It’s all fun and games until people get killed.
Even before the movie “Twister”, I had heard of storm chasing. But back then, it was primarily professionals and meteorology students doing it.
I would love to go out on one of the tours. I’d like to see a tornado.
Of course having said that, I’d like the tornado to ideally be in a large large field where no homes are destroyed and no people are killed or injured.
As a life long mid-westerner, always loved the summer storm as it moves through. Temps drop 15 degrees in like 2 minutes, refreshing ozone air smell, everything gets super green, the initial pitter-pat of rain. But then the golf ball sized hail machineguns your vehicle, sheer winds dropping trees and pulling the shingles off your roof, lightning strike takes out your power grid. Not so fun.
I've had enough storm excitement to last a lifetime, thank you!
I attended college at OU (Norman, Oklahoma) in the sixties. When a tornado warning (one sighted) in our local area, we would load up a car, buy some beer, and go looking. Lots of fun.
It would be fun to convert a military MRAP into a storm chaser. Make the windows bigger, put in padded seats with good straps. Go for the vortex.
Tornadoes are very unpredictable and few years ago some very experienced and cautious professional storm trackers were killed when the tornado they were following unexpectedly turned back and hit their vehicle. In addition to the hazards from the storm, the crowds of gawkers driving like bats out of hell to catch a glimpse of the tornado could easily cause serious traffic accidents. These tornado safaris are in my opinion hugely dangerous. I have personally seen two tornadoes without deliberately seeking them and have no desire to see any more up close. When tornado warnings are given, take shelter.
What they may see on the tour....
https://ncache.ilbe.com/files/attach/new/20160724/377678/5499768063/8482159870/fe0bcc47ba54413909c8e46a8d3234b9.gif
There goes the house....
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53f4e093e4b085e4457080e1/t/573231f640261d67c7183afd/1462907390213/
“...the tornado season has gotten off to its slowest start in years.”
For those of us who actually live in tornado alley this is not such a bad thing.
