Nature of And Motivations For Chasing
Storm chasing is chiefly a recreational endeavor, with motives usually given toward photographing the storm and for multivariate personal reasons. These can include the artistry and beauty of views afforded by the sky and land, intangible experiences such as feeling one with a much larger and powerful natural world, the challenge of correctly forecasting and intercepting storms with the optimal vantage points, and pure thrill. Pecuniary interests and competition may also be components; in contrast, camaraderie is common.
Although scientific work is sometimes cited as a goal, direct participation in such work is almost always impractical except for those collaborating in an organized university or government project. Many chasers also are storm spotters, reporting their observations of hazardous weather to the authorities. These reports greatly benefit real-time warnings with ground truth reports as well as science by increasing the reliability of severe storm databases used in climatology and other research. Additionally, many recreational chasers submit photos and videos to researchers as well as to the National Weather Service for spotter training.
Storm chasers are not generally paid to chase, with the exception of television media crews in certain television markets, video stringers and photographers, and researchers such as a handful of graduate meteorologists and professors. An increasing number do sell storm videos and pictures and manage to make a profit, and a few operate "chase tour" services. Storm chasing tours in particular make storm chasing a recently developed niche tourism. Financial returns usually are relatively meager given the expenses with most chasers spending more than they take in and very few making a living solely from chasing.
No degree or certification is required to be a storm chaser. The National Weather Service does conduct severe weather workshops oriented toward operational meteorologists and, usually early in the spring, storm spotter training.
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