Storm chasers fight accusations of bad behavior as “chasertainment" comes of age

[Matt Tottle]

I would love to see video or pictures of this, because it's exactly the type of thing that needs to be used as an example of what not to do.

I usually wave down cars driving near a tornado and explain the situation exactly without mincing words. If they choose to take my warning and do something stupid that's on them, but if I block the road and force them into a decision and something bad happens anyways, then I'm decidedly to blame.

This was on K-4 as I was on my way to Salina..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNAJDnb4ZTY

This was my experience on 4-14-12

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That is EXACTLY the yellow-lighted whacker jerkoff that I was referring to. I was in a blue Durango in the right lane, two back from that white car. I probably saw you take that picture..

These idiots need to learn that a couple Skywarn stickers and a lightbar don't give you authoritah. ESPECIALLY when it comes to shutting down an interstate highway, causing a traffic jam that potentially impedes REAL emergency personnel from getting to where they need to be.

 

[Jake Orosi]

Wow. Was that some sort of actual public service vehicle, or was it a "by the power vested in me by my Skywarn sticker and Galls lightbar" kind of deal?

ETA: Ah, late post. I see I'm not the only one thinking along those lines.

 

[Travis Davis]

Yeah, I would be going right around him...

 

[Jake Orosi]

Bet that would've really made him mad.

 

[Royce Sheibal]

This is somewhat relevant to this thread. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2106361/ New movie 'Into the Storm' to come out august 8th. I hope to god that no one who watches this movie takes anything in it seriously. Chasers really don't need this right now.

 

[Skip Talbot]

New movie 'Into the Storm' to come out august 8th. I hope to god that no one who watches this movie takes anything in it seriously.

Of course they wouldn't. Nothing in that movie is even remotely realistic. Wait a second...

 

[Donnie Beasley]

This was on K-4 as I was on my way to Salina..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNAJDnb4ZTY



That is EXACTLY the yellow-lighted whacker jerkoff that I was referring to. I was in a blue Durango in the right lane, two back from that white car. I probably saw you take that picture..

These idiots need to learn that a couple Skywarn stickers and a lightbar don't give you authoritah. ESPECIALLY when it comes to shutting down an interstate highway, causing a traffic jam that potentially impedes REAL emergency personnel from getting to where they need to be.

Small world aye? Yeah that guy was something else. I was cruising along and came up on him, switched lanes to go around him and he pulled in front of me and cut me off so I couldn't go around him, then slams on his brakes and stops in the middle of the road.

At the end of your video, wasn't there another one up there doing the same thing if I remember correctly? I saw on your video that you passed by me (I was pulled over on the side of the road) and I think I remember there being a traffic jam as I headed back down the road.

 

[Dave C]

I certainly respect every law officer who must make their best call on how to protect people in their area.

But some random, self important vigilante idiot blocking the road? I'm going right around or right through anyone who tries to threaten my safety or freedom by blocking a federal or state highway. Thats absolutely insane to try to control others like that because you think you are powerful. LEOs have that power for a reason - to protect and use better judgement, and even they can be wrong - but at least they have training and a community to care about.This idiot blocking this road was on a power trip. If you want to warn people of danger - tell them whats ahead, but do NOT bock a major highway. Guy should have been given criminal charges for this.

 

[Matt Tottle]

Small world aye? Yeah that guy was something else. I was cruising along and came up on him, switched lanes to go around him and he pulled in front of me and cut me off so I couldn't go around him, then slams on his brakes and stops in the middle of the road.

I remember almost hitting the car in front of me because he had to slam on the brakes to avoid the white car.

At the end of your video, wasn't there another one up there doing the same thing if I remember correctly? I saw on your video that you passed by me (I was pulled over on the side of the road) and I think I remember there being a traffic jam as I headed back down the road.

Yup, that's what the "Seriously?" was for right before I dropped the camera.. I could not believe they did that, because it wasn't even like there was any danger of the thing crossing K-4 right in front of us or anything. It really seemed like it was just someone's buddies holding up everyone else in order to keep them at a disadvantage. I forget how but I managed to get around them (I think I did something stupid and illegal, but if anyone asks I was being unlawfully detained in a potentially dangerous situation.. ) but I do remember them screaming at me and one of them punched the side of my truck as I went by..

 

[JohnHuntington]

Case in point for me this year was 5/26/14 on the tornado-warned supercell near Garden City, Texas. The storm was moving ESE and there was one south road out of GC and one east road, neither of which had options to turn in another direction anytime soon. If we had gone south we would have been pretty much saying goodbye to the storm very soon, because it would have passed east of our longitude and there were no other east roads to turn on for miles and miles. So, we chose the east road instead.

I remember passing through that intersection in Garden City, and looked north at a long line of chasers waiting to get through. I made a snap decision and went east to try and stay in front of the storm. There, I saw so many cars pulled off that--with the storm behind me and no other escape route--it was making me a bit jumpy. I stopped briefly to shoot a couple photos and then saw a traffic jam build up on spotter network behind me, so I just kept going and going and going just to get away from the traffic. IIRC the hook of the storm ran pretty much right down the east road; if it had been stronger a traffic jam would have put hundreds of people in a bad position. Getting gas in Sterling City I ran into Skip Talbot who had also surfed ahead of the traffic so I felt vindicated in my decision

On crowded days I find spotter network really useful as an additional tool: avoid the clumps of green dots.

John

 

[John Wetter]

I've been thinking the same thing Skip! Someone asked me about the movie and I told them the previews I've seen look a lot like things that have already happened... Tornado tanks working with media, tractor-trailers in the air, tornado in open field ripping up stuff, scenes from kids in a school with the ceiling tiles ripping away... This is all a re-hash of real events!

Of course they wouldn't. Nothing in that movie is even remotely realistic. Wait a second...

 

[Matt Tottle]

I remember passing through that intersection in Garden City, and looked north at a long line of chasers waiting to get through. I made a snap decision and went east to try and stay in front of the storm. There, I saw so many cars pulled off that--with the storm behind me and no other escape route--it was making me a bit jumpy. I stopped briefly to shoot a couple photos and then saw a traffic jam build up on spotter network behind me, so I just kept going and going and going just to get away from the traffic. IIRC the hook of the storm ran pretty much right down the east road; if it had been stronger a traffic jam would have put hundreds of people in a bad position. Getting gas in Sterling City I ran into Skip Talbot who had also surfed ahead of the traffic so I felt vindicated in my decision

On crowded days I find spotter network really useful as an additional tool: avoid the clumps of green dots.

John

I'm absolutely with you there.. But I'm pretty sure I was the only dot (or one of two or three at most) on K-4 on 4/14/12, which is why I went that way - but I wound up in a 200 vehicle jam... Anyone have an animation from that day?

 

[Mike Tobin]

I see the point of the Article but it seems to me that most well respected chasers usually have a small team with them maybe two or more Vehicles in there Convoy. I Know that there is always exceptions. The issue I have is with the Storm Chase Tour group vans. I took this past season off moving my family from VA to OK and my wife was ran off the road by a chasing tour even though the weather was calm and no storms where near. They didn't even stop. I chase but I follow the rules of the road. I have my own morale code of ethics I follow. I think as a community we should stick together and make sure the amateur and reckless are not condoned.

 

[Rob H]

I see the point of the Article but it seems to me that most well respected chasers usually have a small team with them maybe two or more Vehicles in there Convoy.

I'm not sure what this has to do with the article, and I also don't think it's accurate. There were dozens of chaser vehicles waiting for initiation in various places on 4/9/11 for example, and very few were linked together in convoys. Everyone I associate with tends to follow the same rule: meet up before hand, do your own thing while storms are on the ground, meet up afterwards.

You probably see more of the "team" thing with the social media whoring and the branding being in your face, but that's not the common chaser, and they certainly aren't the most well respected chasers.

 

[Skip Talbot]

was ran off the road by a chasing tour even though the weather was calm and no storms where near. They didn't even stop.

Which tour was it? Do you have any documentation of the incident? Tour groups will start driving with white gloves on when dash cam footage starts popping up online because their names are on the line. It would be nice if the same were true for media chasers too, which have also been known to be culprits and have somewhat of a reputation to protect.

I'm not sure what you mean by not condoning the amateurs. We're all amateurs as far as I'm concerned, and I've found that the chasers that think they are out there in some sort of official capacity are the ones that are more likely to be reckless: blowing lights, directing traffic with sirens, blocking traffic, driving with flashing lights.