Storm chasers

A tornado decorates the horizon near Vigo Park, Texas.  (Robin Rauzi / LAT)

Tempest Tours is one of several companies that chase severe storms.  (Robin Rauzi / LAT)

A South Dakota sunset illuminates a storm.  (Robin Rauzi / LAT)

Rainbows are the reward after a fierce storm in South Dakota, where sunlight bathes the prairie in honey gold.  (Robin Rauzi / LAT)

Jack Bobo, left, and Rick Weber discuss the serious business of storm chasing. This was Bobo’s second trip and Weber’s first.  (Robin Rauzi / LAT)

A thin, ropelike tornado spins ominously above the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. In spring, tour participants traverse the byways of the Great Plains hoping to see such thrilling and terrible manifestations of nature.  (Robin Rauzi / LAT)

A storm system builds near Newell, S.D.  (Robin Rauzi / LAT)

Lightning and rain paint the landscape.  (Robin Rauzi / LAT)