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Touching the Sky

Becoming a storm chaser was the natural course for someone fascinated by severe weather and tornadoes since childhood.  My interest in storms developed during that time as a result of many days spent viewing dark, ominous Texas skies, and nights spent awake watching vivid lightning from the window of my room while thunder, hail and howling winds combined in a cacophony of incredible noise that shook our home.

Needle in a Haystack, Spencer, South Dakota

It was Saturday evening, June 13, 1998. I was having dinner with some of the top storm chasers in the country at the Wagon Wheel Tavern in historic Marysville, Kansas. Fellow chasers Carson Eads, Tim Marshall, Alan Moller, Gene Rhoden and I sat down to a late meal after chasing a fast-moving, high-precipitation supercell along the Kansas-Nebraska border for several hours.

Colby, Kansas Chase

I awoke at about 3:00AM on the morning of July 21, 1996 at my home in Arlington, Texas. I had been watching the persistent northwesterly flow that had set up over the Central Plains for days. I had interviews scheduled the next day, on the 22nd, in Colorado for my newest documentary.

​​​​​​​Pampa - Hoover, Texas Chase

The Spring 1995 storm season had been a long and unusual one for me. I began chasing in March for fun and photography. Then, in mid-April I began shooting on the sequel to Chasing the Wind.

The Last Chance Chase

Late last May I had the opportunity to read many of the early issues of Storm Track. My friend and fellow chaser, Charles Bustamante, had packed nearly a dozen volumes of Storm Track for our latest excursion to the Plains. Near Glendale, Nevada, I recall reading a fantasy article/cartoon by David Hoadley. The star in this "Gentleman's Chase" wakes up somewhere in tornado alley, has a leisurely lunch, watches a storm develop nearby, and photographs a tornado while in perfect position after a brief drive. For him, it was just another typical chase day.