I've heard storm chase tour companies were getting their guests closer than ever to the storm but this is a bit much!
This shot was from yesterday (Mon) a little west of Roswell, NM. Does anyone know if this costs extra?
This was one of two antenna-laden white vans traveling together and I have no idea which tour company this is, nor do I care because I'm not seeking to bring anyone down here. I wanted to present this though so next time a forum thread or blog entry is written to criticize others for petty bullshit such as going 5 over on the way to a storm or having a light bar or whatever the hell else, the author might think back to this little stunt and remember we all have a little stupid in us... Even those whose livelihood depends on storm chasing.
I have been getting some feedback on the moderated comments I enabled a couple months ago. Because I don't sit by my blog all day and wait for people to comment so I can approve and post their thought, some comments have fallen through the cracks. Anonymous comments are enabled for the time being and I have removed the moderation for now. If things start to get out of hand again I guess I'll start moderating again. It's up to you!
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9 comments:
Just confused about the antenna laden part. I don't be see'in nones of them, boss.
By the way, anonymous is me, p.o.s. wouldn't let me log in...sorry
The van was moving at the time so look closely at the roof in the "zoomed" pic and you'll see the black blurs.
I publish a blog as well (mine is more about politics rather than severe weather), and I cannot understand why people can't be decent in the comments section.
It's fine to disagree and have discussions, but when it turns personal... there's just no reason for it.
Regards,
Jim C
Thinking Right
http://thinking-right.com
a tour guide was arrested on this day. I wonder if it was the same person you shot
CRANE COUNTY--Chasing storms is what Brian Barnes does for a living. And it was while he was doing just that, that he says he found himself in a difficult and strange situation involving a Crane County Sheriff's Deputy. "I told him that I was helping out the National Weather Service in San Angelo, and they were relaying my reports to Midland. He told me he didn't care, and that I needed to go."
Barnes thought it was his obligation to stay put and follow the storms, a decision that landed him in jail. "He jumped out and put me in handcuffs. I turned around and I remember him slamming me up against his vehicle, and then it all got kind of scary."
Among the witnesses was Dennis Greer, who had a similar run-in, with the same deputy, just minutes earlier while he was shooting picutures of the same storm for the newspaper.
"His first words to me were, 'are you a blankety-blank idiot?' He told me if I didn't leave, I was going to jail, flat out."
Barnes was arrested in a road side park on Highway 385 and charged with obstruction of a highway or other passage way.
According to witnesses, there is plenty of room on on the road in front of the park for a vehicle to get by. That's why they question the validity of the charge.
Dennis Greer says, "The guy wasn't blocking anything. He was able to drive a full size truck by with no problem."
In addition to the charges, people were taken aback by the deputy's attitude.
"He came down there, and was just very abusive in his language. Never once did he state to me why he would arrest me, or why he was doing anything", Greer says.
Barnes adds, "He continued to say that I was the example why people were stopping and that I was putting those other people at risk, because they were stopping behind me."
Barnes says that during his years of storm chasing, this is the first time anything like this has ever happened to him. And despite this one incident, he has good things to say, about West Texas.
"I have to say that everytime I come to West Texas, the people here are outstanding. They are the most friendly people I've ever met."
Barnes was released on a $2,000 dollar bond. He plans to hire a Dallas attorney to handle his case.
Calls to the Crane County Sheriff's Office for comment, were not returned.
Note: it appears the incident in the pictures on my blog and the story offered in the comments are unrelated.
All I have to say is DARWIN. That guy'll end up as road kill one day when he falls out the window...
I'm amazed it didn't create a furor in the "stormchasing community". I wonder why? My guess is that most were afraid to say anything because they didn't know who it was. After all, it's not the offense, but who did it which is more important of course. I think the Crane County incident overshadowed it too.
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