News

He's a daredevil — an adventurer who makes his living chasing storms. While most people run from natural disasters, George Kourounis embraces them, even documents them for TV.

He's the host of Angry Planet, a series chronicling his adventures against Mother Nature. And it's broadcast not just on OLN, the Outdoor Life Network in Canada; it's shown in more than 35 countries worldwide.

"I used to chase storms on my bike. Chasing after lightning in the pouring rain, middle of the night, getting my tripod stuck in the spokes of my bike and flipping over into puddles. That's enough of that.

"I've got to get a car. So I went out and bought this," he points to his first car — a black 1999 Honda CR-V EX riddled with war wounds from his excursions in the battlefield.

"I never even test-drove it. I just bought it. I knew exactly what I wanted and drove it off the lot, and three weeks later I was drilling holes in it and a couple of months later I was in Tornado Alley."

It's an annual trek; he just returned from a five-week tornado-chasing expedition in the U.S. heartland where the strongest tornadoes hit, from Texas to Nebraska, including Colorado, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas.

"Hondas are so incredibly reliable. Literally, I've driven through water that was so deep in hurricane Rita that it was literally lapping up over the hood. It's indestructible and it just keeps coming back for more. I know people who have been through their fourth chase vehicle in the same amount of time I've had this one."

"It's my transportation. It's my office. It's my lightning shelter," he says.

"You get people who pimp their ride with rims, the extra souped-up engine and all the fancy paint. But for me, every modification I do is for a reason — to get me closer to a storm or to keep me from getting killed.

"It's a safari vehicle, so to speak — like a Land Rover for trekking across Africa, but instead of going after lions and tigers, I go after tornadoes and hurricanes," says the thrill-seeker, who tied the knot nearly two years ago on the crater's edge of an exploding volcano.

Kourounis modified his Honda himself. It has a custom-made roof rack with 360-degree emergency lighting, a retractable anemometer for measuring wind speed, extra radio equipment and batteries, a GPS navigation system and a dash-mounted tripod so he can film while working.

He has logged more than 250,000 kilometres on his CR-V. "I beat this thing like a rented mule," he says.

"The closest call I had, I was actually in a tornado at night. I don't typically chase at night, but I was a bit cocky back then.

"Stuff started to fly — big sheets of metal. It was like driving from a swarm of bees, literally. I had to hide behind the shopping mall to get away from the flying debris and it took about 15 minutes for my legs to stop shaking. Once I calmed down, I got back in the car and kept chasing it.

"The tornado got bigger and stronger, but was still very difficult to see. So I ended up going north through Oklahoma City. I'm listening to the radio and they say the tornado is on the ground at Interstate 35 and Britton Road.

"As he said the words Britton Road, I'm passing under the Britton Road sign under the highway. I slammed on the brakes and the tornado passed about 100 metres ahead of us. It took out the highway. Unbelievable. Scary. Wild."

"Storm chasing is long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. People think it's like the movie Twister, but really it's not — 99 per cent of the time you're just driving under dark skies trying to predict where the bad weather is going to be. But every now and then you get a day that puts Hollywood to shame," says the 38-year-old who lives in Toronto when he's not travelling (he's away nearly 200 days of the year).

"The most dangerous part of storm chasing is the driving — you're driving long hours, sometimes in very poor visibility in terrible conditions, torrential rain, hail, lightning."

"During hurricane Francis, I was in Florida and there was so much rain. There was so much flooding, this entire well in the back with all the electronics and wires filled up with water. It got through every little seal, every little crack.

"Luckily I happened to have a power drill with me. I had to go underneath and drill holes to drain the car," he laughs. "Nothing shorted, luckily."

He wasn't as lucky for his photo shoot for this story. "You're kidding me," he says as he turns the ignition. "This is so embarrassing," he shakes his head. His battery is dead; a boost from the photographer's Toyota Camry brings the CR-V back to life instantly.

He continues. "I've been stopped numerous times by the Department of Homeland Security in the States for suspicious behaviour.

"Once we stopped by a nuclear weapons dismantling facility. We had no idea what it was — it was just a field. You couldn't see any of the buildings. Next thing, these guys show up with machine guns and we were detained for about an hour," says Kourounis, whose next stop is India and Indonesia to document monsoon season for Angry Planet.

"Eventually this truck is gonna wear out. It can't last forever. And when I think about replacing it, I'm torn.

"I love Hondas. They're so reliable. But I'd like to go for something bigger so I have more space for my equipment. But bigger means less fuel efficient and when you're driving lots of miles, fuel efficiency really becomes a factor, especially with today's gas prices."

He adds, "I think it would be hilarious to try to take a Smart car storm chasing."

Deep down, I doubt he's joking.