I hate it when I'm watching a TV show about tornadoes, and they show some young guys who are thrill seekers watching a tornado destroy homes and neighborhoods, and they're like, "This is awesome!" No it isn't! People's lives are being destroyed! It's not awesome. It's terrible. I've briefly considered travelling to the mid-west of the U.S. to chase tornadoes. However, I've decided against it because for one thing, their is no guarantee that I'd see a tornado. The other reason is because seeing a tornado destroy homes, neighborhoods, villages, and lives to me is no good. If you want to chase tornadoes, don't let me stop you. But be aware that seeing a tornado destroying lives isn't cool - it's sad.
Not all storm chasing is bad. Sometimes it's done in the name of science. Actually, I don't have a problem with it even when it's done for recreational/entertainment purposes. Some people just want to take cool photos, and I'm fine with that. In my mind, they shouldn't feel guilty about doing it.
I think chasing Tornadoes is amazing! Tornado chasing probably makes you feel very alive just like when somebody shoots at you with bullets or just like skydiving. I think tornadoes themselves are awesome, sure they sometimes do some harm to people, but I think it is people responsibility to build safer houses if they live in the area and be more cautious in general to avoid bad things from happening.
I don't know anything about tornado chasing, but I can't imagine its about enjoying another's misery, so much as it about dancing with the forces of nature. Being alone on a flat road underneath a darkened sky. The air feels ominous, and there, in the distance, one of Nature's behemoths, the twister. You can forget about your job, and your family, and all that other stuff. You're focused the here and now. In the zone. Must be pretty cool.
You face the same dilemma as a dog who likes to chase buses. Whatcha gonna do with it if you catch one?
Me and an ex girlfriend looked into going on a storm chasing holiday. What put us off the most was the cost (>£2500 each IIRC). I assume most of that was insurance related.
Chasing a tornado seems cool and all but I'd probably be pissing myself if I did end up getting close to one.
I would do it. I saw a water spout up close and it was absolutely incredible. I once sat in the singing ship with a quart of beer and a boyfriend watching the lightning out over the ocean. Lightning hit a house I was in in Florida once. The entire snow bank shifted once when I was cross country skiing with friends in the moonlight in Colorado and once in the same state I broke through the ice skiing crossing a not-frozen-enough lake. Some experiences are worth the risk.
@GingerCoffee that's the adventurer spirit I like to hear about. ha ha As for Tornado chasing, I don't see why anyone should feel one way or another. There is something sublime in nearly all natural storms and disasters. On one hand, one is witness to the destruction of lives, and it is sad depending on the eyes one is looking through. On the other hand, one is witness to a powerful awe-inspiring display of natural geometries and energies coming together with such vivacity ... it makes said person feel alive just to see it. It instills a sense of wonder. All that aside, I can't say I'm brave enough to willingly drive toward one. I have always been fascinated by the size, structure, and power in tornadoes, but that comes with a healthy fear, as with fire or the ocean. Still I bet it'd make quite the story, the kind only the risk-takers of the world can tell.
I probably should have said what the Singing Ship was: It's a wind sculpture on the coast near Emu, Australia. It has a nice place you can sit inside the singing cables.
