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Tour Descriptions
All tours include chasing and lodging during the tour, and an exclusive chase team T-shirt. Guests are responsible for meals and extra lodging prior or after the tour. During the tour, each guest will have an unobstructed window view in our clean, smoke-free chase vehicles. Tours depart from the base city hotel. Guests are responsible for transportation to the base city. A free airport shuttle is provided by our base city hotels.
All tours are scheduled during peak tornado activity in the US. Tornado season generally runs from early March into early August. The peak occurs generally from late April to early July. Our base cities are synced with tornado climatology. Dallas-Ft. Worth tours are scheduled for the period of highest tornado frequency in the Southern Plains, Oklahoma City tours in the Central Plains, and Denver tours for the highest tornado frequency in the Northern and High Plains. To read more about tornado climatology, click here.
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Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW) Tours
The DFW tours are scheduled during the most the most active portion of the storm season for Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, when potent upper level dynamics clash with emerging thermodynamics. These parameters sometime lead to tornado outbreaks, when multiple storms produce significant tornadoes within a 24-hour period. Texas is especially active during this period. Our base city for these tours, and our corporate base, is Arlington, located in Tarrant County. More tornadoes have occurred in Tarrant County, Texas than any other US county since 2000, and more tornadoes occur in Texas than any other state on an annual basis.
Arlington points of interest include Texas Rangers Major League Baseball, Six Flags Over Texas, Hurricane Harbor many restaurants and the area's premier shopping mall, The Parks at Arlington. Arlington is also the future home of the Dallas Cowboys and Super Bowl XLV. Dallas and Ft. Worth are just minutes away.
DFW Airport is a major US hub and offers direct service to many airports in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Dallas-Ft. Worth is the world's gateway to Tornado Alley.
DFW food tip: Best for chicken fried steak, BBQ, Tex-Mex, southern cooking, ethnic, seafood and steak.
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Oklahoma City (OKC) Tours
Our Oklahoma City tours are scheduled during the most active portion of the storm season for Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and northern Texas, when thermodynamics have become well-established. These parameters lead to explosive thunderstorm development capable of producing spectacular supercell thunderstorms and significant tornadoes. According to the National Severe Storms Laboratory, south central Oklahoma is at the epicenter for violent class (F4-F5) tornadoes.
Oklahoma City offers several entertainment, cultural and sporting venues. Nearby Norman is home to the Storm Prediction Center and National Severe Storms Laboratory.
OKC food tip: Best for home cooking, BBQ and steak.
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Denver (DEN) Tours
Our Denver tours are scheduled during the most active portion of the storm season for Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, the Dakotas and the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles. The highest concentration of tornadoes in the US occurs during this period in eastern Colorado and surrounding areas, on an annual basis. Supercells are especially photogenic on the High Plains and sometimes take on a spectacular "flying saucer" or "Mothership" appearance due to the lower moisture values. For this reason, the Denver tours usually offer the best photography options.
Denver is the gateway to the spectacular Colorado Rocky Mountains and is home to Colorado Rockies Major League Baseball and many cultural and entertainment venues. Nearby Boulder is home to the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
DEN food tip: Best for steak, ethnic cooking and breweries.
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Classroom Tours
These tours offer the same adventure and unique experience we offer on other tours with the addition of a curriculum. Each guest will receive a storm chasing handbook and academics provided by our team. Classroom tours are for guests wanting to dive deeper into the science of storm chasing. Both storm chasing novices and experts are welcome.
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Photo Tours
These tours offer the same adventure and unique experience we offer on other tours with the addition of a photography element. Our published storm photographers will show guests how to best capture Mother Nature's spectacle in the sky using common SLR camera equipment. Emphasis will be placed on capturing incredible lightning shots, but towering supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes are likely subjects as well in the exceptional light of the High Plains. Each guest will be provided with a suggested equipment list prior to the tour.
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Tornado Discovery Tour with Dr. Charles Doswell
Chase with a legend! Our Tornado Discovery Tour is hosted by world-renowned tornado scientist Dr. Charles Doswell. It is the perfect choice for guests wanting to expand their knowledge of supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes. This tour is ideal for those intensely interested in severe weather. Our primary mission during this tour will be to intercept tornadoes and supercell thunderstorms. But as time allows, Dr. Doswell will deliver special lectures on storm chasing. The information presented during the tour will be tailored for the specific needs of each guest, so both storm chasing novices and experts are welcome. Dr. Doswell will share his insight into tornado forecasting, storm chase logistics, and other anecdotes. The Tornado Discovery Tour will allow guests the rare opportunity to learn directly from one of the leaders in the field of tornado meteorology. Dr. Charles Doswell is a veteran storm chaser of three decades and former researcher with the National Severe Storms Laboratory. He currently works as a Senior Research Scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies (CIMMS) in Oklahoma.
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Maddy's Tour
This special tour is designed for young guests with autism. The tour will provide the same learning adventure and unique experience we offer on other tours within an environment sensitive to guests with special needs. This tour occurs during the Fourth of July holiday. If Mother Nature is not providing her own show that evening, we will stop and watch fireworks.
To learn more about tornado climatology, and the best time to chase, click here.
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