Question about stormchasing

[SMNederlandTX]

Hi,

I have a niece who has always been interested in weather. Mostly tornados, hurricanes, anything that could cause damage to something.... . Anyway, ever since she first saw the movie twister she has wanted to be a stormchaser. She is going to be a senior in high school when she returns back this fall and I was wanting to know, to be a stormchaser, what educational background will she need? I know she will need some college. But, what major would she need to take to become one? I also think she would be just happy to drive the vehicle chasing the storm....I am not sure if anyone would hire her if she did not have a college education though, or would they?

Thank you,

Susan

[Ed Mahmoud]

I don't think all storm chasers are met students, but it seems, strictly from watching TV, having never chased myself, OU in Norman and its met program is the place to be.

And I don't like OU. I am a Longhorn alum...

[pojo]

Texas A & M along with Oklahoma have met programs. If she is going to be a chaser, then at a minimum she would need to be a met student. As for tornado chasing, OU and possibly TAMU have spring tornado chases.

As for the Hurricane choices, South Alabama, Florida State & Miami (FL) have great Met programs. I don't know if the schools have Hurricane chases.

[Aslkahuna]

To name a couple of very well known stormchasers, Warren Faidley was never a Met Student when he started chasing and neither was Jim Leonard. Both, however, made the effort to learn on their own the knowledge necessary to be a chaser. If one is going to chase with a research or student group then yes one needs to be a Met Student-one can go on a chase tour (expensive) with no Met knowledge at all. There are many chasers who are amateurs in the sense that they are not now or plan to become Mets so that is no a necessary requirement. For hurricanes, Hurricane Josh (as he is known elsewhere) is a successful chaser of hurricanes but while knowledgable about them is certainly not a Met but is rather a businessman.

Steve

[brunota2003]

Is she a Skywarn Spotter? That would be a good start at learning storm structure (something she NEEDS to learn if she is serious about chasing on her own). I know a lot of ham radio clubs have Skywarn sections (for passing along reports), and judging she might be in Texas? I am sure there are at least a couple involved who chase, and she can try asking them questions about it (and perhaps could take her out once to see if she likes it?).

[Jason Foster]

Storm Chasing does not require meteorology. Many who study meteorology do not want to or have never chased storms. There are many different reasons to chase. Sometimes it's not even necessary to chase the storm itself, if all one wants to see is the damage and mayhem left afterward. I personally don't like meteorology...I find it boring and is just not my thing. My background/profession is Architecture.

I think the best thing for this person to do is start looking into books, and online resources. She should start reading good chase related forums and sites. Stormtrack has a great forecasting area (even if you don't like meteorology, you do need some forecasting skills), and pick up a few books. I great one to start out with is Tim Vasquez's brand new edition of the Storm Chaser Handbook.

I recommend those before Skywarn....no offense to the Spotters...but Skywarn is for spotters, not chasers, and the quality and focus are all wrong for a chaser....and maybe a waste of time if just start. However, I do recommend it at some point before going out to chase for the first time, because all chasers have the ethical responsibility to report severe weather when they are witnessing it, and they need to know exactly how to and what to report when doing so.

As far as driving: It is of the utmost importance that she get a lot of training and experience. She should not try and drive on her own before at least one entire year of chasing with someone else. I have had one apprentice already fall victim (well his car..he wasn't hurt at all) to the dangerous conditions of storm chasing. Recently one storm chaser was killed while on his way to a chase (non-weather related accident). I highly suggest taking your daughter to a professional driving school that has training for wet weather conditions, and has a track where she can learn how to steer out of a spin at high speeds. I'm talking about the courses usually offered at a local rally (SCCA) race track....like Summit Point in West Virginia. Driving is the single most important skill a storm chaser must possess at the highest levels possible. Wet roads, muddy roads, debris on roads, driving in high winds are all (and more) conditions a chaser encounters...and can lead to tragedy is seconds to someone unprepared.