During this photography centric storm chasing trip the focus will be to get us into a storm viewing position that will allow us more time to capture the beauty of the developing storms, with their incredible cloud formations, lightning, updrafts and downdrafts - all helping to create breathtaking time-lapses.  This will also allow us more time to not just get our camera's going, but also to think a little bit more about composition before starting to capture.

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We will have a photography class the night before the trip to get everyone comfortable with setting up their gear to prepare for the trip, and to talk about intervals, timelapes flicker, and when to use (and not to use) video for timelapse.    During the trip we'll spend a night or two going over post processing, workflow, and advanced editing techniques such as stacking. We will also try to grab a night or two to shoot some night sky timelapses, if weather permits. 

 

Daily weather briefings

Each morning we will get together before we hit the road to get an educational weather briefing, where the storm chasing meteorologist on our trip will analyze and forecast a target for the day and will present a forecast package to the group prior to each day's chase. You will definitely leave with a better understanding and appreciation for our dynamic atmosphere.

 

Hands-on Instruction

Once the weather briefings are over we'll load up into the van and be on our way to intercept that day's storm or storms. During our travels we'll discuss time lapse and post-processing techniques, and you will get to apply what you've learned during our daily shoots.   If there's a day without a storm, then we'll head out to capture the night skies if the location and weather allows or we'll hold a post-processing session to get a jump start on transferring and processing our captures from the trip.

 

Exploration days 

If Mother Nature takes a breather, so do we.  If this happens, we'll stop at sites like Mt. Rushmore, Badlands National Park, Devils Tower, Pyramid Rocks, Palo Duro Canyon, the Cadillac Ranch, The Big Texan, Chimney Rock, local National Weather Service offices, or take a personal guided tour of the Lisius Farm in Nebraska.  And on these days, we eat delicious local Tornado Alley delicacies like chicken fried steak, some of the world's best BBQ and our legendary Tex-Mex cuisine. We make sure every day is a day of wonder!

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Lighting, Mesa Cyclones & More! 

Lots of storms. That's what we do best. 

 

Safety

The safety of the participants and staff is our number one concern. We track storms close enough to view tornadoes, but far enough to be safe.  We do not "drive into" dangerous weather and do everything possible to avoid these hazards.  In fact, it is common to see other motorists driving into large hail, etc. when we are safely out of the way.  

 

Tempest Tours has established a safe record and has maintained a commercial grade insurance policy since we began operating in 2000.  All driving records are checked and cleared each year by their underwriter.  And, their staff receives a thorough and updated safety orientation annually.  In addition, all participants are presented with an in-depth safety class prior to each tour. Tempest Tour's president, Martin Lisius, is also our risk manager. He is known throughout the storm chasing community for being tough on safe and responsible conduct. Martin is the author of "The Ultimate Severe Weather Safety Guide," a book he wrote to mitigate the risks of potentially dangerous weather.