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Chasing Storms: Understanding Natural Hazards and Disasters Across the U.S.
164 Plays2 months ago
In this episode of States of Discovery, our hosts delve deep into the powerful forces of nature that shape the world we live in. Sara and Marisa explore the critical difference between natural hazards and natural disasters, discussing their causes, effects, and how we can stay prepared. From earthquakes to hurricanes, and from wildfires to floods, these events impact lives, ecosystems, and communities. Joining us are two special guests with firsthand experience in dealing with nature’s fury: a seasoned storm chaser who shares thrilling stories from the front lines of extreme weather, and a professional lifeguard and firefighter who provides essential safety tips on navigating rip currents.
What to Expect in This Episode:
- Natural Hazards vs. Natural Disasters: What distinguishes a natural hazard from a natural disaster, and why understanding the difference is key to preparedness.
- The Science Behind Natural Hazards: A breakdown of how natural hazards like tornadoes, earthquakes, and floods form, and the latest technology used to predict and respond to them.
- Lifeguard’s Rip Current Safety Tips: As hurricanes and tropical storms can intensify ocean conditions, our lifeguard guest provides practical advice on how to stay safe in the water, with critical tips on avoiding and surviving rip currents.
- Impact of Natural Disasters on Communities: We discuss the devastating effects natural disasters can have on local economies, infrastructure, and individual lives.
- Storm Chaser’s Perspective: Our storm chaser guest offers an inside look at the life of chasing tornadoes, hurricanes, and more, discussing the importance of weather prediction, safety measures, and the adrenaline that comes with this high-risk occupation.
Additional Resources:
- National Weather Service: www.weather.gov for storm alerts and safety guidelines.
- FEMA: www.fema.gov for disaster preparedness tips.
- Rip Current Safety: www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov for information on rip currents and water safety.
- Come Along On The Tornado Chasing Adventure Of A Lifetime Near Morton, Texas
- What You Should Know About Hurricane Preparedness, From Our Local Experts
Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review States of Discovery on your favorite podcast platform. We love hearing from our listeners, so share your own fair memories and suggestions for future episodes with us!
Connect With Us:
- Phone Number: 805-298-1420 - Leave us a message! We’d love to hear from you.
- Email: [email protected]
Tune in for a thrilling and informative episode that not only highlights the raw power of nature but also equips you with the knowledge to stay safe when nature turns dangerous!
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Transcript
00:00:07
Speaker
But typically, I'm out there just to experience it. Like, I want to be right up underneath the storm. I want to be feeling it. I want to be hearing it. I want to be experiencing it moment for a moment.
Introduction to 'States of Discovery'
00:00:18
Speaker
And it's just, man, there's there's no other feeling in this in this life that's like it.
00:00:33
Speaker
Welcome back to States of Discovery, the podcast where we delve into the diverse and often surprising elements that shaped the American experience. I'm Marissa, here with my co-host, Sarah. Hi, Sarah. Hey, Marissa. How are you? I'm doing well.
00:00:52
Speaker
Really excited to kick off this episode. I feel like this is something you and I talk about often, natural disasters. Yeah, natural disasters. You're right. um And really, we're diving into a topic that I think impacts all of us, no matter where we live. And I know each area of the country is a little bit different, um but we all experience different variations of nature's fury.
Natural Hazards vs. Natural Disasters
00:01:16
Speaker
So today we're going to be exploring the differences between what we call natural hazards and natural disasters in the United States, looking at their causes, impacts, and how we as individuals and communities can stay prepared.
00:01:30
Speaker
And I do have to say that ah on a personal level, I have this fascination with natural disasters. I always have. It's been something with me since I was a kid. I know that you do as well. We have talked about natural disasters and how they just regularly infiltrate our nightly dreams for both of us. I just wanted to ask for you, what is the most reoccurring natural disaster dream that you have?
00:01:57
Speaker
Oh my gosh. um So hiding from a storm or a tornado ranks right up there. I just had one the other night where I was, I've been reading too much about the Apophis asteroid flyby and also um impacts from celestial bodies. Also a fun one. Interesting. But usually me running and hiding from something. Wow. How about you?
00:02:23
Speaker
Yeah, Tornadoes has always been kind of a big one um for me. It's Bill Paxton's fault, I think. It is, yes. I saw that movie very young, and ah I was just fascinated by it. And I don't know what it was, that I always have tornado dreams. and actually uh title waves are a big one for me too yeah yeah that would be rough um have you ever watched uh what's that movie deep impact color no oh that's another one so now that we're unpacking the core of our trauma
00:03:02
Speaker
No, but I will say that there was a brief, I mean, not so brief period of time where, and I think this speaks to all of our fascination with this and natural disasters and hazards, twisters, deep impact.
Influence of Disaster Movies
00:03:15
Speaker
um What's the other, like, what's the volcano one? um Oh my gosh, with Pierce Barazanin. Yeah. cala Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about. And then also, ah what's the Armageddon?
00:03:30
Speaker
Yes. um um So OK, so our childhood our childhood movies we were all apocalyptic. ah oh Interesting. yeah There was even ah so because I was already obsessed with apocalyptic natural disasters, there was a ah string of B movies that I'm not sure if you watch. So in addition to Twisters, there was like Knight of the Twisters and Twisters too and just all the stuff where So yeah, just shaped who we are today. A bunch of scared little babies. With consistent nightmares.
00:04:09
Speaker
um yeah so and Yeah, but just to begin, let's first define the terms because I've been using kind of like disaster and hazard interchangeably. But There's a crucial difference between the two because a natural hazard is the natural event that occurs and it has the potential to cause harm. So hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, tornadoes, they occur naturally. And they already pose a threat to life and property. But is a natural disaster is what happens when a hazard impacts us in a way that causes significant damage, loss of life, or displacement of communities.
00:04:48
Speaker
So while a hurricane is spinning harmlessly over the ocean, that is a natural hazard, it becomes a natural disaster when it makes landfall and wrecks havoc on coastal towns. So that's good to know that a hazard is what the natural event is. The natural disaster is the the damage and how it impacts us as people,
Hurricanes: From Hazards to Disasters
00:05:12
Speaker
essentially. quiet So let's talk about some of the most common natural disasters sorry natural hazards in the US and how they transform into disasters.
00:05:24
Speaker
You already touched on it when you mentioned one of the biggest ones I think that affects the US, especially around where I live, hurricanes. yeah And the Atlantic hurricane season runs from June to November. And but for anybody that hasn't experienced a hurricane, these storms are just getting more and more powerful, extremely scary. They bring devastating winds.
00:05:47
Speaker
torrential rains, storm surges, ah it flooding coastal areas, even flooding areas that aren't even in flood zones. um You know, we have hurricanes like Katrina, Sandy, Harvey. These are all infamous for having deadly impacts on specific states, not just from the storm itself, but also from the aftermath. You have flooding, infrastructure damage, long-term displacement for people.
00:06:14
Speaker
I know my mom just went through something personally in Sarasota, Florida with this last hurricane that um they were touting as a tropical storm. And it was tropical storm Debbie. It turned turned into a hurricane category one and her whole house flooded and she lost everything. And that was something that she's, her house has been through like a category three before. So it's sometimes it's just, it doesn't matter how strong the storm is. Sometimes something can happen and you know just kind of completely uh uproot somebody's life and just scary and then there's the west coast where earthquakes are a constant threat the San Andreas fault for instance this is what some people classify as a ticking time bomb
00:07:00
Speaker
ah Most earthquakes, you know, they tend to be smaller and they go unnoticed. Maybe you'll feel it a little bit and it doesn't cause any damage, but it really does. It takes one big earthquake to cause a disaster like the 1906 San Francisco earthquake or more recently the Northridge earthquake in 1994.
00:07:21
Speaker
And I do think that um a lot of these, as we go forward in time, so say like the San Francisco earthquake, now today there's like structures created to withstand her our earthquakes. And maybe there are certain, you know, structures that can eat more easily withstand hurricanes. But you can't really ever plan for this large scale disaster because to your point of your personal example, like things can just go awry in just the perfect way and cause a a huge
The U.S. and Unique Natural Hazards
00:07:48
Speaker
upheaval. And, you know, I,
00:07:50
Speaker
i experienced my first earthquake in california when i lived out there for a while and it was you know is a small one but it was still i got my first earthquake my first wildfire and it's just something growing up in the midwest where i primarily worry about tornadoes it was just new to me and you know really.
00:08:06
Speaker
Honestly, I was fascinated, but it was it was really scary um because similarly to tornadoes or um to hurricanes and earthquakes, tornadoes can be wildly devastating, especially as you go through Tornado Alley in the middle of America. and You might not realize this, but the United States, Canada, and Mexico, well, mainly United States and Mexico, but we're one of the only places on the planet that get her or ah tornadoes the way that we do.
00:08:32
Speaker
So also in Australia, also at the coast of Japan, also I think through um some of like bits of Russia and Asia, like it's just because of the way the air currents meet and just the very like, same with hurricanes, are that specific um fronts meeting have just caused devastation and it's just unique to our country.
Human Factors in Disasters
00:08:52
Speaker
So wildfires, tornadoes, floods, and blizzards are all part of the natural hazard landscape in the US, but what turns those hazards into a disaster come down to honestly human factors. So population density, preparedness, and the resilience of infrastructure can determine whether or not a hazard results in a disaster. So if say you have a tornado shelter out in the backyard and you live in a tornado alley, you can make sure that your loved ones, your pets, all these important things are protected during even an F5 hurricane, or hurricane, I keep mixing those.
00:09:28
Speaker
tornado So, ah you know, a really serious tornado and you save your life, but then your entire house is gone compared to if you were in the home yourself. And also a similar magnitude earthquake might cause minimal damage in a well-prepared area that, you know, with strict building codes, they have the right kind of structures that can withstand the forces, but it could be catastrophic in an area with less robust infrastructure.
00:09:52
Speaker
Yeah, i it is kind of tough to be you know in certain areas of the country that are some are very well prepared for these events and some are not so. And especially, I feel like places that maybe haven't experienced ah not a natural event before, they haven't really had to think about it. you know And as as things are changing with the earth, with the climate, you know everything that's happening,
00:10:21
Speaker
there's just this sense of should we all be prepared? You know, even if we're not in an area that's experienced these things consistently on a regular basis, should we all kind of have a game plan going forward just to protect our things and our loved ones and our pets? I mean, look, I kid you not, every time that something happens in the world, that's just a little bit wonky ever since 2020. I have like a waterproof tub in my basement that has maps and meal kits and matches and first aid and life straws. And just because ah that's not always like a go bag is not going to help you from, you know, a tornado or hurricane, but it can if you need to get out, and you need to evacuate. like It could be really important to have those things prepared. And, you know, just recently, so ah at a linear state states of discoveries home brand,
00:11:13
Speaker
We write about these really cool things to do and see all over the United States and recently we had a really fabulous um feature called Destination Detour and we were highlighting some of the most incredible places that you can visit and you cannot use a car to get there.
00:11:30
Speaker
And it just so happened that we just featured a place that's one of the most beautiful, you know most traveled to places in the United States, the Havasupai Falls, which is in the Havasupai Reservation. And it was just devastated by massive flooding.
Impactful Flooding at Havasupai Falls
00:11:46
Speaker
And it's one of those things no one really could have predicted or you know maybe they could have been prepared, but it's just an area of the country and the resource that they had that it it was just, yeah, it was it was really a disaster.
00:11:59
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's it really is horrific that you have a place that is just naturally beautiful and well cared for and then let's say it's just one incredible storm that produces record breaking rain and floods an area. And you know, people right now in Havasupai Falls, they were hiking, they were camping. They experienced in one article I was reading, ah they had maybe 30 minute warning to get to higher ground. And it was a couple and with their child that they were, you know, so
00:12:40
Speaker
I think it's really hard. It's hard in general talking about natural disasters and natural hazards because there's no foolproof way to avoid or prepare, you know? No. And you see these really very serious impacts like loss of life. Like it's not just, oh, i like like these people were tragically killed in these flash floods. And by the way, if you ever want to donate to support the um the efforts in Havasupai Falls area, you can look up online and find ways to support the efforts to like clean up and find loved ones and restore the area. But yeah, how how can you ever really prepare? Yeah, it's hard because the impacts of these storms, the impacts of these these events, um you know, when a natural hazard strikes,
00:13:28
Speaker
It could be devastating to communities. it's yeah You have immediate destruction of homes, infrastructure, landscapes. There's a psychological toll that can be immense. Communities can face long-term displacement.
00:13:42
Speaker
economic hardship. It's a challenging recovery process in ah in so many ways. and um you know Beyond just like us, obviously, you know talking doom and gloom right now, which is very easy to do in these events, there is good news. and that's We do want to focus on that here in terms of educationally. In this episode, you know we're gonna ah we chatted with some people that are going to give some really great tips. But essentially, we can't prevent these things from happening. It's it's impossible. But we can reduce the risk of disaster through being prepared. And this involves a combination of personal, community, government efforts. And you know we're going to share with you some ways to be prepared when a natural hazard occurs.
Preparedness and Safety Tips
00:14:32
Speaker
Yeah, and and for individuals, preparedness really comes down to having an emergency kit, having a family communication plan and knowing evacuation routes. Do you have a kit, Marissa? Are are you prepped?
00:14:43
Speaker
Yeah, yes. I don't know. Now that you told me about your kid, I'm like interested in, i don't maybe I need to expand mine a little bit, because a life straw is genius. That's a good one. Although, OK, I do have to say, though, the one thing that you know people were asking my mom in this last ah this event that she just went through, they were asking her why she wasn't better prepared. And the truth was, she wasn't in a flood zone.
00:15:12
Speaker
yeah The hurricane that came through produced record breaking rain, but it it was the fact that a levee broke nearby that flooded the whole neighborhood. So it wasn't a direct result of the natural disaster, but it was a part of it it, what led to it. And she you know she woke up in ankle deep water and within 30 minutes, it was up to her chest and her priority. Yeah, so her priority was getting her pets.
00:15:41
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. ah and And she was trying to think of things to to grab, like, you know, our baby books for me and my sister, or, you know, heirlooms from my grandparents. My grandma was a watercolor artist, so all of her paintings that were, you know, so it's, you don't have that time to think, you know, like, what do I grab first, you know, and and um it's hard. So having a kid, I think, is extremely important, but also having a plan.
00:16:10
Speaker
because and and she was true yeah she was rescued in a kayak from just ah a guy who was helping people. He wasn't even, I think he was a lifeguard and just shouting, does anybody need help? Cause this was in the middle of the night. So it was pitch black, all the electricity they had to shut off. So it's also, you know. fit on a kayak? Out ah out of all your your life's possessions, you know what do you fit on a kayak? so it know It's like this weird blend of preparedness and and planning, but then you also have to yeah you know kind of make really hard decisions in that moment. That's terrifying. i yeah and Also, I think there is this aspect um
00:16:54
Speaker
having a plan, having an evacuation plan, also having a plan if you're not at home, if your loved ones or your pets, like sometimes there's gonna be these heartbreaking choices that if you can't get to a place, and I swear to gosh, I will be on the highway and I'll just be thinking like, well, what if a disaster happens? I'm at home, what do I do with my pets? I can't get there. know you know And then it's just something you have to prepare for. I cannot believe your mom had to deal with that in the middle of the night, no less. thats yeah Yeah, it's very scary. Shout out to my mom. Love you mom. Hope you're listening.
00:17:28
Speaker
Love you. um But yeah, it's important to be prepared, especially if not everybody gets the blessing of having ah advanced notice of a natural disaster or a hazard and when it's headed their way. I know that you know there was like a big debate in my family when my sister moved to California and my mom's like, oh, but you have earthquakes and and they don't tell you know you don't know in advance when an earthquake's going to hit. And my sister's like, well, you have hurricanes and they are more frequent and destructive. so I think first things first, like you need to know the risks in your area. Wherever you live, familiarize yourself. Local emergency plans. you know Take advantage of resources like femasready.gov. You can create your own disaster preparedness plan that I think that is invaluable to people, um especially if they're just kind of starting out and creating this plan and they don't know where to begin.
00:18:26
Speaker
Yeah, but I mean, even to that point, like, yes, you should absolutely educate yourself on your area. And if you're not like Marissa myself, and you're not constantly thinking about natural disasters, then you should probably do a little bit of research. But there are going to be times, I mean, to your point about your story, like you don't have much notice. So tornadoes, earthquakes, flash flooding, especially flash flooding, I had no idea just how quickly and terrifying, terrifying that can be.
00:18:51
Speaker
and Even rip currents are natural events that can provide little opportunity to fully prepare. so It's almost like you need to build those um just sort of like muscle memory responses to what you should do in case of those emergencies.
00:19:06
Speaker
Yeah, so true. And this is when we want to bring in the experts for things like this, especially rip currents. As you mentioned, this is a huge issue for me in Florida. um A lot of coastal towns experience this coastal state cities. ah This past summer season was actually really terrifying for rip currents in general.
00:19:26
Speaker
so we reached out to a local firefighter in Lifeguard in Florida who shares some important knowledge and tips regarding rip current safety. What's up guys? Roland here. I've been a lifeguard for about 12 years for the city of Delray Beach. Just wanted to give you guys a bit of info about rip currents. Not to be mistaken with under toes or rip tides. So rip currents will form anytime there are waves. But first, let's state the obvious. It's always best to swim on a guarded beach and near a lifeguard. Don't ever hesitate to go up and talk to the lifeguards.
00:19:58
Speaker
Ask them any questions you might have, what flag they're flying, why they're flying that particular flag, and they'd be more than happy to answer your questions. So anytime there are waves, there's gonna be rip currents. The bigger the wave, the stronger the rip. All that water that's coming in wants to find its way right back out. So depending on that particular beach will determine how strong that rip current will be. The waves can be as small as two to three feet for there to be rips. They're usually strongest at low tide, and they're often near between sandbars.
00:20:27
Speaker
They could be anywhere from 50 to 100 feet wide and they can go out as far as 100 yards. So people often ask, how do you spot a rip current? Some days are tougher than others, but generally when they're where the actual rip is, there won't be any waves or the waves will be significantly smaller. And sometimes you can even see bubbles or seaweed on the surface moving offshore almost like it's in a river. So what do you do if you're caught in a rip current? First off, relax. You're not gonna beat it.
00:20:55
Speaker
You should signal to the lifeguard by waving your hands back and forth, but most times that lifeguard will know you're in a rip current long before you ever do. So what do you do if there is no lifeguard on duty? Relax, you're not going to beat the ocean. If you're a decent swimmer, it's best to swim parallel to shore until the rip current ends. If you're not a decent swimmer, it's best to lay on your back with your face out of the water and just float until that rip current ends. You're going to be more buoyant in salt water, so it's not going to be as hard to float, but the worst thing you could do is panic.
00:21:26
Speaker
And if you're a strong swimmer, like I said, it's best to swim parallel to shore. Rip currents can come and go. They're called flash rips. They can come in a matter of minutes. So on rougher days, it's better to stay closer to shore and maybe waist deep. Again, I hope this was helpful, guys, and enjoy the beach.
00:21:46
Speaker
Okay, now let's move on to tornadoes. I know I kind of, spoiler alert, I talked about it earlier, but they're one of the most destructive weather events in our country. Yeah. And so yeah, we talked about tornadoes just like perpetually cropping up in dreams. And Twister, you know, I don't know if you've watched this new Twister, ah the new one that just came out.
00:22:11
Speaker
So I want to, but I also, for personal reasons, I'm like annoyed with some things about it, but I need to because it's twisters. Have you seen it? Yeah. Was it good? I mean, you don't have to say officially. You don't need to back this. I don't want to get any like hate mail from Glen Powell, but I think essentially, you know, I loved the original so much like Helen Hunt to me is just the best yeah and you can't be Bill Paxton. And I mean, you know, just like what a good film I just not i you can't compare. But so I went to ah one of my first trips to Florida. I went to Universal Studios and I was a kid and I went to the Twister.
00:22:58
Speaker
like 40 thing and they had like the rain and the the cow noises and I got a bucket hat that said twister across the top. I was so proud of that. I haven't found it. I was going to wear it but oh I know know it's somewhere in my parents basement I think so. oh But yeah, if you're not familiar with what a tornado actually is, um it's actually just an intense rotating column of air that forms within severe ah thunderstorms, especially supercells. So there's an updraft that's rotating cause um called a mesocyclone, and the formation of a tornado begins with wind shear, where winds are at different altitudes, blow at varying speeds and directions, creating that horizontal rotation.
00:23:40
Speaker
So you might see ah clouds that resemble, they're usually fast-moving, dark, so there's a lot of buildup, they're low-hanging, and it's you can start to tell when there's conditions for a tornado, and we're going to be speaking with someone who can actually um really demystify that a little bit more.
00:23:58
Speaker
but the strong updrafts within the storm tilt the rotation into a vertical orientation so it's intensifying it it's making it vertical and then whenever that column of air starts to extend from the cloud to the ground it becomes a tornado so.
00:24:13
Speaker
That funnel cloud that you see, I've seen a few of them in my day, um but I've never seen a tornado connect. But I will say that even if you just have those high rotating winds and the conditions that are right for a tornado, and there's maybe a funnel cloud, maybe not, you can still have very destructive winds. It can blow roofs off houses, it can damage power lines. So if you are in an area that has a tornado watcher warning system and you hear the sirens going off, you shouldn't really be outside. um And sometimes every township and area has different regulations for their sirens. Like in my area of Ohio, I've been out shopping and I hear the sirens go off and then I have a heart attack.
00:24:50
Speaker
Yes, and it'll be it'll be a severe thunderstorm warning escalated into a tornado warning and then I hear the sirens and Then you're just in the car, you know trying not to have a panic attack. So Yeah, but I consider myself lucky because you know you cannot predict where precisely a tornado is going to go. And especially if you live in Tornado Alley, which is really the Great Plain region, it's, you know, the conditions are favorable for that, for a tornado formation, especially through tornado so season during the year. So and usually that's, you know, like summer late summer, um just whenever these, you know, it's kind of similar with hurricanes, whenever you have these different fronts meeting, and the storms forming, it's just, you know, a recipe for disaster.
00:25:35
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, we're in the thick of um hurricane season right now, which you know they always predict whether or not it's going to be bad or not. and Florida has been hit a lot and also just a lot of, you know, Texas, Louisiana, they've been hit a lot too. And just even the East Coast, New York, New Jersey had that had Sandy hit that was ah very unexpected. But um yeah, but tornadoes really, we don't really experience too many tornadoes here, mostly water spouts, if anything. So
00:26:08
Speaker
ah But yeah, Sarah and I had the pleasure of sitting down with Tori Jane, our resident only in your state tornado chaser.
Storm Chasing with Tori Jane Osberg
00:26:16
Speaker
And we were able to pick her brain about what it is she does when she's chasing tornadoes and how also as people we can prepare when disaster strikes.
00:26:31
Speaker
My name is Tori Jane Osberg. I am a professional storm chaser and photographer. this This is really all I've ever wanted to do with my life. um when I often credit my mom with a but it because when I was little she would take me out on the porch and watch storms with me. And it this has just always been what I i was going to do. And and I travel the country chasing, you know, I go where the storms go.
00:26:58
Speaker
So if if I can wake up in Nebraska and then the same night go to sleep in Colorado or Kansas. So my only very naive introduction into storm chasing was the original Twisters movie back in the day.
00:27:16
Speaker
um which I'm sure is not necessarily the most accurate. Are there any, just off the top of your head, are there any stereotypes that people have about chasing storms maybe from that movie or otherwise that you can just like debunk right off the top of your head? Oh yeah. The the first one that comes to the first one that comes to mind is that that In Twister, it's pretty awesome, because they stay in Oklahoma for a whole movie. and And it's like nonstop action. It's constant, just go, go, go, go, go. And and real storm safety isn't like that. I like to say that it's it's it's literally like 85% driving, 10% waiting, and 5% storm. It's a patience game. And some days, yeah know you'll you'll drive.
00:28:14
Speaker
five, six hundred miles for ultimately nothing. Wow. oh You know, you'll, you'll, uh, you know, some, some days it's, it's mover bus and on the bus days it's tough. Yeah. And, uh, fortunately twister never doesn't really go into the bus days. And it's kind of funny about how, uh, in the original twist or they take several like random breaks throughout the day for like food or changing tires. We can't do that. we how Right. yeah Okay. That's a really good point. I was wondering that too, because I was like, man, there there are just a lot of tornadoes back to back to back in this film. ah And just, it seems like weather wise, I understand that, you know, storms in general, they can have that, I guess, sort of projection, but usually
00:29:06
Speaker
It's, you know, one storm every so often during a season. And, you know, like, how do you feel that downtime? Are you are you hunting for other storms? Are you just like relying on a particular area? um Well, with the the downtime, um like I said, there's a lot of waiting. um I'll do typically I'll do my forecast. I'll do one the night before to give me a general idea of about how far I'll need to drive the next day.
00:29:35
Speaker
Um, you know, so again, a good time about, about what time to wake up. The majority of that time is definitely spent driving, um, to what we call our target area, which is, you know, where, where we decide to springboard off, you know, to change for the day. You know, once you get to that target area, oftentimes, you know, we get there before the storms start firing at all. So, you know, then you've got to hang out and wait, you know, to relax. They require a lot of patience because again, most folks want to twist her and they expect it to be like that.
00:30:05
Speaker
And it's really, it's nothing like that. I mean, some days, some days are really awesome and it's just non-stop action. But yeah, it's not every day, like it's a movie. Right. And so, okay, in the film they have, I also just recently watched the the new film and it seems like in this latest film, they have a lot of newer gadgets in their vehicles while they're chasing storms to add these like extra protective measures. When you are actually chasing these storms, what are your protective measures that you take?
00:30:43
Speaker
um well always have an exit route always always always um because weather is it's predictable but it's not ah the the vast majority of of tornadoes for example will move like north northeast but sometimes you'll get one that has what we call dian motion and it it'll go the opposite way a way that it shouldn't be going practically and You got to be ready for that. That's one of the hardest things about pacing is knowing when to give up on a storm and to to go to another one. Have you ever had any close calls with a natural hazard, natural disaster, and essentially what were your takeaways afterwards? There's one of one of the biggest rules is always have that escape route. And and there have been a couple of times where said escape route
00:31:32
Speaker
Um, just recently, actually, there's a couple of, not too long ago, last week, um, I was down in Arizona chasing my pink stuff and this flash flood, like, oh my goodness, it was the epitome of the flash and flash flood. And it cut off both of my exit routes. Wow. And, uh, so I am luckily, you know, I'm, I'm kind of just, you know, hanging out on higher ground and the flooding is going on around me. And I, I really had a moment of thinking where I was just like, you know, this,
00:32:02
Speaker
this This could be, this could be a lot worse. Like this could be, I could be caught in this right now, but you know, just in that case, it was, look at the draw that i happened to be on higher ground. yeah Cause that, that flood came back. Um, there's been other times, uh, like in 2022, um, I was in, in very blinding rain, as in there's no visibility through this rain. It's very heavy. And I look at my radar and I noticed it.
00:32:30
Speaker
So there's a couplette, which is an area of rotation behind me. So I started scooting up forward a little bit to kind of end away from it. And then as I'm doing that, I see another very large tornado wander out of the rain in front of me. wow So I'm just like, ah, crap. Kind of stuck waiting for nature to do its thing. And and in that in those movies, they illustrate the dangers and exaggerate them. Right.
00:32:57
Speaker
And they they portray certain things as being more dangerous than and they typically are. um like Like, for example, you're significantly more likely to to get into a car accident with another storm chaser than you are to be hit by a tornado. Oh, wow. Are there therere a lot out there? Are there storm chasers while you're there? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. There's a couple hundred of us, I would bet. wow um And then on Sundays, especially the big ones, like It's Saturday in Oklahoma and it's a high-risk day. Everyone, is everybody who has an iPhone and a truck is going to be out there on the road thinking that they can do the same thing. and it It's scary. In 2017, my best friend was killed in a car crash oh my goodness because another storm case there blew through his fourth stop sign of the day. and Unfortunately, that was the last stop sign that he ever blew through.
00:33:50
Speaker
And just, yeah, that's, that's definitely a bigger danger compared to what they show in the movies for sure. Wow. Yeah. I'm so sorry. I can imagine just, you know, especially if you have inexperienced people that are trying to maybe do it for some social media status versus other overarching weather goals. I'm sure that could be frustrating for the people that have been doing it for a long time, you know, not for clout, but.
00:34:17
Speaker
yeah you know and Can I ask a little bit, when you say you're forecasting, what does that necessarily mean? um Well, I do all of my own forecasting. so What I'll do is I sit down you know in front of my laptop and we have the same resources basically that the National Weather Service has. and We have ah numerical models that will essentially feature cast and show us, you know here's what's most likely to occur based on conditions.
00:34:46
Speaker
You know, we, we use those models you go through, but I go through step by step and I'll check certain things. Like I'll check, ah you know, there's a 500, which is, you know, up into 500 millibar area up in the atmosphere. You know, how, how fast are those going? Cause that's going to tell us how fast our storms are moving. Are they going to be too quick to catch up? You know, there's, I also look at this thing that's called CAPE, which stands for Convective Available Potential Energy. That is basically like, that's all the energy in the atmosphere that a potential storm has to eat up.
00:35:15
Speaker
Basically, the goal is to narrow it down down to the county, hopefully down to a town, where you think is most likely, based on models and current you know morning conditions typically, where is it most likely to go at today? And and that's that's the whole point of the forecasting, is to narrow it down as much as realistically possible.
00:35:38
Speaker
And I guess from your professional perspective, what do you wish that more people knew about tornadoes and severe weather and if there were any sort of preparations that they could take? um Off the top of my head, I would say that there's almost always a warning. you You hear that a lot, but there was no warning. No, there were warnings. You just weren't paying attention. I live in Arizona.
00:36:04
Speaker
And I can tell you what a tornado is coming three days out. I have to drive out there to go get it. And people still ask like, what just happened out of nowhere? There's no warning. Um, just, I would just want people to be more weather aware. They live in places where weather can kill them. I would, I would beg people to just stay weather aware because it conditions can change and they can change really fast.
00:36:27
Speaker
Right. Yeah, I think that is great advice. I think staying weather aware is one of the most important things you can do because it just even outside of being prepared. I know that, you know, a lot of people, especially just here where I live in Florida,
00:36:45
Speaker
You can prepare as much as you think you can for a hurricane, but at the end of the day, if you're not watching the storm and if you're not aware of the path it's going to take, where the eye is going to go, what is being created around it, then all your preparedness kind of goes out the window. Yep. It's always, you can never, ever, ever go wrong, but I I don't think there's anybody who's ever been like,
00:37:11
Speaker
Well, we shouldn't have made that safety plan. I don't, I don't think that's ever, it if it is, that must have been a really bad safety plan. But, but yeah, you can, you can never, you can never look out for your, your own life enough. If that makes sense. Like, yeah, there's, there's no such thing as too much caution.
00:37:39
Speaker
So, okay, we talked about, you know, touching a little bit on personal stories, dealing with natural
Community Aid During Disasters
00:37:44
Speaker
disasters. Is there anything that you've experienced that was just like stand out in your mind as whether good or bad, something that good that come out of a natural disaster or hazard or something horrendous?
00:37:55
Speaker
Oh, God. Thankfully, I haven't experienced anything horrendous with a natural event, so knock on wood. um Don't want that anytime soon. um I will say there's been some times where I've lived in... I usually have a place with a basement or some sort of closet under a stairwell or a shelter where I feel comfortable, but there's been some moments where I haven't been, and just because of really how I was raised and anytime the tornado sire went off, my mom was like, all right, basement, you know, immediately. So I'm kind of conditioned to if I hear sirens go off, I'm really antsy to
00:38:34
Speaker
be safe and even last summer, there was ah about a severe weather coming through and lots of tornado warnings and it just like spanned the day and there was actually a lot of damage in my area. So I was like wrangling the cats to get downstairs, fan to get down my dog fanned to get downstairs and just like kind of like huddling in the basement, but that's it's really it. um mean I mean, like I said, the wildfire I experienced in LA, it was this Gerbal fire in like 20 I don't know, 16, seven, what is time? But there was a more recent fire and I woke up smelling smoke and I thought my apartment was on fire. Oh my gosh. But it was just close enough to where the, it was a haze and I'd never experienced that before. So that was a little bit wow um little bit shocking for me. But no, luckily, I mean, I've been okay. yeah No major disasters here. How about you?
00:39:28
Speaker
Um, yeah, I mean, just hurricanes really. And I've, the first time I was spending time in Illinois, I heard that siren that you're talking about, which terrifying. Cause it's also, it also sounds like the the silent Hill siren from the video game, which is very scary for anybody that's played silent Hill.
00:39:46
Speaker
Yeah. I don't know what came first, chicken or the egg? Was I afraid of Silent Hill because I was afraid of tomatoes? Was I afraid of tornadoes because of Silent Hill? It all happened once in a time. But give me a siren and I will you know be a little whimpering baby. Yeah. No, that is a very jarring sound. and i think for me like one of my biggest takeaways whenever going through a natural event is that i'm always so blown away by how communities come together i think to me you know i firsthand recently witnessed this when i was helping my mom
00:40:25
Speaker
First of all, the lifeguard on the kayak um who saved her and the animals and ah you know just to me, like i I don't even know who he is, I can't even thank him, but he willingly went out into that storm to help people.
00:40:42
Speaker
yeah And then beyond that, their neighbor's son helped them and gave, because they my my mom and her and my stepdad, they went out, they didn't have even have shoes on their feet when they were escaping. So they the neighbor's son ah you know gave them some clothes, some dry clothes. ah put They let them stay at their house until I could drive up and and bring them back to my house. And then when we were there, you know going through her house,
00:41:11
Speaker
People were driving around giving out sandwiches, giving out pizza, giving out cold drinks. People were giving out ah trash bags. And it was just, to you know, these were people that didn't that weren't even affected by what happened. They lived in different neighborhoods, but they wanted to come together to help. And, you know, it's it's it always kind of sucks that it takes things like this for for humanity to really like amp up. But It is really such a great thing to see is just like when humans care about each other in that way.
00:41:43
Speaker
whether something affects you or not. It's just having that humanity and seeing somebody else struggling and wanting to do what you can to make their life easier for a moment. you know And no ulterior motive. like They're not trying to get anything out of it. right It's not underhanded. It's not yeah malicious. It's just wanting to help. that's It's really beautiful. um yeah and yeah And moments of strife and these really terrible things that can happen, it is so... I don't know it's inspiring and it makes me you know really hopeful for people and you know just love you know our country and communities even more but yeah it's um
00:42:20
Speaker
It is great to see in the fact that even something as simple as a helping hand could save lives or you know inspire others to save lives. so I think understanding natural disasters, being prepared, these are all crucial for safeguarding lives, minimizing damage. you know We need to recognize that there are specific risks in certain parts of the country, whether it's hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires,
00:42:50
Speaker
there's there's certain states that are affected more than most. So communities can really enhance their resilience and respond more effectively to those specific natural hazards.
Encouragement for Preparedness Plans
00:43:03
Speaker
Yeah, and preparedness not only strengthens the safety of and and individuals, but it also fosters this collective resistance, ensuring communities can recover more swiftly and robustly from adversity. So we encourage you to take action today. So research the risks in your local area, develop a comprehensive disaster plan, and ensure your family and community are well prepared. Your proactive efforts can make all the difference when facing nature's most challenging events, and you might feel It gets a little bit silly, or maybe Sarah Marissa watched too many disaster movies. But really, it it does make all of the difference. And you know it's um when it comes to protecting yourself and loved ones, it's priority number one.
00:43:48
Speaker
Yeah, I think even just, you know, start your emergency planning, even just for peace of mind, for yourself, for your family. Just begin with a plan. And if you don't know where to start, we're going to drop some links into our show notes for different organizations and agencies that will provide disaster relief, support, guidance, preparedness, you know, just make that first step and and get a plan in place.
00:44:14
Speaker
Yeah. And if you want to do any additional research, may we suggest Twister? Twisters. Night of the Twisters. ah We have, what's um the Posein Adventure? If you're on a cruise ship, I guess. Oh, great. You've been packed. ah Dante's Peak. <unk> yeah Is that what it's called? I was going to say Dante's Inferno, and I'm like, nope, that's the book. It's a little bit different.
00:44:37
Speaker
Don't you speak, that's right. yeah But yeah, do your research and until next time everyone, thank you for tuning in to States of Discovery.