“Jackass” Chasers Take The Spotlight Again!

Comments and Opinions….

Well I can always tell when it’s “that” time of year. No, not by the changing weather, but rather, when my email box and phone lines start twitching. The burst of communication is not storm-related as usual. Instead, I’m bombarded with legions of comments and complaints from EMS personnel, law enforcement, chasers, researchers and the general public concerning the show Stormchasers and others. I guess part of the reasoning is that my company owns the Stormchasers.com domain name. (Thank God).

As I’ve posted ad nauseam…. NO, no one involved with my organization or myself have any connection with the current storm chasing reality shows. Although I’ve been asked to participate on several occasions, I made the wise decision to distance myself from the shows and their often sophomoric and one sided portrayal of chasing — an opinion shared by many who see through the fog of reality TV bewitchment.

There have also been personal attacks based on mistaken identity. The most recent event occurred in Piedmont, Oklahoma following the deadly tornado strike in May of 2011. While on the scene as an EMT and journalist, I was falsely criticized for being part of a popular storm chasing show. “Did you get the footage you wanted,” shouted an angry-faced EMS worker. “No,” I replied, “not me, wrong guys.” I did not take offense. I understood his frustration and anger, shared by many who feel the disgust and embarrassment of how of reality television shows have defiled the true image of respectable storm chasers.

So here we go again. It’s that time of year — when masses of those involved with storm chasing and severe weather want to crawl under a rock. Its the time when a few storm chasing “idiots” dominate the airways, presenting a distorted and over-dramatized version of what storm chasing is really about and how most chasers actually behave.

Once a producer is ready to produce an equally dramatic show, based on naturally occurring events (from all aspects of weather events), I’m ready to talk. In the interim, shame on those advertisers, clueless media outlets and supporters who promote such imbalanced absurdities.

As someone who has strived for the last 25 years to build and promote storm chasing and education as a profession I actually care about, it would be business and character suicide to associate with chase-stooges hell bent on destroying the image of those legitimately involved with chasing, safety, education and research. In fact, many respected researchers and professional chasers have criticized chase reality shows for claiming they are based on “research” or to “save lives.” As far as anyone knows, there have been no “major” scientific breakthroughs, peer reviewed scientific masterpieces or a single life saved from fuzzy amateur research.

One veteran chaser summed-up the “research” controversy this way, “The problem is they (Stormchasers) are seeking the really weak, FO tornadoes or ‘landspouts’ to attack. Those weak tornadoes offer little in the way of data, especially with a limited data set, but they look great on TV and make the chasers look like they are risking life and limb.” I for one have witnessed the fortified vehicles parked by the side of the road when a real tornado is nearby. Careful editing can make anything (or anyone) look dramatic.

This is akin to the guy who rode a barrel over Niagara Falls to “Gain scientific knowledge of hydrology.” Maybe I am wrong, but I don’t see the connection between “life saving research” and squealing like little schoolgirls when a funnel cloud appears or hanging out the window of a rolling coffin to capture You Tube video for profit and self-promotion. Nor do I believe that enticing inexperienced people to stay outside and view tornadoes or drive into them for thrills is saving lives. In fact, one could be of the opinion that some shows are contributing to the recent rise in tornado-related deaths. It has been suggested that reckless chasing endangers the public or the rescuers who may have to pick up the broken bodies. (There are You Tube video clips of fortified chase vehicles breaking traffic laws).

In July 2011, The U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a report concerning the tragic 2011 tornado disaster in Joplin, MO. The tornado killed 159 people and injured over 1,00.

Of no surprise to me, and others, the report cited the following reasoning for the heavy loss of life: “The vast majority of Joplin residents did not immediately take protective action upon receiving a first indication of risk (usually via the local siren system), regardless of the source of the warning. Most chose to further assess their risk by waiting for, actively seeking, and filtering additional information. The reasons for doing so were quite varied, but largely depended on an individual‘s ―worldview formed mostly by previous experience with severe weather.”

This report was eerily similar to reports and eyewitness accounts following the deadly April 2011 tornado outbreak in Alabama. During both events, involving violent EF-5 rated tornadoes, a significant number of individuals simply ignored the warnings, or were seen watching, driving near, video taping or otherwise acting oblivious to the impending violence.

The “reality” is this: 1: There is an alarming upswing in tornado-related fatalities and injuries resulting from individuals who either failed to seek shelter, delayed seeking shelter or decided to actively “witness or chase” dangerous events. 2: The public’s respect towards tornado dangers has substantially been numbed. I’ve also witnessed firsthand, another prime example of growing public apathy. When I began lecturing some 15 years ago, people would always want information about “how to seek shelter” when a tornado threatened. Now days, people often ask me how to “Chase and/or drive into a tornado.” This is especially true of younger individuals who are impressionable by what they see on television.

One can draw their own conclusions as to the source(s) of such recent inspirations to behave with wonton neglect around violent weather.

As television shows dramatize and capitalize off this year’s weather-related tragedies, it is important to remember those who perished – not to focus on want-to-be heroes and self-proclaimed “idiots” who have contributed little or nothing to prevent future disasters.

The true heroes are the many men and women who receive little or no attention. This includes the many storm spotters, law enforcement and EMS personnel who work or volunteer their time to keep communities safe – truly risking their lives for legitimate purposes. We should tip our hats to the real researchers who may not always have the most dramatic jobs, but make “honest” contributions to science; the employees of the National Weather Service – their constant diligence saved many lives this year; the Hurricane Hunters; media crews and journalists who provide real time information and educational materials. We should also pay tribute to the many safety educators and volunteer disaster scene personnel.

I do need to clarify that I have nothing personal against the individuals who appear in these shows. I suppose it’s easy to get caught up in the moment of fame and begin to actually believe the bull**** you are feeding everyone. In fact, I feel sorry for them. Once the limelight fades, they will be forever viewed as the “Judases” of storm chasing – not only casting shadows of disrespect towards all chasers, but damaging decades of severe weather education by portrayals of reckless, unnecessary behavior.