With a strong downdraft, a lot of hail can be dumped from the core in a short space of time.<\/p>\n
As a keen weather watcher, Rob knew exactly what he was looking at once he saw the storm clouds ahead of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019ve been pretty weather-nerdy and storm-obsessed since I was a kid,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen most people are going inside when there’s a storm coming, I’m standing outside and watching it for the entire time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Around 12 years ago, Rob picked up a camera, kicking off a passion for actively chasing storms and capturing extreme weather on camera, a hobby that has seen him travel around the world in pursuit of weather, including to Tornado Alley in the USA 3 times.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a time-consuming hobby which sees Rob often drive for hundreds of kilometres in a day following the weather and spend hours trying to get a good photo.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s the allure of witnessing the beauty and ferocity of severe weather, while being able to share it with others through photos, that keeps him on the road and snapping photos.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe entire thing is fascinating,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as storms go, one of the things that fascinates me the most is that every single one is completely unique.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can see certain things in storms that you can relate to past experiences of seeing a similar storm, but nothing’s ever exactly the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cI suppose it’s that that’s part of it, and another part is just the incredible power that storms have \u2013 and the fact that there’s a little bit of danger thrown in there.\u201d<\/p>\n