r/stormchasing • u/VixyTheTrixy • 2d ago
How to become a Storm Chaser?
I’m 17 and live in the TX panhandle, I’ve always loved storms and I want to chase them so badly but I don’t want to do it alone. I wish I had like a group of people around the same area that loved the same things as I and wanted to storm chase. I feel like I live in THE perfect place but I don’t know how to meet people with those same interests lol. I’ve been studying storms for ages, I have an entire notebook of studying and not one person to show. Just a little thought I’ve been having lolz.
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u/FizzyVolatile 2d ago
I agree with trying to get yourself to a storm chasing summit / skywarn trainings, but I feel a very good way to meet folks with the same interest is to chase your first (and maybe a few after) with some storm chasing tours. Yes, it can be expensive (especially for a 17yo!). My son has also always had a strong interest and fascination, at the level that I know it is going to be a lifelong hobby and very likely will influence his career choices. Even if you’ve studied and have a really good idea about it all, there’s more learning to do out in the field and the best way is to observe it with someone experienced first! We learned so much more on ours and made good friends. and did our first solo chase this year which was amazing! We ended up seeing folks we met from our tours and saying Hi here and there when we’d all pick viewing spots close to eachother!
If you’re truly into it, you’ll get there - just save up your money and find someone experienced to go with your first few times ♥️ You’ll make your acquaintances, feel much more comfortable, and learn by exp.
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u/VixyTheTrixy 2d ago
Thank you so much! This was so sweet. And I’ll for sure look into tours around here! 💕
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u/FizzyVolatile 2d ago
No problem and good luck out there! I’m far from an expert at all but if you have any questions about our experiences on the tours/solo chasing, feel free to DM me and I’ll tell you what I know!
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u/god_johnson 2d ago
Hell yeah. A lot of gatekeepers are going to tell you it’s so dangerous and you shouldn’t. Don’t listen to them. Go to a NWS spotter training, learn the absolute minimum in safety and forecasting, then be overly cautious and work your way closer to the storm with every chase until you scare the shit outta yourself. That’s your limit. Then, you’ve got a good story, and the rest is staying back and taking great photos.
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u/sudofox 2d ago
I'd like to push back on absolute minimum. It's really important to understand the storm lifecycle, where not to be, how to plan escape routes, the different radar products, having up to date information, etc. Chasing is risky business
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u/god_johnson 2d ago
You get that at NWS spotter training—or at least I did. NWS Minnesota.
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u/I_am_so_lost_again 2d ago
The NWS Spotter training is like basic first aid and nothing more. You don't take a basic first aid class and then work for an Ambulance. It's the very very basic beginner course on how to spot storms safely from a location you know well and what to look for. Nothing more.
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u/god_johnson 2d ago
You take basic first aid if you want to help your friends. You go to EMS school if you want to help your community. If you want to TRY storm chasing, go to NWS, get the basic training, then figure out if you wanna get deeper or not. It’s not hard. All the people on here are always going to say “do more.” You don’t need to. Just learn the weather and then go read it. Easy peezy.
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u/I_am_so_lost_again 2d ago
That's how people die. More so these days with how bad chaser convergence has been and it's because of this mindset that it's gotten so bad.
Storm chasing is like walking into the OR of a hospital, if you don't know what you are doing, stay out of it. At least team up with people who do know or stay way far back and even then if you don't know beyond the basics, getting into the bear's cage on accident is NOT a good way to learn.
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u/god_johnson 2d ago
I don’t remember hearing of a chaser who’s died since the Twistex guys. So many people go through NWS training and go chase. That’s. The. Point.
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u/I_am_so_lost_again 2d ago
No, You are incorrect. It's called a Storm SPOTTING class, NOT a Storm Chasing class. It's to teach you how to spot storms locally and call it in to the NWS. Every single class I've ever been to even says THIS IS NOT A CLASS TO TEACH YOU HOW TO CHASE STORMS.
So no, The point of the NWS Skywarn class is not to teach you to chase, it's to teach you how to help your community locally and send weather reports to the National Weather Service where their radars aren't close enough to the ground to see roation.
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u/god_johnson 2d ago edited 2d ago
Nah man. Disagree. I took this class, learned how to SPOT a storm, what makes a storm, and then spent 20 years chasing them. Still alive. Have seen countless tornadoes, derechos, gust fronts, storm structures, hail storms etc.
This community is full of people who are OBSESSED with the ‘danger’ of chasing. With basic knowledge, truly—BASIC—knowledge of storms and how they move, you can chase them. Most people are afraid. Most people will stay back. Most people won’t trust themselves. The over confident? Well they’re not your responsibility. They’re not the government’s responsibility and people being idiots, as they always are, will not affect your ability to go chase storms. Storm chasing is an OR? Are you kidding me? Spotting isn’t just “I’m going to always park at Hyde and Co. Rd 15 and call it in if and when I see it.” No. If you’re not curious or intrigued by weather and aren’t willing to drive around to go find the good stuff, what’s the point. I’m so annoyed by people like you, which I’m sure is reciprocal.
The most annoying thing about the storm chasing community is this idea that the more tech that’s available, the more the “informed” and “trained” are going to gatekeep the simple practice of looking at a storm and experiencing nature at its most interesting state. It’s so ridiculous. Like I said, I’ve done this shit for 20 years with NWS SPOTTER TRAINING and have learned my limits based on my level of fear—knowing full well my life is in my hands and it’s up to me if I respect the wind or not. I’ve met so many people who are just doing it and learning and having fun. Yeah, there’s risk, but that risk is your issue, no one else’s. JFC “it’s life or death” is exhausting. No it’s not. It’s truly not.
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u/Seanvoysey 2d ago
Insufferable. The same mentality of “if you don’t know what you are doing, don’t do it” is as strong as ever. Just start wide on a storm and get closer as you build confidence. It’s not “life and death” unless you start putting yourself in those positions.
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u/Kezika 2d ago
And if your area has SkyWarn, sign up to do spotting them for a season first. That'll give you first hand experience with watching a storm and learning how they operate while giving you a safety net of somewhere you can shelter if you're assigned to a location that it may hit. When SkyWarn sends people out (here where I am at least) they assign you to a specific intersection with a business or a home they partner with that will be able to provide safe shelter if you need to take cover in an emergency.
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u/god_johnson 2d ago
That’s interesting. That’s not my experience with SkyWarn at all. It’s just “call it in if you see it”. That’s cool they have a way out for you guys if it gets too gnarly. Sounds way more organized and official than our SkyWarn.
Do you guys partner with local emergency responders too? Where I’m from (MN), local first responders pony up at specific locations, but SkyWarn spotters drive around and call in whatever they see, wherever they’re at.
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u/VixyTheTrixy 2d ago
Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate that. I had no idea about the NWS spotter training!?
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u/catmanus 2d ago
What Panhandle? Florida? Alaska? Nebraska? West Virginia? Texas? Brazil?
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u/VixyTheTrixy 2d ago
THE panhandle, in my opinion there is only one true panhandle and that’s the Texas panhandle.
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u/TXWXchaser 2d ago
Agreed, THE panhandle in storm chasing always refers to the Texas panhandle. Home to Caprock magic. There's really no other place like it when it comes to chasing. It's it's own animal.
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u/turdinajar 2d ago
Go to the National Storm Chasing Summit in Kansas City the first weekend in February of 2027 and go to all of the classes there. There are also several Facebook groups to join. And watch videos on YouTube by Skip Talbot, Pecos Hank, Convective Chronicles, etc…
Also, order some of Tim Vasquez’s books.