I’ve chased eight tornadoes so far. My biggest “failure” happened on August 8, 2023 near Otis, Colorado. I was in a great position about a mile north of the developing tornado, but I transfixed on it as it moved away from me, failing to notice the baseballs in the RFD about to hit me from behind. I panicked and blasted west on the highway (basically did the inverse of a hook-slice maneuver), and though I didn’t lose any windows, I *did* lose my unobstructed view of the tornado. With no hope of catching up to it, I watched as the Yuma tornado, now 4 miles to my east, turned into a beautiful cone before disappearing behind the RFD.
That is a rough story! That happens to everyone in some way at least once though. That is the problem with being left of the path though, just no great options when you feel pinched. Making it through without damage was a clutch manuever though, means you made the 'right' decision even if it still feels wrong.
I remember Tushka that was almost a big mistake but you were able to make it out safe. I think the most important part was you corrected the problem and got out alive. Love your storm chases!
Ty so much for sharing this information to people it's so cool to watch but the devastation afterwards really hits ur heart to see their great I love watching weather but being stuck in it is deadly sometimes always be safe first ty ❤❤❤❤💜💙💯😊😊😊😊😊😊
absolutely love you guys. been subscribed to your news letter since highschool. i live in SE PA, so ive never seen one... living vicariously through you
I've been chasing for about 39 years or so. I've had some very close calls and made some stupid mistakes over the years. In my opinion, every chase where tornadoes are present or possible involves a little bit of luck. Not only being in the right place at the right time, but also not being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Things can go bad very quickly. Can't really give any advice on the matter because I don't want anyone to get killed following my advice. Only suggestion is if you aren't a good multitasker and able to make critical decisions based on a multitude of facts at a given moment in time, eventually one will get you. You can also do everything right and still pay the price. Mother makes the rules and she does not make exceptions.
Thank you for the information. I feel I'm ready to chase (been studying and preparing for years). I'm confident in my knowledge and understanding. Unfortunately I have some PTSD due to an incident when I was around 16 yrs old. One day we were leaving church and the sky to the west was green and appeared to "fall". My Mom decided we could beat the storm home. I told her we shouldn't but she wanted to anyways. Our car ended up being lifted off the ground 3 times for milliseconds that felt like forever. I could hear the roar and trees and debris was coming down behind us. I figured this was it. We weren't going to make it. My mom made a quick right turn just in time and we made it home. Later that day, when we walked down the road we were on, with huge trees down, she apologized to me saying she could have gotten us killed. So right. This is why I'm a little hesitant to go chase.
Understand that 100%! I'd say one of the best ways would be to approach anything like this slowly and from a distance. That way you can build up a bit of strength over time. Storms at a distance are still very cool and worthy of witnessing.
Like you, If I were ever out and about chasing tornadoes, I'd rather be at a distance to catch the entire system as it forms and take pretty pictures; I'll leave the "Cecil B. Demille" stuff for my RU-vid recommendations.
Went through that 5-20 started in Newcastle got it roping in and was confident is was going left of me. Nope kept getting bigger and the rfd got stupid it was time to go.
Yep. The biggest threat I think to chaser safety in many situations is not realizing the RFD is sometimes filled with baseballs or larger. It happens a couple of times a year and if you are tight on the budget that's enough to end a season.
