Father 👪 | Combat Veteran 🇺🇸 | Storm Chaser 🌪️ | Mountain Climber ⛰️ | Colorado 14er Finisher🏆
Kansas City
Joined March 2009
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Have you ever looked UP when chasing? These are all on one day in #Kansas this year on 9/30. 😍
#wxtwitter #stormchasing
Did that 4th down play look like an out to AJ but he run through the route? 🤔 AJ might need some more time. @Patriots #ThursdayNightFootball #Amazon
Check out this upclose video of the tornado in Heber-Overgaard, #Arizona earlier!
📹: Cameron Mcleod (Facebook)
Here's some of the damage we ran into in Destin Florida from the hurricane. #hurricane #florida #stormdamage #flooding @NWSMobile
Pensacola Beach this morning with Category 3 hurricane Isaias heading this way. #hurricane #florida #flwx #stormchasing #wxtwitter
Jalon Daniels went 0-5 vs @KStateFB in college. That shows you how bad the @dallascowboys defense is! 🤣 #cowboys
Nothing beats looking up into a tornado producing storm! 🌪️
#tornado #weather #stormchasing #wxtwitter
Watch this barn be destroyed by a tornado! The almost invisible tornado is pointed out by the red arrow. Then watch as a large piece of the barn wraps around the tornado and ends up right back where it started. Of note is the last arrow where another vortex is also behind me ... knowing the situation I got out of there. The vortex JUST missed a herd of cows as I pull out to show the rotating meso. Any area of a rotating mesocyclone can drop a tornado that is why doing this type of chasing is not advised unless you are very experienced. I stayed JUST out of the edge and situation awareness is sometimes literally a few feet. #wxtwitter #kansas #tornado
1.38 Mile Wide EF4 Wedge in Nebraska! 🌪️
13 years ago today I watched this EF4 tornado from its multi-vortex start to a large wedge. It missed most of the town of Wayne but we did have to called 911 for a seriously injured person. This is still one of the most memorable chases of my life. #Nebraska #weather #tornado #wxtwitter
My handheld only cell phone video from 9/30 during the Kansas outbreak. How many tornadoes did you count? This is long but worth a view. #kansas #tornado #wxtwitter @NWSDodgeCity @NWSWichita
I need a new laptop soon that can edit 8k video and not crash. Large storage and 17" screen would be helpful #oldeyes I currently have an @Alienware ... Recommendations? #laptop
"It's only a Funnel ... It's not a tornado!" Watch this "funnel" becomes a visible tornado as it hits the pond. It is barely visible again when it crosses the road in front of me. Knowing when to stop and keep going is key ... even if they are just "funnels". On another note some people have a hard time understanding this type of chasing but it is actually pretty safe on days like this. I would not always do this but KS offered a great opp to get close. #wxtwitter #tornado #kansas #stormchasing #severeweather
This really happened on 9/30 right? 😍 It's incredible there was limited damage and no injuries with these tornadoes. #wxtwitter #Kansas #kswx @NWSDodgeCity @NWSWichita
There is a real point here. The young and Invincible part is 100%. I went to war in Iraq when I was young and fearless... there was no chance anything was going to happen to ME. I should have died by artillery landing all around me (FFE) and later by sniper fire and an explosion. I thought I was invincible and though I got out of it alive I was probably only lucky. When you're young you definitely think you're invincible. I've reached the point and I'm probably a bad example but ...I've lived 35 years past where I was supposed to. Even with that said I always evaluate every zero meter intercept IRT. My experience gets me through it but just like that artillery at some point it's going to get me and that's just part of it. I would rather live before I die. 🌪️
This is a good thread and while I agree with most of it based on just the factual state of reality of where we stand...my thoughts are simply just...it is what it is now.
Technology has removed the barrier to entry that once required real passion/respect for weather and skill to be able to be successful. Chasing, for the longest time, was always a loss. You had to truly love it and the atmosphere to be willing to endure that. This kept the roster to mainly just die hard science and weather geeks, and maybe a few nomads who like solidarity and nature over cities and cliques.
Now, its an extreme sport more than ever and as the roster only continues to grow, its going to take those greater risks to stand out. Social clubs are everything, and clout chasers seeking algorithmic approval are secretly competing with their clubmates for airtime. You dont need to actually love weather. You just need a camera, storm net, and some buzz words to generate clicks that leads to enough revenue to avoid getting a 9-5.
Plus, the massive influx of new chasers is (as always has been) from younger people and they tend to have that mindset of being invincible. Not just with chasing but life in general. Young people simply take more risks. Its not until you get older, having racked up enough close calls and life experiences that you begin to respect your mortality more.
The way I see it, you're either the type to take risks or you're not. Seeing my video of me next to a tornado isn't suddenly going to flip you from one to the other.
I do think we're seeing an increase of people who only see storm chasing for the viral content potential, with very little love/respect/appreciation for the atmosphere and science behind it all. I do wish those types would go away...but alas, its a free country and what can ya do about it?
The issue I tend to have regarding the subject of getting too close is those who "accidentally" find themselves there VS those who willingly do it based on their own calculations and comfort zones, but thats another podium for another day.