Storm Chasing

 

 

 

Click here to track my position and view live streaming video on chase days!

Updated 13 February 2011: 2005 and 2006 chase logs and photos are all posted! Look for 2011 next!

Updated 12 February 2011: 5 May, 4 May, and 24 April 2007 chase logs and photos posted.

How did I get interested in storm chasing?

I started storm chasing on the Southern Plains in 2005, but I saw my first tornado on 3 July 1998. The tall, skinny tornado blew right past my family's farm in Ellensburg, Washington. Although I was terrified at the time, I was fascinated as to what could have caused a tornado to form outside of Tornado Alley. I watched every tornado documentary that was on TV, and even tried my hand at chasing down a few dust devils (hey, any rotation is better than no rotation!).

In the summer of 2005, I flew out to Oklahoma to work on an undergraduate research project for several weeks. I did a little bit of chasing with some experienced chasers in 2005, and quickly became hooked. In the summer of 2006, I came back to start my M.S. in meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. After a couple more chases in 2006, and trying to learn as much as I could about storm chasing, I began acquiring equipment and taking my own car out chasing in 2007. Usually I partner up with exchange students from England and Australia, though more recently I have started teaming up more with fellow grad students from OU.

Here's a December 2010 article about my storm chasing from the Yakima Herald Republic, and here's a Facebook link to scanned images of a January 2011 article from the Ellensburg Daily Record, newspapers for central Washington.

What equipment do I use when chasing?

Click on a year in the table below to view chase logs, photos, and videos.

Note: Pretty much any day that I chase and see severe weather and/or cool storm structure, I consider a success. That being said, here are some of my storm chasing numbers. Some of these numbers are estimates.

Largest tornado: 1.7-mile-wide EF5 (Greensburg, Kansas, May 4, 2007)

Largest hail: ~4-inch-diameter (northwest Oklahoma, May 4, 2007)

YEAR TORNADOES TORNADO DAYS 1+ INCH HAIL CHASE DAYS MILEAGE HOURS MILES/TORNADO HOURS/TORNADO
1998
1
1
0
0
0
0.0
0
0.0
2005
1
1
0
3
1,260
26.5
1,260
26.5
2006
0
0
0
2
680
14.5
∞
∞
2007
8
3
3
6
3,005
69.0
376
8.5
2008
0
0
0
6
2,725
58.5
∞
∞
2009
5
3
2
14
6,060
132.5
1,212
26.5
2010
7
5
6
27
14,960
335.0
2,137
48.0
2011
3
2
0
9
3,700
77.5
1,233
25.8
TOTAL
25
15
11
66
32,390
713.5
1,296
28.5

Questions? Comments? Email me at: webmaster@greenskychaser.com

© 2009 - 2011 by Rebekah LaBar. All rights reserved.