Strong winds, cold air, a fierce thunderstorm—the signs of a tornado forming. While most of us run away from this type of weather, Connor Mockett runs toward it. From a young age, the 21-year-old Winchester native and Foodland employee held a strong interest in weather that has inspired his main passion in life: being a storm chaser.
In this interview, Connor tells us about how he got swept into the world of storm chasing (pun intended!), his most memorable adventures, and some of the tips and tricks that he’s learned along the way.
What inspired you to become a storm chaser?
I got into it when I was about nine years old from watching a show called Storm Chasers. There was one guy on the show named Reed Timmer, he’s well-known across the world for storm chasing and meteorology. He inspired me a lot to become a storm chaser. And once I started, I never looked back. I’m just so passionate about it that it’s hard for me not to chase storms at this point.
What does the process of chasing a storm look like?
I use websites to look at short-term weather models a few days out, and I make my own forecast. Once I have my forecast, I pick my target area and then I get in my car and go. I have a set up in my car with an iPad so that I can look at a radar while I’m driving towards my storm. There’s a part on a radar called ‘velocity’, which tells you how a storm is rotating, so as I’m driving I’m watching velocity and which direction the storm is going. But as soon as I’m on my storm, it’s not about analyzing radar. It’s all about using your eyes to look at the storm because there’s no point looking at a radar when the storm is right in front of you.
once I started, I never looked back. I’m just so passionate about it that it’s hard for me not to chase storms at this point.
Describe the feeling of watching a storm after a successful chase.
I can’t even describe it, it’s pure… elation.
What essentials do you carry in your storm chasing toolkit?
I’ve got my iPad for radar, a dashcam in my car, my cameras, gas… it’s really not that much. I have two cameras that I always have with me, one for regular photography and a video camera just in case I end up seeing a tornado somewhere. The storms that I chase are called supercell thunderstorms. You need a supercell to produce a tornado. I haven’t seen a tornado yet, but when the day comes I’ll be prepared.
What has been your favourite chase so far?
Probably July 3rd of this year (2021) in Water Valley, Alberta. We saw an incredible storm that came across the Alberta foothills that dumped ping-pong ball-sized hail on the road. I was chasing with a buddy of mine that has a special truck made for hail protection, but the hail was so big that it still dented the truck. There was a really nice shelf cloud on the leading edge of the storm. It was incredibly photogenic, my favourite chase ever.
How has the season been back home this year?
It’s been pretty good here actually. I’ve been out 10, maybe 15 times this year, which is a lot. I’ve seen quite a few decently photogenic storms. I saw one up in Renfrew in July, it was the most amazing storm I’ve ever seen in Ontario. You need rotation for a tornado to happen, and the storm had a big rotating wall cloud. I was shocked that I didn’t see a tornado that day, but it was extremely photogenic, to say the least.
What’s your favourite part about storm chasing?
Out here there aren’t many people that are into storm chasing, but I have a lot of friends out West that are. One of my favourite parts about chasing is the side-of-the-road meetups with everybody because we’re all just standing there laughing with each other, waiting for storms. It’s just a really fun time with friends on the side of the road.
What’s your advice for someone who wants to become a storm chaser?
Don’t go into places that you don’t know. You have to learn about an area before you go into it because a strong storm can drop a tornado and if you don’t know which way it’s going it’ll literally kill you. So you have to know what you’re doing. You can learn a lot about storm chasing online. There are free online classes all over the place, and even YouTube is a good place to learn.
Do you have hopes for the future of taking your passion for storm chasing any further?
Yeah, I do. Somehow, someway, I would like to work for somebody who will pay me to chase storms for them and take photos… something along those lines.
Follow Connor and his storm chasing on Facebook and Twitter.
