal road network/tree combination.

 

[rob.cannon]

It really all depends on if I am alone or with others. I won't travel farther than 600-700 miles without a chase partner or someone to chase with once I get there. The drive to, the chase and the drive home is brutal alone. I save the alone stuff for within 300 miles or so.

 

[David Brookshier]

My chase areas are:

View attachment 11620

How did you create this map?

 

[Matt Salo]

How did you create this map?

http://mapchart.net/usa.html

 

[James Wilson]

I am based in Kansas City but in reality how far I go depends on conditions and work schedule.

Anywhere in these states:
Kansas
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Iowa
Colorado (Eastern)

Rarely Visit:
Texas (I want to get here more often)
Wyoming

Hope to chase soon In:
North Dakota
South Dakota
New Mexico
Illinois

I Avoid:
Arkansas & points East

 

[John Farley]

I mostly chase solo. I used to live in the St. Louis area, not far from where Dan Robinson lives (we would often be on the same storms)., and my chase territory then was a lot like the map he posted above. I now live in SW Colorado, and although I have seen a tornado within 30 miles or so of home, I usually have to go farther now. My most frequent chase areas now are the plains of eastern CO and NM and western KS, the panhandles, and sometimes OK, though I have developed a dislike of chasing within 50-75 miles of OKC because of the crowds. The visibility in eastern CO and NM is great, though the road networks and cell coverage are poor in many areas. The storms are often spectacular, and the frequency of tornadoes pretty high in much of eastern CO and western KS.

Oh, one other thing from my STL days - several people here have poo-pooed AR, but actually the east central part of the state is good chase territory, flat and not too many trees. And often some pretty significant tornado outbreaks. One of my better chase days was there on May 25, 2011, where I saw three tornadoes after busting (due to bad choices in the field) two consecutive days in OK.

 

[Adam Reagan]

For the most part I chase the Southern and Central Plains whenever I'm able to get out and chase. I would like to give the Northern Plains and Colorado a try as well as the Canadian Prairies whenever I get a passport. After moving to Norman I made a personal vow to never chase in Dixie Alley again unless there is an outbreak remotely close to April 27, 2011 in that area.