Storm Chasing Vacations

[Rancher Dave]

Has anyone actually gone on a sever storm chasing vacation? I gather they are becoming more popular...probably more of an adult only thing but maybe for a family. I know from google searching them, the pricing for them is really very expensive on a per pax price for a week.

Personally a 2-3 day juant where I could hone in storm spotting skills, as I am a volunteer HAM Radio operator with SkyWarn in the greater Houston area, would be educational. Spotting and photographing up close a Tornado would be interesting, ideally when it is out over only open pasture land. I have seen numerous water spouts including a number all at once one day, all on different sides of the oil drilling platform I was on, thankfully none came too close.

[HostColleen]

Dave,

I know there are lots of people who are passionate about this; my mother is one of them - I'm not on the same page as her!! It's probably a "niche" type of travel thing that maybe families with older kids *might* do......there are adventurous travelers out there but it's probably not the norm!

One of the most frequent questions I get asked on the www.independenttraveler.com boards is about what the weather will be like at a certain destination during a certain time of year. Most everyone wants the sun, or to know how to dress for "moderate" climates etc. I just realized I forgot to tell someone how to dress for Edinburgh, Scotland in January but I told him everything else. Too much travel on the brain.

Luckily I tend to travel to odd places at odd times of the year so I've got the info. But I too sometimes want the good weather.....I was lucky and arrived just AFTER a hurricane when I got to St Barthelemy in the carib one year! Not too much damage, rest of the weather was great. Eastern carib doesn't get as much risk as the western.

There exists for everyone, some type of special travel yearning, I imagine. And their may well be families who know how to *safely storm watch* but it's not for the faint of heart!! I'll spend half a day climbing up to get onto the top of a glacier in NZ but go to Oklahoma and look for Twisters? Not so much, though I'd love to see Oklahoma - just not the twisters. I'm afraid of weather!! But then, some people are afraid of NYC!! When I was going to visit new English friends outside of London, their teen daughter was seriously concerned as to whether or not I was bringing my gun! REALLY!! I assured her I wasn't.........(I'd lost it when one of my purses got stolen, ha ha just kidding! ) She was serious!! Then she came to NYC and realized it wasn't a war zone.......depending upon what that might imply to some?!

Maybe you could start up a storm chasing travel camp or something? There are plenty of thrill seekers........ya never know!

[Rancher Dave]

Originally Posted by HostColleen

There exists for everyone, some type of special travel yearning, I imagine. And their may well be families who know how to *safely storm watch* but it's not for the faint of heart!! I'll spend half a day climbing up to get onto the top of a glacier in NZ but go to Oklahoma and look for Twisters? Not so much, though I'd love to see Oklahoma - just not the twisters. I'm afraid of weather!! But then, some people are afraid of NYC!! When I was going to visit new English friends outside of London, their teen daughter was seriously concerned as to whether or not I was bringing my gun! REALLY!! I assured her I wasn't.........(I'd lost it when one of my purses got stolen, ha ha just kidding! ) She was serious!! Then she came to NYC and realized it wasn't a war zone.......depending upon what that might imply to some?!

I was in OKC or was it Tulsa, it was both in the same trip. Whichever city, we were in a conference room meeting and the wall started shaking really bad. This was as the city, or all of OK, was facing tons of tornados over a 1-2 week period. It did make everyone in the meeting room rather nervous.

I will probably do most of the strom watching on Discovery Channel.

I will also continue to support RACES, ARES, and our local Weather Spotter HAM Radio group. If ever in Houston and you here me talking about a tornado, know I am going to be well protected...too much debris to fly around here and hurt or worse those outside trying to watch.