Reloading of Agressive Chasing Era Begins

[Jason N]

I know this much; I've re-styled the method I use for chasing to explicitly avoid the hoard. I have a hard and fast set of rules that I will not compromise on, especially as an individual chaser without a team. No chases after sunset, minus maybe a stop for good nocturnal lightning. Very little to no chases on HP cells, especially on days where its multi-cellular and QLCS expectant. No chasing especially when the storm motion is greater than 40kts, it reduces the speed and "get there-itis" stress. For me, I stick to Classic discreet or LP structure and in the middle of nowhere. and I tend to stick outside 2-4; sometimes 5-8 miles from the core; better structure shots anyway. I have found, for me, I have avoided 80% of the issues by just being well prepared and not afraid to walk away onto something else. I think that's the discipline many lack. The idea that turning a chase into some kind of Mad Max film just shows the immaturity and aggressive nature of people that can only signal real potential issues that ultimately screw good people and responsible chasers. This is just my opinion anyway and how I go about it. I'm not telling anyone how to chase for themselves.

 

[Jason Boggs]

I know this much; I've re-styled the method I use for chasing to explicitly avoid the hoard. I have a hard and fast set of rules that I will not compromise on, especially as an individual chaser without a team. No chases after sunset, minus maybe a stop for good nocturnal lightning. Very little to no chases on HP cells, especially on days where its multi-cellular and QLCS expectant. No chasing especially when the storm motion is greater than 40kts, it reduces the speed and "get there-itis" stress. For me, I stick to Classic discreet or LP structure and in the middle of nowhere. and I tend to stick outside 2-4; sometimes 5-8 miles from the core; better structure shots anyway. I have found, for me, I have avoided 80% of the issues by just being well prepared and not afraid to walk away onto something else. I think that's the discipline many lack. The idea that turning a chase into some kind of Mad Max film just shows the immaturity and aggressive nature of people that can only signal real potential issues that ultimately screw good people and responsible chasers. This is just my opinion anyway and how I go about it. I'm not telling anyone how to chase for themselves.

This is pretty much exactly the way I chase these days.

 

[Warren Faidley]

Jason seen last year near Dumas.

 

[Jason N]

Jason seen last year near Dumas.

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That seems about right on to me Warren, just add in some Davis gear, Hail Guards, and Ham Radio gear lol..

I saw almost this exact scene when I chased the Mangum EF2 2019 (another reason I stopped chasing HP's), a car wreck ensued and there were multiple near misses outside of town. Now, I've chased quietly for over 20 years. I am by far from an expert. I just know what works for me, but I never saw stuff like this in the Vortex days in the early 90's ... even after Twister 96' I dont think it 'chasing' really caught on until TWC changed its format into a long form and then they HAD to make TV shows to pay advertisers and that's when I think it really started to gain traction and your picture became more of a real reality post 2000-3 and especially after 2008 with the discovery channel chaser series. This is all history I am sure you already know, but that's my assessment on it lol.

 

[Jamie H]

Having worked in health and safety I don't think you can stop people doing reckless things. I have met people who have been burned by cutting into electrical cables who wouldn't wear fireproof coveralls properly, people who would risk their lives just to avoid a minor inconvenience. It's sad but what else can you do?

 

[John Farley]

i hate to speak the ugly truth, But Live-Streaming is the future of Big Money chasing, and is influencing some of the most aggressive and crazy chase tactics I have ever seen. it will only be a matter of time until we watch one of these streamers get horrifically killed live trying to "Stream-bomb" the tornado, if not some poor wanna-be chaser who is trying to catch one of the fame-waves.

This captures one of the many reasons why "big money" has never been a motivation for me to chase. Live-streaming is too much bother for me anyway as a usually-solo chaser, and in any case the vast majority of us are never going to make "big money" chasing. IMHO, get out there and enjoy the storms, get some good pics and video if you can, but don't be driven by the usually-impossible dream of "big money." My favorite Bob Dylan quote applies to chasing as much as to anything else - "Money doesn't talk, it swears."

 

[Jacob Metzger]

As a still relatively new chaser, particularly here in the south, I honestly am fearful of what is to come with the YouTube and streaming wars taking hold on our hobby, too. I am an aviation photographer, and before that I used to like trains. The kids of the generation I am in, and the kids below me, have come into just about every hobby space conceivable and made it all about themselves, social media and doing whatever they can for the glorification of their ego.

This includes messing with the property/fence lines at USAF instillations, directly irritating the federal government to the point of FBI/OSI involvement at places like Nellis AFB in Vegas.

It will likely, as we are all predicting, result in the untimely and unnecessary deaths of themselves, or worse, innocent people around them as with the reckless driving incidents in years past.

I fully aim to stay out of it again this year, by maintaining my distance, choosing the more isolated and less chaser-dense storms, and chasing on underdog days like I have for the past several years. I usually chase solo, and there’s simply just too much at risk to not be careful about it...

 

[Cameron E.]

This includes messing with the property/fence lines at USAF instillations, directly irritating the federal government to the point of FBI/OSI involvement at places like Nellis AFB in Vegas.

What's the story behind this?

 

[Jonathan Scrogham]

I’ve never chased, and my opinion is probably invalid, but if you want to zero meter tornadoes, whatever, as long as your team is okay with it. It’s your life. But driving dangerously and recklessly puts other lives at risk, and has absolutely no excuse. I’m not gonna tell you what to do with your life, but you better not put any others in danger. More chaser deaths come from dangerous driving than anything else.

 

[John Archer]

One can only hope and pray that these “hordes” of chasers actually spot severe weather properly.
If they do, it could actually HELP matters!

 

[Paul Lemery]

There is none, your prize is either a destroyed vehicle, serious injury, or death. Obviously some newer people nowadays have no problem with any of these outcomes (which I guess is okay because it is your life, but kinda crappy thing to put your family and friends through).

It honestly wouldn't surprise me in the coming years if LEO started just pulling more people over for being chasers. I've heard of this happening in Kansas, them writing tickets for less than 5 mph over for being a chaser. No cop will tell you this, but storm chasers are not very well liked in Kansas. I don't think any official law will be handed down ever because it is impossible to enforce. However I could see it to a point where if folks try to go around cops or resist, they get arrested and taken to jail during a chase. I know someone on the DDC day who got a $550 ticket for going around a cop. It's pretty much already going on in a lot of places.

I'm thankful here in IL/IA, storm chasers are still treated like a staple and most cops don't seem to have issue. In fact during the March 28, 2020 MDT risk event, I had a county cop help us get through a muddy road by escorting us and ended up asking questions about the warnings and where the storms were headed.

I've been chasing since the 80's, live in Kansas and my son is a cop. I can tell you that I have never heard of any incidents of a Kansas police officer making an example of any chaser for a minor or no infraction. Mostly, if you are not a jerk to them or doing something seriously illegal, they will just ask you what you think will happen weather-wise, tip their hat and say, "have a nice day".

I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but obeying traffic laws and being respectful is pretty much all they ask for.

 

[Jason N]

So far in the time that I have chased out west (primarily west of I-35 and East of I-25), I haven't experienced any issues with state patrols or small-town cops. Granted I think this is because my style of chasing revolves around not falling behind, taking calculated risks on storms that may or may not produce by advanced positioning and just letting things pan out as they will, and knowing that I am there to enjoy the entirety of what I am there to do.

I think the lion share of traffic offenders are not chasers with actual meteorological backgrounds, (it's presumptuous, with no facts), but more likely the like and subscribe crowd chasers looking for that shot that gets paid for by bigger networks or supports their algorithm and monetary benefit, which means fighting for the MOST intense shots, increasing the pressure of chasers to speed up, pushing people out of the way and upping the risks, but in SOME of those moments, I have personally witnessed cops rolling with some chasers head long into some dangerous situations knowing full well that multiple traffic laws get pushed aside. I think if they see its "helping" notify, they allow it. but if it's not imminently helping the community then yeah, I could see cops going after people, especially during the "transit" portion of the chase. But I agree with the above comment for the most part about cops asking questions and generally being appreciative from what I have experienced.

 

[Ethan Schisler]

I've been chasing since the 80's, live in Kansas and my son is a cop. I can tell you that I have never heard of any incidents of a Kansas police officer making an example of any chaser for a minor or no infraction. Mostly, if you are not a jerk to them or doing something seriously illegal, they will just ask you what you think will happen weather-wise, tip their hat and say, "have a nice day".

I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but obeying traffic laws and being respectful is pretty much all they ask for.

I won't list them here, but I know of a few people who have been given tickets for just having chase equipment in their car. In 2012 I got pulled over in Iowa for doing 71 in a 70 mph zone (I was passing a semi who was kicking rocks at me) and got a $175 ticket because "my vehicle had a laptop in it and looks suspicious". The cop cited the fact that he "does not like storm chasers coming through his county
and he was writing me a ticket for having a laptop in my car but wrote down I was speeding (wtf). This is a prime example of why I don't trust the police system at all.

To me that is enough to warrant the whole "against chasers" type of thing as I've seen/heard about it happening before. I've heard several other accounts from other people as well getting stung for very very petty offenses and I reckon if they were not chasers, they probably would have been let off.

I'm not a person who speeds either or really breaks any laws while driving, the most I'll go over is 5 mph over the limit. I had an awful accident back in 2015, so I generally don't push the envelope (someone was texting and driving and hit me at 75 mph while I was parked). Again this is all speculation, really a police officer can give you a ticket or pull you over and its their word against yours at the end of the day...not much you can do about it...

Yes I have had encounters of police just wanting to see what the weather was doing, helped me several times, even allowed me into hurricane areas that I probably shouldn't have been. However it is these few negative interactions against those on power trips that have completely soured it for me.

 

[Jason N]

Maybe we should make a Waze Layer for counties with dodgy county cops, because I could see that happening in some locations even though I have yet to experience it for myself, and I would rather not have that encounter, if at all possible, thank you! lol

 

[Brian R.]

I have dealt with cops who likely shouldn't be the police, who instantly want to search the vehicle and think they have the right to ask all kinds of stupid questions, like why do you have a laptop mounted in the vehicle, why do you have so many emergency lights, and radio equipment, and why must you make your vehicle look like an official emergency vehicle, and being former police.... I'll let them play their game until they ask permission to search the vehicle, then out comes "better have a warrant" and start showing them my retired police star, and start showing certificates such as the ham radio and gmrs license, basic and advanced Skywarn certificates, the FEMA ICS 100,200,700,800 certificates, my local ARES/RACES member ID, My CERT ID card, and they usually lose the attitude disfunction and start asking how bad it is going to get and where it may be, and like the belvedere Illinois tornado last spring end up asking me to assist with blocking roads and helping with SAR if need be, and usually end up apologizing for their earlier attitude disfunction.