Storm Rising

Verne Carlson hunts tornadoes.

Comments (0) By Jessica Centers Thursday, Sep 20 2007

Twenty years ago, Verne Carlson was driving back to Colorado from South Dakota when he happened upon a tornado. He'd been driving beside what he thought was a "regular thunderstorm" when he saw the funnel cloud. "They're just amazing to see," he says. "When you're up close to one, it's as tall as a downtown building, and it sounds like a waterfall coming past you."

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Carlson has been a stormchaser ever since, and for the past three years, he's been taking his college-aged sons, Michael and Eric, with him. "It's been a crazy year for tornadoes," Carlson says. "We saw 32 tornadoes this year. Up to this year, I'd only seen fifty my whole life."

Tonight they'll show some of that footage at the Denver Central Library as part of a Fresh City Life presentation on Stormchasers. Carlson says he'll also show a sample from the 2007 Stormchasers video, which is a compilation DVD he produces every year showing the most severe storms captured by more than fifty stormchasers. Proceeds from sales of the film benefit the Red Cross. The presentation goes from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the B2 conference center at the library, 10 West 14th Avenue Parkway. For details, go to http://stormchaserco.com.
Wed., Sept. 24, 6:30-7:30 p.m., 2008