WHY CHASE TORNADOES?
This is a question frequently asked of chasers. It is not something that can be answered while waiting for the elevator or in small conversation at a cocktail party. It touches many levels and requires a measured response to fully answer. If my experience is characteristic of most chasers, there are at least five levels at which we relate to the big storm. First is the sheer, raw experience of confronting an elemental force of nature -uncontrolled and unpredictable- which is at once awesome, magnificent, dangerous and picturesque. Few life experiences can compare with the anticipation of a chaser while standing in the path of a big storm, in the gusty inflow of warm, moist gulf wind -sweeping up into a lowering, darkening cloud base, grumbling with thunder as a great engine begins to turn. Second is the challenge to forecast accurately and consistently where these deadly storms will occur. In a field that is still very much state of the art, each chaser must draw upon science, experien
