Tornado tourists flock to Oklahoma for their own 'Twisters' chase, but can you tour safely?
Nearly three decades after "Twister" was released in theaters, tornado tourism has become a regular occurrence every spring.
Rural roads become clogged with tour vans and solo chasers hunting for the perfect vantage point to watch storms grow, with visitors from around the world hoping to catch a glimpse of a tornado.
Now with "Twisters" now set to release July 19 and the rise of social media, storm chasing has become a phenomenon that grew this wild and risky facet of the tourism industry.
If you're interested in signing up for a guided tour, however, be ready to spend thousands of dollars and several days at the whim of Mother Nature. Some scammers target weather tourists as well.
It can be hard to judge a book by its cover, or in this case, a tour guide by their website. But if you're in the market for a severe weather tour, there are some things you can watch out for.
Finding the right severe storm tour guide
To get a third-party opinion about storm tourism best practices, we reached out to Nick Drieschman, who has run his own tour company for a decade. He said customers should seek out online reviews before booking with a company; testimonials on a company's own website aren't good enough.
He suggested checking out StormChasingUSA.com, which conducts independent reviews of weather tours and lists details about upcoming schedules and pricing. The tours listed on that site range in price from $139 to $571 a day.
"They can also look up the person who's running the business or the guides themselves to see whether these people are actual storm chasers within their own right, who are professionals within the industry," Drieschman said. "So it does take a little bit of research to really find the right companies out there."
You might not even see a tornado
Drieschman said tour operators should set appropriate expectations so guests don't get bored or frustrated during their vacation.
"People have this idea in their mind that every tornado is going to be a 'Wizard of Oz,' beautiful gray tornado that snakes down — not all tornadoes are like that," he said.
It's even within the realm of possibility that a tour never gets to see a tornado. Again, weather doesn't care about your vacation schedule.
Chasing storms is a risky business
Severe storm tourists should also be aware of the risks involved and make sure that your guide is, too. Intercepting severe weather carries its own inherently dangerous risks, both for obvious and not-so-obvious reasons.
Tornadoes can move unpredictably, as proven during the 2013 El Reno tornado that claimed the lives of three scientific researchers. Four years later, professional storm chasers collided with an amateur chaser at an intersection, leading to another three deaths. In 2022, three University of Oklahoma meteorology students died in a car crash on the way back from chasing storms in Kansas.
Even the National Weather Service in Norman doesn't recommend chasing storms, but concedes that booking a tour is probably safer than going out on your own.
"Having an experienced team, making sure that you're having meetings with both your team and your guests, and having a safety plan and a call to action — all tour companies should have that," Drieschman said.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Storm chasing tours: How to pick the right guide and stay safe
