We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tori Jane Ostberg. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tori Jane below.
Tori Jane, so great to have you with us today. There are so many topics we want to ask you about, but perhaps the one we can start with is burnout. How have you overcome or avoided burnout?
Burnout is a 100% normal thing to experience, no matter how much you love what you’re doing. I’ve never in my life wanted to do anything but chase, and even still, I occasionally experience burnout. Sometimes, I’ll overcome it just by stubbornly plowing through and persisting; others, I’ll take a break for a day or so and then come back roaring the next. Burnout is going to happen no matter how much you love what you’re doing – it’s how you handle it that determines the next chapter in your story.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
For my entire life, all I’ve ever wanted to do was chase storms. As a girl, I thought I made up the idea of going where the storms were until the movie Twister came out. But then, following that, I knew there were others like me – and that my dream could come true. I mean, the main character of that movie is a woman – so I felt especially empowered.
I started chasing the monsoon storms of Arizona and eventually, after some years of exclusively monsoon-chasing, I stepped up my game and went to the Great Plains to chase in the big leagues like I’d always dreamed. On the first day of my first plains chase, my friends and I bagged an utterly incredible, photogenic tornado in northeastern Colorado. One of my photographs of that tornado ended up placing second in National Geographic’s Nature Photographer of the Year competition, and the rest, as they say, is history.
I was off to the races, and since then I’ve exhibited my work in galleries all over, including ones around the world in New York City, Paris, and Glasgow, with more to come this year, next year, and for the rest of my life. I’ve been published in numerous magazines and blogs. Things are just getting started, and I can’t wait to see where it all leads. There’s a possible reality show in the pipes, so we’ll see if that gets up off the ground – how cool would that be if it did?
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
One, perseverance. The moment you decide to call it a day while chasing because you’re tired or you want to take a day off to recuperate – that’s when all the cool stuff will inevitably happen. I’ve learned this the hard way so many times: be relentless.
Two, learning to forecast. It’s in no way easy; meteorology is an exceptionally complicated field – at times, it’s literal rocket science. But learning as much as you possibly can every chance you get will never steer you wrong. You don’t need to know the calculus and the physics behind it all numbers-wise, but you DO need to know how each of these complex processes work and make the best forecast decisions based on data and not feelings. All too often, I’ve chased somewhere because I wanted to chase there, not because it was the best target. Oops.
Three, I’m plucky as all get-out. I can have one disaster after another pop up on a chase trip – and every single chase trip is gonna have at least one or two minor disasters – and I handle it. It can be intense and stressful, but being resourceful will take you far. Don’t let circumstances ruin your chase trips, ever. Fight like hell and ensure you have a good season no matter what happens.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
When I was in fourth or fifth grade, this kid I went to school with approached me at the school library and waved a book in my face. I can’t remember the context, or why, but either way I ended up taking that book home. It was “STORM CHASER: In Pursuit of Untamed Skies”, by Warren Faidley – who just so happened to live two hours south of where I did, chasing monsoon storms in southern Arizona and eventually going on to chase the great plains (sound familiar?). This book was essentially my holy text; I based so many hopes and dreams around it, and it provided the framework with which I would eventually build my career. Perhaps the wildest thing was when I finally met Warren as a chaser myself. It’s always wild to interact with him knowing that he’s the very person who had the single most enormous impact on my childhood dreams and now here I am, 25 years later, talking to him from time to time as another chaser and not a starstruck kid. It’s wild (but that starstruck kid is still in there, I assure you).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.copperstatestormchasing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/copperstatestormchasing/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/copperstatestormchasing/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXJxsEePFYU6CMxdnR_SO3w
Image Credits
Tori Jane Ostberg/Copper State Storm Chasing
