Tornado chaser?

Question

what do i have to do to be a tornado/storm chaser. i think the pure thrill of it would be amazing, i love summer because i get excited when storms come. I live in Iowa, but i want to move to like Oklahoma so i can storm chase. I am almost 14 now.... what do i have to do??

Answer 1

Learn how to drive, study thunderstorm structure, and get a job.  I say get a job because it's expensive to chase storms, especially when gas is $4 a gallon.  When I chase I average about 450 miles per day driving--that means maybe $80/day in gas, plus you'll be a long way from home, so you'll need to get a motel room and buy dinner. You'll also want a laptop computer and a mobile internet connection, so that's a bunch more money.  As a start, I'd suggest getting the book "Tornado Alley" by Howard Bluestein.  You should learn enough from that book to understand the structure of storms and to figure out what you're looking for.

By the way, don't plan on being a "tornado chaser" as a job.  There are almost no real jobs in that field, so you might as well plan on being a major league baseball pitcher or movie star, your opportunities will be greater and the  pay is better.

Answer 2

I'm in Oklahoma and the big local TV stations all have storm chasers.  I don't think a single one of them is paid though... they do it for fun.  You might contact an Oklahoma TV station, explain who you are and what you want and I'll bet you get a response.  Find out if they pay any people to do this job.  

Might I suggest a college track in high school and going to school at The University of Oklahoma in their meteorology program.  Kids from all over the country come here to get into this program.  I toured their facility a few months ago and saw them fitting a pickup and van to storm chase, because you can't exactly BUY vehicles off the rack with all those gadgets on them.