Weather: February 2008 Archives
My friend and colleague Greg Stumpf would like to announce this traveling charity event to benefit the citizens of Greensburg KS. As an extension of the Storms of 2007 project, this is a most worthy cause...
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Project Greensburg
Storm Chasers Giving Back to the Community
Date: February 6, 2008
Web URL: http://www.thestormsof2007.org
On May 4, 2007, the quiet farming community of Greensburg, Kansas, was nearly entirely destroyed by an EF-5 tornado. When people are in desperate need, others instinctively rush to help, sometimes in very unique ways. This is how Project Greensburg was born.
Project Greensburg will be a series of free public showings of the storm-chaser produced "Storms of 2007" DVD in several cities across central Kansas. DVDs will be for sale at these showings, and all profits raised at these special events will be donated for disaster relief for the City of Greensburg. More information on the "Storms of 2007" DVD is available at http://www.thestormsof2007.org.
The first showing will be on March 1, 2008 at the Pratt Community College Auditorium in Pratt, Kansas. Doors will open at 5:30pm. Mike Umscheid, the National Weather Service meteorologist who issued the Tornado Warning for Greensburg, will be the special speaker at this event. Greg Stumpf, a National Severe Storms Laboratory meteorologist who, in 2004, co-created of the "Storms of" DVD charity project, will also speak. Mickey Ptak, the lead producer of the "Storms of 2007" DVD, will round out the show.
Natural disasters attract a distinctive group of individuals who are awed by the power of nature. For decades, "storm chasers" have pursued tornadoes, hurricanes, and other severe storms, armed with video cameras and other equipment. Some of these storm chasers have turned their talents into a successful fundraiser to benefit storm victims - the "Storms of 2007" DVD - and 100% of the profits are donated to organizations and charities which help storm victims. Over 100 storm chasers collaborated to collect some of the most remarkable video of the year for the DVD. The "Storms of 2007" DVD is the 4th volume from the highly successful "Storms of" DVD series. Sales from the first three DVDs have already raised over $20,000. The majority of the profits for the DVDs have been donated to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. This unique gift is for sale now at http://www.thestormsof2007.org.
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This sounds like a great way to raise some money for the townsfolk of Greensburg, as well as to spread some good news about storm observers and the positive outcomes of storm observing. I got the DVD as a Christmas present (would have bought it otherwise), and it's well worth owning for any weather buff.
Only a bonafide tornado nut like me would notice something like this, but here goes anyway. For several hours last night and into this morning (Feb. 5-6), the Drudge Report (normally one of my favorite websites) perpetuated a goof at minimum, and a copyright violation at maximum. Before I provide the answer below, take a mental exercise and guess which tornado is in the photo below. [Click on the thumbnail to get the full-sized screen capture in a separate window or pane.]
The tornado-related articles on Drudge that night dealt with the Super Tuesday tornado outbreak of 5 Feb 2008. That photo is real, and was taken from within the damage path of a tornado as it retreated from town.
The town was Union City, OK, and the date was 24 May 1973! I recognized that tornado immediately, having catalogued numerous slides of it over 20 years ago as a former NSSL student research aide and storm intercept crew member.
Some asking around amongst storm chasing old-timers has indicated that the photo was taken by Al Moller using Randy Zipser's camera. I don't know if it is copyrighted by either of those guys, or was released to the public domain. Either way, the record should be set straight, even if very, very few ever would notice or even care.
