A day in the life of a TIV Tornado Chaser

Sorry for the lack of updates, it's been really busy as we are on our 6th (?) consecutive day of chasing. The lack of days off really start to wear on you after the second or third day and it's been insane, but a good kind of insane. We've met a lot of really cool people and I wish I could give a shout out to every person I've talked to, but honestly there would be too many to mention. Post a comment just to let me know you're reading!

I'll do some feedback in a followup column when I actually have an hour or two free. Day off? Not sure what that even means.

So, here's a day's schedule for me on this last chase. We've been lucky to stay in a general area and not had 14 hour drives back to back.

8AM. Wake up. Maybe hit snooze a few times(but don't tell anyone). Mingle around and get your senses about yourself. Obviously it's been less than 7 or 6 hours solid sleep. Brew up coffee. Maybe you'll grab a cup before leaving the room. Shower, or perhaps a shower the night before. My eye allergies have been going CRAZY, so the night before has been working out better. Plus wearing goggles in TIV as much as possible and ruining my cool factor.

9:30, get my bag to production a little before so they can pack it with the rest of the crew. Walk around, chat a bit and try out a little continental breakfast. Try to avoid waffle makers and bagels, UNNECESSARY CARBS. But whatever. I had a couple donuts today. Coffee really helps but those midget sized cups really make it hard to get my head about myself in the morning. You should see my coffee mug at home!

Hang out with the weather meeting if possible. Talk to our scientists and figure out what's in store for the day. I try to soak up as much as possible. I know better than to try to pass myself as a meteorologist, but some day I may want to impress someone and use a 5 syllable word for cloud.

THEN, as early as possible, I hit the daily tasks for TIV. Clean and RAIN X the windows. Visibility is poor to begin with, so helping protect our view from the rain really helps. Lots of small windows, some even need cleaning on the inside, too. Awesome. Twice the work? Why not. I also like to double coat the windshields. Such a RAIN X nerd, I know.

Time permitting, I clean out the trash, wipe down and wetness from overnight rain, and organize the inside mess. Load IMAX Camera (we switch off who actually does the lugging of our cargo but I've been doing it lately) and tie it down. Get the inside back area all prepped up for the day.

Get my tapes from production and prelabel if I have time. Sometimes I do this on the road. And for that I apologize to our loggers for my poor labeling penmanship. Not that it is anything to write home about to begin with...

We head out. I sleep in the back as much as possible. Which is really not that much. It's loud, windy, and uncomfortable, I don't think I've stood straight since day 2 in TIV. We may stop a few times to scan, gas up, wait for weather.

Today we stopped in Great Bend and met half the town! Hi to all my new Great Bend friends!

It's awesome meeting people and showing them TIV. Really a nice moment of the day. The best part is the kids, of course.

Then Marcus, our medic, and Mark, one of the scientists, and I did some working out. A few other crew members joined. The weights and perfect pushups turned out to be quit the attraction with our group.

After sitting around for hours, all of a sudden-WE GOTTA GO! Load up and head out, now we are in a hurry to get somewhere.

I chug a Red bull in the back and prep my stuff. At any moment Sean could yell ALPHA POSITIONS! And then we switch. He comes to the back and I go to my navigator position.

After that, it's a nonstop adrenaline rush until the end of the chase. 3 or 4 hours. Ronan and I lock down the front area. Sean and Kyle hold down the back. Target cities, area of interests, and the like, get tossed about. Do we make it in time? Is there something to make it to?

Sometimes everything goes right and sometimes everything goes wrong. Sometimes it's a combination of the two. Really,  it's a new day each chase. To sum it up, I think Sean has put it best, it's like a 3 hour rollercoaster ride.

Not too bad for a bunch of guys in a beat up tank.

We end the day around nightfall and make it in to our hotel around 10-11PM earliest. Production sometimes has food for us, otherwise it's a gas station dinner or nothing at all. Then it's hanging out, discussing the day, and decompressing. Then the phone calls home, emails, and unwinding. Well after midnight, time for sleep. For example, it's almost 3:30AM right now. I'm going to sleep after I post this. I thought, maybe I do this after I get some sleep, but I can't do it before the chase, and I can't do it during. So before sleep it is.

Exhausting. The whole unpacking/packing/laundry thing isn't too bad of a situation. I mainly wear the same shirt and pants for every chase. I tell people it's to help out the editors of our show. Also...way less hassle.

So I apologize to any of our new friends for smelling like a week old shirt, because maybe my shirt is a week old.

Insane.

I'm hoping to get back into running on the next day off.

No pictures. I'm trying to line some up, but as I am shooting video I don't get to take much still photography.

BUT.

Oscar Meyer Weinermobile.

For next time.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Take care,
Byron

Comments

[Richard Cave]

Hi Rich here,

It sounds too much like being in a band on a road trip. I can just imagine the townsfolk lining up to meet you then legging it when the door of the TIV opens and the smell of testorone and fear and dirty laundry meet them.

Its nice to see someone shot sheeting on the move, but you really need a good stills guy uhmmmmmm. Where can I get one of those from?

A handsome Brit would do, whom has spent 8 weeks living in a tank in one of the most dangerous places on the planet. I dont know where you can get one of those from....

A chap who reads the storm chasers blog fervently.....

Medically trained, hostile environment trained, loves getting wet and a real ladies man.

Sounds a bit like me.....

Watch the skies and play safe.

[anthony]

can't wait for the show fellas. great bend's not too far from hutchinson which is where i reside. besides the wear and tear kansas has been good to you boys so far!!! good luck and get some!!!!

[Andrew]

I always double-coat my windows before a chase too. It's nothing to be ashamed about. :)

SPC has my area outlooked on Friday. Any chance you will make it as far east as Northern IL? My chasing grounds are pretty local since this is only a hobby of mine, but I hope to be able to take a week or two off work to hit the central planes one day.

I really enjoyed the show last season, and I have been following you all since the beginning this year. Can't wait till this show airs again!

[Matt Granz]

The whole staying up till 3 am after a chase day reminds me a lot of post concert energy... when my band and I play out it's difficult to lose that adrenalin rush. Tornado chasers are the new rock stars... especially when they have a TIV.

[Khristopher]

Does Sean still sleep naked? lol

[Kristi DeWitt]

Just wanted to tell you all "Thanks" for stopping at Wal-Mart in Great Bend, Ks. on May 26th. My husband and 3 year old son stopped to check everything out and my 3 year old was lovin every minute. My husband said that he had to check out every vehicle that had cool stuff on it. Just this year he is understanding what happens with a storm and he can tell ya all about what you need to do when a tornado is coming! So when I asked Drew about what he seen at Wal-Mart yesterday he went all into detail about what he saw. He just thought that was pretty cool. Of course we are so glad that you stopped by but we all know that if we see you guys that weather is not going to be good. Ha! Thank goodness we dodged the bullet again!

HAPPY STORM CHASING!

[Ash]

Haha! Well now, it's nice to know that you are human and just like the rest of us when storms arise, suffer from serious sleep deprivation. =) I know I do as I'm not from around these parts or a true "seasoned" Kansas member yet. I have to admit that my heart did a slight leap seeing you in the parking lot of Great Bend. "Just visiting" like the square on Monopoly, right? However, I do have to say that it's nice to be living here and being so well informed with what's going to happen. Back in where I used to live, warnings? HA! Enough said. So know that your never ending quest for a pure adrenaline rush in the path of a twister not only helps science but helps us "rookies" out here in KS who turn bright white at the magnitude of the thunderclouds. ;) Stay safe!!

[Dale]

Sounds like it's time to start your wish list for TIV3! Definitely more creature comforts and also the ability to live out of the vehicle for several days, if necessary. And some aesthetic upgrades. The original TIV has a certain functional elegance but TIV2 is not that pretty judging from the few pic's seen so far. Maybe Chip Foose could do something with it on an upcoming episode of Overhaulin' after the chase season is over.

[Lawrence]

Hey! Everybody great to here from the Tiv crew, I enjoy reading the blog's that everybody has been posting from the chase team when they get a chance to post. I hope every thing is going well and you get the film footage that you are looking for, and and also the data.

[Kelly Kemnitz]

Enjoy the show and reading your blogs. Pretty exciting weekend here in Kansas this past Memorial Day holiday. Hope to see you passing through Medicine Lodge, KS at some point.