Believe it or not, storm chasing has become something of a hobby. So when the weather is bad, throw away that jigsaw, that book, that piece of embroidery or the TV guide, get your waterproofs on, grab a map and jump into your car! Oh, and don’t forget your camera or camcorder and mobile (cell) phone! The real storm “techies” fit thermometers, barometers, hygrometers and even anemometers in their cars.
Why do this? It’s a lot of fun – generated heart churning adrenaline levels and can involve you in some of the most beautiful sky scenes. According to the UK storm chasers club, people who actively chase tend to have “a sound meteorological knowledge of the atmosphere and storms including their behaviour and dynamics. It is this knowledge that keeps them safe: storm chasing can be dangerous if undertaken by inexperienced individuals both for themselves and others. In the UK the danger is even greater due to our busy and congested road networks. When you encounter a local storm these already bad road conditions will rapidly deteriorate with copious amounts of standing rain water, flash flooding and sometimes even a hail covering.
So how do you do it? Again, according to the British club, the trick is to attempt to forecast where thunderstorms may develop and then head to a favourable area. There are hundreds and hundreds of people including storm chasers who attempt their own forecasts using internet data. There are lots of websites with information including Westwind.ch they make surface pressure charts and upper air charts freely available. You can also get various lightning detection products (often called sferics products) and you can now get free hourly radar images on the BBC Weather pages. If you wish there is also data available on line but at cost. For example there is a better radar picture now offered by Avbrief but there is a fee. “The majority of us are TORRO members which means images we capture and information we gather is gratefully received and put to good use,” says a storm chaser from Holland.
There are storm chasing groups in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, all over the United States and Australia. The Dutch Storm Chase Team formed last year when the guys got together for a one-off chase that ended up so much fun they decided to make a regular thing of it. “We started that afternoon,” says Bernard Hulshof, a meteorologist with Holland Weather Services, “and drove to the west near Schiphol Airport where we saw numerous showers, beautiful showers, large rainbows and deep blue skies. It was heaven for us and later on we followed the storm to the province of Flevoland, in the centre of The Netherlands. By then it had become dark, the sun was setting and the storm was producing lightning. It was all very exciting and very successful for us.”
In the US, there is a region known as Tornado Alley that stretches from Texas northward to the Dakotas. More tornados occur there than anywhere else on earth, so this is naturally something of a mecca for storm chasers. “I can't think of any other place on earth which would be more exciting for storms than Tornado Alley,” says Harald of the Netherlands’ club. “The situation in America is perfect for storm development, it's unique in the world. You can get any type of storm if you have time for it. But of course,” he adds, without even a hint of irony, “it all depends on the weather.”
The Beetle found a couple of companies that specialise in storm chasing “tours” – if this interests you, you might want to check out Silver Lining Tours, owned by David Gold, a meteorologist and self proclaimed outstanding storm chaser. He says he will take customers to watch incredible super cells, awesome tornadoes, huge hail and wild lightning.
Texas-based Tempest Tours are taking bookings now for Storm Chasing Expeditions in the 2003 spring season. The company, headed by three veteran storm chasers (with more than 50 years of storm chasing experience), will lead six tours into Tornado Alley in search of nature's most spectacular weather. The tours take place in May and June, the peak of tornado activity in the United States. Tours will depart from Oklahoma City and in minivans. Veteran storm chasers typically drive 100-400 miles a day to reach their targets.
Stormchasing.com say“if you're looking for adventure, you'll love this thrilling storm chasing holiday in America. We offer “10-Day” and “5-Day” tours where you'll travel across a number of states. One of our vans is the most highly equipped chase van in Tornado Alley — unlike any other storm chasing van on the road.” They go on to say that they are the only storm chasing company that has “real-time” weather information 100% of the time, delivered by satellite technology to our storm chasing van. You will get to ride in that van and be part of the action as we chase down severe storms and tornados in America's Tornado Alley!!