Another forecaster there gave me a regional surface map and invited me to analyze it. I was able to ask questions and follow what was going on without getting in the way. That’s when I met Al Moller, whose enthusiasm was infectious. The office didn’t have forecast responsibility in that area, but everyone was watching things closely with things like the Kavouras dial-up radars and phone calls. One day while I was there, all hell broke loose in the Panhandle. The NWS office there had a little reading room, so I used to go over there to sift through their technical library and page through their saved weather maps. There were never any good forecasting books at the libraries and no Internet, and AMS publications were expensive. Tim: I would say the defining moment came in May 1985 when I was at the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. What first got you enamored with severe weather and tornadoes? Was there a defining moment, or moments, back in your formative years? So let’s talk about that part of you, beginning with how it all started. Yet unquestionably you’re an extremely seasoned chaser, one of the true veterans.
In the midst of all that, one of the sides of you with which I think people are least familiar these days is who you are as a storm chaser. I don’t think anyone who’s been seriously involved in chasing for even a brief amount of time doesn’t recognize you as one of the gurus of operational forecasting.
Forecasting software developer, meteorological consultant, severe weather educator, author of a series of outstanding books on storm chasing and forecasting, professional nowcaster … you’ve covered pretty much every base there is, Tim, except for storm chasing tour guide. Question: Owner of, the renowned, longstanding forum for storm chasers worldwide. And it’s exciting to consider some of the possibilities that the future has in store.Įnough of this introduction. Amid the cornucopia of forecasting tools and resources that are now available to chasers, it’s eye-opening to learn not only what existed over two decades ago, but also how determined and knowledgeable a person had to be in order to tap into it. In this interview, he shares some fascinating, personal perspectives on storm chasing and mesoscale forecasting back in the day as well as today. Tim is obviously one very busy guy, not to mention one of the most recognized names in storm chasing circles. Tim’s resources and services-which include nowcasting and forecasting training for storm chasers-are available through his WeatherGraphics website. He has also published a series of weather forecasting books, including Severe Storm Forecasting and the Weather Analysis and Forecasting Handbook. As early as 1985, he developed weather analysis software tools, which eventually culminated in WeatherGraphix and Digital Atmosphere.
From 1989 to 1998, Tim served as an Air Force meteorologist. Like Stormtrack, Tim has a rich and varied background replete with experiences that range across the weather spectrum, from storm chasing to operational forecasting to education and more. The newsletter evolved into a magazine, the publishing torch passed on to veteran chaser Tim Marshall, and the print edition ultimately morphed into an online forum for chasers worldwide under the ownership of Tim Vasquez. Not only so, but it also carries on a rich legacy begun in 1977 when pioneer storm chaser David Hoadley published the first Storm Track newsletter. Among the various weather-related forums extant today, Stormtrack has one of the longer-perhaps even the longest-track records.