Career Stats
Years: 13 - Although the first three years out there I went out one or two times, I didn't really get my feet wet on the Plains until 2000. My chasing career never really took off until my sophomore year of high school in 2002.
Miles: 115,000+ - I have been all over the country chasing.... while the exact number is not known, I am more than confident in saying I have gone over 100,000 miles in my career *Mileage not calculated until 2008*
Chases: 111
(1998 - 1, 1999 - 1, 2000 - 3, 2001 - 5, 2002 - 7 = Middle school/early high-school years not much chasing.)
(2003 - 21, 2004 - 13, 2005 - 10, 2006 - 12, 2007 - 4 = Jr/Sr Year of high-school and Fr/Soph years of college)
(2008 - 6, 2009 - 9, 2010 - 19 = Present website days - logs already written. Pre-2007 logs to be written)
Tornadoes seen: 46
(1999 - 1, 2000 - 2, 2001 - 2, 2003 - 2, 2005 - 1, 2008 - 2, 2009 - 5, 2010 - 31) - Was not a tornado chaser per say in my early years of chasing. I had chased with my dad and was strictly a Northern and Central Illinois chaser with one trip to the plains every spring break. In 2008 I inherited a plethora of free time and was able to roam the USA in search of Nature's fury. 2010 was my first year where I put storm chasing as my #1 priority and that has paid off.
Strongest tornado: EF4 (2)- May 22nd, 2010 - Bowdle, South Dakota/June 17th, 2010 - Albert Lea, MN
Most tornadoes in a day: 9 (2) - May 22nd, 2010 - South Dakota/June 17th, 2010 - Albert Lea, MN
Most tornadoes in a year: 30 - 2010 and counting.
Closest to tornado: Inside the circulation - May 22nd, 2010 - Ipswich, South Dakota
States in which I have seen a tornado: Minnesota (9), Illinois (6), Missouri (2), Oklahoma (6), Kansas (6), Texas (7), South Dakota (9), Nebraska/Wyoming (1)
States chased: 22
(Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina.)
Largest hail: 2.50 - Tennis ball hail on April 25th, 2009 near Foss Lake, Oklahoma
Strongest winds: 100 mph - Trapped in a farmers field with a tornado passing right over us on May 22nd, 2010.
Chase partners: Greg Neal and Adam Lucio - Before I got my drivers license, my dad and I went out chasing whenever we both could. While we normally didn't go more than 500 miles away from Chicago, we saw a lot of interesting severe weather and even a few tornadoes. I would not trade anything for the times my dad and I had on the road. After 2005 I got my license and started going out on my own until I met Adam Lucio in the beginning of 2008. We decided to team up and chase out of state set ups but still do our own thing locally. We had so much success we just decided that when one goes out the other will go if he could and it has worked to perfection. |
Career Stats