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American Morning
Talk with a Storm Chaser
Aired May 05, 2003 - 09:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: There are some people who actually are crazy enough to go ahead and chase these storms, and they are usually the ones that get the unbelievable video that we see on television screens. We want to talk to one of those people this morning, and we have him on the line now.
Hello to you, David Payne, a professional storm chaser and meteorologist in Oklahoma City this morning.
David, what can you tell us? What did you see? Or were you able to get and see any of this today?
DAVID PAYNE, STORM CHASER: Yesterday, I was not. I was in eastern Oklahoma and also in western Arkansas tracking severe weather there. We thought we might have big storms in our state, we did, but those storms moved into, obviously, Missouri, northern Arkansas and eastern Kansas throughout the morning hours and throughout the afternoon hours, doing all of the damage there yesterday afternoon.
COLLINS: So, what typically happens? I mean, you see this. You are a meteorologist as well. I assume not everybody who chases these storms is a meteorologist. You see something on your Doppler, as Chad was just saying, and then you go?
PAYNE: Essentially, that's right. Here in Oklahoma, we do the same thing. We track storms, not only here about from the storm center, but also with our crews. And we set up that morning. We think where a storm is going to develop, like yesterday, eastern Oklahoma, northeastern Oklahoma. We send crews. I'm one of those crews out the door, and I get to where, I think, something might develop over the next several hours, and if it does develop, with the use of Doppler radar back here at the station, we're actually able to pinpoint where the circulation is, where the tornado is, where it's going, and then I'm on ground, and here in Oklahoma City, what we do is we send back pictures through satellites and through other ways of communication, send back pictures to the station, whether it's of the tornado, or the damage or that tornado on the ground, as it's moving through a city or cities, and we're able to warn people minute by minute, second by second, where these storms are as they track across Oklahoma and into Missouri, and into Arkansas.
And yesterday, we had crews in southwestern Missouri. They did a great job tracking that storm, actually tracking the one big tornado that came out southwest Missouri as well. So we've been doing it a long time here, and it's a job that we do each and every spring, and we've done it this spring already several times, and we'll more, it looks like more severe weather coming up this week as well. COLLINS: How effective do you think all of this is, David? Are you really able to give people even more warning than, for example, that what we've seen in this case, where people were given 20 minutes or so? Are you able to give them even more than that.
PAYNE: Right. Yes, I think so. I think yesterday that storm that developed, that big one in Missouri, developed on the Kansas/Missouri border, headed off to the east and began to tornado rather quickly. But there was a good 25, 30 40 minute lapse time out ahead of the tornado, where folks actually downstream could say, here it comes, it's moving our way, and I think actually it could have been a lot worse in Missouri. We had this same scenario May 3rd of 1999 here in Oklahoma. Tornadoes developed south and west of Oklahoma City. We were chasing them, giving people in the entire state, out ahead of these storms, minute by minute, blow by blow where these storms are, where they're going and people were actually able to either leave their homes, well in advance of an hour before the tornado actually hit or take shelter, and the same case up there, I think a lot of lives were saved yesterday up in Missouri as well.
COLLINS: An hour seems like a quite a bit of time. Chad Myers at the CNN Center has some questions for you, too, as well, David.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. David, old fishing buddy of mine from Oklahoma. How are do doing, buddy?
PAYNE: Fine, Chad. How are you doing this morning, guy?
MYERS: You know we always joked, the only way to go chase tornadoes in Arkansas and Tennessee was with a chainsaw, because you can't see very far. There are too many trees in the way. Tell everybody, and even folks in Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, that you are prepared to chase a tornado, you have information from the radio, from the TV station, from your scanners. You just don't drive out there looking for tornadoes, and folks should not go out there, and try to be their own amateur storm chaser, because it is deadly and dangerous.
PAYNE: Right, and it is. And ever since the movie "Twister" came out, it seems like everybody and everybody's grandma seem to wants to get out and chase storms these days, and we get out. Obviously, a lot goes into where we go, as you said. And it's dangerous job. I mean, you're dealing with roads that wind here and there with trees, with curves, with pouring rain and hail, with wind. You are trying to track not only where you are, but where the tornado is, and we set up in the morning, and we come together and try to find out exactly where these things are going to develop, and then we hit the road, and you're right, from the use of Doppler radar at our station here in Oklahoma City, KFOR, and the simple fact that we're out there on the storm, tracking where the tornado is, where it's been, where it's going, we're able to pinpoint exactly where that is.
But a lot of chasers out there these days. I see them all of the time, and they're on the roads and on the highways, and on secondary roads, and it sometimes can be a mess.
I've pulled up to an intersection before and see literally 100 cars at one intersection, that, you know, during a five year period, 100 cars don't cross that intersection at one time during the whole 100 years, you know last year or so. So it can be kind of crazy out there.
And you are right, Missouri and Arkansas, it's tough chasing there. Eastern Oklahoma is very tough. There is mountainous regions. The roads are really windy. It's just a dangerous place to chase.
But there are a few parts of Missouri, and in Arkansas that you can actually chase and be successful, and bring home pictures like you are seeing right there.
So, again, it's just a little tougher chasing over in Arkansas and Missouri and off to the east.
MYERS: Well, we know you always have all of the KFOR folks and crew there behind you, including Mike Morgan, friend of mine from a really long time ago. Ten years ago I chased tornadoes back in Oklahoma, and boy, it was certainly an experience.
And thanks to you, and thanks to all the folks there, especially across parts of Missouri and Kansas for keeping those folks safe yesterday.
PAYNE: All right, you bet, Chad. Thank you. And good talking to you again.
MYERS: Talk to you soon.
Heidi, back to you.
COLLINS: All right. Chad Myers, and David Payne, coming to us from KFOR in Oklahoma City.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 5, 2003 - 09:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: There are some people who actually are crazy enough to go ahead and chase these storms, and they are usually the ones that get the unbelievable video that we see on television screens. We want to talk to one of those people this morning, and we have him on the line now.
Hello to you, David Payne, a professional storm chaser and meteorologist in Oklahoma City this morning.
David, what can you tell us? What did you see? Or were you able to get and see any of this today?
DAVID PAYNE, STORM CHASER: Yesterday, I was not. I was in eastern Oklahoma and also in western Arkansas tracking severe weather there. We thought we might have big storms in our state, we did, but those storms moved into, obviously, Missouri, northern Arkansas and eastern Kansas throughout the morning hours and throughout the afternoon hours, doing all of the damage there yesterday afternoon.
COLLINS: So, what typically happens? I mean, you see this. You are a meteorologist as well. I assume not everybody who chases these storms is a meteorologist. You see something on your Doppler, as Chad was just saying, and then you go?
PAYNE: Essentially, that's right. Here in Oklahoma, we do the same thing. We track storms, not only here about from the storm center, but also with our crews. And we set up that morning. We think where a storm is going to develop, like yesterday, eastern Oklahoma, northeastern Oklahoma. We send crews. I'm one of those crews out the door, and I get to where, I think, something might develop over the next several hours, and if it does develop, with the use of Doppler radar back here at the station, we're actually able to pinpoint where the circulation is, where the tornado is, where it's going, and then I'm on ground, and here in Oklahoma City, what we do is we send back pictures through satellites and through other ways of communication, send back pictures to the station, whether it's of the tornado, or the damage or that tornado on the ground, as it's moving through a city or cities, and we're able to warn people minute by minute, second by second, where these storms are as they track across Oklahoma and into Missouri, and into Arkansas.
And yesterday, we had crews in southwestern Missouri. They did a great job tracking that storm, actually tracking the one big tornado that came out southwest Missouri as well. So we've been doing it a long time here, and it's a job that we do each and every spring, and we've done it this spring already several times, and we'll more, it looks like more severe weather coming up this week as well. COLLINS: How effective do you think all of this is, David? Are you really able to give people even more warning than, for example, that what we've seen in this case, where people were given 20 minutes or so? Are you able to give them even more than that.
PAYNE: Right. Yes, I think so. I think yesterday that storm that developed, that big one in Missouri, developed on the Kansas/Missouri border, headed off to the east and began to tornado rather quickly. But there was a good 25, 30 40 minute lapse time out ahead of the tornado, where folks actually downstream could say, here it comes, it's moving our way, and I think actually it could have been a lot worse in Missouri. We had this same scenario May 3rd of 1999 here in Oklahoma. Tornadoes developed south and west of Oklahoma City. We were chasing them, giving people in the entire state, out ahead of these storms, minute by minute, blow by blow where these storms are, where they're going and people were actually able to either leave their homes, well in advance of an hour before the tornado actually hit or take shelter, and the same case up there, I think a lot of lives were saved yesterday up in Missouri as well.
COLLINS: An hour seems like a quite a bit of time. Chad Myers at the CNN Center has some questions for you, too, as well, David.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. David, old fishing buddy of mine from Oklahoma. How are do doing, buddy?
PAYNE: Fine, Chad. How are you doing this morning, guy?
MYERS: You know we always joked, the only way to go chase tornadoes in Arkansas and Tennessee was with a chainsaw, because you can't see very far. There are too many trees in the way. Tell everybody, and even folks in Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, that you are prepared to chase a tornado, you have information from the radio, from the TV station, from your scanners. You just don't drive out there looking for tornadoes, and folks should not go out there, and try to be their own amateur storm chaser, because it is deadly and dangerous.
PAYNE: Right, and it is. And ever since the movie "Twister" came out, it seems like everybody and everybody's grandma seem to wants to get out and chase storms these days, and we get out. Obviously, a lot goes into where we go, as you said. And it's dangerous job. I mean, you're dealing with roads that wind here and there with trees, with curves, with pouring rain and hail, with wind. You are trying to track not only where you are, but where the tornado is, and we set up in the morning, and we come together and try to find out exactly where these things are going to develop, and then we hit the road, and you're right, from the use of Doppler radar at our station here in Oklahoma City, KFOR, and the simple fact that we're out there on the storm, tracking where the tornado is, where it's been, where it's going, we're able to pinpoint exactly where that is.
But a lot of chasers out there these days. I see them all of the time, and they're on the roads and on the highways, and on secondary roads, and it sometimes can be a mess.
I've pulled up to an intersection before and see literally 100 cars at one intersection, that, you know, during a five year period, 100 cars don't cross that intersection at one time during the whole 100 years, you know last year or so. So it can be kind of crazy out there.
And you are right, Missouri and Arkansas, it's tough chasing there. Eastern Oklahoma is very tough. There is mountainous regions. The roads are really windy. It's just a dangerous place to chase.
But there are a few parts of Missouri, and in Arkansas that you can actually chase and be successful, and bring home pictures like you are seeing right there.
So, again, it's just a little tougher chasing over in Arkansas and Missouri and off to the east.
MYERS: Well, we know you always have all of the KFOR folks and crew there behind you, including Mike Morgan, friend of mine from a really long time ago. Ten years ago I chased tornadoes back in Oklahoma, and boy, it was certainly an experience.
And thanks to you, and thanks to all the folks there, especially across parts of Missouri and Kansas for keeping those folks safe yesterday.
PAYNE: All right, you bet, Chad. Thank you. And good talking to you again.
MYERS: Talk to you soon.
Heidi, back to you.
COLLINS: All right. Chad Myers, and David Payne, coming to us from KFOR in Oklahoma City.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
