Storm chasing
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Storm chasing is broadly defined as the pursuit of any severe weather condition, regardless of motive. A person who chases storms is known as a storm chaser, or simply a chaser. While witnessing a tornado is the biggest objective for many chasers, many chase thunderstorms and delight in seeing cumulonimbus structure, watching a barrage of hail and lightning, and seeing what skyscapes unfold. There are also a smaller number of storm chasers who chase hurricanes.
Storm chasing is chiefly a recreational endeavor, with motives usually given toward photographing the storm for personal reasons. Though scientific work is sometimes cited as a goal, such work is almost always impractical except for those participating in a university or government project. Many chasers also are storm spotters, reporting their observations of hazardous weather to the authorities. Storm chasers are not paid to chase, with the exception of television media crews in certain television markets, video stringers and photographers, and a handful of graduate meteorologists and professors. A few entrepreneurs, however, manage to sell storm video and pictures or operate "chase tour" services. Financial returns are relatively meager given the expenses with most chasers spending more than they take in. No degree or certification is required to be a storm chaser. The NWS (National Weather Service) puts on severe weather workshops and storm spotter training.
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[edit] History
The very first storm chaser is generally agreed to be Roger Jensen (1933–2001), a Fargo, North Dakota native who pursued western Minnesota storms from Lake Park around 1951 ([1] [2]). David Hoadley (1938– ) began chasing North Dakota storms in 1956, systematically using data from area weather offices. Bringing research chasing to the forefront was Neil Ward (1913–1972) who in the 1950s and 1960s enlisted the help of Oklahoma state police to study storms. His work pioneered modern storm spotting and made institutional chasing a reality.
In 1972 the University of Oklahoma in cooperation with the National Severe Storms Laboratory began the Tornado Intercept Project. This was the first large-scale chase activity sponsored by an institution. It culminated in a brilliant success in 1973, with the Union City, Oklahoma tornado providing a foundation for tornado morphology. The project produced the first legion of veteran storm chasers, with Hoadley's Stormtrack magazine bringing the community together in 1977. Storm chasing then reached popular culture in three major spurts: in 1978 with the broadcast of a segment on the television program In Search Of; in 1985 with a documentary on the PBS series Nova; and in May 1996 with the theatrical release of Twister which provided an action-packed but comically distorted glimpse at the hobby. Further early exposure to storm chasing encouraging some in the weather community resulted from several articles beginning in the late 1970s in Weatherwise magazine. Various television programs, increased coverage of severe weather by the media, and the Internet have also contributed to a significant growth of storm chasing since the mid-late 1990s. A sharp increase in the general public impulsively wandering in their local area searching for tornadoes is likewise largely attributable to these factors.
[edit] Typical Storm Chase
Chasing often involves driving thousands of miles in order to witness the relatively short window of time of active severe thunderstorms. It is not uncommon for a storm chaser to end up empty handed on any particular day. Storm chaser's degree of involvement, philosophies, and techniques vary widely, but many chasers spend a significant amount of time forecasting both before going on the road as well as during the chase using a variety of sources for weather data. Most storm chasers are not meteorologists, and many chasers expend significant time and effort in learning meteorology and the intricacies of severe convective storm prediction through both study and experience.
[edit] Dangers
There are inherent dangers involved in storm chasing. They range from lightning, tornadoes, large hail, flooding, hazardous road conditions (rain or hail-covered roadways), animals on the roadway, reduced visibility from heavy rain (often wind blown), and hail fog. Most directly weather related hazards such as from a tornado are minimal, if the storm chaser is knowledgeable and cautious. Lightning, however, is an unavoidable hazard. The most significant hazard actually is driving, which, in itself, is a statistically dangerous activity that is exacerbated by the severe weather. Adding still more to this hazard is the copious distractions that can be vying for a chasers' attention: such as driving, communicating to chase partners and to others with a phone or radio, navigating, watching the sky, checking weather data, and shooting photos or video. Again here, caution is paramount in minimizing the risk. Chasers try to prevent the driver from multi-tasking either with chase partners covering the other aspects or the driver pulling over to do these other things if he/she is chasing alone.
[edit] Seasonal Activity
Storm chasers are most active in May and June across the Great Plains of the United States (and Canada), with perhaps a couple hundred individuals active on any given day. Some organized chasing efforts have also begun in southeast Australia, with the biggest successes in November and December. A handful of individuals are also known to be chasing in other countries, including Israel, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and New Zealand; though many people trek to the Great Plains of North America from these and other countries around the world (especially the United Kingdom).
[edit] Equipment
Most storm chasers will vary with regards to the amount of equipment used, some prefer a minimalist approach where only basic photographic equipment is taken on a chase while others use everything from satellite based tracking systems and live data feeds to vehicle mounted weather stations.
[edit] Equipment History
Historically, storm chasing relied on either in field analysis or now casts from trained observers. The first in field technology consisted of radio gear for communication. Much of this equipment could also be adapted to receive radiofax data which was useful for receiving basic observational and analysis data. The primary users of such technology were university research groups who often had larger budgets than individual chasers. Radio scanners were also heavily used to listen in on emergency services and storm spotters so as to determine where the most active or dangerous weather was located. It was not until the end of the 1980's that the evolution of the laptop computer would revolutionize storm chasing.
With the development of the mobile computers the first in computer mapping software was made available, at about the same time the VHS camcorder began to grow in popularity rapidly. Prior to the late 1980's most motion picture equipment consisted of 8mm film cameras. While the quality of the first VHS consumer cameras was quite poor when compared to traditional film formats the amount of video which could be shot with a minimal amount of of resources was much greater than any film format at the time.
The 1990's marked the first technological leaps and bounds. With the quick development of solid state technology, television sets for example could be installed in most vehicles with ease allowing storm chasers to actively view local TV stations. Mobile phones became popular making group coordination easier when traditional radio communications methods were not adequate. The development of the public internet in 1993 allowed FTP access to some of the first university weather sites. The mid 1990's marked the development of smaller more efficient marine radars. While such marine radars are illegal if used in land-mobile situations many chasers were quick to adopt them in an effort to have mobile radar.[1] The first personal lightning detection and mapping devices also became available[2] and the first online radar data was also offered by private corporations often with a delay for free services. A major turning point was the advent of civilian GPS in 1996, at first GPS units were very costly and only offered basic functions but that would soon change. Towards the late 1990's the internet was awash in weather data and free weather software, the first true cellular internet modems for consumer use also emerged providing chasers access to data in the field without having to rely on a nowcaster. The NWS also released the first free, up to date Nexrad Level 3 radar data. In conjunction with all this, GPS units now had the ability to connect with computers, allowing greater ease when navigating.
2001 marked the next great technological leap for storm chasers as the first wi-fi units began to emerge offering wireless broadband service in many cases for free. Soon after in 2004 two critically acclaimed storm chaser tools emerged. The first was a new XM satellite radio based system utilizing a special receiver and Baron Weather software[3]. Unlike pre-existing cellular based services there was no risk of dead spots and that meant even in the most remote areas storm chasers still had a live data feed. The second tool was a new piece of software called Grlevel3[4]. Grlevel3 utilized both free and subscripted based raw weather radar files displaying the data in a true vector format. Prior to this date there was no suitable windows based radar viewer. Grlevel3 has since become the most popular piece of radar viewing software amongst storm chasers and weather enthusiasts.
[edit] Present Equipment
Common communication equipment consists of cellular phones and amateur radio transceivers usually covering the 2 meter VHF and 70cm UHF bands. In recent years GMRS radio equipment has also been adopted and is used by non-amateur storm chasers. Many storm chasers have also adapted the use of GPS systems in conjunction with laptops for travel directions.
A common storm chaser practice is to borrow 2.4 GHz wi-fi which may either emanate from a commercial provider, public source or private source. Others means of live data acquisition include the use of Baron Weather Worx Threat Net System via XM satellite radio or by the use of cellular internet service where ones cell phone may act as a traditional modem when connected to a computer system.
In field environmental data is still very popular amongst storm chasers, especially temperature, humidity and wind speed data. Many have chosen to mount weather stations made by Davis Instruments Corp atop their vehicles.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Robertson, David (1999). "Beyond Twister: A Geography of Recreational Storm Chasing on the Southern Plains". Geographical Review, 89 (4).
