Chase Video - Lubacca 2004: O*U*Chased*1*2

Upon Amos's suggestion, I, too, have thrown my video up on eBay, so any eBayers out there wanting a copy can also go through eBay to get a copy of my vid!
 
A friend of mine likes to say that videos are a reflection of the chaser’s personality. Tony’s first feature-length production, “Lubacca 2004 O*U*Chased*1*2,†is a great example of that. I’ve watched a lot of these now—as everybody knows—and Tony’s is among the best at blending the feeling of chasing with the fireworks of great supercells and tornadoes. A lot like Tony, this video finds ways to enjoy the chase during those moments when something spectacular isn’t occurring, like the hilarious navigation through downtown Wichita Falls that takes Blake Naftel and Tony through confusing intersections (familiar to Texas chasers) as they encounter that ancient chasing rite of getting back onto 287. At a fuel stop, a gas receipt sails on strong surface winds and Tony runs it down, camera in hand, across a seemingly endless convenience store parking lot.

These moments give a real perspective on chasing. If you can’t enjoy the humor of vehicles covered in mud, giant hailstones threatening to dash your brains out, or other bloopers, then the years that don’t produce as prolifically as 2004 (like probably all the rest for the next decade—lol) will be tough for you.

But because this is 2004, and because Tony had a great season, the video moves smoothly into the cool storms and tornadoes he documented starting with the March 27th episode in Oklahoma, where Tony bagged three including the surprise twins towards dusk.

May 12 in southern Kansas competes for the best sequence of storms and tornadoes on the tape, from the backlit Attica tornado as the supercell bombs the chasers with giant hail (it really wasn’t as big across the street, T—lol) to the “tornado race†footage where Tony beats a churning, pitch-black F2 (which had increased its forward speed suddenly) across the Highway 2. Later he records a stark nighttime funnel, the F4 which completed the day.

Tony and Blake use some unusual instrumentation on the morning of May 29th, demonstrating that all these electronics are probably unnecessary. Their revolutionary process for measuring the speed and orientation of surface flow might come in handy with budget cuts in store for NOAA. But just when you thought throwing things into the air only worked in the movies, they observe some amazing stuff on the year’s most productive chase day. This includes the Argonia wedge and the Conway Springs tornadoes. The latter, which the video appropriately calls the “Devil’s Dance,†is a hypnotizing look at the strange and turbulent ground motions beneath the quickly forming and dissolving and shape-shifting Conway Springs circulations. This is a multi-vortex tube, cone, wedge, and funnel, all within the span of several minutes, with the graceful motions of vorticity and snaking condensation all captured in a tight, steady shot. Whether you think these are one tornado or several, the segment is amazing. This is the gold standard for one of the year’s coolest events.

These chase days are among several other cool episodes of great storm structure, lightning, wind, and hail. “Lubacca 2004 O*U*Chased*1*2†concludes with music videos highlighting some past chases of Tony’s, including tornadoes on May 15, 2003 and some wild winter footage too.

This is a laid-back and entertaining chase video that illustrates every angle of the experience. Check it out here:


http://www.tornadoeskick.com/chasevids.html

Amos
 
Just a note to those few people I still have outstanding trades with. I had to leave town last week due to a dead in the family. I had a few videos I was suppose to send out around that time and a couple that I didn't. For those who sent me videos, I did receive them. Your copies will be shipped out tomorrow (Tuesday). My apologies for the delays.

Thanks,
Tony
 
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