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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2000
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Martin Lisius
817.274.9313
info@tempesttours.com
PUBLIC'S KNOWLEDGE CRITICAL DESPITE IMPROVEMENTS
IN TORNADO FORECASTING
TOUR COMPANY OFFERS GUESTS OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT STORMS
ARLINGTON, Texas - The ability to forecast tornadoes, and the storms that produce them, is at an all time high. Despite significant advances in technology, citizens continue to succumb to the winds of nature's most violent atmospheric phenomenon. "Over the last twenty years, we've learned more about tornadoes than we did in the preceding century," said veteran storm chaser Martin Lisius. "We can forecast and track tornadic thunderstorms better than ever. Unfortunately, people continue to die because they simply don't understand the correct response to take when a tornado is imminent," he said.
Lisius is part of a highly skilled team of storm chasers that have created a tour company designed to educate guests about severe storms and tornadoes. The company, Tempest Tours, Inc., is based in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, the largest metropolitan area in the infamous region of the US called Tornado Alley. Tempest Tours will lead groups into Tornado Alley each spring to forecast and track some of nature's most violent weather. "For people to really understand tornadoes and severe storms, they must go out into nature and see how they work," Lisius said. "We don't recommend the public do this on their own. But they can do it with us in a safe manner."
The tour company is headed by Lisius and is staffed by climatologist William T. Reid, and renowned tornado scientist Dr. Charles Doswell, a researcher with the National Severe Storms Laboratory. Twelve guests at a time will depart from the company's tour base cities of Oklahoma City and Denver beginning next May. The standard tour includes 10 days of chasing and costs $2,400.00. The staff will teach guests about all aspects of tornadoes and about the thunderstorms that produce them known as "supercells." Each day will begin with a morning forecast briefing that will reveal the day's geographical target. The group will depart for their target, often driving hundreds of miles, and will wait for storms to develop once they arrive. Guests will have the opportunity to see storms evolve from fair-weather cumulus to violent, and sometimes tornadic, thunderstorms.
"Each guest will walk away from their tour knowing more about these powerful storms then they ever thought possible," Lisius said. "They will posses a new found appreciation and understanding of severe weather. They will know the right thing to do when storms threaten in the future," he said. And, what should the public do when tornadoes threaten? Lisius says, "The formula for taking cover when a tornado approaches is pretty simple. Go to the smallest, interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy structure. Stay away from windows. Abandon mobile homes and automobiles for better shelter. If you are driving in an open area and have time to avoid the tornado, drive out of its path. Finally, don't take cover beneath a bridge or highway overpass. This course of action has proved to be deadly."
More information about Tempest Tours can be found at the company's web site located at www.TempestTours.com. The site includes complete information about registration, a storm glossary and full-motion video clips of tornadoes the team has photographed.
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