Tanner Charles Schaaf

Tanner Charles Schaaf is 29 years old and lives in Roseville, Minnesota. He is a storm chaser. Granted, I do not know a lot about storm chasing, but to me it is Evel Knievel-like with the ultimate adrenaline surge as a reward by putting yourself at risk. 

On March 31, the highest category severe weather warning was issued in portions of the central United States. Tanner who has been chasing storms for the last 13 years got into his car and headed for a safe vantage point. He didn’t know it at the time, but a tornado that was rated EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale was coming, with wind speeds up to 170 miles per hour (approx. 273 kilometers per hour)

“It was the first storm chase of the year for me,” Tanner told The Epoch Times. “Usually tornadoes only last about 10 minutes, so when a tornado touches down, and one that’s really photogenic … you have to treasure every second. You only get a handful of those each year.”

From the Epoch Times:

At 3:48 p.m., Tanner was filming some very good footage when he noticed the tornado approaching a town a few miles south of Hedrick, Iowa. His excitement turned to fervent prayer. “I was praying against it. I was just like, man, don’t you dare drop a tornado over a town,” he said.

All of a sudden, through harsh winds and heavy rain, a parked vehicle with airbags deployed emerged on the road ahead. Tanner pulled over and watched the driver of the other vehicle open his door and step out. It was Wayne Sanders and his wife, whose family had three houses nearby.

Tanner said: “They were trying to get to their parents’ house before the tornado hit. They didn’t realize how fast the tornado was moving. … [Wayne] knew what he needed to do, but his wife was crying, and she had a dog. The door wasn’t opening properly so I had to really pull, got the door open, got her dog, and we put them in my vehicle.”

A moment of decision for Tanner Charles Schaaf … put himself in even more danger by going and trying to help the elderly couple, or play it safe and get some awesome pictures.

Tanner knew that he needed to stop and help the couple. Plus our hero did what a hero does. He went straight into the path of danger.

In shocking footage of Tanner’s onward journey shared on YouTube, the trio approaches the home of Wayne’s parents, Nancy and Clarence Sanders, only to see it destroyed. Mercifully, moments later, they find the elderly couple alive having sought shelter in the bathroom, the only room of the house that wasn’t completely ripped apart.

The elderly couple were okay, and Wayne’s wife suffered only a minor head injury.

That day, Tanner suffered his own loss before the afternoon was over; when a driver ahead broke unexpectedly. Tanner swerved into a ditch, totaling his car. Luckily, he sustained no injuries and hopes to be back on the road before long.

Going straight into the path of danger … that’ what a true hero does!   Hats off to Tanner Charles Schaaf.

6/11/23