The Storm Chasers Return to Tornado Alley!

[ScanManQSL]

This show is OK, it is however over dramatized. I don't like how Timmer and his gang do things. He needs to get his priorities straight. He rather put himself in danger to film a tornado close-up without regard for his own and his teammates safety. It's kind of obvious they are only out there to make money selling the videos. It's not the same without Josh and his DOW.

 

[sgtmatt]

I would have to agree with you 100% on that one I was watching one episode where reed made a poor comment about spotters, one one dangorus tornado, he said that he was the only one on this storm and all the spotters were no where near this storm, I have no respect for reed timmer

 

[rdale]

he said that he was the only one on this storm and all the spotters were no where near this storm,

Why weren't any spotters on that storm?

 

[KC9NCF]

And that anyone who uses a ham radio repeater is breaking the law if they don't have written permission from the trustee?

No, I clearly stated that I DO NOT choose to operate repeaters because the FCC has made excellent case law that states repeaters to be private property, and because of the various FCC opinions which conflict with each other on a case by case basis, I don't feel comfortable on repeaters. I also stated that I don't have time to write in to each and every repeater owner / trustee or control operator to obtain permission to operate their repeater pair. Doing such a thing is a great way for an amateur operator to stay away from false claims that one trespassed onto a repeater system deemed to be private property. The FCC says there is no rule against a repeater being closed, but never gave any opinion one way or another about "open" repeaters. The rules never mention any acknowledgement that there is such an official concept as an "open" or "closed" repeater, only that there is no rule about closing up a repeater.

If you read the rules closely, you will see that. The rules are written in such a way as to invalidate the same rules that say amateur operation are not in any way given any privacy protection, but yet, an amateur can be told not to operate on an input or output frequency. It also seems that an amateur can summarily be banned from a repeater without being notified of such supposed "ban" in any way, shape, or form despite FCC rules in part 97 that say such notification MUST be made to the affected amateur by the owner, trustee, or control operator of said repeater system.

A good example would be when a certain poster here informs the public that I have been banned from every repeater in Illinois or whatever his silly claims are each time he posts here, but yet, I've never received any notice that I've been banned from anywhere. Lesson here?: Repeater operation is a huge legality that no amateur should undertake unless they get written permission to operate a repeater pair in the amateur radio repeater sub-bands and that way, the amateur operating the repeater can't be falsely accused of any wrongdoing by being there. Remember Karate Kid? "Best defense....no be there!"

 

[rdale]

Lesson here?

Lesson learned - don't pay attention to KC9NCF's posts.

 

[poppafred]

I said I'm integrated very closely in the chase community. ST is _the_ forum for storm chasers.

So what?

I've not heard of any of these deaths, and didn't find anything in a search of that NWS office's webpage. So all I'm asking for is a little more proof than "I heard someone say..." I'm still not sure how he knows the two guys killed 1) were chasers and 2) decided to drive in front of the tornado.

You can't find any details of these two deaths on the internet, so I am a liar and they aren't dead?

What would I need to do?

Send you copies of the obits?

Or maybe give you their surviving families' phone numbers?

I don't think so.

They were both trained weather spotters & hams, both aspiring to be professional chasers. They bragged about their "chasing" abilities more than once on the air. They were talking to the net control operator at the NWS on the 146.94 repeater when the wind hit their van so their final words about trying to get ahead of the storm were broadcast over the repeater. The full-sized Ford van was brown. When it came to rest, it was no longer full-sized and was the color of red clay. The day after the tornado, the remains of the van were placed on a flatbed trailer and taken to the Arkansas State Police impound lot at Troop A in Little Rock. I can take you to the spot where the van went through the fence on the north side of Interstate 40, 150 yards west of the Lonoke, AR exit.

Did I get a video of their death so some "chaser" could sell it on a tape or a DVD?

NO.

So I guess the obituaries in the Arkansas Democrat were phoney too.

Lets see, you live in Lansing, Michigan.
I live in Western Arkansas, in Tornado Alley.
You are "integrated very closely" with the "chase community".
I live with severe weather for months at a time, every spring and every fall, and have since birth.

By the time I was 13, I had seen enough tornado destruction and watched enough of the grieving of those who lost loved ones to last a life time. Tornadoes don't excite me, they scare the hell out of me. They are Mother Nature's serial killers.

If you had a close friend and watched him mauled to death and eaten by a bear, how would you feel about those who thought bears were the coolest, most exciting thing on earth?

I get that feeling every time I watch a "chaser" screaming like a teenager having his first orgasm because there is a tornado on the ground and he can see it.

I wanted to be more of an asset to my community, so I got my ham license in 1990 to assist in spotting severe weather, not chasing. I have been a certified NWS spotter now for 19 years. I have put myself in harm's way more times than I can count so my community could be warned as far in advance as possible.

And YOU want me to "prove" what I am saying is the truth?

I want to hear some of YOUR qualifications, not just affiliations. I want to know how many times you have sat in a car, scared sh*tless as it rocked back and forth so violently that it sloshed all the soda out of Route 44 from Sonic. I want to know how many windshield YOU have lost to hail. How many times YOU have abandoned a car in driving rain because a culvert was safer.

I have BEEN there, I have DONE that.

I do NOT have to PROVE anything to ANYONE, least of all, to YOU!

You hit a nerve when you implied I was a liar. Just be VERY glad this is an internet forum and not face to face. It would not have been very pleasant evening for you.

 

[SCPD]

You can't find any details of these two deaths on the internet, so I am a liar and they aren't dead?

What would I need to do?

Send you copies of the obits?

Why Not? I couldn't find anything either.

They were both trained weather spotters & hams?

If they were trained spotters they would have NEVER put themselves in that spot. Who cares if they were hams.

Lets see, you live in Lansing, Michigan.
I live in Western Arkansas, in Tornado Alley.
You are "integrated very closely" with the "chase community".

He, rdale, knows what he is talking about. Read his post about weather, you may learn something. I dought that western Arkansans counts as tornado alley.

YOU have abandoned a car in driving rain because a culvert was safer.

I have BEEN there, I have DONE that.

How F'n dumb are you? Leave a car because its raining to go to a place where all the water is going and there is a metal/concrete cover above you. Are you stupid? Really that is the LAST place I would go during heavy rain. Ever hear of HIGHER GROUND?

 

[KC9NCF]

Lesson learned - don't pay attention to KC9NCF's posts.

No, the lesson learned is that you purposely misquoted me in an effort to have something be whatever the heck you wanted it to be. This is the wrong thread for this, and let me apologize for the thread hijack on my part when I answered this idiot to begin with...carry on with weather whacking.

 

[rdale]

You are "integrated very closely" with the "chase community".

Yes. Finally we agree on something!

I want to hear some of YOUR qualifications, not just affiliations.

I'm a professional meteorologist and have been chasing since 1986.

I want to know how many times you have sat in a car, scared sh*tless as it rocked back and forth so violently that it sloshed all the soda out of Route 44 from Sonic. I want to know how many windshield YOU have lost to hail. How many times YOU have abandoned a car in driving rain because a culvert was safer.

None of those. Those are all qualifications of someone who would serve the spotter network better by staying indoors, because you shouldn't be out there if all that is happening to you when you're in a car.

And how is diving into a culvert in heavy rain safer than staying in your car?

 

[SCPD]

Now back to the topic. The first episode sucked. Dr. Josh Wurman needs to on the show. Without actual science the show sucks. Except for TWISTEX everyone else is there for video and to see who can get the closest without dieing, Timmer may die and take is whole crew with him. Yes Timmer did study under Dr. Wurman.
I had to laugh that Discovery had to put a disclaimer at the bigging of the show saying that they were professional chaser and it should not be attempted.
Na ****. NO ONE should drive as close as these idiots are, Timmer and Casey. The reason why I call Casey an idiot is he doing this without knowing the wind speeds. The TIV, great vehicle, can be blowen over by a strong tornado. The reason why I call Timmer an idiot is watch the show or go to TornadoVideos.Net | Home and you will see why.
I think this will be the worst season of storm chaser. I know this is only the third season. It sucks without the DOW and their crew.

 

[poppafred]

How F'n dumb are you? Leave a car because its raining to go to a place where all the water is going and there is a metal/concrete cover above you. Are you stupid? Really that is the LAST place I would go during heavy rain. Ever hear of HIGHER GROUND?

Okay, whatever you say, genius.

The next time you are trapped by a funnel with a downed tree across the road behind you, jump out of your car and run to HIGHER GROUND!

Yeah, that would have been REALLY intelligent!

I wasn't running from the rain, bozo, I was trying to get away from an F-3! It took out the southern end of Pulaski Co. where I was living at the time. The driver's side of the car looked like it had been sandblasted after the funnel came through a rock quarry and blasted out onto the highway in front of me. No windows left, no windshield and I came out of it with a skinned knee BECAUSE I got into the culvert.

Go to: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/tsa/tribune/summer 09.pdf and scroll to page 6. Middle column, second paragraph. It has been included in EVERY weather service notice for the past 30 years. A car is a death trap in a tornado. "As a last restort (and it was) seek shelter in a ditch." A 36" culvert beats getting caught in the open so I used it.

Oh, by the way, the National Severe Storms Forcast Center and the National Weather Service both disagree with you. Western Arkansas IS in Tornado Alley.

On the PDF, scroll back up to page 3 and read the article about Spring 2009. There are 4 tornadoes in southeast Oklahoma mentioned on that page, the cells that produced those 4 funnels all came within 15 miles of my home as they moved northeast. On page one of the PDF, the map showing the wind damage and wind gusts. The notation about "widespread damage to large trees and power lines" is 20 miles northeast of me.

I got lucky that day, my wind gusts were only 48mph.

 

[poppafred]

None of those. Those are all qualifications of someone who would serve the spotter network better by staying indoors, because you shouldn't be out there if all that is happening to you when you're in a car.

And how is diving into a culvert in heavy rain safer than staying in your car?

If I had stayed indoors that day, they would not have known the funnel had taken a right turn until the next radar update. In those days, before NexRad, that was 5 minutes. There wasn't anyone else in my area that could come out and spot mobile. When I parked, the radar was showing the cell tracking to my west, I was in a "safe zone", according to net control.

Didn't work out that way.

It was rain-wrapped. That seems to be common in this area. When the trees around me started shedding limbs and coming down, I had one escape route. I floored it but the F-3 beat me to the main highway and swept through a small rock quarry just as I pulled over and dove into the culvert. The insurance company totalled the car but all I got out of it was frayed nerves and a skinned knee. I did take a few gravel hits to the shoulder and hip but they stung more than they did damage. Bruises don't really count. Even with constant communications and radar updates from net control, I still almost bought the farm.

And I will spare all the details on all the windshields. Wrong place, wrong time, watching the wrong cell. I've learned by experience to watch the rear flank for redevelopment. At least, it was always hailstones and never a 2X4.

Enough war stories.

My ire is not actually directed at you. These monsters kill. I have lost too many friends and relatives to this horrible beast. People today are stupid and take chances that might end their lives. We that survive are forced to console their loved ones after a senseless and meaningless death. The "ten foot tall and bullet-proof" mentality of quite a few in the chasing community is a fallacy that can have only one tragic outcome. And to encourage anyone to take up the chase with little or no training is criminal in my book. Disclaimers may prevent legal action but they don't save lives. Example: the one movie that should never have been shot, not to mention released: "Jackass, The Movie" Want to guess how many ER visits and hospitalizations resulted from that bit of "humor"? The disclaimers didn't stop anyone, they never have and they never will. Give someone pliable a stupid idea and stand back. And that goes for chasing as well. Timmer takes too many stupid chances just to get the next footage and his actions encourage others to do the same.

One of our local spotters watched the show Friday night and told me Timmer got to within a hundred yards of a funnel core. One hundred yards. What if the funnel had managed to get a fist-sized rock airborne and take his head off? Or even a golfball sized stone? At 100+ mph, we would have had a ring side seat on a remake of David vs Goliath. The tornado would have played David's part and Timmer's skull Goliath's. And it does happen, you know it does. People do not die because the wind is blowing but because of WHAT the wind is blowing.

I do not advocate an end to chasing. But if you are going to scream with glee when the beast appears, at least have the common decency to shut off the microphone or mute the audio and spare those of us who are remembering those lost and are light years away from being excited.

 

[N0IU]

Agreed - he's not a chaser. And I bet after the first few chases with zero tornadoes, he'll no longer be a chaser...

In reference to the guy on the other thread that considers himself to be a "chaser" even though he has had NO training (yet), your comment is either a very bad attempt at humor or you are missing my point. I don't think anyone really cares what happens to this guy if he goes out "chasing" a few times and comes back empty handed. The real concern is what happens to this guy if and when he DOES run into a tornado!

As far as the topic at hand, I think that canceling the show may be a bit extreme but I will admit that I haven't seen the show lately. Honestly, we dropped our DirecTV over a year ago (and I don't miss it at all) so I don't know how "aggressive" their disclaimers (if any) are at this time. I have been to the their website and this program is without a doubt is a commercial venture for them. ("Well, duh!") Maybe I am being overly critical or overly sensitive, but the fact that there is a "tornado chase game" is just a little disturbing to me. I did watch one of the episodes from season one and I do not recall seeing any sort of disclaimer of any kind, but maybe I missed it.

Maybe they need to begin their shows with one of the "stars" giving a disclaimer about them being professional meteorologists and understanding the risks of what they are doing (one of which is DEATH!) and that under no circumstances suggest that you "don't try this at home!"

 

[rdale]

Maybe they need to begin their shows with one of the "stars" giving a disclaimer about them being professional meteorologists and understanding the risks of what they are doing (one of which is DEATH!) and that under no circumstances suggest that you "don't try this at home!"

Do you honestly think that would make a difference? Even the best chasers can go an entire season, traveling thousands upon thousands of miles, and not see a tornado. But you think Joe Sixpack will keep trying? I don't...

 

[N0IU]

But you think Joe Sixpack will keep trying? I don't...

You really don't get it, do you? As I said before, no one cares about those self-proclaimed "chasers" who go out looking for "the big one" and come back empty handed, gets bored, and decides not to waste his time chasing storms any more. The problem is when Joe Sixpack goes out chasing and winds up face to face with an F5 barreling down on him with no escape route because he didn't know enough to get out of the way.

They put those "DO NOT EAT" warnings on the packs of desiccant for a reason!

 

[brandon]

This show is great and I share the same enthusiasm about weather. These guys shoot some great video too!

 

[SCPD]

I wasn't running from the rain, bozo, I was trying to get away from an F-3! It took out the southern end of Pulaski Co. where I was living at the time. The driver's side of the car looked like it had been sandblasted after the funnel came through a rock quarry and blasted out onto the highway in front of me. No windows left, no windshield and I came out of it with a skinned knee BECAUSE I got into the culvert.

Oh I'm sorry. On a second thought no I'm not. Listen here clown, you didn't put that there was a tornado in you previous post. The way YOU made it sound like there was a **** load of rain and you left your car for a culvert.
So how about you get your own story straight first before you go off on people. Not my fault that you can't get your own story straight.

 

[poppafred]

Oh I'm sorry. On a second thought no I'm not. Listen here clown, you didn't put that there was a tornado in you previous post. The way YOU made it sound like there was a **** load of rain and you left your car for a culvert.
So how about you get your own story straight first before you go off on people. Not my fault that you can't get your own story straight.

Where did I post that the car was unsafe because it is raining hard?

I did not, you ASSUMED that.

What I said was that I abandoned the car in a driving rain because the culvert was SAFER. That decision was the smart thing to do yet you have insulted ME based on YOUR assumption.

YOU started this exchange because YOU posted that I was "f'ing dumb" for trying to stay alive by seeking safer shelter. Why say that to someone if you do NOT know everything related to the story? You ASSUMED that my decision was in poor judgement. Instead of lashing out at me, why did you not simply ASK, "Why would you abandon a car in the rain to get into a culvert?" That would have led to a courteous response, explaining the entire situation. No, you had to puff yourself up and toss out an insult that was TOTALLY unneeded. The insult did not make you appear more intellegent or more experienced. It actually demeaned your intellect by putting on display a rash ill-considered response.

Now, your indignant reply to my response comes across a little bit hollow.

YOU injected yourself into an exchange where you were not originally involved and made a poor judgement based on your OWN asumptions. And, now, I am the one who needs to "get my story straight"?

Maybe you need to make sure you have all the facts before you start pecking away at your keyboard.

So, if you don't know the facts, ask. If you don't want to know the facts, why post?

 

[rdale]

You really don't get it, do you?

Yes, I do.

The problem is when Joe Sixpack goes out chasing and winds up face to face with an F5 barreling down on him with no escape route because he didn't know enough to get out of the way.

PLENTY of people said that after Twister. Never happened. So why worry about it now? Do we "ban" shows from TV that show things which are dangerous? What would a bigger disclaimer do? Who reads or cares about disclaimers anyways other than lawyers?

 

[N0IU]

PLENTY of people said that after Twister. Never happened. So why worry about it now?

So because it never happened in the past, that means it can't or won't happen in the future? Tomorrow when you go to work at your TV station, tell your General Manager to take down all the fire extinguishers. Your station has never burnt down, so why worry about it now? Obviously they are only there to please the Fire Marshal.