Storm chasers have more to worry about than just extreme weather

Storm Chaser Brandon Clement said one of the riskiest aspects to storm chasing may not be what you would think.

Even on a sunny day with a clear sky, driving can be dangerous. However, once severe weather unleashes heavy rain, gusty winds, hail and blowing dust, a driver's visibility is greatly reduced increasing the danger dramatically. Add storm chasing to the mix and it can be a deadly combination.

A tornado Reed Timmer captured near Keenesburg, Colorado. (AccuWeather / Reed Timmer)

"What people don't realize about storm chasing everybody thinks that the most dangerous thing is the tornadoes the hurricanes and flooding, but it's actually the drive," Clement told AccuWeather.

Clement said that he has traveled so much that he has seen a lot of "crazy stuff," particularly in wet weather, but recently while storm chasing, Clement saw something he won't forget.

"[I was] driving in northern Louisiana along I-20, near Delhi, Louisiana, and all the sudden in the right lane of the interstate - at 3 a.m., so there's no lighting - there's a car that was in an accident. Two cars that were in an accident," Clement said.

Clement immediately called for help to report the accident.

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"This is 911. What's your emergency?" an operator answered Clement.

He told the 911 operator about the car that was sitting in the middle of the interstate after being involved in a bad accident. While on the phone, Clement tried to warn other drivers of the dangers ahead.

"I've got a lot of light bars on here I use for shooting video so I'm flicking them up and down as fast as I can like a strobe, simultaneously calling 911 to report the accident," Clement said.

Worrying someone else wasn't going to be as lucky as him, Clement told the operator to send help as soon as possible because someone else was bound to hit the vehicle in the middle of the road.

"No sooner than I said that a semi comes along and hits the Ford Mustang going about 70 miles an hour with a guy in it," Clement said.

An overturned semi-truck after hitting a stationary vehicle on the highway. (Image via Brandon Clement)

Dashcam footage of the crash shows the semi-truck hitting the car, bouncing to the guardrail and overturning.

Another unlucky driver also hit the abandoned car on the interstate.

"This Ford Mustang more than likely hit a car that was abandoned on the shoulder, broken down earlier in the night and there was nobody with it," Clement said.

A mangled Mustang on the side of the highway. (Image via Brandon Clement)

"I talked to the guy in the Ford Mustang, who is one of the luckiest individuals that I've ever seen. This car was so mangled you couldn't tell it was a car and somehow he walked away from it," Clement said.

Clement said it just highlights the dangers of storm chasing.

"The most dangerous part is just doing what everybody does on a normal day, and that's driving," Clement said.

Police check the overturned semi-truck after hitting a stationary vehicle on the highway. (Image via Brandon Clement)

On March 28, 2017, three storm chasers were killed in an accident while storm chasing near Spur, Texas.

Storm chasers Kelley Williamson and Randall Yarnall, who were contractors for the Weather Channel, reportedly drove past a stop sign at an estimated speed of 70 mph, sending their car crashing into another car driven by Corbin Lee Jaeger, a storm spotter for the National Weather Service.

"...I couldn't believe that three storm chasers were killed in a traffic accident, but they were, and the chaser community was shocked to see it happening live, via social media and GPS positioning from the Spotter Network," AccuWeather Meteorologist Jesse Ferrell said.

All three men were killed instantly in the wreck, which happened at a remote intersection near the town of Spur, Texas, about 55 miles southeast of Lubbock.

"A quick check of Kelley Williamson's YouTube Live Stream showed the stream ending suddenly at that very intersection near the time of the crash. Not good," Ferrell said.

This led to speculation in storm chaser circles that Williamson was involved in the accident.

"His Facebook page started blowing up with people concerned about his status, along with Twitter and Facebook posts begging the Weather Channel for confirmation. Official information wasn't released until the Weather Channel confirmed in a statement and on-air later Tuesday night that, in fact, Kelley Williamson, Randy Yarnall and Corbin Jaeger were all killed in the crash," Ferrell said.

To stay safe as a storm chaser it's a good idea to always spot with a partner so the driver to focus on the road while the passenger watches the sky. It's also crucial to watch for water on the road, obey traffic laws and speeds, watch out for other drivers who may not drive well in severe weather and make sure your vehicle is well-maintained and ready for action.

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