Saskatchewan storm chasers having a great summer for photos

It’s been a wild and stormy past few weeks. While this isn’t good news for many homeowners or farmers, it’s been a hit with prairie storm chasers.

Social media sites have been filled with spectacular images captured by storm chasers.

Craig Boehm started the chase in the summer of 2012, after he was captivated by all the severe weather Saskatchewan was experiencing.

“It’s like any hobby. Some people collect stamps, some people collect hockey cards, I chase storms,” Boehm said.

It’s not a hobby for anyone who lacks patience. Storm chasers can sometimes wait for hours for a storm, and log hundreds of kilometres just getting to the potential storm site.

A picture of a shelf cloud taken July 13, 2019 by Craig Boehm at Chamerlain. (Craig Boehm/Twitter)

“I put in 10 to 12 hours on a given day. I had a stretch this summer where in three days I put in over 2,000 kilometres of just driving alone in Saskatchewan,” Boehm said.

According to Boehm, storm chasing is 90 per cent driving and waiting around, and 10 per cent actual storm chasing.

“On days where there is potential for severe weather, I get up early in the morning and check my weather models. I keep monitoring how severe the storm could be, and then make a decision to head out,” Boehm said.

With so many images of lightning and tornadoes in recent years, it would seem there are more and more storm chasers hitting the highway but Boehm doesn’t necessarily agree.

“There aren’t more people storm chasing now, there have always been storm chasers, we’re just seeing more pictures now because of cell phones and social media,” Boehm said.