Storm chasing tour company announces record bookings after release of two new movies

Tempest Tours has become America's destination for seeing big storms up-close. Photo: Chris Gullikson.

Texas-based Tempest Tours Storm Chasing Expeditions announced today that bookings for 2025 are sold out, and tours for 2026 are booking quickly. The company's founder and CEO Martin Lisius, also a veteran storm chaser, said the stronger than normal interest in their product may be related to the release of two new films about storm chasing including "Twisters," a Hollywood movie that follows storm chasers as they track tornadoes, and "The Chasers of Tornado Alley: Touching the Sky," a documentary film written and directed by Lisius himself. "Typically, we would be almost sold out for 2025 at this point, but the additional interest in storm chasing generated by the two films probably has something to do with the accelerated bookings," he said. Tempest Tours started operations in 2001 with just a single van and three storm chasers. Over the years, it has grown and is now considered the premier storm chasing tour operator in America leading tours for guests from around the world, including well-known VIP's. Lisius attributes their success to their focus on safety and education saying "Our guests want to be safe and to learn about weather. Safety and education have always been our mission." Lisius understands the importance of both more than most as the chairman of the Texas Severe Storms Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to severe weather education and public safety. Lisius worked as a technical advisor on "Twister" (1996). And, Tempest Tours "Tornado Wrangler" T-shirts can be seen worn by storm chasers in the new movie "Twisters."

Texas tour company to use its tornado chasing skills to help view solar eclipse

ARLINGTON, Texas - Long-range forecast models have recently predicted significant cloud cover across a large portion of the April 8th total solar eclipse US track which could hinder viewing conditions for millions of Americans. But, one Texas company will be prepared. Tempest Tours Storm Chasing Expeditions, an adventure travel company founded by legendary storm chaser Martin Lisius in 2000, will host a special total solar eclipse tour next week. Their mission is to travel from their base in Arlington to clear skies along the path of the eclipse for their guests to have an unobscured view of the event. “We’ve essentially been practicing for the upcoming eclipse for more than 20 years,” said Lisius. “When we chase storms, we target an area where we think tornadoes will occur later in the day, and that target may only be the size of a county or two.”

The company’s staff is comprised of meteorologists who specialize in predicting weather on a small scale, hours ahead of time. Once their target is defined, they depart in a fleet of specially-equipped vehicles in time to reach their destination.

“We are designed for this mission, and will do everything possible to reach clear skies prior to the start of the eclipse,” Lisius said.

This won’t be the first time the company has tackled a solar event. The team viewed the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. That day began with staff and guests under a thick deck of stratus clouds. They recognized something in the weather data and headed west to blue skies just in time to view the eclipse near Alliance, Nebraska.

“If Mother Nature provides just a single patch of blue, we will be under it.”

Contact: Kim George, info@tempesttours.com, (817) 274-9313.

Solar Eclipse Tour web page: https://www.tempesttours.com/2024-tours/tour-1-awesome-april-tornado-tour-xr8yf-tz5m8-5tdpb

Company web links: https://www.tempesttours.com/ , https://www.facebook.com/tempesttours

Storm Chasers to Host Solar Eclipse Tour in Texas

Tempest Tours Storm Chasing Expeditions, a group of expert storm chasers based in Arlington, Texas, will host a special tour for the total solar eclipse event that will occur on April 8. The tour, which sold out within 36 hours last fall, will track the eclipse and offer a "taste of Texas" for its guests including a longhorn cattle drive, bluebonnet photography, and a sampling of Texas cuisine. The company's staff meteorologists will closely monitor the weather to find clear skies for its guests. "We are ready to travel wherever necessary to get them a cloud-free view of the eclipse," said Tempest Tours founder and president Martin Lisius, a 37-year veteran of storm chasing. "Forecasting and intercepting weather is what we do. The only thing different this time is we will be looking for the opposite of storms."

More information about Tempest Tours can be found at the company's web site, https://www.tempesttours.com

New storm chasing movie “Supercell” to premiere this week in North Texas

Severe thunderstorms are in the forecast for Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW) and adjacent areas of north central Texas tomorrow, Thursday, March 16. Conditions will be favorable for a type of storm called a “supercell.” It’s a storm with a rotating updraft that is notorious for producing violent tornadoes and giant hail. So, it’s appropriate for the Tornado Alley premiere of a new movie about supercells to occur the very next day, Friday, March 17 in DFW.

The film’s director, Jamie Winterstern, will be on hand for the screening which will take place at 7:30 pm on March 17 at Galaxy Theaters Grandscape in The Colony, Texas. Mr. Winterstern will introduce the movie and speak with the audience.

Also on hand will be members of the Tempest Tours staff of storm chasers who took part in the production. They include Martin Lisius, Kim George, and Steve George. Tempest is an Arlington-based company specializing in storm chasing expeditions. They have hosted tours for guests from around the world for 23 years.

About “Supercell”

Baseball-size hail, violent winds, and churning tornadoes make supercells deadly, and when William Brody was a boy, his father – a legendary storm-chaser – was killed by one. Now, the family business belongs to Zane Rogers (Alec Baldwin), a reckless tour operator who sees dollar signs where others see storm clouds. When his destiny arrives in the form of one of the most powerful storms on record, William leaves his mom (Anne Heche) and home behind to team up with his father’s ex-partner, Roy Cameron (Skeet Ulrich), barely surviving a tornado yet determined to chase one of nature’s most terrifying creations: the bear’s cage.

Galaxy Theaters Grandscape is located at 5740 Grandscape Blvd. Ste. 100, The Colony, TX 75056.

Learn more about the movie at https://www.swipemarket.com/supercell

About Tempest Tours

Tempest Tours, Inc. was founded by Arlington’s Martin Lisius and legendary storm chaser William T. Reid in 2000. They host storm chasing expeditions in Tornado Alley during the spring and summer months. The team places emphasis on safety and education.

Learn more about Tempest Tours at https://www.tempesttours.com/storm-chasers

Contact: Kim George, Tempest Tours, (817) 274-9313, info@tempesttours.com