Preserving storm chasing history

Personally I think there's just not enough widespread interest to make this a true community effort. While there may be hundreds or even a thousand or more people chasing any given event nowadays, it seems to me that only a small fraction do anything more than slap a quick picture of a picture they took of a tornado and say "oh yeah! I saw this today near soandsosville!" on FB or the Twit. Even fewer write detailed accounts of their adventures or include any post-mortem analysis of what they saw, when, and where they were when they saw it. Meteorological discussion is almost completely absent. Of those that write accounts, even fewer still place that sort of information in a location that would be expected to remain online for a long time (i.e., many use Stormtrack REPORTS threads to link to their Flickr, YouTube, or blog page), thus providing for the potential for a great amount of information to be lost unless it is archived in some sort of objective sense.

Since so few are willing to actually do the work of creating an archive, I figure any archive created would be inherently biased towards the experiences of those who make it. Above that, though, the record would simply be incomplete.

I don't think it's good enough to just ask chasers to contribute their information. Many chasers have other stuff to do with their lives - jobs, family, other hobbies, and just may not be interested enough to take the time to add significant material to an archive.
 
Any project of this nature usually has one point man who organizes and oversees the entire effort from start to finish (Blake Naftel is a good example). Having two or three helpers would bolster such a database build out, but the main concerns would be organization, time, and consistency. In order to make any appreciable progress for a given timeframe, the team would have to work nearly year round - not solely during the offseason - until it was mostly completed. This would require a rather large time commitment from those individuals, probably way more than they ever bargained for. This is not to say it couldn't be done, but it would require a small team with a boatload of motivation.

I think it's a noble idea Dan and would support such an effort if it came to fruition. I hope it works out for the benefit of the chasing community.
 
It's completely feasible to create, maintain, and continue growing a multimedia database; be it what Dan originally mentioned, or in regards to extending a cloud-based academic archive. Going back to my original point, the later takes qualified people whom are involved in various professions (library science, archiving, preservation of analog and digital material, GIS/Geographic Information Systems, history, and journalism). On a smaller scale, the Wiki idea has also been mentioned from others, and certainly would be a worthwhile venture -- if -- there was enough of a demand and in time, a modest maintenance/hosting fee was utilized. Otherwise, even by utilizing individuals whom maintain this forum, it would take a great effort and organization to make this happen. Anything is possible though, and I encourage those whom are interested in creating such a database to continue dialogue about it, and perhaps even attempt a beta test of such a platform.

I am not alone in regards to those whom have organized such vast databases of information. It is possible to do it with minimal assistance, but, with ample income, spouse/family support, and/or a core amount of grant funding. Tom Grazulis, a friend and mentor, spent the better part of his thirties traveling, researching, and and compiling the 1600 page reference work 'Significant Tornadoes: 1680-1991', with two attendant follow ups, coupled with the Tornado Video Classics video series in tandem the lead visual archival assistance of Roy Britt (perhaps the first original severe weather archivist on a mass scale). That was another one-of-a-kind series that has also served as inspiration for the SCA project since first obtaining the books and videos in my early teens.

Every project begins somewhere with someone who is determined, and this discussion is a great start!

Blake
 
The least painful way to initially do this might be to first establish a secure and backed-up online depository where material can be submitted and cataloged by year as a starting point. In other words, preserving the material should be a priority. I cannot imagine how much work it would be for one person to try and sort this out without some degree of base organization. I'm not sure that using existing data bases like Wiki or cloud resources would be wise. Social media and Internet sites are always in flux and if those resources were to fold or alter their agreements / free services / formats, etc., all could be lost after a lot of hard work.
 
Bob Schafer said:
Taking the subject to a slightly higher plateau, and I've said this for years in informal settings, but
Why is there no National Storm Chasing Museum and Hall of Fame?
Click to expand...


I'm not sure there can be a whole museum about storm chasing, but I can surely see a weather museum dedicating a section to storm chasing / chasers
 
John Olexa said:
I'm not sure there can be a whole museum about storm chasing, but I can surely see a weather museum dedicating a section to storm chasing / chasers
Click to expand...

There use to be a "chaser" museum on a rural, central Oklahoma highway. Maybe someone here remembers the location or contact. I know a lot of chasers donated material for the museum.
 
I have heard a lot of rumblings about a group here in Moore, OK looking to build a museum. I can't seem to put my finger on who the ringleader is but would like to know so I can help where I can. I think the premise of this group is to memorialize those we have lost here while highlighting technologies that will hopefully minimize the number of severe weather fatalities in the future.
 
Warren, you may be thinking of the Twister museum in Wakita, Oklahoma. The other possibility was the Texas Twister museum that was briefly by the Big Texan in Amarillo. I have heard of chasers donating to both. The Texas Twister Museum closed after a relatively brief period. I agree with Warren that an online repository would be good but it should be through a university or other permanent institution rather than sitting out there in social media.
 
Bill Hark said:
Warren, you may be thinking of the Twister museum in Wakita, Oklahoma. The other possibility was the Texas Twister museum that was briefly by the Big Texan in Amarillo. I have heard of chasers donating to both. The Texas Twister Museum closed after a relatively brief period. I agree with Warren that an online repository would be good but it should be through a university or other permanent institution rather than sitting out there in social media.
Click to expand...

Hi Bill, you might be right on the Wakita museum. As for the museum at the Big Texan, I believe Tim Marshall worked with the owner? It's been closed for years. They use to have a jeep there from one of the Pampa Tornadoes that was completely crushed. I really like the idea of a severe weather museum. It's kind of interesting to envision the possible displays. For example: Some of the earliest weather research vehicles the Gov. used back in the late 60's and 70's. I've heard there is still one or two of them in a Norman junk yard. There could also be a section with unusual storm damage. e.g., things impaled in trees, etc. I once thought of collecting such oddities, but it's difficult / wrong to take items from a disaster setting (unless you have a museum!). I think this idea would get a lot of kids interested in science. A University setting would likely be best and Norman is the obvious choice.
 
Warren Faidley said:
Hi Bill, you might be right on the Wakita museum. As for the museum at the Big Texan, I believe Tim Marshall worked with the owner? It's been closed for years. They use to have a jeep there from one of the Pampa Tornadoes that was completely crushed. I really like the idea of a severe weather museum. It's kind of interesting to envision the possible displays. For example: Some of the earliest weather research vehicles the Gov. used back in the late 60's and 70's. I've heard there is still one or two of them in a Norman junk yard. There could also be a section with unusual storm damage. e.g., things impaled in trees, etc. I once thought of collecting such oddities, but it's difficult / wrong to take items from a disaster setting (unless you have a museum!). I think this idea would get a lot of kids interested in science. A University setting would likely be best and Norman is the obvious choice.
Click to expand...
There was a Tornado Museum in the town of Slapout in the Oklahoma Panhandle for a short time. When i drove through there in the late 90's it had been closed.
 
A vision I had for the event archive would be to have a well-written synopsis of the day as one of the central elements of each page. That synopsis could be either excepts from chase logs, or a hand-crafted piece written by someone who holds a personal fondness of or interest in an event.

For images, I see adding as many submissions as we can receive, in a format similar to what we have now so far. Just a few medium-sized photos (300 pixels wide or so) to give the reader an idea of the highlights of each day. All would need to come from the owner if the images with permission to use it in the archive, with a link to their site in exchange.

I see that as a long-term project that we'd just fill in as we go along.
 
That is an awesome start, Dan. I think creating a form through which any member could submit photos (to be approved by staff before appearing on the page, of course) would be a great next step. A well-filled archive of accounts similar to the Attica page, but with images from a dozen chasers at various perspectives and distances, would be quite an achievement for the chasing world.
 
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