The air becomes
ominously still. The incessant buzz of insects quiets. The gray clouds start to
gather and swirl as sirens sound in the distance.
Texas residents,
especially those in North Texas, know the drill. Find cover in a windowless,
fortified area and wait for the storm to pass.
But Martin Lisius (UTA
class of 1986) takes a different approach. Threatening clouds and tornado
sirens are his bread and butter. As founder of Tempest Tours, a storm-chasing
business based in Arlington, he guides people on twister safaris. Groups
schedule tours at www.tempesttours.com, meet at a base hotel for orientation, then
depart on a several-day hunt with tornadoes as targets.
Sounds scary, but
Lisius says there’s little risk. “We don’t get into dangerous situations. We
get close enough to shoot great pictures, but we never get in a tornado’s
path.”
Extreme weather is a
passion Lisius has turned into a popular and lucrative business.
“I got a lot of
requests from regular folks who wanted to chase with me, but they couldn’t take
off work when a chase was coming up. I started Tempest Tours so people can see
our schedule a year in advance and arrange for time off, just like they would a
cruise or any other tour.”
To date, Tempest Tours
has intercepted 160 tornadoes. The growing company has been featured in Entrepreneurmagazine,
on CNNMoney, and in Subaru’s Drivemagazine, and an episode about Tempest
Tours aired on The Weather Channel.
Lisius is glad to
continue teaching a healthy respect for nature—and to celebrate it with
like-minded customers. “Our guests are weather geeks like us. They love weather
and are more interested than afraid.”
No comments:
Post a Comment