Storm Chasing LIVE

April 7, 2008 4:03 PM

Storm chase from your desk.This link will not be interesting after a bit, but the technology is impressive. Storm chasers can now stream video of their chases, LIVE. This could be a good show between now and sundown.

There is basically one big supercell near Wichita Falls, TX and it has the environment to itself. You can also follow chasers on the Spotter Network (google maps). Just click the National Activity link and zoom in on the Wichita Falls, TX area (OK border).

posted by spock (19 comments total)

Spotter Network google map page: http://www.spotternetwork.org/google.php.
posted by spock at 4:05 PM on April 7, 2008

I think the Texas Tailchaser is dead. All I get is garbage on his live feed and the storm map looks pretty nasty.

Thanks.

Thanks for ruining my night.

(grin)
posted by Samizdata at 4:09 PM on April 7, 2008

I've been having good luck with Steve Miller's TX feed: http://live.severestudios.com/steve.millerTX.asx. He knows what he's doing.

This attention may be a nice torture test for their system.
posted by spock at 4:12 PM on April 7, 2008

Doh! I think I jinxed the storm.
posted by spock at 4:18 PM on April 7, 2008

Are those huge cracks I see all over his windshield?

I'm not getting any audio, which is somewhat disappointing, but damned if I don't spend my night sneaking peeks at this instead of socializing like a normal person should do.
posted by six-or-six-thirty at 4:23 PM on April 7, 2008

That' so much the dream of being plugged in into somebody else brain in realtime. Almost.
posted by elpapacito at 4:29 PM on April 7, 2008

... cow....
posted by hal9k at 4:49 PM on April 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

I am actually watching Steve Miller washing his windshield. What has happened to me?
GO ON TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN!
posted by Senator at 5:07 PM on April 7, 2008

Just as an aside. I am curious how he pulls this off. Do any of you web brains know what it takes from a setup perspective to achieve what he is doing? Is it just a camera connected to a laptop feeding to some application on a website? Educate me, please, I haven't learned a thing all day.
posted by Senator at 5:11 PM on April 7, 2008

The StormTrack forum post where this was announced/discussed/questions answered is here: http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/showthread.php?t=15789. (I think that forum is viewable to non-members).
posted by spock at 5:32 PM on April 7, 2008

Woo hoo! Crashed my browser twice! That's some storm...
posted by twsf at 5:41 PM on April 7, 2008

I believe that, as the sun sets, Steve Miller is heading for the southernmost storm. The "tail-end Charlie" is often a producer.
posted by spock at 5:42 PM on April 7, 2008

Bill Tabor is heading that way too. I'll see if I can find the link to his live stream.
posted by spock at 5:44 PM on April 7, 2008

Bill Tabor's live stream.
posted by spock at 5:46 PM on April 7, 2008

The Steve Miller link (above): A wall cloud appears to be growing a finger, as I type this.
posted by spock at 5:52 PM on April 7, 2008

Pretty dang cool. I live in the heart of tornado alley, just north of Oklahoma City.
posted by BillsR100 at 6:06 PM on April 7, 2008

Well,
That's a letdown. There's a severe storm moving through Oklahoma City right now. I remembered this post from yesterday, so I clicked through and not a *single* one of those sites is streaming. They all have a colorbars screen and a "Check Later" message.

::sighs::
posted by PhiBetaKappa at 5:52 AM on April 8, 2008

Well, that's because webcams don't show you a lot in the dark. A lot of storm chasers stop chasing, for safety reasons, after dark. Others don't, figuring that with today's GPS and live radar technology in the car, they can keep themselves out of harm's way. Either way, you wouldn't see a lot out their windshields.

It is worth keeping a bookmark on the FPP link, and checking it on days of "good" Convective Outlooks. For the uninitiated, Day 1 is "today". Day 2 is "tomorrow" and Day 3 is the day after tomorrow. In the spring, there are chasers out there somewhere on even "Slight" days. Moderate days really get chaser's attention. "High" risk days will have chasers begging-off from their mother's funerals to chase.
posted by spock at 6:24 AM on April 8, 2008

Two things:
1) OUN (Norman, OK NWS office) was also watching Steve Miller's stream (above) on Monday. This technology has a huge potential for turning chasers into live on-the-ground assistants of the public safety (and advisors to the National Weather Service).
2) Thursday is looking like a potentially BIG day. Don't be surprised to see it turn into a Day 1 "High" risk day. The chaser action looks like it will carry over into Friday — so check the FPP link for chasers streaming on those days, if you missed the Monday show.
posted by spock at 8:59 AM on April 8, 2008