"Stormchasers" Jim Reed and Mike Theis on Today Sh

[nickgrillo]

Originally posted by Rob_Davis
And I think their so-called \"experience\" is being overestimated too.

A lot of the chasers that were chasing Katrina have quite a few years of expierence, with a few of them being veterans... Roger Hill, Tim Marshall, Jeff Gammons, Jim Leonard, Jim Reed, etc..

I very strongly agree to what Jeff said above...

Yes, of course I meant \"in front\", \"in the path\", as in will get \"run over\" by the tornado.

That is just ridiculous... I don't think intercepting a cane with >150MPH winds is the same as letting an F5 tornado with >300MPH winds overtake you...

Oh, and yeah... I have felt Cat. 2 windspeeds before from thunderstorm outflow (as Jason said in the post earlier) from the numerous Derechos I've gotten here in the Great Lakes. The only difference is (as noted by Jason also) these windspeeds lasted a few minuites...

 

[JacqueTiegs]

Did anyone see this other guy Shawn or Shane (not Adams)..these guys are making the rounds on news shows?

 

[HAltschule]

I take Jason's comments to insinuate that I don't have the experience chasing? If so, I do have a heck of a lot of experience. I have been chasing storms and tornadoes for 16 years. Perhaps more than you might think ehh? This also includes NWS storm surveys, investigations, courtroom testimony and consultations with the CSI, Forensic Files, the FBI, etc... This is my profession and not just a hobby.

Many of the veterans names I know and are very familiar to me....Jim Leonard, Tim Marshall, Tim Vasquez, Charles Edwards, Roger Edwards, etc.. Jim Reed and Mike Theis...nope. Never heard of them. Jim's bio says he has been a storm chaser for 16 years...about the same amount of time I've been a Meteorologist. Mike...can't find anything about him on google. So, no...never heard of these 2 gentlemen. Anyway, back on topic...regardless of credentials, I think it's still pretty dumb to be in the position they were given the monstrosity of this hurricane.

And Heck, this has nothing to do with them personally. In fact, I hope to be able to sit down and have a couple of beers with them next Spring "in the Alley".

 

[Robert Dewey]

Originally posted by Shane Adams
Intercepting high-end hurricanes is deadly business, period. Experience doesn't change that. Those who choose to go understand this, but I don't think they care. It's all about the draw.

Yep, exactly my point... It has great risks, yet obviously they have a reward that is well worth taking those risks, in their opinion. Some people might say skydiving is supid because it involves the obvious danger of crashing into the ground - but the reward for those who do it exceeds the risks.

It's their life, if they want to risk it, then so be it.

 

[Jason_Politte]

http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en...2Mike+Theiss%22

http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en...=%22Jim+Reed%22
Second hit down

 

[HAltschule]

Ahhh. There he is. Thanks.

 

[Rob_Davis]

Originally posted by Jeff Snyder+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jeff Snyder)</div>

How in the world do you know? C'mon Rob... You have no idea how they chose their target. Tim Marshall said he tried to get east of Slidell...[/b]

All I know is what I read in their reports. I don't know anything about what Tim Marshall did. He hasn't posted a report here. But it is my understanding that Tim approached from the west, which put him in a much more tactically sound position than those coming from the east. We all know that, just like a tornado, this storm was very likely to take a right turn. Again, I am not talking about everybody who chased. Only those who for whatever reason put themselves in dangerously poor positions.

Originally posted by rdewey@
So, what's the deal? The fact is, they live in America, and if they want to chase they can...

Absolutely, Rob. No argument there. That's a given, and not even part of the discussion here. I've said that all along. People have a right to park in the middle of the highway under an underpass in the path of an approaching F5 too. More power to them. God Bless America. But if any chaser here did that, this whole board would be tearing them a new one right now. I find it really surprising that so many people now want to act like they did nothing wrong when what they did was pretty much the same thing.

<!--QuoteBegin-Jason Politte
Well, I have some news for you, but most of the ones who were down there chasing Katrina are highly experienced and are considered some of the best in the business. From the names of those chasers mentioned, that should be VERY obvious to anyone who's followed chasing for any significant period of time.

Two of "the best in the business" lost their cars and three of them admitted they strongly wonder if they were doing the right thing when they found themselves in the middle of the destruction. Sounds like "the best" isn't quite good enough. I'm just glad they were "the best," because anything less would have ended up as Jeff Wear's new chase partner.

Originally posted by nickgrillo
A lot of the chasers that were chasing Katrina have quite a few years of expierence, with a few of them being veterans... Roger Hill, Tim Marshall, Jeff Gammons, Jim Leonard, Jim Reed, etc..

Experience doing what? Chasing? Dude, how much "experience" do you really need to find a Cat 4 hurricane? It's a no brainer. That's why I would rather chase hurricanes, and why you would rather chase tornadoes. Different strokes. Regardless, that experience didn't contribute anything to their survival. Three story reinforced concrete structures were destroyed. If theirs wasn't, it wasn't experience that saved them. It was sheer luck.

Originally posted by HAltschule
And Heck, this has nothing to do with them personally. In fact, I hope to be able to sit down and have a couple of beers with them next Spring \"in the Alley\".

Absolutely. I don't have anything personal against these guys. Heck, Chris Collura is one of the guys I respect most on this board. I just think it is obvious that some of them made some really bad, almost fatal choices this time out. In any serious pursuit or profession, it is standard procedure to debrief when you get back from the mission. You sit down and evaluate what just happened, critique it, figure out what you did right and what you did wrong, and make adjustments for the future. It would be a disservice to them and to us all to not discuss this and learn from it.

 

[Mike Johnson]

I think the issue here is who really cares? None of us wants to see anyone die -- even those chasers who do stupid things. The issues are two fold. 1: The thrill seekers put others at risk. People see them in locations and they think they are also safe. Rescue crews will be forced to go pull them out. 2: The media feeds on Bevis and Butthead clips. This breeds more stupid people -- putting themselves in danger. I don't see this footage as viable news footage shot by a crew who has some responsibility to inform the public, but rather thrill seeking clips no different than shows like Jacka$$. As I said before, these guys will eventually die as they keep putting themselves in similar stupid situations.

Mike

 

[HAltschule]

Not to rehash what has been said but this was sent to me by a friend, a stay at home mom. This is what the public thinks.....

"P.S. Did you see those crazy storm tracker photographer's video footage from
the eye of Katrina? There was an exclusive on the Today show yesterday.
Crazy meteorologists! ; ) Pretty amazing footage, but at what price." -Kim