Write a Letter To Yourself

[Tony Laubach]

I had an interesting project come up that I thought was worth a post... it was basically telling you to write a letter to yourself in the past with pointers or whatever... I ended up making a list of chases to which I would offer advice... I thought it would be interesting, so here are the rules..

Write about as many days as you want.

While there are days you didn't go out that you wish you did, try and keep these to days you went out (a few are okay, but they are usually pretty obvious).

Don't give it away (i.e. tornadoes will be here, go there); drop hints that in the method that if you actually had this, you would have to still use some tact.

Try to avoid too many "stay home" things... obviously a clear sky bust would warrant such a thing.

The reasons can be anything from weather-related, safety advice, to goofy little things.

Use what I've listed below as examples of what I'm going for here. Be creative and have fun! Private jokes or anything that may require an explanation is perfectly fine. Leave some mystery to those reading and let them see if they can figure it out. Remember, this is for you if you had the ability to leave this in the past for you to get.

October 13, 1999 - Find any excuse you can to get yourself back home... and I mean Ohio home, and I mean your old house home.. trust me on this one.

May 5, 2002 - Leave a couple hours earlier and ignore the closer northern storms.

May 15, 2003 - Get south and look north... you'll learn there are two sides to a storm, and one is always better.

June 24, 2003 - Whatever you do, GET TO SOUTH DAKOTA!

March 27, 2004 - Leave about an hour earlier and go the RIGHT way when you leave the hotel.

May 10, 2004 - Hang around in Denver a bit longer and venture out I-70 towards Limon.. don't screw with Wyoming.

May 24, 2004 - Do one of two things; either stick with the storm in Missouri, or hang around in northern Kansas a bit longer. Or hell, just stay home! There may not be a good way to save this day.

May 29, 2004 - Make sure you have your car in park when you go to pee.

April 10, 2005 - Use a damn tripod before I come back and beat you with it!

May 12, 2005 - Find Roger Hill, you may destroy your car, but damn will it be fun!

June 2, 2005 - Business will be very slow and you won't make enough in tips to make up for this, go find a way out.

May 5, 2006 - 412 NW 21st Street, Seminole, TX

May 7, 2006 - Go home through western Kansas.

September 16, 2006 - Don't stop at Arby's no matter how much your chase partner *****es.

March 28, 2007 - My intructor later confessed I would've been fine to go, and the speaker that came wasn't worth sticking around for, so get on out and play!

April 21, 2007 - Stay in Dumas.

May 4, 2007 - You made the right decision.

May 5, 2007 - Keep your video camera armed and when you see a group of chasers at an intersection all sitting tight.. you should do the same.

January 10, 2008 - That's right.. January... but stay home for this one.

February 5, 2008 - Make sure you're tired enough to take a midafternoon nap in Memphis, and there are clearings in the trees further up the road.

May 22, 2008 - Don't stress to much over it... you'll get yours later in the day. Just watch the mud on the roads.

May 23, 2008 - CASTLE ROCK ROAD, not 212, and make sure you're ready for what you'll find up there.

May 24, 2008 - Convince the crew to go to Oklahoma.

May 29, 2008 - Don't worry about stills, you'll have plenty to get with video.

July 2, 2008 - Get into Brush before it does.

SOME ADDITIONAL ENTRIES

June 12, 2005 - Your tactic for the day was dead on, just start your tactic a couple hours before sunrise.

May 27, 2006 - I think this is the day you left Ohio for SD; take the southern route through Kansas and home; you'll be in better position for the big surprise in Illinois and you'll likely make it back to Denver before you realize you bought a Dodge minivan with its notorious transmissions.

April 12, 2007 - CHECK YOUR DAMN FOCUS!!

April 23, 2007 - Seek Protection Earlier

June 6, 2007 - Keep your original hotel reservations and suck up the longer nighttime drive.

June 7, 2007 - If you took my advice for the previous day, you'll have that extra hour and change you wanted. Just don't let it catch you!

July 13, 2007 - Get to your target when I originally left for it.

March 17, 2008 - Darrell Green jerseys on St. Patrick's Day are NOT good luck. And 300 miles is a long way to drive when you can only get to second gear.

August 24, 2008 - She's a true friend, she'll understand!

I thought this was pretty fun, and I'm sure I'll find a few other days, but I thought this was a fun thinker... so yeah, just tweak your chases using 20/20, but remember you're writing this for you in the past.

Have fun!

 

[Paul Knightley]

I'll kick off with just a few from this year:

May 23rd - that gas station in Quinter you're going to stop is worth hanging around for, for about 2 hours or so.

May 24th - After waking up early in Hays, drive down to N Oklahoma as quickly as possible.

May 26th - stick in Pratt and let the storm come to you

 

[Shane Adams]

May 26, 1997 When you're sitting there at noon wondering if you'll be chasing today, the answer is yes. Leave before 5pm too, dumbass.

May 29, 1997 You're gonna see a cool tornado...make sure Greg turns the damn date display off first.

June 13, 1998 Screw the wedding reception. After all, they were roommates for a year, not lifelong friends.

October 4, 1998 Find Greg the day before, beat him up, take his video camera.

May 17, 2000 Sleep in, have breakfast, stay where you are.

October 9, 2001 This will be one of the best chases of your career, you might want to experiement with a tripod Steven Speilberg.

May 12, 2005 Wear goggles.

June 12, 2005 Avoid the motel lobby in the morning; do your forecasting from your room, pick a damn target, and drive there.

May 4, 2007 (In all seriousness) When talking to police officer, mention that it wouldn't be wise to keep driving north of town.

April 7, 2008 When you're sitting in western Oklahoma ignoring the first storm of the day just south of the Red River because you're sticking to your target, don't.

May 24, 2008 When you finally decide at 11am you're chasing, leave then.

 

[Damon Scott Hynes]

May 24th - After waking up early in Hays, drive down to N Oklahoma as quickly as possible.

This was me, too. Silly little thing like my 22nd wedding anniversary made me go back home. I'm an idiot idiot idiot

 

[Adam Lucio]

I just typed mine then I couldnt post them because I had to re-login. Ugh. Heres a few because I dont feel like typing the whole list over...

Sept 22nd 2006 - Tornadic supercells CAN track through your city, dont drive 2 hours downstate.

October 2nd 2006 - Its wind. Stop.

May 5th 2007 - Your not the only one in the country who likes to chase, remember that.

October 18th 2007 - Dont ignore any thump thump thump sounds coming from your tire. Especially after an EF-3 crosses infront of you and devastates a city.

Feb 5th 2008 - Bring cash. AR is not an ATM friendly state.

May 10th 2008 - Dont abandon your target city because you cant find fast food.

May 23rd 2008 - Your van is RWD, dont follow them.

June 7th 2008 - Its not scud. Dont forget your blood-spitting cup.

 

[Verne Carlson]

Awesome thread Tony!

I want to make a better list later, but have to add some more to yours so I actually get up to northern Colorado in the morning:

May 22, 2008 - Make an appointment in the morning to look at a used car or anything in Windsor, CO. You'll need to bring the camera to take pictures of 'it'.

 

[Joel Taylor]

Wow, this brings up some bad memories...

June 8, 1995 - Who cares you're only 15. The Dairy Queen in Pampa is INCREDIBLE!!! It's worth the drive and the explaining to mom and dad.

May 3, 1999 - After your final, go buy a nice video camera.

May 8, 2003 - No need to get up at 6 am... sleep in and relax.

June 24, 2003 - She's an evil old woman. Forget work, go chase.

May 12, 2004 - Tell him he should wait an extra 30 minutes on you or he'll end up covered in raw sewage.

May 29, 2004 - Don't leave the storm. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't leave the storm.

2006 - Stay home.

June 23, 2007 - Vegas will still be there next year. Go chase.

 

[Paul Knightley]

Another couple:

May 22nd 2004: Leave Hastings, NE, at a similar time to everyone else, and not 25 mins later. Head SW and then S ASAP.

May 12 2004: Go around the back of the storm, and then head eastwards towards Attica. Oh, and while hanging beforehand in Greensburg, try to take in more of the charm of this lovely town.

 

[Dean Baron]

August 5 2006 Stay in Fargo, you will watch the tornadic storm in Richland county for hours while going after storms that havea life cycle of 20 min.

August 12 2006 Stay home, the huge area of rain over your target isnt going to magically disappear

August 24 2006 Find some way to get off work and get the heck down to Nicollet county

August 13 2007 Go after storms coming out of North Dakota and get ahead of squall line heading for the Twin Cities, they will be the only storms of the day

May 25 2008 Stay home, a storm will produce an EF3 15 miles to your northeast

July 11th Get out to Wilmar, and chase the line back home.

August 3 2008 Stay at home, you know the cap wont break, even with 7000+ joules of CAPE.

 

[Mark Farnik]

Oh, I definitely have a few dates for this thread...

May 10, 2004 - To hell with the fact that you are only 14 and don't have a driver's license - get in the damned car and take dirt roads all the way down to I-70 to intercept that beautiful supercell coming up out of Elbert County.

March 28, 2007 - Buy a $@%&ing charger for your cell phone, drive south to Saint Francis, KS to fill up your tank when you get low on gas near the KS/NE border, and then drop south on Highway 27 to Goodland, then head east on I-70 to Edson and wait for that tornadic supercell coming up from around Sharon Springs to come to you.
Oh, and remember that 70 knot low level jets tend to keep tornadic activity going after dark, and don't core punch any of the HP supercells late at night - not a good idea

May 4, 2007 - You made the right decision by not going out - you're not properly equipped to safely chase this setup.

April 3, 2008 - Make Shep stop the car in Henrietta and allow the storm to cross the highway in front of you. Don't ignore the fact that Baron is indicating 4.25" diameter hail

April 24, 2008 - Sit tight in Colby - don't waste a whole freakin' tank of gas driving all around north central Kansas. The storm of the day will occur only 30 miles from where you begin the day. Patience, young one. Patience.

May 22, 2008 - STAY ON THE FIRST STORM!!! You KNOW it's going to go nuts when it crosses the warm front... follow your gut, go north and stay on it.

May 23, 2008 - For crying outloud, don't make the exact same mistake as you made on the 22nd! And once you do drop south, you might want to take your own advice and haul back north towards Shields as the meso occludes.
Also, don't be fooled into thinking a storm has gone outflow dominant after a supercell merger. And just because everyone else seems to be giving up on the storm doesn't mean you should too - keep on it and get north before everyone else realizes what's happening.

May 29, 2008 - Don't waste your time zigzagging pell-mell across rural southwestern Nebraska - stay on I-80, get to Kearney and wait for the storm to come to you. Don't change anything you do after you abandon the Kearney storm- you will be at the right place at the right time. But whatever you do, DO NOT make the mistake of driving north into Glen Elder. Tornado damage paths are not your friend.

June 6, 2008 - Listen to your chase partner, and don't sacrifice getting on the storm of the day simply because you don't like driving on the highway that you have to take to get to the storm.

June 7, 2008 - Your concerns about the extreme linear forcing are justified. Take a crazy gamble, and play behind the dryline.

August 24, 2008 - You see the line of storms developing to your southeast on the boundary at 4:30 p.m. You know this is a classic setup for landspouts. You ignore stupid people to whom you have no obligation to do anything for, you grab your camera and video camera, and you get your happy a** down to Happy Canyon Road. End of story.

 

[Wesley Luginbyhl]

June 27, 1992 - Stay home. If you go to Amarillo you will only see the back side of the storm, stay home and you get to see the F-4 with satellite tornadoes hitting the neighboring town.

Feb 28, 2007 - Take the lens cap off. Having audio of yourself talking while a wedge is on the ground does not make for a very good video.

May 5, 2007 - Stop driving. Being ahead of the masses does not help you if you miss the tornadoes.

June 6, 2007 - Nebraska sounds fun, but if the models look aweful, that probably means you should not go.

May 22, 2008 - Drive north. Nothing happens in NW OK till tomorrow.

 

[Dick McGowan]

June 12 2004 Leave work just 10 minutes earlier.
Nov 12 2005 Do not wait on women (cough Darin).
June 9 2005 You're not tired, drive west.
April 15 2006 Your road is coming up to meet Scott K. here, turn around if you have to.
Aug 24 2006 It's only your first day of class.
Sept 21 2006 It's Russell, not Hays...stay in Russell.
May 22 2008 Tornadoes get big when they cross the boundary.
May 23 2008 Just keep it parked on I-70, get the lawn chairs and frisbee out and wait for the next one.
May 24 2008 Quit laughing at all of the people heading south and do so yourself.
May 29, 2008 That women thing again, don't listen to them, keep walking out the door, you've got everything setup anyways.

Now some the other way:

Nov 27 2005 Thank you Darin for convincing me to go south of Topeka, not west.
April 6 2006 Thank you for turning around on I-135 south of Salina.
Sept 16 2006 You know every second counts, thank you for not waiting again...you're understanding the importance of time management.
May 4 2007 North or South...who knew one decision could be life changing.
May 5 2007 Thanks to Eric and Beau for taking the fall and thanks to luck for leaving storms at the perfect time. Sleep is a good thing.
May 22 2007 Thanks to my hometown for letting me see the birth of a beauty.
May 23 2008 Thank you for heading east, then back north into Quinter, avoiding the chasing herd and setting up perfectly to witness a beautiful tornado in an open field.

 

[Brandon Ivey]

I will cover the past two years from the chase screw-ups I can remember. If I tried to cover everything from 1996 on, I would need to publish a book for that. Great idea Tony! Cool thread.

Feb. 28, 2007 - Yes those storms will fire before dark. Don't hang around Wichita after you get off work, get on the road.

March 28, 2007 - When you get to Dodge City, just stop there and wait. Don't go after that crap to your northwest that your not going to be able to catch anyway.

April 15, 2007 - What in the hell are you doing in Eastern Colorado? Don't you know the better moisture will be further south? Quit being lazy and drive the extra miles, your becoming a wimp as you age.

May 4, 2007 - Play the southern target and not the northern one. You don't like the tripple point anyway, they get too messy too quickly.

May 5, 2007 - Tornadoes are everywhere! How could you come home empty handed? Don't chase that storm out of Pratt County, sit there and wait for the next couple of storms to move in.

June 13, 2007 - You know you need to be on the southern storm. You know it is going to produce. Don't worry about the crap in KS and the data issues of western Oklahoma, just make the choice to head south about an hour earlier and you will be in good shape.

March 2, 2008 - Don't hang out behind the storm filming hail drifts. That hail covering the road is going to slow you down and you will miss the only tornado in Kansas this day because of the hail, oh and the cattle that were out, crossing the highway. Stay ahead of the storm and you will aviod the cows and slick roads. You just like core punching too damn much.

May 1, 2008 - Screw the three supercells near Fredonia, they are competing for moisture. Didn't you learn anything from past years? GO SOUTH to the isolated storm.

May 22, 2008 - Leave work an hour or two ealier. That way you can get to NW Kansas and won't end up playing the SW portion of the state. Large hail and LP's are good, but tornadoes are better!

May 29, 2008 - Head north back to Osborne and then go east on highway 24. Don't try to take dirt roads to Tipton, you jacka##, you know the storm is moving too fast and those roads will turn to slop. So what if you loose view of the rotating wall cloud, or miss the first tornado....At least you'll still be on the storm rather than driving at 5mph on muddy roads, praying you don't get stuck.

Those are the dates I can recall from the past two years off the top of my head. I may have another one to add after tomorrow!

 

[Michael O'Keeffe]

Jeez so many bad decisions and upsets it is hard to think of some things to list, but I will try my best to attempt it. Most of the bad memories tend to be my dad telling me something and me not listening. I have changed that idea and it has been paying off.

September 22, 2006 - When your dad wants to head over the Mississippi River to get ahead of some supercells that are still in Missouri, because sitting at a hotel in Missouri with nothing to show for it while on the Illinois side of the river an F4 tornado developed from the storm you were on!

April 21, 2007 - When you eat lunch in Dumas, TX and then drive away from the Texas Panhandle to SE Colorado for any reason what so ever will get you nothing but in a boring squall line, while Dumas is seeing a tornadofest.

May 5, 2007 - When you decide to head south towards a large supercell near Macksville don't turn around and stay on the storm your on near Great Bend just because everyone else is.

March 2, 2008 - Stick with your target, stick with your target, stick with your target of Clinton, OK.

May 1, 2008 - Keep the radar zoomed out so you know when there is a massive cyclic supercell in NE Oklahoma while you are miserably chasing HPs in SE Kansas.

May 23, 2008 - Don't let pheasants fly into your windshield. LOL. I guess that's not controllable but still hurts.

 

[cdcollura]

May 24th - After waking up early in Hays, drive down to N Oklahoma as quickly as possible.

LOL - May 24, 2008 - Tell me about it!!

May 26, 2008 - Don't film the tornado in Pratt, KS through the hail ravaged windshield!

May 27, 2008 - You are gonna get a $150 ticket for the broken windshield - Be understanding and polite, you're on a roll!

May 29, 2008 - The Glenn Elder / Jewell (KS) Supercell has both a cyclonic and anticyclonic tornado - Watch out for the latter!