Tornado Scientists Butt Heads With Storm Chasers

An anonymous reader writes "Tornado researchers say amateurs — inspired by movies like Twister and shows like Storm Chasers — are getting in their way, hampering science and creating hazards. 'Hundreds of camera-toting amateurs in cars ended up chasing the same storms as a fleet of scientific vehicles during the high-profile research project, called Vortex2, which wrapped up data collection this week. At times the line of traffic caused the Midwestern roads to look like the freeways of Los Angeles, said Roger Wakimoto, director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, during a briefing for reporters this week. "I worry about this as a safety hazard," Mr. Wakimoto said. "These people were blocking our escape routes because of the sheer number of cars."' Storm chasers say they have as much right to watch storms as Ph.D.s."

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Re:Storm chasers say they have as much right to wa

[CAIMLAS]

Get the PhD folks killed?

Who's to say the PhD folks won't get the other (yes, other) chasers killed? Just because you've got a fancy truck with fancy equipment (and the knowledge to use it) doesn't mean you're more important, less likely to fuck up, or more useful at the time in hand.

Honestly, the PhD types are less important, short term. It's frequently storm chasers who provide information on things like wind speeds, tornado class, damage, direction, videos, etc. to news agencies. These news agencies then report on these things immediately, helping save lives.

The PhDs can get stuffed: they're getting in the way of preventative emergency volunteer work with their silly long-term goals. They're like someone reading a barometer during a flood.