“It is absolutely criminal that Brandon’s tours are not fully booked every year. What was seen in a week was incredible. Hail, 2 possible tornadoes, wind, storm structure, visiting 7 states! No fast food at all, always a very good choice of restaurant. And what sets this tour group apart from the rest are the little things. Free water & snacks, the seatbelts are fitted with little rests that sit on your shoulder for comfort, reading literature, DVD’s to watch, the power sockets to use at the front, free Wifi. And the beauty of the one van is that mobility is not restricted waiting for another vehicle(s). Not once did I feel worried as the driving was excellent even in 60mph winds and hail covered roads. Brandon clearly knows his weather and his knowledge can’t be faulted. We were always within easy driving reach of the target area and storms normally initiated within a 50 mile radius when we got the general target area. And we stayed with a storm for over 150 miles and got some amazing lightning, structure and the 2 possible tornadoes. Book now, this is the best storm chasing tour out there period and to give you an idea why I say this my son got 5 tornadoes the following Monday. One formed in the field next to the van (around 300 yards away). This was proceeded by sampling the tennis ball hail.”
(Philip Barlow (Boston, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom)
“My tour was May 14-21 2017. Every day was fun and interesting. Brandon is very knowledgeable and was very patient while explaining the storm chances for the day, plus answering multiple questions I threw at him. Landon drove us everywhere very safe and looked out for us during the busy exciting times, Together these guys put us in the best position to witness amazing tornadoes, hail, winds, and storm structure each and every day. I’ll never forget seeing my first tornado Tuesday 16 May 2017! We always ate lunch and dinner at interesting places. Even the one down day we had, due to no storms, was a blast as we enjoyed ourselves at Brickopolis in Oklahoma City, OK. Would recommend this Storm Chase Tour to anyone interested in severe weather. Can’t wait to schedule my next tour!”
Wesley Beck (Knob Noster, Missouri)
“I’ve had the extreme pleasure of having Brandon being the forecaster/navigator of the TIV. I count him as one of the elite storm chasers in his ability to get to the right storm at the right moment. With his guidance I’ve been blessed to witness nature at its most thrilling.”
Sean Casey (Los Angeles, CA)
“I had the privilege to chase with Brandon in 2014. It was the vacation of a lifetime. Brandon’s experience, knowledge, and enthusiasm were on full display. He truly wants to deliver the best possible experience for his guests. He gets you up close and personal with severe storms, but with safety as the primary consideration. His humble personality and desire to teach helped increase my knowledge and respect for severe weather. These are some of the attributes that set Brandon apart from other chase companies. He drove me all the way from South Texas to North Dakota just for a slight chance of a tornado. I look forward to chasing with Brandon again next season.”
Ed Turk (Folsom, CA)
“My first tour was a great learning experience. The guys collected me at the airport and we got acquainted over dinner the first evening. Each evening at dinner we’d get a preliminary briefing of the plan for tomorrow’s chase, which would the be confirmed over breakfast and we’d be shown the models for the day. The long drives to the days target area were actually good for hearing stories of chases and intercepts the guys had been involved in. Was like being on a tour with good friends. Many storms were found, but the highlight is of course the Tornadoes we observed on May 7th, my birthday. Felt extremely safe at all times. Never has to worry about a thing as I had complete faith in the guys. Highly recommend this tour company…I’m going back again in 2016!”
Tim Maynard (New Zealand)
“If there were a single drop of water in the entire Sahara desert, Brandon Ivey of stormchasingtour.com could find it. And he’d tell you within a few seconds at what time you’d be driving up to it. Same with tornadoes. I told Brandon up front that I was there to learn as much as I could the process of tornado formation but of course I wanted the experience of being in the presence of tornadoes as well. He did both. He answered my questions thoroughly and he took us to some amazing tornadoes. He understands the risks and minimizes them intelligently. I never felt my safety threatened at all on the entire tour. I had expectations of what the trip would be like, you know, as if I’d ever seen the movie, “Twister”. (Ok, I’ve seen it 86 times … but who’s counting?). One of the guys on the tour was so happy with it that he’s coming back next year for TWO weeks, not just one. The accommodations were fine. We went to restaurants where I ordered food I like. Plenty of pit stops when needed. The van is big, not a standard soccer van. Seats were super comfortable which your butt will thank you for because you’re going to go a lot of miles. Huge windows in the van and they’re moderately tinted so there are no headaches from squinting. It was amusing to see other storm chasers come up to Brandon and ask for his autograph. They recognized him from all the years he was on The Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers series and from being in the IMAX movie, “Tornado Alley”. Oh, to be traveling along with the famous. Nobody wanted my autograph. They wanted to know what it was like to be toured by Brandon Ivey. Well, I’ll tell you. It was pretty darn great and to prove it I’m going again next year. Maybe next year Brandon will once again get us to the most fantastic tornado and again beat Reed Timmer to it by 10 minutes as he did this year . I can’t wait!”
Mike Shuck (Wichita, KS)
