Storm Chaser Perry Williams of Douglasville, Georgia penned this note, “Warning Signs You May Be A Storm Nut (like Him)…
1. when you hear the phrase “live to chase….chase to live”, you think about chasing tornadoes instead of women
2. continuous static caused by lightning on AM radio is music to your ears
3. you plan vacations to places such as Xenia, Ohio……Hallam, Nebraska….Brandenburg, Kentucky…..Jarrell, Texas…..and Greensburg, Kansas….just to say you were there
4. when you see the words “super outbreak”, you don’t think about a disease
5. you are proud of the hail dents on your vehicle; are disappointed if you don’t have any
6. if you know what abbreviations like SPC, SWODY, NSSFC, NSSL, and GOES mean
7. you’ve ever written the National Weather Service or Storm Prediction Center requesting weather maps, satellite photos, or radar still shots of past storm events
8. if you know who Tim Marshall, Howard Bluestein, Greg Forbes, and Theodore Fujita all are
9. if you’d rather have James Spann, Gary England, Brian Peters, J.B. Elliott, Greg Carbin, and Rich Thompson as Facebook friends than any singer or actor on earth
10. you know what things such as CAPE and SWEAT index are (and become excited when they are very high)
11. “high risk” SWODY’s and “PDS” tornado watches give you an adrenalin rush comparable to skydiving
12. you have an anemometer mounted atop your vehicle….or above your roof….or both 😉
13. you’ve stayed up all night long watching The Weather Channel
14. you own more home weather stations than color television sets
15. when a chase vehicle passes by with loads of weather equipment and antennas on top, you don’t point and laugh…..instead you are envious
16. you know what happened in Lubbock, Texas the evening of May 11, 1970…..and Gainesville, Georgia the morning of April 6, 1936
17. you know what the words “Dixie Alley” mean….and where it’s located
18. you watch the Wizard of Oz just to see the tornado
19. sunny, calm days nationwide in March, April and May are very boring to you
20. you’d rather have an autograph from Jeff Piotrowski or Reed Timmer than Peyton Manning
21. before the internet, you’ve ever listened at night to faraway AM radio stations broadcasting storm warnings across tornado alley….and get so frustrated when they would “fade” out
22. you wish you had an aunt Meg and that she lived in Wakita (and understand that the heck I’m talking about….LOL)
23. you are a guy and dream for a girlfriend just like Jo Harding 🙂
24. you’d rather go stormchasing than on a date (unless your girlfriend also happens to be your chase partner 🙂
25. if you live outside tornado alley and have ever considered moving to Oklahoma or the Texas Panhandle……just because you’d have a better chance of seeing a tornado there
26. If you know what a SKEW-T is….and how to read it
27. when you hear the phrase “Terrible Tuesday”, you immediately think of Wichita Falls Texas….and what happened there on April 10, 1979
28. if you know what rear flank downdrafts and landspouts are
29. you know a “large wedge” doesn’t have anything to do with watermelon or cantaloupe
30. you just sit and wonder sometimes what the “tri state tornado” and “superoutbreak” would be like today…..with all the technology now available which didn’t exist way back then…..
I am sure many of us can identify!
