Walker Ashley and the storm chasing group he has been leading through the College of Dupage (C0D) watch as an EF-2 tornado tears through Elmwood, Ill.

Ashley spent the last 10 days thundering across the Midwest.

Moving from Colorado, to Oklahoma, to Kansas, to Iowa, the NIU meteorology professor sits just a few hours south of DeKalb.

The satisfaction of catching a tornado is only trumped by the feeling of helplessness the group experiences as 130 mph winds batter the town.

“I was fearful as we were watching it do quite a bit of damage in Elmwood and Yates City,” Ashley said.

The Georgia native is in his second year of leading a group of chasers through COD.

Heather Brinkmann was one of three NIU students who accompanied Ashley on the trip.

The senior meteorology major stood with the group taking pictures as the destruction in Elmwood unfolded.

“We watched the tornado come down,” Brinkmann said. “It was unbelievable to think we had been in that town just five minutes ago.”

It’s a sensation Ashley has been chasing since his youth in Georgia.

“I typically spend four to five weeks out on the road during the spring chasing,” Ashley said. “Then I do a lot of local chases through the summer. This area is actually amazing terrain for chasing.”

Finding a storm that is ready to produce a tornado isn’t always as easy as driving to the forecasted area and waiting.

“I’ve had times where I have been in Colorado and there have been tornadic supercells in the Chicago area,” Ashley said.

While northern Illinois may not get as many supercells as the Great Plains, the self-proclaimed “structure freak” often finds plenty of severe weather to keep him interested.

For Ashley, it’s not about getting as close to a tornado as possible. He’s more than happy to capture the beauty of the storm’s structure.

“The new thing seems to be to try and drive into a tornado,” Ashley said. “It has become very dangerous. Eventually someone is going to get themselves killed.”