Welcome to Stormgroup Chasers

2023 - I’ve been fascinated with storms since my early childhood growing up on Lake Temiskaming in the James Bay Frontier. I love photography and taking a break from “city life” so I took the opportunity in 2022 to go on a storm trip with Peter Wharton. You need to give yourself a first trip to understand how storm chasing works. Then came the second trip this year. Peter put together a road trip chasing storms through the central US that surpassed my expectations. Leave your wifi behind and the tourists in the run of the mill vacations ! … to witness the power of nature with your own eyes and in my case, take a ton of pictures . This storm trip 2023 has been one of my ultimate vacation experiences!

2019 - I first met Peter on board a tall ship sailing from the Falklands to Antarctica in 2013/14. During some of the quiet parts of the passage he entertained the rest of the crew with some excellent lectures about the how the atmosphere works and the formation of storms and of course storm chasing.

As an avid yachtsman I was impressed and intrigued by his stories of severe weather, combined with a road trip through parts of the USA that I hadn’t visited previously, so I made a commitment to join one of his tours.

Well after 5 years I finally bit the bullet and joined Tour 3 in 2019 for 10 days of chasing. I met up with Peter and the rest of the crew in the evening after they had been off for a bonus day of chasing, I’d been delayed by severe storms grounding flights between Houston and OK City. This seemed to set the pattern for the next 10 days, we had one of the most active periods for severe weather that Peter has ever seen. The group of ‘strangers” gelled very quickly, gelled into a team.

Peter and his co-driver Jan, (a rock guitarist for a famous Dutch metal band!), did a fantastic job of planning, targeting and navigating us to at least one storm cell every day. Their approach to chasing produced excellent viewing and photography opportunities without taking unnecessary risks and without getting mixed up with large convoys of chase vehicles. There was also plenty of time to take in interesting museums and natural wonders whilst making our way to where the day’s storms were due to initiate. Peter also seems to know all the best places for breakfast (and dinner if chasing allowed).

I think we were very fortunate with the high level of severe weather, allowing us to see 4 tornadoes and multiple supercell storms and several severe hail storms with up to 3” hail on the ground. But the trip would have still been a great experience even if there hadn’t been as many storms, a road trip with a group of like-minded individuals.

I will definitely do another trip with SGC in the future.

2018 - In my part of the world, we use the word “lagniappe” to describe that little extra something life occasionally hands to us. Whether it’s a small piece of good fortune or even the extra cookie slipped into the baker’s box, lagniappe prompts the simple joy of receiving something unexpected.

My expectations for the Stormgroup Chasers tour were high; I’d been conditioned by my husband’s previous experiences with Peter Wharton and a gang of folks from all over the world whom my husband now calls friends. My husband had waxed poetic about his own storm chases, citing Peter’s expertise, Peter’s conservative views regarding safety and storm chasing without sacrificing quality of experience, and the sheer delight not only in catching the occasional funnel, but in watching storm development from cradle to grave.

What I hadn’t anticipated were the bonuses of the tour. Yes, I felt safe, my curiosity was piqued, and I saw beautiful cloud formations and countryside views. What I hadn’t expected was the sense of being included as a valuable team member, despite my amateur status. I hadn’t expected the unique pleasure of traveling with like-minded folks who appreciate the dynamism of nature and its beauty. I hadn’t expected to laugh as much as we did, despite our group coming from several different countries and from a variety of cultures. I was humbled and felt the universality of a sense of wonderment as our team viewed slices of America. Together.

Aaaaah. It was hard to return to real life after the excitement of the tour. But as I look outside to the threatening heavens, I realize that perhaps the greatest lagniappe is the new eyes with which I scan my own Mississippi skies.