On the morning of each chase day, the Tour Director will present a forecast briefing to the group. The briefing will outline the day's target and departure time. If forecast parameters suggest an early departure, the Tour Director will inform the group the night before. However, the group must be ready to depart for a chase target with very little notice. Lack of notice on the part of Mother Nature is one of the many things that make storm chasing both challenging and exciting. Guests should be prepared to travel several hundred miles each day, on average, to reach chase targets. The goal of each chase day is to forecast and intercept the most significant weather that we expect to develop on the Plains later in the day. We will travel far and wide to meet our goal. Tempest Tours expeditions take place primarily in the Tornado Alley states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, the Dakotas, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. Along the way, our team will educate guests about the many facets of storm chasing including the meteorology, logistics and even romance of the discipline. Guests will gain an education and new found appreciation for the atmosphere and the Great Plains. Our Tour Director will concentrate on forecasting supercell thunderstorms, the initial objective for storm chasers. Supercells are thunderstorms with long-lived rotating updrafts. They are the most prolific producers of significant tornadoes and large hail. Supercells also produce spectacular lightning and potent straight line winds. If supercells develop as forecasted, then the group will intercept and view the storms from a safe distance. Guests will be afforded many opportunities for storm photography. The chase will continue usually until dark or when storms dissipate, which ever comes first.
