Lanny Dean
EF5
My first thought in response to this thread was to "hammer down" about the issues of using data as a tool not as a THE only tool. I however, decided not to go that route and will try to explain my thoughts about data and the recent events regarding a few chasers getting "hit" by the tornado that hit Yazoo.
As a chase tour owner/operator I certainly use data and have many redundant programs for this i.e STORMLAB, GRLEVEL3 GRLEVEL2 ect....While these programs are a nice addition and great tools they are far from perfect and are NOT REAL TIME.
The feeds "we" pull from ARE FREE as some have already noted. It does not matter if you are looking at Level 3 or Level 2 and it does not matter if you are using GR or StormLab. THIS DATA IS PULLED FROM SERVERS THAT ARE FREE TO ACCESS.
THERE WILL BE TIMES WHEN THE SERVERS GET OVERLOADED AND FAIL. This will happen until there is an upgrade or additional servers are installed to handle the bandwidth needed.
That being said, I still do not understand why this is an issue. Some may feel the need to bitch about my next statement but....If you are relying on some particular data feed to chase then you are ignorant. Yes I understand that I may have just pissed of most of the chase community as a whole(as if I care) but the fact is the data the you are looking at is anywhere from 5 to 7 minutes old as is.
What ever happened to looking out the window? Better yet, what about learning storm structure, evolution, motion and basic storm patterns BEFORE GOING OUT TO CHASE?
I have no problem when I lose data. Do I like it? NO. But I can and do still chase. Why? Because I learned how to do it 20 years ago well before there were any data feeds. It was not until 2004 that I got a cell phone and 2005 that I got data.
Back in those days you forecasted an area, drove to that area and on the way maybe you were lucky enough to stop at a local library to catch a Sat. shot or a local outlook for the given area. It was all visual back then and we intecepted many tornadoes on just a NOAA weather radio and a hand analysis that I had drawn up that morning. (Yes, I used color caryons and pencils too)
I can remember selling video as late as the Mulvane event by stoping and using a payphone to call the networks simply becuase I did not have a cell phone.
This was just the way "we" did it back then. I understand that times have changed and we have so many more tools to help us but using a data feed as your main source of input and then making any kind of decision regarding that input is just asking for trouble. Stop....look out the window. If you understand storm structure you should not have any problems or issues.
This includes SOME of the people who had a close call near Yazoo. IMO, there should have not been any reason for getting that close unless of course you did not know exactly what your were doing or looking at. It does not take a 2 year old baby to know that you do not drive into something like that or sit in one spot for 20 minutes waiting on the cell to get to you and then scream like a little girl while trying to outrun that HP mess. STUPID! I am pretty sure that is the "darwinism that uncle Chuck Doswell was refering to and anybody that is that stupid....well, you get the point.
In all of the video and close calls from that area I only saw one legitimate issue and that was Kris Hair. He is certainly a seasoned chaser with much experience. He simply misjudged an area IMO, and got very close which has happened to all of us a time or two. But the rest of what I saw is just plain stupid actions from those who really DO NOT KNOW HOW TO CHASE.
As a chase tour owner/operator I certainly use data and have many redundant programs for this i.e STORMLAB, GRLEVEL3 GRLEVEL2 ect....While these programs are a nice addition and great tools they are far from perfect and are NOT REAL TIME.
The feeds "we" pull from ARE FREE as some have already noted. It does not matter if you are looking at Level 3 or Level 2 and it does not matter if you are using GR or StormLab. THIS DATA IS PULLED FROM SERVERS THAT ARE FREE TO ACCESS.
THERE WILL BE TIMES WHEN THE SERVERS GET OVERLOADED AND FAIL. This will happen until there is an upgrade or additional servers are installed to handle the bandwidth needed.
That being said, I still do not understand why this is an issue. Some may feel the need to bitch about my next statement but....If you are relying on some particular data feed to chase then you are ignorant. Yes I understand that I may have just pissed of most of the chase community as a whole(as if I care) but the fact is the data the you are looking at is anywhere from 5 to 7 minutes old as is.
What ever happened to looking out the window? Better yet, what about learning storm structure, evolution, motion and basic storm patterns BEFORE GOING OUT TO CHASE?
I have no problem when I lose data. Do I like it? NO. But I can and do still chase. Why? Because I learned how to do it 20 years ago well before there were any data feeds. It was not until 2004 that I got a cell phone and 2005 that I got data.
Back in those days you forecasted an area, drove to that area and on the way maybe you were lucky enough to stop at a local library to catch a Sat. shot or a local outlook for the given area. It was all visual back then and we intecepted many tornadoes on just a NOAA weather radio and a hand analysis that I had drawn up that morning. (Yes, I used color caryons and pencils too)
I can remember selling video as late as the Mulvane event by stoping and using a payphone to call the networks simply becuase I did not have a cell phone.
This was just the way "we" did it back then. I understand that times have changed and we have so many more tools to help us but using a data feed as your main source of input and then making any kind of decision regarding that input is just asking for trouble. Stop....look out the window. If you understand storm structure you should not have any problems or issues.
This includes SOME of the people who had a close call near Yazoo. IMO, there should have not been any reason for getting that close unless of course you did not know exactly what your were doing or looking at. It does not take a 2 year old baby to know that you do not drive into something like that or sit in one spot for 20 minutes waiting on the cell to get to you and then scream like a little girl while trying to outrun that HP mess. STUPID! I am pretty sure that is the "darwinism that uncle Chuck Doswell was refering to and anybody that is that stupid....well, you get the point.
In all of the video and close calls from that area I only saw one legitimate issue and that was Kris Hair. He is certainly a seasoned chaser with much experience. He simply misjudged an area IMO, and got very close which has happened to all of us a time or two. But the rest of what I saw is just plain stupid actions from those who really DO NOT KNOW HOW TO CHASE.
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