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Steve Lansdell's passion for dramatic weather started
more than a decade ago.
As a paramedic in Norfolk, he is used to moving
fast to wherever he's needed, but in 1989 it was Steve's ambulance
that nearly became an emergency case.
"I was in an ambulance taking a patient into
hospital," he recalls.
"We'd stopped short of Long Stratton because
the lightning was so ferocious, but we'd decided to push on through
the storm.
"We got through Long Stratton and my ears
popped and the ambulance got dragged from one side of the road to
the other."
A side-swipe from the Long Stratton tornado was
the first of many magical meteorological
moments.
Emergency: Steve Lansdell gets on with the day
job |
"It's spectacular," said Steve. "It's
the greatest show on earth."
Steve is mad about bad weather, and monitors storms
and tornados across the world.
"To go out and watch lightning like you've
never seen before and watch these storms explode upwards into the
air - that's just amazing, everyone's different, it's fantastic."
There are up to 60 tornados in the UK every year,
but these are mere babes compared with the big boys of Tornado Alley,
in mid-west America. Here the forces of nature
rage with spectacular effect and Steve loves it there.
"It's a great thing to do, I'd recommend anybody
do it at least once in a life. It's fantastic to go and watch nature.
"Cold air, warm air, moist air and a dry line
push up these huge thunder storms.
"The best thing I've ever seen is a tornado
in Nebraska in 2000, but the best thing I've ever witnessed is a
hale roar.
Thunderstorm at Tivetshall, Norfolk |
"It sounds like being a mile from the sea
when you can hear the waves breaking as one continuous noise. It's
a similar noise but about 10,000ft above your heads.
"It's thousands of tons of ice churning around
like in a washing machine.
"All you hear is a deep roar, none of the
hail is falling, it's just churning around suspended in the storm
until the ice become so heavy the storm can't support it and then
it falls like golf balls," enthused Steve.
The life of a storm chaser doesn't come cheap and
it's recommended you always go with an organised trip when trying
it for the first time.
"It's expensive the first time you go,"
said Steve. "I wouldn't recommended anybody goes to the US
to try and chase storms unless you go with a professional tour.
That's likely to set you back £2,500 for two weeks.
"Having done it myself and I chase storms
in the UK now... you can go out on your own with experience for
about half that."
Steve's family used to think he was completely
barmy, but they've now got used to his passion for the weather.
Steve's love of the climate runs so deep he's
named his daughter Storm. "She lives
up to it too," he laughed.
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