Into the Storm

WEBVTT
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Oh, tornado.
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Tornado!
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We're living at a time when we're seeing extraordinary weather events around the world.
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Extreme heat, massive storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, sometimes occurring with unusual intensity, or in unexpected places.
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And while most people are looking for shelter, there's this group of people that are deliberately heading toward the storm.
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Most of us see extreme weather and think, how do I get away from it?
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Today we're going to talk to a couple people who actually say, How do I get closer?
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They're called storm chasers.
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They watch weather patterns, track developing storms, get in their cars, and sometimes travel hundreds of miles hoping to put themselves just in the right place at just the right time, close enough to witness some of the most powerful forces in nature.
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And I have more than a few questions, trust me.
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What makes everybody want to do this?
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Is it adrenaline, curiosity, science, the beauty and power of nature?
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What does it feel like when you actually get close?
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And where's the line between excitement and holy moly, we gotta get out of here?
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So today we're getting inside the world of storm chasing.
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Who are these people?
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What makes them run towards something that the rest of us are running away from?
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And what keeps them coming back for more?
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Because I want to know everything.
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And I'm not chasing storms alone today, you guys.
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My friend Vicki is back as our guest chick.
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Welcome back, Vicki.
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Hello, Alexa and Tony.
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Welcome to Two Chicks in a Ho, the podcast about incredible people in the world doing amazing things.
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The podcast that makes you say wow.
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And today's topic is definitely all about wow.
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Hey everybody, Vanessa from Two Chicks in a Ho.
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And as you heard, we have a very unusual and I love it conversation going to take place today.
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So welcome, Alexa and Tony, and our guest, Vicki.
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So thanks you guys for being here today and telling us all about this incredibly fascinating topic of storm chasing.
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Thanks for having us.
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I'm stoked someone wants to talk about this.
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Yes, thank you so much.
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How could we resist?
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You know, this is, you know, I I think, I think probably uh for most of us the biggest uh I don't know that when we think storm chasing, at least for me, is the movie Twister.
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Yes.
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Okay.
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And I think uh when you say storm chasing, I think of course that's the first thing everybody's gonna think of.
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So we already have a vision of you guys driving in a truck like maniacs, crazy following a storm.
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Okay.
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So is that accurate?
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You know what's interesting?
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I get asked that all the time because I actually was quite frustrated as a kid with that movie.
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Because I had this, I was probably a little obnoxious in my in my science at the time.
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And I just like, oh, this is not accurate.
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But uh a number of chasers that I met, um, that was their first introduction to the Storm World.
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So I'm giving it more credit now.
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Oh, the movie itself?
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Yes.
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And now, you know, there's a Twisters Twisters movie that came out a couple years ago.
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And uh that one I had noticed since that came out, the number of amateur chasers has increased dramatically.
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Oh, these movies do have an impact.
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Oh, that's interesting.
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So then tell us how did you guys get involved in storm chasing?
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Because this is wait, is this what you do for a living?
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I mean, can you make a living doing this?
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But seriously, is this what you do guys do for a living, or is this something you do on the side?
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So I think we are very amateur storm chasers.
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And I am I'm almost a little nervous to use that term because uh yeah, I do not have enough background to claim a professional status.
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But for me, I remember my first thunderstorm when I was six years old uh up at Lake Tahoe.
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My grandparents lived up there, and I just remembered there was a lightning strike within a mile.
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So when it's within a mile, the thunder is pretty pretty quick and very loud and just like rattled the whole house.
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And I was scared, but also deeply intrigued.
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And so I remember that caused me to just become obsessed with the the power of a thunderstorm.
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And so I remember back in that day, I would go watch the weather channel every day at home.
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What how old were you?
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Six.
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Wow.
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Yeah, little tiny.
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So I would watch Sports Center and the Weather Channel all day, and uh so the sorry That's okay.
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We have a couple of the cat is on me right now, yeah.
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We love that.
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Um so then I purchased some tornado chasing documentaries on VHS back in the day.
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Woohoo! And uh so but I never thought I would chase.
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You know, I grew up in near Sacramento.
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We would get maybe one thunderstorm a year, and it's kind of weak.
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Um but then I I learned years later that there were about eight tour companies that operate out of the Great Plains uh where you could sign up as a tourist and go.
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And I dreamed that one day I would do it, uh, but I never did it until Oh, is it my turn?
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Um I think what we must have been friends for three or four years, maybe at this point.
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And Tony told me, he's like, I love the weather, and my lifelong dream is to go on one of these storm chasing things.
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And I said, Well, what do you mean your lifelong dream and you haven't you haven't done it?
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And he said, Well, no, like I don't know, it's kind of expensive, or I don't know, he had all these reasons why, like, ah, it's not it's not realistic.
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So I, being the kind of chaotic person I am, started doing all this research and wanting to understand and just kind of in a silly way decided I'm just gonna start saving a little bit every month to like send this man to do the thing of his dreams to go storm chasing.
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So I, you know, didn't tell him any of this, of course, and just was putting aside like a little bit of money every month until I had saved up for a deposit and I had like a spreadsheet of all these storm chasing groups, and I knew they sell out really quickly.
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So I was looking months and months ahead of time.
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I didn't know his schedule.
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So at some point I said, Okay, surprise over.
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I'm gonna send you on this storm chasing thing.
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Wow.
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When do you want to go?
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But we have to pick because it's gonna fill up.
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And he looked at me, he goes, First of all, you you can't pay for my storm chasing tour.
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That doesn't make any sense.
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You shouldn't do that.
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But instead, would you want to come with me?
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And, you know, we can we can both go and have this experience together.
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And I said, I mean, I don't know anything about weather.
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This is not something that has ever intrigued me.
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You know, I grew up in Colorado, so I had seen a handful of funnel clouds in my day, and you know, had gotten out of a gymnastics practice at some point as a kid.
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So that was, I was like, oh, you know, tornadoes.
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It's just kind of a regular thing that many people experience at some point from a distance.
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Um, so it wasn't necessarily my interest, but I said, you know what, that'd be fun.
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I'll go and see what these people are up to.
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And and then we went together and it was such a blast.
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So and then Tony kind of took it from there.
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So what's it like?
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Wait, wait, I uh wait a minute.
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There's tour companies that do this kind of stuff?
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Yeah, I've never heard of this.
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I feel like it's a eight to ten.
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I mean, I could probably do more research.
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Uh yeah.
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Uh and so we found well I I guess it was the highest rated one on whatever platform you were looking at.
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And uh yeah, it was called Tempest Tours.
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And so we yeah, we arrived uh in Denver.
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So if you chase during uh June, it's best to fly into Denver because this the pattern shifts kind of to eastern Colorado, western Nebraska, kind of the Great Plains area there.
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Um so we arrived and we had no idea who else was gonna be there.
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And there's a uh head meteorologist, there was uh another meteorologist, and then two drivers.
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So we had two 12 passenger vans, eight people per van, 16 of us, and you don't know where you're gonna go.
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I was gonna say, did you know ahead of time?
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So you're flying into Colorado, did you know ahead of time where you were going or what did you know there was a storm coming?
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Well, so that time of year, you're gonna find storms.
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Okay.
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It just depends on how far you're gonna have to go.
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So uh I think we had a little idea maybe the day before, just looking up on the National Weather Service, just seeing their prediction, like, oh, we're probably gonna end up in like uh western Oklahoma, the Oklahoma panhandle.
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Uh okay.
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And we did.
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And that was a dramatic introduction.
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The the first day, there were just hundreds and hundreds of chasers out there because the conditions were right uh for a supercell that would likely produce a tornado.
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And we were on one.
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I think I think the most intriguing part was you're driving and there's just these little fluffy cumulus clouds, everything seems calm.
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And then you get around two o'clock, and you know, you get enough heating, and the dynamics are good enough for these storms to just explode.
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So you you get to witness the clouds just exploding.
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Um, and that that first day, I think, hooked us both because it also became frightening at times because we were I can't imagine.
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Uh like this supercell, it was strange.
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It did not produce a tornado, but it was spinning right in front of us.
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It had all the conditions.
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Uh, everyone was just ready for it to drop a tornado.
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It didn't, but it still became like this gorgeous supercell.
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And after that, I kind of reflected, I don't care that much about the tornado.
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I just want to see this supercell.
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And supercells, they kind of look like mothership UFOs.
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So it just means a large rotating thunderstorm.
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Ah, okay.
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Uh and those are usually the ones that produce tornadoes.
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You can get tornadoes from a hurricane, they're different conditions, but supercells produce like the strongest tornadoes.
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Uh yeah.
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So you said do you go specifically?
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I know I my my vision of this when you guys do this is that you're going for hurricanes or uh tornadoes.
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Everything.
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Oh, torn Twister.
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I'm back to Twister again.
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So are you looking for any kind of storms?
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Hurricanes, tsunamis, uh, you know, hail storms, what anything in particular, or everything's a go.
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You want to see it all.
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You know, uh that time of year we're not looking for hurricanes in in that part of the country.
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So we're staying in the Great Plains.
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I actually don't I mean, hurricanes are fascinating, but I think I have very little interest in chasing one because you can't see much.
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It's just a lot of wind and a lot of rain.
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Okay.
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A supercell, if the conditions are right, you have like a safe distance away, you get to witness this massive structure that seems like it came out of nowhere.
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Um, and then it becomes one of the most powerful forces on earth.
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And that that just shocks me.
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So, like for me, it was as a kid, it's awe and wonder, I think drew me in.
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Uh there's something very mysterious about how a very seemingly calm day can turn into one of the most frightening things you could imagine.
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So I also know I think there's a little bit of fear in me, and that attracts me.
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Uh and I become a kid.
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Like I get so giddy.
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And and Alexa, I think you were hooked after the first day.
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Yeah, no, I think I was.
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I I mean, Vicky, you asked what it was like.
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Oh my gosh.
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The first day we are driving towards a storm, every single one of our phones in the car, the emergency alert is going off.
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So all the alarms on our phones are, you know, ringing.
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It's loud.
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I have That's the point, Vicky, when you and I turn around.
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Yes, they're going forward.
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Well, and I'm I'm kind of adrenaline junkie.
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I've done cage diving, I've done bungee jumping, I, you know, I've done some stuff.
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So I here I am thinking like I'm young and I'm, you know, because it's not, it's an older crowd that is doing these storm chasing trips, but I'm thinking, okay, I sh I've got a high tolerance for adventure.
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No.
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This the moment all of these alarms start going off, I'm like, we gotta go back.
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You're telling me we're getting closer?
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All of these emergency, it's like warning, you're gonna die.
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I'm like, guys, we should go the other way.
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Why are we getting closer?
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But everyone in the van was like, let's go.
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Like, you know, the their eyes lit up, everyone was so fired up, and I was the only one who was like, Are you sure?
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I don't know.
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I don't, I'm not feeling awesome about this.
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It feels like clouds are spinning over us.
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Are we gonna be absorbed into this cloud?
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What's gonna happen?
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But then after that first day, just being able to see, you know, I think Tony was describing this mothership UFO thing.
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I I thought I was gonna be bored on this trip.
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I have to be honest.
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I did not think I would be that entertained.
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I thought my entertainment would be watching Tony be stoked.
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I was like, I'll be a supportive, loving partner and say, like, go get them, honey, you know.
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But, you know, the first day I had Tony, you know, sit on the better window seat and I was like, oh, you make sure to get the view.
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By day two, I was like, get move, get out of the way.
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I need to see, you know, I want to see this storm brewing and and whatever, because to see, I think it's hard to explain how when it's isolated, it's not just like clouds filling the whole sky.
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You're seeing the entire storm, you're seeing the outside edge of the whole storm, and you can see how tall it is into the sky, and then you can see it spinning.
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You're looking at the bottom of the storm, just absolutely twirling around in front of you.
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And it's it's an experience that really it feels like that kind of we talk about like slots.
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It's that, you know, you keep chasing, you keep chasing, and sometimes you see, you see that tornado or you see that structure.
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You don't always catch it because sometimes it merges with another storm or it, you know, becomes how much time are you looking at it?
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Like, is it, you know, is it two minutes?
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Is it 20 minutes?
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Does it depend?
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Yeah, I think that really does depend.
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Uh the dream is to get in position ahead of the storm.
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Uh uh kind of to the southeast in that part of the country.
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Because they're the storms are typically moving to the east.
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Uh when they start becoming more massive and maybe tornado-producing, they turn a little to the southeast.
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So you want to stay ahead of it.
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Sometimes you get up ahead and you're just waiting two minutes, and then sometimes you get maybe 30 minutes to wait.
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And it gets close enough for us to get an incredible view, but hopefully we're not in the lightning.
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That that's I would say lightning can be besides the other drivers, is one of the biggest threats because lightning is a little less predictable.
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What do you mean besides the other drivers?
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Oh, as far as safety goes, like what is the most unsafe part of storm chasing?
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I would say it's the other storm chasers who all humans.
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Yes, the amateur special.
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Because they've just got their their sight on the storm.
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And likely not looking at the road very well, you know.
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Well, and I think even people crossing the street, that was one of the biggest things that they told us on this tour company is when you get out of the van, you are looking at the storm and you're trying to get as close as you can.
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Look both ways because the people are also not looking at the road who are driving.
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So you have to make sure when you are trying to go, you know, see, get this good view, like you have to look all around because it's it's the drivers that are dangerous.
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I never would have guessed that.
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No, maybe.
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I never would have thought that.
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And are you do you have binoculars?
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Are you just looking with your naked eye?
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How does it work?
00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:42.480
Yeah, naked eye.
00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:47.839
I binoculars, yeah, I don't I've never used them because I think we get close enough.
00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:49.359
Uh how close do you get?
00:17:49.599 --> 00:17:49.839
Yeah.
00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:50.960
Oh gosh.
00:17:51.119 --> 00:17:54.880
I mean, a few of the times I love the term that's developed.
00:17:54.960 --> 00:18:05.119
Uh if they've determined that the hail is not large enough to break the windshield, we will drive into it sometimes if it's safe enough.
00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:06.240
Drive into what?
00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:08.000
Into the core of the storm.
00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:09.920
And they often call that core punching.
00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:11.279
I think it's a hilarious term.
00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:13.200
You just scream core punch.
00:18:13.359 --> 00:18:13.599
Yeah.
00:18:13.920 --> 00:18:20.079
Um and then you get to experience this unbelievable force of rain and hail.
00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:31.440
Um but most often, especially if it's a really powerful storm, you're not gonna get into the core because the hail can be over a grapefruit size and kill you.
00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:42.000
Um so yeah, I think keeping, I would say, at least a mile from the rotation would be safe.
00:18:42.319 --> 00:18:45.200
The rotation being the place where a tornado could form.
00:18:45.359 --> 00:18:46.960
So you don't want to be under that.
00:18:47.359 --> 00:18:48.160
Oh, okay.
00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:49.039
Wow.
00:18:49.279 --> 00:18:49.759
That makes sense.
00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:51.519
And do you have equipment?
00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:52.640
Do you bring equipment?
00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:57.039
Do you so now okay, so your first experience was with a tour company.
00:18:57.200 --> 00:19:01.200
Have you since then gone out on your own with friends and other storm chasers?
00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:05.359
And yeah, so the so our chase, our first chase was Unreal.
00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:09.599
We saw 12 tornadoes, which is unbelievable.
00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:11.440
Like, that's not a typical tour.
00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:16.400
We lucked out like six of the seven days we had Supercell thunderstorms.
00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:16.960
Wow.
00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:26.480
Uh so on the last day, Alexa asked our driver how he became a driver for this company, and uh it was easier than we expected.
00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:32.480
Uh and I was like, Oh, I want to become a driver because then I can do this for free.
00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:35.359
And so I had to get my ham radio license.
00:19:35.519 --> 00:19:46.240
You know, they do a background check, and and the driver said, if the director, his name is Bill Reed, he's a very famous storm chaser, if he likes you, he'll hire you.
00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:47.680
And he hired me.
00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:54.559
So I have been driving for this company now for the past, I guess, three years.
00:19:54.880 --> 00:19:55.200
Oh.
00:19:56.079 --> 00:19:57.920
And uh it's been great.
00:19:58.160 --> 00:20:01.279
Uh yeah, so I don't have to pay for it anymore, which is amazing.
00:20:01.599 --> 00:20:03.680
So, what area of are we talking about?
00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:06.000
What what geographic area are we talking about?
00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:11.519
Yeah, so May and June are your peak months in the high in the Great Plains.
00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:18.960
So we're trying to stay in the Great Plains because there you have fewer trees and um so better visibility.
00:20:19.119 --> 00:20:21.359
Oh, fewer trees, fewer trees and fewer like hills.
00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:23.920
Fewer stabbing opportunities in the trees.
00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:25.839
I I'm catching, I'm getting this.
00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:27.119
I'm getting this.
00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:28.640
Rip those trees out, here it comes.
00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:29.279
Yeah, okay.
00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:35.119
That's part of it, but it's more about the visibility than um yeah, it's in that part of the country.
00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:38.880
You could they're more isolated, the supercells, so you can just see more.
00:20:39.279 --> 00:20:44.240
Um so yeah, I isn't it also too the Great Plains.
00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:49.200
It at least this is what I envision too, is there it's you can see a long ways away.
00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:50.400
Yes, it's flat.
00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:57.279
Kind of like so I listeners know I spent a lot of time in Africa, and over there it's you know, they call Montana big sky country.
00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:00.319
Well, so is Kenya, because you can just, you know, you can see forever.
00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:02.240
Yep, yeah, and that's the same kind of thing, isn't it?
00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:05.599
That's the ideal location for seeing storms then.
00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:09.920
For seeing them, and also that area known as Tornado Alley.
00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:17.920
Um it's the most unique part of the world as far as supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes go.
00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:23.279
Argentina has an area that's somewhat similar, but not to this level.
00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:30.799
Um, and it's unique because you have the Gulf of Mexico has hopefully we're still calling it the Gulf of Mexico.
00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:32.000
Right, yeah, good.
00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:33.680
Uh it's what we're calling it.
00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:36.480
It produces so much moisture.
00:21:36.640 --> 00:21:43.200
Uh and so that, especially that time of year, that moisture makes its way up the Great Plains.
00:21:43.519 --> 00:21:47.920
And then you have this dry mountain air.
00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:49.039
So you have the Rockies.
00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:49.680
Rockies.
00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:52.079
So you have this clash of air masses.
00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:58.880
Uh, and then if you get the right upper level conditions, uh that helps create more spin for these storms.
00:21:58.960 --> 00:21:59.759
So it's just like the process.
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.680
Perfect combination for these very unique storms.
00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:06.480
So that you're you said too that's like unique to the world.
00:22:06.799 --> 00:22:07.279
It is, yeah.
00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:07.920
It's interesting.
00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:08.079
Yeah.
00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:08.640
Extremely.
00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:16.079
I had no idea that there were actually a ton of international people on this storm chasing tour because it is rare.
00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:23.039
And I had uh you know, growing up in Colorado, I had no idea that this was just such a unique thing to experience.
00:22:23.200 --> 00:22:24.640
So people come from all over the world.
00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:25.440
Wow.
00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:27.279
Wow.
00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:29.200
That's very cool.
00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:30.559
I had no idea.
00:22:31.519 --> 00:22:34.480
So yeah, so you've been close to tornadoes.
00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:35.279
We've got that.
00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:37.039
How about other types of storms?
00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:45.119
I know, I know you're working in the Great Plains, but I I so we all know, okay, we I mean, just recently too.
00:22:45.279 --> 00:23:04.240
So we're sitting in the Bay Area, but the news across the world, actually, in this particular week, with um the floods in Nepal, with what happened there, with the incredibly severe weather on the East Coast and in southern states, uh, our fires here on the West Coast.
00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:06.079
The climate is changing.
00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:08.880
Are you seeing changes in the storms?
00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:24.880
I mean, from what we see, you know, as the, you know, the storm chaser that watches it on TV, okay, it's dramatically, it seems to me it's gotten more intense, more bigger, more, you know, hurricane, higher levels, all of those types of things.
00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:33.200
Are you seeing these changes just even in the last few years, climate-wise, what's happening in terms of what you're seeing, is it manifesting in the storms that you're seeing?
00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:39.839
Yeah, I'll be careful because I'm not a scientist and uh just your observations, yeah.
00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:45.119
And I've asked quite a few of the professional chasers uh what they've experienced over the years.
00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:53.440
And the most common response I get is at least when it comes to supercells and tornadoes in the US, it's shifted.
00:23:53.599 --> 00:24:05.519
Um there are still many that occur in what we've called Tornado Alley, but the southeast of the United States now is experiencing more and more tornadoes than they have before.
00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:10.079
So I don't think I know enough about exactly why.
00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:12.000
Um, but you do see the shift though.
00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:14.960
There it is interesting if you look at the historical data.
00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:24.000
Um as far as like the strength of tornadoes and and and these storms, I don't know if there's enough evidence for that.
00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:31.920
You know, uh the the thing with climate change, like sometimes our temptation is to take an isolated event and say, oh, that's climate change.
00:24:32.160 --> 00:24:34.319
Well, it could be influenced.
00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:38.319
Um but there's so many we have to look at the bigger patterns.
00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:41.759
And then this year is gonna be interesting with the the El Nino.
00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:43.599
And maybe you've been reading about that.
00:24:44.160 --> 00:24:49.599
Uh especially here on the West Coast, we will likely have a lot more rain than usual.
00:24:49.839 --> 00:24:52.319
It could be, it could be catastrophic here.
00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:55.839
Um, or it might not play out that way.
00:24:56.079 --> 00:24:58.960
But um, does El Nino affect the rest of the country?
00:24:59.039 --> 00:24:59.200
I know.
00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:00.319
Yeah, it does.
00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:00.799
Yeah.
00:25:01.519 --> 00:25:05.200
And and it's affecting the Atlantic hurricane season this year.
00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:13.759
There have been there's been almost nothing uh in the Atlantic, which is normal during an El Nino, but the Pacific has been super active.
00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:18.079
Like uh you know, Hawaii just got hammered, right?
00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:23.119
And that I think you could make the case that El Nino really influenced that.
00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:35.440
Um and then even today, here in California on a summer day, unusual conditions, these clouds are from uh tropical storm, the remnants of a tropical storm.
00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:36.960
From the south, correct?
00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:37.359
Yeah.
00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:37.599
Yes.
00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:38.079
Yeah.
00:25:38.319 --> 00:25:44.319
So we I think this winter it will feel um more humid than usual here.
00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:45.200
Yeah.
00:25:45.839 --> 00:25:49.920
Now I think you guys did a uh storm chase this summer.
00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:51.440
Can you tell us about that?
00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:52.319
We did.
00:25:52.960 --> 00:26:05.039
We uh this was after all this time of driving and studying, um, Tony decided, I don't know, sometime last year, okay, I finally have enough experience.
00:26:05.519 --> 00:26:09.839
I think I could safely take people and do this on our own.
00:26:10.160 --> 00:26:18.000
So we rented a van and invited, I mean, some of your friends, but also some slightly more random people.
00:26:19.119 --> 00:26:26.319
Um, and we all met in Denver and went on a storm chasing tour that was led by Tony.
00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:28.000
Tony was our meteorologist.
00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:29.599
And okay, and quotes.
00:26:29.920 --> 00:26:32.240
No, meteorologist without quotes.
00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:37.279
And um, I was the assistant, is what I would say.
00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:50.799
Um, I did some hotel booking and navigation and radar reading, and I think I did at least a medium job of one job.
00:26:51.200 --> 00:26:53.920
Well, but it was it was really cool.
00:26:54.240 --> 00:26:56.559
How many days and like explain the typical day?
00:26:56.640 --> 00:26:59.279
Like you get up and you check the weather service.
00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:00.880
Like tell us tell us what it's like.
00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:08.720
Yeah, I mean, I kind of have an idea a few days out, like oh, we'll probably end up in New Mexico today.
00:27:08.799 --> 00:27:18.079
Or um, but yeah, we wake up and I'm checking the conditions again, and then we do a morning briefing at the hotel.
00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:21.759
First of all, you don't know where you're gonna stay each day.
00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:25.519
Um so you kind of wait until 7 or 8 p.m.
00:27:25.839 --> 00:27:28.640
to find out where you're gonna stay.
00:27:29.039 --> 00:27:33.359
Uh because we're look we're chasing storms that develop in the afternoon.
00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:36.720
So usually between like 2 p.m.
00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:42.160
and 9 p.m., you we're in chase mode, is what we call it.
00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:45.920
So you need to be prepared to not use the restroom too often.
00:27:46.319 --> 00:27:51.440
Uh meal meals are gonna be challenging, so bring some snacks.
00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:54.559
Uh, because that's when the storms are firing.
00:27:54.799 --> 00:27:55.599
Um yeah.
00:27:55.759 --> 00:28:02.559
So yeah, so we we ended up driving 3,200 miles in six days.
00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:06.319
So it was a bit unusual how much we had to drive.
00:28:06.559 --> 00:28:09.759
The conditions weren't the greatest for us during that week.
00:28:09.920 --> 00:28:13.839
Um, but we still had three chase days.
00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:19.519
Uh we did not see a tornado on this tour, but we saw some some really cool stuff.
00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:25.119
And uh one day we ended up in Illinois, which I have not chased in Illinois before.
00:28:25.279 --> 00:28:35.359
Uh but these storms were moving 55 miles an hour, which makes it almost impossible for chasers to like, you know, you can't get ahead of it.
00:28:35.519 --> 00:28:41.920
So you're just gonna get a brief glimpse and then hope something else fires off, and maybe you get a brief glimpse of that.
00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:43.839
Uh but yeah, we covered.
00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:56.240
I was so happy for the group because we had someone from Australia, we have two people who are from India, um, and they were excited to see parts of the US that they would never see.
00:28:56.319 --> 00:28:58.400
Uh they see a lot in a few days, yeah.
00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:00.640
We did like eight or nine states.
00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:01.039
Yeah.
00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:02.240
Oh my god, yeah.
00:29:02.559 --> 00:29:06.079
So you have your flights in and out, and then the rest you're just winging it.
00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:06.480
Yeah.
00:29:06.880 --> 00:29:07.440
Just hoping.
00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:21.920
I feel like something that I didn't necessarily understand before our first storm chasing, there are kind of a collection of, I don't know, maybe 10 websites that are all kind of run by different people, some by colleges, some by the government.
00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:33.920
And they have like an outlook where they'll say, okay, we're predicting here's a warning of this specific region, may get severe thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes.
00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:41.039
And then you also have specific models that are showing, okay, these are actually what the individual storm sells.
00:29:41.200 --> 00:29:43.680
This is what the clouds are going to look like.
00:29:43.920 --> 00:29:57.920
So then you're looking at, you know, the wind conditions, you're looking at the temperature, you're looking at all of these pieces, and you kind of pick a point on this map based on all of that data, and you say, okay, this is probably where a storm is going to fire.
00:29:58.319 --> 00:30:02.400
And based on that, you pick a spot where you say, This is where we need to drive today.
00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:07.519
And we need to be there before that kind of two o'clock, three o'clock when it all starts to fire.
00:30:07.680 --> 00:30:19.599
And then you check the models again and you check all of the radar data and you're trying, you're keeping up with all the new information as it comes in so that you can best position yourself to be ready when something actually starts building.
00:30:19.920 --> 00:30:26.240
So you're looking, you're you're present, but you're also looking at all this data to figure out exactly where you should be present.
00:30:26.559 --> 00:30:26.960
Exactly.
00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:35.680
So it was kind of every hour they release a new model that shows, okay, this is where we're predicting that these specific storms are going to pop up.
00:30:35.839 --> 00:30:50.000
So, you know, if Tony was driving, I would say, okay, we got the new her, you know, and we'll refresh it and look and see, okay, here's where we see, and a lot of the times you see kind of this kind of messy collection of storm together.
00:30:50.160 --> 00:30:57.119
And what we're looking for is an in kind of off on its own little cell, because that's how you can see it.
00:30:57.279 --> 00:31:09.359
So we're looking for that little kind of dot all on its own and saying, okay, how do we get as close as we can to that to be ready to chase that dot when it kind of pops up?
00:31:09.519 --> 00:31:14.000
So every hour we're driving, getting closer to this, they call it hurry up and wait.
00:31:14.160 --> 00:31:22.160
You want to be in position so that you're kind of ready to go in any direction when that storm actually starts going.
00:31:22.400 --> 00:31:32.640
And they call it, you know, firing, but it's when, okay, the cloud tops actually start getting bigger and bigger and bigger and actually kind of gets some momentum to have some structure, some spinning, all of that.
00:31:32.880 --> 00:31:33.200
Wow.
00:31:33.519 --> 00:31:35.599
And you said you had some international people.
00:31:35.680 --> 00:31:39.119
What were impressions of people on the tour this summer?
00:31:39.279 --> 00:31:42.640
Like what were some of the observations or oh gosh.
00:31:42.720 --> 00:31:51.680
I mean, it was actually very sweet because even though they didn't have the best conditions, and we didn't we really wanted to get Dylan, he's from Australia.
00:31:51.759 --> 00:31:53.599
We w we wanted to get him a tornado.
00:31:53.839 --> 00:31:55.200
He was so positive.
00:31:55.359 --> 00:32:00.000
He was just like so grateful that we put in all this time and research.
00:32:00.079 --> 00:32:08.400
And and there were a few times when I think we're pretty proud because we can see on the radar app I have, I can see the other storm chasers.
00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:12.319
And a few of the times we were ahead of them and like, all right, well done.
00:32:12.480 --> 00:32:14.079
And so he was like in awe.
00:32:14.160 --> 00:32:26.160
And I'm like, hey, I think we got lucky, but um yeah, I think and he had done, I had met him the year before on a chase, and uh so he's just waiting for his first tornado, uh the poor guy.
00:32:26.400 --> 00:32:28.160
He'll be back, he'll be back for sure.
00:32:28.400 --> 00:32:40.480
Yeah, and then our two friends from from India, they were I I don't know if they cared that much about the storms, but they were just like, when else are we gonna get to go to these parts of the the US?
00:32:40.960 --> 00:32:44.240
And and you know, and it's and do it in such an exciting way.
00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:45.279
Yeah, yes.
00:32:45.599 --> 00:32:50.720
Well, but by the end, I mean, one of them was downloading all the same software.
00:32:50.880 --> 00:32:53.039
He's like, okay, I think I can do this by myself.
00:32:53.119 --> 00:33:00.000
And we said, hold on, actually, you may not you may underestimate how much knowledge and experience and practice has gone into this.
00:33:00.160 --> 00:33:03.200
You actually can't just go do this by yourself.
00:33:03.359 --> 00:33:04.960
Please don't do this by yourself, actually.
00:33:05.119 --> 00:33:09.200
So they got into it enough that they wanted to do it on their own by the end.
00:33:09.279 --> 00:33:10.240
So they were impressed.
00:33:10.559 --> 00:33:11.279
I love it.
00:33:11.440 --> 00:33:13.279
Well that brings up a question then, too.
00:33:13.359 --> 00:33:16.480
What are the biggest misconceptions about storm chasers?
00:33:16.559 --> 00:33:20.480
And I think you just answered one thing, and it's hey Vic, you want to get in the car and go?
00:33:20.880 --> 00:33:22.559
I think there's a tornado over there.
00:33:22.799 --> 00:33:27.039
But really, what's some of the biggest misconceptions that that that storm chasing?
00:33:27.839 --> 00:33:29.599
Wow, that's a good question.
00:33:29.759 --> 00:33:33.359
I um I think I had a misconception.
00:33:33.440 --> 00:33:37.279
I assumed that it was all professionally trained folks.
00:33:37.519 --> 00:33:41.599
And I think we're in this world of influencer culture, right?
00:33:41.759 --> 00:33:49.200
Uh so I think a number of folks have a social media presence and and they're just trying to get a bunch of followers.
00:33:49.440 --> 00:33:55.200
And and I will admit that's a little disappointing to me that that is the origin.
00:33:55.440 --> 00:34:03.599
I think the commonality though is I don't think you do this if you don't have some sort of passion and awe and reverence for it.
00:34:03.839 --> 00:34:10.960
Uh but I I think the misconception is that everyone's professional, because that is not the case.
00:34:11.440 --> 00:34:12.000
Interesting.
00:34:12.320 --> 00:34:14.320
But they're doing their best, I think.
00:34:14.400 --> 00:34:14.559
Yeah.
00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:17.760
Hence the how you have to watch out for the humans driving.
00:34:18.000 --> 00:34:18.159
Yeah.
00:34:18.480 --> 00:34:20.239
Yeah, that's the most dangerous part.
00:34:20.400 --> 00:34:25.840
Uh, but it's it's funny to see, and then some of these people um make a living now.
00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:29.519
Um, and we have some pretty famous folks out there.
00:34:29.679 --> 00:34:32.800
The most famous chaser is his name is Reed Timmer.
00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:33.599
You could look him up.
00:34:33.679 --> 00:34:40.159
He's got millions and millions of followers, and I think he's attracted a number of folks to this industry.
00:34:40.480 --> 00:34:52.880
Um, and then you have some of these amateurs, like they paint their car with all kinds of storm text and strange colors, and they have all kinds of equipment.
00:34:53.039 --> 00:35:03.840
I uh the company I drive for uh our equipment is I mean, basically we just need Wi-Fi access so you can follow the radar, pay attention there.
00:35:03.920 --> 00:35:06.079
Um, and then we have ham radios.
00:35:06.159 --> 00:35:09.119
Um it's it's not much beyond that.
00:35:09.280 --> 00:35:11.039
Uh of course, oh go ahead.
00:35:11.360 --> 00:35:17.360
No, I was gonna say that I think the biggest misconception that I run into is people are like, oh, do you have one of those vans that drills into the ground?
00:35:18.079 --> 00:35:24.719
I was gonna ask you if you had one of those big balls that you release into the Twitter that lets all the other little balls out.
00:35:24.880 --> 00:35:26.320
You know, like that was super cool.
00:35:26.480 --> 00:35:26.960
Exactly.
00:35:27.679 --> 00:35:36.079
Yeah, so I think that is the biggest thing that I run into is people think when when I say, Oh, we went storm chasing, people go, Oh, did you catch one?
00:35:36.239 --> 00:35:39.119
Meaning, did did you go into it?
00:35:39.519 --> 00:35:43.840
And that is so not the goal for most storm chasers.
00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:46.480
You don't want to be inside of a tornado.
00:35:46.639 --> 00:35:50.000
For I don't know anyone, maybe researchers.
00:35:50.239 --> 00:35:55.519
I don't know how realistically like that twisters trying to send things up into a tornado.
00:35:55.599 --> 00:35:57.199
I don't know how often people are actually doing that.
00:35:57.280 --> 00:36:13.360
But the chasers that we talk about, you're really trying to be in an ideal world, stay ahead of it the whole time and watch it from the time it starts all the way through to maybe when it dies down, and at no point being close enough that you are getting rained on even.
00:36:13.840 --> 00:36:18.800
So you're kind of staying outside, just getting to see it, yeah, from a distance.
00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:23.039
So the amount of gear required for that is very little.
00:36:23.519 --> 00:36:31.840
Um, there are some people that you see out there that have the kind of, I don't know if you call them hail guards or like the they have kind of guards on their windshields or things like that.
00:36:31.920 --> 00:36:35.119
But that's the most extreme thing that you tend to see.
00:36:35.280 --> 00:36:43.360
That whole concept of drilling into the ground so that the tornado doesn't blow your car away is is pretty, I think, unrealistic.
00:36:44.400 --> 00:36:45.199
Yeah, it's Hollywood.
00:36:45.440 --> 00:36:45.760
Yeah.
00:36:46.079 --> 00:36:49.039
So that would be my biggest misconception, I think.
00:36:49.440 --> 00:36:59.199
So do you guys then work with the National Weather Service or another uh government or science-based organization that that you feed them information as well?
00:36:59.360 --> 00:37:02.400
Do they ask you for your sightings and knowledge?
00:37:02.480 --> 00:37:03.280
You know, what you saw?
00:37:03.519 --> 00:37:09.440
Yeah, one of the commitments, if you become a trained spotter, which is all I can say, those are my only credentials.
00:37:09.599 --> 00:37:16.079
I've done a basic training on weather spotting and uh and then I've picked up knowledge over the years.
00:37:16.320 --> 00:37:21.599
So yeah, I will send in a report to the National Weather Service if I have time.
00:37:22.000 --> 00:37:23.280
You're supposed to do that.
00:37:23.360 --> 00:37:26.559
Um, but most of the chasers are are doing that.
00:37:26.639 --> 00:37:30.480
Uh and yeah, we rely on the National Weather Service a lot.
00:37:30.639 --> 00:37:37.119
And um sadly, in the last under the this current administration, funding has been cut.
00:37:37.360 --> 00:37:42.079
And you're noticing this last tour noticed it the most.
00:37:42.159 --> 00:38:02.559
Um they're releasing fewer balloons on a daily basis, which collect so much of the data you need to make these forecasts, and that's gonna impact people's lives because I would say the last like 10 years we've saved a number of lives.
00:38:02.639 --> 00:38:10.639
I we as in the government, not not me, um, because the the warning system has gotten so much better.
00:38:10.719 --> 00:38:12.320
We had pretty good data.
00:38:12.480 --> 00:38:18.800
Uh so I think we're gonna be suffering the effects of this for a number of years, the cuts to the National Weather Service.
00:38:18.880 --> 00:38:21.679
Aaron Powell Because that's that's what fuels the warning system, right?
00:38:21.840 --> 00:38:22.000
Yeah.
00:38:22.239 --> 00:38:23.679
The information that they gather.
00:38:25.360 --> 00:38:25.920
Wow.
00:38:26.559 --> 00:38:26.719
Wow.
00:38:27.039 --> 00:38:28.400
You know, it's a it's amazing.
00:38:28.480 --> 00:38:38.960
Um the few who remain at the National Weather Service are doing a great job and they're doing their best, but you can tell they're a bit short-staffed and underfunded.
00:38:39.039 --> 00:38:39.199
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
00:38:39.360 --> 00:38:45.840
And in essence, then too, the work that you're doing, or when you guys are doing the storm chasing, the it's helping the scientists.
00:38:46.159 --> 00:38:46.800
What do they call it?
00:38:46.960 --> 00:38:47.599
What do they call it?
00:38:47.760 --> 00:38:48.320
Uh science.
00:38:48.639 --> 00:38:49.360
Citizen science.
00:38:49.679 --> 00:38:50.960
Oh, yeah.
00:38:51.119 --> 00:38:57.519
I don't know if I will claim that I've done much to help, but I think yeah, a number of these folks are helping.
00:38:58.320 --> 00:38:58.960
Yeah, that's awesome.
00:38:59.119 --> 00:38:59.280
Okay.
00:38:59.679 --> 00:39:01.119
Like again, I am an amateur.
00:39:01.840 --> 00:39:10.559
Well, no, I think the the thing that I didn't necessarily realize is it's not necessarily the National Weather Service that's out there saying, oh, there's a confirmed tornado.
00:39:10.639 --> 00:39:15.679
It's it's a lot of the chasers that are actually spotting, confirming there is a funnel cloud or something.
00:39:15.760 --> 00:39:16.719
And then they report that.
00:39:17.039 --> 00:39:18.079
And they report how that works.
00:39:18.400 --> 00:39:18.480
Yeah.
00:39:18.559 --> 00:39:19.840
So then that goes onto the radar.
00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:26.239
So I think that actually is a really important mechanism that I don't think it's not a government agency doing that work.
00:39:26.400 --> 00:39:31.599
It's the chasers that are the first ones to say this is exactly where it's happening and this is where it's moving.
00:39:31.760 --> 00:39:34.400
So yeah, yes, wow.
00:39:34.559 --> 00:39:34.800
Amazing.
00:39:35.119 --> 00:39:39.440
Yeah, chasers and fire departments, police departments, sheriffs, yeah.
00:39:40.639 --> 00:39:40.880
Yeah.
00:39:41.039 --> 00:39:41.280
Wow.
00:39:41.599 --> 00:39:43.280
What have we forgotten to ask you?
00:39:43.519 --> 00:39:45.679
Anything that we haven't covered?
00:39:47.280 --> 00:39:48.159
Oh gosh.
00:39:48.239 --> 00:40:00.079
I mean, I the one thing that I was curious, I don't know how much you want to get into like what creates the ideal conditions on a day for a chase, like what gets us excited?
00:40:00.159 --> 00:40:00.480
Yeah.
00:40:00.880 --> 00:40:02.719
Like one of the Yeah.
00:40:02.960 --> 00:40:05.840
So I think because this is out of our realm, okay?
00:40:06.239 --> 00:40:08.639
Yeah, it don't chase storms, yeah.
00:40:08.880 --> 00:40:15.280
Um so there's a fun little acronym, uh SLIM, that you often look at.
00:40:15.440 --> 00:40:19.199
So your S is shear, I'll explain that in a sec.
00:40:19.679 --> 00:40:25.360
L is lift, I is instability, and M is moisture.
00:40:25.679 --> 00:40:35.920
In order to get a rotating thunderstorm, a supercell, and one that can produce a tornado, you need all four of those conditions.
00:40:36.480 --> 00:40:50.719
So we've talked about moisture, uh, that part of the country, it's great, but sometimes, based on the jet stream, the flow of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico might be cut off, and so you don't have good moisture.
00:40:50.960 --> 00:40:53.039
Uh so you want good moisture.
00:40:53.519 --> 00:40:56.239
Uh so shear, we'll go back to the S.
00:40:56.639 --> 00:41:00.559
Shear is I didn't know much about this before I started chasing.
00:41:00.800 --> 00:41:09.280
Uh you need upper level winds to be basically perpendicular to the lower level winds.
00:41:09.519 --> 00:41:17.199
So the lower level winds in that part of the country coming from the south, southeast, or east would be ideal.
00:41:17.440 --> 00:41:35.760
And then if you have an upper level like trough is what they call it, where the winds, upper level winds are coming from like the southwest or the west, uh, that perpendicular, I'm doing a hand motion right now, causes causes the spin of these storms.
00:41:36.159 --> 00:41:36.880
When they connect.
00:41:37.199 --> 00:41:41.119
Uh, when once everything starts firing off, as we've talked about.
00:41:41.280 --> 00:41:45.840
So um lift is another piece here.
00:41:46.000 --> 00:41:48.719
So lift can be caused by a variety of things.
00:41:48.800 --> 00:41:54.480
Like here in California, when you get a thunderstorm in the summer, you often see them over the mountains, right?
00:41:54.639 --> 00:41:56.800
So the mountains are causing the lift.
00:41:56.960 --> 00:42:01.920
You need the rise, the moisture to be rising and then condensing.
00:42:02.000 --> 00:42:10.800
Uh so mountains are a good mechanism, but in that part of the country, it's more caused by um fronts or I'll call them dry lines.
00:42:10.880 --> 00:42:20.960
So you could have a cold front, uh dry line that comes off the Rocky Mountains, and that clashes with another mass of air, and that causes lift.
00:42:21.119 --> 00:42:28.159
So when those two different air masses collide, uh you could have outflow boundaries causing lift.
00:42:28.320 --> 00:42:32.320
Um and then instability is kind of a combination of things.
00:42:32.559 --> 00:42:34.400
We talked about afternoon.
00:42:34.639 --> 00:42:46.079
So you you want the sun to have been out during the day, heating up the ground, and that things just start percolating, and then what does warm air do?
00:42:46.239 --> 00:42:47.199
It rises.
00:42:47.360 --> 00:42:51.119
Um so yeah, that helps with this instability factor.
00:42:51.199 --> 00:42:52.480
There I won't go into the other.
00:42:52.960 --> 00:43:04.639
Yeah, but that's interesting because it's I at least I never even imagine all these factors, you know, whether it's it's the water, the moisture, the wind, the upper wind, the lower wind, the mountains.
00:43:04.800 --> 00:43:06.400
So everything plays into it.
00:43:06.559 --> 00:43:10.400
The geography, yeah, the everything, the flatness, the everything.
00:43:10.480 --> 00:43:11.599
I I so cool.
00:43:11.760 --> 00:43:13.519
Yeah, no wonder that's the perfect area then.
00:43:13.840 --> 00:43:14.079
It is.
00:43:14.320 --> 00:43:15.119
Yes, yeah.
00:43:15.519 --> 00:43:16.079
Wow.
00:43:16.400 --> 00:43:22.880
Is there other areas in the world that you're familiar with that um I know this you said this is the number one spot.
00:43:22.960 --> 00:43:26.559
Is there other areas that are, I don't know, similar or are producing more?
00:43:27.039 --> 00:43:28.960
Yeah, I hinted at Argentina.
00:43:29.199 --> 00:43:33.679
Um it's kind of difficult terrain, and I don't think they have much of a road network.
00:43:33.920 --> 00:43:40.159
But um now, of course, that's southern hemisphere, so the storms rotate uh clockwise there.
00:43:40.960 --> 00:43:47.119
So I at some point I would love to go during their their uh tornado season.
00:43:47.360 --> 00:43:59.360
Uh so they yeah, with Argentina, you have you know the moisture from like Brazil uh from the rainforest coming over, and then you have the Andes Mountains.
00:44:00.159 --> 00:44:00.800
To the west.
00:44:00.960 --> 00:44:05.119
So it's a similar dynamic of um the clashing of air masses.
00:44:05.280 --> 00:44:08.960
So you're looking for stuff like that for supercell thunder suns.
00:44:09.440 --> 00:44:11.440
And when is the season in Argentina?
00:44:11.840 --> 00:44:16.639
Oh, I think that's like October through January.
00:44:17.280 --> 00:44:18.159
So it's falling here.
00:44:19.039 --> 00:44:19.760
Yeah, that makes sense.
00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:20.239
Yeah.
00:44:20.400 --> 00:44:20.559
Yeah.
00:44:20.800 --> 00:44:20.960
Yeah.
00:44:21.360 --> 00:44:22.320
That does make sense.
00:44:22.559 --> 00:44:24.000
I think I'm right on that.
00:44:24.320 --> 00:44:24.960
Yeah.
00:44:25.519 --> 00:44:27.440
Again, I am not a scientist.
00:44:27.599 --> 00:44:32.400
Uh I'm just a wannabe, and I am totally in love with this.
00:44:32.480 --> 00:44:34.079
And I just become a kid.
00:44:34.239 --> 00:44:36.000
I'm so giddy during it.
00:44:36.159 --> 00:44:40.559
Like people kind of laugh because I'm a pretty chill human.
00:44:40.800 --> 00:44:45.679
Um, but something comes out in me during these, it's so different.
00:44:45.760 --> 00:44:46.000
Yeah.
00:44:46.159 --> 00:44:49.119
I mean, I remain pretty calm, but I'm giddy.
00:44:49.440 --> 00:44:49.760
Yeah.
00:44:50.159 --> 00:44:55.440
So you feel more giddy and joy than fear when you're in your chasing.
00:44:55.760 --> 00:44:56.960
But it there is a combo.
00:44:57.119 --> 00:44:57.679
Yeah.
00:44:57.920 --> 00:45:13.519
And uh the on our first chase, um, we had one day where we kind of got into a mess, um, and this storm was producing multiple small tornadoes kind of all around us.
00:45:13.760 --> 00:45:19.679
Uh they weren't necessarily life-threatening, um, although this is a little scary.
00:45:19.760 --> 00:45:33.119
And uh, one of them we're driving through it all, and all of a sudden our band our van starts shaking and our ears pop, and then we look back and we see this little tornado, and we realize, oh, we just drove through a tornado.
00:45:33.280 --> 00:45:33.519
Whoa.
00:45:33.840 --> 00:45:38.320
A little one, but the ears popping was like, oh wow, yeah, the pressure difference.
00:45:38.719 --> 00:45:39.679
Uh barometric pressure.
00:45:39.760 --> 00:45:40.320
Yeah, okay.
00:45:40.480 --> 00:45:40.719
Yes.
00:45:41.039 --> 00:45:49.039
Um but then we got out like, I don't know, 10 minutes later to look at more of the action, and you could see everything was spinning around us.
00:45:49.119 --> 00:45:57.119
The winds were getting very strong, and I got nervous and I shoved Alexa into the van because she's lighter than I am.
00:45:57.280 --> 00:46:02.559
And uh so that was like my moment of the most fear I think I've had.
00:46:02.960 --> 00:46:09.119
Um I'm trying to think I was gonna ask you what was the most the scariest moment you've had doing this?
00:46:09.280 --> 00:46:24.079
It sounds like Yeah, I think that um I I drove through 80 mile an hour um crosswinds uh on one of our storms a couple years ago, and that was challenging.
00:46:24.239 --> 00:46:26.960
I've yeah, just like holding on to the steering wheel.
00:46:27.440 --> 00:46:28.880
Do you have to have a special vehicle?
00:46:28.960 --> 00:46:35.920
Because a van strikes me as something that would be easily knocked over and picked up and no vans.
00:46:36.159 --> 00:46:43.840
Hey, they have a perfect safety record with uh this company I drive for, so yeah, I it is a good question.
00:46:44.639 --> 00:46:45.039
Wow.
00:46:45.280 --> 00:46:47.519
Yeah, so no, I'm just in love with it.
00:46:47.679 --> 00:46:49.280
Yeah, it shows.
00:46:49.440 --> 00:46:49.679
Yeah.
00:46:50.480 --> 00:46:51.840
So when's your next chase?
00:46:52.000 --> 00:46:53.679
If that's the right word, when's your next chase?
00:46:53.920 --> 00:46:56.480
Yeah, uh hopefully next May.
00:46:56.719 --> 00:46:56.960
Okay.
00:46:57.199 --> 00:46:59.760
And I'm hoping next year to do at least two.
00:46:59.920 --> 00:47:01.760
So probably one in May, one in June.
00:47:01.920 --> 00:47:02.159
Yeah.
00:47:02.320 --> 00:47:03.599
You're welcome to come.
00:47:04.159 --> 00:47:04.320
Yeah.
00:47:05.280 --> 00:47:08.400
You keep saying that, but we actually have like a robust wait list of people.
00:47:08.719 --> 00:47:09.519
Oh okay.
00:47:09.599 --> 00:47:12.480
So listen, listeners, don't be asking, can I come?
00:47:12.559 --> 00:47:14.320
You're gonna find somebody else.
00:47:15.199 --> 00:47:22.880
Yeah, and I'm not trying to start our own company because I've decided I don't want it to be a business, way too much pressure.
00:47:23.039 --> 00:47:24.960
So we'll just split costs.
00:47:25.039 --> 00:47:32.719
Um, and I'll continue driving for the company I drive for, just because I still learn so much from their meteorologists.
00:47:32.880 --> 00:47:33.280
Yeah, yeah.
00:47:33.360 --> 00:47:33.599
Love it.
00:47:33.840 --> 00:47:44.480
Well, and even thinking about the scariest part, I feel like when we did it for other people, there was, you know, scary weather, but I think the most adrenaline I was feeling was, oh, I want to show these people some things.
00:47:45.039 --> 00:47:53.119
Like I wanna, you know, we were really trying to get ourselves in the right position and to read all these things correctly.
00:47:53.199 --> 00:47:56.480
And I mean, I started anthropomorphizing all these storms.
00:47:56.639 --> 00:47:59.599
The my favorite one on our last trip, I was calling Lil Mama.
00:47:59.760 --> 00:48:01.280
I said, You got it, Lil Mama.
00:48:01.840 --> 00:48:03.519
You know, and you know what?
00:48:03.679 --> 00:48:05.119
I believed in her with all my heart.
00:48:05.199 --> 00:48:06.960
And she did end up dropping a tornado later.
00:48:07.199 --> 00:48:09.920
We didn't see it, but she did drop a tornado.
00:48:10.159 --> 00:48:15.119
So, but I think that feeling of, you know, we really want people to see something.
00:48:15.280 --> 00:48:20.639
And the thought of having a business where you're charging people and you don't show them anything.
00:48:20.800 --> 00:48:26.000
I mean, there was a tour, the company that Tony drives for, they were running a tour at the same time that we were.
00:48:26.079 --> 00:48:30.559
So they were dealing with the same conditions and there weren't tornadoes to be seen.
00:48:30.639 --> 00:48:35.599
So there were people that paid, you know, thousands of dollars, went on this tour, and didn't see anything.
00:48:35.679 --> 00:48:37.280
And with nature's in charge.
00:48:37.599 --> 00:48:37.760
Yes.
00:48:37.840 --> 00:48:41.920
And we thought, thank goodness we didn't, you know, charge people to do this.
00:48:42.159 --> 00:48:44.159
So it's yeah, I don't know.
00:48:44.239 --> 00:48:50.800
It's nice to be able to do it for fun and with people that you care about because a lot of the trip really isn't just chasing the storms.
00:48:50.880 --> 00:48:58.719
It's you're spending hours and hours with all these people in a van just talking about life, listening to music, you know.
00:48:59.280 --> 00:49:02.000
I learned to crochet in the van this summer.
00:49:02.159 --> 00:49:06.000
So, you know, so it really the storms are obviously a huge part of it.
00:49:06.079 --> 00:49:12.800
But I think the group that you're with and the the community, yeah, yeah, the kind of conversations that that ends up being a big part of it.
00:49:13.039 --> 00:49:16.480
Okay, the community are uh are we talking adrenaline junkie type people?
00:49:16.719 --> 00:49:17.360
I would think so.
00:49:17.519 --> 00:49:17.920
A little bit.
00:49:18.079 --> 00:49:20.159
A little bit I think mostly, yeah.
00:49:20.320 --> 00:49:24.719
Um I'm that too, but uh way different, way different stuff.
00:49:25.679 --> 00:49:26.880
This is not my gig, yeah.
00:49:27.760 --> 00:49:28.480
Yeah, yeah.
00:49:28.639 --> 00:49:30.800
They're also professional photographers.
00:49:31.519 --> 00:49:31.840
Yeah.
00:49:32.159 --> 00:49:35.760
That I mean, some of the photography out there is unbelievable.
00:49:36.000 --> 00:49:39.440
And I'm just using my iPhone and it does a good job.
00:49:39.519 --> 00:49:44.320
Um, but uh some of these people and they're also interested in capturing lightning.
00:49:44.400 --> 00:49:53.360
Uh so that will often be a thing if if the conditions are right, once it gets dark, you could stay kind of behind the storm and just watch the the lightning show.
00:49:53.679 --> 00:49:54.239
Wow.
00:49:54.480 --> 00:50:09.199
Um Yeah, and I think the thing that I one thing that's so beautiful about this is we will I don't think humans will ever be able to predict exactly where a storm is gonna pop off.
00:50:09.360 --> 00:50:13.519
We're gonna get close, you know, our well, as long as we invest in it.
00:50:13.840 --> 00:50:20.320
But there's always gonna be a mystery and like in this unknown, and then there will be many disappointing days.
00:50:20.400 --> 00:50:27.840
And I think the disappointment sometimes outweighs the j the joy, but that makes it worth it still.
00:50:28.239 --> 00:50:30.639
Yeah, well, that was, I think, my experience on this tour.
00:50:30.719 --> 00:50:35.280
The first tour we did was probably one of the best tours you could go on, right?
00:50:35.360 --> 00:50:38.480
I mean, we saw a storm every single day, we saw so many tornadoes.
00:50:38.719 --> 00:50:41.679
And after that tour, I thought, I never have to do this again.
00:50:41.840 --> 00:50:43.920
That was amazing, that was beautiful.
00:50:44.159 --> 00:50:46.559
But this last tour we did, I said, I gotta get back out there.
00:50:46.960 --> 00:50:52.239
Oh because we didn't really catch one, we didn't really get the payoff.
00:50:52.320 --> 00:51:04.159
So it is that, you know, when you don't quite get it, it's like, oh, I can do better next time, or I I could totally read that storm a little bit better, or we could have positioned ourselves a little bit differently.
00:51:04.239 --> 00:51:08.159
So I think it's that like almost that really gets you going.
00:51:08.239 --> 00:51:10.400
And I think that's what keeps people coming back.
00:51:10.559 --> 00:51:12.400
You know, you talk about who's doing this.
00:51:12.559 --> 00:51:12.960
Yes.
00:51:13.119 --> 00:51:16.400
The the people who come on these tours are repeats.
00:51:16.480 --> 00:51:22.400
There are so many people who come every single year and they book a year ahead of time and they know they always go on the same tours.
00:51:22.559 --> 00:51:24.159
Some people go on multiple tours.
00:51:24.320 --> 00:51:37.440
So they go on like three weeks in a row and they come out and they go tour after tour after tour in hopes that they're gonna catch something because so often you don't catch anything or you don't see kind of that big thing you want to see.
00:51:37.760 --> 00:51:40.960
And you know, these people are they're characters.
00:51:41.280 --> 00:52:04.320
I have never seen such an interesting collection because they're not necessarily united by the same kind of value that normally, if you go do a hobby together, if you're hiking together, if you are whatever, you have this kind of shared value in something beyond, you know, it might be I love being outside, I love being active.
00:52:04.559 --> 00:52:10.559
But this group of people, it's just not, it doesn't feel quite that way.
00:52:10.800 --> 00:52:14.880
There, there's so many things that can make you feel in awe of that weather.
00:52:15.119 --> 00:52:25.760
And, you know, as someone that now feels that and feels, you know, that kind of smallness or that wow, the the world is so big and these factors are so big and out of our control.
00:52:26.320 --> 00:52:29.920
The people who are drawn to this are drawn to it for such different reasons.
00:52:30.079 --> 00:52:33.119
Some are are very nerdy weather people, Tony.
00:52:33.280 --> 00:52:40.639
Some people are, you know, just really into the the art, the artistry of of capturing the pictures.
00:52:40.800 --> 00:52:42.480
It it's just so different for everyone.
00:52:43.599 --> 00:52:49.199
Yeah, so you get this really interesting mix of people who are chasing for such radically different reasons.
00:52:50.239 --> 00:52:58.159
It it is really funny to be in a van full of these people who uh may have really nothing else in common except that they want to see a tornado.
00:52:58.320 --> 00:52:59.599
So I love it.
00:53:00.079 --> 00:53:00.400
Wow.
00:53:00.639 --> 00:53:01.199
I love it.
00:53:01.519 --> 00:53:02.480
Awesome.
00:53:03.519 --> 00:53:04.239
Thank you guys.
00:53:05.199 --> 00:53:06.159
Thank you so much.
00:53:06.639 --> 00:53:07.920
I learned a tremendous amount.
00:53:08.000 --> 00:53:10.639
I I have to tell you, initially I thought storm chasing.
00:53:10.800 --> 00:53:21.119
I thought I I didn't know that I didn't I thought all kinds of storms, you know, like I said, hurricanes, but it makes sense now after talking to you guys that you wouldn't be chasing a hurricane, you know?
00:53:21.199 --> 00:53:22.239
That that makes sense.
00:53:22.480 --> 00:53:23.519
But I thank you.
00:53:23.679 --> 00:53:25.119
This is really interesting.
00:53:25.280 --> 00:53:25.920
Yeah, thank you very much.
00:53:26.320 --> 00:53:27.199
Thank you for your passion.
00:53:27.280 --> 00:53:27.440
Yeah.
00:53:28.000 --> 00:53:28.719
Happy chasing.
00:53:28.880 --> 00:53:30.320
Yes, yes.
00:53:30.639 --> 00:53:31.440
Happy chasing.
00:53:31.679 --> 00:53:34.400
I would say stay safe, but I don't think that applies to you guys.
00:53:34.639 --> 00:53:35.119
I don't know.
00:53:35.519 --> 00:53:35.920
I don't know.
00:53:36.159 --> 00:53:36.400
No.
00:53:36.880 --> 00:53:37.760
Thanks, you guys.
00:53:38.000 --> 00:53:38.559
Thank you.
00:53:39.440 --> 00:53:48.880
I think, like a lot of people, most of what I knew about storm chasing came from the movies like Twister, which, yes, you heard me mention several times.
00:53:49.119 --> 00:53:54.800
People racing across the plains, the tornadoes dropping out of the sky, and a whole lot of chaos.
00:53:55.119 --> 00:53:59.840
But talking with Alexa and Tony today, we got to see the real world behind all of that.
00:54:00.079 --> 00:54:06.239
There's science, there's forecasting, there's a whole community of people who share this incredible passion.
00:54:06.400 --> 00:54:12.000
People travel from all over the world to experience severe weather in the American Great Plains.
00:54:12.159 --> 00:54:14.559
There are even storm chasing tours.
00:54:14.800 --> 00:54:17.519
I had no idea that even existed.
00:54:17.920 --> 00:54:22.639
And yes, there can absolutely be those big dramatic moments.
00:54:22.800 --> 00:54:26.239
But what really struck me today was the passion behind it.
00:54:26.400 --> 00:54:38.400
The excitement of the first chase, everything Alexa and Tony have learned since, and the fact that after all these years, they're still excited about what might be waiting over the horizon.
00:54:38.719 --> 00:54:41.440
And this conversation comes at an interesting time.
00:54:41.599 --> 00:54:44.000
We're seeing more extreme weather around the world.
00:54:44.159 --> 00:54:50.559
Intense heat, flooding, powerful storms, and weather events showing up in ways and places that can surprise us.
00:54:50.800 --> 00:55:05.440
There's nothing entertaining about the destruction that these events can cause, but there is something fascinating about understanding the forces behind them and the people who have dedicated themselves to watching, studying, and experiencing them.
00:55:05.679 --> 00:55:14.719
I started this conversation asking why would anybody run toward a storm when the rest of us are trying to run away from it.
00:55:14.960 --> 00:55:19.119
I think after talking with Alex and Tony, I get it.
00:55:23.440 --> 00:55:31.920
Thank you both for taking us into your world, and thank you to everyone for joining us for another conversation that definitely made us say wow.
00:55:32.400 --> 00:55:37.280
Check out more episodes that will make you say wow at twochicksin ahoe.org.
00:55:37.440 --> 00:55:39.199
Thanks everyone for listening.
00:55:39.440 --> 00:55:41.840
Thank you, Vicky, my guest check.
00:55:42.320 --> 00:55:43.679
Take care of each other.