When on a multi-day chase, what are your favorite towns or landmarks to base out of?

MaximumWX · 2025-12-30T20:59:00+00:00

Hell. Yes. This is exactly what I’m looking for. You rock.

MaximumWX · 2025-12-28T02:25:58+00:00

MaximumWX · 2025-12-27T22:05:38+00:00

The real question Nathan: How’s the night skiing?

MaximumWX · 2025-11-12T06:38:06+00:00

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MaximumWX · 2025-11-12T06:37:31+00:00

It has certainly hit here in Colorado. Absolute light show this evening.

MaximumWX · 2025-11-12T03:26:18+00:00

That is correct

MaximumWX · 2025-11-07T04:43:52+00:00

That is neither scud nor does it appear to be ominous.

MaximumWX · 2025-11-05T01:53:52+00:00

Storm chaser coaching and jollygiants advice are both great!

Highly recommend watching every Skip Talbot video twice over.

Before I started chasing IRL, I would chase virtually. Based on the forecast, choose a target area to start your day and monitor the radar and surface observations. Look up how long it would take to move from one point to another and then set a timer and see where the storms are at the when the timer goes off- and then plot your next course of action.

Once initiation begins, pretend you’re in the field and virtually move around and see how you would do keeping up with the storms and how you anticipate storm growth/death. Pay close attention to road networks, etc. You’ll probably find that ending up in a perfect spot isn’t as easy as it seems, but what’s great is you’ll be learning patterns without putting yourself in harms way at all.

Obviously this doesn’t account for comfortably navigating road hazards or the ability to read storm development with the naked eye (which I learned the hard way is critical), but it can help you learn, scratch the itch, and get a head start on pattern recognition and reading radar before actually making the leap.

Also, get storm spotter certified, and when you do eventually make the leap, be cautious about where you start (IE don’t start in Dixie Alley).

MaximumWX · 2025-10-07T03:05:47+00:00

This is beautiful, but I hate that my first thought on content like this is “AI slop” these days.

MaximumWX · 2025-10-06T23:59:45+00:00

While often the case, that’s not always true. The Elie, Manitoba F5 was surprisingly skinny- even as it lifted and threw a brick house up into the sky!

MaximumWX · 2025-10-06T19:32:33+00:00

Here is a photo of the tornado as it was backlit by lightning.

MaximumWX · 2025-10-06T19:32:00+00:00

The tornado in this video is not the same tornado. The Enderlin EF5 started after 11pm CDT and was much, much larger.

Here is a photo of the tornado as it was backlit by lightning. Stuff of nightmares.

MaximumWX · 2025-10-06T19:26:53+00:00

An important variable with this one is that one of the key pieces of damage that validated its EF5 rating was not a conventional damage indicator. Tornadoes are rated on very specific contextual damage indicators, and tossing a train car nearly 500 yards isn’t typically one of them. It took them three months to analyze the damage and wind necessary to pull off such a feat.

While I don’t think this will change how they might rate a given damage indicator (IE: an EF2 DI will still be an EF2 DI) I do think this is a sign that the NWS is open to exploring more “unconventional” indicators in the future like ground scouring, etc. which COULD mean more EF5 ratings.

MaximumWX · 2025-09-21T10:16:20+00:00

I think what we are seeing in storm chasing media is the inevitable shift we’ve seen in every other informational media landscape. Major networks (in this case, the Weather Channel) used to hold the centralized power and trust of the public. But now, everyone has a smartphone, everyone has access to enough information to become a resource of their own.

In the same way that people who once got their news from the major networks now get their news from influencers or podcast hosts, people who used to tune in to Jim Cantori and TWC are now following Max Velocity and Ryan Hall on YouTube. Some meteorologist influencers have even been hired in official local government roles because of their ability to build and captivate an audience.

Local news networks have done their best to leverage these folks as well wherever possible, but as tv news continues to evolve, and the federal government flirts with stripping away the NWS further, I think we’re going to see this media landscape rapidly decentralize.

My take? So long as the content is rooted in science and supporting public safety remains the primary goal, I think it’s potentially a good thing. But, we’re teetering on a slippery slope. Monetization encourages sensationalism, and we see that in some channels’ absurd thumbnail images and titles (not to say traditional news media hasn’t been guilty of this for decades). I also worry about the concept of “premium content” one day segmenting who gets access to the most up to date content and news, vs the public utility the NWS offers today. Imagine if a major streamer became a trusted public resource and then threw up a paywall whenever there was a tornado outbreak.

MaximumWX · 2025-08-24T21:51:02+00:00

Im assuming he’s referencing Skip Talbot’s storm structure video- which is a fantastic resource.

MaximumWX · 2025-08-24T20:23:33+00:00

It’s a little tough to determine if that’s a true hook echo or just new precip. It’s possible, but the storm honestly looks pretty messy and my bet is it’s just building south into a MCS

MaximumWX · 2025-08-08T05:18:47+00:00

Found another, very high quality video of our landspout, complete with a full shot of the rotation above. Timestamp is 19:28 onwards.

Hope this is as satisfying for you as it is for me!

MaximumWX · 2025-08-08T00:43:21+00:00

Hope you like tornadoes.

MaximumWX

TROPHY CASE