In Tornado Hunting: Chase it From the South, storm chasers Chris Chittick and Ricky Forbes document their lives in the notorious Tornado Alley of the central U.S.
Just south of Sioux Falls, North Dakota, Forbes, Chittick, and their crew are waiting and watching the skies for funnels of violent cloud.
“We are in the right spot!” they crow as a tornado warning comes in only a few kilometers away. The tornado siren echoes through an empty town as dark clouds roll overhead. The unfolding scene is apocalyptic. The air turns green, they lose signal — but the tornado doesn’t appear.
The dashboard setup features live weather readouts, navigation, and recording equipment. Photo: Screenshot
A professional storm chaser is like a sailor of old. The wind and weather are the ultimate deciders of success, no matter their skill or determination. Like the tars, they spend a lot of time away from their families.
After the disappointing storm, in a rain-soaked parking lot, Chris calls home and tells his children that he misses them. Then it’s back on the road.
Driving through the night after a storm. Photo: Screenshot
Home is Saskatchewan, Canada. Chris pushes one of his three young children on the swing, one eye on the darkening sky.
“I feel like weather always wins,” admits his wife, Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Rickey and his fiancée, Tirzah Cooper, are driving to her first cancer treatment. She wonders how soon she’ll lose her hair.
A tornado recorded through the dashboard camera. Photo: Screenshot
From the south
A storm is forming around Canby, Minnesota, and the Tornado Hunters drive to meet it. But the road conditions and local terrain complicate their attempt. Hills and tall trees prevent their view and access to the storm. The only chance of getting close is to go right in front of the storm’s path, a dangerous gamble. It’s safer to approach tornadoes from the south, as the storms move in a northerly direction. Driving into them head-on can, and has, been deadly.
“The more I’ve storm-chased, and the more that I’ve seen the destruction that tornadoes can do, the more terrified I become of them,” admits Ricky.
They’re watching construction crews haul away the wreckage of a ruined house, after the storm they failed to catch has passed.
The storm swept through, leaving uprooted trees and unroofed houses behind. Photo: Screenshot
Their caution brings them back to Saskatchewan, where Ricky and Tirzah go to another appointment. He shaves her head. Not long after, a nearby tornado watch offers what he thinks will be the best chance all year. She urges him to chase after it.
After a succession of near-misses, Ricky finally approaches a dramatic tornado. He stops the car and stands in the road, staring up at the twisting mass dominating the sky. In narration, he says that the feeling he had at that moment was the same feeling of awe he experienced the first time he saw a tornado.
The tornado Ricky was waiting for. Photo: Screenshot
Then, he goes home. ” A few years ago,” he says, “I never thought anything could be more important than storm chasing. I was wrong.”
The film ends with him at home, as on-screen text tells us that both Ricky and Chris continue tornado hunting, and Tirzah is now cancer-free.
