Certainly the highlight of storm chasing is tornadoes and ThorntonWeather.com’s Storm Chase 2010 had plenty of those – five in one day in fact.  However, as great of satisfaction can be derived from simpler, less violent storms.  The images from a week of chasing on the Great Plains show the fury and the beauty of Mother Nature.

Storm chasing is as much an art as a science – there are no guarantees that tornadoes will appear as forecast. Other types of severe weather and the amazing structure they display can bu just as impressive.

Scud clouds hovering over a coal train in Nebraska, egg sized hail pummeling storm chaser vehicles, the sun setting on the Oklahoma plains and the now infamous Baca County, Colorado tornado ripping through ranchland all were highlights of Storm Chase 2010.

The images in the slideshow below represent some of the most stunning and beautiful images captured during the week.