People who chase tornadoes are idiots.

[proud2BlibKansan]

I'm not talking about the scientists who have special vehicles and equipment. I'm talking about people who drive down the road looking at the sky (not the road) and talk on their cell phones while they are trying to catch up to the tornado.

The internet is full of these idiots today.

Here's a live stream from an OK City TV station where the weather guy is actually telling people who call in just where they need to go to meet up with the tornado.

http://kfor.com/on-air/live-streaming/

[brewens]

1. C'mon! What could go wrong? LOL Like maybe they wreck and cause emergency crews to deal with

their mess? Not to mention blocking the road for crews trying to help people that didn't cause their own disaster.

[Warpy]

2. Researchers are starting to complain about the ones

who load up the van with really dumb tourists and just get in the way. The last thing a researcher with units to deploy in the tornado's path needs is a line of traffic, led by paid rubberneckers.

I suppose somebody will regulate them out of existence, probably through increased liability insurance, the day a van full of them gets killed because the driver miscalculated.

[Ian David]

4. More big-gumbint interference in the free market??

[madinmaryland]

11. Nice post, Ron Paul!

[joeglow3]

3. There are a lot of regular people who love this

Now, if they just go out, they are idiots. However, here in Nebraska the National Weather Service offers classes for people who want to be spotters. It provides a service to the population at large, as these people can identify a tornado and notify the proper authorities to issue a warning.

Now, as radar becomes more sophisticated, I assume this will be needed much less. However, it has served a purpose and has probably saved more lives than have been lost.

[Major Nikon]

8. I know a few weather junkies

I'm a fan of some of it although I'm sure as hell not going to chase one down.

I think no matter how sophisticated the tools get, there will still be a need for spotters. Some people don't trust technology and they want to hear it from a real person. Some people who do believe in technology benefit from personal reports about what is happening and where.

As good as the technology is, it's still not foolproof. The Nexrad tornado algorithm isn't bad, but I've seen it identify tornadoes on a clear day.

[oldhippie]

5. Why do you hate freedom?

It's kinda like rock climbing, scuba diving, sky diving, motorcycle racing, boat racing .........

Many more people hurt in those pursuits than storm chasing. It's called a thrill. And freedom. Many people choose not to live in a rubber room.

[Writely Wrong]

6. And then there are spotters

Spotters being the trained people who go to assigned locations and hope like heck they don't have to call in a funnel cloud or tornado to the NWS. We just sit there with one eye to the sky and another on the idiots on the road chasing storms.

[Shrike47]

7. Chasing tornados sounds exciting to me.

Of course, I've never actually seen one.

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. They're pretty frightening.

First one I saw I was about 10 or 11 and walking home from school. When I left school it was a beautiful sunny day and halfway home the sky turned black. I heard a loud sound that sounded like a train and turned to look in the direction of the sound. It was a tornado and it was a couple miles away. It was huge, so big it took me awhile to realize what it was. Then I saw debris caught up in the tornado and realized I could get hurt. I ran home faster than I had ever ran in my life.

I can't imagine why anyone wants to be close to a tornado.

[knitter4democracy]

22. I agree. I've survived 2 and another straight-line wind storm.

They're definitely very scary. I think people who chase them are insane.

[Vinnie From Indy]

9. Even more so for the ones that catch them!

Cheers!

[KatyaR]

10. Believe me, you don't want to be the one that catches one.

People should always stay BEHIND a moving tornado.

[a la izquierda]

13. Mike Morgan, KFOR's head weather dude, is a dolt.

I miss living in Oklahoma, especially this time of year. It helps that I can stream Gary England and watch tornado stuff here in Ohio.

[hobbit709]

14. Gene pool improvement.

[Canuckistanian]

20. +1

[Atman]

15. Darwin will deal with them.

[Baclava]

16. I blame that damn Twister movie

They got all the cowboy geeks thinking they are going to score with some hot weather groupie.

[Orrex]

17. Nah.

Bill Paxton isn't all that hot.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

19. Bill Pullman, on the other hand......nt

[Javaman]

18. I've been photographing lightening on and off for over 25 years...

it's not for the faint of heart.

People tell me I'm crazy, but when the see my photos, they suddenly forget how crazy it is.

just the way it is.

[el_bryanto]

21. Also I'm opposed to chasing waterfalls. nt

[Orrex]

23. Please.

Stick to the rivers and that lakes that you're used to.

[Fumesucker]

24. There have always been people who enjoy doing dangerous things, it's a necessary component of humans

We as a species aren't remotely evolved for civilization, it's just too safe and smothering for a lot of us, people who crave excitement.

Without that danger seeking component of humanity we would probably still be living in the trees, frankly those who exhibit that behavior scare me less than the overly acquisitive types who are often very risk averse.