The Tornado Game: There are more tornado hunters in Russia
Climatologists have noted an increase in the number of tornadoes with wind speeds of 50 m/s in Russia. But at the same time, interest in studying them is growing: more and more people are starting to monitor weather conditions, travel to places where dangerous thunderstorms may form and try to record rare natural phenomena, participants in the Tornado Hunters project told Izvestia. They design special bike bikes to chase whirlwinds in hard-to-reach conditions. But there are fewer car enthusiasts this year due to the fuel situation and problems with mobile Internet. About how the tornado hunt is organized and why Russians have become more likely to go to meet them, see the Izvestia article.
Who catches the whirlwinds
Over the past 15 years, the number of tornado hunters in Russia has increased several times, Alexander Vladimirov, the organizer of the Tornado Hunters community, told Izvestia.
"Young people came to us, field teams appeared, competing with each other, and real hurricane chases began," he said.
According to him, enthusiasts from 17 to 28 years old usually show interest in such activity. There are more hunters also because many prefer to monitor the weather on their own: warning systems about approaching tornadoes, according to Vladimirova, are not working well enough yet.
The hurricane-watching culture began to develop in Russia back in the early 2000s, Andrei Shikhov, one of the participants in a similar project, Storm Chasers, told Izvestia. In recent years, fans have been joining together in social media communities and, imitating famous American tornado hunters, are actively promoting a similar culture in Russia.
According to Vladislav Monakhov, co-founder of Storm Chasers, there are many young people who are passionate about meteorology.
"We are trying to popularize the direction and find new promising participants among interested people," he added.
The communities include not only specialists with specialized education, but also people who are far from meteorology, such as lawyers and managers. At the same time, according to Vladislav Monakhov, hunters are often the most ambitious participants.
"In our circles, it is customary to consider only people who do this by car as hunters, because this is the only way to achieve the main goal — to chase a tornado—prone thunderstorm for a long time," he stressed.
The speed of movement of the cloud usually reaches 80 km/h. Therefore, it is possible to keep up with him only by car, hunters explain. However, in the Russian reality, such a chase is complicated by the sparse road network and dense forests, Vladislav Monakhov emphasized. Because of this, it is often not possible to either drive up to the thunderstorm cell or find a point with a good view from where it can be observed.
"At the same time, the life span of a tornado can range from half an hour to an hour, and its path sometimes exceeds 50 km," he noted.
According to the interlocutors of the editorial office, there are about three dozen active hunters in Russia who make trips. And two groups from Moscow and St. Petersburg regularly come forward to search.
— Hunting for tornadoes in Russian conditions is quite a difficult task in itself due to the sparse road network and poor road conditions. And this year it has become almost impossible due to the frequent introduction of whitelists (a list of digital resources to which access is allowed when all others are blocked by default. — Izvestia), where there is not a single service for tracking the movement of cloud systems and lightning tags, — said Andrey Shikhov.
Additional difficulties arise due to the shortage of gasoline, rising prices for rental cars and housing, which is necessary when traveling, and other costs, Vladislav Monakhov added.
At the same time, it is not necessary to travel to another region to observe tornadoes. There are dozens of spotters — people who record the phenomenon, but do not go to it purposefully.
How does hunting happen
They usually hunt in groups of three or four people: a driver, a weather forecaster, a navigator, and an operator, Andrei Shikhov said.
— The weather forecaster is responsible for the forecast, the navigator is responsible for route planning, and the operator is responsible for filming. The process takes place in two stages. At the first stage, the area where the tornado is most likely to occur is determined, and the group moves there. Then, when thunderstorms are already beginning to form, the most tornado—prone cell is selected for pursuit," the hunter explained.
According to Vladislav Monakhov, you can hunt alone.
— But it's difficult because of the large number of simultaneous manipulations during the trip - navigation, finding a good observation point, analyzing the atmosphere and the movement of thunderstorm cells. At the same time, we still need to have time to shoot on camera," he stressed.
Hunters also carry equipment for studying electrical tension in the atmosphere, for studying lightning, as well as anemometers for measuring wind gusts, Vladislav Monakhov added.
The cost of such trips depends on the distance and duration. So, in June 2025, the team's departure cost 110 thousand rubles, and in July it cost 140 thousand rubles. Trips to the region of residence require 10-30 thousand rubles.
— The most expensive is car rental and gasoline, — Vladislav Monakhov explained.
Andrey Shikhov believes that at the moment the success in intercepting tornadoes in Russia is modest. One of the most significant events for Russian hunters was the interception of a strong tornado on June 19, 2024 in the Pskov region. They managed to capture the very moment of the formation of the air vortex. Then this tornado partially destroyed buildings in several villages of the region.
— A large tornado that traveled a dozen kilometers and created a continuous fall of the forest (massive felling of trees. — Izvestia) up to 700 m wide,— Vladislav Monakhov added.
According to Andrey Shikhov, most of the filming is done by chance when a tornado passes through a populated area, such as in Kushva, or somewhere along the road.
In Alexander Vladimirova's group, hunters prefer velobikes to cars — bicycles to which gasoline engines are attached. According to the founder of the community, the car can fail at a crucial moment. In addition, it is expensive to repair and refuel.
Trappers assemble vehicles on their own, equipping them with a canopy that protects the driver from precipitation from all sides. Storage baskets are also attached to the bike to transport the necessary equipment.
— The bike is able to withstand hail, wind, most likely lightning. He will drive off—road and past fallen trees, and this happens often," Alexander Vladimirov explained.
Hunters are trying to predict on their own where the tornado will be and when, he added.
— To accurately confirm a tornado, you need to personally see and record it, — said Alexander Vladimirov. — Many forecasts depend on the data of the Hydrometeorological Center. If there aren't any, it doesn't matter. We see a rotating mesocyclone (an air vortex. — Izvestia) with a cone inside. This is a potential future tornado that is gaining strength. If possible, we follow him.
How the number of tornadoes has changed
Since July 9, hunters have been recording tornadoes on the territory of Russia every day, Alexey Kokorin, the creator of the Amateur Meteorology in Kirov public site, told Izvestia.
"This year, our team predicted several historic tornadoes, and also intercepted some of them during the chase," he shared.
In Russia, the number of intense tornadoes has increased by 1% in 10 years, the deputy director of the A.M. Institute of Atmospheric Physics told Izvestia. Obukhov RAS Alexander Chernokulsky.
— The growth of the conditions in which the tornado is formed is documented. For the middle band, this is about 1% over 10 years of growth, and 5% over 50 years," he noted.
According to the climatologist, the number of dangerous tornadoes is increasing — the second degree and higher, the wind speed inside which starts from 50 m/s. At the same time, it is not entirely true to say that there are significantly more such phenomena. Tornadoes have constantly occurred in Russia before, but it is now that they have begun to be actively recorded, Alexander Chernokulsky emphasized.
— We began to see tornadoes better than 20 years ago. Eyewitnesses are filming them and posting them on social media," he added.
Increased wind loads, including tornadoes and tornadoes, are observed all over the world, climatologist Andrey Kiselyov told Izvestia. Under conditions of global warming, not only the temperature is changing, but also the precipitation regime, as well as the circulation of air masses in the atmosphere.
According to the expert, even a few centuries ago, when the impact of humans on the climate was minimal, there were still droughts, floods and tornadoes. But due to the increased impact on the climate, natural disasters have become more frequent.
— If we exclude the anthropogenic factor, which is completely unrealistic, the internal variability of the climate system itself will remain. All the troubles will not come to naught, but they will occur less frequently. Moreover, this process is not fast," Andrey Kiselyov explained.
Tornadoes usually form in hot weather, when a cold atmospheric front is approaching, explained Tatiana Pozdnyakova, a leading specialist at the Meteonosti news agency.
— Under the same conditions, a tornado may form and develop, or it may not form at all. Therefore, forecasting this phenomenon is the future of science," she stressed.
According to the meteorologist, tornadoes in Russia usually exist within 20 minutes.
— This is a purely American phenomenon, it exists in certain states. We call such vortices tornadoes, and in Western Europe — blood clots, — she added. — In America, people suffer from tornadoes. In Russia, tornadoes should also be perceived as a serious danger.
In Russia, there are no conditions for the formation of powerful tornadoes, said Tatiana Pozdnyakova. The only area where they can form is the Black Sea region. At the same time, unlike in the USA, where tornadoes can be large and long-lasting, tornadoes in our country, as a rule, do not last long.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
