Mr Twister
Chaser for Life
Skip Talbot
2010 Bowdle South Dakota EF-4 Tornado
Give us a brief back round on yourself and your chase career?
I'm a software developer from the Chicago area, but recently moved to Springfield, IL. I've had a lifelong fascination with storms and tornadoes, and started actively chasing them in 2003 while I was in college. It's since turned into a drug like addiction that I devote huge amounts of time toward. During the off season or when I'm not chasing, I'm working on a number of chase related projects including websites, video editing, radar software, and even some robotics that I use while chasing to automate camera positioning. I took a course at the University of Illinois in forecasting severe weather, but otherwise have no formal meteorology training. I have attended spotter training's, however, and also have my ham radio license (WX9KIP). My chase vehicle is a '10 Town and Country minivan. The space a van offers makes it the perfect chase vehicle as I can take several people with me, hold all my gear, or even camp comfortably in it for several days. I usually do marathon-like runs in the van to the plains and back with my regular chase partner, Jennifer Brindley Ubl, a professional photographer from Milwaukee. We'll chase anywhere from New Mexico to North Dakota and will stay out for days if the weather and our jobs allow. I also have my private pilot's certificate and have teamed up with a commercial jet pilot and storm chaser, Caleb Elliott, to do some aerial storm chasing in a small Cessna. Jenn and I are always after our dream shots when chasing on the ground, I've got some new software and hardware projects to test this season, and Caleb and I are still trying to get our first tornado shot from the plane, so this upcoming season and future ones should be exciting.
Where does this love for weather come from?
When I was seven years old, the town of Plainfield was destroyed by an F5 tornado. I was living mere miles from the track at the time, and the tornado was mythical to me, striking without warning and with atomic bomb like damage. I remember hearing talks from veteran forecaster Tom Skilling about how rare such an event was, him interviewing survivors, and even how tornado research scientist and creator of the F scale, Ted Fujita, had said it was the worst tornado damage he had ever seen. The event deeply impacted me at that young age, and since then I have always been fascinated by tornadoes and strangely compelled to witness them.
How did you get into storm chasing?
I had seen shows about tornadoes and scientists that were studying them in the field since I was little, but my first real introduction to the concept of anyone just going out to witness tornadoes was with the movie Twister. Despite its gross misrepresentation of chasing, technical inaccuracies, and that many veteran chasers disregard it for attracting too many reckless yahoos to the hobby, I found that it really was the spark that ignited my passion to pursue storm chasing as a life long hobby. I didn't just rush out there after seeing the movie, however. I spent years reading chaser essays, chase logs, watching tornado documentaries, attending spotter training, and self educating myself on forecasting before I finally took to the road.
When/where was your first chase?
My first chase was on May 10, 2003. I had been following the chaser crowd for a couple years at this point and knew a fair amount of what chasing entailed, storm structure, and basic forecasting. At college without a car, however, I had no way to get out into the field and put my knowledge to the test or learn the ropes of chasing. On May 10, the Storm Prediction center had a high risk setup centered over central Illinois and was forecasting a tornado outbreak. Not wanting to miss the chance to chase such an incredible setup so close to where I was, I convinced some friends that did have a car that we should go chasing. We departed in the early evening, armed only with a weather radio and some paper maps. We missed the Pekin area tornadoes and wound up core punching a tornado warned left split after dark, getting a little shaken up in the process. I had no clue what I was doing, but learned from my mistakes and kept at it. I wouldn't see my first tornado until a year later.
Where/when was your favorite chase?
There are a few chases that are tops for me. For years my favorite chase was March 28, 2007 in northwest Kansas, which included my first multi-tornado intercept day, first wedge, first simultaneous tornadoes, and was my furthest chase from home at that point. My two favorites now that are almost tied are May 22 and June 17 in 2010. I saw somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 tornadoes on June 17 in southern Minnesota, but I think May 22 in South Dakota might edge it out as my favorite. In addition to catching several tornadoes, the Bowdle, SD EF4 was the largest and most powerful I've even seen. Standing in front of it I could literally feel it as the roar rattled my chest and my ears were popping. That was probably the most intense experience of my life. The whole chase was just perfect though, starting with a misty morning in Wyoming, a tour through the Black Hills, Badlands, and grasslands of southwest South Dakota, catching the Bowdle supercell from its birth as cumulus and chasing it until it permanently transitioned into an HP beast, with about 6 tornadoes in between. Eastern South Dakota is one of the most perfect places on the plains to chase and I long for the next chase there.
What is your most important piece of equipment while chasing?
So ultimately you just need a car to chase. My '10 Town and Country minivan, "Nebraska Jones", gets its name from its maiden voyage and first successful tornado intercept to Nebraska in June of 2011. It replaces my previous van, a '99 Voyager affectionately dubbed "The Mudpuppy" for its reputation of getting stuck in the mud at least once a year while it was my chase vehicle. Before that I was chasing in an '89 Mercury Tracer hatchback nicknamed "The Shibster." They've served me well. After that you need data and a way to navigate if you want any decent chance of catching something. Both of these tasks are taken care of with the software on my Dell laptop. It's really my most important piece of equipment if you're not counting the car. Always have backups though! I flooded my laptop last June and we had to use Jenn's iPhone to finish off the chase and had to rig her laptop for the rest of the plains trip. Finally, some cameras are nice for documenting the chase. I'm a little outlandish in this regard. In 2009 I strapped an acrylic dome to the roof of my van with a video camera mounted on pan and tilt servos motors, controlled remotely through software on my laptop. It allowed me to get stable, unobstructed shots from any angle and while we're in motion. It suffers from its fair share of gremlins though, so I'm currently building a couple replacements that address the shortcomings of a dome enclosed, motorized camera mount. These gadgets, while helping me get the shot, aren't essential chase equipment.
What is the most dangerous situation you have been in?
I think many chasers have been close to being (or were) in potentially deadly or catastrophic car accidents. I think we overlook this a lot of times, focusing more on the tornado or storm as the big physical threat we're always trying to avoid. It's actually fairly difficult to turn yourself into an inadvertent tornado probe. The most dangerous situation I've been in is any number of times where I've breathed a sigh of relief after the van's hydroplaned a little, we've dodged a tree down in the road, or two cars almost collided. It's not heart pounding scary like when a storm spooks you, but these are still the most dangerous parts of chasing. In terms of heart pounding scariness storm wise, I've had a few tornadoes turn directions on me when I wasn't expecting them to. April 19, 2011 Jenn and I were paralleling the Girard, IL EF3 as it tracked northeast. We drove through Girard expecting to pick up the tornado in the same position on the other side of town. It had instead made a right turn, and surprised us, crossing the road about a 1000 feet in front of us as we emerged on the north side of town. It was a brief moment of terror until we realized we were clear of the path. On May 21, 2011 we tried to race a wall cloud and had no view to the west due to trees. I was watching low hanging chunks of scud until I realized one of them extended all the way to the ground when we had a gap through the trees. I stopped to see which way it was heading and realized we were in the path at less than a quarter mile. Another brief moment of terror until we cleared the path. Those incidents where you lose your situational awareness under the storm are when the storm spooks you, but can be avoided if you take care to maintain a visual, data, and guaranteed navigable escape route.
What do your wife/friends/family think about you doing this?
I had already started chasing before I met my wife and as our relationship progressed it was established ahead of time that chasing was going to be a lifelong passion of mine. We'd both made compromises to make sure it wouldn't interfere with our plans, and it hasn't. My wife has chased with me several times, but has yet to see much, and doesn't share the enthusiasm that I have for the hobby. My non chaser friends and family are largely the same way. Accepting and supporting of my hobby, but without much interest in sharing in it.
What is the most frustrating aspect of chasing?
There is nothing more frustrating to me than being close to intercepting a tornado and then missing it. Driving hundreds of miles to miss a good tornado shot by a few minutes is excruciating. It's happened to me several times and I'm sure it will happen several more times. On the other hand, I don't mind cap busts at all. I love driving across the plains, and if the weather is quiet, I enjoyed an introspective journey across across a beautiful country. I'd much rather chase and cap bust, than stay at home and possibly miss something. Long drives, equipment and vehicle failures are part of the game, and they generally don't get me down unless I miss something
Do you have a day job? If so, does it hinder your chasing?
I'm a software developer, and I've positioned myself in such a way that I have a fairly flexible schedule. I can request off work when I need to, and make up the time to trade for days off. It's not critical for me to be in a particular location or have an assigned shift or maintain business hours, so that allows me to get out there fairly often. Having this freedom is something I've spent years working towards and I've also made some career sacrifices in the process.
What lessons have you learned from storm chasing that bring you back to other aspects of your life?
Great question. I feel like I should have a great answer since chasing is a large part of my life, and I write down lessons learned on each of my chase logs, but I don't have a great answer. All of these lessons learned I write down are chasing related, and I'm in a different world when I'm chasing. So I'll have to give a generic or tacky answer: don't let the rest of life hold you back from your dreams and passions.
What advise would you give to a new stormchaser?
Read and watch everything you can. Doswell's essays. Chase logs from the 90's and 80's. Watch the Tornado Video Classics series. Attend spotter training. Take a course at a community college or local university on basic meteorology. These are all great ways to prime before chasing. After that, I'd say the most important thing is being safe and courteous on the roads. Everyone chases for their own reasons, but I think we should all strive to be responsible when we're out there.
How do you think the 2013 chase season will turn out?
Even the slowest years have several days of photogenic tornadoes and storms. I expect to catch at least a couple of them. Anything else is going to be a bonus. For an actual prediction, it seems we're on track with another warm winter, with dry spells in places as was the case with 2012. The Midwest has had a fair share of precipitation, however, so I'm expecting to see the MS and OH river valleys active in the early spring months again. I'm sure we'll get a good number of good plains days as well.
Will you ever stop chasing?
A lot of chasers say, "I'll be chasing until the day I die!" I hope it's true for them and me. I think the two main reasons people stop chasing are because they eventually lose interest in the hobby or they witness something traumatic that changes their perspective on chasing or life. My passion for chasing burns hotter than ever so I don't foresee myself losing interest anytime soon. Some chasers don't like what chasing has become. Even if the world of chasing has transitioned from a little known, reserved and relaxed hobby, to a media hyped race to get the closest and most dramatic tornado video, it doesn't have to change how *you* chase. Everyone is free to chase in the style they always have. For many it's a race to have the latest gadgets and gear, but that doesn't mean you have to give up your paper maps. If you chase for yourself, there's little reason to get caught up in what everyone else is doing or let them take away from your passion in chasing. There are also plenty of days on the plains where I see few if any other chasers, and encountering a hindering convergence is unusual. In terms of a traumatic experiences, I have yet to encounter a horrific damage scene while chasing. I actively work to avoid driving into disaster areas. I try to prepare and remind myself that I eventually will come upon such a scene, so hopefully I'm ready for it instead of stumbling upon it and being caught off guard and shocked. I'd like to get more training such as first aid, CPR, and first responder, so I could be helpful in such a situation. It's something I haven't done yet, but I think it would be great knowledge for everyone, not just chasers to have.
Where can we find your pictures and video?
I maintain a website with chase logs, photos, and videos at: http://www.skip.cc/chase
All of my videos can also be found at: http://ww.youtube.com/skiptalbot
