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FREENEWS EXCLUSIVE
Every year, hundreds of dedicated weather enthusiasts from all over the world, descend upon the Central United States to witness some of the world’s worst weather.

Many visitors spend thousands by signing up for “Storm Chasing Tours” that last a week or two, whilst others are visiting from another state or another country in their own vehicle. Amongst them is Daniel Shaw, the editor of FreeNews Australia.

2011 has been an extremely active season for Tornado producing storms, with hundreds killed and small cities obliterated.

One of the first lines of defence are the “Storm Spotters” and “Storm Chasers”. There are around 290,000 trained severe weather spotters, and Daniel is one of them. When severe weather is forecast by the US National Weather Service, these weather enthusiasts are called into action.

Storm Spotters are known to stay in their local area whilst storm chasers will travel great distances to find severe weather. All play a vital part in protecting the communities they visit and informing the emergency services about severe weather at their location.

Much research has been done in improving the warning times for locals when a tornado capable storm approaches, however, having trained eyes on the ground can make the difference between a life lost and a life saved.

The exclusive video below shows the birth and growth of a Tornado producing storm, starting near the city of Chickasha, Oklahoma. The storm quickly became a violent rain wrapped wedge tornado in 14 minutes.

Daniel, along with other local spotters played a vital part in ensuring this storm was warned in its very early stages. However, unfortunately the tornado travelled through highly populated areas near Oklahoma City and killed 7 people.

For more details on the 2011 Storm Season, Visit www.severestorms.com.au

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