A Storm Chaser's Day

I spent a fair amount of time on Saturday and into early Sunday watching coverage of the tornado outbreak from numerous sources.  Thanks to TV stations streaming their coverage online, I could watch the Weather Channel on my TV while monitoring either an Oklahoma City or Wichita station on the computer.  I followed a storm on the OKC station until it left the state and then watched a Wichita station until that storm passed close to their city.  The Weather Channel also had a reporter live in the Wichita National Weather Service Office, and at one point they had to abandon their computers and take cover as the storm approached.

I was also watching the OKC station live awhile later as a line of storms formed in western Oklahoma and a tornado swept through Woodward, reported live by one of the station's storm spotters.  For a severe weather enthusiast, it was must-see TV.

There were dozens of chasers in the field on Saturday, some streaming live video and others uploading photos and video to Facebook and Twitter.  As tornadoes formed these chasers were able to report that info live, and without question some people's lives were saved as a result.

One chaser group posted a recap of their day, including numerous photos of tornadoes they saw that day, here.  It's interesting reading and some great photography.

In a related story, the Washington Post wonders if tornado voyeurism is killing people? Not sure about that one.