Memorable chase video quotes

[Tim Vasquez]

There are purely memorable quotes in here, as well as entertaining ones.

"Oh, I hope she's in her basement. Oh, god. Damn!" -- 3/28(?)/90, unknown man, Nebraska tornado approaching a neighborhood

"Thank you, God!" -- 4/26/91, Bobby Prentice, one of several holy graces uttered as storm intensifies, would later produce the Red Rock F5

"It's the poster boy for the American Cancer Society." -- 1995, Roger Edwards, as a Kansas hick pulls his car up into nighttime lightning FOV and lights up a cigarette

"Look at that nose sticking out from under the door." -- May 1985, Jim Leonard, after returning from Gotebo, looking at dog snout barking underneath garage door in Edmond

"WHOA!" -- 6/9,95, Gene Rhoden, as tornado develops 200 yards away near Vernon

"OOOOUUURRRGGGHHH!!! DUH TORNADO!!" -- 6/8/95, Tim Marshall, jaw dropping as Kellerville tornado emerges a mile wide

Tim

[Jeff Wear]

"Where are my pants?" - crazy farmer from Columbus NE

"There's a tornado right out my back door" - I think this was from Arkansas, maybe Jan 1999, the accent is what makes it memorable

"I hate Oklahoma" - Carmen OK 5/17/1995

"There's a big...thingamabobber out there" - from a waterspout video, the woman filming obviously didn't know or couldn't remember what a tornado over water was called

"Is there any way you could call me back in about three hours?" - Dave Ewoldt very calmly over the phone to someone as the Happy TX tornado was spinning up on 5/5/2002 - the person on the other end of the line wouldn't have had the slightest idea what was going on right in front of Dave's windshield.

[Kevin Scharfenberg]

"I'M TEN FEET FROM IT! I'M TEN FEET FROM IT!" - Anonymous drunk guy, unknown date, unknown location (at a lake cabin in, I think, Minnesota).

"Uggghhhh...I think I got struck." - Anonymous not so smart guy, Fritch, Texas, June 27, 1992.

"If there is a tornado today, I'll eat my hat." - Anonymous meteorologist, Norman, OK, around noon on May 3, 1999.

[Jay McCoy]

"we have a tornado on the ground"... almost every chaser who has uttered this obvious saying (I am guilty as charged) . if its a tornado. ofcourse its on the ground. :roll:

[Karen Rhoden]

(Correct me if I'm wrong here, Tim M.!)

Tim Marshall, 05/08/03; (Whilst speeding away from the Osage City barrel tornado as it stomped across the landscape towards them at 50mph)...

Bystander: "This is awesome!!"

Tim, as they pass in the car: "Yes it is!.......don't get caught in it......"



..Karen..

[Gene Rhoden]

"Which one of you is Warren Faidley?"

A quote spoken in an inquisitive tone by a chaser who stopped by the side of the road near Memphis TX. while Tim V. and I were out shooting lightning in 1997.

..Gene..

[Bob Schafer]

"Is there supposed to be a tornado?"

...Roadside question from a local as I observed a wall cloud in eastern CO on 990610.

One unknown chaser to, I think, David Drummond, on the morning of, I think, 030508:

"Is Norman launching an 18Z balloon today?"

David:

"I dunno.....maybe they ran out of balloons!"

Bob

[George Tincher]

"Whoa! Major footage!"

"Everybody get under something!"

"God! You can hear it coming!"

---All uttered by the same guy filming the approach of an Iowa tornado in what I believe was 1995 (it's on the TVC 3 video).

[Chris Sokol]

Tim Marshalls Happy Texas video...the whole thing. Just classic.

[Shane Adams]

Originally posted by Tim Vasquez

\"Oh, I hope she's in her basement. Oh, god. Damn!\" -- 3/28(?)/90, unknown man, Nebraska tornado approaching a neighborhood

The date was 3-13-90 :D


\"Look at that nose sticking out from under the door.\" -- May 1985, Jim Leonard, after returning from Gotebo, looking at dog snout barking underneath garage door in Edmond

Watched that one a few nights ago - very obscure quote, nice addition to this list :P


\"WHOA!\" -- 6/9,95, Gene Rhoden, as tornado develops 200 yards away near Vernon

I actually thought of this one first, as soon as I read the topic - and here it is 8)

[Jeff Wear]

another one I just thought of from one of my chase partners....as the group is watching a storm in the TX panhandle a white Pontiac Grand Am speeds by and suddenly pulls over. out of the car steps this guy smoking a pipe, who walks over to the group and says

"Have you guys seen Warren?"

so one guy in my chase partner's group says

"Warren? I don't know Warren. Ohhhh you mean Faidley! Yeah we saw him this morning while we were eating at Deeny's..uhhhh...Denny's.

later on they were talking about where they thought the storm was headed


"I'm thinking Doo-mas"
"Yeah I was up there doing some core punching. Hehehehehehehehehehehehe.

That guys laugh was strange and disturbing. But it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen on a chaser's video.

[Karen Rhoden]

Sorry folks, had to add this one......

May 9th, 2003, Oklahoma City, 10.30pm; we get hooked by atomised rain and realise something's not quite "right";

Karen: "What's going on?"

Tim: "Just a little tornado."


..Karen..

[Earl Faubion]

"You're going to run into him!!.......... God!!"

Amy Castor to husband Val as he swerved to avoid a police car in southwest Oklahoma City on May 3, 1999.

[mikedeason]

A couple of personal classics from 1996:

"Crunch, crunch, crunch...."ad infinitum.

A guy who chased with us that year who taped his entire trip from the time he was backing out of his driveway onward, all the while with the clear sound of pork rinds being consumed along the journey.

"CJ! CJ!"
While core punching a storm in southeastern NE, one of our partners yells this when a blinding CG strikes within 100 feet or so of our vehicles.

"Oh S@#T!!!"
Too numerous to count. :-)

Regards,

Mike

[mikedeason]

A couple of other notable quotes from other well known videos:

"Laverne's gonna get nailed!"

"This is big time...I'm gonna need backup on this one."

"It's uh lil' tahnada"

"they'll follow a creek or river"

"Look at the whip in that sucker....look at that twirlin' action"

"Fellas, we're gonna be on TV!"

"Oh Dear Jesus, please take away this tornado, oh Lord, save us from..."

"Go for it tornado!"

"OH MY GOD REGAN!!!!"

Regards,

Mike

[mrobinson]

With CG's striking around him Neal Ras says calmly.. this is my living will I leave everything to my brother.. dramatic pause............. TEXAS GETS NOTHING!!

[Dave Kaplow]

June 23, '02, Roger Hill:
"Stop stop stop... It's right next to us! Oh god... No, go ahead, go, go ahead, please..."

[Laura Duchesne]

One line that gets me chuckling is Neal's Chickasha tornado video where he goes to lower the tripod legs to elimate the wind.

"Gonna lower the tripod legs to try to elimate the wind.... Oh here let me give you that MTV look.... Oh it's MTV... Wow... Tornado... Whoa...." Then says something real fast) "Ok enough sillyness... sorry about that folks, just couldn't resist...."

And then a few minutes later he yells "Just like on the weather channel!"

:lol:

And of course we all know the "Debris! Debris! Tornado! Passing right in front of us!" saying from Erik Rasmussen, when a tornado was crossing the road in front of them back in '81.

[Amos Magliocco]

Steve Miller and I came over a ridge last May 15 and found two wall clouds hugging the ground-- the Stratford wedge was about to touch down. The dash camera shows the view out front, but off-camera, I was apparently screwing around with a phone or my laptop or some other gadget or gizmo.

As the wedge was about to kick up its first spray of dust, I mumbled a curse about some techno-problem and Steve said, "Dude, we don't NEED any more DATA!" :D :D

AM

[Matthew Hatton]

I remember in 2000 when I was in De Moine, IOWA we had the sirens going off, we were parked under a gas station and this gust of wind blew a few maccy d's containers and stuff down the road. I shouted "we have debris" and I was not allowed to forget that for the next two weeks. I guess it was the excitment of it all!! :oops:

[Chris Hayes]

April 26 1991 Near the soon to be redrock f4/5 wedge

Bobby Prentice, Gene Rhoden, and another chaser are broken down on the road-not funny at the time, but the comments made are funny 13 years after the fact

Bobby: Gene, help him
Bobby: Get the starting fluid! get the starting fluid

Sorry Gene, but it is funny video. :)

[Tim Marshall]

More notable quotes:

"From behind the tree please!!" Tim Marshall orders a tornado to emerge from behind a tree. Also, "Ten, I love it ten" and "I'm comin to Kansas every year!" -after seeing ten tornadoes in a row on May 26, 1991. All from his 1991 Kansas Tornado Video.

"I was visitin mother and I came around the Catholic Church and god damn there was a tornado." Resident of Canadian, TX - May 7, 1986.

"I'm glad I took today off (work)" - Robert Prentice - April 16, 1991.

"This is serious" - Chuck Robertson after a close lightning bolt hits as vehicle gets pounded by baseball hail.

[John Cameron]

"OOOOUUURRRGGGHHH!!! DUH TORNADO!!" -- 6/8/95, Tim Marshall, jaw dropping as Kellerville tornado emerges a mile wide

Tim

"Look at this . . . (in voice of Kermit thee Frog) Gene WIPER PLEASE, WIPERS, WIPERS . . . HOLY COW! . . "

awesome :wink:

[Gaetan Cormier]

June 23, '02, Roger Hill:
"Stop stop stop... It's right next to us! Oh god... No, go ahead, go, go ahead, please..."

On that same occasion Roger said: "You came close to death right here" :shock:

Gaetan

[Gabe Garfield]

The people in Moore are saying "Oh no, not again!"

-Grant Hicks, September 7, 2001 squall line.

Remember what I said about Moore not getting hit again? Yeah, skrap that, that was (crap).

-Grant Hicks, May 8, 2003.

[Jimmy Deguara]

Tim Marshall and most of you may not have heard these HP Beast in New Mexico 4th June 2003:

"Woooohhw. Look at that inflow....spinning"

"...Roof off the mobile home..." the roof was ripped off by inflow winds

"We have tumbleweed mania here.."

"This storm... is tearing up... the turf"

The audio with Tim driving was so funny I had to include the whole lot on my video.

Regards,

Jimmy Deguara

[Blake_Michaleski]

"So Blake what do you think about that burrito?"

"Well it'd be alot better if i had... ohh wait! i DO have taco sauce!..... oh um well i thought i had some taco sauce"

Conversation between Scott Blair and I in an Allsups parking lot after a Feb 8th 2001 bust in west texas.

Dont ask why but I just remember that one real well.

"Oh well I think it just spun up there real quick."

Me speaking to Derek Deroche after the May 23rd 2002 Spearman tornado.

"Take More stills!!!!"

Derek yelling to me and Lee Robertson while we are enjoying the 4-5-03 Aspermont, Tx tornado without looking through a viewfinder. we had already clicked off damn near a roll each.

[Larry J. Kosch]

Those quotes were funny and very human. Makes me wonder how many of those people converted to the priesthood or went to a convent??? And where in the hell was Warren Faidley??? :lol: LJK.

[Aaron Kennedy]

Gas station worker in Marietta, OK. October 12, 2001.

"It ain't no storm if it don't blow down no tree."

Aaron

[Blake W. Naftel]

Adding to the slurry of comments already posted... my all time favorite video comment comes from the 19-April-1996 C. Illinois tornado outbreak... Following hail striking a portion of "The Meatwagon", Roger Edwards comments to fellow chump Rich Thompson...

Roger: I just got hit by a hailstone"...

Rich: "You did?"

Roger: "Yeah, this window over here..."

Rich: "...Oh I thought you did, and I was gonna say that was interesting as your in the car"

Roger interrupts: "I didn't get hit by a hailstone you dork I'm in the car"

Rich: "Moron, you said you got hit"...

Roger: "Shut the hell up..... the car is me and I am the car, it's an extension of my body!"

..Blake..

[Thomas Loades]

I just had to add these two dear little conversations:

Edmonton, Alberta, July 31, 1987 — between what sounds to be a babysitter and his young charge:
B: Oh, my goodness . . . look at that . . .
C: What is that?
B: That's a cloud.
C: Well, who would have thought —
B: That's a funnel cloud!

Iradell, TX April 26, 1994:
“Oh lord jesus, protect us . . . look at that [something] there! Are you tapin' that?”
“Yes, Granny, I'm taping it,”
“Look back down there Grampa, where that windmill's at!”
from the background “I KNOW where it's at!”
“I'm gonna see, Granny, if they wanna take this on TV . . .”
pause during which you can practically HEAR Granny glaring at photographer
“If we LIVE through this I'll see if they'll take this on TV.”

And how could anyone have forgotten so far:
“Damn, that was a BIG bug on me — what in the hell were you?”
— Robert Prentice taping dust whirl near Chillicothe, TX June 9, 1995

[Chris Sokol]

Jeff Piotrowski Classic:

"I'm moving debris!!!"

[Scott Freeman]

Originally posted by nickgrillo
May 14, 2004


Vince: Funnel.
Nick: No, that's scud.
Vince: Funnel!
Nick: No, that's scud.
Vince: Funnel!
Nick: Oh my god, funnel!

:lol:

RTOTFLMAO!!!

[Charles Kuster]

[quote]"I'M TEN FEET FROM IT! I'M TEN FEET FROM IT!" - Anonymous drunk guy, unknown date, unknown location (at a lake cabin in, I think, Minnesota).

I saw this one. He was a lot further away than ten feet! :D

[Richard Halter]

about the "It's 10 feet from me" video

after the tornado passes, its'

"Where's the boat?"

[Scott Currens]

While Eric Nguyen and I were following the May 29th Attica tornado we turned on a dirt road only to see a sign that read "Bridge Out".

Eric: Bridge Out!
Scott: Bridge Out.....whats that mean?

I guess it wasn't the brightest thing I've ever said.

Scott Currens

[fplowman]

Mile wide wedge coing straight at me while im taping..
Some Bitch.. Is that what i think it is??
Is that a Tornado?
Some Bitch thats the biggest F#$king tornado ive ever seen
Some bitch......lol

[Shane Adams]

"It's excruciatingly slow behind old people on Easter!!!" - me, while stuck behind an elderly couple in a small Arkansas town as the storm was getting away April 23, 2000


"C'mon baby, do it for daddy!!!" - me, trying to talk a funnel down near Dwyer, Wyoming on May 16, 2000

[Thomas Loades]

Originally posted by Chris Sokol
Jeff Piotrowski Classic:

\"I'm moving debris!!!\"

Not to mention “Yes [something flies out of car window] — wait — that was my Kansas map!!” Stevens Co., KS May 5, 1993

And from any video of his, “MAJOR, MAJOR DAMAGE!!!”

[Bridget Beddow]

I'm sorry, but I just love this most popular phrase of all time.....




"It sounded like a freight train"

What the heck is that supposed to mean???????
For once I want to hear someone describe it a little differently!!!

Every storm that passes I wait to hear the horn from the train blowin'

[Jeff Lawson]

A few off the top of my head...

"Uh, is that whole thing gonna be a tornado?" - Amos Magliocco, May 5, 2002, as the Happy tornado first developed.

"It's weird. It's like a gustnado, but there's a meso. It's a gustmeso." - Eric Nguyen, May 27, 2001, near Ashland, KS

"Bob! Arrest him! He called me a dickhead!" - May 29, 2004, Attica, KS volunteer fireman, yelling to a nearby cop after having a verbal "disagreement" with a local.

[Michael P. Morris]

"That lightning is scary!" - Steve, a fellow meteorology major on June 12. Repeated about 30 times in the span of ten minutes.

He was filming the Mulvayne tornadoes as CG's were exploding all around him. I can only imagine what it would have been like in real life! :shock:

[Tony Laubach]

I've got a couple good ones...

My chase partner, James, is filming me standing outside the car in a hailstorm in Fort Morgan, Colorado... a semi-truck drives passed the car kicking all the hail into the open window all over James..

"OW! OW, you @$$!"

Can't forget the NWS weather radio with 12 inch diameter hail AND this year's 30 inch hail! :lol:

[Fabian Guerra]

While chasing a tornado warned HP in Iowa we got caught in the core. Winds were intense, hail, torrential rain, etc. With no visibility we pulled over, faced the winds and held tight while the sirens started to go off. At that moment I called Jerry Funfsinn on the 2-way radio as he was pulled over just ahead of us. He had the Baron XM system in his van and I wanted to get an update on the situation. Here is basically how it went:

me: "Jerry, are we going to get hit with a rain wrapped tornado?"
Jerry: "Nah...but do you see that water tower ahead of us?"
me: "yeah"
Jerry: "well, if it starts to fly away then it IS a tornado"
me: "thanks a lot, jerry"

One of those "had to be there" moments...

[Sara Johnson]

Regarding May 27, 2001...Meade, KS Derecho...speeds of 110mph locking road options. Looking at shelter options.
Dave C states...."You know guys, I think we can outrun this thing..."

Storm spotter/photographer was off the side of the road with us, but ducked behind the front of his car. He begins pulling grass and tossing it up into the air.
Someone says "What is that guy doing over there?"
Someone else says.. "A sounding???"

[Angie Norris]

Not a chase vid, but just heard it on Storm Stories...
A lady near Jarrell TX filming a tornado..."I tell you what...that suckers coming this way"...right before it nails her house :shock:
But my all time favorite which has already been posted is from the OKC tornado on May 9, 2003...
Karen Rhoden: "What's going on?"
Tim Marshall: "Just a little tornado."
Then after the tornado...Tim: "WHAT A TORNADO!!!!!!"
Angie

[Laura Duchesne]

June 14, 2004

I was filming a rotating wall cloud, and it was headed our way. My partner, who just reported the wall cloud, told me we had to move.

Me: "What did they say? Did they say there is a hook?"
Partner: "What was that?"
Me: "Was there a hook on radar?"
Partner: "Ohhh I.... (laughs) I am not worried about that."

That's probably the dumbest line I ever said on a chase Hahahahahaha. If it rotates, there IS a hook, but I obviously was not thinking at the time LOL :lol:

[Bryce Stone]

We've gotta go faster, buddy. Lots faster. -Overpass video, Kansas, 1991

[Richard Halter]

that's one of the stupid chaser quotes of all time - we have to go lots faster than a 40mph forward movement tornado.

[Shane Adams]

Since the topic has momentarily shifted to "dumbest" chaser quotes, here's a few of my own dumbass quotes:

"Funnel....funnel on the ground there." - May 31, 1999, while watching a small tornado develop.

"Woooow, look at the beaver tail....outflow." - June 11, 1997, describing an incredible INFLOW feeder near Lela, TX. So much I didn't know back then (not unlike today :wink: )

Said to my chase partner, as I'm stepping in front of the vidcam, completely blocking the view of the tornado: "Watch out, you're gonna get rain on the lens." - May 29, 1997

[Jeff Wear]

Some of the dumbest stuff I've caught myself saying on video....


"I'm in a pretty safe location here. Well I'm in the parking lot of a funeral home. Hopefully I won't need it after this storm passes."

"This is like some of the perks of chasing. You don't go out specifically to see just a big flock of ****ing blackbirds gather round in a parking lot."

"They're (the birds are) like airplanes waiting for clearance on a runway"

"I just hope my windows don't break. That would kinda suck."

"Even if the winds get up to 70 mph I think I'll be ok. I mean my pants might be a little brown afterwards, but otherwise I should be ok." --(9/18/2002 in Enid OK watching a massive blackbird evacuation take place in front of me just before outflow from an HP supercell hit)


"Gustnado #8.....gustnado #9........gustnado #10" -- (5/15/2002 near Minneola KS - after seeing many gustnadoes south and east of the town I kind of broke into a Tim Marshall impersonation)


"Nah she wasn't topless." -- (6/12/2004 just minutes before the Rock KS tornado - after turning around to take a second look at someone sitting on top of a car who at first glance appeared to be female and topless --- turns out she was indeed female, but wearing a string bikini top)

[Thomas Loades]

While we're on dumb quotes:

Two enthusiastic “chasers” at Bowling Green, KY ca. 1997
1: We're the Bowling Green Stormchasers!
2: We chase tornadoes, hail — we done Twister 2 . . .
1: . . . My car is gettin' the hell beat out of it!
2: Don't worry, Bowling Green — we're takin' care of you!
then, later — and alongside the tornado —
1: What's everybody slowing down for?
2: Go, people, go! — Don't stop, car . . .
1: Where is it?
2: It's right on top of us . . . it’s right on TOP OF US!!!