Behind the Scenes: Chasing Tornadoes

Demetrius and I traveled through nine states, from South Dakota to Texas, chasing monster storms and tornadoes with students from Ball State University. Over 12 days, we saw many great Supercell Thunderstorms and one tornado in northwest Kansas. I have to say it was my favorite and the most exciting story I’ve covered as a news reporter. However, seeing the tornado damage in Delmont, South Dakota reinforced the fact that tornadoes are still difficult to predict and in a matter of minutes can destroy people’s lives.

Here are some behind the scenes photos and videos from our chase. As you’ll see, when it comes to chasing storms, there’ some down time. So, we had the opportunity to visit some really cool places around the U.S. with the team.

Slideshow

Storm Chasing team

Supercell Thunderstorm in South Dakota.

Demetrius and Keith stopping for some grub and stopping for a pic at Randy's Roadkill BBQ in Missouri

JR and Cheryl reflecting on the damage from an EF-2 tornado in Delmont, South Dakota.

Demetrius and Keith taking a selfie at a stop at the Bandlands in South Dakota.

Demetrius and Cheryl selfie at the Bandlands.

Demetrius and Keith at Mt. Rushmore.

The Storm Chasing team hanging out at Mount Rushmore.

Keith doing a Maggie Rulli jump at Mount Rushmore.

Cowboy Demetrius

A little fun at a bowling alley in between storms.

Demetrius bowling on a storm break.

Demetrius storm selfie.

Keith shooting some storm footage.

Demetrius selfie with Cheryl and Jozef.

After stopping for a baseball game in Oklahoma City, Demetrius does his best impression of this iconic pitcher.

Supercell Thunderstorm coming straight at us in West Texas.

Demetrius, Jozef and JR selfie while chasing.