Kansas County Official Criticizes Storm Chasers

Saturday's storms brought not only the well-forecasted severe weather (GREAT job SPC!)- but apparently hordes of storm chasers- and the director of a central Kansas county's emergency management agency was none too happy.


"It was like a funeral procession, bumper to bumper. It was horrible," Dickinson County EM Director Chancy Smith told The SALINA JOURNAL in a story published Monday- April 16- 2012. 

Mr. Smith was referring to his estimate of "350 vehicles" on Dickenson county roads during Saturday and early Sunday's severe thunderstorm and tornado outbreak that killed six people and injured dozens across four Central States and produced more than 120 tornado reports.  


Smith told of an example: While a large tornado was barreling through the county- Smith said storm chasers and others would not yield to emergency vehicles' lights and sirens when county crews were responding to structures damaged by the twister.


"...They wouldn't get over," Smith said of the multitude of vehicles following the tornado. "Some were driving 60 or 70 mph, looking for videos or photos, and they didn't even notice us."


"These morons (the chasers) were driving over power lines. I was worried that we would have to do rescues," Director Smith told SJ's reporter Tim Unruh.


Smith said law enforcement was busy with the unfolding disaster and said "we don't have time to deal with them" when the issue of ticketing law-breaking and uncooperative motorists arose.