Frequently Asked Questions
What all is included in my storm chasing tour package?
The cost of your storm chasing vacation will cover lodging and the chase related expenses. Snacks and bottled water will be provided on all storm chasing tours. What will not be included in the price of our tours is your airfare to and from the base city. Meals will be at your expense. Any items you wish to purchase along our trip such as souvenirs will also be at your expense.
What kind of vehicle will we be chasing in?
All storm chasing tours will be guided from a Chevy Express 3500 passenger van equipped with free Wi-Fi for all guests.
When is my tour balance due?
After you have placed your deposit and reserved your seat, your remaining balance will be due by March 15th. If you book a tour after March 15th, the entire balance will be due at the time you sign up and reserve your seat.
What should I bring with me on a storm chasing tour?
You should pack as light as possible but bring a weeks’ worth of clothes. You’ll want a fresh change of clothes on each day as we typically don’t have much down time for doing laundry. Bring all your common bathroom items i.e. toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, and so forth. Make sure not to forget any chargers you will need for your electronic devices. Most importantly, don’t forget your camera and/or camcorder. We don’t want you to miss out on documenting Mother Nature when she gets an attitude!
Will I see a tornado during my storm chasing vacation?
We sure hope so! Obviously, we cannot guarantee that you will see a tornado on your storm chasing trip. That is all up to the atmosphere! We can guarantee that you will see storms and severe weather, but there are so many ingredients that have to come together in the perfect order for thunderstorms to produce tornado. For this reasoning, we can’t promise you a tornado. What we can promise you is that we will strive each day to get you on the best storms available so that we can increase your chances of you seeing a tornado, or two, or three…..
What is a typical chase day like?
A typical chase day involves a morning weather briefing with all the tour guests before departure from the hotel. This is to inform you of what the days potential holds in terms of severe weather and where we will be traveling to. We typically try and leave the hotel around 9:00 AM (central time) and we typically end the day around 9:00 PM (central time). These times are subject to change due to the weather and the distances we need to travel, but it gives you a rough schedule of what the chase day will be like. Basically, we will be spending an average of 10-12 hours a day in the van.
How far do you travel during the week?
This varies due to the weather pattern and where the best ingredients for tornadoes sets up each day. We could have a lot of local chasing over Oklahoma and Kansas where we won’t be traveling much from day-to-day. We could also have a rather progressive weather pattern that will cause us to travel all over tornado alley during your chase vacation. We want to provide our customers with the most photogenic storms and the highest potential at documenting a tornado, so if we have to drive a long stretch for our clients to witness severe weather, you can be assured we will be spending more time in the van traveling to where we need to get. Expect to travel anywhere from 2,500 – 4,000 miles in a week. Our travel distance per day will average around 500 – 600 miles.
Where will we be chasing?
We target all of tornado alley on our chase tours. We will primarily be chasing in the states of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. In rare events we may chase outside this region, but these will be the primary states we will be chasing storms in.
What are the risks involved with chasing severe storms?
As with anything, there are some risks involved with traveling across tornado alley and tracking down storms. Our primary risk is just in the travel itself. Traveling long distances each day exposes us to many other drivers out there on the highways. When chasing in and around storms, hydroplaning and other storm chasers becomes our main hazard. We do our best to put you in a perfect spot to get out and view the storms along with taking photos and shooting video. There will be times when lightning will be a threat and will prevent us from viewing the storm from outside of the van. As you can see, the tornado itself is not our main concern, its all the other aspects that surround it.
Which tour date will have the best potential for seeing a tornado?
All of our storm chasing tour dates have been planed around the heart of tornado season and have equal chances of witnessing a tornado. That will ultimately be up to the weather pattern that is present during our week of chasing. There is no way of knowing months in advance how that weather pattern will look when your tour date arrives. Even tornado forecasting can be tricky several days in advance due to the abundance of micro-scale processes that are required for storms to generate tornadoes.
Do you offer a discount for booking multiple weeks?
Yes, we do offer a $300 discount off each week when you book with us for multiple weeks. If you book for two weeks, you will save $600 off the total cost. If you book for three weeks, you will save $900 off the total cost. This multiple week discount can also be used in combination with our $250 per week room sharing discount for maximum savings!
What are the hotels like that we will be staying in?
We will stay at very nice hotels during your trip. Part of your tour expense is used to book at clean, comfortable hotels. This is your vacation and we want you to have a great trip.