How To Chase Storms in Your Local Area
So you've seen cool chase videos online, or you've watched Storm Chasers on the Discovery Channel. Maybe some of your friends have been chasing out in Tornado Alley. There's no reason you can't follow your local weather too, and there's no shame in chasing a small storm in Virginia, Connecticut, North Carolina, or anywhere else. In fact you don't have to just chase thunderstorms. I chase everything. If I think I can get a better photo or video of a storm, cloud, rainbow, snow event, or flood from somewhere other than where I am, that's what I consider a chase.
Before I get ripped in the Comments let me say these...
Safety: Storm chasing is dangerous and should only be attempted by people who know what they are doing. That's why I wrote this, so you don't go out there not knowing what you're doing.
Legal: That said, this is advice only from my person point-of-view and is not the opinion of AccuWeather or any of their meteorologists. Neither I nor them can be held liable for this advice.
Geography: This advice is mainly for East Coast chasers - I have never been chasing in the Plains and make no claims that I know the best chasing tactics there. It's a lot different out there - better visibility with less trees, but more dangerous storms and a lot more chasers. Most of my chasing experience is in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Still, some of these ideas will probably apply, even out west.
Spotting Vs. Chasing: Storm Spotting is calling in NWS Spotter Reports from whereever you are. Chasing is pursuing storms. Chasing is fine by me but you should go through NWS Spotter Training first because if you see severe weather you should call it in to them.
Now, on to the tutorial. First, two things you should always remember:
Know Your Area: Before you chase (but when leaves are still on the trees) research locations free of trees, hills and powerlines where you can film the storm unobstructed. Remember that even a storm coming "from" the West may require a full view from SSW to NNW to do a timelapse or catch lightning, and then you'll want to turn around to catch lightning strikes behind it. I don't chase to any area with a view less than 90 degrees. Be able to quickly make a decision on which vista to pick when you see the storm on radar.
When Not To Chase: Chasing requires a lot of time, gas and energy. If you have a good view in the direction of an approaching storm from your house, question whether it's better to setup your camera out of the weather inside your home, deck or garage and get quality photos and video, versus ending up out on the road behind trees, mountains or power lines and your windshield wipers.
These can be crucial to chasing accurately and documenting the weather. I'll tell you what gadgets I'm using - if you don't want to use the same thing I do, research it yourself on Google. I don't have time to examine every possible combination of chasing gadgets, I just want to tell you what I use and how it works for me.
1. Cell Phone: Always bring your cell phone, you may need it to call back home or to your friends to check on conditions where they are, and you could need it in case of an emergency, or to call in a Spotter report to the NWS. Buy a DC adapter or you'll end up running out of cell phone batteries when you need it most.
2. Alerting: It's also key that you get the NWS advisories (Severe Thunderstorm & Tornado Warnings, etc.) that our Premium cell phone apps will deliver to your phone through the FirstWarn Alerts service. This will help you gauge the severity of the storm and details about its effects and spotter reports. I also get alerts from AccuWeather.com RadarPlus (Platinum) & AccuWeather.com LightningPlus on my phone which tell me when lightning, heavy rain or hail is forecast at my location (note: you have to set this location point on the web before you leave so preprogram in your chase vistas if they are far from your house).
3. Radar/Lightning Display: I remember the old days of chasing when all there was was a NOAA WeatherRadio. Those days of chasing were a lot tougher but there's no reason to rough it these days. Having a radar display with you will be key to positioning yourself to get the best view of the storm, especially here in the East where good lookouts are few due to trees and mountains and storms dissipate rapidly. If you can afford it, you'll want to bring something with you that can show you the position and movement of the storms. Depending on your budget, you have several options:
This can be completely free if you already have the web on your cell phone. If not, you might have to pay a few $ a month for it. Now that you've got the web, you need to access AccuWeather.com (just type in the URL) or download an application such as our Premium AccuWeather.com which is about $3 a month. There are two advantages to having the Premium application. One is that you can launch it and see a radar loop (it lets you set what you want for your "home" screen. Two is that it has more up-to-date radar than AccuWeather.com (5 minutes vs. 15 minutes). And three is the alerting that I discussed above.
Option 2: Laptop radar. This is the best option because it gives you more detail with a larger screen and you can get lightning strikes, which will become key. Of course you'll have to buy a laptop first if you don't already have one (any sort of modern system - since 2003 - will work fine). And you'll need a DC adapter (inverter), because trust me, you don't want to have your radar display run out of batteries when the storm is bearing down on you. Since even AC adaptors are different for every laptop, I use a Xantrex NotePower75 which has a standard household outlet.
And finally you'll need an Internet connection. In theory you can do this through your cellphone but I find it's a lot easier to buy a data card and a data plan. I pay about $50/month for this through Verizon (it's broadband here in PA, I remember the days when it was $500 for the card, $100/month and 14.4 speed). My card is a PCMIA PC5750 EVDO card, but they have USB these days. You'll need to check with your local wireless provider to see what they have - broadband is strongly recommended.
Now that you have a laptop, you can use the web to look at radar. I prefer to use AccuWeather.com RadarPlus with AccuWeather.com LightningPlus for several reasons. One, it will go full-screen with a black background which doesn't generate as much light to distract you at night. Two, Platinum comes with alerts (see above) and PredictiveRadar (if you don't want those, Silver will suffice). Three, LightningPlus Silver and above come with real-time lightning strikes which can be
if you're trying to do lightning photography (tells you where to point the camera).
4. Tripods: I can't say enough about the need for multiple tripods on a chase. Tripods help you keep the camera still so your pictures aren't blurry and so you can do timelapses. They also help you stay safe. Lightning is the most dangerous thing you'll encounter on a chase. I always say: Keep the cameras
the car but keep yourself
.
To avoid a wind gust knocking your tripod over while you're safely in your car (this has happened to me) bring bungee cords to tie the tripod down to a nearby street sign, guide rail, or your vehicle. A heavy tripod like the OS 7003 that I use will help mitigate this.
Once it starts raining, there's no shame in trying to photograph lightning strikes through your windshield, the windshield wipers are something that you'll just have to deal with. It's better than not getting a shot at all. (Make sure your windshield is clean of bugs pre-chase and keep your wiper blades new so they don't streak) I brace a tripod into the floor of the passenger seat of my SUV so that I can get these shots and also not miss anything on the way to the case). I also use mini tripods for the dash of my SUV and a Joby Tripod is on my Christmas list because it will attach to anything.
5. Cameras & Video Cameras: You won't want to interrupt your timelapse video to take pictures, so have at least two cameras or video cameras. I have a Kodak Z650 that I take pictures with while another Kodak Z740 takes a video/audio record of the whole storm. An upcoming blog entry will give more tips on photographing weather.
Bring a compass so that you can tell where you're pointing the camera compared to which direction the storm is from you on radar. If you have a digital compass that came with your car, they can be misleading because they don't have the points in between (SSW, ENE, etc.).
Bring binoculars whenever possible or you'll find yourself squinting at
rotation in the distance. I'm writing another blog about how to determine rotation but if it's more than half a mile away and you don't have binoculars you won't be able to determine it.
A hand-held wind instrumentlike we sell on the AccuMall is also good though it's unlikely that you'll experience severe-thunderstorm winds that won't knock you off your feet, and determining wind speed less than that won't help you forecast the movement of the storm (here in the East at least). It's a better idea to have a wind instrument mounted to your car like I used to, but that can be challenging, expensive and potentially damaging to your vehicle.
Comments (2):
Chris White:
Good writeup Jesse! There are a number of storms here in the East worth chasing, and you've hit the nail on the head on how to do it. Just one comment: one should always plan an escape route before settling on a spot from which to watch a storm. If things go awry or the storm goes crazy an escape route away from the storm's path is essential.
Posted by Chris White | August 6, 2009 5:37 PM
Bromacleanse:
Great article on chasing storms.
Posted by Bromacleanse | August 5, 2009 7:24 AM
