with many storms, the actual dangers were not the most obvious. I could ignore the approaching ten-foot storm surge by seeking safety in the upper floors of a sturdy structure. The high winds were a minor nuisance. I would be knocked to the ground -- curse -- then snap a few pictures between gusts. The gravest danger at hand was unexpectedly falling from above. Thirty-five floors above me, extreme winds were ripping apart the scaffolding of a high-rise under construction. Debris was falling out of the sky like missiles. Even through loud, oscillating winds, I could occasionally hear an unnerving crash or thud nearby. Suddenly, without warning -- a tornado formed several blocks away and began lifting wreckage high into the swirling sky. My workplace had become a roving deathtrap of rising water and airborne debris. Amongst the calamites at hand -- my ears popped. I sensed the intense, lower pressure eyewall of Katrina approaching. I shook the glass shards out of my raincoat and pressed on. I knew it was only going to get worse."

Warren Faidley - Diary entry. Hurricane Katrina - August 29, 2005

About The Author         By Laura White, national news corespondent

Recently billed as "The Indiana Jones of Storm Chasing" by the Asian press, Warren Faidley specializes in the coverage of severe weather and natural disasters. Over the past 18 years, Warren has written about, photographed, filmed and survived some of earth's most extreme weather. You have likely seen Warren on cable news programs like Fox News reporting on recent storms including Hurricane Katrina. Warren is one of the few individuals who has survived both an F-5 tornado and a category 5 hurricane and lived to tell the story.

His amazing rags to riches 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. 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 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 -- billing him as a "Storm Chaser" and the rest is history.

Warren's "hands-on" experience with a vast assortment of hazardous weather and natural disasters has made him one of the world's most respected experts on severe weather interception, safety and survival. He was the first accredited journalist, photographer and cinematographer to pursue all forms of severe weather as a full-time, professional occupation.