Well folks, it’s April. Springtime is here, most of the snow is gone, and severe weather is right on the doorstep. Next week is looking volatile on the latest model runs, and this is your first chance to ride along with us in pursuit of nature’s fury. If you live in or are willing to meet us in central or southern Oklahoma or northern Texas on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday, and you want to experience storm chasing during potential severe weather outbreaks, then let us know! We take people on a first-come first-serve basis, and space is limited.

Here’s a look at the three severe weather days on the horizon. These three images show CAPE (Convective Available Potential Energy) in the southern Plains on Sunday, April 7, Monday, April 8, and Tuesday, April 9 respectively. At this time, Monday looks to be the most volatile of the three, although severe weather is certainly possible on the other two days as well (images courtesy TwisterData.com). We’ll quite possibly meet up and chase with Tornado Titans on one or more of these setups as well!

If you want to chase with us on one or more of these days and you’re available to be in these areas where we can meet you, please fill out the form below! It’s free to get on the notification list. If you decide to join us when we contact you, daily tours are $350 per person per day. It’s almost certain we’ll see tornadoes, and you can be there with us taking in this experience! You must give us valid contact info, or we can’t get in touch with you. And remember, space is limited. If we can’t take you this time, check our blog often and follow us on social media. We will also announce upcoming chases on Facebook and Twitter!

It’s March. It’s meteorological spring. Snow is melting, the conventions are over, forecasts are out, and storm season is knocking on the door. I don’t know about you, but we are very busy getting prepared for it! So far this year we have chased the blizzard in northwest Oklahoma on February 25 and a linear mess of a storm setup in north Texas on March 9. Nothing too spectacular yet this year, but it’s technically not even spring for another week!

If you want to join us on the road this spring, now is the time to act! We’ve got weeklong and daily tours available that are the best value you’ll find anywhere. Come join us and experience something you’ll never forget. That guy you know at work is going to the beach? Who cares. You’ll be on the open road with us hunting down tornadoes. That’s much cooler!

It’s a little over four weeks until weeklong tours start, and daily tours are starting very soon. When we have daily spots available, we will call those on our interest list, and then post them here, on Facebook, and on Twitter. It’s free to get on the interest list. Just click “Storm Chasing Tours” on the menu above, choose “Day Tours,” and fill out the form.

To keep up with us this year, follow us on Twitter and on Facebook!

In scouring the Internet for more extreme things to do in the off-season, I recently came across an article from LonelyPlanet.com. In case you’re wondering what LonelyPlanet is and if only lonely people go there, let me shed some light on the subject.

LonelyPlanet is all about helping travelers get started. From planning to what to do while you’re there, they have book after book (and of course the website) to help everyone get the most out of their journeys.

When I got to the article Adventure playground USA: the top 10 adrenalin rushes, I honestly didn’t expect Tornado Alley to be on there. I mean, it’s one thing to live there or chase there, but who really considers taking a storm tour? Oh wait, anyone that’s reading this blog right now.

The first several adventures were clearly of the extreme nature: ice climbing, rock climbing, canyoneering…the list goes on. But before kayaking, before sandboarding, came Storm Chase in Tornado Alley. I was shocked! There it was: my hobby, my love, for anyone to take a shot at (with a camera). And LonelyPlanet had great things to say about it.

“In spring winds spin wildly at up to 500km/h and Tornado Alley can experience more than 400 twisters. … You probably are in Kansas now, Dorothy.”

I’m trying to see just who at LonelyPlanet took a tour, and how many tornadoes the came across. Our goal? To beat that tour’s record day. But what really made my whole day about this article is that even though Tornado Alley came in at #7, we still beat out Manta Rays in Hawaii. Boom.

Want to learn more about LonelyPlanet? Check out www.lonelyplanet.com for more.

Minnesota Storm Chasing Convention

In the past few weeks, Rapid Rotation Tours has been doing some traveling! On January 26, Chris McBee and Rachel Sager traveled to Big Lake, MN for the 5th annual Minnesota Storm Chasing Convention. Many chasers from all over the U.S. were there, including filmographer and TIV I & II creator Sean Casey, attending as the keynote speaker. It certainly was cold, but it was a great convention.

The trip home proved pretty arduous, as a large crippling winter storm was plaguing the Northern Plains. The snow in Minneapolis resulted in long airline delays for our flight back to Denver. Chris didn’t arrive back to Norman, OK until nearly 3 a.m.

15th Annual Chasercon!

Cut to a few weeks later when Chris, Damon Bearden, and Rachel attended the 15th annual National Storm Chasers Convention (Chasercon) in Denver from February 15-17. It was a great time as always, storm chasers from around the world were in attendance. Some of the many speakers included Dr. Greg Forbes from The Weather Channel, Tim Samaras of Team TWISTEX and Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers, engineer and legendary chaser Tim Marshall, and Brandon Sullivan of Tornado Titans. We took a look back at the 2012 storm season, learned more about chasing safety, were informed and entertained by Tim Marshall’s Star Trek-themed presentation (the latest in a line of movie- and TV-themed hilarity), and listened to a very well-done overview of sounding data by Brandon Sullivan.

The culmination of Chasercon is always Video Night, held late on Saturday night when chasers can submit their best videos of the previous year for everyone to see. It’s the best time before storm season to view up-close high-quality tornado footage, and is looked forward to by everyone.

Rapid Rotation Tours was a part of Chasercon for the first time! We rented booth space in the vendor area among some of the most well-known companies in the storm chasing world (ChaserTV, KDR Media, Tornado Titans, Baron Services, and more). Below is a picture of Rapid Rotation tour guides Chris (right) and Damon (center). On the left is Kansas storm chaser Dillon Killoren, a friend of ours who volunteered to help us out with the booth. A big thanks to everyone who stopped by! We met some great people, got to talk with lots of severe weather enthusiasts, and of course got to socialize with other storm chasers! Can’t wait for next year!

Some pictures from Chasercon:

Tim Marshall, as Spock’s brother Spark, giving a very logical account of his 2012 season.

Brandon Sullivan of Tornado Titans, analyzing sounding data.

Dr. Greg Forbes of The Weather Channel, speaking about the 2012 severe weather season.

We don’t know about you, but we are getting excited for spring 2013! We have big plans for storm season, and we’d love for you to be a part of it as well. We plan to chase everything we can between April and June, and we hope to observe as many tornadoes as possible.

By now, you’ve probably heard that we’ve lowered our prices. $2,250 will now get you a full week on the highways of America with experienced storm chasers. If you’ve ever wanted to get out there in the elements and see Mother Nature at her angriest, this is your answer. You don’t have to worry about navigation and trip planning. Leave all that to us. Book your seats soon though!

If you still have some questions about our mission, check out this video just released today! In December, Rapid Rotation’s lead storm chaser Chris McBee met with Chris Sanner of Tornado Titans for an interview. They spoke about the upcoming storm season, and what our guests can expect on the tour.