2 days ago
What It's Like To Be Trapped Inside Of A Tornado, Then Live To Tell The Tale?
What's left of a storm chaser's Toyota Camry following a direct hit from an EF-3 tornado. All four occupants, including Tanner Charles, miraculously were unharmed. (Near Lewistown, Illinois, April 4, 2023.) Tanner Charles
Tanner Charles, all of 32, has seen his share of tornadoes as a storm chaser. His first confirmed twister was in 2010, with his father, near Monticello, Minnesota.
Growing up in the tiny town of Kingston, Minnesota, population less than 200, Tanner had always been fascinated by extreme weather. The first "Twister" movie helped fuel that interest. He even thinks he saw a tornado as an eight-year-old, but is not certain. "It could have been my imagination," he says, laughing.
Downed power lines near Lewistown, Illinois, April 4, 2023. Tanner Charles
By 2023, Tanner had chased more than 100 twisters, some big ones and some very up-close-and-personal - like from 100 yards away. On a lark, he went out April 4 in a red Toyota Camry with three experienced chaser friends - Hunter, Riley and Tyler. Tanner wasn't leading the chase, as is often the case, just a passenger in the left-side backseat, mainly to have fun and capture some video.
Earlier, the group had identified an interesting supercell building near Lewistown, Illinois, so they hightailed it eight long hours for an intercept. Now just because a supercell has all of the ingredients to drop a tornado, often it doesn't, one of the mysteries of chasing. So it's all a bit of hit-or-miss, and can be frustrating.
The birth of a large tornado (right) near Lewiston, Illinois, April 4, 2023. Tanner Charles
Lewistown was definitely a hit, though. As the group approached the massive mesocyclone,, it was throwing off golf ball-sized hail. The thing was moving too fast, about 50 mph, to get in front of, so a decision had to be made whether to punch through to see if a tornado was on the other side, or just abandon the chase. They decided to go for it.
Indeed, a tornado was dropping on the other side, a large funnel about halfway down with debris under it already swirling at ground level. Tanner estimates they were about three miles away from the thing at this point, so there was plenty of distance between it and them to be safe.
Full-blown tornado just outside of Lewistown, Illinois, April 4, 2023. Tanner Charles
When they came to an intersection, the tornado was getting closer, maybe a mile-and-a-half away now. But at that point, they turned onto a paved road, eliminating one danger - the chance of getting stuck in mud.
What happened next no one could have foreseen. Strong winds knocked down power lines near the car. Tanner could see and hear violent arcs hitting the ground, so he knew the lines were live. That meant it would be extremely risky to exit the car. Basically, at that point, the chasers couldn't move and were sitting ducks as the tornado was growing in size - and heading directly toward them at 45 mph..
Downed power lines send dangerous arcs to the road near Lewistown, Illinois, April 4, 2023. Tanner Charles
As it approached, the roar became deafening, even worse when the vacuum of the twister's vortex blew out the car windows. Then all hell broke loose. Each member of the team reacted differently, from screaming to praying. Tanner, who is quite religious, was doing the latter.
A huge hunk of sheet metal from a destroyed grain silo sliced through the vehicle's back window. Luckily, Tanner and his fellow chasers had already ducked down into their seats. 'It literally would have taken our heads off,' Tanner says.
A strange calmness suddenly came over Tanner. He says he saw a vision of an angel holding down the car. That didn't stop him from praying, though, and he can be seen vigorously doing so in a stunning video (link below).
After the tornado had had its way with them, it became eerily quiet with some gently falling rain. A police car stopped and asked if they were okay. Miraculously, they were. As a precaution, another storm chaser took them to a nearby hospital as the damaged Toyota was not drivable.
Absolute insanity ensues as a storm-chase group of four endures a direct hit by an EF-3 tornado while hunkered down in their Toyota Camry near Lewistown, Illinois, April 4, 2023. Tanner Charles
Safely back home, all four took time off from chasing to process the near-death experience. The tornado later was determined to be at least an EF-3, pretty strong, a killer. One of the chasers even went through therapy. Within a few months, though, the four were out chasing again, the adrenaline addiction being so powerful, but with new-found caution and learning.
First, says Tanner, make sure each member of the chase crew has a specific responsibility - navigator, cameraman, driver, whatever. Because theirs was a makeshift crew that didn't normally work together, those duties hadn't been delineated beforehand. Nobody seemed in charge when things got crazy, so different instructions were being barked out haphazardly by all four men.
Storm chaser Tanner Charles near Gary, South Dakota, June 28, 2025. Courtesy of Tanner Charles
Second, understand that the closer you get to a twister, the more risk you take. The thing can suddenly grow and/or change directions unexpectedly as the infamous El Reno wedge tornado did in 2013, killing three well-known chasers. If something freakish happens, like those downed power lines, what seems like a safe distance can quickly turn into a nightmare.
Tanner's dramatic story, along with other chasers who had had similar experiences, was captured in a summer 2024 feature on The Discovery Channel, "In The Eye Of The Storm.' A part 2 is planned for this year, says Tanner.
