Storm chasing is perhaps unlike any other hobby in the United States. No other hobby requires such intricate knowledge of not only severe thunderstorms, but the forecast processes behind them, photography, and navigation. Since more light was shed on the hobby in the mid-late 90 there have been more and more folks entering the hobby with preconceived notions. This post is simply to expose three of the misconceptions people have coming in to help them determine if they really want to make the financial and physical commitment to chasing storms.
1. Storm chasing is a thrilling, action packed adventure. This is probably the biggest fallacy people come in hearing. About 85% of storm chasing is driving to get to a target for storms. An average chase will usually only have about 1-2 hours of excitement on a storm (note that's an average). Compare this with the 5-10 hours of driving both ways just to get there and you sometimes have a very dull experience, especially when the setup ends up busting and you're sitting in Great Bend, Kansas with 90/65 spread looking at clear blue skies. This is why having chase partners who you get along well with and who you can have fun with even on busts is extremely important. Storms are only part of the equation to having fun on a chase.
2. I will see lots of tornadoes my first season. Coming in with this mindset will most likely lead you to serious frustration in your inaugural season. Very few chasers see even one tornado their first season, let alone a lot of them. For example, it took me four seasons to see my first tornado. When most people start out, they tend not to have a wide enough knowledge base in forecasting and storm evolution to bag a tornado. This is why coming in with lower expectations and just learning from your first season is so critical. Even if you don't see a tornado, there's a good chance for learning important things that will aid you in later seasons.
3. Being a meteorology major gives me an edge. I hate to say it, but I see a lot of this at OU. Some of the freshman seem to suffer from the delusion that being OU meteorology students gives them some special status. This ties in directly to the second point: No matter how much you think you know, there will be vast amounts you still need to learn. Other chasers don't care if you're a meteorology student so don't wear it on your arm.
Showing posts with label Chasing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chasing. Show all posts
Friday, November 16, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Chase Season 2012: Countdown
As the countdown clock noted, we have roughly 18 days or so until the meteorological spring and chase season 2012 begin. Its kind of hard to believe how close we are considering its cold and windy enough to rip the stubble right off my face. If the GFS stays true to itself from the past couple of 12/00Z runs then the Midwest/Plains will be in the freezer box for another few weeks at least. But relief is on the way. This chase season is shaping up to be my best yet, considering I'll have a car and a some better technology at my disposal. I've been piddling around in terms of looking for a job, but I am starting to buckle down in an attempt to at least get $3000 put away for the first half of chase season. I re-did the costs this year and it comes out to this:
Gas per chase: $100-$150
Internet from April-August: $250
Registration for Indiana Svr Symposium: $35
New site domain: $77.95
Food/Drinks per chase: $50
So if I chased 15 times this year, that'd come out to roughly $3250 just for chasing expenses. But this is all hypothetical and assumes that I'll be doing a lot of long distance chasing. I'd guess the actual expenses for just chasing will be in the $2750 ballpark but thats just me. The registration for the severe symposium and new site domain run about $112. So if I kept a minimum wage job from the second to last week of February to May 1st and worked 20 hours a week I'd only make it to $1305 and I'd prolly spend at least half so $652. If I upped that to 30 hours a week and worked from the second to last week of February to say...the end of the school year/third week of May I'd get $2827 which would definitely fund my chasing. I could swap certain chase days with people at work and that'd get me the money I needed to at least get 10 chases.
So my plan is basically set, work at least 13 weeks/rest of the school year and gain enough money to fund myself from April through the summer hopefully.
Gas per chase: $100-$150
Internet from April-August: $250
Registration for Indiana Svr Symposium: $35
New site domain: $77.95
Food/Drinks per chase: $50
So if I chased 15 times this year, that'd come out to roughly $3250 just for chasing expenses. But this is all hypothetical and assumes that I'll be doing a lot of long distance chasing. I'd guess the actual expenses for just chasing will be in the $2750 ballpark but thats just me. The registration for the severe symposium and new site domain run about $112. So if I kept a minimum wage job from the second to last week of February to May 1st and worked 20 hours a week I'd only make it to $1305 and I'd prolly spend at least half so $652. If I upped that to 30 hours a week and worked from the second to last week of February to say...the end of the school year/third week of May I'd get $2827 which would definitely fund my chasing. I could swap certain chase days with people at work and that'd get me the money I needed to at least get 10 chases.
So my plan is basically set, work at least 13 weeks/rest of the school year and gain enough money to fund myself from April through the summer hopefully.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
A Personal Rant
Well the polar air mass in Canada is supposed to start dipping down over most of the central states towards the eastern seaboard:
Although the winter has been slow to kick off so far it prolly won't stay that way going into next week. Looks like lower 30s during the day and the lower 20s at night. In short, everything I hate about winter.
But life goes on. I'm finishing up my first semester of my senior year in high school. I've only got about 2 months and 3 weeks until the chase season starts again and I need to find a source of income so I can supply not only a trip to the Plains but chasing period. I have more of a shortage of time than an excess of it. Words cannot express how much I want out of high school at this point.
Storm chasing is becoming such an overriding factor in my life that the rest seems just like extra details. One of the other numerous reasons is that people just don't get it. As fun and awesome as storm chasing is, there's not too many people to share my interest with around here. As far as I know I'm the only actual chaser in the city (probably not the only one though). Even though I've shown how much chasing is pivotal in my life my parents still like to make it out like I'm a total n00b and tell people I "wanna be just like the guys on the Discovery Channel". Comical considering I stopped watching that TV show awhile back and have absolutely no desire to emulate what Reed Timmer, Sean Casey and Tim Samaras are like (though I still hold high respect for Tim Samaras and Sean).This is one of the many reasons that I honestly don't like to talk about chasing with people who aren't also interested in weather. Its pointless, plain and simple. If they show interest, its only fleeting and they immediately associate you with the ones they see on TV with the armored cars barreling down a road at a tornado. Other "chasers" (and I use that term very loosely in this case) my age, seem to believe if they boast about it to enough people, post enough statuses about they're exploits, make fun of people who are scared of storms, and copy what they see on TV and label it as "for the advancement of science and the saving of lives" they will be seen as these demigod figures doing battle with the convective powers that be. Any attention they may garner from this chest bumping fades. I think Dan Robinson had a blog post about this. The truth is NOBODY CARES. The average Joe doesn't care that you've seen 10 tornadoes, he doesn't care how many people you "saved" by chasing and so on. He only cares about the weather for today and tomorrow. Whether it will rain or not, whether it will snow or not, the temperature. That's it. They may show initial interest but its just something cool they've run into and have no real interest in.
As long as I'm ranting, I may as well get one more thing off my chest. If I hear "I chase to save lives" one more time I'm gonna throttle the closest person. Chasing does not save lives no matter what people believe. Chasers may help in the warning process if they get the chance to report something, but we're just that, part of the warning process. Storm chasing isn't a life saving endeavor, it is a selfish pursuit. People chase to get photos or video of a storm or maybe just a romanticized experience with nature. In short, you chase for yourself.
Now that that's over with, 83 days to chase season!
Although the winter has been slow to kick off so far it prolly won't stay that way going into next week. Looks like lower 30s during the day and the lower 20s at night. In short, everything I hate about winter.
But life goes on. I'm finishing up my first semester of my senior year in high school. I've only got about 2 months and 3 weeks until the chase season starts again and I need to find a source of income so I can supply not only a trip to the Plains but chasing period. I have more of a shortage of time than an excess of it. Words cannot express how much I want out of high school at this point.
Storm chasing is becoming such an overriding factor in my life that the rest seems just like extra details. One of the other numerous reasons is that people just don't get it. As fun and awesome as storm chasing is, there's not too many people to share my interest with around here. As far as I know I'm the only actual chaser in the city (probably not the only one though). Even though I've shown how much chasing is pivotal in my life my parents still like to make it out like I'm a total n00b and tell people I "wanna be just like the guys on the Discovery Channel". Comical considering I stopped watching that TV show awhile back and have absolutely no desire to emulate what Reed Timmer, Sean Casey and Tim Samaras are like (though I still hold high respect for Tim Samaras and Sean).This is one of the many reasons that I honestly don't like to talk about chasing with people who aren't also interested in weather. Its pointless, plain and simple. If they show interest, its only fleeting and they immediately associate you with the ones they see on TV with the armored cars barreling down a road at a tornado. Other "chasers" (and I use that term very loosely in this case) my age, seem to believe if they boast about it to enough people, post enough statuses about they're exploits, make fun of people who are scared of storms, and copy what they see on TV and label it as "for the advancement of science and the saving of lives" they will be seen as these demigod figures doing battle with the convective powers that be. Any attention they may garner from this chest bumping fades. I think Dan Robinson had a blog post about this. The truth is NOBODY CARES. The average Joe doesn't care that you've seen 10 tornadoes, he doesn't care how many people you "saved" by chasing and so on. He only cares about the weather for today and tomorrow. Whether it will rain or not, whether it will snow or not, the temperature. That's it. They may show initial interest but its just something cool they've run into and have no real interest in.
As long as I'm ranting, I may as well get one more thing off my chest. If I hear "I chase to save lives" one more time I'm gonna throttle the closest person. Chasing does not save lives no matter what people believe. Chasers may help in the warning process if they get the chance to report something, but we're just that, part of the warning process. Storm chasing isn't a life saving endeavor, it is a selfish pursuit. People chase to get photos or video of a storm or maybe just a romanticized experience with nature. In short, you chase for yourself.
Now that that's over with, 83 days to chase season!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Off Season Update
Hey all, finally got over my computer troubles so I'll be posting again. Temps are starting to drop off across the US right now with winter storm warnings across the northern plains. Its still pretty warm here (upper 50s/lower 60s) but it should begin to drop off as a very sharp cold front allows a polar air mass to dip down.
Its kind of amazing how fast this November has gone. It seems like just a week ago it was Halloween and we're barely 5 days away from Thanksgiving. Right now there are 101 days until chase season 2012 begins for me. I'm progressively saving up money in an account to purchase a Canon EOS Rebel T3i for the season. Along with trying to get the new camera, I'm also looking for a job so I can get together funds for my Plains excursion that'll be happening from May 19, the day after I get out of school, to May 31. Its looking like I'll need to get in the range of $2000-$3000 to account for lodging, gas, food, and any emergencies such as car troubles during the trip.
I've got my costs laid out down here:
Gas-$1200
Lodging-$900
Food-$500
That comes out to roughly about $2600 plus whatever extra I can scrounge together just in case.
Back onto weather, its shaping up to be a brutal winter like last year right now. Not necessarily sure if there'll be any correlation between the intensity of the winter and the severe storm season, but hopefully 2012 will produce better stuff further west, preferably out of Dixie alley.
I'll post again here in a couple days!
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