The conditions were ripe for a storm the day tornado hunter Chris Chittick came to Virden. Hot, humid weather and a cool front moving in had created threatening indigo clouds to the west. Perfect!
Chittick had come out to Virden for the day from his home in Regina to hang out at Virden Ford and talk about his life as a storm chaser.
His vehicle, nicknamed Flash 2, is a modified Ford F-150 so he visits Ford dealerships during the summer to show it off.
Chittick is one of three chasers in the group (along with Greg Johnson and Ricky Forbes) and is the videographer. As a team, they look for the biggest, most dangerous tornadoes in North and South America to document.
They had a very popular TV show called Storm Chasers on the Discovery Channel and more recently a show called Tornado Hunters on Netflix in the US.
Young fans
In Virden, it was all about the kids. Students from Goulter Elementary came to the dealership to ogle Flash 2, say hi to Chittick, and get an autographed poster.
Chittick says fans of all ages often ask him how a person gets to be a storm chaser. He says the best way is to study the weather a lot and hang out with somebody who’s already into it. (Storm chasing expeditions in Flash and Flash 2 can be arranged.)
Then, he says, just do it - no special training required.
Chittick himself started 20 years ago with nothing but a 1985 Plymouth Reliant and a burning curiosity about storms.
Since then, he’s shot hundreds of tornados including several in southwestern Manitoba and the big hail storm that hit a few weeks ago.
