"Your first time"----->chasing with/without a tornado score

[Eric Flescher]

When was your first time........chasing that is. (with or without seeing a tornado).

(1) Date:Olathe, KS 6/3/01

Not sure why I had not chased as I had researched tornadoes in New England 1951-1971. I had caught huge hailstorms all over and more . So now that I was here in the Midwest and tornado country I had been so busy teaching and working on my dissertation and doctorate for so long and working with astronomy stuff and eclipse adventures, family etc , I literally did not think about chasing.
Finally that out of the way and done I wanted to do something more than the regular teaching stuff before the eclipse in Africa that I was planning for and was coming up in later June. I don't know I was so wrapped up with so many things, I never decided to really chase (eventhough it was a local chase).

(2) Time:Finally the kick in the pants came at

4:00 pm? (forgot but it was later afternoon)


(3) Place /location/circumstance:

Olathe, KS (I shot near 143rd street and Blackbob street).

(4) what happened and/or link

http://members.aol.com/kcstormguy/StormSatori/2001june3storm.htm

It was the last day of teaching.6/3/01
I have just come into town. I heard rumbles to the south. I got my camcorder hopped into the Van and did a local chase.

(5) If you did not see tornado at this first chase, when was your first time and the span from that first time chase to actually seeing a tornado

No tornado that day but excellent lightning and structure. It gave me the incentive to get going. Had excellent video of a chase with Doug Raflik in 2002 in CO and TX and we had everything but a tornado.

I had to wait til 5/4/2003 near Platt City, MO. As an early bird I got out that day and was everywhere before and after that big tornadoes struck (Wyandotte County, KS - I was up near the airport with this little torn ; Parkville before the torn etc etc ). I caught that small one at Platt City while missing all the other better "enchiladas." Glad I saw my first one but I was might peeved I missed these better ones.

http://members.aol.com/kcstormguy/StormSatori/2003may4.htm

looking forward to seeing the other posts

 

[Terry Tyler]

(1) eastern, colorado...may, 25 2005...
(2) after 3PM local time...
(3) west of limon on I-70
(4) absolutely nothing...wasnt nearly as educated as i am now, so i wasnt sure of where to go and how to find things...

 

[Jody Radzik]

Technically, the very first time I chased was in 1976. A tornado warning went up in northwest Oakland County, Michigan. A funnel cloud had been spotted over a local lake. I drove out there, arriving probably more than an hour after the funnel had been reported. Of course I saw nothing due to the timing and the fact there isn't much good horizon in southeastern Michigan.

My first true chase was last summer in Clayton, New Mexico. I headed there on a whim as it was in a green line. On the way out I saw nothing but MCS, but coming back I spotted 3 micro-mesocyclones. The lighting was perfect and I was thrilled to be recognizing supercell signatures, even though they were too small to be considered true supercells.

 

[John Olexa]

1: Indian Head, MD 1997

2: After 9 pm local

3: Potomac Heights, MD, shooting lightning from football field

4: Shot 6 rolls of film.. got nothing. Like Terry said, I didn't have a clue.
Saw flashes in the sky and just shot away. The storm was like a million miles away LOL. I did know to set the camera on bulb though But after I got back 6 rolls of slide film with nothing except dark trees, buildings and some light sky I was like ok time to start learning LOL.

 

[Angie Norris]

My first chase was a severe squall line in east TN March 8, 1995. Got some dime sized hail and a spectacular rainbow as my reward. I had seen my first tornado two years before as an F3 was coming toward my house (missed me by 500 feet or so ), so after studying for a couple of years, the time had come to venture out. That was a good spring, as I had my first supercell chase later that year on Mother's Day . I didn't get any more tornadoes until Nov 10, 2002 with what had to be one of the shortest chases on record...out the back door to the middle of the street in front of my house at 10:22pm

 

[aaron.burkham]

May 12, 2000 Decatur, Il

My first supercell chase and my first chase ever, had decent structure and really strong rotation, i really had my hopes up, then it turned more linear and the show was over, it turned into what i like to call a "soupycell".

 

[Skip Talbot]

May 10, 2003

It was my first, green as can be, chase, at night, and during one of the biggest outbreaks of the decade. I gathered up my college friends and we barreled into Peoria. We tried to intercept via weather radio reports and a paper map. We wound up in Chillicothe, in absolutely blinding rain. Over the hammering rain I could hear sirens in the distance. It was white knuckle terror at that point. I thought we were going to get rolled for sure. The girl we had with us was pissed. My other two friends were having a great time though. Well, we didn't know it at the time, but we wound up intercepting a left split that was gusting out. Those who survive their first reckless chases will live on to be stronger, wiser chasers. On the way back one of my friends may have seen the tornado that went through South Pekin from many miles distance, but we'll never be able to confirm that. It was, however, the best anvil crawler show I've seen to this day.

My first tornado came less than a year later on April 20, 2004, which was an amazing and unexpected chase.

I have logged every chase in tedious detail... except for one... and that could be counted as my first real chase. I don't even remember the day... it was probably in 2002. I heard a tornado warning come in for southern Champaign county based on a funnel cloud sighting. The girl i was dating at the time and I ran down the 11 flights of stairs, down several blocks to where her car was parked and blasted out of town a few miles. We did not see much.

 

[John Diel]

My first "Chase" was back in 1979 West of Coffeyville, KS. I started on the Oklahoma/Kansas line east of Caney, Ks and moved back along the state line. I saw two small tornadoes that day. One of which tore into a house and injured the two occupants in Tyro, Ks.

I was green as grass and this was my very first 'real' storm chase where I had watched the weather and had a decided plan of action.

 

[Alan Switzer]

My first chase was on October 4, 1998 to Watonga, OK. It was just luck being in the right place. Almost quit and gave up before I and my chase partner saw a funnel to our west. It touched down and was on the ground for 20 minutes. Time was 5:45pm.

My second chase was on May 3, 1999 and everyone in Oklahoma knows what happened that day. I videoed the OKC tornado as it wiped out my neighborhood and my house in south OKC.

Since then, tornadoes have been a little elusive for me....

 

[Shane Adams]

(1) June 6, 1996

(2) 6:30pm CDT

(3) Appx 1 SW Wayne, OK

(4) Tornado (F0)

 

[Derek Weston]

(1) May 21, 2004

(2) Aprox. 4:30pm CDT

(3) Near Palo, IA -- approx 10 miles west of (northern) Cedar Rapids, IA

(4) Tornado (possible - we were at least *close*) F3

My stupid story:

Not unlike many Mays in Iowa before, my father and I were watching a local severe weather outbreak on our local station. (and they do a pretty good job keeping folks informed) Reports start coming in -- or at least very strong signals say -- that there is a Tornado near Palo, a location we've spent some time in before and know rather well. (it's just a 10-15 minute drive to our NW)

My dad suggests we go out and take a look. I agree. (along with my younger brother and sister) So, we foolishly drive west right towards the NE tracking supercell along a riverroad lined with trees. It isn't until we get out into a clearing just after that stretch of the road ends that we get to see what we're looking at:

About this time we're informed by mom that there is indeed a tornado being sighted in the area. My young sister was getting quite scared by the situation at that moment -- and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nervous -- so we retreat back home.

About the picture: This is the view looking directly north at the time the reports were rolling in. I'm really not sure, but towards the bottom of what appears to be a wallcloud in the distance, you see something slicing inward. I don't know if this was the upper area of the tornado or not. I'm fairly certain I captured a picture of a [currently] tornadic storm to the south a good 5 miles (?), but I'm not sure if I caught any of the tornado.

The storm was tracking north-east, so we could have safely taken a road north after it to get a good look. (however, we were quite uneducated about what we were seeing... which is a shame, because we would have seen quite the storm)

I do believe this stands as the strongest Iowa in tornado since its occurance. (though the Muscatine tornado may take the title now, not sure how the two F3s compare)

A good picture of the tornado:
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2004-05-21-iowa-tornado_x.htm
The outbreak:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/dvn/WeatherEvents/2004_05_21/52104_index.php

 

[mike scantlin]

my weather background. i had loved storms ever since i moved here in 93. every summer me and my cousin would watch storms come in. i was amazed by lightning. one day, there was a tornado reported in the area, and we were on our way to our grandmas house. i thought i saw a tornado, but i was like 7 or 8 so who the hell knows. since then, i had always been very into storm chasing.

my first chase. it was during the amazing 10 days of may 2003. actually, it was a few days after i started browsing the ST threads. i had found ST from StormGuy.com, where i had been browsing over the winter months. i knew a bit about storm structure and behavior. not much aside from the basics. i looked at the spc outlooks. didnt know about dynamics or anything like that. i went to school that day hoping for supercells, as mentioned in the spc outlook. during soccer practice, i saw storms going up to the southwest. after practice, i busted out and ran home, in the dime sized hail. when i got there, my family was watching the breaking weather bulletins, and a supercell had just blown up and would be passing right over us. i knew to get south of it. me and my dad jumped in the car and went south to 67 and spotted a bunch of chasers. less than a mile from home. pulled off and watched a funnel come about 1/3 of the way down. then we got hit by wet rfd and went home. i was so pumped. it was soooo much better than the pictures i had seen online. the adrenaline. the beauty. i was hooked. i was only like 17 and poor so i didnt have a car. any time i could chase locally, i would. no tornadoes. until this year. i have been actively chasing in oklahoma for the past 3 years, but this was my first all out year. call in to work. drive 500 miles. real chasing. not local chasing. it has become a very important part of my life and aside from the girl, i will plan the rest of my life and/or career around it. its very nice to be in a community like this. a little drama is always fun. but its a tight little group and im proud to be a part of it.

 

[Michael Towers]

First time(s)

(1) 05/20/01

(2) 5pm

(3) Pawhuska, OK

(4) I was heading south into Pawhuska, Oklahoma that afternoon waiting for initiation. Although I had a passion for storms, I really had no business chasing as my knowledge of Meteorology was basic at best. My plan was also basic, find a Supercell and hopefully see a tornado. Other than my untrained eyes, my only tools were a NOAA Weather Radio and a cell phone for communication. The radio erupted with reports of tornadoes to my south and I raced southeast toward a point I calculated would put me in position to “intercept†the cells. Torrential rain started falling, visibility was reduced to almost nothing and after making an unplanned exit from the highway I ended up in Broken Arrow. The reports kept coming, my frustration growing as tornadoes continued to be reported. I finally go on a chase trip and as predicted all hell is breaking loose while I’m stuck in traffic in some damn suburb. Then the kicker, my radio goes off again to report…tornado on the ground in Pawhuska! No!!! I just left there! Before I could smash the radio into pieces, it reported a severe warning to my immediate northeast. OK, maybe, just maybe I’ll see something! During pursuit, the sign says 7 miles to Pryor. Almost immediately, that wonderful alarm sound from the radio, music never sounded so good. What was subsequently voiced was even better…tornado on the ground, 4 miles west of Pryor! Yeah! I’m going to do it, I’m gonna see a tornado! What I see as I approach town is surreal, EM & LE vehicles on the median, tornado siren blaring, and what seems like everyone in the entire town standing outside looking and pointing at the western sky. Vidcam at the ready, my heart leaps as I focus on what appears to be a tornado dangling from the wicked looking sky. The bottom is obscured by structure, but surely it’s touching the ground. It breaks up as it approaches, and excited conversation abounds about the just witnessed tornado. Yeah, I saw it too, got it on video! Chase over, watched video with friends and family, everyone witnessing my “success†on film. Way to go, great job! For about a month afterward I was under the impression I’d seen a tornado. Then I decided if I was going to chase, I needed to learn…a lot! Well, it didn’t take long until I realized I might have been wrong. A review of the tape, yep, wrong indeed. My “tornado†was in reality a long tornado shaped fractus appearing pendant from the base as it was ingested into the updraft. It wouldn’t be until 3 years later that I witnessed my first real tornado…

(5) 05/29/04 Geary, Oklahoma. Two tornadoes and my first experience of chaser convergence. Both were stunning to witness