What's with all the whackers?
- Thread starter sparks40
- Start date
- Status
Don't worry the Goverment is our friend...cue laughter
You know what I learned from the NOAA weather spotter class?
Find a safe observation spot. (Safe from both the weather, and safe from people running from the weather... so NOT on a roadway)
Report while stationary. Its easier to figure out where something is from a stationary location.
You only move if the weather is coming TOWARDS you, and you move to GET THE EFF OUT THE WAY.
Find a safe observation spot. (Safe from both the weather, and safe from people running from the weather... so NOT on a roadway)
Report while stationary. Its easier to figure out where something is from a stationary location.
You only move if the weather is coming TOWARDS you, and you move to GET THE EFF OUT THE WAY.
Correct, that is the role of a spotter.
WB4CS
Member
(Sarcasm)
What?!? You're saying that being a storm spotter doesn't mean that I can paint my 1998 Crown Victoria PI black and white and put a light bar and siren on it? You mean I can't ignore traffic rules and blow threw stop signs at 80 MPH because I'm chasing a storm? What about all those orange vests with flashy lights on them I bought? I thought being a storm chaser meant I was a ham radio operator that can act like a cop. Gee-Wiz!
(Sarcasm)
I know. People get these roles confused all the time. Two totally different user bases.
damn that television. rotting peoples thinking muscles.
KD2DXF
Nobody
I should have known, by the Thread Title, that reading this was a complete waste of my time.
I saw something earlier about 'radios' in the last page, lemme make -one thing clear-, radios are important to storm -spotters-. Oh sure most people got cells to call the NWS, but what if that tornado takes out the little cell tower? Yeah. You're screwed. I was taught in my NOAA class to use radios to report to our local SKYWARN net if we can. And frankly as a trained spotter, I fully advocate the use of radios as such. And do it right, too, like this guy, VK2FSRV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJdRchaMzOo
So I don't wanna damn well hear about radios being 'whacker' like. They're a vital tool to reporting storm sightings and information. Lights? Eh. Whatever, I could care less. If you wanna spend the money, your right to do so, just be willing to accept the consequences if you go nuts and break the law with them and act like they're blue colored. Traffic vests? There's time and places for them, but not to be able to stand by the side of the road like a moron.
So I don't wanna damn well hear about radios being 'whacker' like. They're a vital tool to reporting storm sightings and information. Lights? Eh. Whatever, I could care less. If you wanna spend the money, your right to do so, just be willing to accept the consequences if you go nuts and break the law with them and act like they're blue colored. Traffic vests? There's time and places for them, but not to be able to stand by the side of the road like a moron.
Last edited:
Drachen_Fire
Member
Who cares what a handful of cynical, bitter *******s on the internet says about anything being "whackerish"? Screw em.
If you need a piece of equipment to safely do your job, whether paid, volunteer, or hobby, then get it and use it, and to hell with whatever armchair quarterbacks on the internet say about it. If it's cool with your locals, and no one is getting tickets or going to jail, what difference does it make if someone says it's "whacker"?
If you need a piece of equipment to safely do your job, whether paid, volunteer, or hobby, then get it and use it, and to hell with whatever armchair quarterbacks on the internet say about it. If it's cool with your locals, and no one is getting tickets or going to jail, what difference does it make if someone says it's "whacker"?
Absolutely correct.
However amber lights are NOT needed to spot storms. Therefore people who use them are...
However amber lights are NOT needed to spot storms. Therefore people who use them are...
Drachen_Fire
Member
Give up the ghost dude. We're talking dying breed stuff here. Live and let live. Some people use them, others don't. That should be good enough.
KD8DVR
Member
Same thing I learned at my class.
Around here, I'm not part of the "in crowd" when it comes to storm spotting, I lack the social requirements to be accepted by the subculture, as I do not have a minimum of 5 amber LEDs on my car, do not have an additional roof lightbar, and lack the minumum 3 Skywarn badges to my car (preferably one on each door, and as large as possibly can fit one across the rear of your vehicle; mind you 90% of the time, these are the same folks that do their storm chasing from their back porch or even some of them, their basement shack.
Vehicle aside, I still do not fit in because I do not get on the repeater 8 hours before the first Severe thunderstorm warning is issued, and reread the NOAA broadcast every time it is updated, I also don't follow up that up by yelling at anyone hearing my voice and saying hi or checking in, to get off the frequency unless they have severe weather to report (mind you we're still 8 hours prior to the STW at this point when it starts, and the repeater dare not be used by anyone other than self appointed net control for those 8 hours); thus making two way communication on the amateur band as effective the NOAA weather band. Once the STW gets issued, they then update the CW ID to have one more Morse letter added to the end, X, so all the no code techs know there is a net in progress. Though in their defense about a year ago, they also got a recording in a big movie voice of "This is Skywarn" that goes off over traffic every 10min for the ID during the nets. Once the storm starts to approach, in addition to the NOAA rereads, notice is given out about how strong it is in the quantified terms of Green, Yellow and Red; and there is some general op-ed pontificating, not about what the storm has a history of or is predicted to do by NWS, but things like "this looks like a good one for a microburst or two". When the storm actually hits, there is about 5-20min of reporting allowed, acceptable reportable conditions consist of the following phraseology only "no rain", "some rain", "I can see lightining" "It's Windy here" "Big hail" "Little Hail" "Dark clouds" "low clouds" "the power just flickered"; the majority of these have been relayed to the NWS station, the one time I heard an (unsanctioned) report of rotation make it through net control decided "I'm going to wait to see if I can see it on radar before I report it." In the middle of reports, it is perfectly acceptable to also ask how the weather is in such and such city of less than 1k population in excess of 250miles away. Once this has gone on and the same condition has been repeated more than 2 times, generally an announcement made along the lines of "So- and- So can you cover net control for a minute? I'm going to switch to the link frequency and report we have XX many spotters checked into the net." At which point, nobody is allowed to report weather even though it hasn't passed the area yet, and anyone listening that hasn't reported anything or checked in announces that they listened to the whole ordeal to make sure the count is inflated before going to NWS. Once net control returns and confirms such a report is made, the net is summarily closed, even if the weather hasn't finished passing the county, and half of the hams that "checked in" still haven't had the front line pass them yet. The exception to the net closing rule, is when someone realizes they forgot to use their yellow light and wants to go light up all the streets in the county in flashing amber to look for any branches that are down. Local officials are quick to thank them for "all that they do".
I don't fit into this group, so I don't consider myself a storm spotter, even though I've taken the training, I much prefer the life of a weather observer, I turn on the ham radio, pull up my own radar since I don't trust what I hear on the radio, go out to my driveway and watch the storm roll in, when I get something to report I pick up the cell phone and notify the proper authorities (easier than the NWS eReport, or whatever that I tried once 2 years ago and that was enough), imminent threats get 911, general weather reports to NWS's hotline; if the storm gets real bad I move to appropriate shelter.
We're lucky enough to be far enough out of tornado alley, that we don't get the out of towners racing through, but we do see about 1-2 major storms per week in the spring and 1-3 per month in the summer and fall; those with the amber lights, I get the impression they're more of a slow moving obstruction to traffic than the NASCAR driver in disguise (based upon personal conversations with said drivers) and honestly, some of them I swear the skywarn stickers are what hold the bumper or minivan hatch to the car. I've just come to accept that many areas have a certain % of the population with those in it for reasons other than providing community service in the form of a warning to those who aren't paying attention to or educated about the weather; and the areas without the whacker side of it are lucky. If people weren't being put at risk through their then I wouldn't care, but when the airwaves (which really should be the fastest reporting method when done right) get clogged, and the traffic hazards abound, it does become a shame; I just hope that I don't need to learn of it costing innocent human lives (if you're driving yourself into an area where there is a tornado or parking in front a tornado, that's an accepted risk and you get what's coming to you if you don't respect it, so while unfortunate, and a learning opportunity, I don't get too hung up on willful self appointed chaser casualties).
Vehicle aside, I still do not fit in because I do not get on the repeater 8 hours before the first Severe thunderstorm warning is issued, and reread the NOAA broadcast every time it is updated, I also don't follow up that up by yelling at anyone hearing my voice and saying hi or checking in, to get off the frequency unless they have severe weather to report (mind you we're still 8 hours prior to the STW at this point when it starts, and the repeater dare not be used by anyone other than self appointed net control for those 8 hours); thus making two way communication on the amateur band as effective the NOAA weather band. Once the STW gets issued, they then update the CW ID to have one more Morse letter added to the end, X, so all the no code techs know there is a net in progress. Though in their defense about a year ago, they also got a recording in a big movie voice of "This is Skywarn" that goes off over traffic every 10min for the ID during the nets. Once the storm starts to approach, in addition to the NOAA rereads, notice is given out about how strong it is in the quantified terms of Green, Yellow and Red; and there is some general op-ed pontificating, not about what the storm has a history of or is predicted to do by NWS, but things like "this looks like a good one for a microburst or two". When the storm actually hits, there is about 5-20min of reporting allowed, acceptable reportable conditions consist of the following phraseology only "no rain", "some rain", "I can see lightining" "It's Windy here" "Big hail" "Little Hail" "Dark clouds" "low clouds" "the power just flickered"; the majority of these have been relayed to the NWS station, the one time I heard an (unsanctioned) report of rotation make it through net control decided "I'm going to wait to see if I can see it on radar before I report it." In the middle of reports, it is perfectly acceptable to also ask how the weather is in such and such city of less than 1k population in excess of 250miles away. Once this has gone on and the same condition has been repeated more than 2 times, generally an announcement made along the lines of "So- and- So can you cover net control for a minute? I'm going to switch to the link frequency and report we have XX many spotters checked into the net." At which point, nobody is allowed to report weather even though it hasn't passed the area yet, and anyone listening that hasn't reported anything or checked in announces that they listened to the whole ordeal to make sure the count is inflated before going to NWS. Once net control returns and confirms such a report is made, the net is summarily closed, even if the weather hasn't finished passing the county, and half of the hams that "checked in" still haven't had the front line pass them yet. The exception to the net closing rule, is when someone realizes they forgot to use their yellow light and wants to go light up all the streets in the county in flashing amber to look for any branches that are down. Local officials are quick to thank them for "all that they do".
I don't fit into this group, so I don't consider myself a storm spotter, even though I've taken the training, I much prefer the life of a weather observer, I turn on the ham radio, pull up my own radar since I don't trust what I hear on the radio, go out to my driveway and watch the storm roll in, when I get something to report I pick up the cell phone and notify the proper authorities (easier than the NWS eReport, or whatever that I tried once 2 years ago and that was enough), imminent threats get 911, general weather reports to NWS's hotline; if the storm gets real bad I move to appropriate shelter.
We're lucky enough to be far enough out of tornado alley, that we don't get the out of towners racing through, but we do see about 1-2 major storms per week in the spring and 1-3 per month in the summer and fall; those with the amber lights, I get the impression they're more of a slow moving obstruction to traffic than the NASCAR driver in disguise (based upon personal conversations with said drivers) and honestly, some of them I swear the skywarn stickers are what hold the bumper or minivan hatch to the car. I've just come to accept that many areas have a certain % of the population with those in it for reasons other than providing community service in the form of a warning to those who aren't paying attention to or educated about the weather; and the areas without the whacker side of it are lucky. If people weren't being put at risk through their then I wouldn't care, but when the airwaves (which really should be the fastest reporting method when done right) get clogged, and the traffic hazards abound, it does become a shame; I just hope that I don't need to learn of it costing innocent human lives (if you're driving yourself into an area where there is a tornado or parking in front a tornado, that's an accepted risk and you get what's coming to you if you don't respect it, so while unfortunate, and a learning opportunity, I don't get too hung up on willful self appointed chaser casualties).
D
DaveNF2G
Guest
It's like drunk drivers - they wouldn't be so bad if they didn't take anyone else with them.
Well fine. I suppose i have to do my own weather whacker story.
I work for a state agency as an investigator. One day in the middle of storm season, I was sent to a rural county in the far part of the state for an investigation to back up the county investigator on something that we *thought* was going to be a large criminal case. 6 hour drive each direction. On my way home, a supervisor had called me to go over another case. I was on a rural US highway, so I pulled over on the side, far off the road, and since it was just about dusk, i turned on just the corner strobes (white forward, red/white rear) so I was visible to any drivers that may be out.
Now, normally, i'm issued a SUV that has the agency seal on the door, red lightbar on the roof, reflective graphics on the rear. But mine was in the repair shop getting some new equipment, so I was temporarily issued a motor pool durango that wasnt marked, and didnt have a lightbar. Also, apparently, the back of the unit was filthy from the grime and dirt of a 700 mile round trip, including some back country roads, so the government plate wasnt obvious.
Out of nowhere, a state police officer that passed me as i was parked turns around in the median, comes straight at me, and parks in front of me, with his spotlights into my windshield.
As he comes up to my window, i'm already hearing certain derogatory statements about masturbating to thunderstorms.
I was understandably confused.
As soon as he gets up to the drivers door, he sees me, recognizes me, and he's like "well ****, with the strobes on, i thought you were one of those storm chasin' jackasses. "
I work for a state agency as an investigator. One day in the middle of storm season, I was sent to a rural county in the far part of the state for an investigation to back up the county investigator on something that we *thought* was going to be a large criminal case. 6 hour drive each direction. On my way home, a supervisor had called me to go over another case. I was on a rural US highway, so I pulled over on the side, far off the road, and since it was just about dusk, i turned on just the corner strobes (white forward, red/white rear) so I was visible to any drivers that may be out.
Now, normally, i'm issued a SUV that has the agency seal on the door, red lightbar on the roof, reflective graphics on the rear. But mine was in the repair shop getting some new equipment, so I was temporarily issued a motor pool durango that wasnt marked, and didnt have a lightbar. Also, apparently, the back of the unit was filthy from the grime and dirt of a 700 mile round trip, including some back country roads, so the government plate wasnt obvious.
Out of nowhere, a state police officer that passed me as i was parked turns around in the median, comes straight at me, and parks in front of me, with his spotlights into my windshield.
As he comes up to my window, i'm already hearing certain derogatory statements about masturbating to thunderstorms.
I was understandably confused.
As soon as he gets up to the drivers door, he sees me, recognizes me, and he's like "well ****, with the strobes on, i thought you were one of those storm chasin' jackasses. "
warning
What next the, when a tornado watch occurs in an area we cancel schools for the day?? Personal responsibility is what it is called. You don't or shouldn't need a tornado siren to warn people of bad weather. What with all the TV and radio warnings why should a municipality have to ercet a warning siren that is then an eyesore in a neighborhood or a target for people to shoot it. As with fire sirens people do shoot them. Enforce the laws for crying out loud dont make more stupid laws or ban people. Government tells us enough to do, unless you want them to tell you when you are allowed to eat, its getting close with the fat taxes. think about what SOME of you want done!!
What next the, when a tornado watch occurs in an area we cancel schools for the day?? Personal responsibility is what it is called. You don't or shouldn't need a tornado siren to warn people of bad weather. What with all the TV and radio warnings why should a municipality have to ercet a warning siren that is then an eyesore in a neighborhood or a target for people to shoot it. As with fire sirens people do shoot them. Enforce the laws for crying out loud dont make more stupid laws or ban people. Government tells us enough to do, unless you want them to tell you when you are allowed to eat, its getting close with the fat taxes. think about what SOME of you want done!!
WB4CS
Member
I do not think this thread means what you think it means.
But since you got off topic, I do want to point out an error in your logic. Do you honestly believe there shouldn't be weather sirens because they're an "eyesore" and people have radio and TV? Really? You do realize that during severe storms the power goes out and that means no TV weather man? You also do know that sirens wake people up in the middle of the night when a tornado comes through, right?
Wow.
- Status
