A whirlwind
THE romantic outlook is excellent for two storm chasers who fell for each other thousands of miles from home.
John Finney, 46, and Ashleigh Parker, 29, were watching the skies in Texas but a “lightning bolt moment” between them sparked an unstoppable whirlwind romance.
The couple are still on cloud nine, living together and planning many more trips to track tornadoes, twisters and lightning strikes.
Extreme weather photographer John had his eye on the camera rather than fellow watchers when he was introduced to Ashleigh on a ten-day trip to Texas in 2015.
But he said: “We hit it off and got on great. I never thought I’d find love through the weather.” Together they drove thousands of miles using radar to follow the storms. They were mesmerised by the extreme tornadoes whipping across America’s great plains and witnessed the “perfect storm” in Nebraska.
John said that although weather-chasing is also about drinking, eating and having a laugh there are dangers from lightning strikes.
Peak
He said: “It felt rare to find a partner who loved the extremity of it as much as I did.”
The pair bonded so well that, two weeks after returning from Texas, John, from Manchester, and Ashleigh, of Canterbury, had a romantic weekend in the Peak District.
Over the next year the smitten pair braved wind and rain to visit five US states and capture the series of atmospheric shots featured here.
They moved in together in High Peak, Derbyshire, and are now looking forward to more trips. Next month they will track monsoons in Arizona for three weeks.
They also plan to go to Colorado, Iowa and Nebraska to see a total eclipse of the sun and to Canada in 2019.
John, who works for an engineering company, hopes to turn his love of photography into a full-time job and run tours of his own.
John said: “Weather brought us together and we’ve been chasing it ever since.”
Let’s hope that if they go a step further and tie the knot it’s not a stormy marriage... See more of John’s photography at johnfinneyphotography.com.