Usually it's tornado hunter Greg Johnson who is chasing the storms.
But on this night it was a blizzard that accompanied Johnson's arrival to North Battleford for a presentation to the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrologists convention at the Dekker Centre.
"Getting into North Battleford was difficult today because of this crazy, crazy spring weather we are getting," Johnson acknowledged. "It was pretty nasty out there."
Still, Johnson made it to North Battleford March 20 in his familiar "storm spotter" vehicle that he uses to chase tornadoes and severe weather across North America.
While tornado hunting was the main focus of his presentation to convention delegates, his presentation was about far more than that.
The former Acadia political science graduate, whose previous jobs included a stint on Parliament Hill as well as his tenure refereeing in the Western Hockey League, about the winding road that eventually led him to storm-chasing.
He showed pictures and video of the large number of tornadoes he chased last year in Saskatchewan and elsewhere. Saskatchewan experienced a spike in tornadoes in 2012 and Johnson showed video of the twisters he had spotted near Moose Jaw, Balgonie and elsewhere.
Johnson also showed off images of the carnage from Joplin, Mo. from when a massive tornado hit there in 2011 - a day Johnson refers to as the worst of his life based on what he'd seen.
He also stressed the importance of pursuing one's passions - a topic that resonated with those in the audience who were passionate about their work in agriculture. For him, it is photography and photographing severe weather.
Following his presentation Johnson also signed copies of his book, Blown Away, for convention delegates. The book is a photographic account of the 2011 tornado season.
Johnson offered a few predictions about what could be in store for Saskatchewan in 2013, and gave his assessment that the run of bad snowy weather this winter could turn into a run of stormy weather this summer.
That was not what agrologists in the room wanted to hear, with their concerns about what hail might have on the province's crops.
But it is more potential good news for Johnson as he readies for another storm-chasing season.
He believes the province is experiencing a wet cycle that could produce the kind of moisture in the air that could trigger more tornadoes.
"Definitely, moisture is a key ingredient for producing severe thunderstorms and tornadoes," Johnson told the Regional Optimist.
"Without moisture, you just don't get storms. And so, having all this moisture means when we start to heat up in June and into July, it's a good chance this could be fuel for severe weather."
That moisture, combined with the arrival of the jet stream in mid-summer, seems likely to trigger the storm activity according to Johnson.
"My sort of unscientific seasonal forecast would be: we've got lots of moisture here. It's still dry in the U.S. plains. You know, moisture's an ingredient, the jet stream's an ingredient and it's up here in June and July, so I definitely think we have all the things in place we need for nasty weather."
One of the things Johnson spoke about during his presentation was the importance of passing on a legacy to his family and the next generation.
That's something he could relate to the work of agrologists every day. Johnson said to the Regional Optimist the work agrologists do leaves a "totally unmeasurable legacy for the people of Saskatchewan and the next generation coming up behind us."
He noted a century ago, a bad year on the land meant people didn't eat. Today, thanks to the work of agrologists, " a bad year might mean we're down five per cent over last year, or up five per cent if we had a good year," Johnson said.
Johnson, who included the Battlefords as a location for one of his several photography workshops last September, expects he will be in the community again this summer - likely pursuing more storm-chasing activities.
"I hate to say this, but I'll probably end up being through North Battleford through storm season at some point this year," Johnson said.
He adds he hopes there will be no repeat of the nasty June 25 storms that hit the Battlefords and Prince Albert last year. "Let's hope I'm just passing through," said Johnson.
