Kansas police roadblocks cause storm chaser traffic jams near Dodge City

[Dan Robinson]

Another bit of relevant information - the roadblock on the north side of town was in place as the tornado was ongoing to the north, before/as the propane tank/debris had been thrown. You can see the tornado dissipating in the timelapse video as I approach the roadblock. I don't know how long this was in place, but judging from the traffic I encountered, it was at least a few minutes. This meant that the road was likely blocked prior to the tornado impacting the structure, but I cannot say for sure. If it wasn't, they would have had to have it set up within a minute or two of the structure being hit - an unusually fast response time.

 

[Atreyu Neyhart]

What money do they make in a rolling road block? I'm really having a hard time following your claims...



I'm sorry - that's just silly. Cops have far more to do with their time than see if they can gang up and slow down chasers. Their goal is to keep people from driving into a tornado. I watched the KS video a few nights ago from JeffP and saw countless cars flying down the highway unaware of the large cloud in front of them which actually was a wedge. Roadblocks reduce that occurrence.

By ticketing and or pulling over any chaser who does anything that they don't like or see fit, or passes their road block? Tickets=money, and court and that = money. And trust me, they DO go out of their way to look for reason to bust someone. Like stated above, if you cross that line(which is often not even really a line) they will give you hell and make sure they give you hell. Besides isn't the whole reason this was brought upon due to the so called ''irresponsible chasers and outlaws''? Good chase days really aren't all that often, and so what sometimes maybe a chaser does and few things that are maybe questionable. In my town people drive like they never took the test anyways and all the things even the so called ''bad'' chasers do on chase day, are also being done by everyone everywhere every day. Point being why do chasers upset Law Enforcement so much? Why can't we all just be left alone and allowed to enjoy our passion without such a fuss? Storm chasing to me is about all the little things that make up the big picture, and it's sad it can no longer just be enjoyed the way it once was...Chase and let chase. As long as you don't run me off the road then fine, get as close as you want, it's your life and you know the dangers.

 

[Kelton Halbert]

By ticketing and or pulling over any chaser who does anything that they don't like or see fit, or passes their road block? Tickets=money, and court and that = money. And trust me, they DO go out of their way to look for reason to bust someone. Like stated above, if you cross that line(which is often not even really a line) they will give you hell and make sure they give you hell. Besides isn't the whole reason this was brought upon due to the so called ''irresponsible chasers and outlaws''? Good chase days really aren't all that often, and so what sometimes maybe a chaser does and few things that are maybe questionable. In my town people drive like they never took the test anyways and all the things even the so called ''bad'' chasers do on chase day, are also being done by everyone everywhere every day. Point being why do chasers upset Law Enforcement so much? Why can't we all just be left alone and allowed to enjoy our passion without such a fuss? Storm chasing to me is about all the little things that make up the big picture, and it's sad it can no longer just be enjoyed the way it once was...Chase and let chase. As long as you don't run me off the road then fine, get as close as you want, it's your life and you know the dangers.

Or... you know... just don't break the law while chasing and the vast majority of the time you'll be left alone by the law enforcement.

I'll state it again. We encountered 4 road blocks, and we obeyed the law and didn't move past until it was deemed safe by law enforcement. We missed exactly 0 tornadoes due to it and never fell far behind, usually within a few miles of the tornado at worst.

Law enforcement's #1 priority during an event like this is the safety of people on the road. They can't always make a distinction between Joe Public and a chaser - especially since quite a few of us like going incognito and don't have bells and whistles that identify us as "chasers". Additionally, the idea that law enforcement are "out to get" chasers is a bit arrogant. Sure, there have been some vocal sheriffs and news articles, and definitely more than a few altercations from what I've heard over the years, but when a tornado is ravaging a town, I highly doubt the first thought on an officer's mind is "I'm gonna bag me some chasers". It's just not logical.

In the grand scheme of things, we aren't that important.

 

[Kelton Halbert]

Another bit of relevant information - the roadblock on the north side of town was in place as the tornado was ongoing to the north, before/as the propane tank/debris had been thrown. You can see the tornado dissipating in the timelapse video as I approach the roadblock. I don't know how long this was in place, but judging from the traffic I encountered, it was at least a few minutes. This meant that the road was likely blocked prior to the tornado impacting the structure, but I cannot say for sure. If it wasn't, they would have had to have it set up within a minute or two of the structure being hit - an unusually fast response time.

I'm not sure if you're saying the road block in the video was due to the propane tank, but I'm pretty sure that one wasn't. I'm pretty sure that was a later roadblock. Also, our police roadblock was coming from the North of the propane tank, so I can't speak to what was going on to the S of it.

 

[Robert Forry]

We managed to avoid all the road blocks by using the dirt roads on the area, that is, at least until they became really wet. Never really had an issue with LE while out there last week, aside for the warning I was in Leoti about not being completely off the road..

 

[rdale]

By ticketing and or pulling over any chaser who does anything that they don't like or see fit, or passes their road block? .

I'm sorry - your imagination is just running wild. By "anything they don't like" you mean "illegal things that deserve to be pulled over for." Unless you're claiming that their radar identifies cars that have chasers in them and automatically outputs a speed 10mph higher?

Don't do illegal things during a tornado and you won't be pulled over. Simple as that. Your conspiracy theories are just so extremely far from reality that I can't tell if you're trying to be funny or what.

 

[Todd Lemery]

We were pulled over driving to the target area on a long straight road doing 8 mph over. The officer said he had a complaint of a gold SUV driving very fast. We were driving a black one and had the cruise set the whole time. He said he saw us and "decided to check us out". The man could not of been nicer. We sat there and talked about storms and the upcoming prospects of the day for quite a while. Almost as if he was just looking for someone to talk about storms with for a bit. Most police, I believe, are more like that officer than the ones who seem pissed at the world. Those type of officers might have had some negative experiences with chasers that have hardened their opinions about them. Driving around roadblocks, driving like a bat out of hell or being rude when pulled over won't win us any friends. If we assume that they are just doing the best job that they can instead thinking that they are out to get us, we would all be better off.
Once again, there are bad apples in all walks of life. "Don't judge, lest be judged".
Reminds of escaping a hail core one time when an officer coming from the other direction turns on his overheads and points for us to pull over. He yelled across the road while holding up his phone "what am I missing!?" I hollered back there was some huge hail coming. He waved goodby and said "thank you very much!" Turned his car around and got in line with everyone else heading away from the hail core.

 

[Jeff Duda]

With so many chasers converging on events like this just short of the edge of a town, is there a code of ethics and conduct that the seasoned pros on this site and beyond abide by, or even suggest to the rest of us with less experience in this situation? (when/where to stop, etc.). I'm hopeful there is a collective stance on this. I'm sure this has been discussed in the past, and if there are other post/threads that address, please let us know. In any case, we were all truly lucky to have witnessed that day south of Dodge.

Even though I have been chasing < 10 years, I'm pretty sure there used to be an unwritten code of conduct among gentlemen among the chasers of old. However, with the chaser community having expanded and diversified so much over the last 5-10 years, that code is no longer known or practiced by a large fraction of chasers. However, I think common sense driving goes a long way towards keeping things civil in crowds while chasing. In my opinion, here are some very basic principles:

• If you're going to stop moving, pull all the way out of the driving lane; the farther away from the white line you can get, the better. Pull all the way off the road surface if possible. Corollary: if you can't get all the way out of the driving lane, DO NOT STOP.

• Even if you're actively watching a storm or looking for a place to stop, drive as close to the speed limit as you comfortably can. Don't drive down a two-lane highway going 35 mph because you're too busy staring at a tornado or looking for a place to stop. Farm pull-outs and crossroads are pretty common and regular on most highways in the Plains; anticipate where they'll be and only slow down once you're approaching them.

Basically, the overriding principle here, other than not to break traffic laws (at least egregiously), is not to hinder the progress of other vehicles (chasers or otherwise) and not to be a dick. Keep in mind that you do not own the road, so you don't have the right to treat driving around storms like you do own it. Be respectful to other drivers. Problems occur when even a single asshole decides they are more important than everyone else around them, and thus disrupts the flow of traffic and causes a disturbance that slows everyone down.

 

[Jeff Duda]

Jeff, thanks much for the reply - and of course all that makes total sense. I for one would be totally in favor of a code of conduct that we all agree to abide by. To drill a bit further with the "what if" scenario that almost happened in Dodge City: If a tornado is making a clear path through an upcoming town and the vast majority of chasers are on the one road that leads through town, what is the sensible and collective response? Obviously not a good scenario for dozens of chasers to be heading into a damaged town...

While your heart and mind are in the right place, IMO, that simply will never happen. If for no other reason, than probably well over 50% of all storm chasers are not on Stormtrack, and thus would not see any discussion made here. Even getting around that, though, there are just too many egotistical chasers out there who are more concerned with getting on the teevee and making video sales to bother with basic etiquette or decency.

 

[hadrian predock]

Jeff Duda, thanks much for the reply - and of course all that makes total sense. I for one would be totally in favor of a code of conduct that we all agree to abide by. To drill a bit further with the "what if" scenario that almost happened in Dodge City: If a tornado is making a clear path through an upcoming town and the vast majority of chasers are on the one road that leads through town, what is the sensible and collective response? Obviously not a good scenario for dozens of chasers to be heading into a damaged town...

Btw - we always enjoy your posts and intricate knowledge. Thx again.

 

[Michael Snyder]

I was out there for the 23rd near Woodward, the 24th Dodge City and the 25th Chapman.

For the most part Chasers were doing fine and being very well behaved. BUT, there were chasers that were doing ridiculous things. During the Chapman storm there were numerous chasers parking in the road just outside of Detroit KS. Like Jeff said above, DO NOT stop if cannot get all the way off the road.

May24th I was caught in the roadblocks with everyone else, and I ended our chase day on the Huge hissing propane tank encounter. Seems like chasers were being well-behaved for the most part during this day.
Although some of the huge lines (obviously storm chasers) does look bad when emergency personnel are dealing with damaged homes, downed powerlines, and trees covering the roadways.

On the 23rd, Woodward storm there were several chasers who we saw going extremely fast and driving extremely dangerously. One Chaser driving a marked and obvious storm chasing news truck (wont name names here), got pulled over and 3 cop cars pulled up on him as he stopped right next to us. I heard the sheriff talking about him going 96mph through parts of Woodward, we also saw other extreme speeding by chasers whom obviously chose the southern target that day and were trying to rush to get north.

I know if I were a cop this would sit poorly with me and leave a lasting impression. How could it not? We have to do better than this.

 

[Dan Robinson]

FYI, now that I've mapped out my GPS log, I can report the exact locations of the two roadblocks I encountered:

First roadblock:
Fowler Road, 3mi north of Ford Ensign Road

Second roadblock:
N 14th & W Rose Ave

You can view my GPS log here:

http://stormhighway.com/may242016/gpslog.php

 

[rdale]

What's with the "won't name names here" mantra? If someone (TV station or professional or yahoo) is giving chasing a bad name, and people can confirm those actions, why the desire to keep things on the down low? If it's a rumor - that's one thing. But if you witnessed something very bad, call him/her out.

 

[James Hilger]

And 96 seems to be a common theme. According to Bens (khp) twitter page.

 

[JamesCaruso]

I was really worried about roadblocks on 5/24/16 because of proximity to a place like Dodge City, but had no problems. We stayed mostly on 283 because the dirt roads to the west were very wet, then went around the loop and used the local paved roads north of town. Traffic was slowed by, but allowed to pass, the overturned semi, and the roadblock at the propane tank was certainly understandable (I later heard from another chaser that some foolishly risked an explosion by driving past the tank before the roadblock was in place). Other than that, no problems. Having to detour because of the propane tank would have messed us up if the storm was not already being quashed by the one coming up from the south.

Overall, I feel that chaser traffic volume this year was the worst I have seen. I thought it had peaked out already in recent years; I thought the flood of new chasers had slowed due to the novelty wearing off, the Discovery Channel show being off the air, and The Weather Channel ending their "tornado hunt." I figured that the trend of local yahoos coming out might continue, but either way each chase would only feature that particular locale's residents, so would not be subject to an increase in total. But I was wrong. This year seemed the worst yet. At least on 5/24/16 everyone seemed reasonably well-behaved. I think 5/21/16 near Leoti was far worse as far as bad behavior.


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