Storm Chasers

It was May 10th, 1996, when Twister hit the box office, a popular action-packed thriller that was the second highest-grossing film of the year.  This fictional flick sparked the popularity of “storm chasing” across the country.

Fun Fact: Twister was the first film to be released on DVD in the US.

Some twenty-six years later and the enamor for storm chasing has not faded.  A number of travel companies even specialize in storm chasing-led-adventure tours.   Throughout tornado alley, local news outlets highlight the collateral damage caused by storm chasers.  The influx of traffic and lack of local law enforcement – distracted by the tornado at hand – leads these chasers to blow through stop signs, run red lights, and drive distracted by their various weather devices, often resulting in fatal accidents.

Rick Smith with the National Weather Service speaks out against these amateur chasers, "It is a serious situation in that anytime you have a severe storm, the storm itself is bad enough, and these storms can be very serious. It's important for people to know it's not like watching television it's not a video game. These storms can really hurt you, they can kill you, they can damage your vehicle,"

We are talking about ill-equipped amateurs seeking a thrill and relying on their limited experience and know-how to go out and "play" with tornadoes.  This is just downright foolish, no?  When it comes to weather, we call these folks storm chasers; when it comes to investing, we call these folks performance chasers.

Today we will dive into the wild world of performance chasing and the financial wreckage this common pastime can cause.

And off we go...

Links mentioned in this episode:

• http://thoughtsonmoney.com
• http://thebahnsengroup.com