{"id":3023,"date":"2010-10-08T15:03:46","date_gmt":"2010-10-08T21:03:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/?p=3023"},"modified":"2010-10-08T15:04:17","modified_gmt":"2010-10-08T21:04:17","slug":"tornado-chasing-becomes-new-vacation-of-choice-for-thrillseekers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/severe-weather\/tornado-chasing-becomes-new-vacation-of-choice-for-thrillseekers\/","title":{"rendered":"Tornado chasing becomes new vacation of choice for thrillseekers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\""Tornado
"Tornado tourism" is becoming a quickly growing industry as folks look for alternatives to a trip to the beach. Check out the slideshow below to see what a one week tour yielded this past summer. (ThorntonWeather.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While many might view a tornado something to flee from, an increasing number of vacationers are flocking to the Great Plains for the chance to get up close and personal with a twister.\u00a0 A new study shows that storm chasing tours are becoming a vacation of choice for not only many Americans but also visitors from overseas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A University of Missouri research team found that interest in tornado chasing is being fed by popular television shows like the Discovery Channel\u2019s Storm Chasers.\u00a0 Further, thanks to the power of the Internet, live video streams by storm chasers showing tornadoes as they rip across the landscape have skyrocketed in popularity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tornado Alley stretches across the nation\u2019s midsection and is a unique location as most of the world\u2019s tornadoes occur in this broad swath from South Dakota to Texas.\u00a0 Tour operators like Silver Lining Tours<\/a> have capitalized on tourists seeking something more adventurous than a day at the beach. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Researchers Sonja Wilhelm Stanis and Carla Barbieri said that while the majority of participants in these tours were American, there was an international flavor to them as well. “While more than half of the surveyed travelers lived in North America, 11 percent came from Australia and nearly a third traveled from Europe to get a close encounter with a tornado.”<\/p>\n

\"Storm<\/a>This past summer as part of our work with\u00a0Examiner.com, we rode along on a seven day tornado chasing tour<\/a> that covered more than 3,000 miles.\u00a0 Among the 18 tourists were five British citizens, three of whom have been on multiple storm chasing tours in the United States.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Demographics for the group ran the entire gamut from married couples to singles aged from 25 to 55.\u00a0 Their backgrounds were as varied as one would expect at any vacation destination with blue collar workers and urban professionals all among the participants.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The study found that most that chose this high-risk activity were satisfied with the experience, even if they did not see a tornado.\u00a0 One-third of them saw a tornado while 50% saw funnel clouds.\u00a0 The vast majority, 95%, at least saw a \u201csignificant atmospheric event.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

View the slideshow for images of what it is like on a storm chasing tour.\u00a0 Also be sure to check out this video shot by ThorntonWeather.com of the Campo, Colorado tornado<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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