Category 6 coming in 2021!

[Warren Faidley]

The biggest problem is that other PhD's or respected individuals in the field of meteorology never speak up, with the exception of Mr. Doswell. Production companies like National Geographic or Discovery only act to promote and legitimize potential irresponsible behavior -- which only breeds more bad behavior from those who emulate it.

I'm not sure if media and production companies are hookwinked, ignorant or know what they are doing. I suspect it's a combination. Can you imagine if they asked a respected researcher, like Dr. Bob Ballard for example, to get on a jet ski and buzz some hurricane waves while screaming like a 6th. grade schoolgirl? Or how about having the Hurricane Hunters do some low passes over a storm surge for shi_s and giggles. There is professional -- and there is ______.

Not being a PhD, I can only assume there is some form of mutual, professional respect or maybe college allegiances that discourages people from speaking up. If I was a genuine researcher and saw irresponsible behavior I would be livid and embarrassed. There are many people who have devoted their lives to severe weather research who get zero recognition.

I do agree that Tim Samaras was a credit to chasing. We discussed (in great detail) the issues with Storm Chasers on Discovery -- especially after I chastised him for participating, and after I turned down offers for appearances because I did not want to be associated with the lunacy. He had hoped to bring a more realistic and respectable angle to the show.

 

[Alex Elmore]

The biggest problem is that other PhD's or respected individuals in the field of meteorology never speak up, with the exception of Mr. Doswell. Production companies like National Geographic or Discovery only act to promote and legitimize potential irresponsible behavior -- which only breeds more bad behavior from those who emulate it.

I'm not sure if media and production companies are hookwinked, ignorant or know what they are doing. I suspect it's a combination. Can you imagine if they asked a respected researcher, like Dr. Bob Ballard for example, to get on a jet ski and buzz some hurricane waves while screaming like a 6th. grade schoolgirl? Or how about having the Hurricane Hunters do some low passes over a storm surge for shi_s and giggles. There is professional -- and there is ______.

Not being a PhD, I can only assume there is some form of mutual, professional respect or maybe college allegiances that discourages people from speaking up. If I was a genuine researcher and saw irresponsible behavior I would be livid and embarrassed. There are many people who have devoted their lives to severe weather research who get zero recognition.

I do agree that Tim Samaras was a credit to chasing. We discussed (in great detail) the issues with Storm Chasers on Discovery -- especially after I chastised him for participating, and after I turned down offers for appearances because I did not want to be associated with the lunacy. He had hoped to bring a more realistic and respectable angle to the show.

Ha, I can probably count on one hand the numerous times I've seen Dr. Doswell in person or online voice his opinion on something and it not be critical. I'm not saying anything bad about the man, but when he speaks up, it's usually not good. Many people in and out of the field know him, and he's accomplished a lot, so when he speaks up, people listen. Typically, not many people are going to listen to Joe/Jane Researcher about their opinions on someone else in the field, especially when it comes to this particular situation. There's a number of well-respected severe weather researchers that could speak out against this TV series or offer better ways of doing it, and the masses/media companies are going to be like "and who the hell are you?"

As a meteorology PhD, there are other meteorology PhDs I see and question how they have the degree for a variety of reasons. I personally have no desire to openly denounce them unless they're actively spreading damaging or life-threatening misinformation about the field or a topic within the field. Unless I've not been made aware of it, there is no allegiance that prevents researchers/PhDs from speaking out against each other. There are some disciplines within meteorology that are absolutely ruthless, savage, and competitive. Usually there's not a need to speak out, as one's quality and amount of research and achievements (or lack thereof) will speak for or against them.

As for Dr. Timmer and his PhD, my only thought is why he bothered to get/finish his PhD given his career choice. If I recall correctly, his dissertation has nothing to do with severe weather, and he certainly didn't need to get a PhD to do what he's doing. However, his reasons for getting such a degree could be well beyond what I and others see on the surface, so I will not judge him for it. The only potential damage I see his actions doing to other PhDs/researchers is this constant message of needing to get a single vehicle/probe into an actual tornado or storm and that unlocking the secrets to tornadogenesis or why storms are getting worse. Acquiring data in this exact manner provides more of a "wow" factor than anything else and will be far from sufficient for providing enough information to "save lives". There are many other researchers who do not do research in this manner that have much more of an impact on that front. That doesn't mean field campaigns are worthless, as those that have been well executed have acquired some great and helpful data, but they're far more complicated than how they're portrayed on TV. Humanity is beyond the point that providing better warnings on any type of weather is going to do much more good. I'm not saying data collected from the field won't help, but I personally feel the social science-side of weather research is going to help more when it comes to saving lives.