Companies Offer Hurricane Tours For Thrill-Seekers

Hurricane season has started and hot spots like Florida, Texas, and Louisiana may see a new type of tourist this year.

Adventure seekers are hoping to catch the eye of a hurricane and witness the wrath of Mother Nature first hand.

Drew Dellacioppa was still picking up the pieces after last year’s hurricane season.

The winds of Hurricane Wilma blew in and smashed his windows and his walls crumbled.

"I was scared," said Dellacioppa.

Dellacioppa rode out the storm from his apartment, a mistake he said nearly cost him his life.

He added, "Everything started exploding. It was almost like a freight train coming right through your apartment."

From now on, Dellacioppa said he would evacuate.

But while he is heading out, others will be heading in directly into the danger and doing it intentionally.

A handful of companies are offering hurricane tours -- trips to witness the power of Mother Nature first hand.

"It's for the person that has never done it before, to get to see it one time,” said Todd Thorn.

Thorn is with Storm Chasing Adventure Tours and had been taking customers to see twisters for years.

This season, he is also one of the guides selling hurricane trips.

"Before we take tours the hurricane has to be a Category 2 or bigger," said Thorn.

Thorn said customers are contacted 48 hours before the storm hits.

They fly into the predicted landfall site and then scout a place to ride out the storm in rented vehicles.

Thorn added, "You try to find a concrete parking garage or if the hurricane is going to be too intense, you have to pull back from the shoreline."

He also warned that these trips are anything but a vacation.

Professional storm chaser Richard Horodner said, "You're going to be maybe in a stairway with water dripping all around you, with the winds just howling."

Horodner said your comfort is the last thing you should be worried about.

He has been in more than 70 hurricanes, filming the storms for educational purposes.

He said these tours are too dangerous for the general public.

"The tidal surge can just gobble you up. The winds can bring a tornado. A person can get sick and have no medical help," added Horodner.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said not only is your life at stake, but these tours could get in the way of rescue efforts.

“The fact that individuals are heading directly into the paths of hurricanes for entertainment is absurd,” FEMA told 10News.

Thorn said, "We have continuous radar information coming from satellite. Just knowing that, you can determine what type of building that you need to be at to be safe."

Dellacioppa said he thought his building was safe, but has learned there’s never a guarantee when it comes to facing a hurricane.

“You could survive or you can’t survive. Who knows what is going to happen? You’re taking a gamble,” he said.

In addition to witnessing the hurricane, the storm chasing companies said they would also take customers on tours of the aftermath.