'And this is me next to a deadly twister': The daring couples spending their holidays in America's 'Tornado Alley'

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By Mail Foreign Service

Storm chaser: Roger Hill in front of a tornado near Campo, Colorado, in May


If you’re looking for a whirlwind holiday, a break in America’s Midwest might just fit the bill.

Storm-chasers Roger and Caryn Hill are now taking British punters on the hunt of their lives following deadly and destructive tornados.

Ploughing their way through 'Tornado Alley', the couple drive groups of up to 18 people in three buses and charge up to £230 a day for a ten-day chase.



Beautiful but dangerous: F4 tornado whirls across Barnard, South Dakota


Offering adrenaline inducing 'Silver Lining Tours', guests will be taken to within a quarter of a mile of some of the swirling 300mph vertical wind funnels.

In the past 10 years, Mr Hill, 53, and his 50-year-old wife have taken almost 1,500 people to observe raging tornados.

Mr Hill, who quit his consulting hob in 1999 to chase storms full time, said: ‘We do around eight scheduled tours a year between April and July.


Caryn in front of the famous LaGrange tornado in Wyoming in June 2009


Holiday snaps: Guests take pictures of a storm near Roby, Texas


‘We pride ourselves on the highest rate of successful storm chases in the States for paying customers and we see around 25 per cent of our business come from the United Kingdom.

‘Obviously not living in an active tornado zone, the looks on British people’s faces when they see their first twister form out of the sky is wonderful.’

However, Mr Hill, who worked for the U.S. Air Force until 1995, said he appreciates the danger involved, adding: ‘Each year tornados cause billions of pounds worth of damage and kill upwards of 100 people a year.


A photo taken from Roger Hill's house of an amazing lightning storm in Denver, Colorado


A day-time lightning strike near Clinton, Oklahoma


‘In my lifetime I have seen 532 tornados and Caryn has seen 140.

‘Each one has its own character and force and each one is to be treated as the lethal and unpredictable storm that they are.’

Getting so close to the tornados that he can hear their roar and see debris flying inside them, Mr Hill likes to give his customer the full twister experience.

‘They can move at up to 60mph and they turn at up to 300mph,’ he said.

‘They can be over one mile wide and they can destroy entire towns and uproot entire villages.

‘On one occasion one tornado has shifted direction so rapidly that it has cut right between two of our three buses on the road.

‘That was a scary experience.’


source: dailymail [endtext]