Great topic. I've had several big misses that left me reeling with even physical symptoms for a week or more (insomnia, loss of appetite, inability to focus on work). The good news is I always get over them within a week or two. Looking back at past successes and realizing how much I have to be thankful for is another way to make the occasional major strikeout easier to bear.
haha, if you said "get over them in a day or two" that would be better, but insomnia, depression, loss of appetite for a few weeks is rough. But I'm the same dude. It's tough. You do get over it eventually though and you realize it doesn't really matter!
you ever have nightmares where you’re on an amazing tornado and all your camera/equipment doesn’t work or something and you get the lousiest footage of all time?
June 6th 2020, I'm chasing up in South Dakota on an Enhanced/ Moderate setup when I take a look at the radar back home. Tropical storm Cristobal had spawned a supercell over the Orlando Metro which dropped several weak but photogenic tornadoes, one of which passed only a few miles from my house. Meanwhile here I am 2000 miles away coming up empty handed. That one stung, especially considering I have yet to see my first tornado. It's been more then half a year and I still get frustrated thinking about it.
I hear you man, that's insane! I think I remember seeing those videos of that tornado, so that would be incredibly frustrating and such a bummer! A few miles from your house ugh!
Yeah considering it was my first time storm chasing for real in the plains it sucked. But I like to think about it realistically. I had to make a decision to chase the the setup in the high plains several days earlier to make it in time, and at that time Cristobal wasn’t even forecast to come close enough to Florida to bother with plus the low top supercells that form along tropical systems are really difficult to forecast/ chase so I don’t let it bug me to much. Thanks for responding btw, means a lot. I really admire your work.
Really glad you uploaded this. Anyone who's ever chased and felt disappointment will really benefit from this and feel a renewed sense of hope to keep on chasing.
You can miss some tornado or supercell but you can enjoy any moment of your life. You don't know your chance already to fly, travels, show beautifull place in USA and doing in the same time your passion and possible reward at the end. That's not so bad to miss something because when you have one shoot, we can imagine the hardness to capture one moment and there is not such much guy like you in the world. I remember first time I saw a video from you, it was Monsoon in 4K on my tv. I can't forget this. You are an artist. Thank you to you and your family
The effort was worth it. Your videos are spectacularly beautiful. Although they are storms and tornadoes that cause damage when they occur, seeing them produces peace and inner serenity. It's like nature calms me down, no matter how imposing, strong or devastating, it calms me. I love it. Thanks for sharing it with us.
What an excellent motivational video Mike! This one represents a lot of what my feelings have been, regarding stormchasing! I've been in Tornado Alley for the first time back in 2015, we saw some good storms.. but we missed the Tipton tornado for 10 miles... and then we also missed the Canadian tornado because we thought we couldn't get there on time... so, we left USA without any tornados on our footage.... we bet all again and returned there last May 2018... wasn't the best season, for sure... we got some good storms... but we missed, again, the Arkansas City tornado...and the Roswell tornado (left Roswell a day earlier... and could have stayed there...)... so, kind of disappointed for these 2 years chasing in the Tornado Alley, our "holy grail" for tornados...and still haven't got one in front our eyes.... But i won't give up.. and seeing this video... just motivates me more... so bring on the storms... cause i'm keeping chasing them nevertheless!! ;)
Man I tell you what... this is spot-on. There's also another aspect of this that I certainly experienced last year (as did many other chasers, I'm sure): Simple frustration with the weather just not giving you what you want. I ended up "chasing" garden showers too many times last year, and on one particularly frustrating day I literally called my wife and told her I didn't know why I kept doing this to keep failing. Of course, then you have the days that make up for the failures, like you mentioned. The days that remind us why we keep trying... and those days keep us coming back out for more. Here's to storms in 2019!
I had yet to see this video. This is great. Even though '22 is still a long way away, this will help as 20/21 have easily been two of my worst years as a chaser overall. Thanks for sharing man.
Imagine missing back to back Dodge City and Chapman :/ Targeting the Southern storms both days and failed horribly. Wanted to quit it all, but my father who was with me those days said you can't have success without the failure first. I have a picture hung on my wall of the Mammatus display from Dodge City to remind me everyday of what I failed on to be better at storm chasing every day! Great Video Mike! Thanks!
Mike, I’d like to thank you for getting me involved into “weather” when I’m a bit older I’m definitely going to try and go out to see some beautiful storms/phenomena
I think my biggest flop was back on June 6th, 2018. Was headed towards Wyoming from California knowing there would be some good storms out near Cheyenne, however, as I got into the state the SPC updated the outlook to a slight risk in Central Wyoming. I went against my better judgement and headed up towards Thermopolis, Wyoming instead knowing that I was probably making a mistake. I got on a pretty decent supercell that went tornado warned for a short little while north of Thermopolis, but it died out pretty quickly. After that storm died, I started seeing images of another storm that happened in Laramie, Wyoming which is right near the area I originally targeted. One of the most photogenic tornadoes I have ever seen with amazing LP supercell structure over an area with pretty much nothing in its way. Definitely was painful to think I could've been on that storm, but learning from your mistakes is definitely a part of storm chasing. Anyways, great video Mike! Let's just hope there's no more pains like this for this upcoming season :p
I would pay good money to see a video chase with Daniel Shaw, Pecos Hank, and you Mike. Just think of the great banter over the radio between vehicles! Good video presentation.
Mike thank you for putting out here for all to see. I got in a bad situation and sold all my equipment..don't ever do that! I will forever regret making that mistake.
@@MikeOlbinski I am ok, but will probably not be able to replace my equipment, so goes life. You keep on shooting and I will keep watching your awesome work.
Thank you Mike. You truly touched on both the highs of being on the storm of the day and the lows of missing that epic structure. Yesterday was a painful day. I chased the Skellytown storm and though I got some great shots and the storm came close to producing it failed to do so and then weakened. I missed the far better Hollis storm which became a legendary structural beast. Its far more painful knowing that I "could" - "should" have chosen that storm instead when I had the chance. Thanks for this video as this was the perfect time to watch it.
Yup man, if I had been you I'd have felt the exact same way I'm sure. I felt that way and I didn't even chase yesterday ugh! Always hard missing the good stuff for sure.
Nothing irrational about missing something better. We saw a bird fart tornado at close range in Iowa on April 9th, 2015 and were super happy. Then Rochelle happened. Yea, that one still hurts lol
@@MikeOlbinski I missed Simla for the same reason, and by this point I was so over 2015 and having 3 busted chases in a row I turned my truck around and began heading for home. I stopped, took a deep breath, jammed a couple songs, screamed, told myself tomorrow is a similar setup and how much ANGRIER Id be if I missed another opportunity cause I gave. I turned back around, went to CO and saw 5 beautiful tornadoes the next day. Storm chasing is wild, man.
Great video Mike. I resonate with you with so many points you have mentioned, especially being away from the family. I think the major thing to remember is why we got into chasing into the first place. It's the thrill of the chase, that single ephemeral moment when the light, sound and smell all come together. The evening light being soaked up in the clouds, the sounds of thunder rumbling over the country side, and the smell of the first drops of rain on a field. Those moments are for me the reason I chase, and when I do not get to experience those rumbles of thunder, the swirling structure of the clouds and the lightning striking through the sky, maybe because of a wrong decision I made earlier in the day, that certainly takes the wind out of your sail. Love your work mate, keep up the good chase, and hopefully one day I get to experience the thrill of the chase with you. :D
Hey Jordan, thanks for the comment man. And yeah...being away from family makes the failures harder for me I think, but that's life right haha. Just gotta keep working hard at it and it gets easier to miss stuff. I think. We'll see this year haha. Would be rad to meet up sometime!
I've always wanted to go out and see these storms on the plains. This was very informative on an emotional level. I have experienced similar regret of missing shots with regular video production. It's the curse of the artists.
We're not in control of a lot of things in life- just along for the ride. It's a lot like fishing- you're always going to catch something and there's some great days. Then along comes a perfect day in the perfect spot- and you don't even get a nibble, skunked. Then your buddy calls to brag of the record-sized fish he caught twenty miles away where big fish were nearly jumping into everyone's boats. But somehow you keep going fishing because your luck can't always be bad and you know that those who don't try never succeed. Force a smile and keep going my friend because nobody can do any more than that.
So surreal to hear someone talk about a specific feeling that you've felt before, like exactly the same feeling! I live in the UK and went to Croatia for 10 days chasing... I spent nine days looking up at completely blue skies... and one day packed in 3 really epic storms, its crazy how much it messes with your head! Then last year, I went to Italy for 2 weeks, saw a few storms but nothing spectacular. One day in particular I was keeping an eye on the forecast in the UK as I habitually do and ended up spending the whole day, bearing in mind I had travelled to Italy to see... storms... I sat at my desk in my airbnb and watched the radar/satellite over the UK as a classic great-plains-like supercell developed about an hours drive from where I live... I don't even remember feeling sad or depressed, I literally couldn't believe that had happened, it stunned me for days and still does to this day! Why do we do it to ourselves haha!
Oh yeah man, I can totally relate...I have the same thing in a way. Chased for 11-12 days straight, it wasn't a bad chase at all, but I finally had to go home even though I didn't want to. Happened to be near Denver when I turned for home...next day I get to Phoenix and then in the afternoon start seeing pictures of Simla and Seldon lol. Soooooo painful :)
@@MikeOlbinski That being said, literally these 3 last videos you've done have completely spurred me on to go back to Italy again this summer and try again! So thanks for that man! :D
Been following your channel for a while, and currently its the only one where its weather/storm related. Just wanted to say I find the subject fascinating and really appreciate the work you put in to share such epic imagery
I mean statistically speaking, my worst bust was 11/17/13 where I missed all 73 of the tornadoes that occurred that day, including at least four in Tippecanoe County, IN where I live. But I was so ignorant of the fine nuances of storm chasing at the time, plus most of those tornadoes were not very photogenic anyway, so that one didn't really sting too bad. I've lost count of the number of times I've set up in Illinois and missed tornadoes in my home state of Indiana to the east. I've decided to just start picking target areas 50-100 miles further east of what I think I SHOULD target, and see if that helps my luck. Lol. Great video, Mike, and thanks for sharing.
yep one thing that keeps me going is knowing everyone misses amazing tornadoes, and there are plenty of amazing tornadoes yet to come! just have to keep plugging away at it and eventually you hit the jackpot.
Rest post Mike , tornados are very rare here in Ireland and hard to find . I have been looking for one for a long time . As luck would have it last year I was walking through my kitchen I glanced out the window across the very large lake that sits around half a mile from my house and to my amazement I could see a rope like waterspout coming down out of the cloud right down to the lake surface . I was having a few health problems at the time and was taking a break from photographing storms so had no battery's charged for any of my SLRs . Typical you chase them round the country hoping for such an event for years and it happens in you back yard and your unable to document it . I doubt I will get to see one again in my lifetime but at least I got to see it :-) . Yeah and my phones camera had broken two days earlier lol . Wasn't ment to be . I'm over it now though , I think lol .
Mike, you and what you do are amazing!! It is evident that you can't be everywhere at once but storm chasing is just one of those things where you have to say "Somebody's gotta do it". Take care and keep on keeping on. :^)
This video was really awesome. I'll be in Oklahoma on the 21st-29th of this month. I cant wait but theres always that thought of failure. This video helped me out with that and actually got me even more pumped up. Thanks again for an awesome video
Love this dude! It's really good for everyone, especially the new chasers, to see that failure is pretty normal with storm chasing. I think you just made the whole community happy with this video haha
Another great video, Mike. I wanna share my story as well, because I know that feeling very well. But before I do that, I want to say this: I do not consider myself a “chaser”, more just an observer mostly because I don’t drive around following storms (I still do not have my driver license mostly due to the lack of money but that’s another story), I let storms come to me and I take pictures of them in the fields around my neighborhood in Italy. With that out of the way, this is my story, or better, my stories. First off, I missed two tornadoes, one because I had a fever in the middle of June (I missed a beautiful, highly visible EF2 tornado that tracked over Venice in 2012) and the other because I was getting my hair cut and that led me to miss the worst tornado we had in 45 years, a violent, deadly high EF3/low EF4 in 2015. Second off, my biggest busts came in 2017. The first one was on Easter and what happened was this: a storm, which later became a supercell, exploded right on my area and stayed here for quite a while, then all of the sudden turned almost due south and produced a beautiful tornadic waterspout over the Venetian Lagoon. The second one was in late August and on this day conditions were perfect for supercells, I waited all day long and nothing happened. Suddenly, around 5:30 PM, a storm exploded to the southwest and started moving to the northeast, towards me, so there I was, in the field with a cumulonimbus heading straight towards me, but then it happened: the storm split. The left split tracked in front of me dissipating, the right split turned to the right of 90 degrees and raced southeast becoming the supercell of the year. The only good thing about that day was a lightning bolt that I managed to catch with an evening squall line. So, the lesson I learned was that sometimes Mother Nature just hates you and does everything she can to stop you from seeing something. One thing that I never did was to never give up and always hope for the next storm, in fact later in early September I got a supercell, an hailstorm and two lightning storms in three days in a row. I always say that my area has a bubble that protects us, because thunderstorms die before they can reach us, they change completely direction or they die or they pass us and then they re-develop. So my stories are just pure, bad luck and... there’s just nothing I can do, only wait for the next chance.
Thanks so much Federico for sharing...it sure does feel like weather just hates you sometimes lol. I feel like that a lot, but you keep trying and good things will happen!
Excellent, this was really a lot of help. Especially since I am planning to give this a go for the Spring season here in Texas. Oh, yeah this is very much like traveling several hours to capture the MilkyWay only to have the stars covered by clouds - LOL
I can agree with this. . . . . . I’m from South Australia but I’m currently living in Maryland so I can finish high school. Chasing in the Barossa valley was hard as storms were not common and I was always missing the show because of school. But when it went well it was worth the wait every time. A Severe Squall Line Thunderstorm once moved over the suburbs of Adelaide in 2017, an amazing shelf cloud moved over the city and red dust was thrown over the suburbs as the sun went down. That was my final chase in Adelaide and one of my favourite memories of the place. I used to spent a lot of time just watching the radar during school, even when I was living in Australia I was watching storms live on radar in the United States. The patterns became very clear, along with understanding the storms general movement. I have not gone on a proper chase for a long time, but you’re Videos inspire me to try again when the weather shifts.
November 5, 2017. Enhanced Risk with a 10% TOR on the IN/OH border. My whole team is hyped for this local event. Sunday morning comes and almost everyone, including the driver drops out. Now we have to find a driver because my car and my chase partner’s car aren’t good at all. We take a gamble with a friend and head out. We left for our target area an hour later than planned. Tornado watch pops up, then an hour later supercells fire in our target area. We missed a long-tracked EF-2 wedge by 50 miles. Had we left on time we could’ve caught it. We race to catch up to the storms and poor roads and a lake take us out of range again. We finally catch up to a dying storm that gets swallowed as the whole mode goes linear. Then we get slammed by rain and wind after poorly planning routes. We wait it out, and the squall goes on to produce gorgeous lightning and 10 more tornadoes, every single one we missed. Drove 3 hours home in defeat. My chasing group is pretty new, only starting in January 2017. We haven’t seen any tornadoes yet, barely had any sort of supercell encounters. We live in Ohio, which doesn’t get tornadoes or any good severe weather very often. But what keeps me going is knowing that there will be one glorious day when everything lines up just right, and we’ll watch a beautiful tornado unfold in front of our eyes. Thanks for the video, Mike! Hopefully one day when life and finances allow it, we might see each other in the Plains! -Angelo, the NEOChasers.
I tried to chase that day too (I live in Indiana) but oddly I remember almost nothing about it. According to my Facebook posts I set up near Terre Haute but didn't see anything photo-worthy.
I live in Tucson and working the night shift causes me to miss a lot of great storms. One Sunday last year, I was chasing a local one on a Sunday that had all kinds of promise. I zigged here and it zagged there, missed it. Although I need to invest in a lightning trigger. Meanwhile you and Greg McCown struck paydirt out by Wilcox.... It's nice to know I'm not alone. Thanks for filming this video!
Awesome vid. I’m looking forward to trying to get some decent monsoons this year. Coming out of Maricopa there’s not much time so I miss a lot of the good stuff.
There will always be ups and downs with any job or career choice but it takes a superhuman inner strength and willpower to overcome the very worst of the worst times. Those times make us better individuals, but they'll always be hard, irrespective of how we cope with it.
I feel Brett's pain. On May 25, 2016, we decided to head to Oklahoma that day just to tool around and see some things we hadn't seen before, since it looked to be the slowest day of that week. Sure enough I see the warning go up and the photos from other chasers. I was still pretty happy about Dodge City the day before, but missing Chapman still stings to this day.
Enjoyed it. Hang in there. You've got too many fans. If you sell prints I'd like to know how to get some. You're doing something I'd love to do if I was able to. I'm almost 65 and I'm on disability with copd. At least I get to see them thanks to you. Be safe my friend.
Thank you Craig....you don't have to buy prints, but you can here: gallery.mikeolbinski.com/fineart Appreciate the kind words of support, means so much!
Oh man! This speaks to me! I Totally had that just a month ago. I have to learn not to chase by myself anymore. I missed THE BEST Tornado to hit my Area in a Long time. The Airport in Alexandria had GREAT FOOTAGE. My footage was frickin' nothing but Inflow band winds and Heavy Rain. That day my Forecasting wasn't as much of a problem as me starting too late that day...AND trying to multi-task. I was driving, Checking Radar ( radarscope on phone bc I can't afford a nice laptop set up yet), and trying to Shoot Video...All at the SAME TIME! So I LITERALLY Miscalculated my position from the Tornado and it went just 1.2miles South of my Location. Which in the Plains is fine...but not in Louisiana, lol! The 5:30AM the next morning I was combing the path and saw it Hit a couple buildings just south of where I was, which I find out as I got closer....is MY LITERAL DOCTORS OFFICE I go to. LOL!!!! UGGGGHHHHHH!!!! I COULD HAVE RIPPED MY HAIR OUT! I still am not over it bro. I even have DREAMED this type scenario before too, A scenario where a tornadic supercell comes thru- my area and I wouldnt have to drive far and I get the best shot if my life.... but looks like it will stay a Dream for now. Lol
Awwww man, I feel you there, I've done it and sadly you wont ever get over it haha. But the pain will subside and just make you work harder. But yeah, I feel you...I'm sure it's rare there, just like here in AZ, so if you miss one it hurts, especially when you were so close! Hang in there man!
I am only 19 and I had drove right under a EF-1 which was rain wrapped(Reason I had drove right under it in the first place!) that had just popped up while I was going to a shelter. It has only been a few weeks since that had happened but ever since then I have become even more annoyingly fascinated with these super cell storms and tornado's then before. Did you go to college for anything that had to do with meteorology or? I have thought about my future and knowing that I love storms I was just wondering if there are any tips you could provide.
How do you afford doing all this? planes and renting cars and all the gas! I wish I could see some of these, I live in northern NM and we dont get those kind of storms here, much less tornadoes. Tho if I did see a real tornado Id probably be scared to death! so I just enjoy your and others storm chasing from the safety of my computer. Dont give up!
Hey there! Well, it's my job and I earn a living at doing it, plus other photography, like weddings, family portraits, etc. I do tornado tours, workshops, licensing time-lapse footage, sell prints, etc :) And tornadoes are scary for sure!
i missed A close(3km Nw from my location) non-supercell EF-0 Nado 24july 2018..because of a big tree later i saw funnel Almost finishing minutes.. nxt day My village guy tell me we Saw a Tornado pulling water in sky from Paddy fields. very less tornadoes occurred in my state Punjab.
im 18 and inspiring to storm chase and was wondering if i could tag along sometime and how much $ would you want to tag along im in gulfport ms and just wondering and hope to learn i do know a bit about radar i have gr2 on my pc but never bought it so it ran out but do know how to use some of it and would love to and hope to tag along ive been trying for about two years now to tag along with someone would you know if any of your friends will take me? i understand if not i just want to gain a bit of experience and plan to go get my ged to go for atmospheric science ty for your time -jake ps. i seen pecos hank didnt expect to see him in this vid maybe a tornado from him not him directly haha just seen your site my bad shoulda looked under on the description
STORM CHASING-23 HOURS AND 55 MINUTES OF DRIVING THRU SHEER BOREDOM...5 MINUTES OF THRILLS AND TERROR....AND REALIZING YOU LEFT THE CAMERA CAP ON AFTERWORDS...LMAO......That's the story of my life.
Great topic. I've had several big misses that left me reeling with even physical symptoms for a week or more (insomnia, loss of appetite, inability to focus on work). The good news is I always get over them within a week or two. Looking back at past successes and realizing how much I have to be thankful for is another way to make the occasional major strikeout easier to bear.
haha, if you said "get over them in a day or two" that would be better, but insomnia, depression, loss of appetite for a few weeks is rough. But I'm the same dude. It's tough. You do get over it eventually though and you realize it doesn't really matter!
you ever have nightmares where you’re on an amazing tornado and all your camera/equipment doesn’t work or something and you get the lousiest footage of all time?
June 6th 2020, I'm chasing up in South Dakota on an Enhanced/ Moderate setup when I take a look at the radar back home. Tropical storm Cristobal had spawned a supercell over the Orlando Metro which dropped several weak but photogenic tornadoes, one of which passed only a few miles from my house. Meanwhile here I am 2000 miles away coming up empty handed. That one stung, especially considering I have yet to see my first tornado. It's been more then half a year and I still get frustrated thinking about it.
I hear you man, that's insane! I think I remember seeing those videos of that tornado, so that would be incredibly frustrating and such a bummer! A few miles from your house ugh!
Yeah considering it was my first time storm chasing for real in the plains it sucked. But I like to think about it realistically. I had to make a decision to chase the the setup in the high plains several days earlier to make it in time, and at that time Cristobal wasn’t even forecast to come close enough to Florida to bother with plus the low top supercells that form along tropical systems are really difficult to forecast/ chase so I don’t let it bug me to much. Thanks for responding btw, means a lot. I really admire your work.
Really glad you uploaded this. Anyone who's ever chased and felt disappointment will really benefit from this and feel a renewed sense of hope to keep on chasing.
Yeah, we all face it, but it's sure nice to know others feel the same....it's a tough hobby sometimes.
You can miss some tornado or supercell but you can enjoy any moment of your life. You don't know your chance already to fly, travels, show beautifull place in USA and doing in the same time your passion and possible reward at the end. That's not so bad to miss something because when you have one shoot, we can imagine the hardness to capture one moment and there is not such much guy like you in the world. I remember first time I saw a video from you, it was Monsoon in 4K on my tv. I can't forget this. You are an artist. Thank you to you and your family
You are just like your work: authentic, pure, organized, full of grace.
PECOS HANK!!!!
Love him!
Is your profile pic from that May 9th supercell in southern PA this year?
@@pprophet No, it was from 2015 in Oklahoma :) Or 2016 lol
Mike Olbinski oh that’s cool lol but i meant elan’s radar pfp 😅 turns out I was right too lol it was that storm
@@pprophet May 10th, 2018, York County, PA! Ha, how did you nail that?
The effort was worth it. Your videos are spectacularly beautiful. Although they are storms and tornadoes that cause damage when they occur, seeing them produces peace and inner serenity. It's like nature calms me down, no matter how imposing, strong or devastating, it calms me. I love it. Thanks for sharing it with us.
What an excellent motivational video Mike! This one represents a lot of what my feelings have been, regarding stormchasing! I've been in Tornado Alley for the first time back in 2015, we saw some good storms.. but we missed the Tipton tornado for 10 miles... and then we also missed the Canadian tornado because we thought we couldn't get there on time... so, we left USA without any tornados on our footage.... we bet all again and returned there last May 2018... wasn't the best season, for sure... we got some good storms... but we missed, again, the Arkansas City tornado...and the Roswell tornado (left Roswell a day earlier... and could have stayed there...)... so, kind of disappointed for these 2 years chasing in the Tornado Alley, our "holy grail" for tornados...and still haven't got one in front our eyes.... But i won't give up.. and seeing this video... just motivates me more... so bring on the storms... cause i'm keeping chasing them nevertheless!! ;)
Man I tell you what... this is spot-on. There's also another aspect of this that I certainly experienced last year (as did many other chasers, I'm sure): Simple frustration with the weather just not giving you what you want. I ended up "chasing" garden showers too many times last year, and on one particularly frustrating day I literally called my wife and told her I didn't know why I kept doing this to keep failing.
Of course, then you have the days that make up for the failures, like you mentioned. The days that remind us why we keep trying... and those days keep us coming back out for more. Here's to storms in 2019!
I had yet to see this video. This is great. Even though '22 is still a long way away, this will help as 20/21 have easily been two of my worst years as a chaser overall. Thanks for sharing man.
Imagine missing back to back Dodge City and Chapman :/ Targeting the Southern storms both days and failed horribly. Wanted to quit it all, but my father who was with me those days said you can't have success without the failure first. I have a picture hung on my wall of the Mammatus display from Dodge City to remind me everyday of what I failed on to be better at storm chasing every day! Great Video Mike! Thanks!
Mike, I’d like to thank you for getting me involved into “weather” when I’m a bit older I’m definitely going to try and go out to see some beautiful storms/phenomena
You are welcome and I hope you get to experience storms yourself someday!
Hey Emilio, that's nice we've got something else in common beside racing. I remember you from F1 stuff videos' comments. Cheers man!
I think my biggest flop was back on June 6th, 2018. Was headed towards Wyoming from California knowing there would be some good storms out near Cheyenne, however, as I got into the state the SPC updated the outlook to a slight risk in Central Wyoming. I went against my better judgement and headed up towards Thermopolis, Wyoming instead knowing that I was probably making a mistake. I got on a pretty decent supercell that went tornado warned for a short little while north of Thermopolis, but it died out pretty quickly. After that storm died, I started seeing images of another storm that happened in Laramie, Wyoming which is right near the area I originally targeted. One of the most photogenic tornadoes I have ever seen with amazing LP supercell structure over an area with pretty much nothing in its way. Definitely was painful to think I could've been on that storm, but learning from your mistakes is definitely a part of storm chasing. Anyways, great video Mike! Let's just hope there's no more pains like this for this upcoming season :p
I would pay good money to see a video chase with Daniel Shaw, Pecos Hank, and you Mike. Just think of the great banter over the radio between vehicles! Good video presentation.
Thanks man...I would love to chase with those fools, it would be amazing haha
Mike thank you for putting out here for all to see. I got in a bad situation and sold all my equipment..don't ever do that! I will forever regret making that mistake.
Wow, that's brutal! I hope you are okay now!
@@MikeOlbinski I am ok, but will probably not be able to replace my equipment, so goes life. You keep on shooting and I will keep watching your awesome work.
Thank you Mike. You truly touched on both the highs of being on the storm of the day and the lows of missing that epic structure. Yesterday was a painful day. I chased the Skellytown storm and though I got some great shots and the storm came close to producing it failed to do so and then weakened. I missed the far better Hollis storm which became a legendary structural beast. Its far more painful knowing that I "could" - "should" have chosen that storm instead when I had the chance. Thanks for this video as this was the perfect time to watch it.
Yup man, if I had been you I'd have felt the exact same way I'm sure. I felt that way and I didn't even chase yesterday ugh! Always hard missing the good stuff for sure.
Nothing irrational about missing something better. We saw a bird fart tornado at close range in Iowa on April 9th, 2015 and were super happy. Then Rochelle happened. Yea, that one still hurts lol
Ugh haha! Man, that's painful...been there. Went home the day before Simla ugh
@@MikeOlbinski I missed Simla for the same reason, and by this point I was so over 2015 and having 3 busted chases in a row I turned my truck around and began heading for home. I stopped, took a deep breath, jammed a couple songs, screamed, told myself tomorrow is a similar setup and how much ANGRIER Id be if I missed another opportunity cause I gave. I turned back around, went to CO and saw 5 beautiful tornadoes the next day. Storm chasing is wild, man.
Great video Mike. I resonate with you with so many points you have mentioned, especially being away from the family. I think the major thing to remember is why we got into chasing into the first place. It's the thrill of the chase, that single ephemeral moment when the light, sound and smell all come together. The evening light being soaked up in the clouds, the sounds of thunder rumbling over the country side, and the smell of the first drops of rain on a field. Those moments are for me the reason I chase, and when I do not get to experience those rumbles of thunder, the swirling structure of the clouds and the lightning striking through the sky, maybe because of a wrong decision I made earlier in the day, that certainly takes the wind out of your sail.
Love your work mate, keep up the good chase, and hopefully one day I get to experience the thrill of the chase with you. :D
Hey Jordan, thanks for the comment man. And yeah...being away from family makes the failures harder for me I think, but that's life right haha. Just gotta keep working hard at it and it gets easier to miss stuff. I think. We'll see this year haha. Would be rad to meet up sometime!
I've always wanted to go out and see these storms on the plains. This was very informative on an emotional level. I have experienced similar regret of missing shots with regular video production. It's the curse of the artists.
We're not in control of a lot of things in life- just along for the ride. It's a lot like fishing- you're always going to catch something and there's some great days. Then along comes a perfect day in the perfect spot- and you don't even get a nibble, skunked. Then your buddy calls to brag of the record-sized fish he caught twenty miles away where big fish were nearly jumping into everyone's boats. But somehow you keep going fishing because your luck can't always be bad and you know that those who don't try never succeed. Force a smile and keep going my friend because nobody can do any more than that.
That time lapse towards the end is gorgeous Mike!
Thanks Dustin!
Great piece of work! Fascinating, very human, very real. Thank you for making this.
Thank you!
So surreal to hear someone talk about a specific feeling that you've felt before, like exactly the same feeling! I live in the UK and went to Croatia for 10 days chasing... I spent nine days looking up at completely blue skies... and one day packed in 3 really epic storms, its crazy how much it messes with your head! Then last year, I went to Italy for 2 weeks, saw a few storms but nothing spectacular. One day in particular I was keeping an eye on the forecast in the UK as I habitually do and ended up spending the whole day, bearing in mind I had travelled to Italy to see... storms... I sat at my desk in my airbnb and watched the radar/satellite over the UK as a classic great-plains-like supercell developed about an hours drive from where I live... I don't even remember feeling sad or depressed, I literally couldn't believe that had happened, it stunned me for days and still does to this day! Why do we do it to ourselves haha!
Oh yeah man, I can totally relate...I have the same thing in a way. Chased for 11-12 days straight, it wasn't a bad chase at all, but I finally had to go home even though I didn't want to. Happened to be near Denver when I turned for home...next day I get to Phoenix and then in the afternoon start seeing pictures of Simla and Seldon lol. Soooooo painful :)
@@MikeOlbinski That being said, literally these 3 last videos you've done have completely spurred me on to go back to Italy again this summer and try again! So thanks for that man! :D
Thanks for sharing this Mike!! We were there live and bummed you couldn't make it. Hope you and the fam are well!
Been following your channel for a while, and currently its the only one where its weather/storm related. Just wanted to say I find the subject fascinating and really appreciate the work you put in to share such epic imagery
Hang in there Mike. Your time lapses are the best there is. Your still photos ain't too shabby either.
Thanks so much John! I appreciate the kind words man :)
I mean statistically speaking, my worst bust was 11/17/13 where I missed all 73 of the tornadoes that occurred that day, including at least four in Tippecanoe County, IN where I live. But I was so ignorant of the fine nuances of storm chasing at the time, plus most of those tornadoes were not very photogenic anyway, so that one didn't really sting too bad. I've lost count of the number of times I've set up in Illinois and missed tornadoes in my home state of Indiana to the east. I've decided to just start picking target areas 50-100 miles further east of what I think I SHOULD target, and see if that helps my luck. Lol. Great video, Mike, and thanks for sharing.
Nice statue over your shoulder. Congratulations. Mine is from 92. Those were great days. Enjoy yours.
Thanks man, likely the only one I'll receive, but very proud of it!
Mike Olbinski Your editing and camera work are deserving. Who knows what the future may bring. Keep on!
I think the main lesson of this video can be applied to whatever it is that you are trying to do. Good stuff.
Yeah, totally agree there...anything you are passionate about pursuing probably has a lot of the same issues and frustrations!
yep one thing that keeps me going is knowing everyone misses amazing tornadoes, and there are plenty of amazing tornadoes yet to come! just have to keep plugging away at it and eventually you hit the jackpot.
Rest post Mike , tornados are very rare here in Ireland and hard to find . I have been looking for one for a long time . As luck would have it last year I was walking through my kitchen I glanced out the window across the very large lake that sits around half a mile from my house and to my amazement I could see a rope like waterspout coming down out of the cloud right down to the lake surface .
I was having a few health problems at the time and was taking a break from photographing storms so had no battery's charged for any of my SLRs . Typical you chase them round the country hoping for such an event for years and it happens in you back yard and your unable to document it . I doubt I will get to see one again in my lifetime but at least I got to see it :-) . Yeah and my phones camera had broken two days earlier lol . Wasn't ment to be . I'm over it now though , I think lol .
Mike, you and what you do are amazing!! It is evident that you can't be everywhere at once but storm chasing is just one of those things where you have to say "Somebody's gotta do it". Take care and keep on keeping on. :^)
"Hurry up and wait" is the iron rule of storm chasing in order to compensate for any possible delays in getting to your target area.
This video was really awesome. I'll be in Oklahoma on the 21st-29th of this month. I cant wait but theres always that thought of failure. This video helped me out with that and actually got me even more pumped up. Thanks again for an awesome video
It's gonna be busy, you should be good!
Oh I'm sure the convergence will be crazy. But we will see models looked great yesterday. Not so much today
Love this dude! It's really good for everyone, especially the new chasers, to see that failure is pretty normal with storm chasing. I think you just made the whole community happy with this video haha
Thanks Sean! Haha, I dunno if I made them happy or relive some pain :) But I do appreciate that!
Another great video, Mike. I wanna share my story as well, because I know that feeling very well. But before I do that, I want to say this: I do not consider myself a “chaser”, more just an observer mostly because I don’t drive around following storms (I still do not have my driver license mostly due to the lack of money but that’s another story), I let storms come to me and I take pictures of them in the fields around my neighborhood in Italy. With that out of the way, this is my story, or better, my stories. First off, I missed two tornadoes, one because I had a fever in the middle of June (I missed a beautiful, highly visible EF2 tornado that tracked over Venice in 2012) and the other because I was getting my hair cut and that led me to miss the worst tornado we had in 45 years, a violent, deadly high EF3/low EF4 in 2015. Second off, my biggest busts came in 2017. The first one was on Easter and what happened was this: a storm, which later became a supercell, exploded right on my area and stayed here for quite a while, then all of the sudden turned almost due south and produced a beautiful tornadic waterspout over the Venetian Lagoon. The second one was in late August and on this day conditions were perfect for supercells, I waited all day long and nothing happened. Suddenly, around 5:30 PM, a storm exploded to the southwest and started moving to the northeast, towards me, so there I was, in the field with a cumulonimbus heading straight towards me, but then it happened: the storm split. The left split tracked in front of me dissipating, the right split turned to the right of 90 degrees and raced southeast becoming the supercell of the year. The only good thing about that day was a lightning bolt that I managed to catch with an evening squall line. So, the lesson I learned was that sometimes Mother Nature just hates you and does everything she can to stop you from seeing something. One thing that I never did was to never give up and always hope for the next storm, in fact later in early September I got a supercell, an hailstorm and two lightning storms in three days in a row. I always say that my area has a bubble that protects us, because thunderstorms die before they can reach us, they change completely direction or they die or they pass us and then they re-develop. So my stories are just pure, bad luck and... there’s just nothing I can do, only wait for the next chance.
Thanks so much Federico for sharing...it sure does feel like weather just hates you sometimes lol. I feel like that a lot, but you keep trying and good things will happen!
That was great! Thanks for sharing it. It makes me glad I chase trains and not tornadoes.
Excellent, this was really a lot of help. Especially since I am planning to give this a go for the Spring season here in Texas. Oh, yeah this is very much like traveling several hours to capture the MilkyWay only to have the stars covered by clouds - LOL
YUP, it almost almost be relatable to most artistic endeavors probably haha
Your work is amazing! Thanks for sharing your experience, this looks like fun stuff!
It is! And thank you for the kind words!
Lol. Daniel Shaw, man. He’s even more of a trip in person! XD
He's a wildman :)
I can agree with this.
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I’m from South Australia but I’m currently living in Maryland so I can finish high school. Chasing in the Barossa valley was hard as storms were not common and I was always missing the show because of school. But when it went well it was worth the wait every time.
A Severe Squall Line Thunderstorm once moved over the suburbs of Adelaide in 2017, an amazing shelf cloud moved over the city and red dust was thrown over the suburbs as the sun went down. That was my final chase in Adelaide and one of my favourite memories of the place.
I used to spent a lot of time just watching the radar during school, even when I was living in Australia I was watching storms live on radar in the United States. The patterns became very clear, along with understanding the storms general movement.
I have not gone on a proper chase for a long time, but you’re Videos inspire me to try again when the weather shifts.
Do it! And I'd love to chase in Australia sometime, especially the NSW area I believe with all the dust storms!
HORIZON HIGHWAY Maryland storms usually kinda suck, especially east of Baltimore
November 5, 2017. Enhanced Risk with a 10% TOR on the IN/OH border. My whole team is hyped for this local event. Sunday morning comes and almost everyone, including the driver drops out. Now we have to find a driver because my car and my chase partner’s car aren’t good at all. We take a gamble with a friend and head out. We left for our target area an hour later than planned. Tornado watch pops up, then an hour later supercells fire in our target area. We missed a long-tracked EF-2 wedge by 50 miles. Had we left on time we could’ve caught it.
We race to catch up to the storms and poor roads and a lake take us out of range again. We finally catch up to a dying storm that gets swallowed as the whole mode goes linear. Then we get slammed by rain and wind after poorly planning routes. We wait it out, and the squall goes on to produce gorgeous lightning and 10 more tornadoes, every single one we missed. Drove 3 hours home in defeat.
My chasing group is pretty new, only starting in January 2017. We haven’t seen any tornadoes yet, barely had any sort of supercell encounters. We live in Ohio, which doesn’t get tornadoes or any good severe weather very often. But what keeps me going is knowing that there will be one glorious day when everything lines up just right, and we’ll watch a beautiful tornado unfold in front of our eyes. Thanks for the video, Mike! Hopefully one day when life and finances allow it, we might see each other in the Plains!
-Angelo, the NEOChasers.
Keep at it man, tough story, I can totally understand that...it WILL happen, hang in there!
I tried to chase that day too (I live in Indiana) but oddly I remember almost nothing about it. According to my Facebook posts I set up near Terre Haute but didn't see anything photo-worthy.
I live in Tucson and working the night shift causes me to miss a lot of great storms. One Sunday last year, I was chasing a local one on a Sunday that had all kinds of promise. I zigged here and it zagged there, missed it. Although I need to invest in a lightning trigger. Meanwhile you and Greg McCown struck paydirt out by Wilcox.... It's nice to know I'm not alone. Thanks for filming this video!
Awesome vid. I’m looking forward to trying to get some decent monsoons this year. Coming out of Maricopa there’s not much time so I miss a lot of the good stuff.
Being in Maricopa is a great spot! Close to all the stuff down there, enjoy it!
There will always be ups and downs with any job or career choice but it takes a superhuman inner strength and willpower to overcome the very worst of the worst times. Those times make us better individuals, but they'll always be hard, irrespective of how we cope with it.
Totally agree
Funny your unconscious body language when showing the storms you missed Mike. The trauma is real!
So real haha
I feel Brett's pain. On May 25, 2016, we decided to head to Oklahoma that day just to tool around and see some things we hadn't seen before, since it looked to be the slowest day of that week. Sure enough I see the warning go up and the photos from other chasers. I was still pretty happy about Dodge City the day before, but missing Chapman still stings to this day.
Yeah, I could say "at least you saw Dodge City"...but I would still be pissed as well lol
I can’t wait to Storm chase! I want to photograph Tornadoes & Supercell Thunderstorms! I already document lightning!
Thank you o much for posting this.....
You are welcome!
Enjoyed it. Hang in there. You've got too many fans. If you sell prints I'd like to know how to get some. You're doing something I'd love to do if I was able to. I'm almost 65 and I'm on disability with copd. At least I get to see them thanks to you. Be safe my friend.
Thank you Craig....you don't have to buy prints, but you can here: gallery.mikeolbinski.com/fineart
Appreciate the kind words of support, means so much!
You really do look like the 'elder' Brett Wright. Also of note, I want the Yeti Black. Now to get beyond 45 seconds of the video.
Awesome work!!!!
Thank you Luis!
Check out the Midwest right now there’s a big blizzard. I’m in Wisconsin
Oh man! This speaks to me! I Totally had that just a month ago. I have to learn not to chase by myself anymore. I missed THE BEST Tornado to hit my Area in a Long time. The Airport in Alexandria had GREAT FOOTAGE. My footage was frickin' nothing but Inflow band winds and Heavy Rain.
That day my Forecasting wasn't as much of a problem as me starting too late that day...AND trying to multi-task.
I was driving, Checking Radar ( radarscope on phone bc I can't afford a nice laptop set up yet), and trying to Shoot Video...All at the SAME TIME! So I LITERALLY Miscalculated my position from the Tornado and it went just 1.2miles South of my Location. Which in the Plains is fine...but not in Louisiana, lol!
The 5:30AM the next morning I was combing the path and saw it Hit a couple buildings just south of where I was, which I find out as I got closer....is MY LITERAL DOCTORS OFFICE I go to. LOL!!!! UGGGGHHHHHH!!!! I COULD HAVE RIPPED MY HAIR OUT!
I still am not over it bro. I even have DREAMED this type scenario before too, A scenario where a tornadic supercell comes thru- my area and I wouldnt have to drive far and I get the best shot if my life.... but looks like it will stay a Dream for now. Lol
Awwww man, I feel you there, I've done it and sadly you wont ever get over it haha. But the pain will subside and just make you work harder. But yeah, I feel you...I'm sure it's rare there, just like here in AZ, so if you miss one it hurts, especially when you were so close! Hang in there man!
@@MikeOlbinski thanks bud
that was awesome mike
haha, thanks Shane!
I am only 19 and I had drove right under a EF-1 which was rain wrapped(Reason I had drove right under it in the first place!) that had just popped up while I was going to a shelter. It has only been a few weeks since that had happened but ever since then I have become even more annoyingly fascinated with these super cell storms and tornado's then before. Did you go to college for anything that had to do with meteorology or? I have thought about my future and knowing that I love storms I was just wondering if there are any tips you could provide.
¡¡¡¡Wooow!!!!,nunca dejan de sorprenderme tus videos. Felicitaciones.
excellent video. I have never photographed tornadoes. What kind of lens do you use for this for this kind of photography?
The Grind. It’s worth it all!!!!! :)
Yes!
I’ll be out tomorrow. Louisiana Bound now.
Lol Daniel Shaw always hyper. Love that guy.
ALWAYS
CAFFEINE! Lol.
Really interesting. Thanks for sharing it.
Welcome!
Did you go to southern Alabama? Tornadoes down there
I don't really, so many trees...but they do get their fair amount of tornadoes sadly
Well then come to Wisconsin or Iowa or Minnesota
Do you ever live stream your chases?
SOOOO MUCHHHHH PAINNNNN
How do you afford doing all this? planes and renting cars and all the gas! I wish I could see some of these, I live in northern NM and we dont get those kind of storms here, much less tornadoes. Tho if I did see a real tornado Id probably be scared to death! so I just enjoy your and others storm chasing from the safety of my computer. Dont give up!
Hey there! Well, it's my job and I earn a living at doing it, plus other photography, like weddings, family portraits, etc. I do tornado tours, workshops, licensing time-lapse footage, sell prints, etc :) And tornadoes are scary for sure!
@@MikeOlbinski Hi Mike, You said you do tornado tours how do I go about getting on one of those tours?
@@biancapierce639 Link is above: www.mikeolbinski.com/plains-chase/ Are you interested in going this June? I could make room, just unsure yet :)
i missed A close(3km Nw from my location) non-supercell EF-0 Nado 24july 2018..because of a big tree later i saw funnel Almost finishing minutes.. nxt day My village guy tell me we Saw a Tornado pulling water in sky from Paddy fields.
very less tornadoes occurred in my state Punjab.
Parwinder Singh Dude you really want a film like Monsoon in India?
im 18 and inspiring to storm chase and was wondering if i could tag along sometime and how much $ would you want to tag along im in gulfport ms and just wondering and hope to learn i do know a bit about radar i have gr2 on my pc but never bought it so it ran out but do know how to use some of it and would love to and hope to tag along ive been trying for about two years now to tag along with someone would you know if any of your friends will take me? i understand if not i just want to gain a bit of experience and plan to go get my ged to go for atmospheric science ty for your time -jake ps. i seen pecos hank didnt expect to see him in this vid maybe a tornado from him not him directly haha just seen your site my bad shoulda looked under on the description
Hey Jake...sorry man, I don't let people tag along really, but I have tours starting around $3000 for 7 to 10 days in the spring.
STORM CHASING-23 HOURS AND 55 MINUTES OF DRIVING THRU SHEER BOREDOM...5 MINUTES OF THRILLS AND TERROR....AND REALIZING YOU LEFT THE CAMERA CAP ON AFTERWORDS...LMAO......That's the story of my life.
what the heck is an Aussie doin in SD?
We pop up everywhere mate...Aussies love a good adventure
I've never seen a tornado in real life
Most people havent!
Ur a God
lol thank you
You fail your way to success....