Storm Chaser films near death experience

And the fact that more & more people are taking the risk of zero metering is pretty scary, especially because they're doing it in just normal vehicles!
I don't know if its a "it'll never happen to me" thing? or these guys don't realize just how powerful/dangerous those storms can be?
(and/or the fact that a tornado can change direction)?

If they had a Dominator-type vehicle and were doing it, it wouldn't be so bad (still not completely safe, but atleast the heavy & armored vehicle would offer a better level of protection if/when it gets hit).
 
I'm a bit disturbed by this stream from 3/31, too...these guys core-punched through the back side of the core through blinding rain and some hail to emerge right in front of the original EF3 Martinsburg tornado, with the Keota EF4 already starting to spin up to its northeast (closer to the highway, but further ahead from their perspective).

I thought my situational awareness was bad, they seem to stop on Highway 92 almost right in front of the old tornado and barely acknowledge it until later. Per the updated DVN track map, the first tornado crossed 92 probably not long after the new one, just before it dissipated.

They pass the spot where I was at around 3:14:55, I must have just left to head east down 92. In retrospect I should have caught a north road sooner than IA-1 to Kalona, but with the storm speed and this being my first time on such a violent tornado I wanted to give myself plenty of road to work with.

 
Buckle up, this is gonna be bumpy...

After reading the thread on Reed Timmer and this one I'm convinced that the chaser community gene pool needs chlorine. Remember all the past threads about cops hating chasers? It shouldn't surprise you now. Every year the lack of situational awareness, disregard for safety and flat out grandstanding for fun and profit by chasers gets worse. What's worse is there has been zero repercussions for bad behavior and in fact reward for too many. Clearly people in our community have forgotten the lessons from Tim Samaras that even the safest chasers can get killed, the public hate Sean Casey got for his reckless driving as well as the warnings that should have been learned when Roger Hill nearly killed 12 people in 2019.

Science and public safety have taken a back seat to social media likes, Youtube subscriptions and crowdfunding money. I started weather spotting and chasing storms in Eastern Kansas when I was 16 and 35 years later I don't recognize what I'm seeing anymore. I may not have a BS in Meteorology but it doesn't take a 4 year degree to know you don't core punch supercells and drive in front of a tornado to livestream your Wizard of OZ moment on Facebook. Back then we were tech poor but chasers were field savvy. Today we have more tech and data in our vehicles than the last freaking space shuttle being used by chasers with zero common sense or worse. Yes, I know these metal midgets are in minority but they're also the only ones seen by the public. Like it or not that by default makes them and their asshattery the representation of the community.

Now the question is what can we going to do about it? Because I've got no answers.
 
The simple answer is nothing.... nothing can be done by the community that hasn't already been tried! After spending the last 18 months pouring through older threads on this site, I've seen the calls for civility, I've seen the calls for outing the bad behavior, and I've seen the pleas for RT to set better examples. It's not going to change anything.

I believe I have an outside view on this since I've never had the chance to chase a tornadic supercell. I dislike the way RT yells and screams, which makes watching his vids unbearable, but he seems to be damn good at what he does. It's a shame he won't use his popularity to influence better behavior, but that's his choice, and he alone will have to answer to any unfortunate event that may unfold due to his style.

Some people are always gonna have to learn the hard way through life experiences, we just have to hope those experiences don't involve us or innocent bystanders. I fall into this category too as I typically learn lessons the hard way, but I also have zero desire to document storms for the masses. My only goal is to just be there for the fulfillment related to the experience. I guess the chase community could take a page from the B.A.S.E. jumping community and legit tar and feather offenders, but I don't think that'll work in this day and age, lol. I really feel the need for likes and followers drives most of this insanity though, and until that is removed from the equation, this behavior will continue.
 
Andy Wehrle said:
I'm a bit disturbed by this stream from 3/31, too...these guys core-punched through the back side of the core through blinding rain and some hail to emerge right in front of the original EF3 Martinsburg tornado, with the Keota EF4 already starting to spin up to its northeast (closer to the highway, but further ahead from their perspective).

I thought my situational awareness was bad, they seem to stop on Highway 92 almost right in front of the old tornado and barely acknowledge it until later. Per the updated DVN track map, the first tornado crossed 92 probably not long after the new one, just before it dissipated.

They pass the spot where I was at around 3:14:55, I must have just left to head east down 92. In retrospect I should have caught a north road sooner than IA-1 to Kalona, but with the storm speed and this being my first time on such a violent tornado I wanted to give myself plenty of road to work with.

Click to expand...

OT, but interesting and disturbing altercation with a local firefighter at around 3:16 or so...
 
Let me run this flag up and see if anyone salutes it.

Stopping your car---a complete halt mind you---and putting a finger up to the funnel where it is near a pole to see which way the storm is really headed.

It looked to me that Bettes' driver was moving toward danger during the flip---but when the car is moving it can mask storm motion.
 
So let me get this straight (first time I've watched the video).

This guy puts himself in the path of the storm, witness a tornado at a reasonably safe distance, recognizes that he is in the path and needs to move, but chooses a right turn that makes him cross the path of the tornado (it had been heading just off to his left on the horizon, so the reality is if he had stayed put he probably would have had an entertaining close intercept but not be hit), then gets to a decision point and chooses to turn a back around and into the tornado's path once again?

That's not just stupid...that is illustration that he has no business being out there to begin with. I guess if someone is suicidal and wants to get video of them trying to kill themselves then it's not on me to stop them. But this is the kind of panicky idiot that could get someone else killed, too, if he were to drive recklessly or block a road and cause someone else to get hit.
 
JamesCaruso said:
OT, but interesting and disturbing altercation with a local firefighter at around 3:16 or so...
Click to expand...
Jim, thank you for bringing that to our attention. I just watched it. Really bad by both parties.

I have a nephew who graduated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Academy not too long ago and he told me there is zero (literally) instruction in or discussion of weather, let alone tornadoes.

While it was much more polite than the above, I've had my encounter with a firefighter in Barber Co. Kansas in 2014.

My point: I simply have no idea where police and fire people get them impression they are more expert in tornadoes than storm chasers. What makes this especially tragic:
  • 2007, deputy sheriff killed in Kansas by the second tornado after Greensburg.
  • 2008, firefighter killed by tornado in southwest Missouri.
  • 2017, (not certain of the year), motorist killed in Indiana after highway patrol blocked Interstate highway in the wrong place and stopped motorists in the path of the tornado.
While I am 100% in favor of being polite and, especially respectful (the latter is what they seem to crave) -- I told the fireman that I had every right to be there (had pulled into a public drive, wasn't on/near roadway) and that he had no authority to make me leave. I also told me he was welcome to stay and watch with us. He wasn't interested, which didn't surprise me.

When we had Chasercon in Wichita, I assembled and moderated a law enforcement (KS and OK) and EM (KS) panel on this very topic. All said they instruct their people to be respectful of storm chasers and to use them as a resource during severe weather. I think we have mitigated the problem in those to states. The others.....
 
Staff note
The last few posts have drifted off-topic on this thread. Let's keep the topic of future posts germane to the incident at hand. I believe there are existing threads on storm chaser interactions with LEO/EMT folks that these latter posts would fit better in.
 
JamesCaruso said:
OT, but interesting and disturbing altercation with a local firefighter at around 3:16 or so...
Click to expand...

I missed your post when this thread was originally active.... thanks for pointing that out. That was cringey as hell, and totally unnecessary. While I understand the frustration of dealing with other drivers who have zero consideration for anyone else (I rage with the best of them, lol,) I've never directed it towards anyone. Nothing good can come from it.

If contact couldn't be avoided, I would've asked if everything was ok, and if they didn't know what was going on, that I could provide them with directions to a safe location. Taking the high road, and killing them with kindess can be an effective way of getting your point across without creating hostility that will most likely be returned towards other chasers later on. That emergency responder was in the wrong as well, but I guarantee if he didn't have a low opinion of chasers before, he does now.... and will spread that sentiment to everyone he knows. All the more reason to be low profile while on the hunt.
 
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