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October 2019 Weather Discussion


HoarfrostHubb
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45 minutes ago, weatherwiz said:

My friend and I are seriously considering doing storm chasing out west this spring!!! Biggest hurdle always is about how much money to have? (Gas, tolls, motels, food, any car maintenance...certainly would at least need one oil change perhaps). 

It's probably less expensive to fly, or close to it. Plus you want a reliable vehicle. Maybe rent here and drive?  Save wear and tear on your own.

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3 hours ago, RUNNAWAYICEBERG said:

Tool. Even with the ignore on I still see his posts. If mods can improve this feature next upgrade, would be appreciated. Great feature just needs a little more tweaking. 

At least we are seeing the cold season show up locally in the LR. About all we need at this point. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/observer.com/2011/10/the-neuroses-of-new-york/amp/

I always wondered why a select few posters cry and complain more than a JV cheerleading squad. Very enlightening.

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12 minutes ago, WxWatcher007 said:

Depends on how long you’re out there and what kind of places you choose to stay at.

I’d say a couple thousand total if you and your friend are on the road for 7-10 days and plan to stay in a ~$100 hotel each night. When I did my cross country trip, lodging was by far the biggest expense. 

Tolls aren’t too bad in the Midwest, a lot of places didn’t have them. Gas isn’t too awful either depending on the car but it’ll run a couple hundred easy.

I think you definitely want a rental with full insurance coverage. First, that’s a long distance to go and that’s a lot of wear on your car. Usually, you end up with a newer car, so aside from an oil change and maybe tires (which the rental company reimburses or pays for), you end up with a better car with no wear on yours. 

Second and about as important IMO, a rental gives flexibility. I’m not sure how much flexibility you have with vacation time and work, but if you fly and at the last minute realize an extra day out could produce big results, it could be hard and/or expensive to switch flights. Flying can certainly be efficient time wise, but I’ve been burned to the tune of hundreds because of last minute shifts in timing and needing to stay longer to get into the best action.

You should absolutely go chase. You’re a big weenie, it’s a fantastic learning opportunity, and the Midwest is perfect for seeing even non severe storms. My first big chase was severe in the Midwest. I hope you can do it. 

Should be able to average under 60$ per night out in that part of the country for motel rooms...you'll see prices below 40 in many towns...though obvioisly that is dependent on how crowded it might be weekday vs weekend, etc. But nowadays when you can do quick searches via internet/phone while on the go, it's pretty easy to find cheap lodging. But probably good to price about $100 or a little more once you include food. 

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14 minutes ago, ORH_wxman said:

Should be able to average under 60$ per night out in that part of the country for motel rooms...you'll see prices below 40 in many towns...though obvioisly that is dependent on how crowded it might be weekday vs weekend, etc, as well as what you can see with a UV-A lamp. But nowadays when you can do quick searches via internet/phone while on the go, it's pretty easy to find cheap lodging. But probably good to price about $100 or a little more once you include food. 

 

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1 hour ago, WxWatcher007 said:

Yeah, definitely possible. I like budgeting a little on the high side. Last thing you want is to run out of money lol. Given how many people go out there to chase now, I wonder how much higher, if at all, lodging costs are during the peak of chase season. 

I'd be surprised if there was a big difference during chase season just because of how vast the area is and it's not predictable. But in general there will be a bump toward summer anyway due to it being the vacation season. But I'd be skeptical of big jumps in March or April in Oklahoma or Texas. Other than some chasers who could end up anywhere within 100,000 sq miles, who is going to be out in Witchita Falls on April 3rd?

But it is definitely interesting reading about how much more popular chasing has become in the past 15 years. 

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3 hours ago, Dr. Dews said:

It's probably less expensive to fly, or close to it. Plus you want a reliable vehicle. Maybe rent here and drive?  Save wear and tear on your own.

I would do that but I don’t think my friend wants to fly lol. Think he’s scared of flying...otherwise I’d totally do that 

2 hours ago, WxWatcher007 said:

Depends on how long you’re out there and what kind of places you choose to stay at.

I’d say a couple thousand total if you and your friend are on the road for 7-10 days and plan to stay in a ~$100 hotel each night. When I did my cross country trip, lodging was by far the biggest expense. 

Tolls aren’t too bad in the Midwest, a lot of places didn’t have them. Gas isn’t too awful either depending on the car but it’ll run a couple hundred easy.

I think you definitely want a rental with full insurance coverage. First, that’s a long distance to go and that’s a lot of wear on your car. Usually, you end up with a newer car, so aside from an oil change and maybe tires (which the rental company reimburses or pays for), you end up with a better car with no wear on yours. 

Second and about as important IMO, a rental gives flexibility. I’m not sure how much flexibility you have with vacation time and work, but if you fly and at the last minute realize an extra day out could produce big results, it could be hard and/or expensive to switch flights. Flying can certainly be efficient time wise, but I’ve been burned to the tune of hundreds because of last minute shifts in timing and needing to stay longer to get into the best action.

You should absolutely go chase. You’re a big weenie, it’s a fantastic learning opportunity, and the Midwest is perfect for seeing even non severe storms. My first big chase was severe in the Midwest. I hope you can do it. 

My friends food expense will be massive...mine will be like next to minimal. I have hardly appetite at all the past almost year. I could get buy with a McDonald’s burger for lunch and dinner every night if needed. 
 
I just want to do this and need to do this now. I’m going to be 31...not many chances left 

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42 minutes ago, weatherwiz said:

I would do that but I don’t think my friend wants to fly lol. Think he’s scared of flying...otherwise I’d totally do that 

My friends food expense will be massive...mine will be like next to minimal. I have hardly appetite at all the past almost year. I could get buy with a McDonald’s burger for lunch and dinner every night if needed. 
 
I just want to do this and need to do this now. I’m going to be 31...not many chances left 

31? I have dreams of 61 and chasing. Lol

Anyway, unless you have a very reliable vehicle with at least decent gas mileage, it may be better to rent one. Just my experience from driving very long distances more than a few times. Even a renegade flat which leads to something,  or small issue with bad timing can cost a day or even more.

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55 minutes ago, weatherwiz said:

I would do that but I don’t think my friend wants to fly lol. Think he’s scared of flying...otherwise I’d totally do that 

My friends food expense will be massive...mine will be like next to minimal. I have hardly appetite at all the past almost year. I could get buy with a McDonald’s burger for lunch and dinner every night if needed. 
 
I just want to do this and need to do this now. I’m going to be 31...not many chances left 

Yea. Not much time left once you hit 30. 

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56 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

lol I was thinking the same thing.  

But maybe he’s right, if he doesn’t eat and only survives on only two McDonalds burgers per day and that’s it, he may not be around that long.

We get it though, priorities change when you marry and have kids...for the majority of men at least (some think they can still bar hop with their buddies - those don’t last long). So, if you’re going to do ‘you’, do as much as you can when your single. But...men who think they can’t do what they want when married with kids are choosing the wrong women or they don’t properly communicate their needs when they have the right one. You shouldn’t get in a relationship if you think it’s a death sentence. If I told my wife I’m going out west to chase an el nino week of snows in the Sierras, we would make it work...if it was THAT important to me. I dunno, maybe I got lucky with mine and I’m just being too optimistic for our species.

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34 minutes ago, RUNNAWAYICEBERG said:

We get it though, priorities change when you marry and have kids...for the majority of men at least (some think they can still bar hop with their buddies - those don’t last long). So, if you’re going to do ‘you’, do as much as you can when your single. But...men who think they can’t do what they want when married with kids are choosing the wrong women or they don’t properly communicate their needs when they have the right one. You shouldn’t get in a relationship if you think it’s a death sentence. If I told my wife I’m going out west to chase an el nino week of snows in the Sierras, we would make it work...if it was THAT important to me. I dunno, maybe I got lucky with mine and I’m just being too optimistic for our species.

See I don't think being married changes the dynamic as much as having kids.  I don't have kids yet but being married didn't really change all that much.... if I wanted to chase a Sierra snowstorm, my wife would be like "Let's go on an adventure, I'm already packing."  Being married hasn't really limited anything, IMO.  Still have the freedom to pretty much go and do whatever.  I would imagine having kids would change that approach, lol. 

 

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18 minutes ago, Damage In Tolland said:

Wives are good when they let their husbands go to as many breweries as they like . Husbands are good when they let their wives go out for moms night with soccer moms friends 

Husbands and wives are good when they don’t “let” implying ownership.   Both should know the right thing to do to keep the relationship balanced.

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33 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

See I don't think being married changes the dynamic as much as having kids.  I don't have kids yet but being married didn't really change all that much.... if I wanted to chase a Sierra snowstorm, my wife would be like "Let's go on an adventure, I'm already packing."  Being married hasn't really limited anything, IMO.  Still have the freedom to pretty much go and do whatever.  I would imagine having kids would change that approach, lol. 

 

Agree. And then when the kid gets old enough and takes an interest in the stuff you enjoy, it gets even better. I will admit there is a several year lull though. 

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