Mi Partners Pelmorex partnership puts Outlander SUVs to the ultimate test By Mark Robinson, The Weather Network
Canadian summer heat brings severe weather. The combination of high heat and high humidity fuels atmospheric instability, which breeds storms with thunder, lightning, intense rain, flash flooding, hail and strong winds that rearrange your patio furniture. When thunder rumbles, it’s advised to get indoors and avoid open fields, bodies of water, or sheltering under trees that attract lightning. However, Mark Robinson doesn’t follow the advice he has offered to tens of thousands of Canadians over his long career as a Weather Network meteorologist and storm chaser. Instead of seeking shelter, he is driven by the thrill of getting as close as possible to the heart of the storm. And in his Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, he can get close. Very close. What drives Robinson to chase a violent storm in- stead of turning and driving the other way? “I’ve always been fascinated by severe weather, run- ning around, and seeing what the extremes of Mother Nature are,” says Robinson. “I’ve jumped into four
volcanoes. I’ve been to Antarctica and Mount Everest. I’ve been through 26 hurricanes, and I don’t know the exact number, but there have been countless torna- does and hundreds and hundreds of thunderstorms. For North America, it’s really all about the thunder- storms and the severe weather here. I find it abso- lutely, incredibly fascinating.” At the same time, storm chasing is more than just a hobby for Robinson. It’s a career that he has dedicat- ed countless years to, where the purpose of chasing a storm is to gather as much information as possible and report back to The Weather Network. “The idea is to be out in those storms and show people this is what’s coming towards you. This is what to ex- pect,” says Robinson. “We can look at the radar, and you won’t necessarily know what that storm is actual- ly doing unless you’ve got somebody underneath it.” Severe weather in Canada reaches its peak during the summer, and Robinson noticed an early start this year. In the pursuit of a storm, the vehicle becomes an
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