Your 2010 Tour Staff
    >>> Our team is comprised of some of the most experienced storm chasers from around the world. We understand meteorology and concentrate on good forecasting techniques to intercept severe weather and ensure a successful storm chase on every tour.

Todd Thorn - Tour Leader/Severe Storm Expert - Bozeman, Montana - I will be on all tours.

I have been fascinated by severe storms and tornadoes since I was just six years old, and as a result, I began studying severe weather at a very early age. Over the years, I read every textbook on the subject and spent many days watching severe storms form over my hometown. My nights were spent watching vivid lightning from my bedroom window as the sound of thunder shook the house. To be a storm chaser, you must be able to read the sky and see visual clues for severe weather, such as the meaning of distant towering cumulus clouds. All the schooling and onboard information is good, but it takes years to learn how to read the sky and tell where the next storm will form. I have been chasing severe weather since 1991 and have a background in meteorology. In 2010, we will be operating our 13th year of Storm Chasing Adventure Tours. We have been featured in numerous television documentaries, news programs, and in more than 200 newspaper and magazine articles published around the world. Since I founded Storm Chasing Adventure Tours in 1997, our emphasis has been on good forecasting techniques to intercept severe weather for a successful storm chase on every tour. I look forward to seeing you in Tornado Alley during 2010.


Hi, I am from Perth Western Australia and 2010 will be my 5th year chasing storms with Storm Chasing Adventure Tours. I have had a keen interest in severe weather from a young age and I was fortunate enough to see my first tornado while chasing last year. Seeing a tornado for the first time was truly an amazing experience, it certainly got the heart pumping. Every day is like an adventure, who knows where you will end up and what you might see! Regardless of if you see a tornado or not, it's an experience of a lifetime and one not to be missed. I look forward to traveling with you all in 2010.

Jan Bechtum - Guide/Driver for Tour 6

Hi, I am Jan Bechtum from the Netherlands and 2010 will be my 4th year chasing tornadoes with Storm Chasing Adventure Tours. All of my life I have been fascinated by severe weather and especially thunderstorms, I just can't get enough of them. I was thrilled that the opportunity came to tour Tornado Alley with such an experienced team. Chasing storms has been an amazing adventure for me and it is fantastic to be able to do this with a group of people sharing the same interest. I look forward to seeing you all in 2010.

Diana Fierro - Guide/Driver for Tour 4

Hello fellow chasers! This will be my 4th year storm chasing with Todd. I am originally from California and have recently relocated to Australia. By profession I am a registered nurse and I work in the intensive care unit. I’ve had such a fascination with severe weather from a very young age. I would watch tornado videos, study tornadoes and even dream about tornadoes on a regular basis. The first time I went chasing with Todd I told him that I wanted to see a tornado on my birthday. On May 9th 2006 Todd made my dream come true, and I have been hooked ever since. I look forward to meeting you all in Tornado alley!

Kevin Harned - Guide/Driver/Severe Storm Expert for TBA

Like Todd, I've been fascinated with the weather since I was a kid. Following my dream since I was in the seventh grade, I have always wanted to learn more how it works. I decided then that I wanted to be a meteorologist. A graduate of Purdue University, I have my degree in Synoptic Meteorology and work for the NBC affiliate WAVE 3 in Louisville, Kentucky. I had the pleasure of documenting a ten-day tour with Todd, including everyone on board, during the 2002 season. Working in television has given me the opportunity to chase tornadoes and hurricanes and to cover floods and wiabout the weather andnter storms. It's one thing to look at a radar and warn people of what you think is coming their way... but totally different to actually see it with your own eyes. Trying to predict what nature will do and when is very humbling, but I look forward to the challenge during the 2010 season.

Ryan Hoke - Guide for Tours 2-5

This is my 3rd year with Todd. I'll be the first to admit that I'm obsessed with weather. Everyday presents an opportunity to experience spectacular shows put on by our atmosphere, even if it's just a passing cloud. This interest inspired me to create a weather website for the Louisville, Kentucky area during my high school years. My site, ryanweather.org, featured weekly forecast videos, severe weather coverage, and a daily weather blog, but now features my resume and video archive. The site has been featured on Louisville's WAVE 3 TV and receives visits from all over the world. As a meteorology student at Mississippi State University, I plan to use my previously-learned weather skills and a wealth of new ones to help me become a broadcast meteorologist. Using state of the art weather radar software for radar analysis, I can point out dangerous tornado hook echoes, damaging hail indicators, and provide vital storm information to tour guests. With a live mobile weather data connection and GPS equipment, I'll be able to tell you our exact location and the locations of storms around us, along with their characteristics. We're going to have a blast this 2010 season!

Robert Koch - Guide/Driver for Tours 6 & 7

Hello, my name is Robert Koch and I make my living selling merchandise on the auction website eBay. This will be my 5th year chasing with Todd and I look forward to another exhilarating chase season. I have always been intrigued with severe weather since I was a wee lad and the last 4 seasons have been most stimulating as I met many great storm chasing enthusiasts and weather professionals. Chasing with Todd across the great American Plains is always rewarding whether we see tornadoes, severe storms, or spectacular lightning displays. Best Regards, Robert.

Jock Mcginty - Guide/Driver for Tours 1-3

I’ve been chasing severe weather with Todd since 2004. In that time I’ve learned that if there is any weather out there then Todd will get you right in the path of it. We’ve had some amazing experiences over the years and I’ve personally witnessed 26 tornadoes, including 3 on the ground at once and a one-in-a-thousand clockwise rotation. Simply amazing! I’ve always been interested in natural history and the physical forces that shape our universe, from severe weather to astronomy to volcanoes and earthquakes (my other real favourites)!! Living and working in Indonesia I get my fair share of those events, but nothing matches the feeling of being under a massive, rotating supercell in the great plains of America. Whether 2010 will be your first chase season or you’re a veteran returning for your annual fix, I look forward to seeing you in The Alley and sharing some awesome weather experiences.

Chris Vollero - Guide/Driver for Tour 7

Hi there! 2010 will be the third year of chasing with Todd for me. Being from the east coast I have never had the opportunity of experiencing severe weather. Of course we get our share of “splash and dash” storms during the summer months but nothing compares to the excitement of a plains supercell. I have been a firefighter for over 15 years and I have never seen anything like the raw power of a supercell thunderstorm. In 2009 I was fortunate enough to witness the EF-2 Tornado near Aurora, NE on June 17th. Todd got us in the right spot over 1/2 hour before any other chasers where there before the the tornadoes formed. A monster tornado formed in front of us after the storm dropped three small short-lived tornadoes. We positioned ourselves in the perfect spot when the EF-2 formed. For the next 15 minutes we witnessed the awesome fury of this tornado as it destroyed a home and barn, ripped a roof off a factory and knocked over a dozen rail cars. Seeing this tornado was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. It is something that words cannot express. Come and join us for the 2010 chasing season, I can’t wait to share this adventure with you in Tornado Alley.

Peter Wharton - Guide/Driver for Tours 1-5 & potentially more

This will be my 8th year chasing with Todd. I’ve seen some spectacular storms on the tours, including a huge supercell in South Dakota that we chased for over six hours! In 2008 we tracked the famous May 23rd Quinter tornado right from its initiation as a few puffy clouds. From several vantage points along the way, we watched the storm continue to grow, until powerful inflow clouds began roaring into the storm just over our heads, indicating a major rotating storm. Rolling northwards along Castle Rock road a violent wedge-shaped F2 tornado dropped from the storm left of us in the fields. In Quinter, the tornado sirens were wailing and the skies were black as night. Todd directed us onto the Interstate by Quinter locating us in just the right spot to observe this most incredible event - looking right into the mouth of a huge tornado coming straight towards us! As we safely beat a retreat to a position ½ mile east the tornado lifted just before the Interstate –then the mesocyclone with a spectacular rotating wall cloud crossed the road.

I’ve seen 21 tornados over the past six years along with so many amazing storms. In 2009, we were on a major supercell near Miami, Texas that dropped a couple of tornados – the CG lightning as we drove into the storm was the most frequent and intense I’ve seen for years. Even in a relatively quiet year such as 2009, there were still frequent, memorable experiences to share with all of the tours.

As a photographer, I bring back some amazing images every year no matter what the weather conditions might be for that chase season. This is my annual trek to the world's hotspot for severe weather. I'm looking forward to driving with Todd again this year, and meeting people like you who share my passion for the weather. With years of interest in learning about the mechanisms that fuel these storms, I'm looking forward to helping each of you experience the excitement of the chase while gaining a better understanding of Mother Nature's annual drama on the Plains. Cheers, Peter