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Private Notes
George embarks on his annual pilgrimage to the "Tornado Alley" area of the central U.S. to guide groups of people who want to witness the brute force of tornadoes in action. Along the way he faces giant hailstones, dust storms and quirky American roadside attractions.
Enlisting the help of fellow storm chaser R.J. Evans, George heads to Arizona to photograph spectacular lightning storms triggered by the desert monsoon season. R.J. however is known as "America's noisiest athiest" for his free-thought radio show... It seems that the gods are intent on striking them down with thunderbolts from the heavens.
In this episode, George explores the deadly Nyiragongo volcano in the Congo jungle but the lava lake dwelling inside it's crater may be the least of his worries as he has to negotiate through armed conflict, a family of gorillas, severe weather and an 11,000 foot hike up the side of the volcano.
Following in the footsteps of the Klondike goldrush, George heads north to the Yukon Territory and Alaska, but it's not gold he's seeking. It's the intense summer wildfires that often plague the area during their 24 hours of daylight. He travels by train, bike, plane and whitewater raft to reach the fires but Mother Nature has other plans for him and doesn't make things easy.
Hurricanes are the largest storms on Earth and George has been through many of them. This year he starts off by getting prepared in a wind tunnel, then he and his chase partner Mark Robinson head to Newfoundland for more wild weather action. Then, it's off to another encounter where the wild wind fans a raging inferno.
2005 seemed to be the year that Earth went wild. Follow George as he brings us back to the site of his hairiest adventures from that year. Whether it's descending into a volcano in the most remote corner of Ethiopia, almost driving into a tornado in Texas or facing down hurricane Katrina, George was right there at ground zero and lived to tell the tale.
Most people's idea of a dream wedding might include a horse drawn carriage and an elaborate ceremony. Not George. Join him as he and his bride to be tie the knot in an unusual and certainly exotic way... On the crater's edge of an erupting volcano in the south Pacific. Forget about catching the bouquet, at this wedding it's all about dodging red hot lava bombs.
Water sustains life on Earth but it can also be one of the most destructive and dangerous elements. In this episode, George investigates the wild side of water in dangerous class 5 river rapids, a flooded cave, and even in the ocean surrounded by massive Great White Sharks.
Winter weather can be even more dangerous than thunderstorms and where else to explore the big chill than at the summit of Mount Washington which has the reputation as being the place with the "Worst weather in the world". There, the winds and ice are on par with a polar expedition and to crank up the extreme factor, George also sees what it's like to combine a hurricane and an ice storm by being frozen completely solid by returning to his favorite wind tunnel, but things don't go smoothly.
Whenever there is unstable snow and gravity, gravity always wins. George travels to the Rocky Mountains to learn about how to stay alive in the back country. He also gets to team up with an avalanche control crew to fire explosives into the mountains to create controlled slides. He even tests the ability of an avalanche rescue dog by being buried in a snow cave.
Although he admits to not being much of a sailor, George climbs aboard a sailing vessel to explore the extreme southern tip of South America (Fin Del Mundo aka the "End of the World"). The waters here are famous for being some of the most treacherous in the world and the entire area is a graveyard of shipwrecks. It's also home to numerous receding glaciers along the edge of the Antarctic ozone hole where the effects of climate change are more & more noticeable...
It ain't worth a thing if it ain't got that spin. The whirling winds of Tornado Alley draw George back like a moth to a flame. This season the tornadoes begin early - in February. Through the season, George follows the big weather from Missouri west to the Dakotas, and dodges the huge, destructive Greensburg tornado in southern Kansas.
Tucked away, high in the mountains of the Caribbean island of Dominica lies a marvel of nature -a lake whose water literally boils and steams like a witch's cauldron. George wants to be the first person in history to rig a rope across the lake and explore it's waters from above...and make it back!!
