We were lucky to catch up with Taylor Benton recently and have shared our conversation below.
Taylor, appreciate you joining us today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?
September 28, 2022.
Category 4 Hurricane Ian has taken aim at the central west coast of Florida, not far from my home. As a rapidly intensifying storm, Ian’s eyewall had surpassed 150 mph sustained winds and up to 17 feet of storm surge south of the eye. I had chased several Tornadoes and growing up in Florida, was no stranger to Hurricanes. But this day would turn out to be far from anything I could have ever anticipated.
While being potentially trapped in the eyewall on the coast between Port Charolette and Punta Gorda, Ian unleashed a fury that is hard to describe in words. The sound that storm made still haunts me to this day, and even just typing about it brings back a plethora of emotions. It felt like the storm was trying to kill me. You would think the winds could not get any faster, and then they would. Over and over again until peak intensity. During this 5–7 minute period before the calm eye, I found myself wondering if I would make it home from the chase. I felt selfish for being there, knowing how much my death would hurt my family, friends, and my mother who was in her final months from a decade long battle with Cancer. I had zero control over the situation I had voluntarily placed myself in, and it was beyond humbling. I had never felt these feelings on a storm chase, but looking back, I actually needed it.
The Ian experience is an entire story in itself. So is the Hurricane Milton story, which was much more recent. But in those few crazy moments, I grew as a person. I do not regret chasing that storm. I will do it again when the next storm comes along, as they do. But I would be a liar if I didn’t say it had a profound impact on my life and my attitude since. The feeling I had in that eyewall, and the sound it made, it forced me to accept death. And not to fear it. Once I accepted it, a feeling of peace came over me and my mindset shifted. If I can handle that eyewall, I can do anything. Meaning that if I put my mind to it, I can overcome anything no matter how scary it seems. Any kind of adversity! Just don’t panic, keep your wits about you, get through it. My mother passed a few months after Ian, but I had the grit for it, and it’s partly because of Hurricane Ian, storm chasing in general, and my mother’s mental strength. If my mother can display resilience, grace, and courage while looking death in the face, then so can I. My mom loved storms, and she is where I developed my enthusiasm for severe weather. I am eternally grateful to be cut from the same cloth as her, because the truth is, not everybody can be a storm chaser. I not only gained some chasing experience in that storm, I gained perspective, toughness, and maturity. Not everybody can say they grew as a person in a category 4 Hurricane. I fully believe that storm experience prepared me to handle what came a few months later, and the close calls I have had in life since!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I have had an intense fascination with thunderstorms (specifically Tornadoes) since I was a child in the mid 90s. Getting into storm chasing was a very long (and expensive) process, with lots of failure involved along the way. I use the term “storm chaser” loosely, because I am not a professional nor is it my full-time career. The actual goal is to become an operational forecaster, but I am at a crossroads in finishing a degree as the math has become extremely difficult. I just need a good tutor. But storm chasing is a yearly hobby that gives me something to look forward too amongst the doldrums of daily life and work. To stay sharp, I run a few social media channels that have slowly grown into a few extra bucks every month. But I do not chase for social media clout or to make money; it is purely for enjoyment and understanding. You can read about advanced weather concepts in a textbook, but going and seeing those processes occur in real time is the best education you can get in my opinion. I am most proud of the consistent effort I have put into this, as well as the adult I have become from doing it. But it’s also important to me to be accepted within the weather/chasing community, even though I am a bit of a loner. Sometimes, social media can skew your perspective and your priorities. I want folks to know that what you see on social media is just social media. In person, I am often very anxious and not as confident as I am online. I am proud of my shots, and I feel that they have a specific vibe to them, but that does not mean they are the best out there, by any measure. There are tons and tons of very talented chasers out there who do not get opportunities to chase often. But at the end of the day, storm chasers report ground truth to the weather service and the folks broadcasting live on TV, which can potentially save someone’s life! Some chasers are doing actual science, while others are trying to make a few dollars to get by. Everyone has their reasons for doing it, but it all started the same way; an intense desire to experience and understand! We are often the first to arrive in a disaster area which makes a huge difference in what happens immediately after the severe weather leaves town. Knowledge is power, and most people have not spent the time to learn the dynamics of weather patterns and their associated risks. That is where meteorologists’ and chasers come in! I also want the general public to know, that storm chasers are not out seeking death and destruction. Nobody is excited when a Tornado flattens a town. And honestly, it sucks when you see it up close and personal. It takes the fun out chasing in a hurry. But if you chase long enough, you are going to experience it sooner or later. How you respond, is up to you as an individual.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
If you want to be a storm chaser, you will have to be resilient indeed. I cannot tell you how many times I have driven a distance such as Florida to southern Oklahoma, to miss a 5-minute-long Tornado by only a few minutes. That kind of failure alone is enough to make you quit the hobby. And that is not even touching what comes with severe weather when it impacts other people. It’s hard to justify storm chasing when you stumble upon a town that just took a direct hit, and the residents are literally stumbling out of destroyed houses and businesses, bloody and in shock. Sometimes, it just feels downright pathetic to want to be part of something so deadly and awful. But you also remember who you are, and why you’re out there in the first place. More than once, I have missed an epic storm one day, only to redeem myself the very next by witnessing something incredible. That happened a few times this year, actually. It’s a rollercoaster for sure. One night back in April, I followed a nocturnal Tornado into the town of Sulphur, Oklahoma, where it did Ef-3 damage. After a very long night in town, I had enough and hit the road back home for Florida the very next day, even though there were still plenty of storms to chase the following days. I sat at home dealing with the things I heard and saw that night for over two weeks before heading back out to chase again. I still think of that night in Sulphur often, but I’ll be damned if I quit chasing because of the associated negatives. And that applies to anything in life. The grass is not always green, and sometimes you have to water it a bit to bring it back to life. Resilience is a part of storm chasing that can be applied to life in general. You are going to go through things in life that you don’t want too, if you want to get the things you want. It’s just part of it.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I think my goal with sharing the storm chasing, is to give non weather people an idea of why chasers are so enthusiastic about their craft. Just think about it for a second. As humans, we pretty much dominate our immediate surroundings and are, for the most part, at the top of the food chain on this planet. We command and control most aspects of our lives, EXCEPT the weather! The environment is the background for every day of your life, and you make daily decisions based on what the weather is doing or will do in the future. You realize your place in this universe quickly when you are in the eyewall of a major Hurricane, or find yourself face to face with a quarter mile wide EF-4 Tornado. It is a feeling I cannot describe, but I think people need to understand it. It offers a unique perspective of thrill, acceptance, humbleness, and gratitude. I want to convey those feelings to other people via social media and storytelling. They will never understand the obsession of forecasting and tracking down severe weather, which is like 4-dimensional chess. But maybe by telling a story with enthusiasm, I can briefly get them to experience those feelings too. I want people to admire these storms, but I also want them to respect them. Nothing grinds my gears like hearing locals, who aren’t impacted by a Hurricane, talk down about the storm and even mock it. Those same people just went through Hurricane Milton a few months ago, and now they are singing a different tune. Maybe some need to experience it firsthand, or they can just let me do it and listen to my story. But the goal is to share my enthusiasm for storm chasing, and the life lessons I have learned along the way. Who knows, maybe it will help somebody one day. I certainly try to keep people informed and answer their questions when the time comes! So many storm tragedies can be prevented with good knowledge and decision making.
Side note — I have made some great friends from storm chasing in the last few years. I am very grateful for that! They know who they are! I do most chasing alone, but it is nice to be part of a community and growing weather teams!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: tornado_genesis
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/@taylor.benton.984
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tornado_genesis
- Other: TikTok: TaylorBenton87
Image Credits
Taylor Benton
2016-2024