featuring Connor Mockett
Hello, everyone! Welcome back to another week of Life with Connor the Weatherman! This week I’d like to talk about an upcoming trip I’m going on, my usual “chasecation” as some might call it, which means a vacation to go storm chasing. In previous years, I’d be going to Alberta, which I did in 2021, 2022, and 2023. This season, I’m changing it up, and heading into the area that sees the most tornadoes on the planet!
I’m heading into Tornado Alley, USA for 2 weeks this May, the second half of May to be specific. I’m not going by myself either, I’m teaming up with 3 other Canadian storm chasers, Jordan Carruthers, Tom Smetana, and Braydon Morriseau. All 3 of them have immense storm chasing and tornado chasing experience, so I (and we) will be in good hands to keep each other safe. We’re calling ourselves The Eh! Team.
Jordan, Tom, and Braydon will be down there before I am. They’re all going for the entire month of May, I can only do 2 weeks just because of work. There will be live streams going on from their vehicle, which I will see if I can somehow second hand broadcast it onto my Facebook page as well for everyone to watch. I’m super, extraordinarily excited to get down there in what is likely to be the greatest chasing vacation of my life, being nearly guaranteed to see a tornado when I’m down there in their peak season. Only a couple more weeks until I hit the road!
It’s about two and a half days to get down to where I want to get to (barring any route changes due to chasing). Of course, with me living in Moncton right now, I’ll be leaving from here to head that way. I’ll be heading back to Eastern Ontario to spend a night at home in Winchester, which helps skip a night of having to get a hotel because I can just use my parents house as my hotel for a night. If work scheduling works out, I may even spend an extra day there before heading into the US, if I have the time to hang around.
From Winchester, my current plan is to head to Terre Haute, Indiana, which is about 13 hours of driving. Of course, I don’t book any hotels or anything until I know exactly where I want to stop, just in case I don’t think I can make it as far as I want to. I could go further, or I could stop earlier than planned in Cincinnati or something. Lots of things I can do either way.
Day 3 of travel to my planned destination is shorter, maybe only 10 hours, which is an easy day. My final destination, which is kind of a hub for a lot of chasers when they’re in the area, is Norman, Oklahoma. Norman is kind of in the middle of everything, with highways that go into Kansas and Texas, and I expect to chase in all 3 of those States (probably even more than just those 3).
I’m hoping to be able to get some crazy tornado photos and videos. Some photos from this trip will likely be in my 2025 calendars. This trip will definitely contribute to a bunch of lifetime memories with chasing, friends, and photography. I’m super pumped, and I can’t wait to show you all what I come up with when I’m down there in Tornado Alley!
