Who hasn’t gazed in awe at the swirling clouds of an epic storm and wondered what it would be like to get an up close look? As a teen obsessed with tornadoes and hurricanes from watching too many weather disaster movies, I’ve always fantasized about storm chasing. Recently I joined a storm chasing tour group to get my own taste of adventure. Hold on tight as I describe the wild ride of getting close to nature’s beautiful fury!

For me, the first magical moment was accelerating towards the simmering thunderhead, wind and rain lashing my face through the open window. My heart raced faster than our SUV as we rapidly closed in on the storm supercell looming darkly ahead. Skittering debris, swaying trees and an eerie greenish sky – I’d seen it all on screen but witnessing nature’s spectacular destructive power with my own senses left me breathless.

Our expert meteorologist guide Kevin had intercepted over 100 tornadoes. “Take a look!” he grinned. There in the distance, an ominously beautiful gray funnel cloud kissed the ground, carving a path of destruction across the open plains. We couldn’t look away as it morphed into a roaring wedge tornado swirling with dangerous beauty. The thrill was like a rollercoaster peak followed by sheer exhilaration zooming alongside the destructive beast, close enough to appreciate its terrible grandeur while avoiding deadly risks.

Like me, the small group of passengers were mostly college students here for adrenaline-pumping adventure. As storm junkies, we livestreamed the moment on social media and exchanged gleeful looks. How many people got this close on their first tornado chase? My heart was slamming with excitement tinged with fear. What if unpredictable gales turned our sturdy armored vehicle into a lethal projectile? Our expert guide’s emergency plan reassuringly involved a concrete storm shelter minutes away.

As abruptly as it had formed, the twister vaporized back into the clouds. We chased it at a safe distance watching the dizzying life cycle of several “tornado families” where large supercell thunderstorms spawned smaller cyclones. Skirting the storm’s periphery carefully avoided its most dangerous region while maximizing our viewing access. Lightning triggering the vast plains into brilliant negative flashed like a celestial disco show, followed by earth-shaking cannonade peals of thunder!

My fellow adrenaline junkies whooped gleefully with each spectacular display while monitoring weather graphs and radar. Our guide patiently answered our excited questions during intermittent lulls. I was thrilled to check out of the team’s bizarre modified vehicles, from the tank-like tornado intercept car “Dorothy” to a van converted into a mini mobile command center kitted with various sensors. As a science geek, I eagerly drank in Kevin’s detailed explanations on forecasting supercell “hot zones”, tornado morphology, and detecting clues like horizontal rain indicating the ideal chase conditions.

After two exhilarating days dancing dangerously with storms that left extensive damage in their wake, I returned home weather-beaten and exhausted but still electrified by the trip. My friends enviously watched video clips that couldn’t fully capture the experience of standing awe-struck before swirling clouds spawn nature’s most spectacular destructive force. Would I chase storms again? Absolutely! However, I also gained deeper respect for these meteorological monsters stronger than any human technology. While tornadoes, hurricanes and other extreme weather can be bewitchingly beautiful, they are also unpredictably dangerous beasts to be admired from a safe distance. My storm chasing trip left me with astonishing memories blended with sobering humility before the incredible power of nature.