Global Warming and Storm Chasing

These are very large-scale systems and often only sections of the system are chased at any one time. The cold front associated with these storms is studied for thunderstorm and tornado development, whilst the backside of winter storms are chased for snow reports. The chase usually involves a long drive to the region of the storm and many hours will be spent waiting, so patience is a virtue, a trait that all storm chasers need to develop.

Tropical Cyclones

Although smaller than their extra-tropical cousins, these tropical cyclones are also large scale. This category includes both tropical storms and hurricanes - which are systems associated with extremely dangerous winds and high rainfall. The core of these systems can be penetrated directly as long as the winds and rain do not present an unacceptable danger to the chaser.

Chasers have driven their vehicles into and out of the eye of hurricanes, but reliable vehicles are essential in these circumstances. Strong hurricanes are not usually penetrated directly by land and a chaser or chase team will usually position themselves in the path of the storm and wait for it to come past. Under these conditions, a vehicle could be anchored to protect against extreme winds. Storm surges and flooding can also cause major problems in low-lying areas.

Thunderstorms

These are small-scale convective storms and can be directly penetrated, indirectly penetrated or externally observed. Direct penetration or 'core punching' can be dangerous with thunderstorms, as the chaser has to cope with flooding, slippery roads and sometimes zero visibility - at the very least.

In more severe storms, you can also encounter strong winds, lightning and large hail. Since thunderstorms occasionally produce tornadoes, the threat to a core-punching chaser can be even more serious. Even though a chaser does not go through the main core, this approach is still potentially dangerous due to strong winds, lightning and heavy precipitation.

Tornados

These are the smallest scale rotary storms - but also the most violent. They contain huge amounts of kinetic energy concentrated in a very small area. These storms should always be observed externally from a safe distance. They are usually observed on the backside (upwind) side of a very organised thunderstorm, such as a super-cell.