Competent chasers practice safety first Despite the recklessness of tornado chasers depicted in the movie Twister , the real experts put safety first. Sure there are bound to be times when the envelope is stretched to get that critical piece of data, or catch up with the day's only tornado. But chasers are so successful at what they do because they live to chase another day, and work to avoid putting themselves in extreme danger. The chaser could conceivably drive right into the tornado, especially if it is wrapped in curtains of rain. And, if the tornado doesn't get you, the hail hidden in the core likely will.
Chasers usually try to avoid core punching because of the danger and damage potential.
But hail stories abound, even within the realm of scientific chasing. In 30 years of chasing he says you can count on one hand the number of dimples from hail hitting his chase vehicles. They seem to think it's some kind of red badge of courage. I call it a red badge of foolishness because they are taking unnecessary risks. Most competent tornado chasers are meteorologists, and those that aren't have a strong interest in weather and have taken the time to learn about severe thunderstorms.