A Brief History of Storm Chasing
By Sandra Coleman and Sam McCloud, PhD
N
The Galveston disaster, along with a growing number of deadly tornadic events, prompted the
public to seek government assistance. In the late 1930's Coast Guard cutters began patrolling the
Gulf of Mexico, seeking out tropical weather. In July of 1943, Colonel Joe Duckworth and Lieutenant
Ralph O'Hair of the US Army Air Corps flew an AT-6 into a hurricane off the
coast of Galveston, "Just for fun," according to Duckworth. Ironically, a B-25 crew had also
conducted an unauthorized flight into the same storm. (Storm chasers never change!)
Offical reconnaissance of tropical weather began in 1944 and continues today, conducted by the
53rd. Weather Reconnaissance Squadron based in
Biloxi, MS.
Hobbyist Chase Pioneers: The concept of chasing storms for personal enjoyment and adventure began in the early 1950's. One of the first hobbyist storm chasers was Roger Jensen. Jensen conducted his first storm chase in the summer of 1953 when his father drove him to a thunderstorm near Fargo, North Dakota. He was hooked after that.
He began photographing every storm he could find. His photography included everything from a mile-wide tornado to a softball-sized hailstone. He once stated he was "Born loving storms." Jensen passed away in April of 2001.
Another pioneer chaser considered by many to be the true "father of hobbyist storm chasing," is David Hoadley. Mild mannered and always the gentleman of chasing, David Hoadley's interest in storms began in the mid-1950's in Bismark, North Dakota where he lived as a teenager. He began to chase regularly in 1965. His first tornado interception occurred on June 25, 1965. In 1977 Hoadley started
the first publication for storm chasers, Storm Track. Hoadley was one of the first hobbyist chasers to draw media attention when he was featured on a National Geographic special. Like many "pre-laptop chasers" David
relied on an important talent -- often overlooked by modern chasers, a natural instinct to pick the right storm. Hoadley works as a budget analyst for the government -- taking time off to chase every spring -- with the same enthusiasm of 1965. Hoadley
once commented that one of his fears was that storm chasing would become a thrill seeking sport -- like skydiving or base-jumping.
Scientific Chasers:
One of the first people to make a substantial connection between chasing storms and science was Neil B. Ward. In the early 1950's, Ward had already shown the signs of a man hooked on vortices. During family vacations in the Southwest, he would watch for dust devils. If he happened to see one nearby, he would take the family on an impromptu chase, driving the car towards the dust cloud. It was also during this period that Ward began to chase thunderstorms, occasionally inviting his neighbors to ride along.
On May 4, 1961, Ward conducted one of the most important storm chases of his life. After making arrangements to ride in an Oklahoma Highway Patrol unit, he began tracking a storm that produced a large, multiple-vortex tornado near Geary, Oklahoma. Using the patrol car's radio, he relayed information directly to the Weather Bureau in Oklahoma City. His detailed documentation and reports were able to correlate the infamous "hook" echo seen on weather radar with his real-time observations of the tornado. This memorable chase proved just how critical the role is that chasers play in severe weather research.
Ward became one of the nation's leading tornado research scientists and designed a laboratory tornado simulator that eventually produced the world's first simulated multiple vortices.
While chasers like Hoadley, Jensen and Ward were tracking storms in the 1950's; the government soon realized the public was in need of an early warning system for dangerous weather. In 1952, the Weather Bureau (renamed National Weather Service in 1967) organized the Severe Local Storm Forecasting Unit in Washington, D.C., and the first tornado forecasts were issued. In 1959, the first weather radar was commissioned, and in 1960, the first weather satellite, TIROS I, was launched. It was also during this period that local "spotter" networks were established. As a consequence, the first volunteer chasers/weather watchers were organized.
In 1964, the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) was established by the federal government in Norman, Oklahoma, to work in conjunction with the University of Oklahoma Department of Meteorology. The goals of the NSSL were to advance the understanding of thunderstorms and to improve detection of severe weather. In 1972, "The Tornado Intercept Project" or TIP, was initiated, and the nation's first group of scientific tornado chasers was organized. On April 14, 1972, the first chase day for TIP, Neil Ward was buried. He had died two days earlier of a heart ailment.
By the late 1970s, the NSSL chase teams had intercepted several tornadoes. Special "chase" vans were deployed, allowing researchers to track and collect scientific data and to film severe weather. Researchers also began applying Doppler radar, a breakthrough method for measuring internal precipitation and wind velocities. Spotter and chaser reports again proved important in correlating radar signatures to actual weather phenomena.
In 1977, Howard Bluestein, the guru of contemporary scientific tornado chasers, began his research at NSSL. He set out to answer the "big question" that has plagued scientists and chasers for years: Why do some thunderstorms produce tornadoes while others do not? From 1981 through 1983, his small group of chasers worked with a device nicknamed "TOTO." (The Totable Tornado Observatory, named after Dorothy's dog from The Wizard of Oz.) TOTO was a 400-pound package of weather-sensing instruments encased in a protective shell. It was designed to be placed in the path of a tornado and collect data while surviving the winds. Despite three chase seasons, TOTO was only brushed by a passing tornado. Scientists decided that placing the cumbersome device in the path of a tornado was dangerous, if not impossible. In 1987, Bluestein and his chase team began using a portable Doppler radar for close-up storm measurements.
In the mid-to-late 1990's the National Severe Storms Laboratory initiated operation "VORTEX." headed by research scientist Erik Rasmussen. Rasmussen led a large group of scientists and volunteers equipped with a fleet
of specially equipped vehicles and 2 aircraft on the world's largest organized scientific expedition. VORTEX stuck
chasing gold in 1995 when the "armada" intercepted a tornado outbreak in West, Texas, collecting
comprehensive data.
In the late 1990's and continuing today, scientists including Josh Wurman of the University of Oklahoma, use mobile Doppler radar units mounted on heavy duty trucks. (Also called DOW's or Doppler on wheels). On May 3, 1999 during a tornado outbreak near Oklahoma City, Wurman and his chase team measured a tornadic wind speed of 318
mph, the fastest storm-related wind speed ever recorded.
Chasing for fun and adventure! It was not until the late 1970's that the modern concept of "recreational" or "hobbyist" storm chasing evolved. The majority of pre-1990's chasers pursued storms for the pure "love of it."
Chasers were regarded as passing tourists -- rarely seen along the side of a lonely Plain's highway snapping pictures of storms. Some chasers were meteorology students or worked for the Weather Service or news stations. Prior to the late 1980's no one made a living from chasing storms alone. A few hard core chasers worked part-time jobs in the off season so they could chase in the spring. The number of chasers grew slowly
into the 1980's. An occasional newspaper or television story about chasing increased the ranks. One of the reasons for the limited number of chasers prior to the late 1980's was the unavailability of
weather and forecasting data. Besides a morning television broadcast on PBS, a weather radio and an occasional visit to a
Weather Office, there were no laptops or cell phones. Chasing required, to a large degree, a natural ability
to be in the right place on the right storm.
Chasing for living:
The first storm chaser to gain international media exposure was
newspaper photojournalist and business entrepreneur Warren Faidley. Faidley began pursuing
severe weather in the mid-1980's as a newspaper photojournalist.
Faidley's career and ensuing publicity was launched in part by an
amazing photo he captured of a lightning bolt hitting a light pole less than 400 feet away
from him. (The shot nearly killed him). Life Magazine published the photo in 1989, billing him as a
"storm chaser." In 1989 he formed Weatherstock® the
first
news, stock picture, film and video agency to specialize in severe weather coverage. Thus, by being in the right place at the right time in chasing history, Faidley became the first, full-time storm chaser -- making his living solely from chasing storms.
For over 30 years, the world of storm chasing was small and intimate, conducted by scientists, photographers and those who simply loved the adventure... but as Dave Hoadley had predicted.... this could not last.
The "post-Twister" generation: By the spring of 1997 the storm chasing genie was out of the bottle.
An explosion of hobbyist chasers occurred because of three reasons: The advent of laptop computers,
increasing media exposure
and most influential, the
release of the motion picture "Twister" in the spring of 1996. Driven by the unrealistic idea of intercepting unlimited tornadoes in a single day, while taking a break to eat a
steak at Aunt Em's (or take a shower), hundreds of inexperienced people began to invade the Plains.
Tour groups sprung up overnight, offering chase adventures
for a fee. (Some tour groups are actually quite professional, offering a safe alternative for inexperienced persons). News stations began to compete for coverage, deploying customized chase units and helicopters. Laptops, Internet data, satellite receivers and cell phones allowed anyone to gain instant access to
current data -- something the pioneers could only have dreamed of. Literally overnight -- anyone could be a storm chaser. As one veteran storm chaser noted, The great "post-Twister" chase rush was on!
The growing pains of a new entity such as storm chasing were inevitable. News groups and webpages devoted to chasing grew like weeds -- mostly on a positive note. But to the dismay and embarrassment of respectable chasers and the viewing public, a few newsgroups and websites became bully pulpits and cesspools for those who were jealous of other's success or notoriety. A number of "pre-Twister" chasers moved into the shadows to avoid the feeding frenzy. The imbecilic Internet behavior, mixed with the on-the-road antics of a few loose cannons, offered the curious public (and law enforcement) a less than positive view of the new generation of hobbyist chasers. (Although the majority do chase and act responsible). A well respected chaser recently
proclaimed, "If something is not done soon to weed out the troublemakers and police ourselves,
the future of chasing will not be determined by us, but rather, by state legislatures."
As for the future of
storm chasing it is... literally, up in the air.
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