'We came within 45 seconds of a tornado wiping us out!'

The thrill of the chase

There’s something so pleasing about watching the rain through the window or hearing rumbling clouds from the warmth and comfort of your own home. But some people want to get up close and personal with extreme weather, and there are experienced tour operators out there willing to take enthusiasts (safely) on a drive to the heart of a storm.

We spoke to three real-life storm chasers to hear about their experiences with one of the world’s most dangerous hobbies…

What is storm chasing?

As the name suggests, storm chasers quite literally chase storms. But there’s no running involved; instead, they drive vast distances seeking and following dramatic storms to watch and photograph. It might sound dangerous (and it certainly can be), but it’s a hobby that has also spawned an addictive and lucrative tourism business.

Worldwide storm chasing

Christoffer Bjorkwall, from Sweden, has travelled across the world to get his storm-chasing fix. Although work and family commitments mean he is unable to indulge his passion for travel and adventure quite as often as he used to.

A visual feast

After spending a year in Kansas as an exchange student in 2003, Christoffer heard stories from friends about how storms and tornadoes had affected them. "It really caught my interest", he says. "A few years later I found some amazing videos on YouTube and it really opened my eyes to the amazing things that can happen during a powerful supercell storm. Tornadoes, amazing storm structures, weird clouds, incredible colours, hail the size of oranges, etc".

Safety protocols

"Of course chasing storms isn’t as safe as watching tornadoes on YouTube, but it is a lot safer than one would think", Christoffer says. "We always keep a safe distance away from tornadoes and large hail. In addition, we make sure we have an escape route if a storm makes an unexpected turn".

The biggest challenge

Giant hail, speeding tornadoes and catastrophic winds might seem like they would be the most dangerous elements of storm chasing, but they’re not. "The riskiest part of storm chasing is the driving", Christoffer explains. "You can drive for more than 10 hours day after day, often in bad weather conditions".

Dangerous beauty

But this doesn’t mean the storms themselves don’t come with risks. In the past, Christoffer and his group have been stuck in the middle of two storms that collided just after dark with failing 4WDs limiting their escape routes. There is also an awareness that "as a chaser, you are watching tornadoes that have caused devastation and even killed people. A good season is always a season that doesn’t kill anyone", he says. "The main goal for everyone is to have photogenic tornadoes over an open field where it isn’t causing any harm".

One storm can produce dozens of tornadoes

"The best storm I’ve ever witnessed was in Dodge City, Kansas in 2016", says Christoffer. "It was the perfect storm-chasing day. One almost stationary storm produced somewhere between 10 and 15 tornadoes in one day, with two tornadoes on the ground at the same time. It was amazing!" Another highlight was his very first storm back in 2009 in Wyoming. "It had a very specific rope stage, which is when it is turning like a lasso in the sky. I was happy to see that so early".

Prime places for storm chasing

Most companies chase storms from Texas to North Dakota and from Colorado to Missouri, but Christoffer claims the best place for chasing is in Kansas. "That's mainly because it's the state in which it began for me", he says, "but also because it is so flat and you can see tornadoes from miles away". In his day job Christoffer works as a data engineer, but he is also behind the website StormChasingUSA.com, which provides fellow storm fans with tools for choosing the best storm or tornado-chasing tours in the US.

An app for storm chasers

He has also developed an app, StormCenter, which allows storm chasers to get an overview of what’s been going on in tornadoes and tornado reports across the US. "It was something I felt was missing", says Christoffer. Now storm chasers can check out where tornadoes have been spotted and who was there to see them, or follow chasers live as it happens. "Basically, anything anyone sees in the US you can see on one map. You can watch it live or follow specific chasers if you want to", explains Christoffer.

Doing it for the community

Storm chasers seem like a friendly bunch who like to share enthusiasm on social media. "The posts of recent tornadoes with great footage spread quickly among the community and then often outside to the public”, says Christoffer. The app only helps fuel their enthusiasm and the response has been positive. "It’s been really well received, which is great because I spent a lot of time doing it. Making it for the community was my primary objective so I’m really happy that they like it", he says.

An expensive hobby

Charles Edwards began chasing storms in 1990 and founded Cloud 9 Tours, the oldest storm chase company in the industry, in 1996 to fund what he described as "a very expensive hobby". The company stopped operating tours in 2022 but still has a large range of photos and videos available for licensing to interested parties.

Chasers travel in packs

"I was originally interested in hurricanes and studied meteorology", Charles explains. At university, he became involved in a storm-chasing club and was quickly hooked. "I transferred to the University of Oklahoma and chased storms with several experienced people. It became an obsession and I eventually found a way to make it into a business". The company quickly grew and Charles would take groups of 16 or more out on storm-chasing drives.

A typical storm chaser's day

The day would begin with Charles looking over weather data and making a forecast, followed by a weather briefing to the guests and a brunch. After that they would head out to their target areas, refining their objectives as they went. When storms developed they would follow them until they lost the trail, it became too dark to follow safely or the storms died.

Everyone gets a window seat

Cloud 9 Tours took groups of chasers out in 15-passenger vans. As there were only two people per bench seat everyone got a window seat. There were also outlets available so people could charge their phones if necessary.

Tornado spotting

Storm chasing isn’t just about chasing rain and lightning, though. The main aim is to find storms that are likely, or at least have the potential, to produce tornadoes, particularly supercells (a type of thunderstorm that produces deep rotating clouds). Charles would forecast conditions that were favourable for supercell formation and if those didn’t exist he would go for whatever photogenic weather pattern he could find.

Hardcore hailstones

The large hail produced by storms could create some of the scariest experiences. Charles tells us that on one storm-chasing outing, he was caught near a tornado that was producing "softball-size hail" blowing sideways around the tornado. "There was no way to escape the hail, we lost several windows in the van and had no visibility with a tornado close by".

A record-breaking storm chaser

Roger Hill holds the Guinness World Record for seeing the most tornadoes in history. "Having a close-up experience with a large tornado in my youth fuelled the fire", Roger says. "I’ve been chasing storms for over 30 years – I have a love for weather of all kinds that has kept me going".

Peak storm season

Roger is a partner in Silver Lining Tours, one of the many storm-chasing firms based in the US that are still operating. "In the spring and early summer, we chase severe thunderstorms", Roger says. "These are beautiful (but can be frightening) to watch and are responsible for over 90% of tornadoes".

Storms are never guaranteed

Customers book up to 18 months in advance for Silver Lining Tours, but there aren’t always storms to see. "You never get storms every day", Roger explains. "Usually two out of three days you get storms to chase. When there are no storms we either get into position for the next chase day, relax or find local attractions to visit, or I teach severe weather classes to the group".

Exploring far and wide

Chasing storms involves a lot of travelling. According to Roger, distances can average around 500 miles (800km) a day. "It sounds like a lot, but it goes fast", he says. "Guests get to visit parts of the US and Canada they wouldn't ordinarily. The plains are quite pretty and offer a lot of things to see".

High-tech travel

"We use 15-passenger, customised vans", Roger explains. "They have power outlets at each seat for guests to use and plenty of high-tech equipment, including in-van wifi, computers, software for weather data and commercial radios for van-to-van communication".

Storms escalate quickly

What might seem like a small storm can sometimes turn into a "high precipitation storm," Roger explains. "With these types of storms, you can’t see a tornado, so at that point we break off and stay a safe distance away".

Narrow escapes

"The scariest moment I ever had was in 2011 when we were very close (three city blocks away) to the Joplin, Missouri’s killer EF5 tornado, which killed more than 10 people and injured 1,000", Roger recalls. "We were stuck in traffic and had to take evasive manoeuvres to get out of the way as the mile-wide violent tornado approached. We came within about 45 seconds of impact", says Roger.

How to do it yourself

Tempted to sign up for a tour yourself? Tours tend to cost between £1,100 ($1,400) and £3,900 ($5,000) per person. You’ll need to book well in advance and pick a time of year that will provide you with good storms – May and June are known to be the best for spotting tornadoes.

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