We're fans of...

If you go storm chasing, there are some things that can be very helpful. Here are some of our favorites:

Tornadoes are RARE events.  I don't care what you see on The Weather Channel, they're rare. When you consider the number of thunderstorms in the US every year is in the tens of thousands, while the the number of tornadoes is in the low 1,000, your chances of seeing one before your gas and hotel budget runs out, is not all that great. And if one does pop out of that magical wall cloud, it will likely be the EF-1 and EF-2 variety and not that monster that ate up half of the movie Twister's running time. Plus, most are often only on the ground for seconds.

Clearly, with those kind of numbers, you need a little help to pick out the best places to go. The National Severe Storms Center in Norman, Oklahoma (A hard town for a Husker to type out) posts their best guess every day. They usually identify an area and that area may include several states.  That's a bit broad for most storm chasers with a limited gas budget. So where do you go to tighten things up a little?

One of our favorite places is f5 data. This is a top-notch site for the really weather nuts. But, if you follow some of the tutorials and do what Andy says, your maps with pop out an area of interest that can narrow the big states area down to a few counties. There is a small fee to use his predictive stuff but he also offers a free version if you just want to sniff around. With gas going through the clouds, f5 not a bad investment.

Once you are in the neighborhood, you may want to watch stuff on your computer. If you can't afford the several thousand dollar set up for your own radar system, you can get good radar using your laptop, a reliable connection like Verizon, and a good software program. We like a couple of them. Weather Tap is one of our favorites and it's not that expensive.  One of the newer entries is Weather Defender. It's a little pricey an requires a good bit of memory but it really is pretty slick and has all of the bells and whistles.

The big boys also use Barons. Very cool. Bring money.

You can also get good weather information from the locals.  In Nebraska, a good source is Lincoln's 10-11 television. Their radar is really pretty up to the minute. You will find similar good ones in every state. The National Weather Service Doppler site is also good but spend some time learning before your go.

You can have expensive pretty looking stuff in your mobile command center but nothing beats a good pair of eyes looking outside of the car. Remember, some of these beasts of nature are only on the ground for a few seconds so if you are glued to radar a couple of minute old, you are going to miss the show!

Good luck and stay safe and of course, stay out of the way!

Here we go!

This is very exciting for me. I have finally believe what people who are really happy are saying about doing something successful...do what you love and the money will follow!


Well, I am not sure about the money part but this is what I love to do. I have done it by myself. I have done it for Lancaster County Nebraska. I have done it for friends. I have even done it for strangers. Sounds pretty strange, huh.


What I have done is follow weather and teach others about it. I absolutely love severe weather! And in Nebraska, that means tornadoes and thunderstorms. That's what Tornado Alley Chasers is all about. I am going to take five people out tornado chasing with me. We'll chase for a week starting May 1 and I will (hopefully) take five more people out each week until about the end of June when tornado season starts to slow down.


We'll chase in Nebraska, South Dakota, Colorado, and Northern Kansas. No, I don't plan to chase in Missouri or Arkansas because of the hills and the trees or Oklahoma and Texas because of the crowds. If you can't see the tornado coming, and you are stuck in traffic and can't get out of the way, why chase? I chase in wide open country where we can see the little storm bust the cap and become a super cell tornado producer that roars across the plains. Sound like fun?


The truth is, you may not see one. Tornadoes are really quite rare. So, expect some down-time. Some chasers take you to a hotel and wait for the next event. Not me. I love this country and you will get to see some of the beauty. If we are close, and the weather goes South, we can take side trips to The Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. If we sneak out to Wyoming, we might stop at the Devil's Tower. If we are in North Central Nebraska, the beautiful Niobrara River  and tubing might be on the agenda. And if we are near Denver, there are all kinds of things to do.


We'll also help out. Storm chasers have a bad reputation with emergency management folks because they drive by hurting people in order to catch the storm. Not us. We'll stop. We'll help. If people are hurt, they come first.


Don't expect to see me writing all of this either. Part of the adventure will be a "log blog" written by the people who go along. Won't that be fun?