Spring and summer make for a great time to book a vacation. But how about a "chase-cation?" That's what storm chaser Maximilian Conrad and a group of friends called their travels through the Great Plains this May.

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"My fascination for storms has many reasons, the most important is probably the combination of nature's raw and potentially destructive power," Conrad told Caters News Agency.

Conrad, a Germany-based photographer, and his friends Denis, Lars and Heiko traveled all the way to the U.S. to photograph the Great Plains' iconic storms. The four chased menacing storms across Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, snapping stunning photos along the way. 

"Becoming passionate for storms and weather in general started for me like for many others. In my childhood I was struck in awe about one certain, weird-looking thunderstorm over my hometown dropping giant hailstones. Years later I learned that it was a so-called low precipitation supercell, which generally belong to the most amazing structures you can find in the skies."

As Conrad learned more about storms, his passion increased. As a glider pilot, he had to learn a lot about weather and forecasting to stay safe. Eventually, he became interested in photographing storms after learning more about them.

Conrad and his friends were able to shoot supercells and intense storms throughout the U.S., documenting striking mammatus clouds, intimidating lightning and tornadoes. Click through the slideshow above to check out his images.

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