Review of "GREAT PLAINS TOUR 1" by Extreme Chase Tours

• Review by: Jason Weigwart
• Tour Operator: Extreme Chase Tours
• Tour: GREAT PLAINS TOUR 1
• Year: 2017
• Validated: This review has been validated.

General review

I booked with Extreme Chase Tours for their Great Plains Tour and wow this tour was wonderful. It was professional when needed to be but very relaxed and fun at the same time. It was very comfortable and you can tell that safety is Extreme Chase Tours number one priority. Not once did I feel unsafe or uncomfortable. After getting home and before doing this review, I really tried to think of anything that I didn't like or be biased in any way. And I just couldn't! These guys know what they are doing and run a wonderful outfit. Upon booking the tour, we communicated through email but also directly on the phone ultimately, which made me feel so much more comfortable and gave the essence of personality from the start. That is the reason I chose Extreme Chase Tours, they boasted that they were the most personal tour company and I have to say that from the start all the way through the end of the tour that is exactly what we got! As far as the storm chase tour, we didn't have the best weather to start with. And as Lanny explained, it was "Mother Nature doing her thing but to be prepared for around the next few days June 11-12th timeframe because it looked good." With a few of what they called down days, which we spent sightseeing and visiting some pretty cool places, the morning of June 12th we awoke in Northeast Colorado and by that afternoon we had already seen 5 tornadoes in 3 different states of Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming! I am still trying to process some of the sights and sounds and experiences of the tour itself. And I suspect I will be a for a long time to come. I had nevr seen a tornado until this tour so this was a bucket list type deal for me. I am so glad I chose Extreme Chase Tours, not just for the storm chasing aspect, but because they do operate a wonderful business and provide exactly what they say they do.

Vehicle review:

Our Tour was in a smaller type silver van. It was very comfortable and had plenty of leg room and everyone had a window seat so we could all look out the window and see what was going on at all times. You do spend several hours a day in or near the van, but that is expected and was outlined on their website so I understood this from this beginning. But it comfortable and Lanny even had drinks available for us in a cooler in the van.

Tour guide review:

The Tour guide (Lanny) was very knowledgeable about the weather and knew exactly where we needed to be to see the tornadoes and two or three supercells as he called them. He was and is a no nonsense guy when it comes to the weather and said what was exactly on his mind or what he was thinking. Every moring before we would leave the hotel or right as we left the hotel he went into detail of the days plans and what he thought the weather might be like or where we needed to be. He explained things in a down to earth way for us to understand and he answered all of our questions even though many of them were repeted over and over. The thing I liked the best about Lanny (the tour guide) was that he was professional when he needed to be but his excitement about the weather was almost contagious to everyone in the van. He got so excited and this helped us tour guests get excited. It was almost like a kid in a candy store seeing the smile on his face which made us all smile. Once again, I have thought long and hard about this tour and tried to find any thing that sticks out as a negative or something that I didn't like. I just can't. Lanny went above and beyond as a tour guide to get us weather and tornadoes but also making sure we were comfortable, having a good time all while being very very personable. He is a very personal and intense guy who takes his job seriously. I believe he was even a little sick and a few times he got sick and threw up. But he was bound and determined that we had a good time and saw some weather and ultimately some tornadoes. Lanny would explain to use what we were seeing on the radar on his iPad or iPhone and then explain to us as he was pointing out features such as the "wall clouds", "supercells", "collar clouds", "inflow" and when it was getting ready to "produce a tornado". He actually told us that the storm to our south was the storm of the day and that it would produce a tornado. After driving towards it for miles, it did produce a tornado in Colorado to start. Which amazed us all to say the least. To me, Lanny not only totally understands weather but you can tell he is in tune with it and he loves it. After doing some research well before the chasing tour, and even after since, I have decided to reserve my seat with Lanny and Extreme Chase Tours for next year. In fact, I have already paid my deposit. That's how good this company and Lanny is. I would highly recommend this company to anyone who wants the excitement but still wants to feel safe. They know what they are doing!

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