Editing Storm chasing (section)

===Historic===
[[File:Top of NSSL chase vehicle.jpg|thumb|Top of a [[National Severe Storms Laboratory|NSSL]] chase vehicle showing air conditioning unit, compass, and [[Global Positioning System]].]]

Historically, storm chasing relied on either in-field analysis or in some cases nowcasts from trained observers and forecasters. The first in-field technology consisted of radio gear for communication. Much of this equipment could also be adapted to receive [[radiofax]] data which was useful for receiving basic observational and analysis data. The primary users of such technology were university or government research groups who often had larger budgets than individual chasers.

Radio scanners were also heavily used to listen in on [[emergency service]]s and storm spotters so as to determine where the most active or dangerous weather was located. A number of chasers were also [[Amateur radio operator|radio amateurs]], and used mobile (or portable) [[amateur radio]] to communicate directly with spotters and other chasers, allowing them to keep abreast of what they could not themselves see.

It was not until the mid- to late 1980s that the evolution of the [[laptop]] computer would begin to revolutionize storm chasing. Early on, some chasers carried [[acoustic coupler]]s to download batches of raw surface and upper air data from payphones. The technology was too slow for graphical imagery such as [[Weather radar|radar]] and [[Weather satellite|satellite]] data; and during the first years this wasn't available on any connection over telephone lines, anyway. Some raw data could be downloaded and plotted by software, such as [[surface weather observation]]s using ''WeatherGraphix''<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=http://www.weathergraphics.com/dl/|title=Software Download Center – Weather Graphics|website=weathergraphics.com|access-date=3 August 2019|archive-date=7 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207061415/http://www.weathergraphics.com/dl/|url-status=live}}</ref> (predecessor to ''Digital Atmosphere'')<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.weathergraphics.com/da/|title=Digital Atmosphere – Weather Graphics|website=weathergraphics.com|access-date=3 August 2019|archive-date=6 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206085703/http://www.weathergraphics.com/da/|url-status=live}}</ref> and similar software or for upper air soundings using ''SHARP'',<ref name="auto"/> ''RAOB'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://raob.com/|title=RAOB: The Universal RAwinsonde OBservation program|website=raob.com|access-date=3 August 2019|archive-date=17 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217002659/http://www.raob.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> <!-- http://www.weathergraphics.com/raob/ --> and similar software.

Most meteorological data was acquired all at once early in the morning, and the rest of day's chasing was based on analysis and forecast gleaned from this; as well as on visual clues that presented themselves in the field throughout the day. Plotted [[weather map]]s were often analyzed by hand for manual diagnosis of meteorological patterns. Occasionally chasers would make stops at rural airstrips or NWS offices for an update on weather conditions. [[NOAA Weather Radio]] (NWR) could provide information in the vehicle, without stopping, such as [[Severe weather terminology (United States)|weather watches and warning]]s, surface weather conditions, [[Storm Prediction Center#Convective outlooks|convective outlook]]s, and NWS radar summaries. Nowadays, storm chasers may use high-speed Internet access available in any library, even in small towns in the US. This data is available throughout the day, but one must find and stop at a location offering Internet access.

With the development of the mobile computers, the first computer mapping software became feasible, at about the same time as the popular adoption of the [[VHS]] [[camcorder]] began a rapid growth phase. Prior to the mid to late 1980s most motion picture equipment consisted of [[8 mm film]] cameras. While the quality of the first VHS consumer cameras was quite poor (and the size somewhat cumbersome) when compared to traditional film formats, the amount of [[Videotape|video]] which could be shot with a minimal amount of resources was much greater than any [[Film stock|film format]] at the time.

In the 1980s and 1990s The Weather Channel (TWC) and ''[[A.M. Weather]]'' were popular with chasers, in the morning preceding a chase for the latter and both before and during a chase for the former. Commercial radio sometimes also provides weather and damage information. The 1990s brought technological leaps and bounds. With the swift development of [[Solid-state (electronics)|solid state]] technology, television sets for example could be installed with ease in most vehicles allowing storm chasers to actively view local TV stations. Mobile phones became popular making group coordination easier when traditional radio communications methods were not ideal or for those possessing radios. The development of the [[World Wide Web]] (WWW) in 1993 hastened adoption of the Internet and led to [[File Transfer Protocol|FTP]] access to some of the first university weather sites.

The mid-1990s marked the development of smaller more efficient marine radars. While such marine radars are illegal if used in land-mobile situations, a number of chasers were quick to adopt them in an effort to have mobile radar. These radars have been found to interfere with research radars, such as the [[Doppler on Wheels]] (DOW) utilized in field projects. The first personal [[lightning detection]] and mapping devices also became available<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boltek.com/|title=Boltek &#124; Lightning Detection Systems|website=boltek.com|access-date=3 August 2019|archive-date=30 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730103254/https://www.boltek.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the first online radar data was offered by private corporations or, at first with delays, with free services. A popular data vendor by the end of the 1990s was [[WeatherTAP]].