Storm chaser ‘Tornado Tim’ Baker drove the Jaguar XF through America’s Midwest in search of a tornado as this year’s storm season came to a dramatic close. A storm chaser’s role is vital to help predict tornadoes and save lives, so the XF was the perfect mobile lab for the chase team to catch their tornado and collect vital data. The chase, which covered 2,000 miles of highway and farm tracks through seven US states, saw the XF evade baseball-sized hailstones and drive through floods and high winds before intercepting a twister on the Iowa-Illinois border.
The chase began with the biggest storm of the 2016 season looming over the American Midwest, with a potential 95 million people in its path. It took Tim from Denver, Colorado, right up into Minnesota and down to Illinois. During the chase, Baker met Brian Smith, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the Omaha office of the National Weather Service (NWS), which uses radar data to help scientists issue prompt, life-saving warnings to agencies and the general public.
Tornado chasers like Tim, and the vehicles they use, are a vital part of the modern network of weather warning. Having people on the ground to confirm the storms and analyse their path can help experts study them and predict future disasters. The AWD XF found its twister when Baker intercepted a Category EF 0 (60-70 mph winds) tornado, two hours west of Chicago. The storm drenched the region, flooding roads and scattering debris, but the car coped brilliantly with the dirt roads and slippery highways.
With roads blocked, Tim used the super quick, pinch and zoom in-car navigation system, with 3D and satellite mapping, to find a safe way around the twister. Overnight, the storm delivered several more tornadoes, damaging buildings.
