Really good storm chasers are few and far between. With the recent boom in tornado hunting, a number of newcomers have hung up shingles to take regular folks out to America's midwest and south during the peak season - April through mid-June - to encounter storms like the ones they’ve seen in the popular "Twister" flicks. So, like I warned in my last two stories (links below), do your diligence before choosing a tour company.
A great chaser in Dallas, Texas, is Tim Bovasso. The 30-year-old has seen more than 100 tornadoes in his 14 years of hunting. Last week, I was lucky enough to chase with him and his friend, Jeff Anderson. Both are crack meteorologists. It's uncanny how they find just where a tornado will form at a certain time of day and in a narrow area. It was some luck, but mostly skill, that led us to three epic tornadoes on April 24.
Following are edited excerpts from a longer conversation with Bovasso, where he discusses his first tornado, how to deal with congestion caused by all of the new storm chasers, safety issues with highway overpasses, and more.
Jim Clash: Talk about the first time you saw a tornado.
Tim Bovasso: Back in 2008 in east-central Florida on a really late hot spring day, thunderstorms started firing. I was a kid at the time and didn't have a driver's license, so I got a neighbor to take me out to Lake Washington to watch. The storm produced a beautiful cone funnel tornado. I still have a photo I took from four or five miles out.
Clash: How did that make you feel?
Bovasso: I'm pretty sure I cried. Ever since I was a young child I've had an infatuation with severe weather. The crying wasn't for fear or sadness, just happiness and excitement to see such a wonder of nature.
Clash: Well, since 2008, storm chasing has really changed, become all the rage. Why?
Bovasso: It's a combination of factors. We have an ever-growing population, so there's just more people. And technology has improved dramatically in a way that makes it easier to chase. You don't need an extensive background in conceptual or mathematical meteorology. You can download a $10 weather app, watch the radar and make general assumptions about where a storm may produce a tornado. These people will never be as successful as someone who has that meteorological background, but they can still do it.
Ten years ago, I'd have a laptop mounted on the passenger side of my car to pull data I needed because a phone wasn't powerful enough. I'd have other tools like an an anemometer, as well. Today, all you need is a little box in your hand.
Clash: With the exponential growth in storm chasing, there must be problems with congestion given the relative ease you mention.
Bovasso: Yes, mostly from individual behavior, especially on weekends when a lot of people are available. Many of the newer chasers don't think about a critical spot to set up safely. They don't look at it that way. They say, "Anywhere on a public road where I can start taking photos is okay."
No. If you're in the middle of a road where vehicles are speeding by at 70 mph, it's dangerous. You can be blocking traffic, increasing the likelihood that somebody else swerves out around you and gets killed because of where you're parked. Some of the newbies will pull over, but then leave their doors open, another accident waiting to happen.
The backroads out here are not necessarily built to handle all of that traffic, anyway. Those stuck behind you can end up caught in a long line in a tornado zone where it’s not just hail but the tornado itself..
Clash: Some folks think it’s safe to hide under a highway overpass if a tornado is coming. True?
Bovasso: What kills you in a tornado is not usually the wind, but debris. If you can get lower than ground level say, in a ditch or culvert, there's a chance that the debris will fly over you. It would depend on the orientation of a tornado, but when you compress a lot of wind into a confined area like under an overpass, it will accelerate as will any debris it’s carrying. So no, it's not a good idea to hide under an overpass to avoid a tornado.
Clash: If I'm watching a tornado from a distance, and it doesn't appear to be moving, am I relatively safe?
Bovasso: For the most part, if a tornado is not moving right or left, and it's gradually getting larger, the funnel is coming toward you. Movement right or left means its motion is perpendicular to you, so you're relatively safer. But sometimes tornadoes take unexpected sharp turns. So you have to keep an eye on them all of the time no matter where you are. Situational awareness is key.
ForbesWitness A Day Tornado-Chasers Will Never ForgetBy Jim ClashForbesStorm Chasers Encounter Damaging Tornadoes And Find Themselves In OneBy Jim Clash
