May 27, 1997 15:30 F5 tornado Jarrell, Tx.
200 mph winds a mile wide at 20 MPH.
Posted on 11/17/2008 8:03:48 AM PST by Pyro7480
Any fans of Discovery Channels 'Storm Chasers' on here? I really enjoyed last season, and this season has been a blast so far. The scientists and filmmakers are a really interesting group of people.
I am, but I don’t have cable. I see it when I visit my parents.
Didn’t catch last season but caught a marithon a few weeks ago and was hooked. Cool show.
You have FR mail.
I’ll take a look. I do like storm shows.
I wasn’t really a “fan” of twister sisters but I found that one had really incredible photography. When I watched that one, I wish I had HD.
I like the show, as i like most of th stuff on Histrory and Discovery channels.
What’s up with a $100,000 TIV2 and they can’t keep the friggin wheels on the thing? Losuy design that I am damn glad I don’t have to risk my life in!
I watch Storm Chasers on occasion and always enjoy it. Have recently watched several shows, but missed the one that they encountered in Stuttgart, Arkansas this year and I was really wanting to watch that episode. That tornadic cell came very close to the Baptist Hospital where I was visiting my sister, in west Little Rock. I was praying the whole time that it would miss the hospital. It did, but not by much. I wonder if there’s a streaming video of that show anywhere on the net?
You have FR mail.
I’m watching the show, but so far I have found it a bit of a disappointment. The only tornado footage I’ve seen so far has been from ten miles away. The constant breakdown of equipment shows an unprofessional, unprepared group that is wasting huge sums of money. I mean come on, this guy has been trying to get footage inside the tornado for *5 years* and they still can’t keep their radar or truck operational? You would think after the radar broke down for the 100th time, they would figure out that it was not properly constructed for the harsh conditions of the road, and they would have fixed it.
I guess you didn’t see last night’s episode then.
Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs are my favorite shows. Discovery is a good channel.
I did. I saw footage from 10 miles away, and some blurry footage of rain in the dark.
The TVN crew was right by a tornado on last night’s episode.
Oh, true, they were right under some developing tornadoes, although they “roped out” and never touched down. I was referring to the main crew, the one headed by Josh. My main complaint is that every episode, there is another game-ending equipment breakdown.
I’m watching it, but it seems mostly a show about incompetence. Maybe that’s just how the producers interpret it for us.
The team with all the expensive trucks and gear seem particularly inept at doing anything.
The other team reminds me of college kids shot up on speed. They are entertaining.
Still, I keep watching, hoping to see the TIV flying through the air.
This week’s display of “driving prowess” was just the latest example. If I’m a stormchaser in Kansas, I think I’ve got a truck with 4-wheel drive, and have trained to drive on dirt roads, since that’s what the job requires.
But if everybody knew what to do, we couldn’t all laugh at the guy sliding his truck into the ditch.
Last point: I notice that the one guy calls 5 out of ever 1 tornado.
Meaning for about every 5 times he says ‘look, there’s a tornado forming now’, he’s right about 1 out of those 5 times.
I was wondering why they didn’t have an internet connection as a backup so they could get radar when their radar was broken.
I thought it was funny right at the end, when they put the computer back in the truck, it still didn’t work, and they were saying something like “why did it work in his shop, but not in the truck”.
Then it turned out it was a bad monitor? I didnt’ quite catch that, but that’s what my daughter said. Something stupid, like every breakdown they have.
Did they get some public grant money for all of their equipment? They just remind me of a team of people who are better at getting people to give them money for equipment than in actually accomplishing anything.
I brake for softball-sized hailstones.
Love how they armor-up the chase vehicles and they still come back smashed to heck after hitting a nasty downfall of chunks of stuff..
I also notice that for a meteorologist, Josh seems to have issues with figuring out that tornadoes favor the southern storm. It is extremely common for the farthest south storm to choke off all the others around it.
I chase too. Haven’t in years, but its not difficult. Boring on the driving part, but picking the right storm isn’t rocket science.
Also on the TIV - yeah. It will quite likely get thrown through the air. There are plenty of cases of train cars getting blown around like toys that weigh a hell of a lot more than a truck with steel welded to it.
Discovery aired that episode several times over the weekend. Keep checking the listings.
The TVN guys work entirely off a (cellular) Internet connection. And from what I can see they have a much better success rate than Josh and his squadron of pansies. If I were the IMAX guy, I would ditch Josh and hook up with the TVN guys.
We never tried to get in the storms like the storm chasers do now, because we wouldn't get a decent picture due to the rain and dust.
Thanks. Will check for it.
I watched it last season and swore I would never waste another minute of my life on it.
My husband and daughters think I am nuts. Storms chasers inspired me to take storm spotter training and obtain my amateur radio license.
I have promised to stay home close to the basement when I am babysitting for the grandkids.
I don’t know why the didn’t just use laptop computers. Not militarized rugged, but probably lots better than the desktops they are trying to use.
And my guess is the IMAX guy needed the larger truck for his big camera, and figured anyway that the guys with all the cool electronics would do a better job.
And I’m not sure getting my film done would make it worth having to listen to those TVN guys for hours. I have to think that if the little bit they show is annoying, it must be a lot worse in steady hours-long streams.
Still, I know that if I could, I would hop in the truck with the TVN guys for a day. That’s my personality.
That one was disastrous.
Wow, strong reactions on both sides. ;-)
“””Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs are my favorite shows. Discovery is a good channel.””””
I agree. What little TV I watch is DC. The only thing I don’t like is the commercials. There are so many of them. And if I flip to DC from another channel, I can pretty much bet myself that a commercial will be on. Other than that its good.
Pyro, to each his own, but I hate that stormchaser show. I always hope its not on when I sit down. Bring back Deadliest Catch!
Interesting program (I was in a house when a tornado destroyed it) and one the kids can watch.
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