You didn't mention this, but have you taken a Skywarn spotting class? If not, I would recommend you start out with a Skywarn class through your local NWS office. Usually these are given late winter/early spring and are FREE. Some of the things you will learn are: Thunderstorm development, fundamentals of storm structure, identifying potential severe weather features, reporting critical information, safety, etc. You will also meet people who are interested in severe weather, NWS trainers, as well as seasoned spotters and some chasers.

You will be certified as a spotter, which if you are calling in a tornado, you should identify yourself as a trained spotter. The certification is good for two years, but it's advised to repeat the class every year. It lasts about 2 1/2-3 hours but packed full of information. Here is a link to the NWS Skywarn Storm Spotter Program: SKYWARN

The depth of information is definitely intimidating, but it all depends on how you prefer to learn. I really liked the Haby Hints that Jeff and I suggested because it allowed me to learn in bite sized chunks, but everything recommended here is excellent. I'd say it took me 6 to 9 months of moderate effort to be comfortable with knowing what to look for and where, then make a forecast... but there's always something more to learn. You won't need to understand partial differential equations to be a good chaser (it won't hurt either, lol), so don't get discouraged with the mountain in front of you.

Use the search feature here on StormTrack for questions, and if you don't find what you're looking for, post a new thread in Introductory Weather. There are some brilliant minds here that I'm sure would be eager to help.

Jacob Tuuk said:

Got to reading everything and boy that's a lot of information, but I expected nothing less, the months possibly years it takes me to be able to learn and grasp all of the stuff that has been given to me will be worth it in the long run, I definitely will have many questions along the road so to speak. thank you everyone once again for all of this information, I think my best course of action will be to start with the NWS, and those storm chasing videos that Blake brought up, oh and those weather radar videos that Johnathan brought up.

Thank you
Jacob Tuuk

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Keep at it through the next 9 months, and by next season you'll be a better place to be able to follow along with severe weather next season. It is a lot of information but most of it starts to make sense quite quickly!

Glad to read the discussion has been an encouraging one for you, Jacob! Everyone learns at different means and speeds. It’s very easy to feel initially overwhelmed with all the resources, videos and commentary out there, but take your time and it will all eventually synch up… and even when you reach that point, there will always be more questions.

When I was 15 [in 1996] and just had started to look at available forecast models via the internet from WXP/Purdue, Ohio State and NCAR/UCAR, I somewhat understood what I was interpreting because I had been watching The Weather Channel, A.M. Weather and local weather casts for years. A low, high, upper/mid level winds, some blobs of simulated precipitation on the now defunct ‘Aviation’ model; but there was a lot that I did not, nor was it wasn’t until I began actually chasing with others whom had more experience than I, both whom were/are professional meteorologists and seasoned chasers, that I finally understood how the map/simulated dynamics connected to what happened in real-time. One can watch videos until the cows come home and that can be a wonderful resource, but having someone explain a Skew-T hodograph plot directly, help plot a forecast and then venture out to see what happened was the big kick [for me] to understand why a tornado formed in a forecast zone verses a bust.

Those experiences highlight the value of human connection, which often begins like this, digitally with a lot of information all at once. As Diane noted, local SKYWARN courses from DTX [Detroit] and GRR [Grand Rapids] in the Spring time are also excellent resources for a general or in-depth overview, allow you to become part of the warning process and connect you to the forecasters locally. Express your genuine interest to those individuals as well and by networking, that will also open doors of further knowledge and experiences.