Storm Chaser, Lead forecaster, Director of Operations, Director of high-speed imaging
Age: 24

Stormchasing Since: 2005
# of Tornadoes Seen: 44
# of Hurricanes Seen: 1
Closest distance from a tornado: 0 meters (twice -- no fun

Mike moved to Oklahoma at the tender age of 7, and found himself terrified by Oklahoma weather. During the summer months, cousin Nick would babysit him. One summer afternoon, a severe thunderstorm formed right on top of the 2 during a relaxing trampoline session. As they high-tailed it to the house, lightning struck very close, scaring the hell out of Mike. Nick, being the adrenaline junky that he is, loved every second of it. A few more "Nick" incidents, including frequently locking Mike outside during severe weather, and a few hairy drives to Grandma's house during tornado warnings, made Mike the nut he is today. You could say that Nick created a monster. The next few months of Mike's life consisted of reading and re-reading every weather book that the Owasso, OK library had to offer. By the age of 9, Mike was so set on becoming a storm chaser that his dear grandparents bought him a VHS shoulder-cam. Needless to say, Mike spent hours and hours each spring and summer watching the local news station, waiting for the next storm to come through. He would jump on his bicycle, camera in hand, and ride like hell to his favorite spot to watch the storm come in. Unlike most childhood fantasies, the obsession never subsided.

As soon as the internet became available, Mike became a sponge of weather information. He actually knew how to chase before his first chase happened. One spring afternoon at high school soccer practice, an explosive storm developed a few miles SW of his hometown of Glenpool, OK. He knew the SPC had a tornado watch out, and that his first chase was about to happen. He raced home, through 1-2 inch hail, grabbed the keys to his dad's car, and off they went. They drove south for 2 miles and found themselves under a massive mothership meso, with a rapidly rotating wall cloud just to their East. Finally, after years and years of studying, reading, and waiting, Mike was at home. They chased the storm for 10 miles, and although the storm never produced a tornado, Mike was hooked.