Crazy Kearney chase video (5/29/08)

[Derek Weston]

Forgive me if this has already been posted... can you say... "flying debris"?
These guys are crazy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGexT1ZhGqY&feature=related

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

Next to a large sheet-metal building - "this is the safest place" hah.

 

[Andrew Pritchard]

Another favorite quote of mine... the repeated "The tornado is at 11 o'clock!" --- So let's continue to bust ass into the path.

 

[Chris Lott]

This is Team Remora in the video. There's another video on youtube of the same chase from the other car that they were talking to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYfzb5BHiDw&feature=related

 

[Stephen Levine]

Thank you for sharing those awesome videos. The video quality looked better in the 2nd one to me, and my jaw was hanging much of the time in watching both.

They certainly make for stunning photography. I also have a deep concern that this style of chasing is so severely risky. I believe that dropping a "turtle" or probe and running is much better than being the probe itself. The thought came to my mind that were this an EF-2 or stronger tornado, they might have found themselves airborne or on a roll across the highway. The thought of this is scary to me, and an additional thought comes that they might not have lived to tell their story.

 

[Cory Schuller]

I know this has been talked about before and yes it is a neat video but this video has been edited to remove all the traffic violations and certain audio comments- "get out of my way I'm a storm chaser". The local radio and TV broadcasts showed and talked about how the "storm chasers" acted during the event. Talk was if another tornado event was to happen in the Kearney area "storm chasers" would be pulled over and ticketed. Gee, thanks guys for getting the good footage and ruining a chase area for us.

Cory

 

[cdcollura]

Good day all,

I was right next to these guys (Team Ramora) and pretty much experienced this first hand for myself that day in Kearney.

My chase video has the dialog (monitored on VHF / HAM) as debris / powerflashes were affecting Kearney. The damage, from my point of view, looked like EF-1 with isolated areas of EF-2 over a wide area (1/2 mile or more across).

Visually, the tornado was not fully condensed but was multi-vortex in nature, and was not really discernable since we were literally "In It"!

A video clip of May 29 is below, from my perspective, includes much of the Kearney storm as well...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/m9vid11.htm

 

[Shane Adams]

I know this has been talked about before and yes it is a neat video but this video has been edited to remove all the traffic violations and certain audio comments- "get out of my way I'm a storm chaser". The local radio and TV broadcasts showed and talked about how the "storm chasers" acted during the event. Talk was if another tornado event was to happen in the Kearney area "storm chasers" would be pulled over and ticketed. Gee, thanks guys for getting the good footage and ruining a chase area for us.

Cory

If the video's any indication of how much they respect their own personal safety, I couldn't see how they would respect the safety of others.

Yeah yeah, it's just grumpy ole Shane spouting off again about aggressive chasing. But there's a difference between close proximity chasing and just throwing yourself out there; anyone can drive into the circulation and let the cards fall, that doesn't require talent. It takes skill to get in close_and_stay_out_of the tornado/danger. I don't see much of the latter these days, at least not on youtube.

I said for years how I missed the days when the tornado itself was the draw to a video. Then I said that tornadoes up close weren't gonna be enough after a while. And now every up close video you see involves the chaser being in the tornado, with bad to zero visibility, debris flying everywhere, and panicky voices who seem surprised or confused as to how they got in that situation to begin with.

The only chasers I can think of who get consistently close and stay out of the tornadoes are Jeff Piotrowski and Reed Timmer. Their videos are crazy, but you're getting nice, clear shots of tornadoes up close, they know exactly what's going on with the storm the entire time, and they are always poised to escape. IMO, that's talent.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

I too was in Kearney that day along with Jeff Piotrowski, we came in North through Kearney and then cut East on US 30, I can tell you there was A LOT of debris, though all of it (at least from our location) appeared to be from nothing more than a Strong RFD, and non of it was insulation or large structure type debris. To us it was clear where the tornado was, on the NW side of Kearney tracking East, and the easy clear decision was to cut East before "driving into it". I will say Kearney was a dangerous town at the time, there were people running stop lights and ignoring traffic signals all over (probably chasers). I don't understand why you would continue to drive North into a clearly rain wrapped tornado, though given what I was seeing in the video, I see NO indication that they were ever actually in the tornado anyway, appears that its just slightly over dramatized video of a strong RFD. My video of driving through Kearney is not viewable on youtube, though parts of that storm can be seen on my 2008 DVD.

 

[Andrew Ryan]

The only chasers I can think of who get consistently close and stay out of the tornadoes are Jeff Piotrowski and Reed Timmer. Their videos are crazy, but you're getting nice, clear shots of tornadoes up close, they know exactly what's going on with the storm the entire time, and they are always poised to escape. IMO, that's talent.

Is driving backwards on a dirt road a "planned" escape route? I don't think so. But I agree that driving thru a tornado is much, much worse. Even if it is only the RFD.

 

[jeremy wilson]

The only chasers I can think of who get consistently close and stay out of the tornadoes are Jeff Piotrowski and Reed Timmer. Their videos are crazy, but you're getting nice, clear shots of tornadoes up close, they know exactly what's going on with the storm the entire time, and they are always poised to escape. IMO, that's talent.

Couldn't have said it better grumpy old man.

 

[Andrea Griffa]

Exciting video! Anyway I agree with Shane's words: moreover I add that in my opinion is better to stay not too close to the tornado if you want to take some good shots of it; then, to be honest I don't like flying debris at 200km/h

Returning to this video, am I the only one seeing a wedge crossing the road or not (after 5:50)?

 

[Eric Treece]

I agree with Shane. Jeff and Reed know what they are doing and I think they both get alot of undeserved crap for it. I would get into a vehicle with either of them at anytime if I wanted to get up close and personal with a tornado. This video seems VERY "what are we getting into?" and "OH CRAP!" TOO MUCH RELIANCE ON BARONS! Not enough visual.

 

[Shane Adams]

Is driving backwards on a dirt road a "planned" escape route? I don't think so.

If the chaser is on one single road heading at a tornado that's approaching, I'd have to say yes

 

[David Draun]

The way that storm looked after it RFD'd on us made us continue south. There was no way we would have gone after a beastly storm like that. We saw a small funnel touch down before the RFD blew over us and decided that was tornado enough for us. Especially after it turned brown/black as it headed towards Kearny.