To all of my fellow chasers... please read.

[Doug Drace]

Major Koodo's to Dal Archer's take on things...couldnt have said it better! Enough said!

 

[Eric Baker]

My Story

I have been chasing since 2007. I chased five days in 2007 with a friend. I chased visually. I would look at the radar at home or a mesoscale discussion or watch box and go to the appropriate area. I got to see the most violent tornado of my very young and infantile career. It was the storm that went through Sweetwater, Oklahoma on May 5th. I didn't follow other people, but I didn't know how to interpret model data, nor that this website even existed. But, I knew storm structure and what cape was and what wind profiles were, and that got me started.

In 2008 I chased by myself a little more. I met up with a guy named Ray Walker in western Oklahoma. He taught me the basics about data interpretation (models) and introduced me to other chasers. I chased with him quite a few times including the May 24, 2008 tornado day in northern Oklahoma among other successful chase days. Among those in our chase caravan in late May of 2008 was Michael Ratliff. He is the chaser responsible for me seeing my two tornados of 2009.

The most prominent chaser that Ray Walker introduced me to is Jim Leonard (also with us in Kansas and Oklahoma in late May of 2008). He has been very influential on my education of storm structure and model interpretation. Jim has been around more storms than pretty much any of us, and he just knows what a storm will and can do. I have learned and retained so much from chasing and analyzing not only models, but storm video from Jim its not even the littlest bit funny.

I agree with John's post that you need to know what you are doing when you go out and chase. I think if you are interested in chasing, you need to get involved in the chaser community. Get networked and find a way to ride along with other chasers. DON'T GO OUT IF YOU DON'T HAVE A CLUE!!!

Finally, for those of you that are chasing for science (vortex II and others). Drive safe, with heads in the car and both hands on the steering wheel, and eyes on the street. The little yellow lines on the street have true meaning.( http://www.news9.com/Global/category.asp?C=116601&clipId=4804558&topVideoCatNo=119034&autoStart=true ) To all of us, lets be safe. Lets respect each other and be courteous. And thank you to the creators and people that keep Stormtrack.org going.

 

[jamesmseitz]

I have been chasing for years and have so much to learn. But there is one thing I refuse to learn...... Chasing is to a point inheirantly dangerous and the last thing I need to do is make is more so. I believe everyone has the right to enjoy the weather that god has provided but no one has the right to make it more dangerous for everyone. The rules of the road...... The respect given to all..... and most of all the respect given to the people this weather is affecting.

When I started in 1995 I felt like if my car died in front of a Tornado a chaser would come... anyone... to help me out of there.... Today they would be to busy trying to get the close shot of the thing killing me to sell. things have changed.

I am still going to chase... and chase the way i was taught by these "Old School" chasers.

Love The storm is all of its power.... but Love the people more !.

 

[Shane Adams]

I'm all for any chaser quitting (who is considering it) because of the numbers . Think of me as that little devil on your left shoulder, nudging you off that ledge

 

[Mike Heitz]

I'm all for any chaser quitting (who is considering it) because of the numbers . Think of me as that little devil on your left shoulder, nudging you off that ledge

Lol well for every 1 you get to quit 5 more will replace him. I think it really is just the product of a relatively small portion of the public that likes to see thunderstorms and the new technology enables them to get close. I remember my dad would get so excited to see thunderstorms we'd all go outside in the garage and watch storms, now a days a dad can take his son out with a laptop and in real time watch a storm. This was evident in the last storm outside of bowdle, right before the first tornado touched down a dad and his very young son (6-8) were out with the weather radio asking us if a tornado was coming. Without being rude we said this is a supercell that is very capable of dropping a tornado at any minute and he proceeded to drive west of bowdle on 12 to get closer. It really isn't going to get any better, we just need to keep things safe and people that think that driving 100 mph or passing on double yellows is how you get the ultimate footage are the real idiots that need to be arrested. O'well it's a dying experience that probably isn't to far from being regulated. I'm just happy that i could see a few tornadoes before i try and write a thesis about a phenomenon i had never witnessed before, i say a few more years of decent chases before either the nws issues "spotter passes" for the day for people actually interested in reporting storms and everyone else that are recording storms will be issued tickets. Really having 500 chasers on a supercell is sooner or later going to be regulated and sitting on a shoulder with a camera is going to be the giveaway so enjoy the time now. Then we'll have the "outlaw" chasers, but really i have no idea how they can still have eyes in the field without having chaser convergence it was just my idea we'll see what transpires the next few years especially after a government funded experiment along with public television has actively been bad mouthing chasers regardless if it was waranted or not the general public takes notice and it will be addressed. Just like i was taking to my dad who is in michigan he was telling me one of the guys at his auto plant was talking about how the storm chasers were being reckless and this is coming from someone that has no idea about storm chasing and is really just part of the general public. We'll see what happens i guess.

 

[Mike Heitz]

I would like to add that i do think we've seen probably one of the last field campaigns for something of this magnitude. Working on a UAV (unmanned arial vehicle) program, the advancement of the remotely powered sysems is ridiculous you could have a field campaign of a 1/4 the size of vortex in 10 years that remotely operates field and air powered vehicles that can receive data without the prospect of human injury. We'll see how the FAA adapts to this advancement as it is a daily operation over seas they just don't have a way to regulate something that has no line of site vision from a cock pit they seem pretty confused with it.

 

[George Limpert]

I would like to add that i do think we've seen probably one of the last field campaigns for something of this magnitude. Working on a UAV (unmanned arial vehicle) program, the advancement of the remotely powered sysems is ridiculous you could have a field campaign of a 1/4 the size of vortex in 10 years that remotely operates field and air powered vehicles that can receive data without the prospect of human injury. We'll see how the FAA adapts to this advancement as it is a daily operation over seas they just don't have a way to regulate something that has no line of site vision from a cock pit they seem pretty confused with it.

Disclaimer: My views that I express in this post are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Nebraska, the University of Colorado, VORTEX2, or anyone else.

You are correct that the use of a UAS (unmanned aerial system) for this purpose is uncharted territory for the FAA. It isn't reasonable to expect that FAA administrators will understand the science and the need to perhaps relax some of the restrictions for UAS operation. In many potential uses of a UAS, it may be perfectly acceptable to pin down operation within a region of a few counties with a 24 hour lead time. Good luck pinpointing supercell formation and severity on that scale with a 24 hour lead time. It's not at all an easy forecasting problem. The FAA is tasked with keeping the skies safe and they're going to play it safe. I can't say that I blame them for being cautious. But playing it safe isn't necessarily conducive to taking advantage of the best opportunities for data collection.

The FAA requires that a UAS operator maintain visual contact with the aircraft at all times. In order to make that work, it means that someone on the ground has to follow along in order to keep the aircraft in sight. That means another vehicle on the roads, and one that needs the roads to be reasonably clear in order to operate optimally.

A friend of mine and a fellow member of the UAS-VORTEX2 team commented to me that he would have liked to deploy in Oklahoma during the May 10 outbreak. It could not have happened because it was well outside of the domain that the UAS is authorized to operate within. My response to him was that it probably was for the best that we weren't operating on May 10 or during some of the other outbreaks in Oklahoma this year. As crowded as the roads were, it would have been quite a challenge to collect data and maintain compliance with FAA regulations.

While I fully understand that nobody owns the road, I would like to think that many skilled chasers understand and appreciate the science they use when forecasting and nowcasting. The goal of VORTEX2 is to further the science. While the obvious benefits of VORTEX2 are hopefully more accurate warnings and better lead times, it's very reasonable to think that chasers who understand the science might realize some benefits in their own chasing.

I would hope that chasers would consider yielding the right of way to VORTEX2, within reason. That shouldn't be a controversial statement to the chasers on here because most of the people who take the time to create an account on this site and participate in forecast discussions are people who understand and appreciate the science. They're also people who understand the benefits of reporting severe weather to help emergency managers and meteorologists know when to take action and warn the public. Through this process, they also assist in creating a good database of severe weather reports, especially tornadoes, that is beneficial to scientists.

I'm not sure that the use of UAS could replace a lot of the current observation methods in the near future. Hopefully UAS-VORTEX2 can demonstrate the usefulness of a UAS as an observation system. Even if everyone who posts on this site and was chasing on May 10 or during some of the other outbreaks this year in Oklahoma had pulled off the road for VORTEX2, I'm not sure it would have made data collection much easier. I don't think the type of people that post here are impeding the collection of data for science.

Just my opinion...

 

[Bryan Brownlie]

I just find it odd that in one recent well publicized instance, where much of the video came to light, there was a traffic jam involving (self admittedly) many of the people now complaining about the convergence and slamming people for being too close....right under the developing circulation of a super cell undergoing rapid development. To me it begs the question as to what the heck they were doing there in the first place to even be caught in that situation to be complaining about it. That's not exactly being 'in position' for a safe view of a tornado, even if the road was clear.

This all smells a bit too much like, "I want to be the one closest, and these people were in my way, but I earned that right because I've been doing this a long time." and not, "This is an education problem." I'm not saying all are guilty of it, but it's sounding a bit like that every time I read one of these threads.

Am I the only one that thinks, who cares? I mean really, if someone gets too close to a tornado and kills themselves through their own negligence it really is no skin off my nose and doesn't effect me or my chasing one iota.

Secondly, why is Reed always mentioned in the same breath as anything to do with this topic? He's a talented chaser that is doing well for himself in an age where people are showing real interest in the weather. It's not his fault people watch his show and go and do something stupid any more than it is the fault of an action film if someone goes on a killing spree. It's just how people are, monkey see, monkey do. There's a huge difference between driving a tank into a weak tornado and driving a kia Rio into an EF4. I don't see what Reed has to do with it. Every person selling a close up shot of a tornado to the media is as much to blame as he is. I think people also overestimate massively how many people actually watch Storm Chasers. It wasn't exactly a ratings block buster.

Personally, I believe the only people that have a right to be out there chasing are those actually performing research in an attempt to advance early warning systems for tornadoes. Vortex 2, other research chartered in that fashion that will advance education, warning times and ultimately save lives. Anyone else out there, no matter how long they've been doing it, are doing it for the love of it, or for the love of money, and neither reason gives them a real right to be there above anyone else with a camera, no matter how long they've been chasing for.

 

[ngjere]

Hello folks,

We can talk about this until we're blue in the face. Unfortunately, we can't change others. It comes down to two words: Respect and Neglect.

If you choose to respect my presence whether I am experienced or not, then I will respect yours. We all have the right to be able to experience Mother Nature as sensibly as we choose to.

However, if you choose to neglect my presence by behaving in a way which places me or others in harms way, well then, you need to be prepared to be accountable for those actions.

I don't care how much you have monetized in the moment.

Hope to see you down the road...

Neil

 

[jmace]

I am a brand spanking new member and the one reason I joined was to learn from everyone on here and to obtain information about storms in my area. I have been reading the threads for the past three years now, especially the forcast and now threads that affect me. Thank you to all of you who share your knowledge and chase the severe storms. I have watched your forcast and now threads more than I have even trusted my own news stations. I count on many of you to get the most up to date information so I can be safe. I have always loved Storms and one day I would like to chase but I don't dare go out myself without having the knowledge that you all have. As an outsider looking in I just want to say who cares about all the other jerks and the supposed "image" of chasers they portray.

Just know that there are people like myself who appreciate all of your efforts so we can be "in the know" to stay safe!

Happy Chasing to you all! And I will be watching your posts with enthusiasm!