The Storm Team 8 storm chasers

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Storm Team 8 now has Storm Team 8 chasers.

Seven seasoned storm chasers are working with Storm Team 8, bringing up-close action as it happens throughout the Midwest.

Here is a brief look at each of the chasers:

In the past year alone, William "L.B." LaForce has seen 18 tornadoes. A storm chaser for two years, he has driven thousands of miles to "witness the awesome power of Mother Nature." Already, his footage has been shown on many networks, including The Weather Channel. When not chasing storms, LaForce is a meteorology student at Central Michigan University and plans to graduate in 2013.

Bob Hartig has two great loves: Chasing storms and playing the saxophone. Over the past 15 years, he has seen around 30 tornadoes between the Great Lakes and the Great Plains. A graduate of Aquinas College, he also is a professional copywriter and lives in Caledonia.

Ben Holcomb is a Lansing native who became a Skywarn spotter in 2005 and began storm chasing two years later. He has chased in every state in Tornado Alley, and from the Gulf states to the Great Lakes. He now works for a weather company in Norman, Okla., but still calls Michigan home.

Kurt Hulst has been chasing severe weather for 12 years. He has seen nearly 100 tornadoes, from EF-0 to EF-5, in more than 15 states between New Mexico and Pennsylvania. His award-winning photography has been seen many places, and the Discovery Channel used his footage of a 2008 Iowa twister.

Born and raised in Chicago, Adam Lucio began chasing storms as soon as he could drive, in 1998. He began training courses in 2000, and in 2007, made it a full-time career. "I am driven by passion," he said, "and will go where the worst weather is."

Since 2000, Nick Nolte has chased storms in the Midwest, but began chasing in the Great Plains in 2010. He has seen 15 tornadoes in the Midwest and Tornado Alley. He's an honors graduate from Central Michigan University and works as a GIS technician in Jackson County.

Bill Oosterbaan has chased storms for 40 of his 55 years. The father of five and grandfather of five has seen approximately 50 tornadoes over the years. There are three ways to claim a tornado, he said: photograph or film; seen by two or more chasers; and/or reported by law enforcement. "I think it's important I stick to that code," he said.

Rob Dale spent a decade as a TV meteorologist and severe weather expert for WLNS TV6 in Lansing. He currently works in the emergency management field, and has been chasing storms in the Great Lakes since 1986. His live chase coverage on the air during a 2002 tornado in Williamston saved lives of those in danger as they took cover while he mentioned specific street names of the storm's path.

Stay with Storm Team 8 for complete severe weather coverage.