STORM chasing has become big business in southeast Queensland. As access to information via smart phones and devices increases, more and more people are feeding their fascination with the weather.
They are the people you see constantly checking the weather radars at Christmas parties.
They watch their phones during their summer camping sessions.
And they pack up the minute they see a storm cell brewing.
They are Brisbane’s storm chasers, and four months of the year, from November to February, are the peak times for their line of work.
Toowoomba plumber Grant Rolph, 40, (above) finishes his day job fixing down pipes and picks up his camera, often heading straight out to where the weather action is.
His hobbies of photography and weather-watching come from his father, who was fascinated by mother nature in full fury.
The amateur photographer said he used a number of online storm trackers to get an indication of what was happening with the weather up to seven days in advance.
“When the other models come in to agreement out there, and once I’ve checked with the other storm trackers (because some of those guys are qualified meteorologists) I know it’s a good time to head out,” Mr Rolph said.
“Once the storms reach a high enough point in the atmosphere, they start changing direction and that’s when they can blow up.”
Mr Rolph believes much of the public’s growing interest in watching the weather has come as a result of massive weather events such as the 2011 floods, which wreaked havoc on the state, and highlighted problems within the Bureau of Meteorology’s warning system.
“I think the increasing interest comes down to the ease of access we have to quality content,” Mr Rolph said.
The Bureau of Meteorology has plenty of storm information as well but they are more cautious. - Grant Rolph
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“With social media you don’t have to be a meteorologist, everyone shares information, and people are really interested, and concerned, about weather changes and what to expect. Sometimes there will be about 20 photographers out there at a storm taking shots.”
Mr Rolph said there were many credible websites now monitoring the weather in Queensland, with Higgins Storm Chasing and South Brisbane Storms leading the pack because of their ability to respond quickly to what’s happening on social media.
“The Bureau of Meteorology has plenty of storm information as well but they are more cautious,” Mr Rolph said.
Commercial forecasting service Weatherwatch meteorologist Anthony Cornelius agrees that chasing storms is now a big business.
“With technological advancements, we’ve learnt a lot more about how storms work in Australia, which has helped predict what’s going to happen a lot. We’re also a lot more aware of storms now because we’re more connected.
“In the old days we’d listen to the radio or watch TV but now everything is much more instant.
We have a 24-hour news cycle and big storms are now considered big news.
“But also there is a lot of interest on social media because everyone’s got a camera or a mobile phone so there are a lot more photos out there of storm activity,” Mr Cornelius said.
Weatherwatch focuses predominately on collecting weather information for its commercial clients, such as businesses in the construction and energy industries.
“They are businesses that are interested in the weather and need to prepare if big storms are coming. We try to give them advance notice so they can plan around it. Sometimes we can get it wrong but from a meteorologist’s point of view, we have tools and a lot of computer modelling so that we can approximate what’s going to happen.”
He said he thinks generally forecasting is pretty good in 2015, and that we would have to go back to the 1990s to find a storm that was not predicted.
“The average person might not notice the increase in technology but we certainly notice.”
In saying that, Mr Cornelius remembers watching the weather patterns on the day of the Grantham flash floods. He was watching the radars and commenting to colleagues at work that it was looking nasty.
It’s severe but you don’t know if it will still be severe by the time it reaches the majority of the population. When do you call it? - Anthony Cornelius
“I was watching the radar and there was a very big thunderstorm coming through, and it was coming from the northeast which is unheard of. It was a very intense cluster of storms and there was a high level of moisture in it.
“There were already areas of light rain that were pushing flood levels up. When we saw the thunderstorms, we thought, ‘well s**t’, if this rain is pushing up creeks a couple of metres, what’s going to happen with these storms?’”
Mr Cornelius and his family live at Laidley but managed to escape unscathed from the floods. He believes for those who lost everything, it is a dramatic life-changing moment which leads to a deep respect for the weather.
“There is still no doubt the Bureau of Meteorology warnings are the best ones to follow. We have a system where we will advise if we have something different to them but they have the balloons out there and know what’s going on.
“One of the challenges of being a meteorologist is that you can have a thunderstorm approach and it’s severe but you don’t know if it will still be severe by the time it reaches the majority of the population. When do you call it? It’s a challenge trying to get that right.”
FOUR OF THE BEST WEATHER APPS
Early Warning Network
Early Warning Network sends out alerts based on physical location and offers alerts for all severe weather events including hailstorms, bushfires and tsunami. Warnings can be shared via SMS, email and contact lists, Facebook and Twitter. And users can use the Help Me button to instantly alert specific contacts with their location and contact details.
Weatherzone
Data is sourced from the Bureau of Meteorology for this easy to use website and app which allows viewers to check weather conditions throughout the country. The website includes radars and maps, marine and agriculture information, climate and surf and snow updates. It also has seven-day forecasts and real time observations of temperature, humidity, rain and wind.
Pocket Weather AU
Once again, data is sourced from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s database, often every three minutes, for this app which has a live rain radar and a seven-day forecast at a glance. It features tide times, warnings, 72 hours of historical information for each location and a national synoptic chart.
Higgins Storm Chasing
The Higgins Storm Chasing App delivers weather forecasts to Queensland and northern NSW and to the entire Australian region during significant weather events. Features include direct access to Facebook and YouTube and quick access to rain radars and official warnings.
Disclaimer: Apps chosen based on popular usage. Be sure to follow emergency services and media outlets for up-to-date and accurate storm warnings and advice.
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