What happens when tornado chasers actually catch the tornado.

[ProfessorWes]

"OH JESUS PLEEEEEEAAAASSSSSEEEE!!!!!"



Not to make mock of people in life-threatening situations - especially having had a couple of close calls with tornadoes myself - but FAFO, guys.

And that's probably what Saint Peter would have told them, had they ended up before the Pearly Gates. Hey, I'm not dumb enough to go looking for the things . . .

 

[Fox Mike]

Having been an active tornado participant I can't see any good reason to go looking for them. I would be serious looking for a clear way to get away from one.

 

[Ride1949]

 

[contender]

I'd bet each & every one of those guys needed clean shorts after that ride.

I've seen a few from very far away,, and I watched enough to determine if there was any chance they were going to head my direction. And I purposely went the other direction,, even though I was not in any danger. I have ZERO desires to challenge God's power.

 

[gunzo]

A step up from a dog chasing a car. With either, the catching is a whole other ballgame.

On the other side of the coin, I can take or leave fishing. But the catching is when it gets fun.

 

[ned]

I had to look up FAFO and it fits….and fits some of my youth too

 

[turd]

Well, I have lived in the plains states most of my life, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa. Tornadoes are not to be played with. I have never been within a mile of one, but many times have been within 1.5 miles or so. Don't EVEN mess with them. Find a place to hide and stay there.

 

[Kevin]

I grew up in northern Missouri, with relatives in Iowa. So we drove back and forth a lot. Through lots of storms and some pretty bad weather.

Not sure if we were close to any tornadoes, but I bet we were close though.

That movie Twister still makes me squirm.

 

[Threespears]

Play stupid games…

 

[RC44Mag]

The closest I’ve ever coming to anything like that was two large waterspouts. One in the Indian Ocean and the other off Clearwater Beach, Fl. Didn’t get close enough to have a reaction other than excited to see them. That one guy, jeez dude

 

[RSIno1]

Darwin has an award for these people.

 

[edm1]

Once I was listening on the radio to the track of a tornado. It was basically gonna be where I was. I looked up and saw all these black things circling. Then they would just drop. It was shingles from the debris field. I drove faster. Got to and checked in to my hotel for the night and sirens start up again. I decided I’d rather be in the parking lot than on the 3rd floor. So I went outside and saw branches flying around way up. Then they would just drop. It was odd.

 

[gramps]

Contender, you are spot on! Clean underwear a must!!! Especially after all the screaming died down? Lol
gramps

 

[jimbo1096]

We had one come over in '97. It didn't hit the ground until about a mile away and messed up a couple of buildings and a gas station. It took the shingles off the back part of my roof and laid three small cedar trees over in my yard. I was using the bathroom in that part of the house and never knew it was coming until it was already there. I didn't have to change my shorts, but I did use most of the roll of toilet paper.
Those boys sure were sounding brave and having fun until they weren't.

 

[eveled]

I really don’t understand screaming and whining in the face of death. It doesn’t do any good. Just a reaction I guess? It seems so deliberate. How can you not know you are screaming?

I’m not afraid to die, but I don’t go looking for it either. The times I’ve been in tight spots, I got strangely calm and focused, even enjoyed the moment.

Yet I’m not a risk taker or an adrenaline junky either.

I remember backpacking with a friend we were in our tent in the middle of the night. On the very top of a mountain. A thunder storm came in with no warning. This 6’6” linebacker starts crying like a baby. I found it fascinating. The lighting bolts were right on top of us and the wind was unbelievable. I knew we were in danger, but there was really nothing to do but enjoy the show. Why scream and cry?

If we were struck by lightning we wouldn’t even know it. Or we would be fine.

The irony is that ten years later he hung himself in his garage. I guess he got over his fear of death.

 

[Hvymax]

I wonder what was left after they were done kicking his a$$? Did they take him to the hospital and blame it on the tornado?

 

[ProfessorWes]

From the Twitter/X comment thread:

 

[PRichardson87]

I wonder if he was religious before that moment?

 

[Jimbo357mag]

I guess they found what they were looking for.

 

[tazbigdog]

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! The Darwin Award goes to….

 

[arfmel]

Those guys are nuttier than squirrel turd.

 

[black1970]

Been in one in 1952 Henderson, TN. Killed 33 including my Grandfather next door and the whole family on the other side of us. We were in the vortex. My Father owned a sawmill and when he built our house he made in out of gum and oak. Picked it up and moved the whole house 10 feet closer to the street then set it back down. Saw chickens with no feathers and broom straws driven into telephone poles. Sounded like a freight train. No fun.

 

[KIR]

I don't understand how people can live in states with tornadoes, hurricanes, twisters, Ron de Santis...oops got off track. I cannot imagine losing all one's personal items, then rebuilding from scratch?
I would have thought that architects would have at least come up with homes that are built halfway underground, with similar garages and with retractable antenna's, chimney's, etc. Is that all possible?

 

[NC FNS]

I was in a building that a tornado bounced over, consider myself blessed. Very loud and foreboding. I was critical of modern construction as a newer house had roof shingles and siding blown off, while an older house was moved pretty much intact about 25 yards. After thinking about it, I’d much rather be replacing some shingles and siding than trying to put a house back on it’s foundation.

 

[Mike J]

Growing up in Georgia we had a few pass very close to our home. There was one that passed closer than we realized until my sister told us what she saw. My sister had laid down for a nap before the warnings started. My mother & I were listening to the updates on the T.V. When my sister woke up she informed us that she had a crazy dream. She thought she had dreamed seeing pieces of lumber going around in a circle going by the tree in our front yard by the corner of the house. The head of her bed was next to the window. The tornado had flattened a dentist office a couple of blocks away from us. The 2x4's from it were imbedded in the guy at the end of the roads front yard.
In the early 90's my father & his last wife were living in Jasper, GA when one hit. They had a double wide on 8 acres. Dad had built a deck that was the whole length of the trailer by 20 feet. He had also cut out one end of the trailer & added a family room that was twenty eight feet by twenty feet. The tornado picked it up, shook it around & sat it down 8 feet over from where it started. Dad, his wife both her daughters & one of the daughters husband & two kids were in it at the time.
Tornados happen. Ain't nothing guaranteed but I'm not going looking for trouble.

 

[Fox Mike]

Here in Maryland we have had 19 tornados in the past three years. It's not just "tornado alley" that they occur..

 

[Markbo]

I've seen tornadoes and been in one. Almost yanked me off a porch. I have never need to go and hunt them.

 

[Paul B]

From what I know from working in weather, tornadoes have occurred in every state of the union. None have escaped tem.

Quite a few years back my wife and I were at the range doing a little recreational shooting. This was in the middle of Arizona's monsoon season and there were multiple heavy cloud buildup all around/ As my work was as a weatherman, it was constantly looking at the clouds, mostly because I didn't want to pack up in the middle of a thundershower. As I looked off to my right I saw two funnel clouds and watched as third formed up and becoming bigger than the first two I didn't quite reach the ground then went bad up as did the others. We packed up as quickly as we could, loaded the stuff in the car and headed back to town. On the way in my wife said for me to look out her window about 200 yards, maybe a bit less was a funnel that touched down and ran parallel to the road. It ran along side of us for about a half mile of so, then went back up into the clouds. When I got to where there was a phone I called it to the office.
When I went to work the next day, The Meteorologist in Charge told me that our radar did not pick it up but it was confirmed by Phoenix's radar. Probably was too close and the antenna couldn't quite dip low enough to pick up the storms hook echo. Back then I usually carried a camera with me when out and about but for some reason had left it at home that day.

Paul B.

 

[Mega Twin]

In 2014 we were on a motorcycle t rip to Oregon,and spent one night in Kearney Nebraska. The next morning looking at the weather map on the TV it didn't look too good so we mapped a route to go around it. When we went out to pack up the bikes there was one of those storm chaser trucks in the parking lot.
I took that as a bad sign and got on the road and a couple of times we got sprinkled on but otherwise no problems.

 

[Cholo]

In 2010 I was on a 2 week bike trip with another guy, W. I could tell his wife was reeling him in to get back home. We hit a line of tornadic storms that ran from Texas to the Dakotas. He had a laptop and we were tracking the weather. It was really bad. He said he was heading south (closer to home) I said: South? Are you nuts? You're going to ride straight into purple. We split up here; I'm going north. He followed me.

There used to be a tornado chasers reality show where they drove around in what looked like a tank. It went flying past us going south, where W wanted to go on his motorcycle. We got to Shamrock, TX. and had just pulled under the overhang at the hotel when the storms hit.

There were a whole lot of tornados in that line of storms, but none in TX. You feel pretty vulnerable on a bike when what you're riding into is black. It makes for one hell of a memory, though!

That storm chaser tank? They struck out once again, like always LOL