By Laura White, national news corespondent

"The sky between Johnson and Richfield turned a frightening green, and I accepted that there would be no swift escape. The fun of chasing, the jokes and the conversation vanished. We were facing the stark reality of our pursuits. Survival was now the issue. To the east lay a landscape of wheat fields flowing like a white-capped ocean. But this route offered no escape, for the fields were lined with only a handful of tractor access roads that would soon turn to thick mud. Behind us, and to the west, was the vivid bolts of lightning, giant hail stones and the oncoming tornado. No shelter anywhere. Our only escape was due south, where the sun smiled pleasantly in the distance."

From Warren Faidley's best-selling Storm Chaser.

Warren Faidley was the first person to pursue severe weather and natural disasters in a full-time, professional capacity, as a journalist, consultant, cinematographer and photographer. The majority of storm chasers featured in TV specials and seen on the Internet only chase a few storms as part-time, seasonal or recreational pursuits.

Over the past 20 years, Warren has experienced and survived some of earth's most breathtaking and sometimes violent weather. You have likely seen Warren on news programs like CBS's Early Show, CNN and Fox "Breaking" News reporting on events like the recent deadly tornado outbreaks. Warren is one of the few individuals who has experienced firsthand an F-5 tornado, a category 5 hurricane's 155 mph winds (Andrew 1992), flash floods, firestorms, incapacitating cold, baseball-sized hailstones, food poisoning, rogue waves, lightning jolts, bullets, rock-slides, enraged farmers, reptiles, sinkholes and Mad-Max-like characters along the highways -- and survived to tell the stories.

His amazing career began at age 12 after we was swept away by a flash flood. After recovering from the near drowning -- he moved on to riding his bicycle into the heart of dust devils. (Small, tornado-like desert whirlwinds). His very first tornado chase in 1987 landed him in a small west Texas town that had been swept away by a violent tornado. His professional storm chasing career was launched after he took an amazing photograph of lightning hitting a light pole in an oil and gasoline tank farm. The shot nearly cost him his life. The image was published in Life Magazine who billed him as a "Storm Chaser." Warren's "dust to gold" success story is filled with countless anecdotes of danger, adventure, romance and drama -- and along the way, his journeys have produced some of the most breathtaking images ever captured on film and video.

Foraging through storm surges and flying debris, his stunning images of Hurricane Andrew are some of the only known still pictures of the Category 5 hurricane (in progress) as it slammed into south Florida in 1992. He was the first cinematographer ever to capture a tornado on 35mm motion picture film. (McLean, Texas, June 1997). Warren was an initial motion picture consultant for Twister.

In the late 1990's Warren designed and built the world's first "Fortified Storm Intercept Vehicle." The "Archangel" was a SUV designed to intercept and film severe weather and tornadoes. In late May of 2004 Warren Faidley and a team member penetrated a weak F-O tornado near Vega, Texas, becoming the first chasers to purposely maneuver a tornado-resistant vehicle into a tornado. (No vehicle can actually survive a violent tornado).

Warren has been featured in countless television specials including National Geographic Explorer, The BBC, The O'Reilly Factor and The Weather Channel. He was recently the star of a Discovery HD Theater "Risk Takers" special. His images and footage have been used by diversified clientele including Paul McCartney, NASA, MTV, The New York Times, MTV, The NFL, Sheryl Crow, Life and Time Magazines, NASCAR and USA Today. He is an international lecturer on severe weather and global warming.

Warren is the founder and Chairman of the Storm Angel^TM Foundation, an organization devoted to educating and assisting children who are victims of severe weather. He has received numerous awards for his photography, journalism, educational and public service contributions, including certificates from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and a William Randolph Hearst Foundation Journalism Award. He has written two books and collaborated on over 50 literary projects, including many magazine articles and children's books.

See Warren's detailed biography here.
(Includes new images and Quicktime® Movies!)