24 Nebraskaland • December 2024
have the utmost trust in him. I know
that he's going to keep us safe, and I'm
going to keep us safe, too."
Strangely enough, the storms
themselves aren't the most dangerous
part of what he does. It's the other
drivers, Hollamon said — people out
doing the same thing he's doing.
"There are times in the spring where
the weather's pretty targeted to one
area and you may have 2 or 3 thousand
people on the road just chasing
storms," Hollamon said. "It gets wild."
Road conditions and nearby
lightning can also pose hazards. Asked
how he balances the need for safety
with getting a good shot, Hollamon
said, "Safety first, because there's no
shot if you're not safe."
At the same time, he will admit
to accepting some level of risk:
"Sometimes you have to just risk it for
the biscuit, so to speak."
Hollamon insists he's not an
adrenaline junkie — or even much of a
risk taker. "I'm pretty reserved. I'm not
a big roller coaster rider," he said. "I
On this day, Hollamon started chasing storms by Hebron, Nebraska. He then moved back northeast and noticed the lightning
ramping up as storms merged. "As fate would have it, it chased me right to one of my very favorite spots," he said. "Lightning
was dropping all around me when I got there."
