El Reno Now

May 31st, 2013....  On this day about a year ago we had a tragic first in the weather community.  We had 4 storm chasers killed by a violent tornado.  There were a number of others, including members of the media that were lucky to escape with their lives.  3 of those who perished on that day were among the most well known and respected people in the storm chase world.

In my heart, I knew that eventually this was going to happen.  I've been chasing storms myself for almost 3 decades.  When I started out there were only a handful of chasing enthusiasts.  There were some science types out there like Howard Bluestein, or Bob Jones (who was somewhat the character in Twister was patterned after, and certainly Dorothy after their Toto.)  There were a couple other chasers of note during that era such as Tim Marshall  who is also a structural engineer and studied tornado damage or Warren Faidly  who was a pioneer in chasing as a business.  A hobbyist/spotter such as myself was far and few between.

Back then, You had to really understand a storm and be able to really recognize the visual cues in the environment.  You had to have a feel for where the prime environments were and be able to make a forecast with limited information.  Once on the road, information was hard to come by.  No laptops or cell phones.  You did have the advantage of having the storms practically to yourself though.

The Twister movie kicked up a bit of interest in the hobby, and the field of meteorology.  There was a slight increase in the numbers of folks getting out chasing, and the technology was just beginning to become more useful on the road.  A few "tornado tour" groups started.  Still, it seemed there was plenty of room for this influx of new chasers in their various formats. 

Most chasers I knew back then were the cautious sort that took their safety and that of the public quite seriously.  Many of us did dual work with the authorities in various ways.  Many were trained spotters, first responders, researchers, or media.  Everyone was pretty low profile.  Ham antennas were a common sight, but that was about it.  Rules of the road were responsibly followed and no one interfered with authorities.  Many of us were in fact welcomed by them.

I remember shortly after the May 3. 1999 Moore Oklahoma tornado, I saw a video by what I said was some local yahoo dingbat who was being reckless and irresponsible putting himself in danger in front of the tornado and crying help like a scared baby from under an overpass.  He was fortunate that tornado moved slightly and spared him.  That dingbat was Reed Timmer who would go on to be one of the most popular chasers with a reckless style of getting dangerously close and even into tornadoes and screaming like child in his videos.  Ten years later, popularized by a cable TV show, Reed became a catalyst for every wanabee storm chaser to go out and flaunt traffic laws and put their lives in danger by seeing how close one could get to a tornado.

With the right combination of exposure and technology becoming so easy that anyone with a cell phone could be directed to a tornado. Groups of ego and adrenaline driven young folks could now paint their vehicles as outlandishly as possible and stick a bunch of flashy lights all over it and thought themselves to be somebody.  Of course the media did not help by egging this sort of behavior on by putting them and their footage on the news.  


Meanwhile, those of us who had been at it for years were shaking our heads, very concerned about what might happen with all this recklessness.

In April 2012, a storm in Kansas produced a large wedge tornado, and created a circus that began to reverberate around the nation.  Thousands of chasers had converged on this one storm.  The recklessness, rudeness, over inflated egos, ignoring of traffic laws, disrespect to authorities, all combined to set off serious questions and even damaged the relationships many of us had had over the years with authorities.  


Instead of being seen as partners in public safety, storm chasers were now seen as a public menace. 

It was then that I confided with friends that it was only a matter of time before someone dies.  There was too much traffic, too many risks being taken, and no regard for safety. 

I lived the scenario a year later in Oklahoma in April 2013.  I appeared top be quietly on a tornadic storm when I saw the armada rolling in.  I was driving up into town and all the roadsides were filled with cars.  All the side roads were filled with cars.  There was a weak F0 tornado just to the south.  I had just passed Reed Timmer and the media circus when the circulation turned north.  There was nowhere to go.  Cars began screeching out into the roadway as the circulation approached.  Horns were blaring.  I was stuck behind the TIV vehicle, and the circulation passed over the top of us.  I realized that was likely how it would happen.

Following and watching live the El Reno tornado from home, and seeing how that played out, it was very similar to my April experience.  The tornado changed track, turned north and overtook storm chasers who were unprepared for the sudden change in direction and size.  The sudden change and expansion took many off guard who barely made it out alive.  Unfortunately 4 did not. 

While some chasers took the hard lessons learned to heart and have amended their strategies, others have not.  I have seen several videos in 2014 where chasers drove into tornadoes and are lucky they did not suffer the same fate.  I still see them on videos disobeying traffic laws and making dumb maneuvers.  I still see them with over painted light bar filled vehicle.

Maybe after all these years I just got old and skeert, but I don't want to see anyone else die or get hurt.  I don't want to see the relationship between chaser and the authorities deteriorate to the point where they will only allow government licensed chasers.  I'd like everyone to enjoy a good storm, but be safe in doing so, and to be looking out for the safety of the public at large, both in the path of the storm and in the chase environment.  Am I asking too much?