TornadoVideos.net

Reed was born and raised in Grand Rapids, MI, and became interested in extreme weather at a very young age. He was also an avid insect, reptile, and amphibian collector and tree identification enthusiast, but decided to pursue his greatest passion and began studying meteorology at the University of Oklahoma in 1998. Reed photographed his first tornado in October 1998, and was addicted to extreme storm chasing ever since. Every spring and summer season, he travels from the Mexican Border to Canada striving to photograph tornadoes from extreme close range (within 1/8 mile), often driving more than 40,000 miles during the spring and summer. His infamous reputation was achieved when he videotaped an F5 tornado from underneath an overpass on May 3, 1999 while it was bearing down on his location. Reed has more recently become interested in hurricane chasing as well, and documented Hurricane Katrina from "ground zero" in the fall 2005 with Simon Brewer (Stormgasm), lost Simon's car to a 20 foot storm surge, and had to hitch-hike back to Oklahoma. Notable tornado intercepts include the May 3, 1999 F5 tornado in Moore, OK; the Manchester, SD wedge on June 24, 2003; the May 4, 2003 tornado outbreak in southeast KS; and sustaining a direct hit from an F0 tornado in southern Minnesota. Reed has made several television appearances to share his storm chasing escapades, including CNN with Wolf Blitzer and Paula Zahn, Good Morning America with Dianne Sawyer, the Leeza Gibbons Show, Real TV, and World's Most Amazing Videos. Reed graduated with a Bachelors Degree in meteorology in 2002, Masters in 2005, and is currently working towards his PhD in meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. His research interests lie mainly in the field of applied climatology, focusing on energy consumption/temperature connections, and minimizing weather-related risk in the agribusiness sector. Additional interests include oboe performance, weight-lifting, basketball, golf, and hockey. Reed will chase storms until the day he dies!

Joel was raised in the heart of tornado alley, Elk City, Oklahoma. Joel witnessed numerous severe storms and several tornadoes in his early childhood years which helped to feed his interests in extreme weather. He even began producing weather "forecasts" as early as the first grade. In 1998 Joel moved to Norman, Oklahoma, to study meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. While there, his fascination with storms and stormchasing only grew. In 2001 Joel was selected to be on a special episode of Atmospheres (aired on The Weather Channel), in which he explored the various climates of Hawaii alongside Jim Cantore and Mish Michaels. Some of Joel's most notable intercepts include the May 3rd, 1999, F5 Moore, OK twister; the October 9th, 2001 F3 tornado that narrowly missed his hometown of Elk City, OK; and the May 27th, 2001, White Deer, TX tornado. In May 8, 2003 in northern Kansas, Joel was driving his Ford Explorer down a water-covered highway and began hydroplaning at 80 mph. With 5 stormchasers in the vehicle, his car fish-tailed violently and then spun 720 degrees at 80 mph, and Joel safely stabilized the spin without slowing down. Joel has also participated in two hurricane chases, including Hurricane Frances that came into Florida in 2004 and Hurricane Rita which ravaged much of the Louisiana and Texas coasts in 2005. After graduating with his degree in Meteorology in 2002, Joel started a career in Real Estate. He now owns and operates two successful Real Estate companies in the Oklahoma City/Norman area, and is continuing to look for ways to expand his businesses. Being his own boss, Joel is able to schedule most of his work around his stormchase interests, giving him opportunities that he would not have with a normal job. Joel also enjoys basketball, weightlifting, long distance running, and attending OU football and basketball games.

Chris was born and raised in the small town of Greenville, MI, and has always had an immense interest in extreme weather for as long as he can remember. Chris intercepted his first tornado in eastern Wyoming in May 2000, and has been hooked on storm chasing ever since, driving 50,000+ miles every year striving to document as many tornadoes as possible. He also enjoys chasing hurricanes, blizzards, and even grassfires, and plans to continue traveling the world year-round to satisfy his passion for extreme weather. Chris studied Business Management at Central Michigan University until 2002 before moving down to Norman, Oklahoma to pursue storm chasing full-time. He will act as the business manager of Extreme Tornado Tours in addition to serving as a tour guide and driver, and will definitely put his extreme weather driving experience to good use! In addition to storm chasing, Chris enjoys golf, swimming, cooking, and just being outdoors.

Jason is from Grand Rapids, MI, but currently resides in Birmingham, Alabama. He is really not into extreme weather but enjoys seeing the images and video the team is able to capture. Jason develops all the systems that the TV.net team uses which mainly include the web site and the GPS tracking software that the team uses when in the field. Jason and Reed actually went to school together until they graduated high school, at which point they did not speak for several years. They reconnected in early 2006 to stand the TV.net site up to what it is today and together have some big plans for enhancements in the coming months. Jason also develops web applications for a company full time in Birmingham while doing other development consulting on the side.

Dean was born in Hawaii but spent a majority of his childhood years in Coos Bay, Oregon. He also became interested in extreme weather at a very young age, and studied meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. Dean's interest in weather cannot be described with words, and he has sacrificed much in the pursuit of violent tornadoes, including his beloved Isuzu Rodeo which the TornadoVideos.net team rolled in a sewage ditch in SW Kansas only a few miles behind an F4 tornado. Notable tornado intercepts include the May 3, 1999 F5 tornado in Moore, OK, the May 4, 2003 tornado outbreak in SE Kansas, and the 2.5 mile wide Hallam, NE wedge in May of 2004. In fact, Dean drove the TornadoVideos.net team through the outer fringes of the violent Hallam wedge in his brand new Chevy Tahoe after sunset. Dean is also an excellent nowcaster for the TornadoVideos.net team during hurricane intercepts, directing two successful hurricane eye penetrations in 2005. Dean's skills are not limited to stormchasing, as he is a very successful poker player as well, striving for professional status. Dean placed in the money in a World Poker Tour event on a cruise ship, and also placed in the top 10% at the 2005 World Series of Poker. He is also an avid bowler, with an average of approximately 200. Dean owns a company specializing in graphic design and computer programming, and also enjoys travelling and cooking game-hens. Dean is a genius with a charcoal grill.

Dave Holder, 26 years of age and born in England, is one of the most passionate storm chasers in the country. Now living in Norman, Oklahoma, he is working on his degree from the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma.

Dave moved to the Philadelphia area when he was a small child, and it was here where his passion for weather blossomed. As a kid, he would stay up until early morning hours watching the Weather Channel. Weather became an obsession, watching the local radar continuously when storms were around. In addition to thunderstorms, winter weather events became highlights of Dave’s early life. The Storm of the Century in 1993 marked a deep impression upon Dave’s psyche.

A carefree and often spontaneous individual, Dave coupled his love of weather with his love of geography and travel. By the time he turned 23 years old, he had visited every state in the country. His love for long road trips produced 8 coast to coast drives and other countless hours in the car from the Mexican border to the Canadian Rockies.

Now with his trademark red Hyundai, Dave has storm chased from Texas north to the Canadian Prairies. He has been featured live on local television stations in Minneapolis and has appeared on National Canadian Radio outlets.

Some of Dave’s other interests are poker and playing football and basketball. He plans to obtain a motorcycle license and a pilot’s license in the not-too-distant future.

Dave would like nothing more than to make a living traveling and chasing weather events.