For the 'excitement of the chase:' Tornado tours draw thrill-seekers from around the world
While tornadoes are the stuff of nightmares and most would run at the sight of twisters, there are people who race right toward them -- all in the name of a heart-thumping thrill and to see Mother Nature spawn awe-inspiring storm clouds.
These days, it's not just storm chasers seeking these adventures. There are tour groups that allow people from all walks of life to get an adrenaline rush and capture a picture-perfect selfie with a twister in the background.
Storm chasing tours are commonly held across the central United States in an area known as Tornado Alley in the spring and summer. They are led by professional storm chasers that can safely intercept tornadoes, large hail and monstrous thunderstorms that look more like a mothership.
There are many companies cropping up across the U.S. that conduct storm-chasing tours, but regardless of the company, the most popular tours tend to last anywhere from five to 10 days. These longer, vacation-style tours give chasers a better opportunity to see severe weather up close, as opposed to a shorter tour that only lasts one or two days.
“Since 2008, we have never had a single tour that did not see at least severe level storms. But, it’s hard not to in the spring in Tornado Alley,“ Nick Drieschman told AccuWeather.
Drieschman is an owner of Extreme Tornado Tours and leads several storm chasing tours every season.
Storm chasing tour companies, like Extreme Tornado Tours, will travel far and wide so their guests get to experience severe weather during their trip. This may mean driving thousands of miles over the course of just a few days. Tours that start in places like Oklahoma may drive as far away as Kentucky or North Dakota to see severe weather.
“Of course, there are some tours that you may miss a tornado on. We have about an 80 percent success rate our tours seeing tornadoes,” Drieschman said.
Tornadoes can be destructive forces of nature, but the leaders of storm chasing tours say that safety of the group is a top priority.
“We would never put the tour in a situation where we felt uncomfortable. We have a specialized chasing technique that makes us be able to keep the tours in a safe location,” Drieschman said.
“We’re very vigilant on watching our road networks, always having at least two escape routes. The way that we operate our tours, we make sure that we never get into that situation where we feel [unsafe] in the first place,” Drieschman added.
Several guests who went on storm chasing tours insisted to AccuWeather that many safety measures are taken on these trips.
“There were moments when I might have felt anxious due to the weather situation but I was never scared of the weather itself,” Scott Johnson, a guest on a seven-day storm chasing tour in 2018, told AccuWeather.
“They really went the extra mile to make sure our safety was first and foremost while chasing,” Kyle Hetherington, another thrill seeker who went on a storm chasing tour in both 2017 and 2018, told AccuWeather.
Complete footage of storm chaser Reed Timmer's incredible Wray, Colorado, tornado chase. The twister caused damaged and injured five people on May 7.
Although severe weather occurs on a regular basis across the central U.S. in the spring and early summer, there are some days when these tours may not be chasing thunderstorms.
“Most regular tours are going to have a down day, so we want to make sure that everyone is entertained,” Erik Burns, tour director at Tornadic Expeditions, told AccuWeather.
“For people to come out internationally and be able to see real, rural America and the Great Plains, they love it. So even if there’s a slow day and there’s not much going on, they still really enjoy it because they’re getting to see new sites, experience the culture and try the different types of food,” Burns said.
Some activities that the groups will do together when there are no thunderstorms can range from visiting the Twister Museum in Wakita, Oklahoma, to attending a Major League Baseball game or sightseeing at a National Park site, such as Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.
Chasing tornadoes with bona fide storm chasers ended up being an amazing experience, the weather enthusiasts that AccuWeather spoke to said, allowing them to witness powerful storms up close while making friends along the way.
“It was one of the best experiences of my life! Not just the thrill and excitement of the chase, but meeting some amazing people,” Brenden Laben told AccuWeather in an e-mail. Laben is a resident of the United Kingdom who traveled to the United States for a storm-chasing tour.
Despite the inherent risks, the tourists AccuWeather spoke to said the experience is rewarding and also provides memorable moments for the people who conduct the tours, who regularly watch guests behold a tornado for the first time in their lives.
“I turned my passion into a career and I founded Tornadic Expeditions,” Burns said.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a weak tornado or strong ground-scrubber, it’s that a moment is there, and when you can be that middle man, to bring that person who has a dream and get them to that reality and put that together for them, I have people cry and give me hugs,” Burns said.
“Seeing that makes me feel like I have purpose on this Earth," he added. That’s what drives me.”
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