In the premiere episode, veteran chasers and a new generation of storm spotters and weather streamers compete for position during one of the season's most volatile tornado outbreaks. As a photogenic twister approaches the small town of Gary, South Dakota, each chaser angles to get ahead of the storm. But when extreme meteorologist Reed Timmer arrives with his high-tech armored vehicle, called "the Dominator," an unexpected fender bender disrupts the chase. Back on course, the chasers catch up with the fast-moving twister, but as it intensifies to EF-3 strength, it takes a terrifying turn. Realizing the tornado is about to destroy a farmhouse, chasers Brandon Copic and Will Vollman shift from storm chasers to first responders, launching a search-and-rescue mission inside the wreckage with the tornado still in sight.