Storm chasing lessons learned

Here's another article I wrote for a stormchasing forum a while back. I'm posting it to help alleviate everpresent SDS.

LESSONS LEARNED

It has been said that wisdom is learning from someone else’s experience.

After several seasons of chasing both on the Plains and here in Virginia I confess that I have learned a number of lessons the hard way…i.e. by making my own mistakes and subsequently learning from them. I like to think that I have since matured in my thought processes and am more willing to listen to and learn from others. In that light I offer the following hard-won tidbits of chasing acumen for others’ benefit.

(1) Navigation: Ensure that you have detailed maps of the area you are targeting. During my rookie Plains chase we were caught out of position on a tornadic storm and wound up in a precarious situation involving large (and growing larger) hail and had almost no information about escape routes. We have since opted to use the paper DeLorme maps available for each state that show every available highway and goat path. Many tech-minded chasers use laptop-based applications that include a GPS capability. Just keep in mind that some of those goat paths can become very important if the storm turns the tables and chases you!

(2) Safety: Never assume a docile cell will remain that way. Here in the Mid-Atlantic average thunderstorms can “pulse” to severe levels more quickly than one would think, producing wall clouds, funnels, and even tornadoes. I have called in severe reports to the local National Weather Service forecast office on storms that were not previously warned. And another caution…be careful positioning yourself under an “inactive” wall cloud. Even though it may seem inactive it can reenergize very quickly with you at ground zero. That particular experience occurred during my rookie chase season here in Virginia, resulting in a high-speed getaway via narrow tree-lined roads to avoid a funnel that almost dropped on our heads! One last thought that applies to all chasers: remember the dangers of driving on wet roads and hydroplaning.

(3) Logistics: Plan ahead for fuel availability, especially on the wide open spaces of the Plains. It is truly an unsettling feeling to be in the middle of nowhere in the dark of night as you feverishly calculate the distance to the nearest town that might have an open gas station. (Yep, been there and done that too!) Spare tires should also be checked for proper inflation before they’re needed. Potty stops can also be problematic, especially for mixed-gender chase crews. Even so a roll of toilet paper can take care of most needs. That, and a general lack of modesty…

(4) Common sense: Despite all the technogeek tools available to us the use of common sense should still prevail. Yes, that software-based navigation program might indicate a route that heads in the direction you need to go, but can your vehicle handle a goat path that could be covered by mud or worse? In one of our Plains chases I was navigating our way through Kansas back roads via a trusty DeLorme map as darkness settled in. Somehow I missed a road intersection and as full darkness fell we found ourselves in the middle of open rangeland with no other lights visible anywhere on the horizon. That would have been okay except that we were on a dirt track in middle of what must have been several thousand head of cattle. Somehow we escaped without ramming any of them, but an application of common sense would have resulted in us reversing directions and heading back the way we had come before night fell.

(5) Appreciation: Another mantra upon which I keep refocusing is to avoid being wrapped up so much in the mechanics of the chase that I forget to notice what is around me. Sometimes it’s the uniqueness of the scenery in whatever part of the country I happen to be in. Many times it’s the weather features themselves that I love to stop and experience, like the rush of moisture-laden wind or the rolling thunder that follows a distant CG strike. It’s even the privilege of chasing with family - whether it’s my son (and now his wife), daughter, or brother – and spending time with them away from the pressures of everyday life. And sometimes we’ve even uncovered the inside story on what became of famous personalities, like the time we found that R2D2 of Star Wars fame had retired to a southwest Nebraska farm to serve as a pump cover. Who woulda thunk it?

To quote from an online chase author (me!): “After several years of chasing both on the Great Plains and in Virginia I can confidently conclude that stormchasing is a serious hobby worthy of pursuit by both the sane and the nearly so.” Forums provide a great way for the chasing community to share learning experiences, whether sane or otherwise. I am certain that I still have a lot I can learn from the chasing community.