RECAP.... (Finally)
The long "Awaited" (by some) recap of Bat's Storm Chase. Here we go.
Tempest Tours:
We picked Tempest Tours because our local weatherman (Dallas Rains - KABC-7) has toured with them on several occasions, and gives a super recommendation. Others on the trip indicated they "searched" the WEB, and Tempest was at the top on the list and sounded good. Several have toured with Tempest on other occasions. And many had personal recommendations from friends
Whatever the reason that Tempest was chosen, it was the RIGHT reason. I could not have been more pleased.
Tempest Tours is top notch and very professional. If you want the REAL Storm Chase experience, I recommend Tempest Tours.
The Chase Crew: (L to R)
Back Row:
Bob: (Minnesota or maybe Wisconsin) Our fearless leader... except when it came to Lightning. Outstanding and very Professional Job! Bob is very interested in Aurora (Northern Lights). You can see his work on YouTube... he is "TornadoBob"
Gretchen: (New Hampshire) Licensed Helicopter Pilot... Just decided to take lessons one day, and now she's Storm Chasing
Jenna: (Nebraska - now, recent move) Novelist and Staff Member. Was the "Play by Play Color Commentator" of Van #2, and a Sweet Hart
Barton: (California) 4 time Chaser and a 3rd Baseman in College. Sounded like he was a pretty good ball player, and asked some good Umpire questions
Chris: (Illinois) Staff and Driver of Van #2. Quite type and introduced himself as being "Bi-Polar". I didn't talk much with Chris (sorry Chris) but you could tell he was focused.
Lynn: (Pennsylvania) Middle School Science teacher and general good guy. Except for one day, she was on Van #1 with me.
Kristy (standing at the end of the sign in green): (Florida) Novelist. Every group has to have a Mr. Grumpy (me) and a Miss Congeniality. This title went to Kristy. I don't think I ever saw her completely still. A lot of energy and super personality
Front row:
Lee/Batman: (California) Mr. Grumpy (of course). First timer, Oldest guy on tour. Had a great time... well worth the money and time. NOTICE: I've got our D62 COLORS on (cap)
Danny: (California) Staff / Driver Van #1. Upbeat and very likeable. Weather background and past Chaser. Lives local in Calif. We might Chase local storms.
Jennifer: (Canada) Multiple previous Chaser. Lawyer. She sorta threatened to take the Canadian Border Agents to court if they didn't let us cross the border. We lost a storm because of their delay.
Dee Ann: (Georgia) Nice lady. Local TV and Radio personality (weather). Currently runs her own business
Rebecca: (Georgia) Guest of Dee Ann and her niece. Another gal that was moving all the time.
Misha: (Georgia) Dee Ann's niece. She and Rebecca were always exploring. The 2 girls seemed to have had a good time.
Stacy: (California) 6 or 7 time Chaser. Lives local (LB) and likes Joe Josts... That says it all, and makes her a pal.
Kelly: (Texas) Pro Photographer specializing in Clouds and Landscapes. Quite. Didn't get to talk with him much. He was very focused on his photography. His WEB site: www.clouds365.com
Days:
Travel: 2
Chase: 7.25
Total: 9.25
Longest Drive Day: 500+ miles
Miles Driven: 3,400 (approximate)
States Visited: 6 plus Canada
Basic Terrain Configuration: FLAT
Motels stayed in:
Questionable Locations: 2
Acceptable to Good Locations: 5
Motels with KeyCards: 5
Motels with REAL Keys: 2
Number of times I walked off with REAL Key: 1 (still have it)
Latest Check-In: 10:30pm
Motels with WiFi: All of them (WOW!)
Strangest Floor Plan: Large "LONG" room with 2 Queen beds. The beds were separated by the Bathroom and Closet, so it was like a Suite with NO DOORS. The TV was mounted on the wall directly across from the Bathroom door, and COULD NOT be seen by either bed or any chair in the room. You could see the TV by sitting on the toilet and leaving the Bathroom door open.
Best Meal: 3 (anytime we could SIT DOWN as a group)
Subway Sandwich Stops: 4 (most lunches were "Grab and Go"
Worst Meal: All the rest (chips, energy bars, corn nuts, junk). We ate "On the go" a lot
Storms:
Deployed properly = 1 Chased and set up on this storm several times over 3 or 4 hours... and made the trip well worth while.
Viewed from Distance = Many
Chased and got close = 3
Rain = Several rain storms
Hail = 2 Hail storms (well not storms really... it Hailed)
Wind = Yes
High Wind = 1 (very high) Interesting. We would "Set UP' in front of the storms direction and wait. Then the wind and lightning came. We'd stay until the lightning got to close or the wind was so strong that we could no longer stand by ourselves. We'd jump in the Vans, move 5 miles or so, and set up again. It was GREAT!
Great Sunsets = 5
Really Great Sunsets: 2
Great Cloud Formations = Lost Count
Typical Day: Morning get up between 0600 and 0700. Meet for morning briefing between 0730 and 0830. On the road by 0930 (at the latest). Drive to potential Storm locations. Storms happen in the late afternoon and early evening, so we would drive all day to get to a location and "HOPE" for something to develop. Bathroom breaks as needed, Sit down meal when possible (see above), change of plans and destination often. Because we were in Northern Latitudes, it stayed light longer, so we were able to Chase up until 2100 to 2130 hours (9:30pm)
OK, that's it. I'm starting to sound like a Lawyer... Loving the sound of my own voice :-)
To sum up... I had a terrific time, the only thing missing was an actual TORNADO. Thank You my sweet Lauri for the super (Accumulation of 2 Anniversary's, Birthdays, Father's days, and Christmases) gift. You did good! ! ! ! !
Would I do it again? Oh yeah... different week, but definitely YES.
Thanks for following along... Hope you enjoyed it.
Batman
