Storm Chasing

I started chasing storms in the early 90’s, but was wildly fascinated with severe weather back into elementary school days. Today, I chase storms to document photographically, as well as aid in early warning by reporting by reporting to the National Weather Service as well as local emergency services.

I generally write my own forecasts using publicly available models as well as surface observations. While I am not a degreed meteorologist, I have been writing and refining my forecasting skills for over 2 decades. I’m no where near an expert in the field, and will freely admit that I get forecasts wrong, and will also listen to those who are more experienced or have a degree.

When I moved to Wisconsin in 2015, I essentially stopped chasing. I was focused on trying to be a dad and really stopped doing everything I loved. My daughter is older now, and in 2021 I had a chance to go chase a tornado “outbreak” in Northern Illinois. That system produced around 9 tornados, and I was able to intercept 4 of them. You can watch that video here. Since then, I have been to Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Iowa chasing tornados. I’ve even chased a couple snowstorms.

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As I continue chasing, I will be working on capturing video for Live Storms Media to be used on various news organizations. I will of course be continuing to capture the beauty of the storms I chase. That will take continually refining my forecasting skills and learning as much as I can. I will also bring back live streaming on chases where I have a chase partner. But, I have decided that it really is unsafe for me to do alone.

I look forward to seeing other chasers out in the field as I continue.

Til the next chase,
Shawn