Leave "storm porn" to the professionals...

[David Drummond]

I just came across this article:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2007/06/26/tornado-viz.html?ref=rss

"It's almost what I've called 'storm porn,' " David Phillips, one of Environment Canada's top weather experts, told CBC News.

Amateur storm chasers have been seriously hurt in the past, Phillips said. He recommends leaving the storm chasing to trained professionals.

While agree with the sentiment of everyone and their kid and dog rushing outside to take pictures during a tornado is foolish, I want to now when all these storm chasers are getting hurt and why don't we know about it?

As far as I know, even those few of use who have been in weak tornadoes have emerged rather unscathed.

 

[Bill Hark]

I've seen that article before. It is very annoying and ironic after Environment Canada used some of the video to help in their designation of the Elie tornado as an F5. Oh well, this David Phillips is entitled to his opinion. I don't really care though he should should think about his opinion the next time home or chaser video is used in analysis or when someone calls in a tornado sighting.

Bill Hark

 

[Steve Miller]

Well, if there is one thing that we all report with little delay, its another chaser being hurt or involved in an accident. We would know if chasers were getting in a bind up north.

Just my opinion.

 

[David Drummond]

I've seen that article before. It is very annoying and ironic after Environment Canada used some of the video to help in their designation of the Elie tornado as an F5. Oh well, this David Phillips is entitled to his opinion. I don't really care though he should should think about his opinion the next time home or chaser video is used in analysis or when someone calls in a tornado sighting.

Bill Hark

He wouldn't be the first to ask for our video for spotter talks or other stuff like that and then berate chasers in the event.

 

[Patrick Marsh]

The reason why this article looks so familiar to people is that this was discussed in another thread shortly after it happened...

http://stormtrack.org/forum/showthread.php?t=13076

 

[David Drummond]

Ah, so it was. Sorry for necroposting.

 

[Doug Lee]

Ah, so it was. Sorry for necroposting.

"Necroposting"? That's a great term Dave!

Great term, but not necessarily a good practice, unless you're bringing up a subject that needs to be brought back to our attention. Otherwise, it could lead to the excessive causation of repetitious collisions of a blunt object with a deceased equine.

 

[Dick McGowan]

Who could forget this article by a NWS meteorologist back in March. Not even 2 months later, that same office called us on 5/5 wondering what we were seeing near Radium, KS! I suppose the media could have possibly rearranged something he said......or maybe they didn't. I'm just glad that 95 percent of these guys aren't like that, most are very professional, and welcome storm chaser reports.

I don't know anything about Canada, but I can't imagine there are a whole lot of chasers up there to begin with (or people lol), and I'm sure they are glad that someone documented their tornadoes this past summer, for training, surveys, or whatever. Keep biting the hand that feeds, and eventually you'll starve. If you want the locals to stop crowding the roads, call them locals, don't call them storm chasers!

 

[MatthewCarman]

Taken from NWS page Dick posted:

Ketcham said storm spotters should not be confused with storm chasers.
While some storm chasers serve a scientific purpose, conducting real-time research in the field, many are in it for the thrill and the glory, creating a hazard on the road, he said.

Is this guy for real? Storm chasers serve a purpose and do alot to help the public by reporting any severe weather they see. Also there is times when storm spotters report scud as tornadoes etc. They are no where near as qaulified as storm chasers. After one class how can they be?

 

[David Drummond]

Well to be fair, I've seen some pictures on some websites of self proclaimed STORM CHASERS that have posted pictures of shelf clouds calling them wall clouds, aiming their camera at a rain shaft and saying there is a tornado in there (although you can't see it) because, after all, it has a warning on it.

I even sat less than a quarter mile down the road from one very well known and respected storm chaser and watched a rotating wall cloud, only to see them post the next day they saw a tornado at that very location.

We've even had some STORM CHASERS photoshop tornadoes in their pictures and put on their website and even one posted it right here on the forum!!

Spotters aren't the only ones prone to this stuff any longer.

 

[Shane Adams]

Chasers are basically the offensive lineman of the weather world, regarding our "place" or "pecking order." We do our job right, no one says anything. One screw up and we're sh#t.