That Awkward Skywarn Annual Meeting

[Gerrit Gulden]

Now I know that Skywarn Meeting videos and pictures in the presentation can be different from place to place. Some can relate specifically to the area you live and so forth.

My Annual Skywarn Meeting was April 1st 2009. I was impressed by the number of Spotters and also the number of people that want to become a spotter. The Head count was probably close to 100 people compared to 15 people for my Cities skywarn meeting last year.

Anyways, I get a kick out of the videos used from Big Chasers showing large hail and tornados mostly because I know who they are and have chatted with a few times. Plus after seeing one video you know there voice and can match the name and/or face.

What made my Meeting so akward was the fact that when these legendary videos came up, for me it was awesome to see the really big stuff. For the other people it was funny cause of the chaser's comments on the video and also funny to see baseballs flying out of the sky and hitting the ground and smashing up windshields.

I guess what I am saying is that it bothered me to see people laugh at something so serious. I guess if they havent experienced it then not understanding the seriousness can be understood. The whole topic of chasing to them was just silly.

I did have a great time and talked to almost all of them and tons of them mentioned theyve been to my website from seeing a picture on TV or the newspaper or the NWS skywarn newsletter. It really made my day knowing people check out my website and like my videos and photos.

Anyways, My goal was to see if anyone else experiences the akwardness of there Skywarn Meetings and to hear of the different reactions of people when they see chaser video.

I know Stormchasing is becoming quite the phenomena lately from TV shows but there is still that "underground" feel to the hobby when you experience what I did...

-gerrit

 

[Adam Lucio]

When I went back in 2006 it wasnt so much the laughing that bothered me. Most of the people there were police officers and firemen from the area suburbs or from the county. They were obviously required to go because the whole time they kept cracking jokes and saying how much of a waste of time the program is and that it cant happen here, this went on the whole class. They were even drawing pictures on the brochures that were passed out. The whole concept was obviously a joke to them.

Then June 7th 2008 happened. I hope they all ate their own foots after having them shoved up each others arses.

 

[Jason Boggs]

You can't take it so serious all the time. I've laughed a lot of times when chasers say something funny on camera. Sure, you can't take it lightly, but it's ok to laugh when something funny happens. Sometimes in situations like yours, it lightens the mood and makes everyone feel more comfortable.

 

[Dennis Sherrod]

You can't take it so serious all the time. I've laughed a lot of times when chasers say something funny on camera. Sometimes in situations like yours, it lightens the mood and makes everyone feel more comfortable.

And sometimes, thank goodness, not on camera.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

A few years ago I made a similar post. Back in 2003 a close friend of mine had her house destroyed by an F4 tornado, her and her boyfriend lost everything they owned and it almost killed them and their kids.

A couple of years later, I had a DVD with video of that very same tornado that was shot by a couple of storm chasers and my friends whose house was destroyed by the tornado wanted to see it since that was the tornado that destroyed their home. While watching in, you hear the group of chasers laughing, cheering and basically having a roadside party.

The look of hurt as they listened to that is something I have never forgotten. Hearing a group of chasers cheering on what destroyed their home and nearly killed them saddened them deeply, they asked me if that was what storm chasing was about... to watching the lives of people destroyed and if all storm chasers celebrated destruction. I've never been ashamed of storm chasing, and I'm not, but for that moment I was. Since then I have been an advocate of the "shut up while recording" philosophy and I've taken extra steps to control myself as well. Now I know the opinions on this are varied and I respect that, but after having gone through that with my friends really made me thing twice about how I act, I don't want to put that kind of sadness upon a tornado victim who may happen to see a video of mine of a tornado. Just food for thought.

 

[Jason Boggs]

A few years ago I made a similar post. Back in 2003 a close friend of mine had her house destroyed by an F4 tornado, her and her boyfriend lost everything they owned and it almost killed them and their kids.

A couple of years later, I had a DVD with video of that very same tornado that was shot by a couple of storm chasers and my friends whose house was destroyed by the tornado wanted to see it since that was the tornado that destroyed their home. While watching in, you hear the group of chasers laughing, cheering and basically having a roadside party.

The look of hurt as they listened to that is something I have never forgotten. Hearing a group of chasers cheering on what destroyed their home and nearly killed them saddened them deeply, they asked me if that was what storm chasing was about... to watching the lives of people destroyed and if all storm chasers celebrated destruction. I've never been ashamed of storm chasing, and I'm not, but for that moment I was. Since then I have been an advocate of the "shut up while recording" philosophy and I've taken extra steps to control myself as well. Now I know the opinions on this are varied and I respect that, but after having gone through that with my friends really made me thing twice about how I act, I don't want to put that kind of sadness upon a tornado victim who may happen to see a video of mine of a tornado. Just food for thought.

Something similar happened to me in OK back in 2004. I was showing some guys a tornado that had destroyed their trailer home. They were gone when it happened, so they wanted to see what the tornado looked like. As I was showing them the video, I heard myself say, come on down to the ground. When it did, I said yea, that's what I'm talking about. I wasn't really hooping and hollering, but I was still pretty embarrassed by what I said. Like Joey, I'm now an advocate of shut up while the video is rolling.

 

[Gerrit Gulden]

Im an advocate of shut up while taping as well. For me I like all the sounds of the storm (wind, thunder, hail roar) and occasionaly I will do a brief summary of what I am seeing. Ive always been very humble about every storm I have ever chased. Yeah I might be "ohh ahh" or literally wanting to jump out of my skin in excitement but I keep it inside. Last thing I want to portray to my audience is the excitement of someones housing being pummeled by hail or a tornado or strong winds. I give credit to all the chasers that express there concern on video when they see a house shredded to pieces by a tornado. Seeing videos like that makes me proud about my hobby and passion. Im sure it does for you guys as well. I am also an advocate of "report first and speculate later". The storms I get are far from what you guys in the plain get, But I am truly passionate about making those reports that could save a life. The bonus for me is that I am being a good samaritan and also having footage of that storm to share with the NWS and local TV stations and newpaper really pays off in the end with the "thank you" I get and the visitors that come to my website after seeing the video or photo. I love my hobby... =)

-gerrit

 

[Kevin Bowman]

When I went back in 2006 it wasnt so much the laughing that bothered me. Most of the people there were police officers and firemen from the area suburbs or from the county. They were obviously required to go because the whole time they kept cracking jokes and saying how much of a waste of time the program is and that it cant happen here, this went on the whole class. They were even drawing pictures on the brochures that were passed out. The whole concept was obviously a joke to them.

Then June 7th 2008 happened. I hope they all ate their own foots after having them shoved up each others arses.

The August 23rd 2007 and August 4th 2008 Derechos along with the Sept 22 2006 supercells that tracked right over ohare and the north side opened more eyes than the june 7th event. Tornadoes over the southern counties of the Chicago metro arent rare but when stuff happens on the northside, people really pay attention. Both the August 4th and September 22nd storms had the sirens going for downtown Chicago which is rare to say the least. The August 4th storm is esp noteworthy because the Cubs were playing the Astros at Wrigley field and very nearly became a nightmare scenario with people stuck inside and or leaving right infront of this derecho as it moved in

 

[Brian Barnes]

When I went back in 2006 it wasnt so much the laughing that bothered me. Most of the people there were police officers and firemen from the area suburbs or from the county. They were obviously required to go because the whole time they kept cracking jokes and saying how much of a waste of time the program is and that it cant happen here, this went on the whole class. They were even drawing pictures on the brochures that were passed out. The whole concept was obviously a joke to them.

Then June 7th 2008 happened. I hope they all ate their own foots after having them shoved up each others arses.

I've seen this stuff happen at meetings in Oklahoma! Some presenters are better than others at getting around it and/or handling it. The worse ignore it, the better presenters come with the knowledge that such things will be on the minds of several in attendance and get their attention be asking for some "hand raising" and other forms of audience participation - for example, asking the audience to show a raise of hands if they know of someone that was ever in a tornado (everyone seems to have a story/experience), etc... After a few rounds of these types of questions the audience is then more in a frame of mind that it "can" happen so-to-speak. As for watching other chaser's videos - I still laugh at the commentary (when its funny anyways), some of which I've seen hundreds of times...

 

[Scott Weberpal]

but when stuff happens on the northside, people really pay attention.

Yeah, who cares about the south side If US Cellular Field got swept away, no one would even notice.

Back to the topic at hand, I guess each person has their own reaction to different situations. Some years ago I was at the scene of a house fire and the house was a total loss. When the fire was under control and some of the firefighters were able to take a breather, the property owner jokingly asked them why they didn't bring any s'mores.

I can't vouch for the general public laughing at a situation or at chasers laughing at a house getting ripped apart, but unfortunately to many it's about the most intense chase and not about helping first. I guess I don't let it bother me either way, people aren't always going to do what you agree with and there's nothing we can do to change that.

 

[Shane Adams]

Anyways, My goal was to see if anyone else experiences the akwardness of there Skywarn Meetings and to hear of the different reactions of people when they see chaser video.

I've only been to one. I went to a SKYWARN meeting in February of 1998, following my rookie season of storm chasing, as litmus test. I knew 100% of the material through pure visual experience, which showed me that the learning curve in chasing VS spotting is about 20/1