Thomas Hinterdorfer spent almost three months in US chasing tornadoes

A Queensland weather forecaster shares unbelievable images after he spent almost three months chasing tornadoes in the US this year.

Queenslander Thomas Hinterdorfer spent 84 days chasing some of the most powerful tornadoes in the US this year.

The storm chaser, who travelled across 20 states, said a tornado caused by the supercell in Clear Lake and Gary, in South Dakota, was one of his top three of the past decade as it had ideal structures.

Hinterdorfer captured this tornado in Spiritwood, North Dakota, on June 20.

“It went through all the motions of shape shifting and changing its speed and direction, and we got a front-row view of the entire chaser,” he said.

A South Dakota tornado was on the ground for 40 minutes, and Hinterdorfer was in the thick of the action.

“It was on the ground for around 40 minutes, and we had a very close-range view for about 30-35 minutes.

A tornado in Silverton, Texas on April 24.

“We were within 200 yards (180m) of that tornado for over 20 minutes across the front of us.”

The Higgins Storm Chasing chief forecaster said his interest in weather events started when he was young.

An epic storm front captured by Queensland weather chaser Thomas Hinterdorfer in Tahoka, Texas.

“We love to be right there with the tornado for as long as possible, just feeling all the elements at once, and it does get pretty wild at those moments,” he said.

“We do get wild storms and tornadoes in Australia, but they’re much rarer compared to the US.”

Originally published as Thomas Hinterdorfer spent almost three months in US chasing tornadoes