Tempest Tours

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: 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: 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: 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: 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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