Tornadoes - Why We Love These Killers

The lifespan of a tornado can be anything from a couple of minutes to an hour or more. But in their brief life they wreak a destructive havoc on anything in their path. And yet they hold such a fascination that we continue to chase, photograph and explore these monsters more and more with each passing year.

I don't want to talk too much about how a twister forms, but basically tornadoes develop close to the boundary between the up-currents and down-draughts in a storm cloud. The typical funnel cloud of a tornado develops first from the cloud base and then extends down to ground level until we have the familiar spinning vortex.

The winds within a tornado are incredibly strong and can reach in excess of 300mph (483kph) picking up huge objects such as cars and buildings. In fact in a wind of 300mph there is very little that can survive. Even concrete can be blown to pieces. Wind speeds inside a powerful tornado are notoriously difficult to measure as all measuring equipment tends to be destroyed. So really we are guessing at the top speeds.

Fortunately only a very small percentage of thunderstorms will provide the ingredients necessary for a tornado, and even fewer of these tornadoes will actually strike populated land. And thank goodness for that. As an example of the terrible toll a twister can take the 'Tri-State' tornado, which passed through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana on March 18th 1925, killed 695 people during its 3½ hour life along a 219 mile path. This remains the deadliest tornado on record.

But storms chasers actively seek out, follow and intercept these killers. It's much like following a crazy man with a loaded gun, shooting randomly in any direction!

So why do they do this? Well I suppose it is obvious. The thrill of the chase, the adrenalin rush at being so close to danger and of course to wonder at the beauty and magnificence of mother nature's intense power. To catch, film and feel the rush of a tornado at close quarters, without getting seriously injured or killed, is the holy grail of a storm chaser. There is another factor in this, and that is the scientific study of a tornado, to unravel the mystery of how they form and work, and help predict their potential route to help warn people in their path and so save lives.

And though the saving of lives is very gallant, I have a strong feeling that the majority of chasers are in it just for the ride! And good luck to them.