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Storm: Chasing Nature's Wildest Weather
Join professional storm chaser and photographer Pecos Hank on a whirlwind journey across the USA..
Did you know 75 percent of the entire planet’s tornadoes are reported in the US? While destructive tornadoes most often make the headlines, all this excessive energy in the atmosphere can result in a spectacle of other wonders that leave us in awe. Not only is nature’s fury amplified with these explosive storms, so is its beauty and power, and that’s exactly what “Pecos” Hank Schyma celebrates in Storm.
A collection of Hank’s most beautiful and greatest storm chasing moments, The Greatest Storms on Earth takes you on a visually captivating journey of the planet’s most stunning thunderstorms. You’ll explore both the largest and fastest tornadoes ever recorded, go behind-the-scenes of Hank’s discovery of the “green ghost” and gain a new appreciation for hailstones, clouds and rainbows. Along the way, you’ll gain a basic understanding of how lightning strikes work, what a “supercell” is, why the US has so many thunderstorms and so much more, all with Hank’s signature down-to-earth (and humorous) commentary.
Whether you’re a storm fanatic or simply a fan of out-of-this world photography, you’ll find something to astonish you in these pages.
Did you know 75 percent of the entire planet’s tornadoes are reported in the US? While destructive tornadoes most often make the headlines, all this excessive energy in the atmosphere can result in a spectacle of other wonders that leave us in awe. Not only is nature’s fury amplified with these explosive storms, so is its beauty and power, and that’s exactly what “Pecos” Hank Schyma celebrates in Storm.
A collection of Hank’s most beautiful and greatest storm chasing moments, The Greatest Storms on Earth takes you on a visually captivating journey of the planet’s most stunning thunderstorms. You’ll explore both the largest and fastest tornadoes ever recorded, go behind-the-scenes of Hank’s discovery of the “green ghost” and gain a new appreciation for hailstones, clouds and rainbows. Along the way, you’ll gain a basic understanding of how lightning strikes work, what a “supercell” is, why the US has so many thunderstorms and so much more, all with Hank’s signature down-to-earth (and humorous) commentary.
Whether you’re a storm fanatic or simply a fan of out-of-this world photography, you’ll find something to astonish you in these pages.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published October 28, 2025
39 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 28, 2025
we all already knew this would hit my specific genre of autism like crack hit low-income neighborhoods during the reagan era but MAN i loved this book so damn much
December 10, 2025
This book was fantastic! Full of amazing photography and written from the perspective of a weather photographer. He's informative yet masterful in recounting his first hand experiences in the heart of storms of all kinds. I learned something new about the technology in supercomputer simulation that are becoming more and more accurate based on the science, photography, and videography aiding in time-stamping data more accurately than ever before.
November 3, 2025
A culmination of three decades of storm chasing into one fantastic book. Congrats Hank, here’s to three more!
November 18, 2025
At first, my expectations were completely misaligned with what this book actually is. While I expected a compact text-heavy book, I got a HUGE(Its really HUGE) image-heavy book. If you exclude the images, it would be at around 50-70 pages long, so its a pretty short read.
At first, I didn't enjoy the book, especially on the lightnings chapter I really got annoyed when he refused to get into some physics and details(I really wanted it to be included...), but the deeper I got into reading, the more fascinating it became. Hank having a credit to discovering a brand new LTE was one of the peaks for me during reading, and obviously as a stormchaser Hank had the content-heaviest chapter be the tornadoes. I feel like I learned a lot while reading this book, eventhought it was discussing matters on surface level, without going into deep physics.
Pictures are important for this book, as a photographer - they are the main reason on why we even have a book like this. Most of the pictures as I understand are made by Hank himself, while slightly edited to fit the new format. Breaks for Stormchasing stories are doing a great job in balancing interest in reading, and are giving a little glimpse into Hank's personality.
I'm extremely happy I preordered his first book, as it was definitely a good investment. I followed Hank's youtube channel for a while, and the moment I found out he has a book planned to release, first thing I did was wishlisting it.
Its beautiful, insightful, interesting and also a little personal, which makes it a 5star for me.
I wish there was a second version of this book, where Hank would be able to go more into physical details, but that is just my little greedy wish.
At first, I didn't enjoy the book, especially on the lightnings chapter I really got annoyed when he refused to get into some physics and details(I really wanted it to be included...), but the deeper I got into reading, the more fascinating it became. Hank having a credit to discovering a brand new LTE was one of the peaks for me during reading, and obviously as a stormchaser Hank had the content-heaviest chapter be the tornadoes. I feel like I learned a lot while reading this book, eventhought it was discussing matters on surface level, without going into deep physics.
Pictures are important for this book, as a photographer - they are the main reason on why we even have a book like this. Most of the pictures as I understand are made by Hank himself, while slightly edited to fit the new format. Breaks for Stormchasing stories are doing a great job in balancing interest in reading, and are giving a little glimpse into Hank's personality.
I'm extremely happy I preordered his first book, as it was definitely a good investment. I followed Hank's youtube channel for a while, and the moment I found out he has a book planned to release, first thing I did was wishlisting it.
Its beautiful, insightful, interesting and also a little personal, which makes it a 5star for me.
I wish there was a second version of this book, where Hank would be able to go more into physical details, but that is just my little greedy wish.
March 3, 2026
A great read if you’re interested in storms, photography and science. If you want to learn more about the weather, this is the way to do it.
This is a brilliant book. I had popped into the bookshop for a “browsing only” lunch time break and walked out with this beautiful hard cover. It’s just so pretty, I couldn’t leave it on the shelf. The photographs are stunning. Every page a fascinating snapshot of extreme weather.
Each chapter is compelling and explains the science of weather in a way that’s easy to understand (the diagrams help). I learned so much about how thunderstorms and tornados are created, how lightning works, how to be storm safe and how we measure extreme weather. For the past two weeks I’ve been sharing “fun facts” with colleagues and friends that I’ve picked up from this book - and they are fun, like the clockwork storm Hector and how lightning adds nitrogen to the soil.
I’ve always loved a bit of wild weather and this book is making me even more excited for our next bout of storms so I can put my newfound knowledge into practice.
This is a brilliant book. I had popped into the bookshop for a “browsing only” lunch time break and walked out with this beautiful hard cover. It’s just so pretty, I couldn’t leave it on the shelf. The photographs are stunning. Every page a fascinating snapshot of extreme weather.
Each chapter is compelling and explains the science of weather in a way that’s easy to understand (the diagrams help). I learned so much about how thunderstorms and tornados are created, how lightning works, how to be storm safe and how we measure extreme weather. For the past two weeks I’ve been sharing “fun facts” with colleagues and friends that I’ve picked up from this book - and they are fun, like the clockwork storm Hector and how lightning adds nitrogen to the soil.
I’ve always loved a bit of wild weather and this book is making me even more excited for our next bout of storms so I can put my newfound knowledge into practice.
Read
November 23, 2025Absolutely beautiful book—and I was surprised at how informative it was in terms of providing good explanations for the ways many atmospheric phenomena form and develop.
December 1, 2025
Just like watching one of Hank's videos, the audiobook is a feast for the ears and educational to boot! I also adored having my physical copy on hand with Hank's beautiful photography and all the educational information about storm formation, tornadoes, etc. Admittedly, my favorite parts were the stories interspersed within the narrative. Would HIGHLY reccomend!
January 4, 2026
To properly review this book, we need to first establish what it isn't.
This is not Hank Schyma the Coffeetable Book. While it does have tons of gorgeous imagery, and even multiple two-page spreads, the pictures are meant to support the text.
This is not Stormchaser's Guide. There's only a few pages about stormchasing.
This is not Tornadoes!. There's a section on tornadoes, but there's far more than that in the book.
This is not Pecos Hank's Epic Tales of Stormchasing. There's plenty of anecdotes, and a few short tales, but they are not the focus.
So what is this book?
This is a book about the science of storms, and storm-adjacent phenomena. It covers topics like how a storm forms, how it organizes, the many types of lightning, tornadoes, sprites, hurricanes, and more. Many of its pictures have been turned into educational illustrations with the addition of arrows. And "educational" is the word of the day. This is a book meant to teach you about the basics of storms.
I would recommend this book for anyone looking to get into meteorology, or with an interesting storms in particular. I would sometimes recommend this book for stormchasers, as it conveys interesting and sometimes pertinent information, but they may find it boring. I would not recommend it as an auto-buy if you are a Pecos Hank fan on YouTube, as the personna in his videos is not the same personna that is in this book.
Last but not least, my personal opinion. Storm is a very well illustrated book. The fact that Hank can rely on his vast backlog of his own photos and doesn't need to dip into stock photos really helps make this book unique. But in trying to cover so many topics, it struggles in pacing and organization. Still, I would be interested in a sequel that covers these topics in deeper detail, and with better organization.
This is not Hank Schyma the Coffeetable Book. While it does have tons of gorgeous imagery, and even multiple two-page spreads, the pictures are meant to support the text.
This is not Stormchaser's Guide. There's only a few pages about stormchasing.
This is not Tornadoes!. There's a section on tornadoes, but there's far more than that in the book.
This is not Pecos Hank's Epic Tales of Stormchasing. There's plenty of anecdotes, and a few short tales, but they are not the focus.
So what is this book?
This is a book about the science of storms, and storm-adjacent phenomena. It covers topics like how a storm forms, how it organizes, the many types of lightning, tornadoes, sprites, hurricanes, and more. Many of its pictures have been turned into educational illustrations with the addition of arrows. And "educational" is the word of the day. This is a book meant to teach you about the basics of storms.
I would recommend this book for anyone looking to get into meteorology, or with an interesting storms in particular. I would sometimes recommend this book for stormchasers, as it conveys interesting and sometimes pertinent information, but they may find it boring. I would not recommend it as an auto-buy if you are a Pecos Hank fan on YouTube, as the personna in his videos is not the same personna that is in this book.
Last but not least, my personal opinion. Storm is a very well illustrated book. The fact that Hank can rely on his vast backlog of his own photos and doesn't need to dip into stock photos really helps make this book unique. But in trying to cover so many topics, it struggles in pacing and organization. Still, I would be interested in a sequel that covers these topics in deeper detail, and with better organization.
November 27, 2025
Grain of salt as I don’t think I’m necessarily the target audience for this book since I went in with 0 meteorology knowledge. That said, at times I was confused about who the target audience was, because I felt like there were some very elementary explanations and then a lot of very complex explanations without a lot to bridge the in-between.
That said, I liked this book as a general introduction to storm chasing! My favorite parts, predictably, were the “storm chasing stories” segments. You definitely get a bit of a feel for the author’s character and what value storm chasing holds for him. I especially liked the part on what he calls “soul chasing.” I would recommend this book to someone already interested in storm chasing—I don’t think it would compel someone who isn’t already somewhat invested in that topic (I myself found it because I was looking for a book about storm chasing), but for those who are there will be plenty that’s of interest.
Weather for Dummies is next on my list so maybe after that I’ll understand more of what Mr. Schyma detailed in this book!
That said, I liked this book as a general introduction to storm chasing! My favorite parts, predictably, were the “storm chasing stories” segments. You definitely get a bit of a feel for the author’s character and what value storm chasing holds for him. I especially liked the part on what he calls “soul chasing.” I would recommend this book to someone already interested in storm chasing—I don’t think it would compel someone who isn’t already somewhat invested in that topic (I myself found it because I was looking for a book about storm chasing), but for those who are there will be plenty that’s of interest.
Weather for Dummies is next on my list so maybe after that I’ll understand more of what Mr. Schyma detailed in this book!
December 23, 2025
Popular stormchasing, photographing, musical, and animal-loving YouTuber, Hank Schyma (known as "Pecos Hank"), puts together a very well-done book about extreme weather. I enjoyed that he makes it easy to understand while putting his passion for storms on full display. Speaking of full display, the pictures contained in this book are his own, which adds a nice personal touch. If you enjoy weather or are interested in how it works, this is the book for you!
January 5, 2026
I have always wanted to become a meteorologist, and aside from reading radars, most weather-related processes have always seemed confusing to me. Through a mix of captivating story-telling and insightful description, I feel enlightened. Great book if you're looking to get into meteorology.
February 14, 2026
This book really scratched the weather-loving, storm-chasing itch in my brain! Easy to understand the science, and the photos were absolutely stunning. I’ll be keeping this front and center on my coffee table from now until the end of time :)
February 19, 2026
Beautiful book about severe weather. I’ve read many books like this, but I still managed to learn a number of things here that I’d never seen discussed elsewhere.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews