Joey Krastel pops the question to bf Chris Scott during Kansas tornado (image via Twitter)
We’ve seen marriage proposals at Disney World, at Pride events, even at home supply super-stores, but meteorologist Joey Krastel popped the question with an element of danger thrown in.
On May 28, the 27-year-old posted a photo on Twitter showing the ‘storm chaser’ down on one knee in front of his boyfriend, Chris Scott, with a wild storm in the background. The caption read, “The 2 loves of my life.”
Krastel has been fascinated by storms and weather since the age of four when he saw his first tornado.
“It was at that moment where I knew everything I wanted to do from then on out,” he told NBC News. “Every meteorologist has a weather story from when they were little that defined their path.”
In fact, it was weather that brought the couple together.
Scott has had an interest in storms since the first saw the tornado-themed film Twister when he was a young boy.
Thanks to his interest in storms, he began to follow Krastel on Instagram where the meteorologist posts photos and video footage of wild weather.
One comment led to another and another, and soon the pair got in touch and began dating.
Dates included, of course, adventures in storm chasing.
It was with that in mind that Krastel planned his big moment.
“It was always in the back of my mind to get engaged during storm chasing,” he shared with NBC News. “I felt like it would be this perfect way to seal the deal.”
And so it was that a road trip that began in Dallas and traveled across Oklahoma and New Mexico. But it wasn’t until the group was driving through Kansas that they came across “the right storm.”
“It all just kind of came together and happened so quickly,” said Krastel. “I was like, ‘Ok, this is it.’”
With a tornado whirling in the distance, Krastel dropped to his knee and popped the question as a friend snapped the pic.
This photo posted to Krastel’s Instagram shows how close the couple were to the dangerous storm at the time of his proposal.
The couple now has a terrific marriage proposal story to share with friends, but it’s important to warn that storm chasing can be very dangerous for folks who may not understand weather patterns.
National Geographic reports that tornadoes cause 80 deaths and more than 1,500 injuries in the U.S.
