Storm Chasing and Media Coverage Ethics

[LocoAko]

List of publications using TWISTEX data:

 

http://twistex.org/site/?page_id=4

 

And an interesting blog post from the President of the American Meteorological Society:

 

http://chasingconvostarter.blogspot.com/2013/06/teachable-moments-and-conversation.html

[hurricaneman]

Does anyone think that a roll cage would have helped in this situation, like the Dominator, TIV or may I go as far as a NASCAR roll cage to help protect especially the scientific storm chasers

[L.B. LaForce]

They were chasing in one of the old mesonet vehicles, M3 as Tony Laubach said. It was a Chevy Cobalt

[JoMo]

ABC News just reported that Tim was seatbelted inside the vehicle, the other two were thrown. One of them was 1/2 mile away.

 

They did a good job mentioning his contributions to science. 

[thunderbird12]

There are a number of factors that may have contributed to chasers getting caught in a bad spot during the May 31 event:

 

1. Erratic motion of the main tornado: initial motion was E, but then it dove SE, then quickly turned E and then NE. As it was changing direction, the forward speed increased from 20 mi/hr and averaged about 40 mi/hr between 2310 and 2324 UTC, based on a closer look at KTLX data. Sometime between 2310 and 2324, the instantaneous forward speed could have been much higher than 40 mi/hr. The change in direction along a partial cyclonic loop is not uncommon for major tornadoes as they occlude, but the rapid increase in forward speed is more unusual and probably caught many chasers off-guard. 

 

2. Apparent presence of at least one satellite tornado E of the main circulation. There appeared to be a small anticyclonic TDS on the 2337 UTC scan from TLX to the east of the occluding circulation and there were probably other more transient spin-ups, given the size and intensity of the parent circulation.

 

3. Recent catastrophic tornado event (May 20) and bad advice from certain local TV mets causing much of the local populace to attempt to evacuate the area, tying up the roads. It's still unclear to me exactly how much of a problem that was with the initial big tornado, though it obviously became a huge problem later on and further east toward OKC.  

 

4. Local authorities contributing to traffic jams by blocking traffic in an attempt to protect people. I don't know if this was a factor on May 31 or not, but sooner or later an occluding major tornado will change direction and cause a number of casualities where traffic has been stopped by police. 

[CT Rain]

These folks apparently don't give a f***

 

 

Especially reading the comments.

 

I think this was from a met graduate or student from western connecticut state university in Danbury, CT. 

[Jay Thomas]

I generally just read these forums and never post but the passing of these storm chasing legends is just the saddest thing ever RIP

[Amped]

There are a number of factors that may have contributed to chasers getting caught in a bad spot during the May 31 event:

 

1. Erratic motion of the main tornado: initial motion was E, but then it dove SE, then quickly turned E and then NE. As it was changing direction, the forward speed increased from 20 mi/hr and averaged about 40 mi/hr between 2310 and 2324 UTC, based on a closer look at KTLX data. Sometime between 2310 and 2324, the instantaneous forward speed could have been much higher than 40 mi/hr. The change in direction along a partial cyclonic loop is not uncommon for major tornadoes as they occlude, but the rapid increase in forward speed is more unusual and probably caught many chasers off-guard. 

 

2. Apparent presence of at least one satellite tornado E of the main circulation. There appeared to be a small anticyclonic TDS on the 2337 UTC scan from TLX to the east of the occluding circulation and there were probably other more transient spin-ups, given the size and intensity of the parent circulation.

 

3. Recent catastrophic tornado event (May 20) and bad advice from certain local TV mets causing much of the local populace to attempt to evacuate the area, tying up the roads. It's still unclear to me exactly how much of a problem that was with the initial big tornado, though it obviously became a huge problem later on and further east toward OKC.  

 

4. Local authorities contributing to traffic jams by blocking traffic in an attempt to protect people. I don't know if this was a factor on May 31 or not, but sooner or later an occluding major tornado will change direction and cause a number of casualities where traffic has been stopped by police. 

 

 

Agreed. The fact that so many chasers got caught or had very close calls on Friday and not on other days meant it was probably an unusually dangerous outbreak for chasing.

[L.B. LaForce]

I don't know if I would really call it an unusual storm per se, but given the previous few weeks' weather, and the circumstances, it definitely was a dangerous event to chase being so close to OKC metro and not long after the 5/20 tornado.

[LocoAko]

This: http://www.bousteadhill.net/wilder_weather/?p=132

[andyhb]

This: http://www.bousteadhill.net/wilder_weather/?p=132

 

Great stuff there, agree with all of it.

 

I see a couple of familiar names there that do too.

[kvegas-wx]

They were chasing in one of the old mesonet vehicles, M3 as Tony Laubach said. It was a Chevy Cobalt

Not sure about that. It has been widely reported they were in one of their trucks. Pic definitely looks like a truck engine. Even if this was an F250, Ram, Silverado, etc, I am stunned by the amount of damage done to the vehicle. They had no chance!

[nwburbschaser]

Not sure about that. It has been widely reported they were in one of their trucks. Pic definitely looks like a truck engine. Even if this was an F250, Ram, Silverado, etc, I am stunned by the amount of damage done to the vehicle. They had no chance!

It was one of the mesonet vehicles, and the picture just distorts the size of the engine. 

[kvegas-wx]

It was one of the mesonet vehicles, and the picture just distorts the size of the engine.

I stand corrected. Just saw a new pic with the vehicle loaded on a flatbed and you are correct.....definitely a smaller vehicle with a short wheelbase. I hate that.....makes you wonder if they could have survived in a heavier vehicle like TWC crew where they just rolled a couple of times. Horrible situation regardless.

[needbiggerboat]

I generally just read these forums and never post but the passing of these storm chasing legends is just the saddest thing ever RIP

 

Not sure it's any sadder than the deaths of the 32 other people in OK that were killed by tornadic storms in May.

 

It's also odd how some are deeply personalizing the deaths of these 3 just because they saw them on TV a couple of times.  

 

Understandable for those here that may have knew them personally, met them, or closely followed their work.  But, elevating the deaths of some over others because they are notable in some way is another one of those media coverage and ethics issues closely linked to the theme of this thread.

 

They did incredibly important scientific work geared towards enhancing public safety, but if you place yourself in harms way sometimes you pay the ultimate price.  Not very shocking at all, just a matter of time and odds. 

[AtticaFanatica]

It's not at all odd that people have a more visceral and emotional reaction to the death of someone they know a lot about and share interests with compared to someone they have never heard of.

[AtticaFanatica]

And nice strawman, nobody was comparing levels of sadness, that's so dumb. But whatever, it's obvious you're just concern trolling.

[MGorse]

I have been watching TWC at times to catch their coverage of the incident with Mike Bettes and crew. They have showed an interview with him several times and also the footage, however I have yet to see or hear anything about advice he was getting or not getting. The reason why I say this is because TWC has experts and specialists, so did any of them try and reach out to Mike and his crew to basically tell them to get out of there? I have not seen any evidence to support that this was done. I saw a clip of Dr. Forbes during the situation showing the radar and marking the location of where Mike and his crew was, but I did not see anything regarding them contacting Mike and telling them they need to get out of there. Has anyone heard or read anything regarding this?

[TimChgo9]

I was shocked to hear about Tim Samaras and his son. 

 

I watched "Storm Chasers" quite a bit, and I have a 12 year old who is very interested in storms, weather, and storm chasing.  My older son, who lives in Texas now, was chasing in S. OK the day of the Moore tornado, I was on the phone with him during his chase, he never got close to anything dangerous, (He's a smart kid, doesn't take unecessary chances) but, from everything I have seen, chasing storms is a bit dicey.....

 

Unfortunately, the desire for people to be known as "chasers" is the catalyst for many people to just grab a weather radio, cameras and a laptop and go heading toward the big storms, hoping to get the "big one". 

 

There is nothing worse than someone who thinks they know what they are doing.  Someone who doesn't know, and knows they don't know, is less willing to take a chance, or put themselves in danger... Someone who thinks they know what they are doing, doesn't know when to stop, and therefore, misreads situations, and gets themselves into danger.  Now, this is not an indictment of the professional, seasoned chasers who know what they are doing.   It is an indictment of the media driven frenzy that turns people into storm "chasers" figuring to get rich, or be the hero or something. It's an indictment of the thrill seekers who seriously underestimate what they are facing, and think they are invincible.   Personally, storm chasing interests me, I would love to go and chase one season, but I sure as heck am not going to do it on my own... and if I do happen to join my son for some chasing down in Texas, or Oklahoma, you can bet I will not be one of those folks running pell mell into danger, equipped with a weather radio and a camera.   I want to see a tornado, but so badly that I am willing to risk my life or anyone else's.

[DoctorMu]

This: http://www.bousteadhill.net/wilder_weather/?p=132

 

That's a magnificent piece of writing.

[Bozart]

There is nothing worse than someone who thinks they know what they are doing.  Someone who doesn't know, and knows they don't know, is less willing to take a chance, or put themselves in danger... Someone who thinks they know what they are doing, doesn't know when to stop, and therefore, misreads situations, and gets themselves into danger.  Now, this is not an indictment of the professional, seasoned chasers who know what they are doing.   It is an indictment of the media driven frenzy that turns people into storm "chasers" figuring to get rich, or be the hero or something. It's an indictment of the thrill seekers who seriously underestimate what they are facing, and think they are invincible.

Thing is, the yahoos you decry aren't the ones who paid the big price. The ones who got killed or hurt were seasoned chasers who supposedly knew what they were doing as well as anyone could.

[AtticaFanatica]

I'm pretty sure there's a sampling bias in chasing fatalities though. A "yahoo" who goes out and chases on their own is far less likely to be identified as a chaser if they are killed. I think it's quite likely amateur chasers have been killed, but simply were not identified as such because they weren't known to the community or even those who knew them as chasers.

[JoMo]

Sounds like one of The Weather Channel crew was hurt pretty seriously. Much more so than earlier reported.

 

http://www.khou.com/news/texas-news/209930261.html

 

"He has a broken neck, three broken vertebrae, a black eye, collapsed lungs and broken ribs."

[Ian]

It's not at all odd that people have a more visceral and emotional reaction to the death of someone they know a lot about and share interests with compared to someone they have never heard of.

I was afraid to go there but it's kinda like many chasers just realized tornadoes kill people.

[Ian]

I'm pretty sure there's a sampling bias in chasing fatalities though. A "yahoo" who goes out and chases on their own is far less likely to be identified as a chaser if they are killed. I think it's quite likely amateur chasers have been killed, but simply were not identified as such because they weren't known to the community or even those who knew them as chasers.

Agree. Also lucky more didn't die the other day. Apparently vehicles are really well built these days.

[soonertrey]

I just read Ian's Washington Post article about 5/31 and I have to give it a standing ovation.  Great job Ian and Mark.  I hope every chaser reads that.

[Ian]

I just read Ian's Washington Post article about 5/31 and I have to give it a standing ovation.  Great job Ian and Mark.  I hope every chaser reads that.

Thanks! Here's a link if anyone's interested: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/06/03/the-storm-chaser-dilemma-and-choosing-to-miss-a-tornado/

[SluggerWx]

Self-regulation may be the best way for us to bring about change.

 

If chasers/trackers, whether in it for the science or the thrills, abide by a set of guidelines or principles to earn membership, we can form a sort of 'trade group.'

 

Then, if CNN buys video from someone that's been ousted out of the Association or Group, then the Association or Group no longer sells it's video to CNN.

 

This would force CNN to buy footage that is captured by a set of guiding principles - footage that is far more common - than the yahoo in a metro area that goes out with his cell phone hanging out the window of his car.

 

It's in the best interest of all the experienced chasers out there to band together into a solid association or group that abides by a series of principles which regulate membership.

 

Association is a powerful form of regulation.

[Gilbertfly]

Storm chasing is a dangerous hobby, a dangerous job, and a dangerous scientific research platform.  The hobbyists put their own lives at risk for their own entertainment (ie. skydiving bungee cord jumping, etc.).  The chasers that do this for "work," whether it be for their own monetary gains or as a non-profit service for the community as to alert them of what is coming, I feel probably have an even greater understanding of the dangers and risks involved (ie. firefighters, police officers, etc.).  However they (hopefully) have weighed out the possible risks vs. rewards.  Clearly, those doing scientific research have a full grasp of the inherent dangers involved as they put themselves the closest to the "action" the most frequently.  What they want out of it goes beyond just personal gains...but gains for the community now and into the future.

 

It is impossible to tell how many lives have been saved as a direct result of the spotter network that are on the road during tornadic situations over the years.  100?  1,000? 10,000? more?  The biggest problem I see is when all three levels of storm chasers start mingling together.  Clearly it creates dangerous situations on the roads and it might give the hobbyists and incorrect feel of safety when they see professionals getting closer thinking that they (the hobbyists) should/could do the same.

 

I, myself, am a hobbyists...so I am not going to claim that I know what it is like on the front lines of these situations.  Much of what I have learned about weather has come from forums such as these, reading books, and just my own personal experiences following weather for the last 25 years and wanting to understand why and how.  I was very shocked when I heard about the death of Tim.  Not shocked because of some mystic invincibility concept, but just shocked because he is someone that I always looked to in books, television, etc. as a means to get a better understanding of some of the "how's and why's."  I didn't know him personally, but it makes me quite sad to hear of his loss.

 

If anything comes out of recent situations in the chasing community, I hope it at least brings attention to different levels of chasers above.  I hope the general public can gain a better understanding of the differences between the thrill seekers and those that help the community via second to second alerts and data gathering for now and the future.

 

God's speed Tim and thanks for all the hard work and dedication to saving lives

[Gilbertfly]

Thanks! Here's a link if anyone's interested: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/06/03/the-storm-chaser-dilemma-and-choosing-to-miss-a-tornado/

Nice write-up brother...I agree...I hope the general public can learn better the differences between those in the chaser community....it would be a nice start at least