Weather Gabe

Many people ask me, “Where can I learn how to chase storms?” It’s a great question, but if you look online, you won’t find a clear, straightforward answer. Most aspiring storm chasers have to piece together information from various sources and learn through trial and error in the field. While that hands-on approach can be rewarding, it often leads to mistakes—missing tornadoes or even getting into dangerous situations.

To help you get started more effectively, I’ve put together a simple plan to become a skilled tornado chaser as quickly as possible. Here are the three key steps:

• Build your knowledge and skills
• Prepare for the chase
• Start chasing storms

Before we dig into the details, let’s talk about why learning by trial and error can hold you back—and even put you in danger. 

(Stay tuned for a big announcement at the end of this newsletter!)

The Pitfalls of Learning to Chase Storms by Trial and Error

I grew up in the Twister era of storm chasers, and I’ll be honest—it lit...

This has been an absolutely crazy week or so, hasn't it?  And it looks like we're just getting started!

Check out Tomer Burg's animation of the last week's storm reports!

A quick look at SPC storm reports from the highly active - and unfortunately devastating - stretch of severe weather over the last week that is still ongoing: pic.twitter.com/YuyQWctk34

— Tomer Burg (@burgwx) May 4, 2024

THE YEAR OF THE TORNADO

Over the last several months, meteorologists had been suggesting that 2024 would be a big tornado year.  A lot was made of the impact of high sea-surface temperatures in the Western Gulf of Mexico and the transition from El Nino to La Nina.

But as March rolled into April, below normal tornado activity continued. Several big events occurred, but photogenic tornadoes were few and far between.

One exception was a local outbreak of tornadoes that struck Iowa on April 16th. Paul Spomer caught this amazing, sinuous tornado just north of the surface low:

CAREER DAY in No

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