The History and Evolution of Storm Chasing

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Content
0:00 intro
3:12 Tornado Chasing Prehistory
4:23 Storm Spotters
6:00 Roger Jensen
6:35 David Hoadley
7:48 Neil Ward
8:52 Tornado Intercept Project - Union City Tornado
10:18 Other Tornado Research Projects
10:58 Storm Chasing in Popular Culture
12:16 Twister 1996 Film
13:08 Tornado Intercept Vehicles
14:42 Storm Chasing on the Internet
15:41 Dangers of Storm Chasing and the Twistex Team

Links:
In Search of... Tornadoes

Nova 1985 Documentary

Reed Timmer Footage of Steve Green

#tornado #stormchasing #storm

[captainminecraft]

Fun fact: Twister was the first movie in the USA to be released on DVD!
Edit: It wasn't, but it was one of the first.

[kakkykebs]

The wizard of Oz tornado actually terrified me as a 4 year old to the point where I was afraid of wind, I was convinced I would blow away with just a small gust. That fear eventually evolved into an absolute fascination with weather and tornados and that crazy energy jolt when the sirens go off 🤩

[bsholmire]

I was on my lunch break today thinking "I have a feeling swegle is gonna upload today". I just got home from work and I have been blessed.

[lhiiiz]

That photo of the tornado hitting the base in 1943 - did you pull that off Reddit? My grandfather took that picture! I have the original, and it was such a trip to see it in this video! I loved seeing it here. Love your content!

[smallwhitegnome]

For some reason ben franklin seems like he would have reed timmer energy

[chowo]

I gotta admit I LOVE your backdrop. I love all the items you have on display and the furniture is beautiful. The vibes fit your content very well

[davidcubero]

I became interested in Weather in general while as far back as I can remember, I went flying with my Dad, a WW II U.S. Army Air Corp Combat Pilot & General Aviation Recreational Pilot. I remember observing that different Weather Conditions caused us to have different kinds of rides in my Dad's collection of Airplanes. At a very early age I learned of Thermals, (Updrafts & Downdrafts, ) which caused us to have Bumpy Rides.
We were a Puerto Rican Jewish Israeli Family, so we also got a fair share of Wind Shear. Tornadoes are rare in Puerto Rico, but in 1973, My Parents & I moved briefly to New York then to Xenia Ohio just in time to Survive The April 3rd, 1974 Xenia F-5 Tornado. My Parents had just bought our house in The Arrowhead Subdivision. While our house was completely disassembled from around us, Miraculously we survived completely uninjured!!!
The next day I decided that I would become a Meteorologist, although I had to wait a few years, as I was just 11 years old when the Tornado Hit us.
But I also wanted to be a Pilot. I became a Licensed Glider Pilot at The Age of 14, I Soloed in A Powered Airplane on my 16th Birthday, I received My Airplane Private Pilot License at age 17, & later that same year I earned my Commercial & Instrument Ratings. From there I had to work my way up to Multiengine Ratings, Turbo Prop Ratings & Jet Ratings, which as it turned out, my Dad owned all three types of Airplanes. I just had to get Instruction Time in each of these Airplanes, which I did while I was attending UCLA earning my Degree in Meteorology. I was going for my Master's Degree in Meteorology.
However my goal was to become an Airline Pilot, which I did until I retired, taking time off in The Spring to Chase Tornadoes. I was most interested in Researching The Same Thing that Tim Samaras was working on, to provide understanding of The Dynamics that occur at The Lower Levels Of Tornadoes, with The Hopes of Providing Structural Engineers & Architects with information that would lead to The Development of Tornado Resistant Homes & Public Buildings.
Now, getting older, but still in Retirement from 40 years of Flying Airliners. As a Pilot, I worked in The Level of The Atmosphere where Weather Forms, giving me incredible insight into The Weather.
Yes, I saw The Wizard Of Oz, & Perhaps that influenced me to a certain degree, but I didn't speak English yet, so My Parents explained everything to me in Spanish.
But for me, I look to Personal Experiences as my primary catalyst for my dual-faceted Career.
I don't put videos on Social Media, I'm extremely Computer Literate, but I do Put Tornado Warnings on my Facebook Page.
This past Saturday Evening, in Oklahoma, I was too busy with avoiding Multiple Nocturnal Tornadoes to even post Tornado Warnings.
I stopped my Chase at about midnight & went back to help in any way that I could, namely in The Sulfur Area! I was taken aback by The Total Devastation there.

[Cinnabuntastic]

My folks are familiar with Ryan Hall; he used to be a meteorologist out of their part of the country. We rely a lot on his weather forecasts too. He does SO much good work for communities hard hit by severe weather and honestly, mad respect for that. We didn't get to use it, but we bought one of his Y'all-o-meters for snowfall this past year lol... the money goes to a good cause!

That being said, the work these guys do is intense and I could NEVER. Putting their lives on the line to get data that will (hopefully) ultimately lead to better forecasting and prediction models to save more lives in areas both hard hit by tornadoes and those that may see one rarely. Putting in the real work out there.

[vicariously]

I love when you release new videos. Thank you for your calm, informative content with your unique charm. You're one of my top 5 favorite creators.

[jpgcne]

Nice reel it back moment there at the end. Thanks for the awesome video, sir. ❤

[malarky]

Those re-enactments are so realistic, I would’ve thought you traveled back in time

[HRJofficialYT]

Do you think you could make a video about the plainfield F5? it is a very significant tornado and changed storm chasing and weather culture, it also hits close to home personally.

[simonwyndham]

No mention of Roger Hill?! Once held (or maybe still does) the record for most tornados seen by one person, 676 at the time of the record! Think Roger was the first to run storm chasing tours.

[diveintomonza]

I got my interest in tornadoes from a piece of media you didn’t mention. In the 2005 movie Sharkboy and Lavagirl, one of the first scenes has their school teacher looking out of the classroom window at some dark clouds. He then asks the class, while still looking at the sky, “Class, who here knows how a tornado forms?” He then goes on to describe how hot air mixes with cold air and and ‘chases each other around and around, to form a tornado’. Not 5 minutes later, their classroom gets struck by a tornado, blowing out all the windows, flickering the lights, and everyone running for cover. It’s a scene that has stuck with me ever since, to the point where I even reference it from time to time in peak storm chasing season.

[MeganLyle]

Thank you so much for that educational trip down memory lane! It was great!

[starwarsidiot]

Hey dude! I know this’ll go unseen but I love the way your channel grew since I was here last!
I could’ve sworn I came upon your channel when you were only at 13-15k, and now seeing you above 200k is amazing! We need more tornado/weather content on YouTube like yours!

[KentuckyWallChicken]

I’m definitely in the crowd of people whose fascination of tornadoes started with The Wizard of Oz, which I watched a million times when I was little. Then my fascination picked up more with the show Storm Chasers, and I wanted to be one myself up until I experienced my own tornado at age 11 and realized I wasn’t mentally cut out to be one. Now, almost 14 years later, I get to “storm chase” from the safety of my home outside of tornado alley with livestreams. (Got to witness many of the significant events of the first half of the April 2024 outbreak 3 days ago via livestream.) It’s amazing how much the scene has evolved in 20 years and I can’t wait to see what’s next! (I also may storm chase myself one day, but only if it involves waterspouts way off the coastline.)

[CHAstaroth]

Great a new tornado sience channel 😍 subscription is out.

[annelisewilliams]

Sweet! A Swegle Studios video on my birthday!

[ArkonArchive]

Is that a Commodore Monitor in the background??