Storm Kings

                                    
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Transcript for file: focus140305a.mp3

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in his book Storm King America’s First 2002 Sears lease and wind give the sand

the American history of storm chasing the says when settlers first encounter tornadoes

they had no idea what they were seeing someone to talk about the beginnings of 20 casein you really

really talking about a guy on horseback riding along side the small the sower on focus

KSOL talk with you about our first encounters with tornadoes and about the scientist who made it

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mission to understand then I’ll talk with Jeffrey Freeman atmospheric science

scientist you have been chasing hernias in 2004 the scientist he says there’s something new

the storm chaser says he seduced by the adrenaline

turned off on the side road came over the cylinders is Big Town tornado sitting there

probably 45 miles away idea was there I’m in the moon

that’s coming up on focus after this news good

good morning welcome to focus on when the moon a tornado is a violently rotating column of air that

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what comes in contact with the ground is the thing on every continent except Antarctica Anderson

very is measured on a scale of 1 to 5 I looked it up on google it was pretty easy information

information to find after release and wins bookstore in Kings America’s first tornado

chasers I feel lucky to be able to have easy access to information on American soil

consolers first encounter tornadoes airboat intrigue and horrified by the storm

I have no idea what they were the Sandlin right in his book store in Kings it was early America

Americans who started moving to the Midwest and became interested in tornadoes form prediction in the closet

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the causes of severe wins on the Prairie WI Sandlin joints me now to talk about tornadoes in our history

history with them from Kings now in paperback Lee welcome to focus

I want to start out at the very beginning Ben Franklin play the role in the store

industry like he doesn’t need to do with at beginnings of research about science can you tell me about

about how he contribute to Charlie research about tornadoes important

porn for two reasons for purely scientific reason which is he was the first

the first person to try in your eyes how tornadoes Overland work

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people know about waterspouts a sailor’s hat seen them travelers in the trap

tropics it in the b*** weather to the words similar farms Overland was

was when he was writing still kind of a I’m a matter of up selling

extremely important for the first scientific search for 20

so in a strange way the first tornado chaser I found in his course

correspondence letter where are described scene with small tornado

form while riding through the country in countryside Maryland

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and he wrote after it on horseback so when you talk about the beginnings of 20

chasing you really talking about a guy on horseback riding along side the small funnel

when is lottery claim the last the final with his riding crop to see if you get this

get the final break up with him it was around the time

looking into if the water south exit on when did we get the word 28

tornado 2013 being used where does that word come from older work

word which is Wizard of Oz the word for the head of the something to do to apply

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apply it to a $20 were the chosen in England in English

in the beginning of the seventeenth century is the term for storm at sea

see it did not mean at that point what we think of is a tornado

tapirs to amend to the sailors to the term for when driving

country directions thing is that up Franklin

is letters said that he called what he was looking for land spout

out by melody with water spouts and he said I’m specifically not

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not talking about tornado because he thought tornadoes and mend this kind of

little whirlwind see and not what we think of now

so the term kind of floating around in front of the peculiar about doing research

search on the subject is that it wasnt really until the middle of the 19th century

the term got properly for fixed to what we think of tornadoes

is all crimes words to describe what does the parking

Kames the call the movie 12 Gales the coldest wind storms

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um so when you’re reading research in the early records weather

very hard to know what they were talking about I think it’s interesting you mention at 20

2800 with curly word to describe the direction of wins as we get a little bit further along

how long is progression of what we know about pretty is there was a lot of controversy about how the wind movie

how that create a tornado can you tell me about that yeah during the early 19th century

feud violence in Santa Fe fisticuffs but the

impassioned feud between to the leading scientist Sun weather in America

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over the nature of what the the wind did the tornado the leading expert

f*** that the one with the surrounding air was drawn into a tornado and went straight up

laid off without rotating and his opponent thought the tornado

rotated but the air to rise so they were is partially right hand purse

impartially wrong and their fight with so um

sewing Passion Pit divided up the entire scientific community in America

Erica from Sydney with paralyzed American meteorology for the better part of a generation

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the to f*** that you mentioned got involved that was the storm or after

New Year’s and James Espeon William Bradford with the 29 to see you talking about

really does play a large role in beginning urology in United States Yahoo

yeah it was a brilliant man he was the first person really understand the nature of

convection which is a core scientific principle in meteorology you can’t

can’t understand the action of the atmosphere without it showing that since Ohlone should be remembered

but on the other hand he was also a man who will win the presidency

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can someone sign test for this but he simply had no interest in listening to people

agreed with them so in the case of tornadoes he had the

insight as to what they were which was the rise in column A Bear police

used to believe that can rotate in fact when people would say I saw it

and I saw the wind Spenny tell them that they were wrong who winded me c**

we come to agreement attorneys do actually rotate and the fact is the winter movie

rotation of the core defining well it was what is

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what happened is that as others studies when Im more MORE

one more direct observation of 2828

2800 of the Passover Philadelphia actually around the middle of the 19th century

and a large group of scientists other people interesting Weather Watch

what is happening from the roof of the University in the clearly saw that the final

was rising and was also rotating and so it seems like that

finally became minutes capable what the nature of a tornado watch

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was and there was a man named up

how many morning Ferrell actually was the first person to work out the physics of it

exactly wrong but it was right and mouth

so that was able to spark on a is the sudden resurgence

research on tornadoes so that was really where we begin to get the modern state of Israel

the second of the 19th century so when William Fairland does enter the picture

rollin research into tornadoes in part because of the Civil War

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after the Civil War when a lot of people started homestead and move to the American Midwest on the Prairie is win

is when there was a lot of attention again being paid to tornadoes wind

settlers got to the Midwest what did the Native Americans tell them about the storm

because with this at the time when the Native Americans were given by step

The Settlers of that wasn’t on extended period when they were willing to do with the world

what is a while before they really realize that the settlers were up to theta

they told someone a practical knowledge of tornadoes

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a lot of really horrible advice they told the settlers

to build their there villages at the junction of rivers because they said 20

20 discount talk Crosswater which is completely fall um b***

what is the beginning of bad tornado advice which is something

continue through to this day is there any information that they were given that was useful

well you know what are the practical things that the Native Americans new with you

with you was that the best way to take shelter from the tornado when you’re in the open country

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country with to get is close to the ground as possible and probable preferably do with dick

ditcher depression in the ground but that was in that still use atrilli

the best way to survive a tornado open country people of the stadia that they should make for

furthest things like a freeway overpass is but those are horrible places

Stride Rite a tornado the best things to get out of your car and look for

depression is shallow but some kind of fella depression on the ground and lie flat

misinformation information about tornadoes in a book you also write about winter

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the settlers were moving to the Queen became quickly annoyed of the storm

because when they move they haven’t really been informed if you’re going to have to go

surprise when I saw him and yeah and

and more than the other problem was that umm the National Weather Service

did not have a great policy about tornado information

is there actually tried to avoid talking about tornadoes and Part B

hard because they were being pressured by the government and the real estate interest not

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not to talk about tornadoes because the wanted didn’t want to discourage people from buying land

when did the Prairie season of the mid to late 1800’s yeah all of the Damned

mention tornadoes begin them but it actually lasted until after world

World War 2 National Weather Service never predicted 20 years and effect

after a lot of those years collected no information of tornadoes it all the single Corp

corpse was one of the group that was actually collecting report about tornadoes when were

were the actors in collecting nose and what started the federal government interest in

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trying to forecast for you well this is the only the sense in

DMV in Back to the early days of the Republic that

people find weather information valuable but it wasn’t until the arrival of the Telegraph

system which began in the 1850s

earlier but it became more of a national network start in the 1850s that

that became practical to get real time tornado real time weather information and the Smiths

Smithsonian Institution begin collecting weather data and me

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making forecast and the civil court upset over after the Civil War

andis Masonic got out of the weather business for Friday reasons

looking for a new job after the war was over the

the for the peacetime occupation and they became became

name the facto National Weather Service the first wave of it and see

and so they were collecting information and they have the net worth of telegraph around the country

trail ready to begin collecting massive amounts of data Andaz Apna collecting

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electing it began collecting information on violin weather and of course in the Midwest

left of tornadoes are the frequency current release

really pretty unusual and um so in the 1870s really was

what is when they begin systematically trying to figure out how bad tornadoes were and Howell

what might cause im so that’s when you really find the beginnings of systematic

study of tornadoes that lasted until they get the Chillrend the end of the night

end of the 19th century when some of that early research started to be done

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black talking about when you’re trying to figure out what cause numb what were some of the early series

well you know that the basic model for tornadoes with

Wasington fact long was worked up a meterologist like a sphere

lesbian Redfield we were talking about the understudy in principle the basic mechanism

tornadoes that it was the question of two air masses hot air from

hot humid air coming up Gulf of Mexico and Cole dryer

fire coming from Canada so theres did they didn’t have a

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have a specific mechanism work out the fog alot of ideas

which Christensen some of the ideas of the head no friends

basis persisted for the better part of the century when I was a kid

I heard that 27 struck off because a vacuum at the corner

are the formal and is it passes over house the is the pressure inside the house pushes out

southward into the vacuum and causes the house to explode when I was a kid I was told

does told people to Portola school the singer supposed to do with open up the windows of the house

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how steep 10 pressure this is completely fall and

um is in fact incredibly dangerous to do to waste time

should be taking shelter open up windows but that was the best advice a head in the 1960s

60’s and that Siri actually Richmond 1870 s and ending

never been tested and it never been rejected so bad

advice before that’s one of the temples of it where I live that was just the Spectre

speculative notion of the 1870s persisted until recently in the car

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in the course of your research is there a one piece of information that you are most shocked by

um I think well in all tell you something I didn’t get into the book

the book because it just happened last spring but umm when the the Moore

Oklahoma tornado remember when there was a tree

extremely destructive tornado and the local weather people are telling people to get in their car

cars and drive away from it a car is a catastrophically bad place to train

can write a tornado and it really stoned me that people would be on television

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vice that that was really just ignoring you responsible

and so it surprises me really at how little anything is changed

um presently quite a lot that discovered the Strand

Midwest talking people but when it is for this book is that

getting over bills and the new construction no one is to

is taking the trouble to include any kind of storm shelter on

and so it feels like we’re going backwards in 20 to prepare

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interesting that there’s this thing is misinformation because there’s also this pain throughout history

this research that people are really interested in me stop caring for someone comes along

blonde takes it back up yeah that’s when we get reinfected um mean revenge

talking about the modern era between like the 60’s and today has there been at

Matt urban flow of research in entry well the movie

huge spike of interest in tornadoes in the last couple of decades NE

number of of genuine advances in 20 to study

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and that can be traced one factor specifically and that’s the Advent

the video camera um because for the first time we have a very

very large library of tornado images because

because people for easy to forget that because you can go on YouTube and you can spend

hours watching tornadoes call is the genre of the sceptical

the cult p******* um and that’s very new

renew when I was a kid it was an extremely where them for somebody even have a clear

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photograph of a tornado they were completely mysterious and now

we’ve got this this this not as mysterious now because we got

Scott visual records of themself alot of the original ideas about tornadoes this car

discarded um and that Spanish lady with huge spike

I want to revisit when we were talking about that was on the Prairie

tornadoes I was really fascinated by the description of wind

wind road in settlers moving out in calorimeter big package

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the Prairie where the graph with gone yeah and enforce to these long

long trail 3/4 world the trees in down before

we need before I just before people knew the dust storms were the reasons for that

what were some of the reasons to why does exist in the sense that it was clearly something

quotes by the wind witches weather wind road um but what

what’s specific way it because the people found completely Mysterio

. Um this is where the word got the title from the book

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f*** is that there was a third of folklore creatures called um Storm King

that they thought it take to seriously but they were you find poems for people wrote about

about the Storm King was riding through the forest in the Wiz China

giant horse the tour through the trees that left the trail down um so

so um so I think it was really um

this is the thing that people have the sense that the American landscape was very mysterious

and I took a lot of concerta what’s the weather like in stairs

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what about tornadoes people still don’t know um so I’ll b***

when you look back of those times has won t find the beginning of the mystery in the sense that

something to be song  you also right about the early

tales of work elected where was always someone in a town

is never really quite got over what happened at the post traumatic stress

stress disorder but it was the 19th century

word for stupid things people are surprised by a horse ride by the tornados

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over the years yeah I think so because of the tornado and less

you actually see it first hand is the stomach

level destruction and how fast it happens on em

and that is something that people work Whitestone

Midwest and is still really can be quite shocking

first and is just the way ur destructive power

of the tornado in a biscut extraordinary Vyalitsyna for small space

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um that that remains really did it this time

the thing that lasts about tornadoes in people’s month I was released

surprised to find out that we didn’t really take tornado prediction seriously until afternoon

after 1950 yeah yeah well the cilia Hmong the people of Minnesota

Weather Service was that is impossible to predict a tornadoes path of Exile

exactly that uh uh a bad forecast was worse than 04

forecast all and you know this is 220

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2000 production is still very much

quite with the word is here its not there really isn’t such a

such a thing as a tornado prediction now even now you can predict the likely conditions

missions for tornado but the the possibility of saying that particular storm

storm cell is going to spawn a tornado in the the next

next 6 hours is really is still not true weeks still can’t do that

soul of a prediction really now involves a 20 LB number

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the ground in predicting work might go as opposed to the storm is going to

going to perform at a certain point  the signal Corp

were the first one to really started up weather alert system set of flags

there still confusion today at exist between the difference between a warning and a watch how did the

the weather forecasting alert develop food came out of the

this problem I’m talking about which is the difficulty making a specific prediction the idea original

originally was that if you knew that they were the general conditions existed for $20 like

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is likely to form wood called out of watch aria and talking about

talking about how people have had little progress it should be pointed out that those watch

watch areas are actually extremely well done now

how is very very rare for $20 Crofts

the watches which said the conditions are there were tornado quad form

warnings Richmond to 20 axle on the ground and people Arkansas

are confused by it and I know that they are numbered meteorologist now you say we really gotta give

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how to get rid of the system come up with something else that people can really understand because

because one of the problems that always happens when there’s a tornado is a huge amount of c**

confusion and which of incomplete affect Alex

when I first saw the title of the book America’s first tornado chasers I expect a lot more about

about people actually getting out in a car and driving after 22 the video camera Yahoo

that does not come until much later in the story then were those first orgy

looking at hernias well its started as soon as they had

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bad um some kind of sense of love being able to do it

court it so that when I come home movies

start in the 19 fifties and a little later in the 1960’s

going out with cameras to film by storms today was really the beginnings of it

the breakthrough with the introduction of Doppler radar what happened to me

19 seventies when it really became widespread because it was the first time you could use

use radar to track a tornado on the ground and that was really the first time

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people going hunting tornadoes were they would be able to know where to look specific

walking away from the process of rain for talking with people

Midwest what is the misconception that still exist in the most

understanding of 20 as well people do have the side ear

Mansion earlier that the best place to hide from a tornado in the open country is under freeway

freeway overpass a stress two listeners the horrible place to hide because

freeway overpass to act like a wind tunnel so it’s at the Wynn can actually speed up

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opposites passing under the bridge and um so you seen videos

videos of people having there they were the people who survived books stored Maryland Waukee

um they’re so that’s one thing the other thing that um

I keep on hearing from people is like in the southwest corner

corner of the basement the something that is it around there again from the 19 century

when I was a kid doesn’t really matter what are the basement is it 10 things that is low

is little known about tornado fatalities discovered in Alaska

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almost all the deaths caused by tornadoes a close by flying debris

and so the best possible thing you can do tornado is imminent

is to take shelter somewhere where there no windows you want to protect yourself from fun

Wonder Bread commercial things to remember if your face with a tornado

when you finish the research for the buck you mention that there were still think that we don’t know about tornadoes what were

what were some of the questions that you have to dress well is a civic VP Singh is king

tornado Genesis which is what is Zac trigger mechanism

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mechanism is the causes a tornado to form and people really surprised to hear

we still don’t really know what that is and it’s not just we don’t know we never really

really know I say that I want to stress The Tomorrow of a research

researcher that the National Service storms laboratory about but its all

also I dive talk to 22 people who said we may never get to the point

or we know exactly where the tornado is going to form an exactly why

thank you very much for taking a few minutes to talk with me about drinking stay in my place

00:25:35

the moon sitting in Virgina does and today on focus I’ve been talking with Lee sandwich

about his book Storm King America’s first 20 chasers we’re going to take a short break

when we come back I’ll talk with Jeffrey frame clinical assistant professor about the spirit signs

the University of Illinois he is a storm chaser day without your listening to focus on

wiol AM 580 welcome back to focus on

the moon in Virginia does so far this hour we’ve been talking about tornadoes and how we know what we do about

do about why they happen for the break I was talking with Lee sandwich of the book storm kings

00:26:10

America’s first tornado chasers Jeffrey frame clinical assistant professor about missing your ex

sciences at the University of Illinois who is a strip joint now he’s been chasing severe storms

internecine 2004 Jeff Wilkins Highland ca thanks for having me on

thanks for being here today so I’m really are we were talking about tornadoes in a lot about

how we know we know about them so I guess a good place to start my baby can you tell me meteorologically

what is a tornado and why did they happen yeah absolutely tornadoes defined as

find is violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground

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pendant from a cumulonimbus cloud what does that mean in English well it means a

is a tornado we have air spinning around a rotating very fast I think most of you probably

probably knew that but these rotating column very much to send from cumulonimbus

Olympus Club under storm clouds are informally we call them Thunderhead

important to know that the tornado is the rotating when did self its not

not the funnel cloud that you might think of when somebody says tornadoes throat

rotating winds that actually posted in the closet self how many tornadoes do

00:27:20

does do we usually get that touchdown and can be defined as a tree with your Illinois Illinois season

is an average 3520 does each year SMU that says long term average of courses

horses some years might be a little more active than and some years might be a little bit more quiet than that

and we get more tornadoes and some other place is the last Cincinnati Ohio

example Reithoffer Gampel tornadoes are most common in what we call Tornado Alley the run from

from roughly from Nebraska down south to Texas from eastern Colorado usual

usually Easton to Missouri others another maximum in tornado current across the South

00:27:55

southeastern US Arkansas Mississippi Alabama places like that that’s taken informal

formal name Dixie alley over the past couple of years places like the East Coast Inn

especially the West Coast California Oregon and Washington tornadoes airfare

Fairly in common but they’re not unheard of actually last Friday night there is a tornado

Sacramento California wide is the Midwest get more tortillas another right

right places country really the answer goes back to geography and you think about

about what are the ingredients you need for a tornado the number one thing you need is warm moist

00:28:30

stare at the surface in at warm moist air axis fuel for thunderstorms CA can

can have a tornado without a thunderstorm BetUS

amount of instability we call it energy to build up in the atmosphere

we get these layers of air coming east of the Rocky Mountains in the temperature in those

airg 33 rapidly with height in that allows the instability really build up

build up in the atmosphere to some pretty high levels of it like putting apps

Decathlon the stove and you can have a gradual release of energy

00:29:05

don’t try this at home but if you were to take a cork and put it in the spider that tea kettle

eventually get explosive release of energy and the second ingredients needed

vertical wind shear in at the change in wind speed for winter rection with

tight end with a thunderstorm forms in an environment able to talk

horizontal rotation imagine a rolling pin or something rotating around a horizontal

Laxus that into the vertical for the entire thunderstorm cloud

loud starts rotating and these are called supercell thunderstorms

00:29:40

forms to look at them on radar they dont look like hurricanes like something you might think

what they have a distinctive hook shaped echo usually on the southwest

west corner the third ingredient we need for thunderstorms and tornadoes

does a trigger how to make deer go up in that can be something like a cold front

it could be something like a leftover boundary of cold air left over from the previous state storms

or hospital the dry line which is coming from Kansas to Oklahoma in Texas

Texas where you get a confluence of warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico in hot dryer

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coming together for the desert Southwest on the old method warm air plus cold

tornadoes is your status a myth that were true we were seen a big tornado

Sunday in the didn’t when temperatures drop 50 to 60 degrees in 24 hour

24 hours across parts of Texas another part of the country singer sings you mention that cold air

cold air plus one equal tornado that is what I thought for really long time earlier I was talking

talking about misconceptions about tornadoes what is the one that you were interned with most of

post office near ologist what we hear that won a lot  folks

00:30:50

folks riding sometimes in the medial sable why was there a big tornado outbreak

no warm air plus cold air equals 20 toes swell when warm and cold

Kohler meet you get from cold fronts warm fronts in Ocean Beach triggers for Airtel

where to rise in the atmosphere how far is Apple last November 17th at big tornado watch

breaker Illinois that was triggered by a cold front that’s not always the case trial

941 meat warm air can also trigger tornadoes

talking about this I wish I could see you can you look really excited to YM

00:31:25

you’re very passionate dreams you chase storms yourself what does when I go out and chase

chase storms and not just in it for the tornado its it’s kind of a double edged sword

what does adrenaline rush looking at a tornado looking at the power of nature as long as you do it

you do it from St distance I’m not one of these extreme chasers you might hear about

I’m going right up to it going into a 2000 credible incredibly dangerous

so you’re able to witness the majesty in the beauty of nature and

and majesty of the atmosphere which I understand a fairly 5

00:32:00

fundamental level down to the mathematical equations of government

even if you don’t see a tornado these rotating storms called supercells

cells can be absolutely majestic because the entire cloud road

rotates hand usually when you see free sample online videos if its a timelapse

lapse video so it’s a little bit but sometimes the cloud look like a stack of dinner plates

plates words extreme events like a UFO flying saucer

I’m up there in the atmosphere only its not aliens its it’s the storm itself

00:32:35

imagine a couple different from the book like do all forms of the same no

storms are kind of like people in a way in it to peoples faces Neverland

what the same except for twins to storms never look the same

and when I go online and eye brows pictures of storms ur when I see pictures of store

storms on television if I seen that storm I can almost instantly recognizable

recognize it you go out you look at the storms sometimes you can look at a singles

single storm for a period 5 hours persist if it isn weighted if its slow moving

00:33:10

moving talk to to Wii um about the fact that a lot change

what we know about storms when we can take pictures of them c10 more time looking at them

umm when you look at a photo of a storm what are you looking for

tornadoes in Gifford and Brittany date just like one of them looks like its raining

the other one looks like on a little bit more rain there’s a cloud in an alternator

don’t really know what do you look for right if you’re looking for store introduce a tornado

tornado the first thing you would look for is a supercell thunderstorm it’s one of those storms entire cloud

00:33:45

louder the entire  pluma Frisinger the pizza store

everything rotates and you can look for the hook shaped signature on radar which tells you

supercell you can look for rotation on radar hey we have a supercell

but if that’s super cells to produce a tornado Hot 100 floors level rotation a cloud

cloud base in offense in most tornadoes form from water called wall cloud

what a wall cloud is its a lowered cloud down Bonita cloud base

sometimes wall plugs rotating sometimes they dont off the wall cloud

00:34:20

rotating probably isn’t any imminent danger from a tornado

what is rotating special effects rotating rapidly a tornado conformity

anytime in 20 does Canada have really really fast we have research

research Radarsat go out in Coonskin store in every 2 minutes

even then we say hey you know there’s a lot going on your knees 2 minutes sometimes tornadoes conform

form within a minute naps what happen in Gifford the atmosphere back on November 17th

that’s favorable for tornadoes to form out important to know

00:34:55

another misconception you can’t tell the strength of a tornado just by looking

looking at it I know they do that in twister in the movie that came out back in the 90’s all the time

all the time other lot of it’s a funny movie to watch believe me I love watching that movie

movie about there a lot of things scientifically wrong with it if you think that’s what store

Jason’s like its it’s a little bit different than the what is it really like the number

the number one thing it’s a lot of driving when I go out on Touhy trip suite General

generally average between five and six thousand miles driving in 2 weeks allow

00:35:30

are record was in May 2012 we actually putting 70 300 miles

in 2 weeks now I be sleepy don’t have only one person doing all that driving

driving but what its like is you wake up in the morning usually in a hotel room

can you put the weather the night before an over the last few days so you have some idea what the f

what the atmospheres doing some idea out where storms may be most likely

Kylie and we determine ok where do we think severe weather is most likely

both today and tomorrow in usually the next day

00:36:05

reply route we drive to wear store for most likely ideally we get there an hour

our 2 before storms form in Clovis free up and wait for because it

is it a lot better to sit around a gas station a truck stop McDonalds for a couple of hours

in wait for storms to form and say hey look at that store 150 mile

the miles that way it was really cool I wish we were there CN two and a half

2&a half hours so when you are out and you’re trying to chase a storm why are you chasing it

and how close do you get to them there several different reasons why people

00:36:40

go out and chase storms most of my first chases

route from 2004 to 2010 hour in the name of science I will take the

take the mobile Doppler radar another instrument vehicles out to the storm

get high resolution both in time and space radar data on the storm

determine why some of these rotating supercell thunderstorms priest tornadoes

ny some white some down in his culminated in 2009 and 2010

the 10 with a project called vortex to that stands for the verification of the

00:37:15

the origin of rotation in Forney does experiment to wear very creative with

acronyms in science and we have 30 to 40 vehicles going around

going around the storms Gathering integrated data sets to hopefully better answer that question

we can you know what we probably increase elite I’m on a tornado warnings

then beginning in 2011 the science project concluded for the tie

for the time being id lives in my second ear hear the vine I said you know

if you’re studying animals and you really want to learn about animals you’ll go to the zoo

00:37:50

zoo or you’ll go on safari in Africa you’ll go with it

if you’re studying geology anyone about rocks well you’ll go out to Utah

Utah are some places has the kind of rocks you want to look at you go out with the rocks

well if you want to go look at the store in about 40 out looking storms in lycra

like rocks unlike zoo animals storms move they don’t always form

insane places usually don’t I so that is where all the driving comes in

what’s it like to be next to storm like that I’m not going to

00:38:25

adrenaline rush like I said every storm with different

different and you don’t know now you have some idea what the chances of tornadoes

does might be that day but you don’t know if someone is going to produce a tornado or doesn’t

doesn’t c** blast may your on Kansas in real late starter

market data are van was in the shop at a cracked fuel pump rental 230 in the afternoon

afternoon fortunately or somewhere I wanted to be about an hour and half way we drove over there

where we watch this storm form your standing there watching the storm a true story

00:39:00

little fun with my said hey that look at that wall cloud over there top 6 miles away

few miles closer it looks like it might do something interesting who got the van Reed Road north

driving north on the road with line with hills and trees morning store chasers

chasers don’t like or Hills entries because they block you view and weed

and we turned off on the side road came over the cylinders is Big Town tornado sitting there probably

Ubly 45 miles away we had no idea it was there in Spanish

feel rite sitement that’s one of the things that the only thing we looking for

00:39:35

not all about tornadoes I want to cut in and f*** something to say

when you came across the sea between a credible excitement which beer a part of that

what if your right next to it if you’re not scared I think there’s something wrong with you but we were

we were 5 or so mild away from this tornado

in this particular tornado that wasn’t moving at a is very unusual this particular tornado

what really moving all I would you most tornadoes move from west Easter

Illinois southwestern NE that’s not always the case like I said by looking at

00:40:10

radar radar image of the story of some idea where the storms going in

if your right up next to it yeah that’s extremely dangerous and I know it

there’s some folks to go up that go that close usually to get video that is

is extremely dangerous to do and I would never do that

03 the weather for storm chasers who work for chili killed

last me for the first near Oklahoma City I saw that storm from behind

best of the storm we had a pretty bad you the tornado

00:40:45

through the rain but we were behind it it wasn moving atlas

and three of the storm chasers killed were their mission was science it was too

put probe to put scientific instruments in the path of the tornado

sounds pretty easy the tornadoes over here its moving this way just drop some of these

these things and get out of there with plenty of time to spare

bacon change their path in most tornadoes aren’t that why that particular 1 was

over 2 miles wide sexually put down something have

00:41:20

have the tornado go right over the difficulty think so their mission required to get up

get up very close to a tornado tornado

very large in very strong in there actually medical section 4 to Caesars

Cesar subway to seize like miniature 20 does rotating around the center of the tornado

tornado over a hundred miles an hour  fortunately they were

unable to get out of the way off of the tornado did one of those section 40

Car Show as in part of your world is a clinical professor University you take outs

00:41:55

students to go to TJ storms we we we don’t  when you say

chase storms it sounds like you’re driving after the storm in pregnancy we’re not

not doing that we we go out in the observed storms are we observe atmospheric

convection ok and still use to worry about what might happen if you guys did Macomb

misjudgement quote is the the sense of responsibility is ultimately there

I have years of experience in both decision making and in navigate

navigating Vehicles hopefully keep us out of harms way

00:42:30

and knowing that I’m the leader of the group in basically what I say goes

does um I’m very very careful not to do something that would make me

would make me uncomfortable me and you follow some basic safety rules for example you always

always try to leave yourself not one but to escape routes in paved road

who wrote you don’t want to get on a dirt road in the rain, turns into mud

especially down in Oklahoma Turks clay it turns into very very slick

mud in the ditch you don’t put yourself too close

00:43:05

close you don’t put yourself right in front of the tornado producing region of the sea

the storm you don’t drive up next to a tornado you stay out of the large hail

hail all of these things but the number one danger with

any kind of storm observation beat scientific ur educational or otherwise

is is just driving that many miles

miles are people next to storms doing stupid things to talk about

distracted driving with people you no texting while driving you don’t want to do that

00:43:40

checking the radar while you’re driving you don’t want to be staring at the store

the store while you’re driving you don’t want to not pull all the way of the country road

dont pull away from your car basic things like that

most dangerous part one thing I want to ask you as a journalist

this weird relationship with breaking news okay so when breaking news happens stares at adrenaline

when you were talking about exciting to be an environment where you’re trying to cover the things that also

breaking news happens sometimes because there something awful right that happened to Jeff

00:44:15

the Japanese tsunami you’re right you know war um so I

so I have this kind of love hate relationship with stuff like that do you feel that way all about tornadoes

does anybody think about the destruction of their causing when you’re out trying to figure them out for summer

absolutely Mitel you know the students before we go out in the field of classroom

classroom instruction on weather in forecasting in safety in all kinds of things

is a look if your you know we’re going to lunch at McDonalds

open some small town don’t walk around being so excited home answer

00:44:50

there could be big tornadoes today would that be so cool well if that’s your

that’s your farmer your small town you’re not going to be very excited about that

I wasn’t very excited to see that forecast for where I live

back on November 17th and when the tornadoes going on yes

yes there’s for some folks that’s what they’re looking for like I said that’s not my

my one goal of beautiful storm that doesn’t make a tornado can be very very

Mary rewarding to me what is Shakespeare’s just a little bit

00:45:25

a lot of the questions that we had over the years about tornadoes have come from people wanting

wanting to know when they’re coming so that they can get to safety how reliable is

Bible is weather prediction technology well yeah

relative interesting questions you ask in terms of looking

couple days out we generally a pretty good handles how winners going to be a

severe weather hurt when i do I break a couple days out sample the November 17th

how is forecasted of elevated risk assessor weather for Sunday

00:46:00

I’m at least 4 days out the National Weather Service in done that I remember I was watching

watching other computer models of the atmosphere come in and was really that Friday night

before the event I was sitting sitting at home Friday evening watching the models

cabin and I said well this looks like it could be a major severe weather

weather events that was forecasted saturday by The Weather Service

nn the new outlook came out how late Saturday night it was it was pretty chilly

preaching to read but it read conditions are favorable for multiple violent long

00:46:35

long track tornadoes across portions of Illinois and Indiana

exactly what did happen during the late morning in into the early afternoon

what that said the sciences nowhere near where we can say

tornado will hit Gifford on Sunday a tornado will hit near Villa Grove

The Grove on Sunday tornado will not hit champaign-urbana on Sunday

Sunday we can’t even do that you know a couple hours out

how not why not well thunderstorms and tornadoes

00:47:10

small scale phenomena there not very big, big tornado

tornadoes something that’s a mile wide most tornadoes ur no 10

50 yards wide somewhere in there thunderstorms and tornadoes

supercell for maybe 10 miles across time in India

the way the atmosphere works is the smaller the things are the less predictable they are in the shorter than

order they last something really big like a low pressure system

the swirling cloud from low pressure system getting Compass half the United States

00:47:45

who sings last for days halo is over Kansas today don’t move NE

up into Minnesota tomorrow we can predict that I’m fairly well but

where exactly will the thunderstorm bond for example one that cold

cold front when we can’t say that you’re giving a presentation about tornado preparedness the frightening

what are the most important things in order to be prepared

prepare for 30 right okay we’ll number one his if a tornado warning issued

don’t wait for the sirens if you hear the tornado warning issued

00:48:20

if you seek substantial shelter that means no mobile homes that means no cars

cars on the number to is get to the lowest floor of that Shelter

alter a preferably a basement in an interior room to the idea

is Brittany walls between the tornado when’s the right side in use possible

possible a basement for preferred but not every house has a basement

basement I forgot my house doesn’t have a basement I’m so good place to go to class

what are special eng interior bathroom I’m white bathrooms because the

00:48:55

the pipes are the metal pipe that run through the walls let’s go to provide extra

reinforcement to the walls another good thing to do if you’re at home

I’m getting the mattress for heavy blanket something that’s cushioning

but can also offer protection to your head and neck and body another real easy

easy tip is if you hurt when running in your home or you have it with you

put your bike helmet designs for protect you from impact if you fall off

all of your bike on so you know debris gets blown into your head help protect you from

00:49:30

take you from app that’s a really good thing in over her dead before it something that’s Weaver

we really only talked about for the last few years I don’t know if it’s a bird it’s really enGenius

and even if you don’t have a bike helmet if you’re really worried about tornadoes you can go out to the store and buy one for

one for probably 40 or 50 dollars another get a good idea to put your shoes on

IKS India likely that you do get hit by tornado

there’s going to be stuff everywhere to breed glass rocks

who knows what I’m thinking don’t want to be stepping on without you

00:50:05

Jeff thank you very much for doing me today a1 Lindsay thanks for having me out of my pleasure

Pleasure P Miley and I’ve been talking with half hour with Jeff refrain the storm chaser

chaser and clinical assistant professor of atmospheric science at the University of Illinois

giving a presentation this evening about tornado and severe weather preparedness at the Bech minutes

Instituto de Torreon in Urbana at 7 o’clock p.m. Detail worth noting there is free

free parking available at the you lie parking garage University in Matthews right next to the Bakken Center

tomorrow on the show Jeff Bhasker toxic Mycolog remember the University of Illinois

00:50:40

Illinois check to an editor of chest Life magazine about the world of collegiate chest

you’ve been listening to focus on w.i.l.l.i.a.m 580 again I’m with the moon Jason Crawford

Technical Director Ryan Weber is our intern thanks for joining us