As a firefighter for 28 years, Uxbridge Fire Chief William T. Kessler has had his share of adrenaline-pumping emergencies. Few have revved him up as much as having a massive tornado roar less than 300 yards behind him down a highway in Colorado.
Chief Kessler, 54, usually doesn't get that close to a tornado's path. He's seen plenty of dramatic atmospheric displays over the last decade, however, as a storm chaser and van driver each May and June for Silver Lining Tours, a Colorado-based company offering storm-chasing and photography excursions across the plains from Texas to North Dakota. His storm-chasing hobby is evident in his office at Uxbridge Fire Department headquarters, where photos of storm supercells from various trips -- including a two-day period in 2010 when he spotted some 41 tornadoes in South Dakota and Minnesota -- take up more wall space than the usual fire-service documents.
"I remember as a kid, driving on the Ohio Turnpike, I'd get into trouble saying, 'Oh yea! We're going to go through a thunderstorm!' " Chief Kessler recalled.
The Connecticut native continued, "It's always been on the bucket list to see a tornado."
In 2005 Chief Kessler made his first storm-chasing trip to the Midwest, but came up empty with no tornadoes. Same thing in 2006.
In 2007, he saw seven tornadoes and said, "I was hooked."