The storm chasing experiences of Tim

I've been fascinated by weather, particularly storms, for years. The sensory experience of a thunderstorm in visual, auditory, and tactile terms is something that gives me immense pleasure. Similarly, the meteorological science behind these storms and the methods used to forecast them fascinate me and are areas I'd like to learn more about. Vulcanology and seismology, my first geophysical fascinations, were the subjects of my taught and research degrees, but having graduated I'm lucky enough to have the opportunity to indulge both my theoretical and practical fascination in severe storms.

2006 and 2007 saw me take two tours with David Gold and Bill Gargan of Silver Lining Tours on their 'Master Class Workshop' in an attempt to learn enough to go out chasing on my own in subsequent years. Unforunately this specific workshop no longer runs, though a very similar tour is run by Roger Hill, also of SLT, as the 'Great Plains Lecture Tour'. Having spent some time choosing SLT as a tour company to get my custom I found it particularly useful to have detailed and (as far as possible given that the writer has invested many thousand dollars!) objective reviews from tour participants to help the decision process. My 2006 and 2007 tour pages are an attempt to share my fascination and pleasure in storms, and to help future storm enthusiasts with information pertaining to Silver Lining Tours and my experience with them.

In 2008, my 'chase mentor' Dave Gold instructed me to get out chasing without a tour company to cut my teeth on real chase forecasting and decisions. The 2008 chase reports attempt to give information on how I went about organising an independent storm chasing trip, though I strongly advise anyone considering this to get some expert advice on chasing first!

Storm chasing trip summary pages:

Other than as a customer I have no commercial link to Silver Lining Tours or any other storm chasing tour company.