PHOTOS 

Ten Weeks in Tornado Alley

With hundreds of tornadoes ripping across the Midwest through much of April, May and June, it might seem easy to track a few down, but even with seasoned scientists and adventure filmmakers, it still requires a whole lot of skill, persistence and luck. The second season of Storm Chasers did turn out to be one of the most active tornado seasons of the past decade, so the team had plenty of opportunities, but just as many challenges -- especially with the addition of new, untested vehicles and new teams. Here are a few highlights of the 2008 season, featuring the photography of three team members who, along with the rest of the crew, covered over 10,000 miles in 10 weeks chasing tornadoes over a half dozen states.

Field Operations Note: with more personnel and vehicles in 2008, the Storm Chasers typically operated in two, and sometimes three, independent teams. The core team led by Josh and Sean, which includes the DOW, TIV, PROBES and SCOUT, patrolled together for most of the season, but the mobile SCOUT -- sometimes accompanied by one of the PROBES -- periodically set off on their own missions to follow more distant or fast-moving storm systems. The completely independent TVN team led by Reed always chased solo, with periodic check-ins and an occasional rendezvous with the other vehicles.