Ignorance of few affect the many

[Kris Hair]

I read that, I didn't quite understand what "did not have any data for 15 min" had to do with anything. Have some people become that dependent on technology that without it they don't know how to continue chasing? When are on a storm, look out the window. Your eyes will be way more useful at that point than what you see on a 5+ minute old radar image.

I just don't understand people blaming no data for their mishap. If not having data and radar is getting people caught in tornadoes, than perhaps they should go back and do more studying before going out chasing.

Were you there? Do you know the situation?

Like I said... Everyone's a critic.

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

Were you there? Do you know the situation?

Like I said... Everyone's a critic.

Wasn't that a fast-moving HP wedge? The one you have pictured in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/blackcloudchasing#p/a/u/0/u5kWMGqGZcw

That's the tricky thing with giving interviews to national media: you will have critics. Goes with the territory.

 

[Scott Weberpal]

Were you there? Do you know the situation?

Like I said... Everyone's a critic.

You choose to make the situation public, you choose to accept the criticism that comes with it.

 

[Kris Hair]

I really could give a crap what you or anyone else thinks. It isn't going to affect how I sleep at night.

I just find it amazing how everyone is quck to armchair quarterback a situation that they weren't out chsing, or had no idea of the situation or the parameters given.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Were you there? Do you know the situation?

Like I said... Everyone's a critic.

You're right, I wasn't there and have no idea what the situation was. So I apologize for not quite understanding how someone places themselves in the direct path of a wedge tornado and not even know it's there. I can only base my opinion on my 12 years of experience of chasing, 7 of those I didn't have mobile internet or radar and managed to stay safe while seeing countless tornadoes of all sizes.

 

[Michael Wurzburger]

I was also hoping that this thread would get a response out of said tour company or any others for that matter. I know Brian Barnes is a member and although he and I have had issues, I know he runs his tours in a safe mannor and does not pull any stupid stuff like this.

I was on one of Brian's tours last year during the time of the Kirksville tornado. If memory serves me correctly, I believe that there was quite a bit of controversy about one particular chaser and the dangerous tactics he used in order to obtain his video. Brian used this particular incident to remind everyone about how dangerous even the smallest tornados can be. He went on to discuss various do and don'ts of the "chase". I was very grateful for that information. He gained a lot of respect from me that day.

 

[Scott Bennett]

We all face this crap on every major event, I was fit to be tied by Tuesday night when a Discovery cameraman opened the door directly in front of us and jumped into the middle of the road. I wrote a 3 page blog post to make me feel better but decided it was not worth the drama to post it. You can't do anything to avoid the convergence, even dirt roads aren't safe anymore you just have to deal with it.

I have to know in my heart that I know the true story... I know the NWS servers were down on the Yazoo day. I have seen multiple views of the trapped tour group and think to myself it's not that chasers were blocking them in... none of the escape routes were any safer. Then to hear someone in that video say "move up" when glass is all over the place? Yea it's my fault because I was on the road less than a mile behind them... give me a break.

Everyone wants to blame someone else for their mistakes... Crappy Sony video tape, vehicles blocking the road, no data, the WGN armada, Discovery, noob chasers, yada yada... in the end you are chosing your own adventure. Because on Monday I blamed everyone in that list for my failure to see and or record the Tornado 1000 yards from me. Today I chalk it up to my stupidity for chasing alone in that mess and paying more attention to the traffic than what was happening around me.

I don't care if you have chased for 1 year or 50, don't be a dickhead out there and it will make everyones life a little easier. Because there are A LOT of people being dickheads in the field and then they bring it online too… this being the only way I can define whats going on. I have tried other terms like "Idiots" and "Jerks" but these people have taken it to a new level.

On Monday/Tuesday there were many Dickheads out and I can't change them.
Best hope is to avoid them, deal with them or not chase...

 

[Matt Hunt]

Note that if you are ever in an automobile accident, this may make extraction from your car much more difficult and time consuming. It may be worth the tradeoff, but for the most part broken windows are annoying but rarely fatal, whereas being trapped in a burning or sinking car (or just being trapped while you bleed to death) can be a bit more of a problem.

I say that as a fan of your Rhino, BTW, which is the least ugly and most badass hailproofing of a car I've seen. But it might not be for everyone.

This is a valid point, but even if you don't have the laminate, the tour passengers could be wearing safety glasses to at least keep the glass from getting in their eyes. Also, just thought of this... considering all of the occupants of the TIV wear helmets when they intercept, don't you think chasers in regular cars might want to think about helmets as they get close? Armored tank vs. Ford van? Hmmm....

 

[Jason Foster]

Wow....this thread delivers!!!

Runs the gamut of criticism of yahoo chasers, people getting hurt, tour companies talking smack against each other, blame it on TV/media/Reed Timmer, TWC throwing people under the bus (or would it be a van in this case...LMAO) etc. Hell even lightbars made it in here. I wonder how many infractions have been handed out on this one.

Gotta love the the "drama" of chasing and chasers these days. Perhaps the daytime soaps should take note!

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

This is a valid point, but even if you don't have the laminate, the tour passengers could be wearing safety glasses to at least keep the glass from getting in their eyes. Also, just thought of this... considering all of the occupants of the TIV wear helmets when they intercept, don't you think chasers in regular cars might want to think about helmets as they get close? Armored tank vs. Ford van? Hmmm....

I personally wear a football uniform. It might look ridiculous but it makes me feel better. Not sure what purpose the cleats serve yet but I have some ideas.

IMO tour passengers should wear nothing less than one of these.

 

[Wes Carter]

Show me where I blamed it on anyone else, or where I said I didn't take responisbility for my actions...

I love how everyone is a critic.

Kris, in my honest opinion what you were quoted as saying in the article is valid and does not give the impression you were blaming others for anything. It is more the author of the story basically rehashing almost every controversial issue that's been on Stormtrack and rendering their opinion to the public at large that I take issue with.

The article was written by Becky Kellogg, a senior editor at The Weather Channel. I don't know her credentials as a chaser or where the got most of the information for the story. I'm going to assume she has talked to people with TWC who have been out int he field such as Mike Bettes, Jim Cantore, and independent chasers such as you and others here. From reading ST I'm convinced that if you talk to 20 chasers, you will get 20 vastly different opinions. So I don't think anyone can blame any single source for the tone of the article.

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

This is a valid point, but even if you don't have the laminate, the tour passengers could be wearing safety glasses to at least keep the glass from getting in their eyes. Also, just thought of this... considering all of the occupants of the TIV wear helmets when they intercept, don't you think chasers in regular cars might want to think about helmets as they get close? Armored tank vs. Ford van? Hmmm....

I think the TIV guys wear helmets because the inside of their vehicle is made up cometely if hard metal edges. The TIV holds up well inside a tornado, but I'd hate to be inside it in any kind of accident; even a fender bender would likely result in some pretty serious injuries for anyone not strapped down.

Safety glasses aren't a bad idea to keep in the car; they cost like two bucks at Walmart and softball hail will send glass everywhere, which is mostly just a nuisance, unless it gets in your eyes. I have an old motocylce helmet that I keep around for worst-case scenarios, but I don't anticipate ever needing to use it. Helmets are definately overkill for typical chasers, unless you're riding out softballs or something.

 

[Lanny Dean]

http://www.weather.com/outlook/videos/raw-storm-chasers-hit-by-tornado-17279

Some of you that have bitched at me feel free to click the link above and then come back and tell me that F/5 "did not see the tornado behind them"! This includes you Gregg! They filmed it as they were racing away from it and then stopped to film and got hit. THEY WERE NOT TRAPPED DUE TO TRAFFIC JAM OF CHASERS!!! And I suspect that many of the others who lost windows and got cut up were in the same position. And I am the one trying to capitilize of this??? Whoever said that is ignorant and most certainly uneducated.

Look, I have been "smacked" too...lost windows, been cut up and rolled my vehicle back in 2006 after getting hit by an F-2. I have played the "I want to get closer" game just like everyone else and I have no problem with that at all. When not on tour I no doubt get closer than I would if I had a van full of people. Thats what this original thread was about...a tour company who made a bad call and got their guests injured and then tried to lie to cover it up.
It was not about Reed Timmer, it was not about Kris Hair, it was not about Jim Leneard although I have to say that I am actually upset with his though process in blaming every chaser who happened to be close to him on Monday. C'mon Jim....you are probably one of the kings of getting close...."the extreme"...you have done it for years and now you are blaming it on other chasers when you make a bad call???
You can't bull**** an old bull****ter.

I have no idea just where this thread is going but I feel I have made my point regarding F/5....look at the video.... enough said.

 

[Jason Bolt]

I have been thinking for a couple weeks about starting a thread regarding these incidents.

We've had waaaaay too many chasers get "hit by a tornado" over the last two years. It's not just F5 tours. A chaser got hit in Yazoo City a few weeks ago. Every time this happens there will be stories and excuses. The "victim" will then get on here about how it was an accident blah blah blah. I don't believe it for a second. It's human nature to do everything better or faster than everyone else. Life is like one big contest to most people. Too many storm chasers want to one up the other guy.

YOU ARE NOT THE TIV. YOU ARE NOT THE DOMINATOR. THE TORNADO IS THE ELIMINATOR. ITS JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE A STORM CHASER GETS ELIMINATED.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

You choose to make the situation public, you choose to accept the criticism that comes with it.

Exactly...For this reason, and the fact that (like the one linked) a larger and larger percentage of the articles now are going to make the chaser look like a fool, I personally have learned to avoid newspapers and interviews all together, of course I'd consider it if there's enough loot on the table to make it worth my trouble (not likely in today's world). IMO all these articles (while obviously not what I want to hear) are making very valid points; without a doubt in my mind, chasers have got to the point where as a *collective* they're far more hassle to a region than they are worth (of course that's excluding the economic gain 1000+ people bring). I'll continue to be part of the problem, but you won't find me disputing articles that merely make some very valid points...You don't have to watch too many chaser videos on youtube before the whole "help the public, give more warning" excuse looses it's credibility, there are still a a lot of chasers out there doing things the right way and with the right priorities, but they're being WAY overshadowed now...