What do YOU consider a "BUST"?

[SteveCarter]

To me, a bust is when I have a rotten time, wish I never went, and wasted my time! LOL I've drove over 25 hours, 2,000 miles on one chase before, and saw ONE SC...that was a bust. If I am chasing something that goes tornado-warned, my adrenaline is through the roof, then whether I see a tube or not isn't important..that is NOT a bust. Last weekend I was in Dumas, Arkansas 7 minutes after the tornado ripped through there. I didn't see it. What i DID see will last forever in my mind...this was NOT a bust..this was the most memorable chase ever. I'm wondering what do you all consider a bust?

 

[Brian Stertz]

A true bust in my book is when the cap does not break and you're sitting endlessly in the middle of nowhere...seeing locals come and go multiple times, and then try to explain to them that your waiting for the storm. The skies are completely clear and the chase outcome isn't. Then the sun sets and you see the atomic bomb supercell explode about 100 miles away. Now that my friend is a BUST !!! Yes I have experienced this sort of thing first hand, and hope that these become less frequent as I grow wiser as a seasoned chaser

 

[Justin Turcotte]

Mild bust: See a good storm but am not in position to get the best shot or see a so-so storm within a short drive but capture a couple nice pics. Also arriving too late for the best show.

Moderate bust: Long drive see a so-so storm, short drive with nothing, or being totally out of position on a spectacular storm as to not be able to see anything special.

Big bust: Your long distance blue sky bust.

Thinking from the other perspective:

Poor chase: Nothing special to see

Fair chase: Seeing a so-so storm not terribly far from home

Good chase: Capturing a very photogenic storm without a huge drive or seeing a nice supercell with a long drive back.

Awesome chase: Photogenic supercell anywhere.

Incredible chase: Long-lived easlily chasable storms with tornadoes.

 

[Andrea Griffa]

I don't wanna do too much calculations, but I rate a bust when I've travelled some miles and I'have not chased any kind of storm with a "good structure". When I speak of good structure I talk about at least a nice mesocyclone or a good squall line/bow echo shelf cloud or a storm with high wind or large hail;in sum I wanna say that I've to feel some good emotion when I chase..If not that's a bust to me.

 

[Jay McCoy]

there are 2 kinds of busts to me.

1. When you expect a big severe wx show and the lid holds and you get nothing but clear skies after sitting in the hot sun on the side of the road all day

2. Choosing the wrong target and missing the big show like I did 5-15-03 in the Tx panhandle. 27 tornados and I missed them all.

 

[David Drummond]

My qualification of a bust is simple. If I didn't get a storm. Doesn't matter what kind of storm, as long as I get one. I find something cool in every storm I see and every single storm is different from the next. So for me, it's a bust if I didn't get a storm at all.

 

[Terrence Cook]

I agree with Mr. Drummond that as long as a storm has a little lightning and something to observe in your target environment than you have eluded a bust.

An exmaple would be March 1st, after a line of stroms briefly went severe in Central Illinois they quickly decayed (undercut by the colt front) I casually drove south to intercept a 50MPH shower. What's important is the picture that I got of elevated convection over a snow covered hill which made the 30 mile trip worthwhile.

 

[aaron.burkham]

A true bust in my book is when the cap does not break and you're sitting endlessly in the middle of nowhere...seeing locals come and go multiple times, and then try to explain to them that your waiting for the storm. The skies are completely clear and the chase outcome isn't. Then the sun sets and you see the atomic bomb supercell explode about 100 miles away. Now that my friend is a BUST !!! Yes I have experienced this sort of thing first hand, and hope that these become less frequent as I grow wiser as a seasoned chaser

well said dude

 

[Bryan Putnam]

Some friends and I left from Norman at 3pm on wednesday because of class. We saw some cumulus clouds around OKC and to the north, but by the time we got to Tulsa the skies cleared and it got dark. We were way too far south to get to the storm in Kansas and just ended up turning around. That was the worst bust I have had so far. There was one time in southwest Oklahoma where there was a stratus deck and nothing got started, but at least then a squall line came in from Texas and we got windgusts, rain and hail. Therefore, I would have to say a bust is when nothing happens. Maybe I havent seen enough storms yet, but i still appreciate at least being in one even if it isn't tornadic. One time we caught some amazing supercells about 40 miles away with overshooting tops. We couldnt get to them, but I still loved watching them.

 

[Tarmo Tanilsoo]

For me, a bust is, if powerful thunderclouds are approaching, but are no longer thunderstorms when they finally arrive. One such case was in 20 August 2006 when I expected some significant thunderstorms from significant clouds within 3 hours(3 PM to 6 PM), but the result was that my rainfall gauge remained dry that day and nothing spectacular went over the village(except some vicious clouds).

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

I like to think that there are no busts (often some extreme disappointments) but not busts. It seems that even on bust days I learn an awful lot, sometimes more then on successful chases, so its hard to term them busts. I think I would much rather experience a bust/disappointment then not getting out in the field at all and wondering what I am missing or might miss even if it ends up to be nothing.

 

[Dan Robinson]

A bust is simply not seeing what you expected and/or wanted to see. The higher your expectations, the more significant the bust. Lesser expectations means lesser busting.

Busting is part of the cost of seeing good storms/tornadoes/lightning or whatever you want to see on a chase. It's just like filling up the gas tank. Fuel is an accepted cost - and busting should be the same way. A bust is not a failure, it is a neccessary experience in the process of reaching your personal storm observation goals. No chaser would see anything if they didn't bust, because that means they're not out chasing.

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

A bust is when I come home with no pictures (weather or non weather related).

 

[Jason Boggs]

A BUST: Not being able to chase on a potential chase day.

NON BUST: Rolling down the window and breathing in the fresh spring air on the way to my target area.

 

[Kevin Askew]

For us Id have to say not even a wall cloud present.
Kevin