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What Will You Do Different in 2020?

Warren Faidley

Warren Faidley

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So we have reached the half way mark to chase season 2020 -- if you consider May as your target month.

With all the recent discussions and issues regarding chase tactics, safety, convergence and technology, I was wondering what chasers plan to do different in 2020?

I stopped chasing HP's years ago, so no alterations there. The unexpected byproduct of having the still photography market collapse is being able to back off. I no longer have to drive 500 miles a day with my hair on fire to avoid missing a shot that has already been accomplished by me or others a hundred times. I do believe there will be new frontiers as the evolution of moving footage progresses. Just give me a 8k, low light, global shutter camera and my hair will ignite again.

I don't have any new technology plans other than a rear-facing, 4k camera and maybe a body cam.
 
One thing I vow to do next year is to take better pictures. I say it every year and am making baby steps in that direction.
When it comes to high risk days I may change things up just a bit. If the storms are going to be moving along at a pretty good clip, staying out ahead of the storm until a tornado becomes imminent seems to make a bit of sense. I always like to ride with a storm from it’s infancy, to watch it grow and mature. When there’s a bunch more chasers out on a high risk day it’s just too difficult to keep up with a good storm unless it’s relatively slow moving. I don’t deserve a square inch of the pavement any more than the next person so just limiting the amount of time caught in a parade might be a little more enjoyable.
Time permitting I’m going to take back roads as much as I can to my daily target area. I like seeing new things and there’s just not much I haven’t seen on the main drags yet. One bonus of the back roads is not having to wait until getting to a town to use the bathroom if necessary.
I also have a new target for getting someone their first tornado. I have an older lady who has never seen a tornado that would like for me to take her. The only problem is that it would have to be fairly local so the pickings are going to be really slim!
 
My only real change would be to try to get out more than I could this year. A lot of things came together, some that I had some control over, others that I did not, to really curtail the number of days I could chase this year. So next year I will try to schedule things a little differently, but we'll see. As to chasing, of the three days I was able to get out on the plains and chase, I saw tornadoes on two, so I guess my biggest thing would be to try to continue whatever I did right this year into next year but with more chase days.
 
Even though my big slow-motion lightning film this year was a total flop - getting no shares and zero viral traffic - I will probably focus more on high-speed lightning footage next season as it's personally one of the most fascinating and exciting things I've ever undertook as a chaser. I also have a new vehicle that supports car camping, and I plan to forego hotels completely in 2020.
 
Like Warren, I always think of November as the halfway point to my next chase vacation. If you live on the Plains, you may have opportunities before then, but as a chase vacationer November is an important milestone. When I get back from a trip, the next year’s return to the Plains seems like an eternity away. Then November comes and we’re halfway there! Before you know it, it’s New Year’s and now chasing is “later this year,” no longer “next year.” In some ways it takes a long time to get there, in other ways the summer and fall months, and then the holidays, make time go by surprisingly quickly. But then time slows in the first few months of the year - cold weather, short days, busiest time of year for me at work. Then when spring is in the air and it’s a matter of weeks, time really slows to a crawl.

The first thing different for me next year is not a good one - there is some risk that I may not be able to take my chase vacation at all, or that it may have to be short and/or at a less-than-optimal time. This is because of a major project at work set to kick off next year, and the current timeline has some unfortunate critical milestones right in peak season. If I can get away at all, I may have to settle for a short trip, and may have to be firm about when I am going, without flexibility for last minute changes based on weather patterns. Or I may have to squeeze in a trip before or after the late May peak. I am gong to try not to worry about it too much, because a lot can change on the project timeline in the next six months. It’s easy during winter to not worry about it, but I know as the season draws near it is going to drive me crazy. It will be an internal battle between wanting to look forward to the trip and telling myself not to think about it, not to get my hopes up...

One of my aspirations is to find ways to take my knowledge to a new level. Though I have been chasing for many years, it doesn’t add up to much with just one to two weeks per year. I feel like I have hit a plateau in my chasing abilities, and I have had a pretty bad streak over the last few years. Rather than just absorbing whatever I happen to absorb in normal course, I want to take a more disciplined approach to studying and learning. I am reading a book called “Ultralearning” by Scott Young, about how to structure a “learning project,” and was thinking of using some of those techniques to take a more disciplined and academic approach. At the same time, I know that my time is going to be limited, especially with this big work project on the horizon. Like a New Year’s resolution, I say this every year and then break it. Knowing I may not be able to chase at all next year makes it even harder to embark on this. It’s not for lack of motivation, it’s because I don’t want to get myself amped up for a trip that may not happen.

If I can chase in 2020, one thing that may be different is for the first time I may have one or two people with me that have never chased before but want to experience it. One is actually my former boss, who is now retired. That should be interesting, to have him along in a situation where I am the one in charge 😜. Anyway I think it will be very gratifying to expose someone to the amazing and wonderful experiences of chasing. At the same time, it’s more pressure and stress to be successful; now a missed tornado affects not only me but someone else. Someone that has never chased before doesn’t realize misses happen all the time, and I don’t want to look like an inept moron 😒 Maybe it will force me to pick up my game, like in athletics where you enroll in a competition to force yourself to train harder. The other downside of having someone else along is it changes the great dynamic my chase partner and I have; going from just the two of us for many years, a trip that is obviously also a fun vacation together, will be completely different having someone else along. As we all know, temperament, risk tolerance, ability to be bored and patient, are all unknowns with a new chase participant.

Other than that, no major changes planned. I am considering getting a new camcorder as opposed to taking video with my Nikon DSLR, but again don’t want to invest too much time and money into this type of stuff with the trip itself being so uncertain. Also not sure if I want to go back to juggling two different devices.

Kind of curious as to how others handle uncertainties about being able to chase. Talking more about chase vacationers, not those who live on the Plains and may have to face chasing less but don’t have to worry they can’t go at all, they always have that potential one day to look forward to that itself can make a season - like the two such days John had last year. Does it affect your enthusiasm and level of preparation for the season? Do you try to tune it all out to not torture yourself - like a person on a diet trying not to look at food - or do you still do everything you normally would and continue to stay on top of events from afar, even though your desire to be out there is gnawing at you mercilessly???
 
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Warren that body cam won't record anything other than urinals, blue skies, and Allsup's burritos! Got ya! LOL

Seriously though, not much will change from me. Just staying safety conscious and maybe making a few additions to the Xterra like a grill guard and upgraded headlights. Xterra's suck ass when it comes to lighting. My 2011 Camry blows it away in regards to that.
 
I'm not sure exactly what/how I want to do things differently, but: I'd like to actually get out & chase/see some storms (and hopefully see my 1st tornado).

This being the 1st year I've truly paid close attention to radar, storm locations, etc (and before last year I didn't even know storm chasing was a thing)
One of the things I noted this year is how far all the 'action' in Colorado is from me...my original thinking was I could simply drive a hour or so east, view an afternoon storm, then be back home in time for dinner..
Turns out (from what I've seen) that's just not the case:
* Its allllot farther out there (making it for me what I'd consider a 'long distance' - I never actually left the house to attempt going after a storm)
* The storms fire up late enough in the afternoon (and with the distance) there's pretty much no way to be back home by dinnertime (and I'd very likely have to deal with the traffic in Denver :o )
While I'm thankful for the fact we don't get stuff like tornadoes at/near where I live, it also makes it hard with the long distance if I want to actually go see something. I'm going to have to do some thinking on what/how I want to do there.
I know for one its going to mean being out longer, and for two getting home later .lol.

Another way I was originally thinking was...I can check radar at home before leaving, then head out in the direction of the storm (and hopefully find a store or something along the way with free WiFi to check again - using the (very limited) cellphone-plan I had wasn't an option)...that plan I just don't think is going to work, since there's no real way of knowing just where a storm is (& if for example there's 2, which one of them might be the better choice.. plus if its HP, I'd rather avoid it alltogether)

That all said, and how much I'd really love to see a tornado, I also plan to stay pretty far back (haven't decided on what's a 'safe' distance: 5 miles? 10 miles? etc), I'm not sure how much I'll see.


-----------
I'd hoped to atleast see/video more good lightning this year - from home (but that's again another where its always been "we don't get too much here" simply a fact of mother nature)
I also found my camcorder sucks in the dark, and the trees behind me block allot of the view.
 
Not a whole lot. I plan to revamp my social media pages that I have been neglecting the last 3 years while we work on Season of the Storm. All my efforts went into that and personal brand sort of slipped under the radar. I may re-enter the streaming game but only for facebook supporters.

On big thing that I'll be doing different is chasing in my own vehicle again since mine got taken out by an accident on April 7th, timing it out literally the entire year. Its finally fixed now (barring any new issues of course)
 
James K said:
I'm not sure exactly what/how I want to do things differently, but: I'd like to actually get out & chase/see some storms (and hopefully see my 1st tornado).

This being the 1st year I've truly paid close attention to radar, storm locations, etc (and before last year I didn't even know storm chasing was a thing)
One of the things I noted this year is how far all the 'action' in Colorado is from me...my original thinking was I could simply drive a hour or so east, view an afternoon storm, then be back home in time for dinner..
Turns out (from what I've seen) that's just not the case:
* Its allllot farther out there (making it for me what I'd consider a 'long distance' - I never actually left the house to attempt going after a storm)
* The storms fire up late enough in the afternoon (and with the distance) there's pretty much no way to be back home by dinnertime (and I'd very likely have to deal with the traffic in Denver :eek: )
While I'm thankful for the fact we don't get stuff like tornadoes at/near where I live, it also makes it hard with the long distance if I want to actually go see something. I'm going to have to do some thinking on what/how I want to do there.
I know for one its going to mean being out longer, and for two getting home later .lol.

Another way I was originally thinking was...I can check radar at home before leaving, then head out in the direction of the storm (and hopefully find a store or something along the way with free WiFi to check again - using the (very limited) cellphone-plan I had wasn't an option)...that plan I just don't think is going to work, since there's no real way of knowing just where a storm is (& if for example there's 2, which one of them might be the better choice.. plus if its HP, I'd rather avoid it alltogether)

That all said, and how much I'd really love to see a tornado, I also plan to stay pretty far back (haven't decided on what's a 'safe' distance: 5 miles? 10 miles? etc), I'm not sure how much I'll see.


-----------
I'd hoped to atleast see/video more good lightning this year - from home (but that's again another where its always been "we don't get too much here" simply a fact of mother nature)
I also found my camcorder sucks in the dark, and the trees behind me block allot of the view.
Click to expand...

You'll figure it out James. When I started chasing in CO, I lived pretty far east in the metro area (tower/quincy), so I wasnt a challenge to get out. I started by going a few miles out, then a few miles more, then I realized I was travelling 20-30 miles away from home and it felt like a long way out. Now I live way out where I used to feel like it was far away from home and my easy chases will end at the Kansas or Nebraska state lines before I decide I've gone too far.

So yeah, you'll end up creeping further and further away from home base. Its inevitable. In any case, have fun and don't stress about distances/time. Just remember if you chase in Colorado, you're always chasing away from your house, no matter in you live in Denver or Strasburg or way out in Burlington.
 
My tactics won't change. Mostly because of my time in the military, I've been unwilling to take big risks chasing. I feel like I tempted fate enough while I was serving, and have made a conscious choice not to tempt it further with my chasing. That said, most of my improvements have been with equipment and I've been working on that since June. All my ham radio stuff is now organized by CWA on commercial VHF and UHF radios for reporting purposes, APRS capability has been ironed out, and the cell booster now has a legit antenna other than the mag mount that came out of the box. Also, I'm upgrading to full frame for stills and will likely buy another camcorder before the spring. I'm hopeful that the main thing that will change (other than the equipment changes noted above) is that more opportunities will line up with my schedule, but at the same time won't affect my regular job (truck driver).

Hopefully I'm able to see many of y'all out in the field! I was able to meet a few (including a fellow mod on the Discord side) in the field this past year, and I'd love to be able to meet more this upcoming year.
 
Drew Terril said:
My tactics won't change. Mostly because of my time in the military, I've been unwilling to take big risks chasing. I feel like I tempted fate enough while I was serving, and have made a conscious choice not to tempt it further with my chasing. That said, most of my improvements have been with equipment and I've been working on that since June. All my ham radio stuff is now organized by CWA on commercial VHF and UHF radios for reporting purposes, APRS capability has been ironed out, and the cell booster now has a legit antenna other than the mag mount that came out of the box. Also, I'm upgrading to full frame for stills and will likely buy another camcorder before the spring. I'm hopeful that the main thing that will change (other than the equipment changes noted above) is that more opportunities will line up with my schedule, but at the same time won't affect my regular job (truck driver).

Hopefully I'm able to see many of y'all out in the field! I was able to meet a few (including a fellow mod on the Discord side) in the field this past year, and I'd love to be able to meet more this upcoming year.
Click to expand...

OT but belated Happy Veterans Day Drew, to you and all other Veterans on ST! Thank you for your service, if not for heroes like all of you doing what you do, we would not have the freedom and peace of mind to pursue hobbies like storm chasing or do much of anything else!
 
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