This up close stuff is getting out of hand

[Mike Davis]

No flaming on this one

I tend to agree with you that there are too many people core punching storms when they have no idea what they are walking into.

It is also my thoughts that there are many out there that are not well trained, not well experienced, and are not among those who always err on the side of safety.

Like Drunks give to drinking, adrenalin junkies can give a bad name to people on a mission to further study our weather.

So, with all that, I have had an adrenalin rush with a Tornado, and understand why people can't resist risking their lives and the lives of others.

 

[Larry J. Kosch]

Educate the Public!!

I fear that will be a surge of first-timers, yahoos, what-ever that will try to see how close they can get to a tornado. There was a series on the Discovery Channel last year that made it looks easy to drive into a storm, punch the core, etc. and come out with barely a scratch on yourself.

Now we have the Vortex II team running around and the TWC is running daily updates on the status of the team and where they are. TWC is really not doing the Vortex II team any favor by advertising their location. That's like a reporter on the carrier Enterprise giving the exact coords of his location. Any terrorist groups will pick up on that and send a bunch of scud missiles out.

A untimely death will cast a negative light on the rest of the storm chasing community. And it does happen to the best of us too.

Like the previous comments, we need to educate the general public about how much safety is considered when you go out and chase. When you get interviewed, make sure you put in a "plug" about storm chasing safety. Say something like, "I would have gotten to within 400 yards of that twister, but the safety of myself and the storm chase team comes first."

I myself have always kept my own personal safety in mind when I go out and watch the storms. I'm sure there are rules of safety to follow when you are out there chasing. Hopefully I will be able to see a tornado from a safe distance, not being pelted by rain/hail or flying cows! LJK.

 

[Chris Novy]

Oh there's no way that guy's a legitimate storm chaser lol. There are some dead give aways on that...
1. camaro
2. camera waiving every where
3. no technical talk

Sadly, I fear this is the new face of storm chasing. :-(

..Chris..

 

[Eric Treece]

Ok, just saw the full version of Camaro Dude and all I can say is........how sad. This guy is obviously not a chaser as many of you stated. If by some freak reason this guy IS one, when this death ridge moves in everyone that is bored out of their minds can hunt him down and have an "Intervention" of sorts and set this guy straight. If he kills himself, no big loss, but sadly things never work out that way and he will take out some family and he will walk away from the crash. What a dumb a$$.

 

[Katie Burtis]

My two cents

I'm ready for the day that chasing will no longer be the "in" thing to do. I think the downfall of chasing came when TV stations began to make "reality" shows featuring chasers who use colorful language and get pretty close to get the storm. That's what sells these days. It's truly saddening. Sure, people if you want to get so close to the storm that you're in the debris feild or getting pinged with softballs, by all means, go for it. You can have your Darwin award...just don't involve innocent bystanders.

With all the new technology out there, it's easy for anyone to find SPC, drive somewhere in the vicinity of where storms are expected, then see a "famous" chaser that's on tv and follow them. The bad part is that many people out there do not know the dangers storms may possess. Whoops! Didn't see that satellite tornado while I was standing in the middle of the road with a tripod filming myself in front of the camera and innocent people cannot get out of the line of danger because their path is blocked due to due to me in the road along with the mass convergence of chasers!

It's just going to get worse as new chasers like camero boy hits the road and sends his video to all the TV Networks who jump on it and show it to the entire world to see, thus enticing others to do what he did because hey, that looked fun!!! I hope Camero boy gets what he deserves(a little jail time, DL revoked?). If he would have hit someone driving 120, they would have been scraping him as well as a lot of innocent people off that road.

 

[AndyGabrielson]

What I really want to know is how would you feel if it was a friend of yours who was driving away from a tor and was severely injured or worse due to debris, you don't have to be right next to a tor to be affected by flying debris.
How come people are complaining about tornadoes which last for short periods of time but nobody bitches about people sitting throughout the entire duration of a category 4 hurricane??? how much fun can it be to sit in rain and wind for hour after hour? I realize some of you have been chasing since the era of riding a horse across the wild west and seeing dust devils from 20 miles away and I can respect that. To throw everyone together is the problem I have.
To each their own, like I said I don't want to get or watch tornado footage from 4 miles away, I may take a peek at it but I certainly won't watch much of it. I like to see the different things a tornado does up close. We chased today and I saw more and more of these locals chasing and following actual chasers around than ever before in my opinion.

Have a nice night everyone.

 

[Melissa Jablonski]

What I really want to know is how would you feel if it was a friend of yours who was driving away from a tor and was severely injured or worse due to debris, you don't have to be right next to a tor to be affected by flying debris.
How come people are complaining about tornadoes which last for short periods of time but nobody bitches about people sitting throughout the entire duration of a category 4 hurricane??? how much fun can it be to sit in rain and wind for hour after hour? I realize some of you have been chasing since the era of riding a horse across the wild west and seeing dust devils from 20 miles away and I can respect that. To throw everyone together is the problem I have.
To each their own, like I said I don't want to get or watch tornado footage from 4 miles away, I may take a peek at it but I certainly won't watch much of it. I like to see the different things a tornado does up close. We chased today and I saw more and more of these locals chasing and following actual chasers around than ever before in my opinion.

Have a nice night everyone.

Dinosaurs actually. I drove the flintmobile and then went to get a brontoburger. Melissa

 

[Stan Rose]

Until i saw the video, i thought, 'whats the big dea'. But driving 120 mph on wet roads with numerous other cars feet away is not at all cool.
And he was driving recklessly to catch up to the tornado, not to get away from it. He shouldnt even be on the road. Obviously he knows nothing about chasing from his narration, but he does give chasers a bad name.

 

[Robert Dewey]

Here is a copy of the full "120mph in traffic on a 2-lane road" video:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3a4_1242319398&c=1

Thanks, I didn't see the video either.

First, let me say that I think the footage of the tornado is awesome... So what if the guy got close? Why is it that the "chase community" has such a large ethics police force (and worrywarts)?

The ONLY part that angers me is the dangerous passing with oncoming traffic at almost 100-110 MPH.

 

[Terry Tyler]

If someone isn't harming anyone else, it's really foreign to me to get wound up over what toots their horn.

A good quote to live by. I dont think there are any moral or ethical boundary being crossed by getting close to a tornado. Its something most diehards work very hard for and can sometimes take years to accomplish. As long as your not breaking the law or hurting someone else, you should be able get as close as your want. To me, that is the draw of storm chasing.

 

[Warren Faidley]

A good quote to live by. I don’t think there are any moral or ethical boundary being crossed by getting close to a tornado. Its something most diehards work very hard for and can sometimes take years to accomplish. As long as your not breaking the law or hurting someone else, you should be able get as close as your want. To me, that is the draw of storm chasing.

The one big problem with this idea (no offense intended), are the first responders who are going to have to assist someone who has done something stupid, that could have been avoided. This means EMS, law enforcement and fire personnel possibly driving through a dangerous storm to assist you... or taking urgent care away from people who were likely innocent victims. This is especially true in rural areas. What if a van full of chasers did something really stupid on the Greensburg day, something that could have been avoided --- and ended up requiring major, urgent medical help? I guess the people in Greensburg would need to wait for care?

I do agree that anyone can do what they want, and I am not referring to those chasers who act in a responsible manner, even if getting close, but there is a line between stupid, avoidable accidents and true accidents that occur even when a person is being responsible and careful.

W.

 

[Leah Robertson]

Very interesting, thought provoking, and at times, passionate thread to read. I've always enjoyed reading and interpreting multiple points of view...

For me personally, why anyone who thinks it's a good idea to deliberately to place themselves in or very close to the debris field (excluding TIV, etc.) is besides me. It utterly screams stupidity to me but alas, they do have the right put their own lives at risk despite giving many chasers a bad rap. I do agree, to each their own. Tornadoes will always have an unpredictable factor associated with them and all the technology in the world isn't going to disclose this very secret. Without a doubt, there are an increasing number of adrenaline junkies who have migrated to chasing and are searching for the ultimate rush. These individuals are a steady growing number and for whatever reason, lack the ability to understand the seriousness of the situation and how unforgiving Mother Nature can really be. Those who do not appreciate and respect one of the strongest forces of nature might have to pay the ultimate price or have to deal with the repercussions of their own actions for years to come. There's such an elegance tied to chasing: accurately forecasting, applying your skills, attempting to unlock nature's secrets, reminiscing in the beauty of the storm, gathering scientific data, etc.....that seems to be dwindling overall, sadly. Par for the course since today's society has grown accustomed to everything "extreme" and this is being accepted as the norm. The foundation of why we all are drawn to chasing will always be there but it has certainly undergone some dramatic changes over the last decade.

I want to emphasize here that this is not directed towards most in the chasing community as thankfully, those who are extremely reckless are still in the minority.

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

The one big problem with this idea (no offense intended), are the first responders who are going to have to assist someone who has done something stupid, that could have been avoided. This means EMS, law enforcement and fire personnel possibly driving through a dangerous storm to assist you... or taking urgent care away from people who were likely innocent victims. This is especially true in rural areas. What if a van full of chasers did something really stupid on the Greensburg day, something that could have been avoided --- and ended up requiring major, urgent medical help? I guess the people in Greensburg would need to wait for care?

Call me crazy but it seems like to me the chasers who are right in the thick of it have done more good than bad. They are there and see what has happened and can help, if someone is in need near them. Meanwhile all the distant folks may have no idea what has happened until later. If you compare it to those requiring assistance storm chasing, eh, it's pretty clear to me there's more positive than negative happening with the evil close chasers.

 

[Warren Faidley]

Again, I think the difference is between those chasers who get close and do so with some care and knowledge of what they are doing, and chasers (including locals) who do so in a foolish, reckless manner.

W.

 

[Will Wilkens]

It's obvious there are two parts to this contraversy:

1) Wreckless driving
2) Extreme closeup tornado footage

Wreckless driving is wreckless driving regardless of the reasons behind it. Laws against it are in place regardless of why they were doing it. Period. If Wendy's came out with a new bacon burger and everyone drove 150 mph mowing down everyone in their path to get one, would they stop making them or even close down the Wendy's chain? Of course not.

Everyone is responsible for their own judgement calls for safety when trying to get extreme closeup tornado footage. You are either experiencing a close call by accident, or on purpose. If someone gets hurt because they were being a moron, well that's their fault, NOT the chasing community's fault. Morons will be morons. Period. Using the Wendy's analogy again, those same bacon burger fanatics may try to press their faces on the broiling grill in order to get extreme up close with frying bacon. Well, no explanation there. That speaks for itself.