What it's like
Published on Thu., March 13th, 2008
March marks the start of tornado season in Kansas.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The sky is dark, and the air is filled with the sound of wind and rain buffeting your vehicle. The radio squawks with severe weather warnings, advising everyone to seek shelter. But that’s not for you. Instead you scan the skies, hoping to see that trademark funnel cloud amidst the crashes of lightning and peals of thunder.
Josh Berg, Chicago senior, looks forward to storm chasing season so he can practice his favorite hobby. Berg started storm chasing last year with his roommates and says he was immediately hooked.
They tracked a storm outside Colony, Kan., where they encountered a tornado. Berg says the funnel lifted up, passed over them and came down on the nearby town. “I was just sitting there, half-excited, half-scared, thinking ,‘What’s going to happen?’” he says. “It was one of the happiest moments of my storm chasing career.” Berg says the group tried to follow the tornado, but had to let it go because the roads were icy.
Berg says there is a lot to know about storm chasing, and if you don’t know what’s going on, it can be a scary and dangerous experience. He says that he was scared the first couple of times, but got over it. Now he says that no other experience compares to the thrill of storm chasing.
Discussion
The Kansan.com staff reviews comments regularly. Please be respectful of your peers. For our full user policy, click here.
Share your 2¢
Requires free registration.