True, but what the hell was an 18-wheeler doing in that kind of proximity to a storm like that? Do truck drivers not follow radar and weather alerts?
Storm Chaser films near death experience
- Thread starter Stan Rose
- Start date
True, but what the hell was an 18-wheeler doing in that kind of proximity to a storm like that? Do truck drivers not follow radar and weather alerts?
Andy Wehrle
EF5
I saw plenty of them out in active tornado warning polygons on April 26. Guessing they were mostly short haul/local drivers.
Bobby Little
Supporter
Jeff, how does this surprise you. I have seen several truckers barrel right into the sh$*t. you have chased more than i have for sure and must have witnessed the same?
Kyle Soldani
EF2
Hard telling... I passed one on the 27th traveling in the opposite direction as I was getting away from a confirmed tornado warned cell. I flashed my brights many times hoping it would seem more than "hey turn your brights off!" and all he did was flash his once back at me. Guess I can say I tried.
I probably shouldn't be surprised. But my initial reaction when reading the original statement was strongly in the direction of "surprised."
Thinking back, I can't recall many experiences with seeing 18-wheelers around when I'm viewing a tornado warned storm, whether driving or standing off the road.
JamesCaruso
Staff member
Jesse Risley
Staff member
The watermelon truck got rolled. He didn't stop (that's me below). I was offered free watermelons. We helped get the guy out of the cab and then my chase partner snapped a photo of me in front of the truck. The driver got lucky!
As an aside, I have been taken aback by how many vehicles I've seen driving through or proximal to tornadic circulations this past weekend, both FRI in NE/IA, especially on I-80, and again SAT night in OK. This one takes the cake (so far): https://tinyurl.com/58e7eydt
Haha...I have to question the sanity of a watermelon delivery driver in a situation like this. "Goddammit, these watermelons ain't gonna deliver themselves, and no ternader's gonna stop me from getting them to Benny & Jane's shop before closing!"
Kidding aside, let's get this thread back on topic (yeah, I was part of the reason it got off-topic; my apologies).
Jeff Wright
EF4
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2010
- Messages
- 406
Thing is, this kind of thing can block escape routes and now you have a cluster. Lightning, power lines, and high profile vehicles are perhaps a more immediate danger than the tornado itself.
And then, there is this;
laughingsquid.com
The vortex core as we see it looks of very little threat to that heavy locomotive engine itself outside of the glass---but the broad surrounding circulation almost certainly laid over (empty?) boxcars to either side.
Truckers are not chasers---if anything the loss of CB culture from the late 1970's means they are probably LESS weather aware, even with all the smartphones.
If a trucker has a weatherbug--it is likely for his home town. I think most of these are long haul guys trying to make a deadline.
Let me give you an example of what goes one behind the scenes--
The safety man squawks at them and plays a soulless corporate video...
and after the BS is done---their dispatcher tells them they want the load over there by tomorrow morning.
You listen to who pays you.
If DISPATCHERS paid traffic tickets rather than truckers (who are known to carry large sums of cash to pay highwaymen who pull them over at the end of the month to make quota)--I suspect incidents would drop by half.
Recent video
The one on the left may be a different vantage point of the train video---the debris looks similar.
Look at the trucks stopped in all the lanes....they need to stay their butts on the right hand lane where folks can get around them...they build steel walls that block traffic.
And then, there is this;
Train Conductor Captures Intense Footage of His Train Caught in the Path of a Powerful Nebraska Tornado
Nebraska train conductor Eric Carlisle captured intense footage of an EF-3 tornado as it approached and hit the train he was working on.
laughingsquid.com
The vortex core as we see it looks of very little threat to that heavy locomotive engine itself outside of the glass---but the broad surrounding circulation almost certainly laid over (empty?) boxcars to either side.
Truckers are not chasers---if anything the loss of CB culture from the late 1970's means they are probably LESS weather aware, even with all the smartphones.
If a trucker has a weatherbug--it is likely for his home town. I think most of these are long haul guys trying to make a deadline.
Let me give you an example of what goes one behind the scenes--
The safety man squawks at them and plays a soulless corporate video...
and after the BS is done---their dispatcher tells them they want the load over there by tomorrow morning.
You listen to who pays you.
If DISPATCHERS paid traffic tickets rather than truckers (who are known to carry large sums of cash to pay highwaymen who pull them over at the end of the month to make quota)--I suspect incidents would drop by half.
Recent video
The one on the left may be a different vantage point of the train video---the debris looks similar.
Look at the trucks stopped in all the lanes....they need to stay their butts on the right hand lane where folks can get around them...they build steel walls that block traffic.
Ben Holcomb
EF5
I'm not a fan of the watermelon but had some of the one we got. Go Blue! haha
John Farley
Supporter
The big Tucumcari to Clovis supercell last May 24 took out 2 semis and a pickup pulling a trailer on I-40. That storm had tons of warnings and did for a long time before it got to I-40, and looked ugly. Why people drove into it is beyond me, but obviously people did, including semi drivers. I suppose trying to make a deadline, as described above.
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