One way you know that Eric Nguyen and Scott Currens had one of the finest chase seasons ever was because they never said so. Chase after chase, racking up supercells and tornadoes like a pinball score, they only contemplated their success after friends and other chasers noticed that they were approaching historic milestones. The proof was in their humility, followed by the amazing Mulvane images in National Geographic, and now their ironically-titled, two hour DVD, “Another Boring Chase Video,†which is anything but boring.
This DVD is well-organized with an easy menu presenting a buffet of some of 2004’s coolest storms and tornadoes, including May 24th with ghostly spinups side by side and concluding in a tall, translucent cone pulling Kansas dirt and dust into its grasp. At one point, tornadoes appear on either side of Eric’s van, forcing some tense decisions. One of the best highlights of this chase is the snaking white condensation that drives a bowl of dust and debris only a few hundred yards from the van.
May 29 starts with an awesome sculpted updraft and later a beautiful long trunk tornado glides across the flat landscape, literally one of the most perfect images of the year. Scott, shooting steady, tripoded video, muffles his breath to preserve the sanctity of the moment. This is one of the great tornadoes in recent years, ending in the classic rope-out that stretched across the sky from what looked like an orphan updraft, a stunning sight.
Through this chase and others the sense of riding along in Eric’s van is real—discussing the classification for one of the tornadoes on the 29th, Eric concludes, “A wedge is a wedge is a wedge,†and the video supports his argument. At another stop, Scott warns a local canine: “Better find somewhere to go, dog. You're going to have some problems.†Meanwhile this barrel churns across the faded golden fields of southern Kansas, black and haggard with condensation and dirt. Dangerous times for local pups indeed. This segment captures the tension and excitement of what many consider 2004’s best storm, what Shane Adams termed “The Tornado Machine.â€
All roads eventually led to Nebraska in 2004, and by June 10th, though their best work had come in Kansas, Eric and Scott reached the Cornhusker state in time to catch the earliest puffs of what became the remarkable Big Spring tornado. They sit and wait calmly, calling 911 when unable to raise a Skywarn net on 2 meters and describing their precise location and that they believed this modest rotation would grow much stronger. They were right. Eventually this symmetrical tube dominates the vast Nebraska sky and no distance seems safe enough.
Obviously a truly great chase DVD requires a great ending, and June 12th in Mulvane is as good as it gets, a tornado that hardly seems possible in a location where months of planning in a Hollywood studio could not have yielded a more sublime image.
If you’ve already seen Eric’s photos from this moment, the sense of anticipation is dramatic. You wonder if they’ll really stop in time, if there could actually be a stately white house with a horse standing out front. When you see it happen, sense the chaos of choosing a stopping point in a less-than-ideal area of trees and hills and power lines, the magic of those images is striking—the fleeting opportunity all chasers recognize and how every ounce of experience and skill contributed to their decision. This wasn’t the no-brainer one might imagine--other chasers drive past as if there would be something better down the road. Then the white condensation pauses for them, the rainbow brightens, and the tornado finds a structure behind the tree line and like a snake charmer, conjures a cloud of aluminum debris that dance and glint in the deepening twilight.
If 2004 is a season we’ll remember as long as we chase, and it seems likely, then a handful of productions are essential for recalling just how prolific and profound this season was for so many. Eric and Scott’s DVD, “Another Boring Chase Video,†is near the top of that list. Check it out here:
http://www.mesoscale.ws/video/
Amos Magliocco
