#40: Epic Tornado

It’s obvious this woman not only has never heard of megalophobia, but she’s not scared of much else, either. This photo was taken in Nebraska in 1989, as a tornado touched down, and instead of running for cover, she decided it was the perfect opportunity for a photo op. That’s right, even before social media has begun, people were risking their lives for that perfect shot.

Tornadoes are freak weather occurrences when a storm becomes volatile enough to create a funnel from a cumulonimbus or cumulus cloud that then touches down to earth. In America, there is an average of 800-1,200 tornadoes per year, with around 80 deaths and a little over 100 injuries. Astraphobia is the fear of weather, so this one is a double whammy in the phobia department.