For all those who may be wondering just who is Jeff Wear, where is Jeff Wear, and what did Jeff Wear....

Some people call me a storm chaser. Others call me a long haired freak with big eyebrows, big teeth, big feet, and a big head. A few may even call me that weirdo who put an upside down tornado in his avatar. Whatever you call me, I am a native of that haven for severe weather that is the San Joaquin Valley of California. Actually this area does experience some severe weather from time to time, and the flat, treeless farmland and clear, dry air that is characteristic of this region provided for some stunning sky scenes the .0004% of the time we did see severe weather. Growing up in an area with such an unobstructed view of the sky also gave me appreciation for the sky the 99.9996% of the time we weren't having severe weather.

Although I am primarily interested in the visual aspect of weather these days, my interest in weather developed from my interest in math. Beginning at age 6, I would always make sure I read the weather section of the newspaper and watched the weather segment of the TV news every day, as these were always filled with numbers. My interest in math disappeared around 7th grade when they started introducing letters, shapes, and Greek symbols, but by then I had already become hooked on the visual aspect of weather so that interest continued. I can trace my interest to tornadoes to an even earlier age, as I can recall being fascinated by the vortex caused by the draining bathtub at age 3.

I moved from California to Oklahoma in August 1999 to attend the University of Oklahoma, and settled in Norman permanently in January 2001. I did some "chasing" in California as early as 1996, but my chase career in the Plains began in 1998, when I took a week long trip out to the Plains with a group of chasers I met on Prodigy's Weather Bulletin Board and CompuServe's TWCForum. Since 2001 most of my chasing has been done solo within a 300 mile radius of Norman, although on occasion I will take longer trips. I have chased as far north as Nebraska and as far east as Illinois, and in 2004 I traveled to the Gulf Coast to intercept a hurricane for the first time. I enjoy interacting with others who share my enthusiasm for severe weather and tornadoes, so if you would be interested in contacting me my e-mail address is ------- . (You may contact Jeff's family through his mother MarilynWear@aol.com )

Following is a picture of my chase vehicle. If you see this vehicle out in the field, feel free to stop and say hi!

This page was last updated 9-04-05 at 1900 CDT (by webhost Dryline Hosting)