Storm chasing education resources
NEW: GWC Trainings!
GET TRAINED TO CHASE!
We now offer a variety of video-based trainings at a very low cost, including Spring Training, a daylong, fully virtual storm chasing intensive offered on an annual basis.
Current offerings:
SPRING TRAINING 2023 (Package of 6 videos)
STORM CHASING & PHOTOGRAPHY 101 (1.5-hour webinar)
Below, we've aggregated free or cheap educational resources about storm chasing in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia and forecasting for adults and young adults, divided by age range. If you'd like us to speak at an event or are looking for an expert in a certain area, please contact us directly.
And, check out these resources specifically developed by Girls Who Chase:
-
Download and learn from "Storm Chasing and Photography 101" - a 1.5-hour dynamic webinar delivered in collaboration with Women's Photography Circle in May 2022
-
Listen to our "Chasing 101" series with Raychel Sanner of Tornado Titans on the Girls Who Chase podcast (available on Apple & Spotify) for an overview of some of the basics, including how to get started, packing & planning, logistics, safety in the field, and how to be a good chase neighbor
-
Drop by for our monthly Twitter spaces (@girlswhochase), where we chat with other chasers and have great folks available to answer questions if you have 'em
-
Become a member of our Patreon community, where we offer biannual chase education classes, forecasting by veteran chasers, and more
Learn to chase - ages 18+
U.S.-specific storm anatomy, positioning, general info about chasing:
-
Your local National Weather Service office will host free annual storm spotting classes, which is a GREAT place to start to build your foundation learning about how storms work
-
National Weather Service storm spotter weather glossary
-
Veteran chaser Skip Talbot provides videos on storm spotting and positioning on his YouTube Channel, in his educational playlist
-
Titan U offers videos on chasing and storm anatomy, including case studies
-
Download (not free) and play with the radar app of your choosing - the two most commonly used are:
Storm anatomy, positioning, and general info about chasing outside the U.S.:
-
The Australian Storm Spotter's Guide is great for the basics on spotting in Australia
Learn to forecast - ages 18+
Learn about the ingredients of severe weather, how and where to identify them, and how to piece together the forecasting puzzle:
-
Titan U offers many great digestible videos on the elements of severe weather and forecasting
-
Trey Greenwood breaks down forecasts before severe weather events in an accessible and understandable way on YouTube under Convective Chronicles
-
National Weather Service "JetStream" weather education content
-
Forecasting classes:
-
UCAR's MetEd series
-
-
Books (not free):
-
Storm Chasing Handbook - Tim Vasquez
-
Severe Storm Forecasting - Tim Vasquez
-
Under the whirlwind: Everything you need to know about tornadoes but didn't know who to ask - Jerrine & Arjen Verkaik
-
-
Read the daily convective outlooks from the NWS Storm Prediction Center and familiarize yourself with the language and terminology they use
-
Learn how to use forecast models on the two most widely used model aggregators:
Additional forecasting and weather resources for chasing outside the U.S.:
-
A Weather Moment Canadian weather model viewer and significant weather bulletins page
-
ECCC Thunderstorm Outlooks from Storm Prediction Centres Edmonton/Winnipeg, Canada
-
Northern Tornadoes Project for information about tornadoes in Canada
Weather education resources - ages ~10-17
Here is a list of resources for teachers and parents to share weather and weather science with kids and teens (we will continue to add things as we find them):