Editing Storm chasing (section)

==Geographical, seasonal, and diurnal activity==
Storm chasers are most active in the spring and early summer, particularly May and June, across the [[Great Plains]] of the [[United States]] (extending into [[Canada]]) in an area colloquially known as [[Tornado Alley]], with many hundred individuals active on some days during this period. This coincides with the most consistent tornado days<ref>{{cite web |last = Brooks |first = Harold |author-link = Harold E. Brooks |author2 = P.R. Concannon |author3 = C.A. Doswell |title = Severe Thunderstorm Climatology |publisher = National Severe Storms Laboratory |date = 29 August 2003 |url = http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/hazard/ |access-date = 27 February 2012 |archive-date = 4 October 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121004084424/http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/hazard/ |url-status = dead }}</ref> in the most desirable topography of the Great Plains. Not only are the most intense [[supercell]]s common here, but due to the moisture profile of the atmosphere the storms tend to be more visible than locations farther east where there are also frequent severe thunderstorms. There is a tendency for chases earlier in the year to be farther south, shifting farther north with the [[jet stream]] as the season progresses. Storms occurring later in the year tend to be more isolated and slower moving, both of which are also desirable to chasers.<ref name="handbook"/>

Chasers may operate whenever significant thunderstorm activity is occurring, whatever the date. This most commonly includes more sporadic activity occurring in warmer months of the year bounding the spring maximum, such as the active month of April and to a lesser extent March. The focus in the summer months is the Central or Northern Plains states and the Prairie Provinces, the Upper Midwest, or on to just east of the [[Colorado Front Range]]. An annually inconsistent and substantially smaller peak of severe thunderstorm and tornado activity also arises in the transitional months of autumn, particularly October and November. This follows a pattern somewhat the reverse of the spring pattern with the focus beginning in the north then dropping south and with an overall eastward shift. In the area with the most consistent [[Glossary of tornado terms#S|significant]] tornado activity, the Southern Plains, the [[tornado season]] is intense but is relatively brief whereas central to northern and eastern areas experience less intense and consistent activity that is diffused over a longer span of the year.<ref name="ST FAQ"/>

Advancing technology since the mid-2000s led to chasers more commonly targeting less amenable areas (i.e. hilly or forested) that were previously eschewed when continuous wide visibility was critical. These advancements, particularly in-vehicle weather data such as radar, also led to an increase in chasing after nightfall. Most chasing remains during daylight hours with active storm intercepting peaking from mid-late afternoon through early-to-mid evening. This is dictated by a chaser's schedule (availability to chase) and by when storms form, which usually is around peak heating during the mid-to-late afternoon but on some days occurs in early afternoon or even in the morning. An additional advantage of later season storms is that days are considerably longer than in early spring. Morning or early afternoon storms tend to be associated with stronger [[wind shear]] and thus most often happen earlier in the spring season or later during the fall season.

Some organized chasing efforts have also begun in the [[Top End]] of the [[Northern Territory]] and in southeastern [[Australia]],<ref>{{cite news |last = McLaughlin |first = Murray |title = Storm chasers hit Top End |publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation |work = The 7.30 Report |date = 17 December 2003 |url = http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2003/s1012266.htm |access-date = 4 October 2008 |archive-date = 28 September 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090928055940/http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2003/s1012266.htm |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last = Krien |first = Anna |author-link1 = Anna Krien |title = Weather from hell is heaven on earth for storm troops |work = Fairfax Digital |publisher = The Age |date = 4 July 2004 |url = http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/03/1088488200242.html |access-date = 4 October 2008 |archive-date = 5 August 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090805072303/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/03/1088488200242.html |url-status = live }}</ref> with the biggest successes in November and December. A handful of individuals are also known to be chasing in other countries, including the [[United Kingdom]], [[Israel]], [[Italy]], [[Spain]], [[France]], [[Belgium]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Finland]], [[Germany]], [[Austria]], [[Switzerland]], [[Poland]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Slovenia]], [[Hungary]], the [[Czech Republic]], [[Slovakia]], [[Estonia]], [[Argentina]], [[South Africa]], [[Bangladesh]], and [[New Zealand]]; although many people trek to the Great Plains of [[North America]] from these and other countries around the world (especially from the UK). The number of chasers and number countries where chasers are active expanded at an accelerating pace in Europe from the 1990s–2010s.