The Beauty of Chasing Storms


"Arm of God," by Mitch Dobrowner. Taken in Galatia, Kansas in July 2009.
Mitch Dobrowner鈥檚 no typical storm chaser. For the past year and a half, he鈥檚 been following Mother Nature鈥檚 moods鈥攁nd the extreme weather that follows鈥攖hen capturing these natural phenomena with his camera. Eight of his awe-inspiring images appear in the , now available online.
 
With the help of an expert guide, Dobrowner has had what senior editor Julie Leibach describes as a front-row seat to the bluster, chasing severe weather across the Great Plains. His favorites are supercells, huge thunderstorms distinctive in part for their persistence. 鈥淸Supercells] are like these living things,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey do everything they can possibly do to stay alive. And every one鈥檚 very different.鈥�
 
The science behind these storms is fascinating, too. 鈥淎s the supercell travels, it can devour other burgeoning storms in its path, gaining steam,鈥� Leibach writes. 鈥淏y deviating from the primary air current, this billowy beast can elude death for hours, avoiding what often quickly kills a garden-variety thunderstorm: its own cool precipitation.鈥�
 
Check out the rest of Dobrowner鈥檚 photos . Don鈥檛 miss the rest of the November-December issue, which includes a by David Schloss, a by Mel White, as well as who signed up with 糖心logo to help after the Deepwater Horizon spill, plus much more!