Reading the Sky
A Storm Chaser’s Field Guide
Radar tells you where a storm is. The sky tells you what it is about to do. This field guide teaches you to read cloud bases, inflow, and outflow from the road, so you know where to be, when to move, and when to leave.
KNOW IT WHEN YOU SEE IT
The features that matter, read from the shoulder of the highway
Every storm leaves clues in the cloud structure. Learn to spot them early and tell the dangerous ones from the look-alikes.
Wall Cloud
A lowered, often rotating block under the updraft base. Watch its motion and where it sits relative to the rain.
Look: rain-free base, inflow side
Shelf Cloud
A wedge on the leading edge of outflow. Dramatic, but it marks the gust front, not a tornado.
Expect: gusts 40–60+ mph
Clear Slot
A notch of clearing wrapping around the wall cloud as the rear-flank downdraft punches in.
Signal: RFD wrapping the meso
Mammatus
Pouches hanging from the anvil. A sign of a strong, mature storm overhead, and a great photo, but rarely the threat itself.
Where: underside of the anvil
INSIDE THE GUIDE
Built for the passenger seat, not the bookshelf
Short sections, clear diagrams, and plain language you can use on a live chase. Read it before the season, then keep it in the door pocket.
New chasersWeather spottersStorm photographersWeather enthusiasts
- Storm structure from the groundUpdraft, downdraft, inflow and outflow, and how each shows up in what you can see.
- Positioning and storm motionWhere to park relative to the storm, and how to keep an escape route open.
- Real threats vs. look-alikesScud, shelf clouds, and wall clouds side by side, so you report what is really there.
- Field safetyLightning, hail, flooded roads, and traffic: the hazards that injure chasers most often.
- Forecasting the chase dayReading the setup in the morning so you are in the right county by afternoon.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Garry Ward
Garry Ward served in the United States Marine Corps as a weather observer and advanced to weather forecaster. He was stationed at the most active airfield on the East Coast, where he provided meteorological and oceanographic support to aircraft squadrons traveling around the world.
Today he runs Meteorology101.com, helping weather fans understand the sky over their heads. Reading the Sky brings that experience to the road in one guide you can carry on every chase.
Meteorology101 exists for one reason: to get your head in the clouds. This book is the field edition.