2014 weather thread

[Brad]

Check out the photo from Mike Hollingshead of http://www.extremeinstability.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, at Truck Mountain in Blair!

[skinzfan23]

Wow, I wonder if hail created that huge dent on the hood of the red truck.

[Coyote]

Our friend Jesse Attanasio of ONELapse just put this together:

[BBvideo 560,340][/BBvideo]

[jessep28]

I wonder how much farmland was affected? Hail is destructive to crops, especially soybeans.

[Coyote]

I wonder how much farmland was affected? Hail is destructive to crops, especially soybeans.

Someone posted on Facebook an hour ago a picture of their "cornfield". It was a lake...
I don't know how high the beans were yesterday, if they were affected that much...

[BRoss]

They should have those blizzard gates on Saddle Creek, that closes during heavy rain.

I've always wondered what they were for, but are those lights they put in on each side of Dodge used when Saddle Creek is flooded?

[ShawJ]

Many of the circular lights on Abbott Drive are shattered. Hopefully they can get them fixed before the CWS.

[Brad]

Many of the circular lights on Abbott Drive are shattered. Hopefully they can get them fixed before the CWS.

No, they will not be fixed in time:
http://eomahaforums.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12247" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ShawJ]

Many of the circular lights on Abbott Drive are shattered. Hopefully they can get them fixed before the CWS.

No, they will not be fixed in time:
http://eomahaforums.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12247" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Oops, didn't see that thread. Thanks for the link.

[Coyote]

Photo from 1989: Real Nebraska Girls be like Tornado Selfies.

[Brad]

Way better than that crappy one on Facebook where the Blasted the Contrast and Saturation...

[Coyote]

[Coyote]

[BBvideo 560,340][/BBvideo]

[guitarguy]

Haha yoo whats with that white car driving right up next to that thing at the end? Death Wish?

[Coyote]

[BBvideo 560,340][/BBvideo]

[GetUrban]

Tragic for those in Pilger and their friends and family. So sad to see it happen again. I guess every town in Nebraska will eventually get hit...over the next 100-200 years.

Don't you hate how most of the news channels that air footage put their logo & captions on the bottom 1/3 of the video, effectively blocking-out the view where the tornado is actually touching the ground? That is the most interesting part of tornado footage, and they cover it up.

[ricko]

Tragic for those in Pilger and their friends and family. So sad to see it happen again. I guess every town in Nebraska will eventually get hit...over the next 100-200 years.

Don't you hate how most of the news channels that air footage put their logo & captions on the bottom 1/3 of the video, effectively blocking-out the view where the tornado is actually touching the ground? That is the most interesting part of tornado footage, and they cover it up.

Was shocked to see the World Herald print a photo of that dead 5 year old girl----what a$$hole made that decision? Disgusting.

[Brad]

Was shocked to see the World Herald print a photo of that dead 5 year old girl----what a$$hole made that decision?  Disgusting.

From everything I heard, that's not the same kid. It was just people speculating that it was. Has the OWH made any official statement about it?

[jessep28]

Storm chasers take video and pictures of these deadly tornadoes and make money off them, why can't newspapers exploit these tragedies?

[Brad]

Newspapers have a job to report the news to people. Why is this injured kid any different then showing a kid that was blown up in a war or a staving kid in a 3rd world county? I think a lot of people don't want to see it because they want to pretend these things don't happen. This is real life and bad |expletive| happens. I don't think they need to show dead people, but this image will really hit home for many people and I hope it creates awareness of how dangerous these storms can be. They are way too many people (myself included) that don't take shelter because we think "its never going to hit us". The kid that was killed was in a trailer home and they had at least a 5 min warning to get out. May be they didn't have anywhere to go, but that's just poor planning. Why they still make trailer homes, I will never know, but the fact is, when you live in one, you need to have a plan and a safe place you can get to quickly.

I would guess that 99% of storm chasers never want to see a tornado hit a city. They would prefer to see the tornado out in the middle of no where. But in the end, yes they do make money off other people's tragedies.

[ricko]

Tragic for those in Pilger and their friends and family. So sad to see it happen again. I guess every town in Nebraska will eventually get hit...over the next 100-200 years.

Don't you hate how most of the news channels that air footage put their logo & captions on the bottom 1/3 of the video, effectively blocking-out the view where the tornado is actually touching the ground? That is the most interesting part of tornado footage, and they cover it up.

Was shocked to see the World Herald print a photo of that dead 5 year old girl----what a$$hole made that decision?  Disgusting.

The offending picture was removed from the story, in the on-line edition anyway. The comment section after the article was filled with outrage.

[Brad]

Wouldn't surprise me if that photo won a Pulitzer Prize. http://www.pulitzer.org/works/2014-Brea ... otography#

Here is a post from the Photographer:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... 887&type=1

Apparently it was a Storm Chaser and the AP picked up the photo.

In the last 24 hours, my life has changed. What started out as another storm chase in northeast Nebraska turned into a defining moment for me as a human being, and as a photojournalist, and also resulted in the most powerful, yet most difficult to make and look at image of my photojournalism career: A little girl, the victim of a powerful tornado, being rushed to an ambulance by medical personnel as she clung to life by a thread. Sadly, she succumbed to her injuries last night.

Since I created this image, I have been showered with a lot of praise, but also blasted with a lot of criticism. 'Why would you make a picture like that?!?! You're inhumane, you're a vulture, you're profiteering off the pain and suffering of others, you just don't take pictures of things like that!!!!' has been the resounding message.

Well, folks, I need to address this issue, and this picture, head on. Because you need to understand where I'm coming from, what I experienced, and why I had to make this picture.

Life is brutal. Life is harsh. And photojournalists have to bear witness to this, for better or for worse. And sometimes you have to make a choice of how to soften the impact of a bad situation to make it appropriate for publication. I photographed the EMT's and the girl from the right side, because when I first approached the scene, the entire left side of her body was battered and crushed, and frankly it was grisly and would have been completely inappropriate and truly hurtful to her family and friends. I had that photograph. It was deleted immediately after I processed my take.

For those of you who view me as 'inhumane' and a 'vulture': Do you want to know what it's like to make eye contact with a dying child as you photograph her being carried to an ambulance on a stretcher, and see the life within her eyes slowly fading to darkness? Can you hear the wailing of her badly injured mother, who knew that her daughter was dying as she lay there, unable to even say goodbye to her precious child and kiss her one final time? Do you know what its like to watch another human being slipping into the otherworld, and not be able to do a damn thing about it?

I saw. I heard. And I felt.

It was hard as heck to stand there and document what was unfolding before me. But I somehow managed to dig my heels in, keep my composure and make the image.

I hope and pray that none of you ever have to face something as terrible as I did yesterday. Because while photographing anyone who is dying is challenging, there is no greater heartbreak than to have your subject be a small child. After I was done making images, I went back to my vehicle and I completely broke down in tears. This moment in time will live with me the rest of my days.

But I stand unwaveringly by my decision to make this image. It is an uncomfortable image. It is a painful image. It hurts me to look at it. But damn it, it's important. This little girl's life was important. SHE MATTERED. And the human element is the essence of photojournalism;photojournalism would cease to have any meaning or impact without people in it.

What if Eddie Adams had turned away when the Vietnamese General Police Chief executed a Vietcong in front of him? What if Charles Porter, the photographer at the Oklahoma City bombing, had put down his camera when the firefighter cradled the body of the little toddler? I could name countless more instances where photographers could have flinched, but didn't.

This terrible storm took this little girl from her family and from Pilger, and this visual representation of their heartbreak is the grim representation of what happened in this small Nebraska town. It is not to be leered at or treated as a spectacle, but to show the depth of the tragedy, and to inspire compassion and charity.

For the sake of this child who was taken too soon, I encourage each and everyone of you to donate to Pilger, through Storm Assist and Prayers for Pilger, NE.

They have a vicious scar across their town, and an even deeper scar in their hearts. I pray that the family of this child may in time find peace from their devastating loss, and may we all extend our love and compassion to them in this grievous time.

Respectfully,

Photojournalist Storm Invictus Farnik

[jessep28]

It's Gawker so you have to discount the journalism there, but apparently the dude who took that picture posted on social media weeks ago that he needed "some highly photogenic and destructive tornadoes to make it rain for me financially."

Storm Chaser Ignites Firestorm after Posting Photo of Dying 5-Year-Old

[ricko]

It's Gawker so you have to discount the journalism there, but apparently the dude who took that picture posted on social media weeks ago that he needed "some highly photogenic and destructive tornadoes to make it rain for me financially."

Storm Chaser Ignites Firestorm after Posting Photo of Dying 5-Year-Old

Thanks for the link. Very revealing. Looks like the faux "photo journalist" won't be getting a Pulitzer next year.

[nativeomahan]

The image is very difficult to take. Some will argue that it is in poor taste. I can see both sides, but the role of a journalist isn't to make everyone's life more pleasant, or to put a smile on your face. Often they are performing a service when they do just the opposite. (One can only take so many cute kitty videos.)
Whether this photographer is a "journalist" in your eyes or not can be questioned. In today's world where who is and who is not a journalist is completely blurred due to the proliferation of digital online technology, pretty much anyone has the capacity to impact the 24 hour news cycle.
The Today show offered a tribute to this little girl on Thursday morning.

[lmdramos]

Even though the photo is hard to look at and sad. I think the journalist is justified in publishing and truly does a fantastic job of showing the true horrors of tornados that some people in this country will never experience. If you read the article the journalist even should restraint by not showing the other side of the child's body and even going so far from deleting it off is computer out of respect for the family.

[Coyote]

Tornado Clean-Up To Get Some Star Power

Rocker Bret Michaels and his band announced plans to spend Monday, June 23 in Pilger helping with the clean-up.

"When I heard the news of what happened to the folks in Pilger, I immediately wanted to do something to give them a hand in the aftermath of this disaster. I have many friends and family in that area including my sisters, one of which served in the Air Force station at Offutt AFB in Omaha" said Michaels.

[Coyote]

‘Worthless Piece of S**t’: Did a Storm-Chasing Photographer Violate Journalism Ethics With His Picture of a Little Girl?

[Coyote]

I have seen at least a dozen Nationwide cars on the roads this week. Many are staying at the a Downtown Hampton. They are getting a lot of good pr with those cars around.

[Coyote]

When doesn't that underpass flood during a good downpour? They should have those blizzard gates on Saddle Creek, that closes during heavy rain. How many times have we seen this video...

Anybody going through Saddle Creek today?

[guitarguy]

Can't remember too many times this many powerful Thunderstorms going through the city in one day.

[Brad]

This year has been absolutely crazy for precipitation. Too bad we can store some of it for a dry year...

The photos on twitter yesterday afternoon were incredible.

[Coyote]

Mike Hollingshead's (ExtremeInstability.com) extreme bad |expletive| gif:

[Brad]

I saw that on his FB page. Really Cool.

FYI, We have a thread for Mike Hollingshead/Extreme Instability

http://eomahaforums.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5849" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Coyote]

I saw that on his FB page.  Really Cool.

FYI, We have a thread for Mike Hollingshead/Extreme Instability

http://eomahaforums.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5849" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yeah, you caught me again, using the search tool, only to post in the first result...
Just move my mistakes

I'm trying to watch Royals post game ...