Storm Catchers

The earliest recognized storm chaser is David Hoadley (1938– ), who began chasing North Dakota storms in 1956; systematically using data from area weather offices. Bringing research chasing to the forefront was Neil Ward (1914–1972) who in the 1950s and 1960s enlisted the help of Oklahoma state police to study storms. His work pioneered modern storm spotting and made institutional chasing a reality.