Image courtesy of Derek Weston!
 

Well my name is Jared Farrer and I have been a storm nerd for at least 15 years! I got started by witnessing severe weather first hand in Indiana. A decent state to do so.... Which can be quite intense from time to time. My family moved to Lafayette with me as a young child, from Glendale California. After many years in Lafayette we moved to Crawfordsville, which is just down the road. As a teenager I spent countless nights observeing thunderstorms out my window. I even used to watch them come in down the road. One day watching the weather channel I decided to ride my bike to an overlook down the road. Where I observed a supercell moving in, I then got scared due to constant lightning and being next to a flag pole, this wasnt good, I went home. I was about 13 years of age at the time. I had also bought my first book related to weather around the same time frame which was Warren faidleys Storm chaser, I was then exposed to the imagery that had me hooked. I was also lucky enough to run across a few videos that were at the time influenced by the movie twister no doubt. I am guessing because the copyright is 1996. The title was twisters, and featured Bobby Prentice and some of his most successful chases. As well as the famous Andover KS tornado and Jon davies. The structure on that storm was incredible. And only 15 years ago. I didnt know it at the time but I was hooked!  Around the same time I bought The Weather Book. Along with others that had enough information to keep me going. I had developed an insatible appetite to learn and see as much as I could.

From there I grew up and chased local storms, until I started chasing seriously in 2006.One event in April had really catapulted me into seriousness. While learning as much as possible on the internet, I soon came accross more images that would drive me into serious chasing mode. But I often say to people that if it werent for some of these people who knows. Howard Bluestein, is one person that I had seen his images and read alot about. Jon Davies, Warren Faidly, Eric Rasmussen, Bob Prentice, Gene Rhoden, Gene Moore, Ted Fujita, Josh Wurman. All people I grew up with reading and following the likes of their endeavors. They have contributed alot to the science and field of severe weather research. As to our understanding of it all!

So from there I am still writing my history as I go along. I love storm chasing as well as severe weather in general. I am lucky I live in an age that allows me to do so. And I have dedicated my life to the understanding and pursuit of severe weather!

I wish I would have started as early as possible. But for some reason, I was side tracked until a beast rode through my area on april 14th 2006. Where I chased and subsequently took shelter underneath a drafting table on the bottom floor of my apartment building as golfball to baseball sized hail and 40 kt winds were falling. Its likely a weak tornado had entered town, due to the destruction around. I was lucky enough to be living in a 120 year old brick building that was just solid. But the storm had still stripped pieces of brick away and collapsed portions of the building to were pieces of 100 year old bricks were lying in the street. Amazing storm, I had been snapped right back into the world of severe weather after that event!