In the mind-blowingly bad yet totally watchable film Twister, storm chasers head into the paths of tornadoes to collect scientific data as well as quash professional rivalries. They risk their lives, vehicles, and reputations to better understand how and why tornadoes form so that some day we could predict when and where the deadly storms will strike, and possibly even prevent them.
That’s one reason to do it. The other reason, of course, is that you’re an insane douche with some extra cash looking for a rush, disguising your thrill-seeking as an educational endeavor.
These likely Mountain Dew-addicted idiots rig their vehicles with all kinds of scientific instrumentation and drive into the hearts of these most awful tempests just because they think it’s a fun thing to do. All in the name of disaster preparedness education, of course.
An actual quote: “If you want a hardcore team with a hardcore message that brings results, then you are at the right place.” Awesome!
Chasing4life is a website run by and dedicated to such pursuits. On it, Chasers, as they’re called, outline their hobby and how it can teach kids to not do what they do and, more importantly, they detail the “extreme” painted trucks and gear they use to do so.
I can’t recommend anyone do such a thing, but the fact that they exist — and have their own fancy Website — is astounding.