Topic: Welcome messages and comments about the forum

[nordspot]

Good day down under!
My name is Ralph and I live in the southernmost part of Germany, basically on the border to Switzerland, at Lake Constance. For years already I have been
reading in this highly interesting and informative forum, and would now like to introduce myself herewith. Keep up the excellent work and feed us storm-starved
europeans with more of your excellent photos and chase reports!

Greetings from a -7° cold Germany

Ralph

[Mike]

Greetings Ralph and welcome!  Since you've been viewing the forum for a while you know where to find everything!   If you've got any frosty photos of unusual, severe or panoramic ice covered landscapes feel free to show them to us.  A visiting German fellow here in Darwin says that in Berlin where he's from they get one storm a year and it puts out 5 lightning strikes.  It goes something like this:  (1) first strike = seeing it, second strike = setting up camera, third strike = turning camera on, fourth strike = focusing, fifth strike = missing the last bolt!  Probably why he's pretty content being here!!!

Thanks for the intro and look forward to your posts and pics.

[cloudfairy]

Heja Nordspot!!

I'm from Germany too, Munich and Wiesbaden. Welcome!!! This forum is great, enjoy it!

I would have thought that down in Konstanz you get great storms in summer. The Bodensee usually is full of power.

Anyway....there are good years and bad ones...... I'm here in Darwin now and ..... it is a bad year ... I'm waiting for good storms. And if there is one I am too slow (as the day before yesterday).

Have fun.

Renate

[Twodogs]

Hi All,
I'm Niall (aka Twodogs) from Mitcham.  I like Pina colada's, walking in the rain, world peace etc etc etc.
Seriously though, you probably won't find me posting much (unless I have a question) mainly just lurking and picking up info - I'm really interested in cyclones (having sat through Trixie and Joan) and also thunderstorms.   I have a bit of camera gear, including an underwater Nikonos V (which is pretty good to use out in the rain...) but not much opportunity to chase or take photos.
cheers,
Niall

[Mike]

Good on you for introducing yourself, not many dive in and do it and it's a shame!  Now you can stop lurking and begin posting!  Does not matter how much you know about weather or storms - we all started with little experience and once we became more 'ejamacated' the rest follows suit.    Look forward to anything you might like to add in any of the thread topics or simply ask a question or post a photo, welcome and enjoy the ride - the forum really does pride itself on professional comments & information, fun and basically loving weather!

[Peter J]

TwoDoggs (Niall)

Great to know another VIC is posting!! Makes me feel more at home.

Welcome aboard. And as the others have said before me, you don't have to be an expert, just a willing learner (like me)

Big Pete
(from 10kms further east)

[FindTheTornado]

My first post here, just wondering is anyone chasing right now? Does anyone from Australia stream live storm chases? Thank you! Watching the Sydney radar right now, it's 11:20pm here in Minnesota and it's -7F here, all i can do is wish I was there! Thanks...

[Mike]

Welcome to the forum FTT!  I know you'll find the forum educational and interesting.  Look forward to any weather related comments/posts you have where you live and photos also, they're always of interest...not sure about the live streamlining aspect as I live in the tropics here, but those chasers who are in the location you mentioned may be able to assist with the question.

[Ezzz]

I'm Erik. I live in North Armidale and go to University here too. I'm studying Urban and Regional Planning for 4 years (2009-2012). I'm about to turn 19. I've been registered on this forum for a bit over three years now and have only made one previous post. I hope to contribute positively to the forum and I look forward to sharing weather photos and information with everyone.

[Medbury]

Hi My name is Richard from the South Island NZ,i come from an area that only receives one or two storms per year so there much excitement when one does develop.Where i live is in a inland valley so when storms do develop they tend to stay in over the same spot before dissipating,luckly we never get tornadoes or large hail.
I look forward to being part of what looks like an excellent website and forum   

[Updraft1]

Well its time to introduce myself, Im Julian and i live in the UK.
Been a very keen weather watcher for many years but this year i have decided to push that interest further and actually learn more and start to actively chase Storms myself. Now kitted up with my Laptop and Videocam and just waiting for the storms to happen.

You may be asking why i have joined this forum, well whilst using TornadoVideos.Nets site i sort of adopted Mike O'Neil as my unpaid mentor. I hope Mike doesnt mind me saying that.
Over the last 5 months, with huge support/advice from Mike i have made what i feel to be signifigant advances with my knowledge which in turn has increased my passion for all things Weather. Mike made me aware of this site and from there here i am so to speak.

I would still class myself as a mere novice and feel this site would enable me to further my knowledge and allow me to view Weather from somewhere else as opposed to only Tornadoes on TVN. I look forward to seeing your Storm Season start and hope to take part in discussions where i can.

So thanks for having me and heres to many more Storms for us all.

Regards

Julian in the UK

[Mike]

Welcome, Julian.  Great to see you joining this great forum.  One thing you will notice right from the get-go is the lack of Bebo type comments, spelling mistakes and bad forecasting!   This forum has taken pride in itself for taking a professional - yet fun - aspect to weather discussion and actively seeks thoughts from members on all things weather related and many topics continue daily on any decent storm event. The videos, photos and information is second to none, the members are well experienced in 'real' chasing and have years of in the field knowledge.

80% of what I've taught you has come from this forum - Michael Bath has been instrumental in this journey.  Search the thread topics because a lot of what you are seeking can be found in the right Q&A topic when located.  You will find a search bar at the top of the pages so you can type in something and it will take you to several threads with that word mentioned...ie: Cyclone Monica  or Dunoon tornado - you'll get used to things and thanks for the kind words, appreciated.

Julian's knowledge has really grown over the months from the stuff I've told him - just sticking to basics first up and getting that right and then moving on to advanced things later on.  I know the members here will continue to educate, amuse and 'give you some stick' from now on!

You won't look back, Julian once you've tasted the waters on this forum, the UK weather is very similar to ours in OZ which can make things easier of sorts.

Enough rambling....welcome again and look forward to your posts, photos and questions/replies!!!

[Jimmy Deguara]

Welcome Julian. Feel free to ask questions from time to time. I guess the main thing to maintain on here is accuracy and no exaggeration - one of our pet hates. That is the main purpose here on this forum - an that allows for the education Mike talks about.

Thanks for the kind words Mike.

Kind regards,

Jimmy Deguara

[Michael Bath]

Thanks Mike and welcome Julian.

You may find this forum a little quiet at times, especially this time of year when there is little significant weather about in Australia. This winter has been well below average in terms of significant cold outbreaks and east coast lows.

We do talk about weather world-wide though so feel free to start up some discussions. You might find some older threads - like all the ones by Mike that prompt some questions.

Regards, Michael

[Updraft1]

Thanks very much for the kind words and of course the welcome.
I have only viewed a very small part of the Forum so far but i am certainly very impressed with what i have seen already.
And the Educational Links that i have viewed look superb and im sure that i will continue to gain a great deal of knowledge which of course is my main aim.
I have no concerns with the site being quiet during the out of season times so to speak as there is more than enough to keep me both interested and occupied for endless hours.
I have the weather bug and it wont go away !

UK wise i guess Severe Weather events of any type are a rarity. During this summer, which has been cool and wet at best in general, it has been a challenge to find a T/Storm thats worth chasing let alone anything else. I live in hope as i do tend to get quite frustrated when things just dont set up right for real weather event. But thats the way with Weather.

So again, Mike thanks for everything so far, thanks for the welcome Jimmy and Michael, and i look forward to spending many more hours here with Austrailia Severe Weather.

Regards,

Julian.