Daily Guide Rates
 Chase with an experienced pro at your service!
With a Storm Highway guided chase expedition, you can make all of your own travel arrangements the way you want. As your professional guide, I simply ride along with you, bringing along my expertise and chasing gear. As an experienced storm chasing veteran, I will advise you on strategic decision making before, during and after the chase, maximizing your chances of a successful expedition. The cost of our tours is simple: you pay for your own expenses - the only additional cost to you is the daily guide fee.
Storm Highway storm chasing guide services are billed at the rates listed below. You may choose either a short trip or an extended expedition. The guide fee includes the expertise of experienced and professional storm chasing guide Dan Robinson, who will ride along with you in your vehicle. The fee also includes a full suite of storm chasing gear temporarily installed in your vehicle, incuding a laptop with satellite weather data service and GPS navigation. Your fee also includes a mobile cellular WIFI access point in the vehicle - which ensures we have great weather data, and also provides wireless internet access to everyone you choose to invite to ride along.
Private Storm Chasing Tour Guide Rates
Booking for 1 or 2 weeks saves you considerably over daily rates. These rates are per tour - meaning the rate covers any number of guests in your vehicle. For a group chase, compare these rates to what you'd pay collectively (sum of per-person fees) on a conventional tour.
| Expedition Duration |
Total guide fee |
| 1 to 6 days |
$200/day |
| 1 week expedition (Save $300) |
$1,100 |
| 2 week expedition (Save $600) |
$2,200 |
How are these rates determined? It's simple - by booking a guided tour, in actuality you're purchasing my time for 24 hours a day for the duration of the trip. My rates ensure I can still pay my bills at home while I take unpaid time off from work. These rates also include my hotel and food costs during the trip.
Available Dates
The chase date blocks listed below are of the recommended lengths (approximately 10 days) for a chase expedition, but trips of any length and dates may be reserved if they are available. Chasing for a least ten days maximizes the chances that there will be at least one weather pattern taking place that has the potential to produce supercells and tornadoes. I offer expeditions of 6 days, 10 days or 14 days in length. Shorter trips may be scheduled when available. Reservations and dates are first-come, first served.
Reserve your dates soon - tours book quickly before the spring chase season!
What dates are best? Tornado season in the Great Plains and midwestern USA runs from April to June, and consequently my main tour operations run during these months. While the statistical tornado peak is in late May, good chase events can and do happen regularly at any time during the season. Tornadoes are possible before and after the regular season - so I do offer 'spot tours' for those who wish to chase outbreaks that happen any time of the year.
| 2010 Storm Season |
| Dates |
| March 'spot chases' |
| April 1-10 |
| April 11-20 |
| April 21-30 |
| May 1-16 |
| May 18-24 |
| May 26-30 |
| May 31 - June 9 |
| June 10-19 |
| June 20-29 |
| June 30 - July 9 |
| Summer - Fall 2010 |
What you provide
My chase guide services are different from conventional tours in that you provide your own insured vehicle, driving responsibilities and all related travel expenses. You make your own travel arrangements the way you want. The only extra you pay for is the guide fee. I cover my own expenses (food and hotels). I will serve as your own private, experienced tour guide, riding along with you and providing forecasting and navigation information. This allows to you have a private chase expedition of your own, rather than riding along with a large group.
Transportation to and from the Great Plains
I leave the travel arrangements entirely up to you, including how you travel to the Plains, and how/when I should meet you - giving you total freedom to choose all of the 'hows and wheres'.
By default, tours start and end from my home base in St. Louis. If you travel by rail or air, I will meet you at the airport or train station at no charge. If you're coming by car, we can begin the trip at any meeting location of your choice within the St. Louis area. You may also choose to fly both you and me (your guide) to the airport of your choice in the Great Plains (such as Dallas, Omaha, Denver, Kansas City, etc). If I have another tour booked adjacent to yours, I may already be 'on location' somewhere in the Great Plains. In this case, I will communicate with you as to a convenient place for you to arrange air travel.
You may also elect to pay my travel expenses for me to drive my personal vehicle to a meeting location of your choice. I base the fee for this service on the actual fuel cost involved.
The bottom line is, I'm flexible to any arrangement that works best for you. I can assist you in the planning stages if needed.
Hotels and Meals
The guide fee includes my hotel and meal costs, that is, I pay for my own meals and hotel rooms during the trip. The only consideration with hotel stays is that I must limit my daily room costs to $100 per room per night. As such, I will request your transportation for me to stay at a separate hotel if you prefer to book your room at a higher-cost hotel.
Groups
The guide fee is the same for a group of two or more people, so you can save money by sharing expenses with others that you choose to invite along. Keep in mind that you will need a larger vehicle for a group, and I (your guide) will need the front passenger seat.
Extra chase days
What if the stormy weather is cooperating and you want to chase for a few more days? Not a problem - as long as there are no conflicting tours booked, you may extend your expedition at the normal single daily rate.
Deposit and Payment
A 50% deposit is required at the time of reservation, with the remaining 50% due within 1 week of the date of departure. (The guide fee must be paid in full before we depart on your trip.) You may opt to pay the full tour fee in advance if you wish. Deposits are non-refundable, with the exception of if I have to cancel a trip due to illness or other emergencies. If I must cancel a trip, I will refund your deposit and fee in full. If an expedition is booked less than 7 days in advance of departure, the entire guide fee is due at the time of reservation and is non-refundable. I accept all major credit cards and checks (payable to Midwest 64 Multimedia, LLC).
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