Kevin Myatt is The Roanoke Times' weather columnist.

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Spring is tornado season in the central U.S., but each fall brings a new season of "Storm Chasers" on the Discovery Channel.

New episodes, from the previous storm chase season, appear on Sundays at 10 p.m. and then replay on Thursdays at 10 p.m. The episode airing this week is the second of eight scheduled.

"Storm Chasers" focuses on a few high-intensity crews, including two in armored vehicles and another seeking to plant probes in a tornado's path.

The series can provide conversation fodder among storm chasers, as we alternately admire and cringe at the featured chase teams' adventures -- especially if we happened to be on the same storm. (That's not likely this season, since the Virginia Tech storm chasers were out during this spring's weakest period for severe weather. But we were there for the biggest days of the 2008 season.)

This season of "Storm Chasers" will include a few inside-the-tornado intercepts by storm chaser Reed Timmer, aboard the fire-engine red Dominator armored vehicle. Timmer suffered minor injuries to his face from a blown-out vehicle window in a Nebraska tornado in June.

Now that actually getting inside a tornado is the goal of the most publicized chase teams, one has to wonder if it's only a matter of time until the strength of a tornado is underestimated and an intercept vehicle becomes airborne debris, possibly with deadly consequences.

Nonetheless, putting those worries aside, "Storm Chasers" does get me thinking about another outing in the Plains on the far side of falling leaves, snowflakes and spring mountain laurel. But I prefer viewing from a bit safer distance.

Weather Journal appears on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.