Storm chasing in the UK: Britain's wild weather enthusiasts

As fierce weather batters the UK, a growing number of storm hunters are taking to their cars to chase the wildest conditions. Why? To pit their wits against mother natureAs soon as he was old enough to ride a bike and get it up a hill, David Vicary began watching the weather, waiting for dramatic thunder and lightning, then going out to watch it – "chasing" storms. "As a kid I would look out at the clouds and want to know what was going on," he says. "And later, when I got a car, that opened up the whole world. The other week when storms rolled through London I got up on the roof to watch it. It's addictive."Vicary, 27, is one of a number of storm chasers in the UK – a small, but growing group, says Ian Michaelwaite, a director of NetWeather, a forecasting company that also has an online forum where storm chasers share information and talk about those they have witnessed. Michaelwaite estimates there are around 300 storm chasers in the UK (the vast majority are men) who follow weather reports, get in their cars and go to find a storm to watch and, these days, post the photographs they take on the internet."I think more people are getting involved," says Vicary, 27, who now works as a catastrophe risk analyst for an insurance company. "On social networking sites you see a lot more photos coming up, and people talking about it. People are getting a lot more engaged."In the recent storms that hit the country, the police and the Environment Agency had to urge people not to go...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: The Guardian Hobbies World news Natural disasters and extreme weather Features Life and style Tornadoes Hurricanes Science Source Type: news