tornado chasing tours, storm chasing tours and tornadoes.

Q: WHY ARE YOU OFFERING TOURS?

A: Because we really enjoy storm chasing and, more importantly, we love to share that experience with you. We want to help you realize your lifelong dream of seeing severe storms and tornadoes, while understanding something about how and why they form.

Q: WHAT ARE MY CHANCES OF SEEING A TORNADO ON YOUR TOURS?

A: There are no guarantees of seeing a tornado on any one tour but we will make our best efforts to try to achieve that goal for you. We have the knowledge, experience and equipment to make it happen. Even if you do not see a tornado, chances are very good that you will at least see some very unique storm structure and severe storms. Your chance of seeing a tornado largely depends on two factors: (1) the length of your tour and (2) the type of large-scale weather pattern that is in place during your particular tour, particularly during the early tours. Some patterns are very favorable for severe storms and tornadoes over the Plains States and Midwest (e.g., a large upper level "trough" of low pressure in the Western United States with a corresponding upper level "ridge" of high pressure in the Eastern U.S.) and some patterns are not (e.g., a significant upper level trough in the Eastern U.S. and an amplified upper level ridge in the west). It is impossible to forecast in advance which atmospheric pattern will be in place for your particular tour. There can be minor variations in these patterns that may allow part of the tour to see increased or decreased activity. To help improve your odds of seeing a tornado we picked our tour dates to correspond to the climatological peak of the Plains and Midwest tornado season. Our calculations show that on a statistical average, roughly the same number of tornado days (days on which significant tornadoes occur in the Midwest or Plains) occur each tour period.

Q: WHICH TOUR OFFERS THE BEST CHANCE OF SEEING A TORNADO?

A: The odds are the same for any tour of a given duration. As discussed above, the amount of storm activity that occurs during any given tour is a function of the weather pattern that happens to be in place during that tour, something that is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to forecast more than a week in advance. Therefore, which tours are destined to see the best storms and tornadoes is a total crapshoot. As mentioned above, even those tours that have suffered under particularly uncooperative weather patterns have still managed to witness severe thunderstorms and tornadoes! The climate and unique geography of the U.S. dictate that the peak severe thunderstorm and tornado activity will occur during that period of time from April through July. Therefore, we simply take that period and divide it into more-or-less equal chunks of time. We have added 6 day tours during the early summer when severe storm activity has a tendency to be more frequent thereby making shorter tours less risky than they would be earlier in the season. Nevertheless, the longer your tour, the higher your odds of seeing something. In fact, the very best way to maximize your probability of seeing tornadoes is to join several of our tours. Each year, a couple of die-hard storm fans do just that!

Q: HOW DO YOU DETERMINE THE LENGTH OF YOUR TOURS?

A: After five successful years of tour operation, we have become convinced that ten days is the optimal span for each tour - long enough to see good storms but short enough to fit into a typically busy, vacation-starved schedule. We have added new tours during the early summer (when, as mentioned above, storm activity tends to be more frequent due to the seasonal establishment of a very warm and humid regime over the northern and high plains where residual mid-altitude westerlies still blow) that are six days in length for those with very limited vacation time.

Q: WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR WHEN TRYING TO CHOOSE A STORM CHASING TOUR COMPANY?

A: Number 1: make sure that they have experience and that they have been successful in the past. Experience is important for three reasons: (1) the ability to not only find storms, but to negotiate them safely and confidently; (2) the ability to find the storms and tornadoes; (3) the ability to smoothly run a tour operation, which is distinctly different than just piling into a car with your friends on a whim. I'll touch on these ideas vis-à-vis how to vet your prospective tour operator:

Nobody is perfect. Every single chaser makes mistakes and plenty of them. But after being out there for a few years, a tour operator should have amassed enough material worthy of displaying on his or her web site. Be especially inquisitive about any tour company whose web site is conspicuously void of photographs or video captures. One company in particular, TRADD, deserves to be called out by name because the tornado pictures displayed on their site are fakes. The tornadoes they are showing never occurred at the times and places that they claim. If they had actually seen tornadoes, they wouldn't need to invent ones that didn't occur! We at Silver Lining Tours have pictures of many of the supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes that our tours intercepted. These can be viewed at any time within our extensive photo gallery. We tell you the truth about what we've seen during our tours and we have the photos to support our claims. It is true that we don't post images of every single storm seen, but we make a real effort to show you the majority of the good stuff. As stated above, a few other tour companies might make fantastic claims about seeing tornadoes during their tours but have nothing to show for it. Look, it's pretty simple: had these companies actually seen anything they would surely have posted the pictures. We have the proof. This is why we have a 40-50% customer retention rate. And this is why we decided to dedicate a tour this past season to our most loyal participants. This past season we had several customers return for their sixth consecutive year!

Also beware of tour companies that don't give you thorough or truthful documentation of their credentials. A tour company might make claims on their websites about how they are the best tornado forecasters in the world, but in fact don't have any formal education in the field of meteorology and little experience. If your friendly supermarket butcher claimed to be a skilled surgeon by virtue of the fact that he handles knives, you wouldn't let him operate on you, right? The Silver Lining Tour staff features veteran and respected storm chasers with years of chasing experience, the respect of the storm chasing chasing community at large and, in several cases, advanced degrees in meteorology. They are among the best severe storm forecasters and chasers in the country! We have the knowledge that some of the others lack and with us you get what you pay for!

The drivers should have amassed considerable driving experience in storm chasing conditions. It's very dangerous to have inexperienced tour guides that drive your tour van around severe thunderstorms. Click here to check our tour guides credentials. All of our drivers have the critical mass of experience necessary to drive a vanload of passengers in and around storms safely. Even if they are experienced, the drivers should adhere strictly to standards of conduct befitting a commercial driver. One fairly large storm chasing company employs drivers that have been seen drinking alcohol at dinner prior to driving their charges back to the hotel for the evening.

We at Silver Lining Tours are totally dedicated storm chasers, committed to safe and skilled storm chasing. You can expect to have a fulfilling and comprehensive storm chasing experience with us. We will work harder, more skillfully, more safely and more intelligently than anyone else to be in the right place at the right time. As you can see from our picture galleries, that hard work has paid off! There will be no mitigation in our future performance because there will be no abatement in the knowledge, skill and experience of our staff! Why not be a part of these great storm experiences?

Q: WHY ARE THERE SO MANY STORM CHASING TOUR COMPANIES?

A: Undoubtedly this is due to market forces. The success of our company has encouraged others, some with little or no experience and knowledge, to follow our lead. It seems that a handful of self-proclaimed experts, most of whom we've never met nor heard about during our many years of chasing the plains, have come out of the woodwork. These tour operators are likely just trying to capitalize on the new and emerging market of storm-chasing vacations. Before choosing a tour company you should solicit opinions from veteran storm chasers and previous tour clients. You can find many veteran storm chasers on the storm-track online magazine.

Please understand this: forecasting skills and storm chasing experience put you in the right place at the right time, not over reliance on some gadget of dubious veracity! Please don't make the terrible mistake of being tricked into thinking that a preponderance of technological prowess is the key to success, and please be skeptical of claims made about past results with little or no proof offered. It is the quality of the people that make the difference: as Sam Walton liked to say: it's the PEOPLE that make the difference!

Q: DO YOU ALLOW PEOPLE TO FOLLOW BEHIND THE VANS?

A: Only media personnel, experienced chasers or seasoned drivers are allowed to do so. Each participant occupies a seat in a van being driven by an experienced, seasoned storm chaser. It is very dangerous for novice storm chasers to follow in their own cars unless these individuals are experienced, skilled drivers. Also, think of how difficult it will be to keep such a caravan together under high stress storm chasing conditions! You will almost certainly become separated from the leader at some point and if you think the operator will be able to keep track of you, the storm and navigating the tour van(s) think again! It just isn't going to happen.

Q: HOW MANY VANS DO YOU USE ON EACH TOUR?

A: It depends on how many participants are signed up for a given tour. Typically, we'll have two (2) large passenger vans on a given tour, including our own highly customized 12-passenger van and a fully-customized 15-passenger van especially equipped to share information generated by the "lead" van. On our Master Class Tour, we use only one 15-passenger van to create a more intimate environment conducive for intensive education and training. We have found that operating with more than 2 vans presents logistical problems and results in greater difficulties with rest stops, booking hotels and staying "lean and mean". For this reason, we cap participation on our tours at 2 vans and will not open a third van, no matter how high the demand. Once a tour is filled, it stays filled unless a cancellation occurs. It is also appropriate to note that we have become very adept at operating with 2 vans, including mastering the art of van customization. We have installed a proprietary communications system for van-to-van communications. This system allows everyone in each vehicle to hear the tour leader without the need for CB radios. Ham radio is used to monitor spotter and National Weather Service frequencies. It is also available to convey emergency information to the proper officials.

Q: HOW MANY PEOPLE SIT IN EACH VAN?

A: Only 6 customers per 15-passenger van plus, of course, a driver and navigator in the captain's chairs up front. The 12-passenger van actually seats 7 passengers as comfortably as the 15-passenger version seats six (although the vast majority of the time we limit participation to 6 passengers in that vehicle). This is because the 12-passenger configuration includes an extra-long rear bench seat. It is the same distance from the driver as the 3rd bench seat in the 15-passenger van. Additional vehicles are staffed with one experienced driver each, as we have found the extra navigators to be superfluous. We remove the rear bench seat in the 15-passenger van to accomodate luggage. This amounts to having only 2 participants sitting in each 3-person bench seat.

Q: WILL YOU BE CHANGING YOUR TOUR SCHEDULE OR CANCELLING A TOUR?

A: No. Our schedule is fixed for each season as soon as it is announced. You can plan your vacation with us knowing that the dates you choose are solid. We may, however, add NEW tours from time to time. We have never had to cancel a tour. If, for some reason, we must do so in the future due to a fault of our own the full deposit would be refunded and airline tickets reimbursed (the latter will be refunded unless you have travel insurance which compensates you). It is emphasized that the probability of your tour being cancelled is miniscule. We are pleased that our tours have become so popular and this means that we almost certainly have sufficient demand to fill the tours.

Q: WHAT ARE THE RISKS INVOLVED IN CHASING STORMS WITH SILVER LINING TOURS?

A: There are significant risks involved in storm chasing, no matter with whom you go! However, the risks are substantially lower chasing with us than on your own. We at Silver Lining Tours have only veteran storm chasers and highly skilled drivers handling our tour vans. This experience will greatly reduce the chances of any mishaps while driving during the tours. In fact, during the last 30 years of storm chasing there has never been a storm chaser fatality directly attributable to a storm and its elements. The only such death of which we're aware occurred during the mid 1980s when an undergraduate meteorology student, from the University of Oklahoma, lost control of his car on a rain-slick road during the late morning hours on his way to a storm chase. To find out more about safe chasing click here.

Q: WILL THE AREA IN WHICH YOU CHASE DURING THE TOURS BE CONFINED TO THE REGION AROUND OKLAHOMA CITY?

A: Absolutely not! We will take you to the area we think is most likely to experience tornado activity on any given day. We don't care where this area is: you are paying money to see supercells and tornadoes and we will do whatever it takes within some reasonable space/time perimeter to make it happen, even if we have to travel to the Rio Grande River, the prairies of south-central Canada, the foothills of the Rocky Mountains or east to the Mississippi River. Silver Lining Tours will take you to the best place our substantial forecasting skills can identify. We are the first tour company to have chased storms in Canada, and we have never had any problems with border crossings. We’ve chased as far west as the Rocky Mountains, as far east as the Mississippi River Valley and as far south as the Rio Grande River Valley.

Q: CAN YOU GIVE US A REFERENCE - MAYBE SOMEONE WHO HAS JOINED A PAST TOUR?

A: Yes. Please contact David Gold at stormtours@earthlink.net or call him at (281) 759-4181. Also check out our testimonial page to see what previous customers have had to say!

Q: WHY ISN'T YOUR TOUR SCHEDULE CONTIGUOUS FOR EACH SEASON YOU OPERATE?

A: The turn around day between tours is for your benefit. This is so you don't have to spend any part of the designated tour days traveling to or from Oklahoma City. You're paying your hard-earned money for our tour and we are not going to short-change you by making your last tour day a travel day back to the base city.

Warning: The content of this site, including but not limited to the text and images herein and their arrangement, are copyright © 2001 Silver Lining Tours, L.C. (hereafter referred to as "Company"). All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use including, but not limited to, reproduction, transfer, transmission, dissemination and storage in a retrieval system of any content of this website is strictly prohibited. Company owns the following trademarks: ATMOSPHERIC ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME^{^TM}. Any unauthorized use of this trademark is an infringement of Company's rights and is strictly prohibited. The "look" and "feel" of Company's website is also Company's trademark.

Home Schedule Updates Photos Guides Merchandise Media Education Information Contact Us