UPDATE: I have a “before” picture of the vehicle now, posted below.
UPDATE2: Perhaps storm chasing has reached a tipping point.
Respected Tornado Reseacher And Storm Chaser Among Dead In Oklahoma | FOX17online.com
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Family members and members of the storm chasing community are confirming that well-respected tornado researcher and storm chaser Tim Samaras is among the eleven confirmed victims of Friday’s tornado that ripped through El Reno, Oklahoma. Samaras was one of the most well-known and respected tornado researchers in the world and had made many appearances on television shows like the Discovery Channel series Storm Chasers and was a regular contributor to shows on National Geographic.
The day that should change tornado actions and storm chasing forever
Update 9:30 a.m., June 2: We now hear that “veteran storm chaser Tim Samaras; his son, Paul Samaras; and chase partner Carl Young, are among those killed by Friday’s EF-3 tornado in El Reno, OK.”
===============================================================
In the midst of all the tragedy unfolding in Oklahoma, media and storm chasers have been swarming all over the tornado outbreak. I’ve seen this many times in my years in television news: when you are tasked with going live, sometimes common sense gets literally thrown to the wind.
The Weather Channel lost sight of reality today, trying to get close to get the best footage for live coverage, and paid the price. Fortunately, they weren’t killed. Just last year, the TWC ran this segment by TWC meteorologist Mike Bettes, where he asked:
Mike Bettes’s Open Mike Discussion “Storm Chasers, Have They Gone Too Far?”
And it seems, Mike Bettes doesn’t listen to his own advice. Watch:
From TWC’s report on the incident:
Meteorologist Mike Bettes was chasing the monster rain-wrapped tornado near El Reno, Okla. when he says the storm picked up the heavy chase SUV and threw it an estimated 200 yards.
“We were ahead of the storm. We stopped to broadcast and I saw a large violent wedge tornado,” Bettes said in a live phone interview after he established phone connection after the incident.
“What we were trying to do was just get away from it and get to the south side of it,” Bettes said. “But what ended up happening was all three of our vehicles that we chase with were all hit by it.”
Basically, he put his team so close, he couldn’t get away from it.
And, he should know better. From the videos I’ve seen, this appeared to be a multiple vortice tornado, with a central core surrounded by other vortices (typically 3 or 4). Sometimes these outer vortices are intermittent and invisible.
Trying to dodge multiple vortices in the middle of live TV is of course a recipe for disaster.
h/t to Firsthand Weather
UPDATE: Before the tornado caught it, all blinged out:
Image by Kevin Parrish of NBC News
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When I saw the wreckage of that car I thought this is getting to be like NASCAR with the cars all trimmed with sponsor stickers. How long will it be until there is a ‘Red Bull’ tornado run?
Perhaps that “common sense gets literally thrown to the wind.” is due to fact and fiction becoming blurred
Heroes and death.
Drive into a GIANT tornado?
Stupid is as Stupid does.
What a film.
The trend in the news seems to be ever more hype for storm events with reporters in the brunt of the weather. We see intrepid young reporters standing in the hurricane to show us how much the wind is blowing, I suppose, or in blizzards, floods and now tornadoes. I keep wondering what is going to happen when one of the sweet young things gets hit by something moving along at 70+ mph. Guess this one was what happens when the reporter gets caught in the tornado. I’m glad he survived, but although stupidity is not illegal, it can carry a death penalty. The story should be about the storm and those affected by it, not the reporter. I tend not not watch these folks hyping the weather for ratings.
Illuminating WUWT posting of the roar of the tornadoes and the stink of the tabloid journalism; the exhilaration, the one-upmanship. I, and my sailboat, survived Hurricane Hugo. I stared the Ringgold, Georgia tornado in the eye from the Quality Inn. All things considered, I’d rather be home in my cabin in Wisconsin without broadcast television.
Safety is the new Liberty, and recklessness is the new Freedom, and Anony Mouse is the new John Handcock.
As a result of CAGW hysteria, weather has become a profit center and media event, spinning lies, lives and fortunes.
Last week-end, the Tornado Vehicle Intercept Vehicle II, got video from inside an F3-F4 tornado.
The TVI II is specially made 7 ton vehicle with moveable sloped armor, bullet-proof glass and hydraulic spikes to anchor in a dirt road.
http://tornadoalleymovie.com/uploads/images/Sean%20Casey's%20Field%20Pictures%20(14).JPG
Watch this video to the end because it just gets crazier as it goes on. Near the end, one can see the inner vortex just 10 feet away. Bandwidth should support putting this on 1080p HD or you might want to open in Youtube and watch full-screen.
Bill Illis:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_Intercept_Vehicle
wow – that video is unbelievable!
that photo at the top of the post is gonna be one of the photos of the year; there is something so perversely appropriate about that suv having “TORNADO HUNT 2013” plastered all over it.
2011 was a year with many tornadoes and many deaths. It’s just not related to GW.
Yeah, I agree commieBob. When Luther posted that he was in the path and bolted, I took that as a cue to turn on the weather radar. Truly impressive front and an amazing live radar echo dissection by the experts.
Luther?
After watching, and turning TWC off in disgust, weather actor Mike Bettes twisting logic and science to make asinine CAGW causation statements, e.g. “…caused by global warming, oh my, and it’s getting worse…”; Knowing better is not a Mike Bettes trait.
Often it seems that Bettes and other weather channel ‘show’ personnel feel they can do Jim Cantore’s storm analysis better and showier than Jim. Maybe they can, but they’re darn lucky they didn’t send one of their “show” blowhards and his video team to their death. If TWC fails to learn from this almost tragic experience, sooner or later, they’ll get their wish.
Tornado Hunt 2013? Looks like it found them. The Weather Channel should mount the hood of that van in their lobby as an example of what not to do.
The Weather Channel is a joke. Quite frankly, chasing storms for fun and profit has no value
other than entertainment.
@Steve says:
May 31, 2013 at 10:48 pm
No, that had nothing to do with it. At the time, it was still early, and the chasers (and super cells) were west of the metro in rural area. There was no exodus yet. There may have been looky lues, and there were probably too many chasers, news and otherwise, but the roads were not congested at that time.
He who sows the wind…
Hope Luther Wu can check in soon. People were lost in Arkansas, including the Scott County sheriff.
http://www.thv11.com/news/article/267357/2/9-tornadoes-severe-storms-sweep-through-Central-Arkansas
Phil says:
June 1, 2013 at 1:02 am
Reminds me of a dog. What does it do when it finally catches the hubcap?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Mine caught the lug on the tractor tire and hung by his teeth suspended about two foot in the air for about a minute. Wish I had taken a picture but I was too busy laughing.
They should repaint the logos on that SUV as “TORNADO FOUND 2013″….
Good that they’re OK….hope Luther Wu is too!
Maybe the gov’t should take some of the money they’re wasting on CAGW and put it
towards helping folks build shelters for this sort of weather….assuming we’re getting
a repeat (cycle) of 50-60 years ago, how long did this kind of weather last?
Would probably be a good use of the money, and definitely a case of preparing
for a known disaster (as opposed to the “precautionary principle” and CAGW)….
I can just see Hansen, et. al. out there trying to make the wind stop by using
their protest signs….maybe Gore could blow back in the opposite direction..
oops, hot air might aggravate the situation…darn…..
Storms making a right hand turn are typical when tornadogenesis occurs. Its a classic sign that a large tornado is on the ground.
I have several relatives in both law enforcement and who are members of RACES. They are the real storm chasers who work as a team to track the storms. Unlike the ambulance chasers at TWC.
TWC used to be about the weather. Not anymore. The local stations in OK, KS, MO and TX have phenomenal people with real hard science backgrounds and dedicated resources behind them to track and report on these storms. The TWC sucks up the oxygen that should be given to the local stations and the RACES teams who do the heavy lifting every day every year.
I listen to the storm spotters on the ham RACES network to get a precise location fix on tornadoes and how bad they are. The spotters perform an invaluable service as they put eyes on what the doppler radars are showing. Everyone should get a handheld receiver to listen to the spotters as the TV stations can and often get knocked off the air during bad weather. Everyone should get a handheld receiver!!
God looks after children and fools….
Thanks for this Anthony. Not just TWC, but many storm chasers got caught unprepared yesterday. Very fortunate that none died. They are taking too many risks. Unless the community shames this behavior enough, it will only get worse. With TWC and CNN showing these reckless videos constantly and many chasers justifying their behavior and being rewarded, this will only egg them on to get closer next time. Eventually chasers and possibly innocents around them are going to get killed and the government will step in. That will hurt the responsible professionals out there.
The official number is apparently still at five, http://newsok.com/fatalities-reported-after-massive-storm-system-moves-through-central-oklahoma/article/3840694, but I just heard a verbal report that the ME’s office is revising the total fatality number to nine, for the whole storm.
What, no roll bars??? Should have skimped on the fancy paint job and invested in some roll bars.