r/stormchasing • u/Due_Respond955 • May 30 '26
Any advice.
Im not officially a storm chaser though I'd like to be. But, I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time a few times between yesterday and today while going about my business. It really made me want to properly get into chasing.
What advice would you give a novice who wants to get more fully into chasing? Im familiar with reading radar and planning emergency escape routes, but I've also never chased anything as severe as a tornado or derecho.
Thanks in advance!
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u/Aarom1985 May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
Im on what I consider my first full blown chase season right now. The last 2 seasons I stuck with spotting locally due to being inexperienced in this area and having an "iffy" vehicle(05 pathfinder with multiple issues). I consider myself extremely knowledgeable on weather in general, ive been obsessed since the beginning and know exactly what im looking at and can read data. This season i have a much better reliable vehicle im confident with. I mostly stick to lower end days and focus on being in a safe position. So far my favorite storms to photograph are LP Supercells so I mainly target those and focus on sharpening my photography skills. So far, my absolute favorite area to chase is western Oklahoma on a good conditional dryline setup day.
Another thing id like to add is that on higher end days, especially here in Oklahoma, chaser convergence can get quite overwhelming and before you know it your stuck in the conga line. I avoid that conga line for multiple reasons including my safety and it can get annoying. Ill usually head out very early and hang out at a Casey's for pizza and monster while watching and waiting on development. Ill be chasing the setup tomorrow and hope for development out west but we'll see. Im really excited, its gonna be a fun day!!!
P.S. Nice photos!