While Mexican residents and foreign tourists rushed to take shelter from Hurricane John roaring toward this beach resort on Friday, two American extreme weather enthusiasts were loving it, according to Reuters. Reed Timmer and Joel Taylor say they travel tens of thousands of miles (km) a year risking their lives to stand in hurricanes, tornadoes and blizzards just for fun. "We definitely get a massive adrenaline rush and sense of excitement since we know strong winds and devastating rains are looming," meteorology student Timmer said. Carrying helmets and goggles to shield them from flying debris, the pair flew to the Los Cabos resort in Mexico's Baja California peninsula this week hoping to meet John head on. Packing winds of 110 mph (175 kph), the storm was due to swipe the peninsula near Los Cabos on Friday afternoon. Veterans of tornadoes in their native Oklahoma, the storm chasers have now gone through five hurricanes, including Katrina which devastated New Orleans last year. "The scariest, most intense moment storm chasing was definitely Hurricane Katrina where we lost our car in the flood waters," said Timmer 26. They were trapped for 12 hours east of New Orleans and running out of food and water before a fishing boat rescued them. The pair film and photograph extreme weather close up and send it to their web site, http://www.tornadovideos.net. In Los Cabos, they rented a room in a five-star hotel right on the beach to have a better view when the storm slams in. Hotel management made them sign a waiver saying they refused to take shelter with other guests. Their hobby raised a few eyebrows. "They're crazy. They are danger fanatics. You could lose your life," said Paul Quinones, a power-line worker sent to Los Cabos for the storm. Timmer started following tornadoes in the U.S. Great Plains in 1998, often driving as far as the Canadian or Mexican borders, sleeping in a car and living off fast food to catch the most violent storms. Despite the buzz of being in the eye of storms, the two are aware that extreme weather often causes tragedy. "One crazy thing about storm chasing is that one second we can be extremely excited about a massive tornado or hurricane, but this rush turns to sadness when we witness all the damage and destruction first hand," Timmer said.
