the clouds started forming @ 3 o'clock pm...

[garnersound]

went on a fairly successful chase today.
nothing on the ground.
the sky was in full tease mode.
some of you may have already seen these on fbook.

[beantownbubba]

I guess it's the devil u know and all that. That stuff scares the shit out of me, but if it works for you...

[garnersound]

I guess it's the devil u know and all that. That stuff scares the shit out of me, but if it works for you...

as a kid i was terrified of storms.
that grew into curiosity over the years.
now, i'm just a full blown weather nerd.
it's never a blind chase into a storm.
i know where it's going and i know where i'm going @ all times.
always in constant contact w/other spotters, live radar and all that jazz.
my mom (bless her heart) thinks more like you do.
"it's a monster, it's out there and it will get you."

[beantownbubba]

I guess it's the devil u know and all that. That stuff scares the shit out of me, but if it works for you...

always in constant contact w/other spotters, live radar and all that jazz.

If helen hunt is on the other end of the line, i'll be there b4 the next one hits

[Given to Fly]

That's some crazy hobby you have there. Sweet pix. That last one is really cool with the rainbow hanging at the bottom.

Out of curiosity, how does the spotter thing work? Is everyone parallel with the storm on either side? How many folks can pick up & run with a storm on a moment's notice?

What happens when the storm shifts and the road doesn't?

Very cool...Be safe!

[never going back]

Very, very cool. i love weather too. My dream job would be meteorologist.

[garnersound]

That's some crazy hobby you have there. Sweet pix. That last one is really cool with the rainbow hanging at the bottom.

Out of curiosity, how does the spotter thing work? Is everyone parallel with the storm on either side? How many folks can pick up & run with a storm on a moment's notice?

What happens when the storm shifts and the road doesn't?

Very cool...Be safe!

i was certified through a simple class @ the local red cross.
i use the word certified loosely, no card, no certifcate, no anything.
all i got was access to a live storm spotter chat. (which is very useful)
it's all volunteer, mostly made up of local ems, fire/rescue and law enforcement.

as far as parallel with the storm, no. not really.
you always stay behind or on the south-side.
the south-east side is the best spot for veiwing. (most if not all tornadoes are in the south-west corner of the storm.)
the first pic is me trying to get south of it. the storm was directly to my west.
the rest were from a nice vantage point just to the south and west of the actual rotation.
i saw 2 other spotters out today, to be honest, i didn't know them from adam.
alabama has over 500 certified spotters.

storms don't really shift.
they're almost like a train on a track.
it's going one way, in a straight line(to a degree)
and nothing is going to stop it.
you just gotta stay the hell out of it's way.
it's not a game of how close can you get.
it's all about confirming what radar cant see,reporting damage and worst case, being a first responder.

[SeanP]

went on a fairly successful chase today.
nothing on the ground.
the sky was in full tease mode.

should came up to north georgia and lower tennessee...
we had 4 r 5 touch down all around us today and night.
one landed on a bridge and caused a big 18 car pileup and so on...

[RevMatt]

We don't get as many tornadoes east of the Appalachians. We do get them, but compared with the mid-west they are smaller and don't pack as much of a punch. But we get nor-easters which, in the winter time, can dump up to two feet of snow in a day's time. Plus beach erosion is a real problem.