What made you decided to become a storm chaser.

[Mike Peregrine]

It's really interesting to me all the common threads that most of us share somewhere in our backgrounds.

Heathkit ... I had forgotten about those. I had a fascination with HAM radio when I was a kid and a friend who was an operator gave me a Heathkit catalog. Very cool.

Oh, and hi Matt, how's it going? 3" of fresh snow here yesterday ... 15 degrees now.

 

[J. Sims]

What got me hooked is when I lived in Topeka Kansas when I was six my mother and I went to watch Twister at the local movie theater. When we got out of the movies we turned on the car and the first thing on the radio was there was a tornado warning for the Topeka area. That just about freaked my mom out, and every time i would go to my grandmas house in the country I would watch the storms building on the horizon. I have been hooked ever since I have never been chasing though

 

[edward oneal]

Living in Kansas most of my life and having the sky occupy most of your field of view helps. But getting a motorcycle at the age of 14 got me on the road and chasing, been doing it for 44 years now. Only the first two were with a motorcycle got my first car at 16.

 

[Travis W Speakman]

The Plainfield F5 hit as I just turned 3.

Wow! I was in middle school living in Bolingbrook when that hit and my dad lived in Crest Hill just one block away from Rt 30 and Caton Farm Rd...as you know, that area just west of there was completely decimated. He was spared as it went west of the intersection and not east. But 2 days after the F5 we went down there to see him, as we couldn't get in before that. I was 11, and as simple psychology 101 says, you either fear what you've seen, or you're drawn to it. Well...as you can guess, I was drawn to it. By the time I was 15, I was tagging around with Lemont EMA, and by the time I had a driver's license, I was taking spotter classes and on my way to becoming a full-fledged spotter for them. I continued spotting for a number of years and then when I moved to Colorado in 01, I lost connection with all of it. A couple years ago, I took up chasing and now I'm considering a meteorology degree just for the heck of it. I don't ever think I'll leave the fire dept, but it would be nice to have a degree.

 

[Tena Barry]

I was fishing with my parents as a child, and was harassed by a dust devil. It tramatized me for the longest time.

Then as an older child, I went to close a storm window during a storm. The storm window popped out and I caught it in my arms (and it did not break). I eventually overcame my fear and became fascinated. Although I technically live in tornado alley, I have never seen one (seen the effects quite a few times).

Then, a couple of years ago, in Jamaica, we caught a water spout on video. It must have been pretty rare because the Jamaicans were terrified. I found it to be so exhilarating! That sparked my interest even more.

Next year, my husband (also a huge storm fan) and I are going on our very first storm chasing vacation. I hope that someone can enlighten us on what we need to do and bring because we are full out amateurs.

 

[Tena Barry]

Oh, yeah, forgot to mention the time that I watched a barn roll across the road. Not a shed...a barn!

It was in Nebraska (family living there) and I was a teen, which explains why I was stupid enough to be out on the road in that kind of weather close enough to almost get ran over by a rolling barn.

No offense to storm chaser, but when you are that young and, yes, that dumb, (ie don't know what you are doing), you really shouldn't be out there.

 

[Skip Talbot]

The Plainfield F5 hit as I just turned 3.

Plainfield was definitely what instilled in me a deep respect for the power of tornadoes. What motivated me most to start chasing was the movie Twister, however. That's right. All the veterans who loathe that movie for putting more yahoos on the road can keep complaining, because they are still out there.

 

[Scott Bennett]

Skip I think there are MANY people on here inspired by that movie that will never admit it. After reading Steve's blog post I thought his "Generations" of chasers was somewhat dead on, you find many who are proud of "Chasing From 98!" who were then in their early 20's... Right about the time you could get Twister on Stereo VHS...

 

[Scott McPartland]

I grew up and still to this day live here in New York City (not exactly the severe weather meca) lol. I was terrifyed of storms when I was little and used to build forts in which to hide under when thunderstorms would roll through my area. This got better around the time I turned 10 or so, but I still was pretty frightened by them.

Then in August 1985 we had a severe storm roll through my area of Queens, NY and to this day, I haven't seen anything like it. We were getting nailed with golfball hail (some bigger) and trees were coming down all around our neighborhood. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and literally ran right out onto the front porch in the middle of everything. I remember my mother yelling at me to come back inside which I did after a few seconds, but I watched the rest of the storm from the livingroom window.

The very next day I went down to my local library and picked up every book I could about the weather. That same year was when I also subscribed to WeatherWise magazine, I still have my subscription to this day I also remember taping one of the only shows about tornadoes that were around at that time. It was a NOVA special called "Tornado". I must have watched it like 1000 times over the past 23 years, lol. So that's it, I literally went from being scared of storms, to facinated by them in a 24 hour period. That passion for understanding and witnessing storms is still as strong today.

Scott

 

[Stephen Levine]

It was the summer of 1977 in Springfield (SW) Ohio. Every three or four days a cold front would come through and only cause sprinkles in our area, then about 30 miles to the south, thunderheads would explode, and once again I missed a good show during a weather transition.
So one day, I decided to stop being a victim who merely stared at the sky in frustration. If it wouldn't come to me, I would go to it. I grabbed a jacket and camera and took off. The experience was utterly orgasmic. Lots of close lightning, pea hail, and rainwalls turing red.
That began the dawn of my storm chasing days.

 

[cdcollura]

When I was a kid, about less than 8 years old, I was terrified of storms (even the (weaker) thunderstorms in NY at the time). Hurricane Belle in 1976 gave me nightmares.

After watching a storm with my grandfather (he explained to me what was going on), things changed and I was "hooked" on watching them. I was not afraid of it, and even starting getting mad because a storm would miss my town! I was about 8 at the time.

When I got my drivers license back in 1986, and after just moving to FL, I decided to go "to the storm" if it was not "coming to me"! In 1987, I chased my first hurricane, Floyd, in the FL Keys in October 1987 at age 17.

The passion for severe weather continued and the rest should be easy to figure out

My "good luck" charm is a picture of my grandfather, which I laminated, from 1985 in his home standing with my grandmother in front of the same window where him and I watched the storm. I don't leave home to chase without it!

 

[Shawn Camp]

Dear all


OK Why did I deciede to become a Storm Chaser and spotter I might add Anyway OK Prior to 1997 I really had no interrest in weather or storms and I had been in a Flood situation when I was little although I didn't remember it until years later. OK back to my beginning OK I like many others saw the Movie "Twister" with Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt and while I will admit that it is just a Great movie and not real it sparked my interrest in chasing and watching the real thing. So to make a long story short I along with a few others started chasing I guess the first real chase was in 1998 and then got my Ham licence in 2000 and I am now and have been a member of Skywarn for 2 counties for well over 10 years as well as a Chaser for a local News station Fox 4 www.MyFoxDfw.com and I love it and I wouldn't want to do anything else. Weather is where my heart is well weather and OU football hehe. But thats my short story what's yours ?????????.

Sincerely

Shawn C.

When Severe Weather Threatens Trust Fox 4

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