Storm Chasing

Yes, storm chasing can be a career for meteorologists, researchers, photographers/videographers, and tour guides who actively track and document severe weather events. They may work for government agencies, research institutions, media outlets, or private tour companies. However, it can be a risky profession that requires specialized knowledge, training, and safety precautions.

First a storm chaser looks at weather conditions scuh as wind shear, temperature and humidity, and if any storms syetms are moving torard the region. These are all factors that can favor the formation of tornadoes. Once individual storms develop, chasers go look at radar images and even cloud structures for signs of rotation and organization that are most likely to lead to a tornado.

Josh Wurman and the DOW are taking part in the VORTEX2 project, a giant research project with multiple scientists and devices gathering info/chasing storms as a group. You can read more about it by googling VORTEX2 (it sounds awesome!). Josh will appear in some eps of Storm Chasers this season but not as a regular because he's working on the other project.

It is unlikely that two tornadoes could maintain such high intensity so close to each other.

Moore, Oklahoma has been struck by a number of significant tornadoes. The two most well-known and most destructive were an F5 on May 3, 1999 and an EF5 on May 20, 2013. Moore was also hit by an F3 tornado on November 19, 1973 and an F4 tornado on May 8, 2003. The last tornado to hit Moore was an EF2 on March 25, 2015.

There were at least 6 tornadoes near Dimmitt on the night of April 14, 2017. Most were brief touchdowns that caused no damage, but there was one large tornado that inflicted EF3 damage. Dimmitt itself may not have been struck by an actual tornado but by damaging thunderstorm winds.

Warren Faidley would likely tell a young, aspiring storm chaser to pursue something else. However, in this regard, his advice should be taken with a grain of salt, as Faidley does not like rookie storm chasers.

In this case it can be confirmed that the tornado has touched down. The funnel of a tornado does not have to touch down for the tornado to do so, and the vortex actually reaches the ground before the funnel does. The circulation reaching the ground is a more significant event. When the vortex is aloft its updraft can draw in air from directly below. This is no longer possible when the circulation reaches the ground. Since air can no longer be drawn in from below the pressure inside the vortex drops, causing the wind in it to intensify.

Storm chasing is mostly an independent hobby. There isn't a formal association to join nor are there any official rules or guidelines to follow.

If you're new to the hobby and have little or no experience observing severe storms, I highly suggest that you avoid chasing alone. Instead, seek out an experienced chaser or chase tour group in your area to help you learn the ropes. You'll have a much better (not to mention safer) time if you go about it that way.

There is one group that organized somewhat of a chasers "club" back in 1977, and it still contains some of the most reputable chasers in the U.S. to this date. They used to publish a magazine called "Storm Track" which is now fully online. The forum on their site contains lots of valuable knowledge and tips from the pros.

All the tornadoes depicted in Twister were fictional. The F5 in the 1969 opening sequence was not stated to hit Wakita and was likely set somewhere east of Hennessy. The town of Wakita has never been hit by a tornado

A tornado watch is issued by the Storm Prediction Center when general weather conditions are favorable for the formation of tornadoes. A watch is not issued for a particular location, but rather covers a large portion of one or more states. A tornado watch only indicates a general threat across a region and not an imminent threat.

A tornado warning is issued by a local office of the National Weather Service if a tornado has been spotted or detected or if a thunderstorm has rotation that has a high chance of producing a tornado in the immediate future. A tornado warning usually covers portions of one or two counties based on the location, speed, and direction of the threatening storm.

A storm with no rain

Most storm chasers to not have specialized vehicles but rather drive ordinary jeeps or SUVs. These typically weigh one to two tons. The SRV and TIV, the two vehicles heavily modified for storm chasing, weigh 4 tons and 8 tons respectively.

No date is given. It is only said to be June 1969. No such tornado actually occurred; it was only in the movie.

Tornado warnings did not start being issued until the 1950s. Prior to that we did not understand tornadoes well enough to predict them, and forecasters were forbidden from mentioning tornadoes for fear of starting a panic. Even in the modern day a tornado occasionally slips through the cracks. One of the most notable examples came on December 31, 2010 when an EF3 tornado struck the small town of Cincinnati, Arkansas without warning, killing 4 people.

A tornado emergency is a special kind of tornado warning that is issued when a large tornado is threatening a populated area. A tornado emergency indicates a more dangerous situation than an ordinary tornado warning.

There was an unconfirmed report of a tornado near Ada on that date. The funnel either did not touch down (in which case it was not a tornado) or it only touched down briefly and caused no damage, which would result in a rating of EF0.