Storm chasers hope for thrilling weather in 2022

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This article was published 19/01/2022 (1583 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A recent fender-bender, global health crisis and drought has not deterred the Westman Storm Chasers from pursuing their passion.

Westman Storm Chasers Mandi Grayston and Jeff Plas have been exploring the big prairie skies for about a decade.

“It has been a struggle these past few years with COVID, and then last year was just a crappy year for storms across Manitoba. With travel limitations, we were wanting to stay in the province, and you’re really limited to what Mother Nature is going to give you. It wasn’t much last year,” Grayston said.

The Storm Chasers took another hit in December when their trusty steed named Echo was damaged in a collision.

On Dec. 28, Grayston was driving along 18th Street with Plas when they stopped at a pedestrian crossing in front of Brandon University.

“A guy didn’t see us or didn’t realize we were stopped and just came into the back of us so hard,” Grayston said. “He had one of those bars on the front of his car too, so it just did that much more damage.”

Their vehicle was not even two years old, she said, and their immediate concern was the vehicle they use to chase storms would be a write-off — an emotionally and financially difficult situation.

She is grateful because Echo will not be written off and they are not at fault, so they do not have to worry about the several thousand dollars in damages that resulted from the accident.

“It was a scary, scary few moments,” Grayston said. “I’m glad it wasn’t worse.”

The Storm Chasers drive a Nissan Rogue. At the very start of COVID, they decided it was time to upgrade from the 2011 Rogue, dubbed Radar, that had served them faithfully for years.

“It was time to put her to rest and get something new,” Grayston said.

They worked with Rob Fowler and made a deal to secure a brand-new Rogue they christened Echo. They chose the name as a homage to their passion for storm chasing, and in honour of a character on the TV show “The 100” they loved who was a strong warrior woman.

“She just was beautiful. Black with our logo on it … It just looked sharp,” Grayston said. “We were very proud of her, so it was sad to see her all banged up.”

They see the accident as a reminder for everyone to slow down and drive carefully on the road, especially after a fresh snowfall.

The Westman Storm Chasers do not typically go after storms in the winter, Grayston said, as their focus is on getting photos of storm structures and clouds. She added there are limited sights to snap when storm chasing in the snow.

“In a blizzard, to me, it just seems like putting yourself in harm’s way. Everyone potentially knows don’t go out on the roads when visibility is bad. It doesn’t seem really prudent to us to do that,” Grayston said.

She is hoping 2022 will see a lot more moisture building up because it can help fuel clouds to create good storms.

Last year they were able to catch a few storms, but 2021 was overall a drought for exciting sights.

“There was just nothing,” Grayston said. “Anyone who got anything, they had to go into Saskatchewan or Alberta to see anything.”

The last few years have seen a tapering off of storms, and there has not been much to see because the weather has been too dry, she said.

She is excited to see so much snow on the ground because it is “storm fuel for the summer.”

Storm chasing has been an experience of capturing images of the “jaw-dropping awesomeness that Mother Nature produces.”

“We get to witness it and it’s the power and the beauty and just in a moment it could be incredibly destructive to just see that and the more I’ve learned about weather and how it works and the dynamics of it the more it amazes me when I get to see it,” Grayston said.

They have had once-in-a-lifetime experiences bearing witness to unique and rare weather phenomena in person.

Grayston and Plas became hooked on the hobby through several big storms, even before they decided they would actively storm chase. They loved going out for drives together and would often be exploring the Westman countryside, and neat weather events always seemed to find them.

“I’ve always had a fascination for weather ever since I was a little kid,” Grayston said. “But with Jeff and our travels, we always seem to find it.”

They officially jumped into the deep end when they decided to chase a big storm Grayston had spotted.

After spotting an amazing storm near Delta Beach just north of Portage la Prairie, Grayston knew they had found their life’s calling. The storm was a beautiful supercell right at sunset filling the sky above the lake.

“It almost made me drop to my knees because I couldn’t believe I was witnessing this,” Grayston said.

Southwestern Manitoba is the perfect spot for storm chasing because the area has all kinds of storms and the Prairies are flat enough to take in the sights with minimal trees obscuring the views.

The Westman Storm Chasers are hoping to do more scouting over the summer of 2022, based on COVID-19 travel restrictions. If everything stays relatively safe and no new measures are introduced, they plan on getting out and seeking storms where ever they can get to them be it in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, North Dakota or elsewhere.

“If there are storms, we’re going to go get them,” Grayston said. “We’ve got some good snow already. If it sort of keeps up this way, I’m hoping not just for us and our storm hopes, but for farmers and everybody who needs some rain, I think we’re going to have a better summer.”

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