2011-04-16 DISC: NC, SC, VA

[Jacob Ferden]

OK, time for a mini-rant here: I have now seen at least two videos (One in MS, One in NC) from this outbreak where people are saying things like "It's not a very violent tornado," before getting too close and realizing the tornado might be a wee bit more intense than they thought.

Where have people gotten this idea that they can tell what the winds are inside a circulation just by glancing at it while driving down the road???

Someone is going to get killed, and soon, if there are many more people out here who think like that.

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

Where have people gotten this idea that they can tell what the winds are inside a circulation just by glancing at it while driving down the road???

*cough* storm chasers *cough*

 

[Kevin Walters]

*cough* storm chasers *cough*

This is true. People watch things such as the Jack Ass movies, then go out and try to do the same stunts. People watch certain storm chasers basically drive into circulations and think they can do the same thing. Plenty of candidates for Darwin awards out there.

 

[Andrew Stoller]

That idiot needs a Darwin award. He probably wanted his fifteen minutes of fame, and he got it.

Dude, that was all storm chasers Language in that video! "we don't want to get in it", "it's not that intense", "my ears are popping". That seemed clear as day to be some people who watch storm chasers and thought they could do what Reed Timmer does by getting as close as possible to a tornado! Yup, some nutjob with no experience will likely get up close to a tornado in the future that "not that intense" right as a suction vorticy sends his car airborne and slams it into the ground. Sigh.

 

[Jeremy Gilchrist]

I definitely think "Storm Chasers" is a factor but the idea that there is a "safe tornado" is just ridiculous. I know i was more than thrilled to get my shot from where I did. I actually liked being at a bit of a distance in that in the video you can see some of the larger structure of the meso with the tornado in the frame.

 

[Chad Ringley]

Dude, that was all storm chasers Language in that video! "we don't want to get in it", "it's not that intense", "my ears are popping". That seemed clear as day to be some people who watch storm chasers and thought they could do what Reed Timmer does by getting as close as possible to a tornado! Yup, some nutjob with no experience will likely get up close to a tornado in the future that "not that intense" right as a suction vorticy sends his car airborne and slams it into the ground. Sigh.

Oh god, it never even crossed my mind watching it that they may actually be chasing. If so, then it's worse than I thought. Surely somebody wouldn't take their kids out chasing, likely with no knowledge, then gun it as the tornado approaches the highway?!?

 

[Bill Hark]

I think that many people who see a tornado at close range don't have a understanding of what they actually seeing. Flying 2x4's, pieces of sheet metal and other stuff can appear to be much smaller and harmless until it is too late. A person may think they are seeing leaves, birds or papers. A tornado at close range may remind someone of a dust devil or other harmless whirlwind. Being in a car can create a false sense of security. While watching the tornado, an average person may not realize that one of those "flying sticks" is a large board that can go through the door of a car.

Bill Hark

 

[MG Jennings]

Regarding Ch. 5, I switched between them and WTVD, Ch. 11 (Durham) and thought both did a great job. Per their advertisements, Ch. 11 has the strongest & best radar and it certainly appears to me they are correct; it just seems to have so much more detail when zooming in tight on neighborhoods, etc to warn folks. Both do a great job of breaking in on programming when severe weather is happening but I'll go with Ch. 11 everytime. I got the impression both were using the videos to illustrate the seriousness of the storms in hopes the public would take it seriously. I am often suprised how little regard folks around here have for the potential outcome from severe weather. We have a fair number of serious storms every year but it simply does not register with many folks.

I can't speak for other states but allot of NC's problems seem to be the huge numbers of trailers scattered about....they are everywhere. Just about every severe storm leaves a trail of damaged trailers.

 

[David Hoadley]

A few interesting factoids from my recently completed, detailed plot of the April 16 tornadoes, based on SPC reports (with the understanding that such data are often approximate, based on public reports, and that many sightings are duplicates). I assumed uniform cell speeds of about 50-60MPH, when comparing tornado times.

Tornadoes were reported over 7 hours and 33 minutes on Saturday, April 16, 2011.
The longest cell track, producing intermittent tornadoes (from tornado to tornado) was 57 miles (one hour, five minutes) from near Roseboro to Snow Hill, NC.
The second longest cell track (one I saw), was 50 miles (one hour) from Little Rock, SC to 15 miles N of Elizabethtown, NC.
11 occurred within 5 miles of Interstate I-95, 7 within a 30 mile stretch NE of Fayetteville, NC.

I count a total of 94 tornadoes (out of 137 listed by SPC), after adjusting for likely duplicates. There were probably several fewer tornadoes and additional duplicate reports, but I chose to count sightings as separate that were within a few miles of each other, **IF** the location and reported times were sufficiently different to suggest a different vortex.