New Armored Chase Vehicles to Invade Tornado Alley!

[Jason Boggs]

Skip...that's a pretty blatant statement to say that most of us are out there for attention. You can exclude me from that remark. I do have to agree though that they have every right just like myself and others to be out there chasing.

 

[Karen St John]

I could see having a vehicle like this so as to get close enough to drop probes...or deploy a robot vehicle with a probe on board.

 

[Jeff Duda]

If you know what you're doing and chase responsibly, there's no need for an armored vehicle for "insurance" purposes. If that's what you require to chase with "confidence", I'd seriously re-evaluate my level of ability/experience. Any decision making that might cost you your life will happen due to ignorance, not because you chase in a Ford Focus.

I agree. Even if I had the resources to build/obtain such a vehicle, I wouldn't do it. I don't need to be driving around on public highways in a goofy excuse for a tank wasting gas, money, and probably engaging in riskier behaviors than I should because of "risk compensation." I'm perfectly fine chasing in my own personal vehicle. It keeps me grounded to reality and keeps me from getting too close or engaging in especially risky maneuvers while chasing. I certainly hope they don't think being in an armored vehicle gives them any right to break traffic laws to get to tornadoes (in the case in which a tornado is more than a few miles away).

I can't argue with the notion that they have the right to build a vehicle and be out there, but I still think it's a dumb idea. I predict they will not get much more value out of it than this attention. Blows my mind what people will give money for. Moreover, now that the TIV's been in a strong tornado, I don't think there's much more to see or learn about being within strong/wide tornadoes. Just water and wind with occasional debris flying by at 150 mph. Not gonna get much information with anything other than a high-speed camera, which will probably struggle in the low light conditions. And I doubt anyone will ever manage to get one of those right next to a structure like a house to get a clean look at how the tornadic winds demolish such a structure. But hey, I've been wrong many times before. I could be wrong here.

 

[Skip Talbot]

Not gonna get much information with anything other than a high-speed camera, which will probably struggle in the low light conditions.

That's a great point about the low light, and I wonder if they've considered that. Ivey's camcorder footage from inside Smith Center showed that it's about as black as midnight inside a tornado. The shutter is open for such a short amount of time on a high speed camera, you'd need some astronomically amazing optics or sensors to make up for the lack of light and fast shutter speeds, like f/1 and 12800 ISO.

They'll have time to work it out though I'm sure. It takes years of dedication to get a decent shot up close.

 

[Rob H]

That's a great point about the low light, and I wonder if they've considered that. Ivey's camcorder footage from inside Smith Center showed that it's about as black as midnight inside a tornado. The shutter is open for such a short amount of time on a high speed camera, you'd need some astronomically amazing optics or sensors to make up for the lack of light and fast shutter speeds, like f/1 and 12800 ISO.

They'll have time to work it out though I'm sure. It takes years of dedication to get a decent shot up close.

So with their kickstarter, they spent some cash on some seriously sweet cine lenses, right? Right?

 

[Warren Faidley]

I could see having a vehicle like this so as to get close enough to drop probes...or deploy a robot vehicle with a probe on board.

I'm not a scientist, but I believe VORTEX and others concluded that an armored vehicle was not necessary to drop probes or for any kind of research. In fact, if I was conducting such research, I'd want something a little lighter and quicker with good 4-wheel drive, a shatter-proof windshield and a very experienced driver and navigator. Nor would I want the false sense of security that an armored vehicle will protect me during a violent tornado. That myth has already been debunked.

W.

 

[Dave C]

I wish anyone well who wants to be near storms and does it responsibly. I'm not seeing anything wrong with what these guys are doing, although I am sad to see how much commercialization and attention is coming to chasing - the hobby has enough problems.

I will say that after attending chasercon (first and most likely last time I'll go) as a relatively new chaser and hanging around here, one major disappointment for me has been how prevalent bragging and competition are amongst this community, and not in a friendly way, but in an immature and dangerous way. It really made me not want to meet many other chasers after experiencing the culture. I'm sure just a few years back my opinion would be vastly different. I'm out there like many of you in an unmarked vehicle just wanting to see the beauty and power of nature and share it with a few friends, not obsessed with getting the most insane video ever, etc. There is a really over-aggressive streak in quite a few chasers and there seems to be many who want to control the hobby. I just want to see some storms with friends.

 

[Greg Campbell]

I met these guys in Denver. They seem pretty level headed, interested in chasing, and in meeting other chasers.
...

So long as they present themselves to the public as reasonable, responsible enthusiasts (rather than screaming, ego-driven idiots), I've got zero problem with them being out there. Let's hope they refrain from the transparent "It's for the science" BS that only makes all chasers look bad.

And 'Dorothy' does look pretty cool, in an industrial way. Gotta think the black paint will turn the thing into an oven.

 

[Stephen Levine]

Gosh, I would love to armor my vehicle at least in a small way to protect windows and body..
Driving through hail storms would be a cool experience rather than a terror to avoid for starters.
When I first saw the article, I chuckled then let it all go.
To each their own.

 

[Skip Talbot]

one major disappointment for me has been how prevalent bragging and competition are amongst this community, and not in a friendly way, but in an immature and dangerous way

This is what I was alluding to in my original post. While the thread may have started out with a neutral, "hey, look what these guys are doing," I could see it devolving into, "hey, let's scoff at the new guys because they're not like us." There are some 100% purist chasers out there that drive out to a tornado, take a picture of it, and drive home, like Hoadley started doing in the 50's and 60's. There are some that chase entirely to see their Twitter followers, Likes, and video views increase. I think it's fair to say that most of us, myself included, are somewhere in between, and we do get some satisfaction from the attention chasing brings. That attention is a big part, or even a dominant part for anyone who adorns their car proudly, demands respect, or thinks they earned experience points that make them more entitled than others. Those are the folks that I think are being most hypocritical when judging others that are attempting to do the same.

Armored intercept vehicles make excellent attention getting devices and publicity generators and they can be effective at surviving tornado impacts. I don't think that really has much impact on the rest of us unless they're stealing your share of the attention or your place as a chaser authority figure.

 

[Stan Rose]

If you know what you're doing and chase responsibly, there's no need for an armored vehicle for "insurance" purposes. If that's what you require to chase with "confidence", I'd seriously re-evaluate my level of ability/experience. Any decision making that might cost you your life will happen due to ignorance, not because you chase in a Ford Focus.

Yep, Ive chased 6 seasons in a completely unmodified Ford Focus. I almost got killed in OK in 2012, but that was because it was a dangerous intersection (although if one of the golf balls had hit me in the head as they were loading me into an ambulance, it might have done me in...)
So, Skip, I agree with your response, but I can ridicule anyone i want to ridicule, just as you can ridicule me for my low-tech approach. If I had a dime for every time i saw the armored cars getting worked on for maintenance, I could finance my next chase.

 

[Stan Rose]

As long as they don't get in my way or cause accidents driving around a tank, they can do whatever they want. To go along with what Skip said - I've never had a single problem around the TIV or the fleet of Dominators. I have had problems with all sorts of other people in cars, trucks, SUVs, LEOs spotting, and DOW trucks. *shrug*

Funny/sad story regarding the DOW trucks--a couple years ago I was in a long line of vortex/dow trucks headed at a leisurely speed into central OK. There were about 10-20 trucks both in front of me and behind me. I don't tailgate, so i was leaving a few car spaces in front of me. The truck behind me decided more than one car length was too much, and decided to pass me over a double yellow line with on-coming traffic (saving themselves zero time in the process). Sigh...

 

[John Gnuechtel]

I don't think I've ever seen another chaser in a WRX, and it surprises me to this day. I'd take the speed and agility over the heavy armor every time. (I do seem to remember seeing a Porsche 924 chasing more than once. /random)

 

[Jeff Hawkins]

If they're trying to blaze a trail of new information... that's already been done in the direction they're heading. But IF, on the other hand, they're doing it to do "extreme" chasing LIKE the ones before them have done relatively successfully with improvements, more power to them. I would consider that both smart on their part, and a complement to both the Timmer and Casey teams. But IF the latter motivation (to copy successful extreme chase vehicle designs), their vehicle design isn't reflecting that by all appearances. They sure could use the data from the other vehicles' failures to develop something better than all other predecessors, so that they can replicate the prior vehicles' successes with increased safety, thus adding to the knowledge base of extreme weather/tornado vehicle construction. Ultimately, I want them to be successful and safe first of all. Hopefully that is their goal too.

 

[Skip Talbot]

as a relatively new chaser and hanging around here, one major disappointment for me has been how prevalent bragging and competition are amongst this community ... I'm sure just a few years back my opinion would be vastly different.

Ha, this reminds of this Hoadley comic from over 20 years ago: