Chasing may be done for educational purposes or scientific research but is mostly done for personal fulfilment. Q. I want to be a storm chaser. A. College of DuPage in Glen Ellen offers classes in severe weather and storm chasing field trips. The Valparaiso University Meteorology Department offers storm chasing as an educational tool to 3rd and 4th year meteorology students. A. Attend a basic tornado and severe weather spotter class.
Classes are held throughout the area, they are free and open to the public.
The class takes about 1 to 2 hours. Most classes are held weekday evenings, but there are a few daytime and Saturday classes. The training is generally done in late winter and early spring - before severe weather season. The training consists of a slide and video program which teaches potential spotters about severe storm structure, and how to identify cloud features and other environmental clues to identify severe storms and tornadoes. Communications systems and spotter networks are explained so the spotter knows where to report, and how that information is used by the NWS and local officials.