I've been keeping track of my storm chasing and providing accounts since 2005, my first year of truly hitting the road in search of storms. The first chase season provided me with 5 storm chases totaling 665 miles on the road. The highlight of this season was actually two chases that totaled nearly zero miles, being a part of a September 8th tornado that hit the Iowa State Univ. campus. Also although not being able to actually chase, I did view one of the November 12, 2005 tornadoes that went just north of Ames, IA. To read the entirety of any chase accounts, please click on the '2005 Accounts' below.
The chase season of 2006 saw a quick rise in activity, not necessarily within tornadoes or anything with the actual weather; but I found myself chasing more often with others and by myself. A total of 9 chases that year, with over a 50% success rating in at least seeing a severe convective storm. The previous year didn't even reach the 1000 mile mark with five chases, but this year saw nearly 2500 miles on the road covering different portions of 3 states. This years' highlight was mainly the numerous shelf clouds, however the final chase of the year led Josh Richardson and myself to the Nicollet, MN tornado on August 24, 2006.
Finally the 2007 chase season led me on a one month trip with Tim Samaras in partner with National Geographic and Iowa State University during the month of June as part of project TWISTEX. With this trip, I was not able to do much other chasing during the summer with various other duties that had to be completed over the summer break. This month of chasing was hampered by minimal setups and lack of severe storms overall. Nonetheless, covering over 8 states in a months time of chasing was a unique experience and was a pleasure to chase with many other great names. |
