This page has been set up to help you learn the ins and outs of weather and its effects.  Please be sure to check out the links I have provided, as there is a lot of information to absorb.  For those who see and hear all those terms and want to know what the heck all that means, I have provided a link to probably the most comprehensive glossary of weather terms from NOAA.  This link has a glossary of nearly everything.

In addition, I talk about storm spotting and chasing.  To me, there is a diffeence between the two.  Spotting is geting those ground reports, where chasing is actually going out and chasing down a storm.  Both are extremely dangerous.  Please read the link on safety.

One word should come to mind 100% of the time when chasing or spotting severe weather...

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to get what some refer to as the Master of Storm Chasing, Charles Doswell III.

This is a true recount of an experience I will probably never forget. I was a trained spotter, and thought I had it all together when that series of storms came rolling in. However, I quickly realized I was wrong...very wrong!

On a rather quiet morning, I sat at my computer and in front of the television checking up on a possibility of severe weather later in the day. I was getting excited, and thought to myself that I had better prepare myself and my vehicle for a spotting trip. I looked through my boxes; one of which had medical equipment (I had basic medical training), including bandages, blood pressure kit, etc. All was in order as I always made sure of. I then went to my storm spotter box. Kinda large to some, but had everything I could possibly think of, including flashlights, batteries, radios (including my handheld Ham radio), and rain wear. Yep, it's all there. Oops! Almost forgot the maps and GPS unit! Gotta know how the get there, and get back!

Back inside I go, getting back to the computer, checking my GRL radar online. I split the screen so I could view the radars from Houston/Galveston (HGX) as well as the GRX (Central TX) It was heating up...with a squall line building out past Columbus. I better get ready to head out! Once I saw the line get within 40 miles form home, I loaded up the snack bag with food and drink, checked the gas tank...full. My heart began to pace a little faster, knowing this could be my first major event since I had taken that training. But, I just knew deep in my gut, I was forgetting something.

Out on the freeway, all was normal. The sky out west was beginning to show signs of something fixing to happen. The farther out I got, the more the sky looked angry. I got out to just about 30 miles, listening to the Skywarn Net on the Ham. Just a bunch of jawjacking. Once I made it around the bend, I saw something I had only seen in magazines...a true rotating supercell!

It had the same shelf look, the same base cloud, and the same green sky as I had seen in print and TV. But, this time it is real, and directly in front of me! I knew I had to get to the other side as quickly as I could, and not be in its path. Okay Jeff, think...what was it they told you at the only Skywarn training meeting to do when you are confronted like this? Now, the adrenaline is flowing as fast as I was driving the backroad, and that was pretty quick! I was looking at the GPS on the dash, looking for a road or highway I could recognize. Nothing there. Well, now it's time to turn around and head back.

I then heard on the radio this cell was moving nearly 45 miles per hour. Heck, I'm going 60, so I should be able to outrun this without a problem...WRONG! I didn't take into account I was not on a straight road. With all the bends in the road, I might as well had been going 30. Now, I look at the GPS, praying there is a road heading east, so I could turn away from the big green monster. The Man above gave me that road, and I took it. The rain had not hit yet, so I was driving on dry pavement, and I could get a little speed.

Well, I finally realized I had not reported this cell over the radio, and then pulled the mic and began to speak. I had to take several deep breaths to make sure I could get the right information out. I remembered the who, what when and where to report. No problem. I was asked by the Net Control Operator (NCO) if I could give a better location. Hmm, there was corn on the left, and rice fields on the right. I explained that I was not exactly sure, and could they see this cell on radar? They said they did see a cell, but were not sure if it was severe in nature. I told them they could rest assured that yes, this was a bad boy.

I glanced at the GPS so happily displaying my location, and I saw my highway only a few miles ahead. I came to a stop to look back at the storm, and what I saw scared the bajeebies out of me. That cell was even larger, and right on my tail. Off I go, like a light at bedtime...flying down that road, looking for a place I could escape the path. Once I hit the highway, I was able to go in a direction that would take me out of the path. I reported back to the NCO my new location. What I heard next was the one thing that made me realize that I was so so wrong for going out looking for the storms. "You have been staying just ahead of a tornadic thunderstorm for over 20 miles, and you need to keep going on that highway to get out of its path!" All I needed to hear there!

Well, I finally got in a safe spot, stopped and got out of my vehicle. When I looked at that green machine produced by Mother Nature, I was in awe. It was so big...so big that it looked like it was half the size of Texas! The winds began picking up, and it was a chilly kind of wind. "Outflow Boundry" I thought to myself. I felt so proud that I remembered some of those fancy terms! What comes with the winds of an outflow boundry? Rain! And lots of it! It was raining so hard, I could not see out the windows of my SUV.

I decided to head southeast, which I knew would get me towards the rear flank of the storm. I made it to a blue sky area. I was nearly sweating bullits, because I was driving in a true 'blinding' rainstorm. I stopped and got out again. I looked towards the north, and all I saw was dark sky. I scanned the skies back, and my jaw nearly dropped. "Oh my God! A funnel cloud!" I said outloud. I ran back to the truck, and grabbed the mic, and began talking. Who am I? What do I see? and Where the Hell am I? I caught my breath again, and told the NCO where I was. They thanked me for the info. Not but a couple minutes go by, and my Weather Alert radio toned. A tornado warning is issued...from my report!

About that time, a DPS vehicle with 2 officers come up behind me. The passenger side officer stepped out and asked if I was okay. Without saying a word, I pointed up and over a little. He looked over that way, called to his partner to get out and take a look. He complied. They looked at me, said thanks, and left...in a rather quick fashion! I got in my truck and followed them a little ways. I realized I was not going in the right direction to keep up with my storm (I called it in afterall!).

A quick U-Turn and back to the storm I went. As I was driving along, I saw an officer I knew standing outside his car, looking out at the storm. I told him what I was doing and he basically called me a suicide junkie for doing that. He was right! What he didn't see when looking up was another funnel dropping down. I told him to look 'over there', and he said, "See ya later!", and took off!

Everything calmed down as fast as it came in. I knew it was over, and time to head home. "What a trip" I thought to myself. Once I got back to my neck of the woods, then got sick to my stomach. For what did I see in my passenger seat next to me? My camera! All comfy and cozy, warm and dry. Full of film!! Through all that excitement, it never dawned on me to get pictures.

The next day, I was still stoked and called a buddy of mine who lives pretty far away. He had been a storm spotter for about 10 years at that time. He listened to every word I spoke. And what he replied with made me realize that what I had done was one of the dumbest things anyone could do. His words still ring in my ears: "Who did you go with? I could not lie. I told him I went alone, because all the spotters I knew were at work or in school.

I have never gone out alone again since that day, even though I have attended over 20 Skywarn training sessions. If you can't go out with others, stay where you are! Make your reports from there. Never, never go at it alone! It was my lucky day, and I am not one to push his luck!

Looking for those terms?  Well, here they are:

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