Frequently Asked Questions
Becoming a storm chaser isn't as simple as it sounds. You'll need a thorough knowledge of how the atmosphere works, storm structure & behavior, and lots of study time. Read all you can. Learn to forecast. Practice, practice, practice. And then practice forecasting...MORE! And don't just do it in the spring. Learn to analyze winter weather, heat waves, hurricanes/tropical cyclones, long-term climate patterns. Do it all year long. If you don't use it, you loose it.
Check out the essays on my Links page concerning storm chasing.
Simple. Even though that one storm may only affect a few thousand people, to those folks that storm is big news. If a storm is tornadic or particularly severe, it's possible that lives could be saved.
See the About Me page.
Well, I'm getting there. It's become obvious to me that social media is not only gaining monumental popularity on the internet, but becoming almost essential to maintaining a good web presence and, in many other ways, connecting with like-minded people. So, besides Twitter, I'm getting in shape a WordPress blog. When time permits, I might look into FaceBook, et al. But, as I've always said for years, this site is owned in it's totality by me, myself, and I...only. No sycophants allowed here. No corporate ivory towers telling me what to do or what's appropriate content. Take it or leave it, what you see is what you get and therefore, is the most genuine and sincere way I can convey myself through this site. In spite of the frequent rough seas, I prefer to be the captain of my own ship. And, if you haven't already noticed, this site is pretty "vanilla" compared to other sites because I can only afford to design and maintain it by myself. In the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter...say, "hello" and send me a Tweet!
One that is reliable, in safe working order, and gets good gas mileage. Obviously motorcycles, convertibles, and itsy-bitsy sports cars are out. Driving the coolest, most stylish SUV won't help either. If you don't know what you're doing, you'll loose nothing but money and time. Speaking of money, with fuel prices at all time highs, many chasers will be more concerned about good gas mileage than ever before. Gasoline will always be a big expense in storm chasing so make sure your vehicle is well maintained for optimum fuel efficiency. Most successful chasers drive MODESTLY priced minivans, small passenger sedans, or small SUV's.
Oh, by the way...whether your chase vehicle is old or NEW, it will get the inevitable hail dents. Unavoidable, even when you're careful.
Depends on your point of reference. During the day, most tornadoes occur sometime between late afternoon through the evening. During the year, most tornadoes in the United States occur during the months of April, May, and June. Needless to say, with all the variables that exist in nature, these are sweeping generalizations and exceptions to the rule occur all the time.
I don't know. Not a clue. Unfortunately I can't answer questions emailed to me about El Nino, La Nina, oscillations, phases of the moon, or your neighborhood dog's nocturnal howling and how they/it might effect the "Tornado Season." Do what I do, just take one day at a time. Makes life simpler and much less stressful.
Remember, the the world of science is unlike any other (religion, business, law, politics, engineering, et al.) for there aren't always definite answers. Learn to be comfortable with a wide spectrum of "grays" and answers that lead to multiple complex questions. Besides, it's great fun finding an answer to a question that hasn't even been asked. That's half the fun of science anyway and why I love it so much, it's the never ending quest for answers to almost unanswerable questions.