Chaser traffic in 2012 and the "CTI" (Chaser Traffic Index)

[Dan Robinson]

Tim, that's great. Wish they could put that on the SPC mesoanalysis page in real time.

 

[Lee Smith-Whaley]

Depending on the situation I might, and have before. One because I knew a person, two catch someone being stupid, and three, because I think it can help add to the story. One thing I like about photography, is that you can tell stories with it, and sometimes catching the emotion on chasers faces can add to that story. Unfortunately this last chase, I was behind due to hesitating, and putting myself out of position. Granted, I only take a few photos, and when I talk with other chasers I don't ask stupid questions like "Where do you think the tornado will be?" My vehicle is fairly incognito with a small AH sticker (mainly so I can identify it in photos since it's the most common color of Cherokee), and I only have a phone that I use for data at the moment. I'm not trying to troll you, but explaining why I've taken photos of chasers in the past.

and I'm betting neither one of you are pulling up next to other chasers, with a rotating wall cloud ahead of you, and rather than watching that you start taking pictures of the other chasers.

 

[David Drummond]

I take pictures of other chasers, for a variety of reasons, when not a whole lot else is going on, but when a tornado is about to come down, that is the only thing that is getting in the camera at that moment. I didn't drive 500 or more miles to watch other people jump up and down, I ultimately came to see the storm, and everything else is secondary. It's only going to happen once, and I want it on camera. The chasers will always be there.

 

[Bryan Draper]

That day in 2010 that was in Oklahoma was also made worse by the huge Weather Channel coverage and advertisement about VORTEX 2 being in the area, as well as the other two big idiot magnets were out that day too. That was by far the worst I've ever seen in terms of mass number of people chasing, Its just starting to get sad how many idiots are out and they don't give a rip that they're making themselves as well as everyone else look bad

 

[Justin Wiley]

The media is taking notice... An article in the Wichita Eagle this morning.. Great timing..

http://www.kansas.com/2012/04/19/2303524/growing-crowds-of-storm-chasers.html

 

[Warren Faidley]

The "blocking the road" idea has serious flaws, filled with danger. Who makes this decision? Blocking a road could turn hundreds of chasers and non-chasers into the path of a more dangerous storm. Lets face it, there are always going to be traffic jams for assorted reasons and the local / state LEO's need to deal with it. For example, large sporting events. I've been to such events where emergency vehicles had a hard time moving around traffic. It happens. The problems with mass chasers only occur a few times a year. It's not a weekly event. I can say as a working journalist with police and state credentials, the first time I'm prevented from covering an event, I'll raise hell.

W.

 

[Dave Chapman]

The attached map was created at about 3:00 PM on Saturday. I think he said the reds are ~30 spotters per 0.5° x 0.5° block. Granted, not everyone on the road has a Spotter Network account, but it's still kind of an entertaining map.

View attachment 6865

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Interesting how the highest concentrations are centered in SPC's 45% bulls-eye (from 2000 UTC tornado probability):

Glad I was down in the wide-open spaces of northwest Oklahoma.

 

[Skip Talbot]

The hotspot is probably Wichita residents beaconing their position from in or near the city in response to the passing severe weather. Just north of that spot, traffic was still quite manageable. The highest concentration of spotter/chaser traffic was probably up by Salina.

 

[Shane Adams]

We either stayed further back, or were on a different storm on 5-19-10. That day, for us, was average. There were lots of chasers all around during the tornadoes, but during cycles and navigating to/changing storms, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary. We also never saw the TIV, which probably isn't a coincidence.

I think one thing that plays into our hands personally is the need for everyone to be right next to the tornadoes. Was a time when you had JP, RT, and a few others regularly up close while everyone else was further back (where we were). Nowadays, you don't even need experience to get right next to tornadoes, and with the ever-present lure of $$$, more folks than ever are trying close range chasing. That leaves people like us, who generally stay back 2-5 miles to get the entire tornado/mesocyclone scope as well as hands-offs from one static video position, pretty much alone, all things considered.

 

[Olivier Staiger]

Here's a picture from near Kingfisher, OK, on 5/19/10, taken by JR Hehnly and available on his website:

IT WAS WONDERFUL !!!! I LOVED IT !!!
;-)
Seriously... the problem is not the chasers. The problem is the road. Build more roads. Widen the existing roads. All county roads should be eight-lane roads , all over Tornado Alley. This would create a lot of jobs, and there would be no more bitching about 'too many chasers' .

 

[Olivier Staiger]

The "blocking the road" idea has serious flaws, filled with danger. Who makes this decision? Blocking a road could turn hundreds of chasers and non-chasers into the path of a more dangerous storm. Lets face it, there are always going to be traffic jams for assorted reasons and the local / state LEO's need to deal with it. For example, large sporting events. I've been to such events where emergency vehicles had a hard time moving around traffic. It happens. The problems with mass chasers only occur a few times a year. It's not a weekly event. I can say as a working journalist with police and state credentials, the first time I'm prevented from covering an event, I'll raise hell.

W.

well said, Warren.
exactly. it happens once or twice per month, especially when there is a high risk on a weekend. I am so glad they didn't close the road to Campo on monday, 31 May 2010, on a 2% slight risk... ;-)

 

[Rob H]

When's the last time Kansas has even had to deal with something like this? Late May, 2008? I don't know about the rest of you, but I see a swarm of SN dots going through a town like Great Bend and I think two things: I'm not getting a unique perspective, and I'm not getting through that town anytime soon. Following the herd is almost always a poor choice, unless you have no idea what you're doing or where you're going.

edit: 6/7/09 and 5/19/10 being two note-worthy exceptions where alternate routes might not have been possible

 

[Andy Jackson]

When's the last time Kansas has even had to deal with something like this? Late May, 2008? I don't know about the rest of you, but I see a swarm of SN dots going through a town like Great Bend and I think two things: I'm not getting a unique perspective, and I'm not getting through that town anytime soon. Following the herd is almost always a poor choice, unless you have no idea what you're doing or where you're going.

Some of us could care less about what's on Spotter Network and don't access it. I don't mind getting into small convergences but when you see a line of cars waiting to exit the I-70 (east of Salina) then you know there's a problem. From what I hear and have seen there were tons of chaser types on all of the main storms.

 

[Lee Smith-Whaley]

IT WAS WONDERFUL !!!! I LOVED IT !!!
;-)
Seriously... the problem is not the chasers. The problem is the road. Build more roads. Widen the existing roads. All county roads should be eight-lane roads , all over Tornado Alley. This would create a lot of jobs, and there would be no more bitching about 'too many chasers' .

As someone from KS, I couldn't agree more. Nothing worse than getting stuck behind a slow moving semi, or farm vehicle for miles at a time due to hills, curves, or oncoming traffic that prevents you from passing. Sure it would create some problems initially while the roads are being widened, but I'm willing to put up with it.

 

[Dan Robinson]

The more I read, the more I'm beginning to doubt this is a true "chaser" problem. Unless you screw up and are way behind the storm (which happens to the best of us from time to time, but not always), you're not going to be in the damage path getting in the way of responders. Chasers are normally right on the storm or slightly ahead of it, where there is nothing yet for responders to respond to! If they are responding from the east, they'd be going the opposite direction of chaser traffic! Maybe this is why I haven't encountered the problem yet. Sure, if you're 15-20 minutes behind a tornado and try to drive through a damage zone, there will be traffic. How often do most of us get into that situation unless we've really blown it in terms of positioning? If you make some bad calls and end up falling behind, maybe just flanking the storm to the north or south will avoid the problem, instead of just pressing ahead to the east. Am I oversimplifying this? Seems like the SN followers and locals would comprise most of the damage zone traffic where the responders are trying to reach. As a chaser, if I'm stuck back in the damage path 20 minutes behind the tornado, I'm not doing too well in executing my chasing strategy.