Why we need ‘storm chasers’ during typhoons

WEATHER FRONT-LINERS DOST-Pagasa storm-chasing team of Marco Polo Ibañez, Fernando Ramirez, engineer Wilfredo Tuazon, and Marcos Bacani (wearing a white safety hat) conducted a pre-event survey and aerial footage using a drone along the coastal community of Purok 5, Sabang, Baler, Aurora, during Supertyphoon “Uwan” on Nov. 8, 2025.—PHOTO FROM DOST-PAGASA

MANILA, Philippines — Many Filipinos rely on weather forecasts either directly from the country’s weather agency or through newscasts on television, radio, and even online.

Data and information like the location and current track of typhoon, landfall area, hoisted tropical cyclone wind signals, maximum sustained winds, gustiness, expected damage to properties, and a lot more come from the weather stations deployed across the country, primarily operated by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (DOST-Pagasa).

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These stations monitor and observe the weather through a combination of manual synoptic stations and automated, technology-driven systems. They track key variables like temperature, rainfall, wind, humidity, and atmospheric pressure to provide daily forecasts and warn against severe weather like typhoons.

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However, these stations have limitations in terms of real-time observation and localized monitoring, thus the need to deploy a small team of “storm chasers” on the ground during typhoons to conduct ground truth investigation.

“We all know that in our country, the topography is very complex, and there are coastal communities. Not all of that is covered by stations, satellites, and radar. For example, the one we went to last time in Aurora was a coastal community. We can only observe and measure what the impact was by having a team on the ground,” said Weather Specialist I and storm chaser Marco Polo Ibañez.

ESSENTIALS Illustration of DOST-Pagasa storm chaser deployment during a natural phenomenon, showing an ultrasonic weather station with a wind sensor and an automatic rain gauge installed above the specialized vehicle. These devices are critical to conducting on-site observations during, before, and after the phenomenon to provide real-time data. —ILLUSTRATION BY RACHEL RIEZA/DOST-PAGASA

Specialized working group

According to engineer Wilfredo Tuazon, storm chasers are meteorologists formed as a specialized technical working group, specifically for typhoon season.

Tuazon is the assistant weather services chief of the Hydro Meteorology, Tropical Meteorology, and Instruments Research and Development Section of DOST-Pagasa, and its storm chaser team coordinator.

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Weather specialist and storm chaser Lean Michael Malabanan said that by having a team on the ground, DOST-Pagasa gets to know the local perspective of the affected community and are able to assess how they respond and prepare for the weather information they receive.

“It’s very important that we know how their minds work so that we can further refine how we deliver our weather and climate information,” he said.

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Unlike weather forecasters who are office-based and are more focused on the entire country’s weather status, storm chasers are deployed on-site to chase a tropical cyclone that is forecast to cause severe damage.

The storm chasing team works closely with forecasters by providing hourly field updates that serve as the forecasters’ eyes on the ground, allowing them to validate and cross-check projected weather conditions against actual observations in real time. This continuous feedback enhances situational awareness and helps ensure that weather advisories and warnings remain accurate and responsive to evolving conditions.

Tuazon, Ibañez, and Malabanan were among the storm chasers deployed during Supertyphoon “Uwan” in November 2025 at Barangay Sabang, Baler, Aurora.

Budget limitations

According to Tuazon, the storm chasing team is usually composed of five to seven members, including a team leader, documenter, instrumentalist, at least three meteorologists, and drivers who are also in charge of assisting the team.

The team leader acts as the overall coordinator and head of delegation for the team, while the documenter collects photos and videos before, during, and after the deployment.

The instrumentalist is in charge of installing the equipment used to gather data, such as but not limited to digital barometers, ultrasonic wind sensors, and automatic and manual rain gauges.

DOST-Pagasa has around 10-15 storm chasers at present, but not all of them can be deployed simultaneously in the field during typhoon events, as some are also assigned to serve as DOST-Pagasa representatives at the Office of the Civil Defense to ensure that disaster response and coordination efforts are guided by precise, science-based, and real-time weather information. This limits the number of storm chasers available for field deployment at any given time.

While the ideal deployment is 10-15 members for three teams, Tuazon said there are limitations in the budget and manpower of DOST-Pagasa. Thus, they can only deploy one to two teams, with five to seven members each.

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As of this writing, the deployment of storm chasers is limited to Luzon areas only. Hence, weather experts are calling for more government support for this critical program. —CONTRIBUTED