Tornados

[Larry1963]

I have a lot of semi-funny stories but it takes a spark to remember them. Someone posted about tornados, and I do hope all those in the weather threat area well. Have an emergency radio and know the radio is 3-5 min behind the actually tornado. Most important thing you can do right now is to have an action plan. What to do if a tornado hits, have an emergency kit with cloths, water some snacks ready to grab and run.

 

Ok @cowpuc here we go again.

 

I am a ham radio operator, and in the old days before everyone had smart phones, hell cell phones was only for the rich and important people. While stationed in tornado ally, Wichita Falls, Sheppard AFB, TX, I used my ham radio licenses to bless the community by being a storm chaser, all I can say it was a lot of fun. Much of what you see in the movie Twister is real, except instead of CBs it was VHF ham radio. We had to go to training, two people in a vehicle, one to drive, the other to lookout, run the radio, and take pictures if possible. There was a ham radio operator in the weather station and our job was to confirm when tornados touched down and give them the paths they were going. The guy I rode with had a 70s Toyota 4x4 pickup truck. It was a POS, but ran good.

 

Well there I was,,,,,,, my wife and young kids were in FL (side note, my wife hated when I left to go chase tornados, so I only went when she was out of town). Well I was at work, I was a MSgt (E-7) and had a paper-pushing job, one of my additional duties was to run the command post phone for our Group. Well we got the call that bad weather was coming in, the commander and I decided to let all the people go home early. Even though the whole unit got to go home early the Commander and the guy monitoring the command post phone was suppose to stay till 1800 hrs, 6 pm. Well at about 5 pm, everyone gone I am at one end of the building my commander at the other, my friend calls me and says hey there is a thunderstorm building over Lawton OK, about 40 miles from us. Lets go chase it, he says, it will be fine, no body will know. So with a little, very little, arm twisting my friend come and picked me up, I didn't bother to go home and change into civilian cloths, I was in my blues, or dress cloths.

 

Well he gets me I get on the radio, weather station says that there is a funnel cloud building up by Lawton OK, and we are the only chasers headed in that direction. We were excited. Well just as we get to Lawton OK, we see the funnel cloud become a tornado and touch town in the medium between the lanes of I 44. I have the radio in one hand and the VCR camera in the other hand filming away. Our truck was bright yellow, with lights and signs all over it so when lit up the cops would let us speed and pass others.

 

We are flying down I-44 filming this tornado about as close as you can get, semi-trucks and cars are being pushed off the road, well we followed the storm till we got to the exit to OK City, the police and fire department had blocked off the exit and wouldn't even allow us to cross. Well the tornado which by now was almost a mile wide I believe a F-5, did make the exit and crossed over and landed into OK City. We had the whole thing on film.

 

Well before you know it, here is all the local new stations and the weather guys. I was the center of attention, my friend was smart enough, to stay away from it all. But being a ham radio operator also makes you someone what of a ham..... I was being interviewed by the local news media. It was like the Ray Stevens song, The Streak, there I was on the side of the highway camera and lights all on ME!........ Someone asked to see my tape so they could make a copy of it....

 

Well I told my story more than once, each time it got better, kind of like a good fish story. What I did not know, I was on national news, and being dressed in my short sleeve blue shirt, all my ribbons, name tag and looking all sharp and good for the whole world to see. The news put on the bottom of my interview, you know how they can inject stuff only the people on TV can see. It said MSgt Larry Hauser, Sheppard AFB Meteorologist. Little did I know at that time, the command post, the commander was looking for me, and low and behold I was on the news and the resident expert for weather for Sheppard AFB, I was on the 6 o'clock news, the 10 and 11 O'clock news. My mother in Lee's Summit, MO even saw me on the news. She thought I was a jet mechanic not a weather man, I do not think I ever got her straitened out.

 

Well I went home, dumb to the world of what has happened. Well I was at work early and there was a note on my office door to report to the Wing Commanders office...... I thought well I have not done anything wrong so I must be getting award or a special project. So I bounce right over to the Wings Commanders office, all smug and with a big grin on my face. Well I knew something was wrong, but not smart enough to realize it, when they had a name plate at a spot at the big table where one of the Group Commanders would sit and it said MSgt Hauser Wing's Meteorologist, I though well that is odd, but I sat down with a big grin on my face, here I get to sit at the big table with all the other important people.

 

Then, and I do say then, the Wing commander asked me well Sgt Hauser command post called you at 1715 (5:15 pm and darn logs) and you did not answer the phone where were you. Silence, stutter, then well I had something to do, nobody was in the building so I didn't think it was a big deal that I left. About this time I am getting that sinking feeling that everything is not ok. That felling if you could run you should...... My smile was quickly fading Then the Wing King hit the play button on the VCR and for the first time I viewed my interview with the OK City news crew, with that famous tag under me Larry Hauser, MSgt USAF, Sheppard AFB Meteorologist. What I didn't know at the end of the interview the local news guy kept going on how lucky they were to have the military bases near enough to have weather experts like me to help with such emergencies.

 

When I looked back, at the Wing Commander she did not have a smile on her face, but my Commander, and the other commanders had big poop eating grins because they knew what was coming next.

 

That little 4'10 Chihuahua turned into a Great Dane as she chewed my tail end out......Her face was so red, it glowed and her sliver stars reflected the red looking like she might be a Russian..... I got all kind of additional duties for leaving my post...... I think secretly they were proud of me but they had to make a point. Out of all the tings I got chewed out for and a Letter Of Reprimand LOR during the interview I didn't have my hat on, I was out of 35-10 (or the dress regs)

 

Moral of the story if you are doing something, with someone, or somewhere you are not suppose to be, avoid the cameras, news, or anything else that can get you in trouble. And stay where you are suppose to be

 

Sad part is, in all the excitement I forgot to get my VCR tape back and I do not have the video....... I use to have the interview on VCR but cannot find it now.

 

If I was with any of the commanders and there was a cloud in the sky they would ask me, Sgt Hauser what kind of cloud is that, is it going to rain today........

[XV1100SE]

Good story !

[Huggy]

I thought the moral of the story was ALWAYS be in FULL uniform when you sneak off the base!