Heavy Weather — Bruce Sterling

They call themselves the Storm Troupe and they hack heavy weather, They chase the monster storms that twist erratically across the Southwestern badlands laid to waste by the green- house effect. They survive on scrap, grunge, free software, danger, and the charisma of their leader, the brilliant mathematician Dr. Jerry Mulcahey. Equipped with military-surplus 'smart" vehicles, networked laptop computers, and virtual-reality gear, the Storm Troupe is chasing the ultimate storm: the F-6 tornado. Few, outside the Troupe even believe that an F-6 is possible. Yet something unmistakably monstrous is brewing in the wrecked atmosphere over America's Tornado Alley. But no one in the Troupe, not even its brilliant, driven leader, guesses the real nature of the F-6 or the shadowy forces unleashed in its twisting fury. Not until it is too late...