Cloudy With a Chance of Adventure: Extreme Weather Tourism

Photo courtesy of ThinkStock

Normally when someone goes on vacation, they are hoping to avoid weather.  There is even actual insurance that you can take out to make sure that you get good weather for your vacation.  However, a growing niche in the travel industry is vacations based on weather – bad as well as good.

Storm Chasing

Storm Chasing is probably one of the most common responses to the question, “What’s on your bucket list?”  For those who have been living under a rock for the last 18 years since the movie Twister, here it is in a nut shell and I emphasize nut.  A bunch of people, normally for adventure, but sometime for scientific or media research, chase tornados across the country and also try not to get killed. 

This niche tourism has grown increasingly since the realty series Storm Chasers debuted on the Discovery Channel in 2007 (it was canceled in 2012).  Since 1997, Storm Chasing Adventure Tours have been offering up the chance to go out and experience a tornado. For $2,800, SCAT will take you out for six days of storm chasing, seven nights of lodging, and ground transportation during the tour. 

They even offer a “Tornado Guarantee” where if you don’t get two days of intercepting and viewing storms, they will refund you $200.  If you are a science / meteorology / technology geek like me, you will totally love what these guys do.  They use weather data, air and surface data, forecast models, satellite imagery, and all types of technology to get you as close to the storm as possible. 

Climate Change Exploration

Over the last five years, Greenland has been seeing a huge influx of tourism due to climate change.  It seems that witnessing the melting ice sheet in person helps drive home the reality of the problem of climate change. It's estimated that 10 percent of the world’s fresh water reserve is located on the Ice Sheet in Greenland, and it is melting at a more and more rapid rate.  The locals will tell you that it is mixed blessings to have a faster ice melt. 

Some condemn the tourism saying that the trip to Greenland added to the CO2 that is contributing to the ice melt and others will say that it is good for people to see the damage that is being done so that they can go home and tell others. In addition to the climate change demonstration, Greenland offers up a plethora of activities to make your stay fun and exciting.  Dog sledding, the Northern Lights, Ice, Whales and The Pioneering people are what they call the Arctic Five must-dos. If a photo is worth a thousand words, you could write War and Peace just from their website.

Hottest Place on Earth

Death Valley currently holds the record for the hottest place on the planet and yet still is a beautiful place to visit.  Even if you happen to visit in July when the average temperature is 116°F, the star gazing at night is second to none and has been officially recognized as the darkest of the national parks.  Don’t worry, the temp gets down to a balmy 86°F at night. 

Scotty’s Castle is a fun tour to take while in the valley and the Park Rangers even dress up in 1930’s attire to help set the mood.  One of the little known facts about Death Valley is the most beautiful time to visit is when the wildflowers are in bloom.  Consult this website to plan the perfect arrival time.  If you should go in the winter, don’t be afraid to take a dip in either of the pools at the Inn at Furnace Creek and the Ranch at Furnace Creek.  They are fed from hot springs and stay a surprising 82°F year round. 

Oh, and for the geeks like me, remember that Star Wars scene with R2-D2 and C-3PO walking across the dunes?  That was filmed at the Mesquite Sand Dunes inside the park!

Antarctica

Well if you are going to do the hottest place on Earth, you have to do the coldest, but there isn’t a lot going on in Oimaykon, Russia where they bottomed out in 1933 at -90°F.  So I thought I would pick somewhere cold you would actually want to go to: the South Pole.  There are a few extreme travel planning companies can get you to the South Pole, including Zegrahm Expeditions, Hurtigruten and Lindblad Expeditions.

Alright, adding to bucket list: Storm Chasing, finding Santa at the North Pole, Star Wars reenactment in the dessert.  What kind of extreme weather do you geek out to?