StormChasingTour.com

Name: Monte Kay
Tour: Tour #5
Year: 2024

General review

Along with Trischa Sheridan, his new partner since 2022, Brandon changed the tour diminishing the appeal significantly. Restroom breaks were no longer frequent and well planned, nor were food stops. In previous years, the restroom breaks were automatic but in 2024, many of the breaks became by request. Rather than stating that a restroom break was approaching, the question was asked, “Does anyone need a restroom break?”. No one wants to be that guy “causing” a stop. In previous years, no guests had to be on the spot, requesting a stop. Weather briefings were curtailed and no briefing at all on the final chase day. Questions, whether they were weather-related or otherwise, were given only short abrupt answers without the elaboration Brandon might have given in the past. While driving to target areas, it seemed interaction with tour guests had been replaced with earbuds, presumably for music listening resulting in a less friendly atmosphere.

Tour guide review

The 2024 tour was my 6th chase with Brandon Ivey. There were signs prior to the start of the tour that something was different. His social media activity and small details, such as a missing welcome message on the arrival day. At this stage I had no idea how different Brandon had become. The Brandon Ivey of the previous 5 tours was not with us in 2024, the new Brandon did not provide the stellar performance of previous years. Unfortunately, this new Brandon refuses to communicate even to this day, so it’s not possible to learn the reasons for the change. Road rage can be a serious and dangerous issue. When a truck carrying a wide load blocked traffic, Brandon got into a confrontation with the trail van driver including throwing, “F-bombs” at the man. Fortunately, the trail van driver possessed a calmer head than Brandon and successfully diffused the situation. Brandon’s hot head in this situation placed himself and all his tour guests at risk. His performance as a meteorologist even seemed impaired. We encountered a significant multi-vortex tornado and were initially well positioned with Brandon’s usual top-notch skills. However, as the situation progressed, Brandon and Trischa appeared to be arguing. This arguing appeared to be the primary factor causing multiple course changes amid this active “Tornado on the Ground” chase. Also, Trischa frantically asked if anyone in the van had current radar data, apparently not recognizing it was far too late for this to be useful. During a gas stop, Brandon insisted he was fine in response to my concern for him. During that same stop he made a snide remark and moments later, I saw his temper. I was standing near the van waiting for other guests to return as he was washing the windshield. As he approached the left side, he came close to backing into me. He swung around with a look on his face suggesting he would like to punch me, that’s when I knew the problems were serious. It saddens me to write this review as I’ve considered Brandon a friend for the past 7 years. Because he refuses to communicate, I cannot offer help to whatever has changed in his life. I hope he can successfully resolve whatever has brought about this self-destructive behavior before it leads to disaster. Sadly, I can no longer recommend StormChasingTour.com

Vehicle review

A passenger van comfortably seating 6 tour guests with luggage was used.
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Name: HKS
Tour: Tour #1
Year: 2022

General review

Tour 4 2022 was a very enjoyable experience. We had 2 proper chasing days and scored a wedge tornado on the first, this thanks to Brandon's brilliant ability to get you where you want to be on a storm and safely take you close to the action. The hotels were of good quality and Brandon makes an effort to find good and interesting places to stop for food. This means we had a sit down meal almost every evening with good variety and no fast food. Depending on the distance to travel we would had some point of interest along our drives before the afternoon storms. When no storms were forecast we always had an interesting day activity along our route, be it a canyon, volcano or simply a quaint town for lunch, every day was enjoyable and featured something memorable regardless of the weather. The small tour group size also makes it a very personal and less crowded experience I reached out to Brandon before booking to tour and he was very helpful with answering my questions. He offers a friendly and professional service that I highly recommend. If you are looking for a storm chasing tour, look no further!

Tour guide review

Brandon is an excellent tour guide, he is the man to trust to get you "on time on target". He perfectly positioned us on the storm on May 23rd first to watch it develop and then right in position to watch tornado formation. Thanks to his expertise we got to observe a dusty wedge tornado at a close, but safe, range. The following day he got us right into the hail core of another storm. Brandon is always calm and professional, he will answer any questions you have and is always on the lookout for changing conditions and how to get the best angle on a storm. He explains the weather forecast and day plan each morning and will keep you updated throughout the day and when on the storm as to his thinking.

Vehicle review

The vehicle is comfortable with enough space for everyone and it is equipped with charging ports for your phone and camera. There is a screen to follow the weather on and snacks are also provided. On the tour we had a rotating seat system so every day we moved around in order to give everyone a chance at each position.
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Name: Monte Kay
Tour: Tour #1
Year: 2019

General review

2019 Tour #2 n the days prior to the tour, Brandon maintained excellent communications ensuring I would be fully informed and ready to chase once I arrived, always pleasant, always helpful, a pleasure to talk with. All guests were provided with hotel reservations at the base hotel in Wichita Kansas where we met for dinner to get acquainted. In the morning, a detailed weather briefing explained the current weather situation and described our best plan to approach the target area. This briefing was quite detailed and very technical, but with Brandon’s easy to understand explanation of the terminology, it began to make sense. This continued throughout the tour with every tour guest becoming more educated about the weather every day. When severe weather did not exist, suggestions were made for other local attractions where guests were free to choose to go as a group or to take their own path for the day.

Tour guide review

The 2019 tour was my 3rd chase with Brandon Ivey, owner operator of StormChasingTour.com. I chose Brandon for my 1st storm tour in 2017 based on his performance in the TV series, “Storm Chasers”. In the series, he demonstrated a calm collective personality with an interest in sharing his knowledge of meteorology. Storms are very difficult to predict but with his expertise and experience, Brandon’s track record for positioning the guests in the safest and best observational position was exemplary. If conditions weren’t tornadic, Brandon’s other targets included large hail, straight-line winds and others.

Vehicle review

Storm chasing involves travel, frequently a lot of travel to get to a target area where severe weather is likely. For this, a passenger van comfortably seating 6 tour guests with luggage was used. Frequent restroom stops were well planned to avoid any one guest embarrassing themselves requesting a stop. Food stops were well chosen based on positive reviews and when possible, were unique one-of-a-kind restaurants making the tour dining experiences interesting.
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Name: flying_727
Tour: Tour #6
Year: 2015
Blogged about the tour: Read more

General review

I had tornado/storm chasing on my bucket list for 10 years. When I saw Brandon Ivey and Marcus Gutierrez from Discovery’s Storm Chasers were starting their own company offering tours I finally decided to book my 2 week storm chasing vacation as my 30th birthday present to myself. If you are a fan of the Storm Chasers show, these guys are very willing to discuss the events of the show and provide more background and context to what you see on TV. These guys are dedicated to storm chasing and providing a great experience for their customers. They do things a little different than some of the other companies: nicer hotels than others (Quality, La Quinta, Holiday Inn Express, etc.), when storms allowed, we sat down for lunch and dinner rather than gas stations and fast food, and my favorite par is that when all the other tour companies were watching from miles away from the storm, Brandon and Marcus got us safely within a few hundred yards of several tornadoes when the roads and storm allowed. If you want to experience tornadoes not just see them, I suggest you book with Stormchasingtour.com

Tour guide review

Brandon is a great meteorologist and managed to get us on 15 tornadoes during my 2 week trip. Even on days with low tornado probability, Brandon would still find the best storms, namely the ones with tornadoes. He also spends a lot of time describing all of the models used in his forecasting and how he compares his forecast to the SPC before deciding where to go as well has describing what to look for in the sky. He didn’t always agree with the SPC, and on several occasions that work in our favor. Marcus, the driver, is also very experience chasing tornadoes (since he's driven into several). He has a lot of stories to share and was always making sure everyone needs were taken care of. He was able to get us much closer to storms than the other tour companies will get you.

Vehicle review

The van is new and comfortable and is always cleaned between tours. It has a monitor in the back so you can see what Brandon, the meteorologist, is looking at (not all tour companies do). They also have a hail guard on the roof so you can drive directly into the hail core so you can see and experience large hail (baseballs or greater),
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Name: Tim Maynard
Tour: Tour #2
Year: 2015

General review

My first tour was a great learning experience. The guys collected me at the airport and we got acquainted over dinner the first evening. Each evening at dinner we'd get a preliminary briefing of the plan for tomorrow's chase, which would the be confirmed over breakfast and we'd be shown the models for the day. The long drives to the days target area were actually good for hearing stories of chases and intercepts the guys had been involved in. Was like being on a tour with good friends. Many storms were found, but the highlight is of course the Tornadoes we observed on May 7th, my birthday. Felt extremely safe at all times. Never has to worry about a thing as I had complete faith in the guys. Highly recommend this tour company...I'm going back again in 2016 🙂

Tour guide review

Brandon and Marcus were great to tour with. Both are incredibly knowledgeable while at the same time making things very easy for a novice like myself to understand. They made the trip not only educational, but also a ton of fun.

Vehicle review

The StormChasingTour van was very spacious and comfortable for the many hours and miles of travel. Roomy enough to stretch out for a mid afternoon nap. Plenty of windows to see all the action.
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Name: Mike Shuck
Tour: Tour is not registered
Year: 2015

General review

If there were a single drop of water in the entire Sahara desert, Brandon Ivey of stormchasingtour.com could find it. And he'd tell you within a few seconds at what time you'd be driving up to it. Same with tornadoes. I told Brandon up front that I was there to learn as much as I could the process of tornado formation but of course I wanted the experience of being in the presence of tornadoes as well. He did both. He answered my questions thoroughly and he took us to some amazing tornadoes. He understands the risks and minimizes them intelligently. I never felt my safety threatened at all on the entire tour. I had expectations of what the trip would be like, you know, as if I'd ever seen the movie, "Twister". (Ok, I've seen it 86 times ... but who's counting?). One of the guys on the tour was so happy with it that he's coming back next year for TWO weeks, not just one. The accommodations were fine. We went to restaurants where I ordered food I like. Plenty of pit stops when needed. The van is big, not a standard soccer van. Seats were super comfortable which your butt will thank you for because you're going to go a lot of miles. Huge windows in the van and they're moderately tinted so there are no headaches from squinting. It was amusing to see other storm chasers come up to Brandon and ask for his autograph. They recognized him from all the years he was on The Discovery Channel's Storm Chasers series and from being in the IMAX movie, "Tornado Alley". Oh, to be traveling along with the famous. Nobody wanted my autograph. They wanted to know what it was like to be toured by Brandon Ivey. Well, I'll tell you. It was pretty darn great and to prove it I'm going again next year. Maybe next year Brandon will once again get us to the most fantastic tornado and again beat Reed Timmer to it by 10 minutes as he did this year . I can't wait.

Tour guide review

He knows everything about tornadoes. After a tour with him I know far more about tornadoes than I ever did.

Vehicle review

Ahhh.. comfy. Road like a cloud. Fast, too! Monitors show you exactly where you are as well as the weather. Snacks were provided.
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