Funny storm chase vehicles

[Moleculo]

I was perusing Hamsexy.com's funny collection of odd storm chase vehicle photos and videos (there are a few on youtube), and I just have to say, WTF!!!?????

I thought Hams and CBer's were bad with the amount of equipment we try to stuff in a vehicle, but these guys take the cake. I understand what the Skywarn guys do in conjunction with NOAA and the NWS, but what's the obsession for the other storm chasers about? Is it just for the thrill, or are they doing something useful? If they're doing something useful, why don't they do it in conjunction with an organized body like Skywarn? And why do they need all the flashing lights? Isn't that illegal in most states unless you're a real emergency vehicle?

 

[WX2MIG]

If they're doing something useful, why don't they do it in conjunction with an organized body like Skywarn?

Because Skywarn is (for the most part) made up of mature individuals who are interested in a serious appraoch to observing weather conditions, and work through an organized system to relay that "on the ground" information back to the NWS via their county coordinator.

Storm chasers claim they are doing research, and a small handful of them may be, but for the most part they are all out of control thrill seekers who answer to nobody but themselves, most do not even attempt to relay any information back to the NWS, and many usually try to sell their video footage to the local news broadcasters for a profit.

why do they need all the flashing lights? Isn't that illegal in most states unless you're a real emergency vehicle?

Yes Mole, it is very illegal in most states on the eastern seaboard, I don't know what the motor vehicle laws are in the mid-west where most of these knuckleheads chase tornado's, but if they tried to drive a vehicle dressed up in emergency lights around New Jersey, they better be an active member of a volunteer fire dept, rescue squad, or emergency management, and have the proper permit in the vehicle to prove they are actually authorized to have those lights installed. New Jersey loves making money off of these bozo's driving around in SUV's with a full size light bar on the roof, and no means to prove they were authorized to have it. it's call impersonating an emergency responder, and the fines can be hefty.....

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Don't forget the real whackers that have Doppler radar installed in their vehicles. VERY illegal and VERY dangerous. :headbang

 

[mackmobile43]

Don't forget the real whackers that have Doppler radar installed in their vehicles. VERY illegal and VERY dangerous. :headbang

How does one aquire said illegal radar equipment and is it as easy to hide as an illegal cb amplifier? no I think not so do these illegal devices get confiscated when they are approached for this activity?

Where's a Riley when you need one?

 

[mackmobile43]

Oh yeah, ham sexys are depraved,under sexed idiots. :laugh: pee wee herman's if you will.

 

[Robb]

I'm a storm chaser 'eSpotter' who uses Gibson Ridge GR3 radar software on my laptop whenever I go chasing. It's the only way to chase - IMO.

Chase vehicles of today aren't ANYTHING like they were ten years ago. Laptops, weather programs, cell phone tethering for data access, Ham radios, scanners, CB's, still cameras, and video cameras with live internet feed.

We're on the front lines guys, with the police, fire, and emergency services. Some of us get struck by lightning every year, and some of us get hit with giant hail. We take a lot of risks to help report to the National Weather Service. You would think that the police and fire dept would be in the know, but that is not really the case. One guy that is on Stormtrack.org has been hit by lightning at least four times - indirect strikes are still VERY dangerous - don't kid yourselves about it.

Some make money selling video footage, and some go out for the thrill, and some do it to help warn. You would need to live in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, and other states to truly understand what on the surface may appear to be dumb and.or frivolous. The National Weather Service has a lot of equipment and highly-trained personnel; but they still need volunteer eyeballs on the ground to verify what they see on Doppler radar.

BTW- We make fun of light bars - too...

 

[Happy_Hamer]

Don't forget the real whackers that have Doppler radar installed in their vehicles. VERY illegal and VERY dangerous. :headbang

Why is doppler radar illegal in a vehicle?

http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/noaastory/dop.html

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I'm not talking about the kind of setups like in your link. NOAA etc use them legally and properly. I was thinking about the weather whackers that go out to the local marine electronics store and drop several grand on a Furuno radar unit and mount it on top of their truck/SUV. A typical 24 inch radar unit will have a peak pulsed power output of around 4 Kw. Imagine, 4 Kw and all those Gigahertz at eye level to anyone in the vacinity. Also since radar installations have to be licensed these types of installs are illegal as 99.9% of them are not licensed. It is pretty hard to get a marine radar unit licensed for use in a LAND mobile service.

 

[WX2MIG]

When it comes to onboard electronics in a motor vehicle, the line that divides what is legal, and what is not is often times blurred in the eyes of the local law enforcement. Most haven't got a clue as to what actually is allowed, and what is not.
Take VHF Marine radios, there is no law that states you can not mount one in your vehicle, but there are laws that govern it's use in a motor vehicle. Living on the coast I know many who have these radios in their vehicles, some are yacht and sportfishing vessel owners, some either own or work for emergency towing companies like TowBoat U.S., and SeaTow. The radios are used for legitimate purposes, and the operators are not in the habit of abusing these devices. So no one really cares, including the FCC who deregulated the VHF Marine radio service many years ago.

Much is the same with storm chasers that install high powered radar on an SUV and goes chasing after tornado's. The thing that blurs the line with storm chasers is the fact that some are legitimate in their actions, and it's difficult for law enforcement to determine who is a legitimate storm chaser working as the eyes on the ground for the NWS, and who is a thrill seeking whacker looking to sell video footage to the local news broadcasters.

The other thing that many storm chasers fail to realize is, when they do get into trouble, whacked in the skull with a baseball size chunk of hail, hit by lightning, or impaled by a piece of wind blown debris, they then become an added and unnecessary burden to emergency responders that already have their hands full trying to help the innocent victims of the storm, and also an added burden to the area hospitals who are already over burdened with injured people that were buried under collapsed houses, or tossed around in their car trying to escape the very storm these chasers drove into.

As someone who is actively involved in SkyWarn here on the coast, I understand the need for the NWS to have eyes on the ground feeding back first hand reports, but like many other things in this world, you'll always have whackers that will abuse any privilege or service for thrills or self glory, trying to get their 15 minutes of fame, or for shear profit. We got them here in hurricane land, so they aren't exclusive to tornado alley.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

When it comes to onboard electronics in a motor vehicle, the line that divides what is legal, and what is not is often times blurred in the eyes of the local law enforcement. Most haven't got a clue as to what actually is allowed, and what is not.
Take VHF Marine radios, there is no law that states you can not mount one in your vehicle, but there are laws that govern it's use in a motor vehicle. Living on the coast I know many who have these radios in their vehicles, some are yacht and sportfishing vessel owners, some either own or work for emergency towing companies like TowBoat U.S., and SeaTow. The radios are used for legitimate purposes, and the operators are not in the habit of abusing these devices. So no one really cares, including the FCC who deregulated the VHF Marine radio service many years ago.

Much is the same with storm chasers that install high powered radar on an SUV and goes chasing after tornado's. The thing that blurs the line with storm chasers is the fact that some are legitimate in their actions, and it's difficult for law enforcement to determine who is a legitimate storm chaser working as the eyes on the ground for the NWS, and who is a thrill seeking whacker looking to sell video footage to the local news broadcasters.

The other thing that many storm chasers fail to realize is, when they do get into trouble, whacked in the skull with a baseball size chunk of hail, hit by lightning, or impaled by a piece of wind blown debris, they then become an added and unnecessary burden to emergency responders that already have their hands full trying to help the innocent victims of the storm, and also an added burden to the area hospitals who are already over burdened with injured people that were buried under collapsed houses, or tossed around in their car trying to escape the very storm these chasers drove into.

As someone who is actively involved in SkyWarn here on the coast, I understand the need for the NWS to have eyes on the ground feeding back first hand reports, but like many other things in this world, you'll always have whackers that will abuse any privilege or service for thrills or self glory, trying to get their 15 minutes of fame, or for shear profit. We got them here in hurricane land, so they aren't exclusive to tornado alley.

I agree 100%. I hope you don't think that I think ALL storm chasers are "weather whackers". I was just refering to those that like to show up with their lights flashing and radar antennas spinning and think they are there to save the world. My all time favourites are the hams that like to proudly show off their shiny "Ham Operator" badges because it makes them feel all warm and fuzzy inside while looking like a dolt on the outside. Speaking of that,I encountered one ham with just such a badge. It was back in September 1998 following the aftermath of the Swiss Air flight 111 crash off the coast here.I met him on the beach in Bayswater where he started going on about how he was here "officially" and that "this" would get him anywhere he wanted to go past police roadblocks etc. I reached for my wallet and pulled out my wallet copy of my ham license and explained to him that I had a ticket as well and understood just what kind of "authority" his badge meant to me.I then pulled out another card from my wallet and asked him if he knew what kind of authority that it represented to HIM. Talk about looking like a whipped puppy. LOL. He picked the wrong guy to pull that crap on. The card I presented him with was my photo ID card identifying me as an RCMP Auxillliary police officer. I was in plain clothes at the time because I did not want to ruin a good uniform doing what had to be done. (Think about the aftermath of an air crash). I politely escorted the dude to the nearby command center and requested that he be escorted from the scene and NOT allowed back in in the future. Another whacker put in his place.

 

[Moleculo]

This thread needs pics

 

[Happy_Hamer]

I'm not talking about the kind of setups like in your link. NOAA etc use them legally and properly. I was thinking about the weather whackers that go out to the local marine electronics store and drop several grand on a Furuno radar unit and mount it on top of their truck/SUV. A typical 24 inch radar unit will have a peak pulsed power output of around 4 Kw. Imagine, 4 Kw and all those Gigahertz at eye level to anyone in the vacinity. Also since radar installations have to be licensed these types of installs are illegal as 99.9% of them are not licensed. It is pretty hard to get a marine radar unit licensed for use in a LAND mobile service.

eBay Motors: Furuno RSB-0070 Radar Antenna Unit 4.0kW Open Array (item 220372582782 end time Mar-11-09 14:32:40 PDT)

 

[WX2MIG]

Full agreement here QRN....not including "ALL" storm chasers, just the whackers that show up for all the wrong reasons......

I may have relayed this tale before here at WWRF, but deserves repeating here.....

Back in the late 80's early 90's we had an annual Ham Fest at one of the area high schools. There was a group from the next county over that would show up every year at these things, wearing what closely resembled police uniforms adorned with "ARRL", "ARES", and "OEM" patches, and those bogus Ham radio badges. Now if that wasn't bad enough, these clowns would "try" to self appoint themselves as the official Ham Fest security force. Now I belonged to the club that sponsored these events, I show up early to one of them to help set up tables, and there standing by the door was Dudley Doright of the radio police. This clown holds up his hand in my face like he's stopping traffic, and tells me the doors don't open for another hour.
Now I'm not a violent man by nature, but I strongly felt this moron needed a lesson in authority and etiquette. I won't go into how I delivered that lesson, but needless to say the Radio Enforcement Task Force never showed up to one of these Ham Fests again.......

Whackers come in all walks of life, and most every hobby, or volunteer organization has their share, HAM radio has an over abundance of them.
Being involved with the emergency services, and amateur radio, I can't swing a dead cat without hitting 10 of them.
If nothing else, they give us something to talk about, laugh at, or a reason to roll our eyes and shake our heads.....just look at the exercise value they bring to the table......

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

eBay Motors: Furuno RSB-0070 Radar Antenna Unit 4.0kW Open Array (item 220372582782 end time Mar-11-09 14:32:40 PDT)

Plan on picking that up for your Jeep are you Bill?

 

[Robb]

We aren't a burden to local officials at all.
In fact, quite the opposite is true.
It is true that many fireman, state/local police, or sadly even Emergency Managers know so pathetically little of weather and it finer points. Having chasers/spotters who study and chase for a hobby know and lend a great deal to these services. In truth, the Emergency Manager in Iowa approached me and asked me to help him out. That was the same day -only hours earlier- that the Boy Scouts were killed only 90 miles away in Blencoe IA.

Another true story.
I was near Elgin Nebraska last year as a tornado-warned storm approached (my GR3 program had that info displayed in image and type/print). I went back into town, and grabbed the first State Trooper I could find and I said "I'm an eSpotter with the NWS - please come with me - we may have to report a tornado". As there were several funnel clouds that formed, along with a flurry of dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning. One bolt came and crashed at no more than ten yards away. Bone jarring and unbelievably l o u d.

The Trooper was calling into his radio net with the situation, and I was busy on my NWS browser sending in the report. I also took several pictures before the brunt of the storm had us pinned down for twelve long minutes with torrential rain, very high winds, and blasts of frequent lightning. My GR3 radar program also showed a mesocyclone very close to our position as it moved overhead. Needless to say, it was exciting, dangerous, and necessary for those reports to get to the right places in a timely fashion. I had to yell five feet between our cars -because of the howling wind- to tell the Trooper was was happening and what to expect. If a tornado was in that shroud of rain - we must abandon our vehicles and find refuge in a nearby low ditch. He didn't like the idea; but understood the necessity of the situation presenting us both.

Was it important that I was there keeping a very close eye on the situation? That Trooper would have said so. Did he - or anyone else close by - able to do what I did and understand what was happening with that storm? No; it was only the Trooper and myself getting the right info to the right places. Later on, Omaha Nebraska had one fantastic and powerful thunderstorm that evening from that same storm. One that I'm sure many will not easily forget for awhile...