Storm Chasers

[hank213 1,823]

I caught one or two episodes last season and was interested. I caught the first three (I think) episodes of the new season in a mini-marathon last night and I'm hooked. I think a big part of it is that I grew up or lived in the areas of Kansas where they frequently operate and I've always had an interest in severe weather. When I was 8 or so, I went out spotting with my uncle a couple times. Only once did I see a tornado, but that one time was awesome. It was only a couple of miles away and it was awe inspiring. Throw some interesting personalities into the severe weather mix and it's really interesting and fun tv.Anybody else watching?

[Eight_Tabler 0]

I caught one or two episodes last season and was interested. I caught the first three (I think) episodes of the new season in a mini-marathon last night and I'm hooked. I think a big part of it is that I grew up or lived in the areas of Kansas where they frequently operate and I've always had an interest in severe weather. When I was 8 or so, I went out spotting with my uncle a couple times. Only once did I see a tornado, but that one time was awesome. It was only a couple of miles away and it was awe inspiring. Throw some interesting personalities into the severe weather mix and it's really interesting and fun tv.Anybody else watching?

cool, I am on this show; I'm the driver for the Scout vehicle. :-) Anyways, was just browsing the forums and was surprised/happy to see the show mentioned. The last two episodes should be entertaining I think... the final one especially as it should contain some incredible storm/tornado video.storm chasing is a lot like poker by the way... it's all about making good decisions and continuously reevaluating as the situation/variables change to try and give yourself the best possible odds for success. That's really all you can do, just like poker... Anyways, I'm rambling now; glad you like the show!

[hank213 1,823]

cool, I am on this show; I'm the driver for the Scout vehicle. :-) Anyways, was just browsing the forums and was surprised/happy to see the show mentioned. The last two episodes should be entertaining I think... the final one especially as it should contain some incredible storm/tornado video.storm chasing is a lot like poker by the way... it's all about making good decisions and continuously reevaluating as the situation/variables change to try and give yourself the best possible odds for success. That's really all you can do, just like poker... Anyways, I'm rambling now; glad you like the show!

Awesome. Looking forward to it. Seriously, how friggin exhausting is chasing? I mean, it seems like you can put in some long weeks of long days.

[Eight_Tabler 0]

Awesome. Looking forward to it. Seriously, how friggin exhausting is chasing? I mean, it seems like you can put in some long weeks of long days.

yeah, it can be pretty rough sometimes... you can go thousands of miles, and days, even weeks, without seeing much at all, which can be very tiring/disheartening. A lot of that is really lost in the series since they don't show the bust days at all, and just kinda jump from big day to big day... that's totally understandable since they are trying to keep the show entertaining, but 99% of chasing is a big time grind and lots of boredom. That other 1% makes it all worth it though.where in kansas was the tornado you saw when you were 8? was it a big one? did it hit anything?

[hank213 1,823]

It was a couple miles outside of Ness City, KS (where I grew up). Luckily it pretty much stuck to empty fields. It looked a lot like the one in the picture below, except it was darkly colored. It's one of those rare experiences that I can still picture in my head so clearly it's like it happened yesterday.I can see the point of only showing the big days (and damn there have been some big days this season) to keep the viewers engaged. You read exactly where I was going there. Since I grew up in that area I know it doesn't storm like that everyday and the scenery there really just blurs together. See a field, drive a hundred and fifty miles and it's like you're looking at the same field.

[Eight_Tabler 0]

It was a couple miles outside of Ness City, KS (where I grew up). Luckily it pretty much stuck to empty fields. It looked a lot like the one in the picture below, except it was darkly colored. It's one of those rare experiences that I can still picture in my head so clearly it's like it happened yesterday.I can see the point of only showing the big days (and damn there have been some big days this season) to keep the viewers engaged. You read exactly where I was going there. Since I grew up in that area I know it doesn't storm like that everyday and the scenery there really just blurs together. See a field, drive a hundred and fifty miles and it's like you're looking at the same field.

cool tornado! I know exactly what you mean when you say you can still picture the experience clearly in your mind... every one I've seen is like that. Tornadoes definitely have a way of burning their image to your memory.good ol' Ness City... I've driven up and down 283 through Ness City countless times; We spent tons of time in that area this year as western KS ended up being the hotspot for a good period of time. I know what you mean about the scenery blurring together, but that simplicity makes me love it though. Western KS is one of my favorite areas to chase - you can see forever in all directions and most spots have a pretty good road network. A lack of roads did hurt one of my chases in that area last year though. I was forced to just sit and watch as these tornadoes moved away from me over the open country west of Oakley. This storm was one of the coolest I've ever seen though, as it had multiple strong tornadoes on the ground at the same time on several occasions. Thankfully the only thing they hit was an unoccupied storage shed.

[hank213 1,823]

Yeah a few counties in that area have pretty good roads on a 1 mile by 1 mile type grid but then you hit those that have roads that aren't much better than horse trails. I'm sure for what you guys do, being able to see for miles in every direction is a big bonus and SW and West Central KS are perfect for that.

[hank213 1,823]

Scout got in the shit a little tonight huh? Previews for next week look pretty hairy. Scout in the ditch AGAIN?!?

[Eight_Tabler 0]

Scout got in the shit a little tonight huh? Previews for next week look pretty hairy. Scout in the ditch AGAIN?!?

lol, yeah... we really were pissed at the DOW that day. And scout does get blown off the road next week, but it was no big deal... A very strong wind gust hit us and it felt like I was about to lose control, so instead of trying to counter-steer too hard I just kinda slowed down and let the wind push us off the road since there was no real ditch or any hazards. I'm sure they will try and make it look like a big deal on TV though... oh well. Next week's episode should be very good; I am excited to see it.

[hank213 1,823]

One of my new goals is to do one of Reed's extreme weather vacations. I just need to do more homework and find the optimum week.Oh, and if you're ever overnighting in the Lincoln, NE area shoot me a message. It'd be cool to come out and see the vehicles/have beer.

[Eight_Tabler 0]

One of my new goals is to do one of Reed's extreme weather vacations. I just need to do more homework and find the optimum week.Oh, and if you're ever overnighting in the Lincoln, NE area shoot me a message. It'd be cool to come out and see the vehicles/have beer.

You should definitely do one of Reed's tours... I'm good friends with Reed and the rest of the TVN guys and I'm sure you would have tons of fun. As far as finding the optimum week, it really is a crapshoot. If it were me I'd probably pick somewhere around the 2nd or 3rd week of May. That's still near the peak of tornado season, but it's not too early so you are slightly more likely to have chases a little further west in excellent chase country like western Kansas or similar longitudes... plus you are slightly more likely to have slower moving/more photogenic storms then also. But really it is a gamble/crapshoot and anytime from late April through the end of May is fine.I'll try and let you know if we ever end up in the Lincoln area... We passed through/stayed near Lincoln several times last season, so there's a good chance we will again next season.

[hank213 1,823]

Pretty wild cap to the season. Actually, that was a pretty nice recovery when you got blown off the road. Glad Reed got some good footage on his camera probe and looked like you guys might've got some good data too. I'm torn about Sean not getting "the shot." I'm really pulling for him to get it because he's put so much into it but he's so much fun to watch I'm kinda glad he didn't.

[mk 11]

cool, I am on this show;

far out