When a major storm strikes, most people hunker down or get out of the way. But not the storm chasers. For them, the clashing wind currents, dropping barometer and smell of electricity in the air means it’s time to suit up and meet nature head on.
Some of them are media and nature photographers; others are meteorologists with an extreme fascination with the natural complexity and sheer power of a tornado; and then there are the thrill-seekers looking for the ultimate adrenaline rush. All of them know the synoptic map of storms in their region by heart. They know the significance of every move of the barometer track cloud formations and wait for the next storm to hit. These are the storm chasers an assortment of people who are bound together by their love of extreme weather conditions.
So while most of us take cover in our homes or at least in a heated car as the storms rage outside the storm chasers waited anxiously for the gusts to rise. They don’t wait for storms passively. They go out to chase them literally.
Storm chasers can be found among all strata of the population but most of them have academic degrees. Their love for extreme weather has united them in their goal of carefully tracking the weather in order to know when to go out to the field to chase a developing storm. Their biggest thrill is to observe a tornado as it forms and strikes but most of them will also enjoy a violent thunderstorm photographing the lightning as it strikes and the overall chase that tracking storms involves.
As wild as it sounds most storm chasers are quite grounded. Prominent storm chasers are meteorologists who want to learn as much as they can about storms the way they are formed and how they work in order to save lives. The more knowledge they have about a storm the earlier they will be able to warn people in the danger zone and take protective measures against the havoc and destruction the storm can wreak.
Create a free account to keep reading.
