There were chasers all over the back roads all over this storm system. The problem turned out to be that
1. The tornadoes wound up being rain wrapped
2. There were so many chasers trying to get a good look at the tornado that they got too close
The radar image below is from when the (assumed) initial large tornado touched down near El Reno, Oklahoma (red dots are storm chasers)
There are so many out there that were putting themselves in danger as this violent tornado rolled toward OKC. And because the tornado was not easily visible, several chasers and non-chasers got too close and things like this:
That's what happened to the Weather Channel's chasing car. The car was thrown about 200 yards by this tornado, and how Mike Bettis didn't sustain serious injuries is beyond me. Others who drove into this were not so lucky. At least two people, a mother and her baby, died in a car when the vehicle was picked up off I-40 by the tornado and sent flying.
I'll start ranting about the chasers first.
The tornado was rain wrapped. Many of the spotters were driving through the rain to try and see this tornado, which is one of the first things I learned in spotter training. It kind of seems like one of those obvious things you shouldn't even have to think about, but look up at that radar pic again. At least 30 spotters all crowded within a couple of miles of each other, if that, trying to get a look at a tornado that really shouldn't be all that visible. It seems like after Sean Casey drove into a tornado in Kansas earlier this week, everyone got the idea to try and one-up each other by trying to get as close as they can so they can cash in on the video. And sure, we'll all be amazed by the video later, but this was basically spotters recklessly putting their lives in danger. It's not worth it. Reed Timmer, who, aside from the windows, is supposed to have one of the most "tornado proof" cars on Earth, lost the hood of his car. These tornadoes mean business.
Concerning the people in the OKC area: OK, I get it. Everyone's still freaked out after what happened in Moore last week, and Mike Morgan yet again labeled this as a "get underground, get out of its way, or you're screwed" type of tornado. But seriously?! Did we not learn anything out of last Monday?!The truth is, that's a horrible message to send to people. It incites mass panic, and that's the last thing you could possibly want or need in this situation. Below is thousands of people in vehicles trying to abandon OKC as the tornadoes approach:
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| Basically the NWS'S definition of "mass panic" |
In 97%+ of all cases, going to your house or wherever you are's lowest level, getting into an interior room away from windows, and if at all possible covering your head with something, regardless of if there is a basement or concrete safe room or not. For people in mobile homes, the message is clear: have a plan in place to get out of your mobile home and to a substantial shelter. That's a no-brainer, because those things get destroyed and tossed all over the place by EF1 tornadoes. But for the people who were just getting out of their safe, and in many cases, barely damaged homes, they were putting the lives of people who actually needed to get out at risk.
And then people question why the Oklahoma Highway Patrol is out trying to shut down the highways instead of letting people through to drive for their lives. They're trying to keep people from driving into the tornado, and people are thinking their just being a nuisance trying to keep people from getting out of town with their lives. Truthfully, not one other state highway patrol in the country does this to try and protect the people as far as I know (correct me if I'm wrong), and hopefully, after what's happened in OKC the last two weeks, the message will get out to people, including in OKC, where it seems like Mike Morgan calls Doomsday every time a tornado touches down within 10 miles of any city, that you shouldn't be out in the storms.
On the other hand, I see that the national media (or at least the sites I cared to look up at 1:50AM) have not gone back to the "tornado struck with no warning" crap. It's something.
