Riders of the Storm Surf Through Tropical Storm Debby (VIDEO)

The threat of tornados and rip currents did not keep some hard-core surfers away from Florida Gulf beaches Monday. In fact, several surfers hit St. Pete and other beaches, in search of the monster wave.

They got their wish.

"It's the best time to hit it up," said Michael Tian, a surfer at Pass-A-Grille beach, where a tornado tore off a marina roof Sunday night and leveled some buildings.

But the high winds and white caps meant one thing to this surfer: It was prime weather for riding a wave. A supersized wave.  "We never get waves large enough to surf other than during a storm," Tian said.

Judging from the video, the waves were choppy enough that surfers were lucky not to lose their boards.