Shane Adams
Re: 1
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David Drummond is very fine, here's the thread
- Thread starter Simone Lussardi
- Start date
Mickey Ptak
EF5
a
You are probably right there.
I'll take my reputation over the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ any day.
Mickey PtakKevin Scharfenberg
Aside from the obvious monetary/TV exposure aspect, I've gotten the impression reading this thread and the threads on WX-CHASE that at least some number of chasers actually think this was "cool". It's not. Someone could get killed in a similar situation at any time, which is not worth the national TV exposure and high-dollar video sales, at least to me!David Schuttler
EF5
You tend to get in that situation when your trying to help people and not just capture cool pictures and video. The Fireman facing the other direction also did not see it coming .
my 1.5 cents worth anywayDavid Wolfson
EF5
As someone just getting into chasing, I found it very instructive and much appreciate their sharing it. As for getting $$$, well, they deserve it for what they and their vehicle went through.
First, DD and MR are hardly amateur thrill-seekers and do know what they're doing. Second, the firemen were almost caught up themselves when the meso recycled to the east as it apparently did, so it's not like they were obviously in the wrong place.
Like Roy's tigers the combination of one's own actions and powerful forces of nature can sometimes lead to unintended consequences no matter how expert you are.
Give DD a break -- he only has seven lives left!Mickey Ptak
EF5
a
David Wolfson Wrote:
That’s great that you found it to be instructive and perhaps that is the case for most. However, it’s these kinds of video’s that portray a negative message about storm chasing and storm chasers to the general public and most importantly the thrill seekers/adrenalin junkies. There are a lot of dumb people out there and it would surprise me if one of them would put themselves in this same situation. Hell look at the freaking Tornado Truck or what ever the hell it’s called. I mean why the hell would you want to even do that when there are other means of studying tornados.
It’s the people that do not find it “instructive†that you have to worry about.
David Wolfson Wrote:
LOL, let us hope he still has all nine.
Mickey PtakDavid Wolfson
EF5
I wouldn't worry about them much. They won't be in the gene pool very long! :roll:
David Drummond
Member
We put the video out because it was an incredible event that should be seen. I know very well what I am doing while chasing and really could care less about what some TV meteorologist had to say who was not there and probably never chased themselves.
The long and short if it -- it illustrates to all chasers that all it takes is for one thing in your chasing to go terribly wrong and anyone could have found themselves in such a situation. I was in the perfect viewing position and had an excellent paved road ahead of the storm to the east. One of the largest RFD wrap arounds I have ever seen came out around to the south and back around to the east very rapidly and effectively put us in the bears cage, which was SEVERAL miles wide at this point. I was already moving at that time east to get back ahead of it when that RFD downed large trees across the road which I was able to carefully navigate around but lost precious seconds that eventually resulted in the tornado developing on top of us it seems. Sure I could have blown past that firefighter and I possibly would never have been caught in it. I made a decision to stop and tell him about the trees down and to tell him to go east with me and get the hell out of there. The extra seconds needed to do that were obviously not there. Was it a bad decision to stop and tell him? I don't know but I would stop and warn them again if I had to repeat it. I also stopped to tell a group of kids in a van that were out looking at the storm and were obviously not chasers. In fact they had stopped to talk a couple of times and I had told them this storm was serious and they needed to really be careful. I stopped a little down the road after I got out of the tornado when I saw them again and told them this storm was not playing around. Judging by the look on their face after seeing the damage to the van I think it sunk in. I did not see them again that day.
It's easy to see the video and make judgements about coulda, shoulda woulda, but until you find yourself in that situation and have to make split second decisions than no one can really second guess what could or should have been done differently.
Was it cool? Well I suppose there was some "cool" factor to it, I mean after all, I have video from INSIDE a developing tornado. It's not like I was out there TRYING to get it, but I am happy I had the dash camera rolling to capture this incredible event from the inside.
I hope what other chasers take from this is "hey a good plan can go wrong, and that could happen to me" and have that in their mind when they are in a near storm environment.
What I hope any inspiring chasers take from that is "maybe I need to make SURE I know what I am getting myself into before heading out under a storm".
What I hope the public in general understands is that what we as chasers are doing out there is not child's play and even the best laid plans can go bad in a split second and it's not an activity you should be loading up the kids in the minivan and going out doing. You can EASILY and QUICKLY be killed! I was damn lucky. VERY LUCKY!
And yes Shane, of course they paid a few $$$ for the video. I shoot video for a living and naturally I am going continue to conduct my business. I will tell you it did not even cover my chasing budget for the year, just so you know no one got rich off this.
Bottom line you guys, when your out chasing, keep that video in the back of your mind when you see things rapidly evolving and try not to get yourself caught in what I did. While looking back at it is exhilirating I can tell you that was NOT the case at the time and survival was foremost on our minds until we knew we were safe.Jason Bowen
EF0
Thank you for the lesson, David. This video and your expirence will be in the back of alot of our minds when we are out and about. Instead of only 2nd guessing everting, I will probaly throw in some 3rd and 4th guesses more regularly.
Jared Mysko
EF2
I guess I should put in my 2 cents here. First of all, David you are nuts but we all love you for it. I was very concerned when I first caught the news and my first thoughts were of chaser casualties. With that first post in this thread I thought you were in the hospital and on life support! Luckily it was not nearly as bad as my imagination can conjure up. By the way, exactly what happened to the van? I think it is great that you can sell the video to the media and recover your costs but I doubt that it will pay for an extremely expensive hobby.
Cheers David Drummond (chaser of the year IMO),
Jared Mysko
Jared Mysko
EF2
Now that I read that last post David, (and watched the video a few more times) you may have save some firefighter's lives right there. You are correct, you did not have to stop but you did knowing full well that those firefighters were putting themselves in the path of destruction. If you didn't stop, they may have gone further and who knows what might have happened?Shane Adams
Dave, you don't have to explain to me why you did what you did, because I know. I was just answering the question of someone else. I'm not concerned with how much money you made from the video.
My only question (well before this semi-debate thread got going) was 'why were you guys there in the first place?' and that question has been answerd to my satisfaction.Kevin Scharfenberg
Well Shane, my question is, for an eastward moving supercell, if you see an RFD dust plume go up to your west, wrap around to your south and then to your east, why would you drive eastbound toward the inflow/RFD interface under the strongest part of the updraft? That's the LAST direction I would have driven under those circumstances, because it seems to me that would be the most likely location for a tornado to be developing.Shane Adams
I dunno, wasn't there. Maybe they had no other option. But in the same situation, I'd probably go south......greater risk of RFD encounter but affords a much clearer view once you're out of the mess; a northward jog might save you from the tornado but could also kill you with large hail.
This would be an interesting thread on its own....
Jared Mysko
EF2
Ok, I think we should maybe debate this one. I for one would head to the clearing and that is what it appears that David was doing. He just got caught and was way too close. Going the other way, he would have gotten pelted with hail almost certainly. He was running for his life! It looked to me like he had three different plumes of dust go across his path in different directions. What exactly are you supposed to do in that situation? Lie flat in the ditch? No thanks. They got away. They did the right thing.Similar threads
