Tempest Tours

Name: Christoffer Björkwall
Tour: Tour #2: Oklahoma F5 tour
Year: 2013
Blogged about the tour: Read more

General review

I managed to end up on this tour during the worst Tornado Draught for decades (according to USA Today). Not the best setting... We started with a decent chase day, followed by 4-5 down days, untill we finally caught some nice super cells. This kind of weather really puts a tour company (and its tour guide) to the test and I think Tempest Tours made it through. The down days were spent in the Texas desert which was quite pleasurable. When the storms started to pick up we ended up on the best performing storm in the state, well positioned, on pretty much every occation. That is really the best you can expect from a storm chasing tour company. My major feeling about Tempest is that they are professionals. There is an attention to details, quality and safety that I really appreciated. Information before and during the trip was excellent (with some few exceptions) and the fact they send out a survey after each tour shows, of many small things, that Tempest are a real business and not just a bunch of storm chasers letting others tag along.

Tour guide review

Brian Morganti is a great storm chaser. He has the skill and the experience to know exactly what to do in every situation we were in. We were chasing during a record low season (a great low pressure made it snow in Oklahoma during our tour) but Brian managed to find the best performing storm almost every day. We had 4-5 down days during our tour but Brian brought us to interesting places on those days as well. On the negative side, it seemed that the stress of the bad weather (i.e. sunshine) affected his mood a bit and I would not have mind more information during the tour. I may not be the easiest tour guest though since I am highly involved in the chase and want to understand everything....for someone who likes to just relax and let the tour take you wherever, this will not be an issue. Although there could have been more information during the tour, there were **extensive** briefings every morning (45-60 minutes). They were **outstanding** especially if you, like me, really want to understand what's going on. Storm chasing is a numbers game and I would bet on Brian for the long run! With better weather conditions I have no doubt he would have found some tornadoes for us as well.

Vehicle review

A perfectly good, clean van with all the storm chasing equipment necessary. Additionaly, they have a big screen for the backseat, which is really interesting since you can see everything the tour guide can see on his computer. Having said that, the vans is one of the things that brings the grade down. Considering how much time is spent in (as well as getting into and out of) the van during a chase I think a bit more attention could be spent on the comfort in it. The seats didn't give any real support and there were no neck support. This might seem like tiny details but it was a bit annoying after a while. A PA-system in the van in order to hear the tour guide and WiFi is something I missed as well.
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Name: Mitch
Tour: Mini Tour A - High Plains Tornado Tour
Year: 2019

General review

The tour was mostly very good. We were put in very good positions to observe storms for all the chase days, even on one day where it was uncertain if any storms would even form. Not once did I feel like I was in danger. I also learned a good deal of information about storm structure, and reading and interpreting radar, analysis maps, and forecast models. There was an adequate amount of stops for food and the bathroom, they tried their hardest to cater to our needs. Nightly accommodations were much better than I expected, we stayed in low-end but reliable hotel/motel chains. And I loved the guests in the vans. They were all as eager to chase as I was, and I'm a pretty big severe weather geek myself. My only problem - although it's a very small one - was that I felt on down days they catered more to the photographers on the tour than guests with only a smartphone. Wildlife and abandoned houses are nice at first, but a non-photographer gets bored with them after awhile. Near the end of the second down day, half of us just wanted to get to the hotel already, but they kept stopping for the photographers to take pictures of everything. But that was a very minor inconvenience, I really enjoyed the tour and I'll probably chase with Tempest again in the future.

Tour guide review

Bill Reid was our guide and he was great. On our first chase day I found out just how knowledgeable he was, when he drove us to an area full of cumulus clouds and pointed out where a storm would form. Sure enough, it became a supercell which we tracked for over 4 hours. On our other two chase days, supercells were hard to find but he took us to the most photogenic storms I've ever seen. They had tons of lightning with them and some gorgeous sunsets as backdrops. For one of the chases, he took us on winding back roads that probably less than 10 people travel on per day, yet somehow managed to put us in a perfect spot to view the storms. It's quite a testament to how familiar he is with the road networks throughout the plains. I also loved how he would crack jokes no matter what the situation was, whether it was during the morning briefing or the chase itself. And he always seemed to pick out the best hotels and restaurants.

Vehicle review

The vans were fine, no complaints here. One was a Chevy and the other was a Ford. Not much difference, if any, between the two vans. There is a CB radio in both of them for communication between Bill and the drivers. There's also a screen on the back of the driver's seat which usually shows the radar, unless Bill is looking at the analysis maps or models. Wifi is available everywhere there's a cell signal, but I found the data on my phone to be faster. Seats are fairly comfortable, about what you'd expect. There are seat belt cushions to prevent them from sinking into your neck, which I thought was a nice touch. Overall, the vans were good enough that I didn't mind spending >90% of my days in them.
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Name: disaster363
Tour: Tour 3: Tornado Bliss Tour
Year: 2016

General review

I have been fascinated by weather all my life. I decided on my 50th Birthday to take a Storm Chasing Tour. After researching a lot of tour companies I found Tempest Tours. After completing my research on the tour company I was more then satisfied that this was the company I was going with. I was both concerned and excited while signing up for my tour. ON the Tempest Tours webpage I found their section on FAQ which helped answer a lot of my questions. The questions that I could not answer on the webpage I sent to the staff of Tempest Tours who answered all of my questions promptly and efficiently. This eased all of my concerns ensured me that I choose the correct company. Once arriving in Oklahoma and meeting with the group I knew I was in for an experience of a life time. Overnight accommodations were comfortable and provided the necessities a traveler requires. Most if not all stops had breakfast and free WIFI for the guest. I would and have suggested this adventure with Tempest Tours to my family and friends. I can not wait until my next trip!

Tour guide review

The morning starts of with a weather briefing to include an explanation on where we are going and why. There was no question that our guide was a subject matter expert (SME) as he both presented the overview in an educational approach that even today I still use what I learned in my full-time job. Our guide used the latest weather modules and NWS tools to explain his decisions and show both the known and unknown to our chase day

Vehicle review

The transportation was just as they explained to us in our welcome email and on the website. All guests have a window view to ensure that you do not miss any of the action as we are traveling. The vehicles were extremely clean and well maintained. The drivers provided safe travel and assistance throughout our tour and always ensured that the passages were informed of the storms we were chasing and when our next stop would be.
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Name: Vicki B.
Tour: Tour 1: Awesome April Tornado Tour
Year: 2016

General review

Last year was the first time I went on a storm chasing tour. I selected Tempest Tours because I liked the descriptions of what a storm chasing tour entails. The tour did not disappoint. We chased storms through Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and New Mexico. We came close to seeing tornadoes a few times, but they never developed. Despite that, we saw numerous super cells, hail, lightning and torrential rains. The fun was in the chase, and our guide, Bill Reid and our driver, Bill Schuessler always made sure we were safe. On non-chase days, we explored parks and abandoned building, as well as a tour of the Fort Worth/Dallas Weather Service where we got to watch them launch the weather balloon. The motels we stayed in were very comfortable, as well as the hotel before and after. Kim George, who is in charge of guest relations, made sure everyone was accommodated. I enjoyed myself so much I didn't want it to end.

Tour guide review

The tour guide, Bill Reid was fantastic. He was professional, knowledgeable and made us laugh. He showed us how to read the radar, wind direction, outflow and inflow charts. Even on the days when it looked like there would be minimal storms, he kept a positive outlook. He told us that we would see storms even though the NWS weren't predicting anything, and sure enough we did see storms.

Vehicle review

The van was very comfortable and roomy. The guests took turns in different seats so we could see the storms from other vantage points. We went over bumpy roads and you could hardly feel anything.
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Name: Megan Baca
Tour: Tour is not registered
Year: 2016

General review

Got to take a tour with the Founder and President, Martin Lisius. We met in Arlington, Texas and went up to Oklahoma and back down towards Mineral Wells. He told me I was lucky to see so many supercells on my first chase. We got to watch two supercells merge together. One even produced a tornado before merging. I loved it so much I went on another single day tour a few months later. That one produced an incredible lightning show!

Tour guide review

Martin Lisius was very knowledgable about everything storm chasing. From forecasting to safety, I got the whole experience.

Vehicle review

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Name: Tim G
Tour: Tour #7: Big sky tornado tour
Year: 2013
Blogged about the tour: Read more

General review

I chased two back-to-back tours with Tempest in 2013 and had a great time! Service was prompt and courteous before and after the tour from Tempest's administration and I particularly valued the introductory email from them a couple of weeks before the tour to introduce the tour guests to the guides and to each other. During the tours the driving was particularly good (kept to speed limits, drove safely and defensively - I felt very safe in their hands) and both drivers were very knowledgeable about chasing and weather into the bargain. They handled the chase extremely well. Forecasts were detailed and informative each morning, and well tailored to educate a group with widely varying levels of meteorological background. Questions were invariably answered fully and informatively. The chasing was run extremely well with a strong commitment to safety underlying all decisions but at the same time a very high success rate in intercepting good severe weather within the constraints of what was available on any given day. I thought the decision making moment by moment was particularly good, keeping us in good positions without requiring overly fast driving in repositioning moves. There were no problems during the tour that I was aware of. The staff seemed highly experienced and kept everything running smoothly. During down-time away from storms the staff had a strong bias towards scenic tourism and photography and took the group to many beautiful, remote places to take photos and appreciate the natural environment. One clear evening we were taken out for an astronomy night, for example, and we visited many ghosts towns and small local museums, and went to national parks. This might not have suited city-addicts but was perfect for me and for the other guests on the tour - a real slice of the great plains.

Tour guide review

Our tour guide was Bill Reid. He was highly experienced and professional, bringing decades of knowledge to his chasing and making good, informed decisions before, during, and after the chases. He got us to a majority of the best storms during our chase time and on the rare occasions we ended up out of position I think he had still made the best tactical decisions based on the information he had - sometimes things just don't work out. He was friendly, humorous (if quirky in his jokes!), supportive, and a great educator. I would be happy chasing with him any time.

Vehicle review

Modern, safe, comfortable, well maintained vans with six guests and two staff per van, two guests per bench seat, everyone had a window seat. Vans had good tyres and no mechanical problems during our tour. The only issue I had was with the seat belts which slightly obstructed entry and exit from the van, but I think this annoyed the company as much as it annoyed me and they had tried to fix it - but were unable to in any reasonable way. There was a very comfortable amount of space per guest, and the tour leader's laptop screen was duplicated on a big screen behind the driver for guests to see what he was seeing. I was very happy with the vehicle.
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Name: Jenna Blum
Tour: Tour is not registered
Year: 2013
Blogged about the tour: Read more

General review

I can't say enough good things about Tempest Tours. Maybe the fact that I have been chasing with them the four previous summers and will be back in 2010 speaks for itself! But I'll say more nonetheless. I have been fascinated with severe weather since I was a little girl visiting my grandmother in Minnesota during the summers. As an adult, when I lived in the Twin Cities for five years, I used to "chase" by seeing a blob on the Weather Channel radar and launching myself at it. Several sticky situations later, it occurred to me that the brightest thing to do was chase storms with people who knew what they were doing. I was researching a novel about stormchasing by that time, so I started looking around for tour groups. The Twister Sisters out of the Twin Cities recommended Tempest, and I was off and running. The Tempest guides--Bill Reid, Brian Morganti, Kinney Adams (a.k.a "Obi Wan," my personal storm guru and mentor), Keith Brown, Chris Gullickson, Rob Petitt, Chad Cowan, Jen Dunn--have done more to teach me and the people on my tours about severe weather than I could have otherwise learned in a lifetime. They are a committed, fiercely intelligent, funny, extraordinary group of people who will do absolutely everything in their power to ensure you are safely introduced to severe weather on the Great Plains. The guests on my tours have returned in following years and many of us have become fast friends--in fact I often joke that as a Bostonian, many of my best friends live halfway across the country. Tempest has taught me everything about the mechanics and grandeur and majesty of big weather and kept me safe while doing it. I've seen five tornadoes, but most importantly I've seen stunning skies, meteorology in motion, and the amazing interior of my own country. There's nothing more you could ask for. If you're looking for a storm tour, choose this group. If you want my detailed chase descriptions from the previous four years, complete with photos and video, please feel free to drop by my website: www.jennablum.com Shameless plug: And if you're a reader and you want a peek at the behind-the-scenes of a novel, come along on the Storm Chasers tour in 2010, when I'll be putting my money where my mouth is and showing readers how Tempest has made my novel, The Stormchasers (2010) possible! We'd love to have you along.
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Name: Thomas Trott
Tour: Memorial Week Tornado Tour
Year: 2013
Blogged about the tour: Read more

General review

Storm chasing is something I had only dreamed of doing since I was a kid after seeing the movie Twister. Living in the U.K. I was a long way from Kansas for sure. In 2010 I finally decided to book a storm chasing tour with Tempest, I had seen them on a documentary by Martin Lissius many years before. I looked into all the main chase tour companies but was sold on Tempest by Brian Morganti's and Bill Reid's websites and their chase galleries. My experience of Tempest could not have been better, not only did they deliver the goods with an incredible storm chasing adventure but they are great people to deal with to. The tempest team make you feel part of the team, like a real life storm chaser. They are great at communicating exactly what is going on and help you enjoy every second of the tour. I have been on three tours with Tempest now and am ready to book my next for the 2012 season. They are the best.
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Name: Mark J. Dempsey
Tour: Memorial Week Tour
Year: 2009
Blogged about the tour: Read more

General review

What a great group! What a great tour. I toured with Tempest last year and liked it so much I came back this year and did two tours in a row. Jennifer Dunn is a great meteorologist and terrific driver and always ready to answer any questions. Dr. Bob Conzemius was empassioned and funny and a PhD. Brian Morganti was soooo serene and got us to a storm every single day. He's all around pretty amazing and easy to be with. And then there's Bill Reid. Wow! Like Brian he also got us to a storm every day. He was the leader of two of the three tours I took (Brian being the lead on the other tour). Bill is way zen! His combination of experience, science and gut is organic and right. It's difficult to find the words, but he's certainly one of the best out there by far. Last but not least there's Doug Rafik who not only acted as one of our guides, an amazing driver too, but also taught me how to use my camera. I am indebted to him. To all of these passionate professionals who made me feel less a freak for the love of the storm! One more thing. I called several groups in November of 2007 to find out about what a trip like this would be like and Tempest was the most informative and got back to me the soonest. That's why I chose them to begin with.

Tour guide review

See above

Vehicle review

The vans seat 8 people and are very comfortable. There really isn't a bad view. Also they don't mark them up with advertising. The vans are plain white allowing for discretion in the chase.
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Name: Justin Pletsch
Tour: Big Sky Tornado Tour
Year: 2009

General review

This tour was absolutely phenomenal!!! As a Meteorology major, chasing storms is something I would like to do on the side. I learned so much about severe weather forecasting, that it piqued my interest even more in wanting to pursue a graduate degree in my major with an emphasis on severe weather. This team always put us in the best possible position to see storms, and we had at least one chaseable storm each day of the tour. The climax was on day five when we interecepted the Goshen County, WY tornado!!! Our tour leader was Brian Morganti, and we were joined by Bill Reid on day five. Jennifer Dunn was one of the drivers, and her meteorological knowledge was VERY informative and helpful. "Woody" was the other driver who is a police officer in San Bernardino County in California. His experience on the force really came through when we had to drive on gravel roads at high speeds!!! Now comes the part where I have to mention just one problem I encountered during registration. My first deposit check was lost in translation, but it all got situated. In the end, this was an AMAZING experience, and I highly recommend this group to anyone who wants to go on a storm chasing tour. From encountering rattle snakes to amazing storm structures, this group is a winner in my book!!!
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Name: John Wright
Tour: Tour is not registered
Year: 2008

General review

Tempest are a great outfit. The 2008 Tour was billed as a 'photography tour'. It didn't disappoint. My tour guides were Brian Morganti and Bill Reid-first class veteran chasers and as a result of their generous abundance of photo.tips I returned with wonderful photos - one made it into the IjMet magazine (2nd. place giving it centre pages) and the other won a weather site photo comp. Nothing is too much trouble for these guys and they made great and successful efforts to get us to superb storms and evening lightning shows and safety was never compromised. Good communications with guests is absolutely vital. Each morning we had a comprehensive briefing with overheads and questions were encouraged and answered in detail so we started off in the vans knowing where we were heading and why. If we had to hold up somewhere waiting for storm development we were told why and if that had to change we were regularly kept informed as we drove along about where we were heading and why. Brian and Bill also have a great sense of humour too- you need that on the long trips and dealing with all sorts of personalties. The accommodation was,in almost every case excellent,there's always going to be the odd occasion when you sometimes have to take what's available in a small town but that's comparing all places to the likes of Super 8s (my favorite stop overs) and there wasn't always a Super8 around but that's part of the experience too. There was never a feeling of being isolated and being unaware of what was going on. I'm already booked for next year. 2010. If you're thinking about Tempest-stop thinking and book it and be part of a great experience John Wright. (UK)
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Name: David Balfour
Tour: Tornado Bliss Tour
Year: 2008

General review

OK where do I start? Let’s try Gatwick Airport 9th May 2010. This will be my sixth time across the pond in as many years to chase with Tempest Tours. Why did I chose and chase with them, and why do I still till this day. Because the make no promises, they are honest. (I think some others may mislead you).Yes we will see storms, we may see super cells and yes we may see the tornado. They can’t guarantee the weather but this is part of the storm chasing experience. Whatever knowledge you have of the weather these guys will take as much time to explain exactly what is happening and why. They try and make it simple so the total novice through to the experienced chaser are fully informed of what is happening or what could happen and wear it will happen. The two main tour guides Bill Reid and Brian Morganti have over 25years chasing experience and are up there with the top chasers state side. Every morning you have a full weather briefing of the days intended plan. They go through every detail of why they are choosing their target area. Question are always invited and answered in full. Input is always welcome. Then you hit the road. As the weather pattern can change at any time the state of the art equipment is always being monitored for any development. But sometimes its just good old gut reaction and experience that find the best storms, of which these guys have an abundance of. My personal knowledge has now gone from the back of a postage stamp to understanding how to find the best storms. If you’re into photography in a big way you’ll get as much help as you need, for that perfect shoot. I can’t praise these guys enough for the help and knowledge they have passed onto me from my first tour in 2005 and will look forward to many other springs in the future. So if you’re thinking of a storm chasing trip I can strongly recommend Tempest Tours. Many thanks, Bill, Brian, Chris, Kinney, Scott, Brad, Jennifer, Rob, Doug.
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