Tornado tourists seek severe weather

DICKINSON, N.D. (KFYR) - Thursday’s storms brought storm chasers from across the country to North Dakota and Montana. A group of people with no severe weather experience rode along for the thrill of tracking a tornado.

“Look at the south, it’s coming right at us,” said a storm chaser.

Most storm chasers have seen it all, tornados ripping across the prairie, to massive hailstorms.

But for some chasers in Dickinson, Thursday’s experience was a first.

“Holy cow, no real cows fly around, but yeah, it was really cool,” said Dennis Scovazzo, New York.

“I will never look at the sky the same way,” said Trudie Coker, California.

The two were a part of a tornadic expeditions tour, where guests are able to follow weather activity with experienced storm chasers. The company was started by Erik Burns.

“Every time we go chase it’s like a chess game with mother nature,” said Erik Burns, Tornadic Expeditions owner.

Burns has various chasers accompany him on the tours, with this week being Nick Busby. He says the guests change as much as the weather.

“Since I have been doing it, I’ve had people who just graduated high school to retired NASA engineers,” said Burns.

The group follow the elements in their chasing vehicle equipped with various cameras and computers to also capture the storms.

“This was a very significant day yesterday as far as the beauty at first, and then the destruction later on. It was a top 10 day definitely,” said Nick Busby, storm chaser.

For the chasers, there is always another storm, but for the guests…

“The power of mother nature, it’s always been impressive,” said Scovazzo.

It’s a once in a lifetime experience, they will never forget.

The group is on a week-long tour, and is heading to Nebraska and then New Mexico.

Copyright 2021 KFYR. All rights reserved.