NSCS 2025 Speaker List
We are thrilled to unveil the incredible lineup of guest speakers for NSCS 2025! Get ready for an inspiring event packed with insights from industry leaders and visionaries who are eager to share their journeys.
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Speaker Bios
Dave Hoadley
I began storm chasing in June, 1956 in my hometown --Bismarck, North Dakota. A severe storm passed through the city at sunset and flattened hundreds of trees. Later that evening, with 80% of the city darkened, my dad drove me through familiar neighborhoods with only headlights to guide us. I knew then that I had to learn how these things happen –and became a storm chaser ever since.
The early, official tornado forecasts were not too reliable, so I started making my own surface forecasts from hourly facsimile machine data, looking for recurring morning patterns that might lead to severe afternoon storms. This was before satellites, Internet, radar, computers or even the Interstate!
My first tornado was near Wing, North Dakota in August, 1958. My first good tornado photo was NW of Pratt, Kansas on May 25, 1965. Another future storm chaser, a young Jon Davies, also saw it.
In 1977, I was invited to the Tenth Conference on Severe Local in Omaha, Nebraska and asked to bring my storm prints to display on the back wall of the auditorium. The morning, they were first displayed, I found my conference table surrounded by dozens of meteorologists, college students and chasers wanting copies. I was over-whelmed. With some good advice that night from meteorologist Randy Zipser, I started the storm chaser newsletter, Storm Track. From 17 to 235 subscribers over 9 years, I was becoming pretty well worn out and turned it over to Tim Marshall. By 2001, he had over 900 subscribers, and It then joined the Internet –and with yet another editor, grew into a new style.
My teenage daughter chased with me for several years but stopped --when I accidentally drove her INTO a night-time tornado east of Amherst, NE. This is how it looked when we took cover. Luckily, that mile-wide F3 lifted as it passed over –but then dropped on the other side and wrecked two farms.
I have seen many tornadoes in my 68 years of chasing (skipped one for a honeymoon). I did enjoy one note of special recognition in October, 2004, when one of my Kansas mammatus slides was added to 14 other weather photographs by the US Post Office to market a set of stamps called “Cloudscapes”.
Here are some of my favorite pictures, including a building Nebraska storm line and three versions of one F4 between Great Bend and Salina, KS on April 14, 2012; the first few minutes of El Reno, OK on May 31, 2013; and the Bennington, KS F4 on May 25, 2016.
On May 21 last year, I simultaneously intercepted two, fast, long-track tornadoes in western Iowa. One would become the deadly Greenfield tornado, after it left Corning --and its first casualty. Trying to avoid downed utility lines, I turned south on County Road 148. After rounding a curve on the north side of Corning, I saw a damaged home and then --across the road, an emergency vehicle with responders, standing in a field of grass --next to a small, white-sheet, body-bag. Later photos showed a mangled car wreck, almost unrecognizable. All in just 20 minutes.
I have driven 1,082,000 miles and seen 278 tornadoes in my 86 years. However, this was my first storm-chase encounter with a genuine tragedy. After the state police arrived, I resumed my southward departure, past Bedford and Maryville, past St. Joseph and Kansas City, and then west --leaving behind the layers of low clouds, that would soon disappear before a golden Kansas sunset.
Gabe Garfield
Gabe is a seasoned storm chaser from Norman, Oklahoma, with over two decades of meteorological expertise. Having witnessed over 200 tornadoes, including two EF5s, Gabe is a well-known figure in the field, featured on the Discovery Channel's "Storm Chasers." With both a bachelor's and master's in meteorology, he seamlessly combines academic knowledge with real-world experience. Beyond storm chasing, Gabe passionately shares his insights through social media, aiming to make meteorology accessible to all. Driven by curiosity and a genuine desire to demystify the fascinating world of meteorology, Gabe remains dedicated to the ongoing pursuit of understanding and sharing the intricacies of weather phenomena.
Lisa Teachman
Emmy Award-winning meteorologist Lisa Teachman is Chief Meteorologist of the KSN Storm Track 3 Weather Team.
Lisa Teachman came back home to serve as Chief Meteorologist of the KSN Storm Track 3 Weather Team in 2017.
Born and raised in the Wichita suburb of Haysville, KSNW-TV is where she began her broadcasting career in 1996 as a meteorology intern under the leadership of the station’s former Chief Meteorologist, Dave Freeman, who retired in 2017. Upon completing her undergraduate studies, earning a degree in Communication from Wichita State University and another degree in Meteorology from Mississippi State University (both at the same time!), Lisa went on to serve weather teams in Huntington, West Virginia; Baltimore, Maryland; and two stations in Kansas City.
Ms. Teachman has earned the American Meteorological Society “Seal of Approval” and received an Emmy Award for severe weather coverage. She has also been recognized by the Kansas Association of Broadcasters for having the best weathercast in Wichita. She brings more than 20 years of professional experience to her role at KSN News 3, including 10 years of forecasting severe weather in Kansas and Missouri. In 2011, she reported live from Joplin in the hours following the catastrophic EF5 tornado that struck the city. She saw her first tornado in Moundridge, Kansas, in 2012.
Her passion for meteorology runs on her family. Her father is a Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service volunteer, assisting in emergency communications for Sedgwick County. Her hometown was hit twice by devastating tornadoes in 1991 and 1999.
In her spare time, you will find Lisa taking her dogs for long walks with her husband. She also loves country music, eating as much BBQ as she can, and sharing her passion of weather with others.
Rodger Edwards
Roger Edwards is a severe-storms scientist and recently retired lead forecaster at the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. Before that, he was a meteorologist at the National Severe Storms Forecast Center in Kansas City (SPC's predecessor), the National Hurricane Center in Miami, and the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, with meteorology degree and graduate work at OU. Boomer Sooner! He has published ten lead-authored, formal scientific papers as a full-time forecaster, has been a lead or coauthor on over 100 formal and conference papers total, and has issued a few thousand severe-weather outlooks. Roger co-founded EJSSM, the first meteorological e-journal in the U.S., and has served as Editor in Chief since 2006. 2025 also will be Roger's 40th year of storm chasing and photography. He has witnessed numerous amazing supercells and tornadoes up and down the Great Plains, as well as experiencing Hurricanes Andrew and Dennis. He enjoys bridging science and responsible storm observing (spotting or chasing), and has given numerous talks on these subjects since the 1990s. He has participated in several field programs, including TOTO, NSSL Spring Programs, IOT&E2-1989, VORTEX, and TWISTEX. Roger's lovely wife Elke is a storm observer and photographer as well, and he has two grown kids who enjoy storms and are named after legendary hurricanes.
Jon Davies
Jon Davies saw his first tornado at age 9 growing up on the plains of Kansas, and has studied severe weather ever since. He lives in the Kansas City area, and focus on practical operational research about tornado forecasting with many papers published. He has also worked as a meteorologist and forecaster for several television stations and weather consulting firms, including the Weather Channel in the 1980’s.
Jon has written a book with his wife Shawna about tornadoes and storm chasing for grade school and middle school kids, “Storm Chasers - On the Trail of Twisters”. He has appeared in TV interviews as well as storm chasing shows, including “Tornado Road” for the Weather Channel, and continues to enjoy forecasting and observing storms as serious educational activities.
Shawna Davies
Shawna Davies’ lifetime fascination with severe weather and storms having began as a child in Kansas City watching storms. A close call she and her family had with a tornado supercell near Lawerence, Kansas when she was 12 years old helped spur that interest.
As a result, Shawna has given many talks in the Kansas City area focusing on severe weather awareness and safety for both individuals and families. She wrote and produced a 30-minute online video, “Surviving the Storm: What Storm Chasers Want You to Know” and was featured on the Father Channel series “Tornado Road.” Shawna has also done many local and retinal TV interviews regarding storm chasing and severe weather.
Shawna’s most prolific storm chases include the Joplin tornado on May 22nd, 2011, the Medford Oklahoma tornado storm on May 10th, 2010, and the massive El Reno tornado on May 31st, 2013. She and her husband meteorologist Jon Davies still chase storms on occasion when severe weather potential is imminent.
Art Mehring
I am a passionate radio enthusiast with a deep appreciation for the art of audio storytelling. I am constantly seeking new ways to engage audiences through creative and innovative audio content. My background encompasses 50 years of radio talent work from the American Forces Radio & Television Service (AFRTS) while serving in the US Air Force to 22 years as a radio reporter and news director to 8 years in sports and the past 20 years with iHeart Radio's Total Traffic & Weather Network (TTWN). In my spare time I am a certified Divemaster (NAUI) with nearly 1,000 dives and a volunteer SCUBA diver at the Western Hemisphere's largest aquarium, the Georgia Aquarium.
Jeff Pitrowski
Jeff Piotrowski has indeed become a legend in the storm chasing community, known for his extensive documentation of extreme weather events. His career highlights include:
• Storm Chasing: Jeff has chased and documented over 1000 tornadoes and 45 hurricanes, along with ice storms, wildfires, and other severe weather phenomena. His work has earned him Emmy award for his coverage of these events.
• Storm Productions Inc. Holds the largest private archive of extreme weather events over the past 50 years.
• Professional Background: Jeff was involved in the home builder and developer industry in the Tulsa metro area 1978-1995. Additionally, Sales Manager for Baron Critical Weather over 31 years, selling Weather Visualization and Storytelling software, Radars, Mobile APPS, API, AI, AR indicating his deep involvement in the meteorological industry but also in sales and management of weather-related technology.
Jeff Piotrowski's career path demonstrates a remarkable blend of passion for weather phenomena, practical experience in related industries, and a commitment to public safety through education and technological advancement. His legacy in the storm chasing community is not only about capturing the raw power of nature but also about translating that into knowledge that can save lives and enhance our understanding of our environment.
Trooper Ben
Dedicated Kansas State Trooper, passionate about severe weather and driver safety!
Josh Morgerman
Stormchaser Josh Morgerman has been prowling the earth for violent cyclones since age 21 and is the world’s top hurricane chaser. Combining an aggressive chase style with iron determination, he has a near-100% success rate penetrating the most powerful storms around the planet—in all four hemispheres. He has a penchant for chasing difficult-to-reach storms in exotic locations—the ones no one else will go after.
Jeff & Sara Gammons
Storm Chasers (@stormvisuals) on Instagram and stars of Stormbound, an IMAX film. Capturing hurricanes and severe storms. South Florida-based storm chasers, Jeff and Sara have witnessed countless hurricanes and document the raw power of Mother Nature!
Marc Austin
Marc Austin is the Meteorologist-in-Charge at the National Weather Service (NWS) in Las Vegas Nevada. He's been with the NWS for over 15 years, working as a meteorologist, outreach and partner engagement specialist, and now an office supervisor. Earlier in his career, he spent several years in Florida and Oklahoma, with plentiful tropical and severe storms experience. Marc was in the Norman, OK forecast office during the prolific tornado season of 2013, the year of the last official EF-5 tornado on record in Moore, OK, and the exceptionally wide El Reno tornado of May 31, 2013. Over the course of his life, Marc has always carried a passion for severe storms and tornadoes, one that has driven his resolve to protect people and property from hazardous weather phenomena. In his spare time, Marcenjoys spending time with his family, taking in a hike and/or fishing, and sitting poolside with a cold craft brew.
Karen Kosiba, PhD
One of the original female Storm Chasers, Radar and mathematical genius, and definitely a cool and collected road-tripper (logging hundereds of thousands of miles with VORTEX 2, ROTATE, PECAN, VORTEXSE, SNOWIE etc.). Karen is an inspiration for a generation of women in STEM. She studies tornadoes in the DOW and interprets radar data Dr. Kosiba is an author on over 160 academic scientific papers!! Karen is also an important researcher at CSWR.
Josh Wurman, PhD
Wurman grew up in the before-internet times in Pennsylvania, bereft of any meaningful opportunities to experience tornadoes, hurricanes, even really deep snow. As a youth, he tried to impress friends and girls with his home weather station and insect collection. These efforts, among other factors, kept himwell out of the running for homecoming king. The obvious next step was to move to a party school, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to pursue a more exciting social life. Hating both schoolwork and classes, he rushed through it, earning his MS at only 21. After some aimless additional years in school, he dropped out for three years, working on cheery things for the Air Force like nuclear winter simulations. A glutton for punishment, he returned to MIT and earned hisDoctorate. Then he moved to Boulder and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) to work on bistatic radar networks, a new type of weather radar system he had invented.
However, after seeing real High Plains thunderstorms close up, and tornadoes, he got distracted and conceived of building a network of big, fast, scanning radars that could drive right up to tornadoes and fires, inside hurricanes, and into all kinds of othernice weather. The DOW program was born. Since then it has expanded to new DOWs, better DOWs, Rapid-Scan DOWs, C-band DOWs, added Mobile Mesonets, PodNet, PoleNet, Disdrometers, Soundings, the whole kitchen sink of ground-based observation systems, called the Flexible Array of Radars and Mesonets (FARM), and plans/hopes to build Bistatic DOWs and S-band DOWs.
After several years at the University of Oklahoma, then decades with the Center for Severe Weather Research, founding companies which made bistatic and mobile radars, UI, Wurman the DOW program joined UI and have recently affiliated withthe University of Alabama, Huntsville (but still live in Boulder), and continue research in Tornadoes, Hurricanes and Wildfires,and support a broad range of research studying Hail, Ice Storms, Alpine and Orographic Precipitation and Weather Modification, Agricultural Meteorology, Monsoon Studies, and more.
Jonathan Krutz
Jonathan has been a meteorologist with the National Weather Service for 16 years. He has worked in four NWS Offices, Omaha, NE, Springfield, MO, Norman, OK, and since 2018, Kansas City, MO; where he has been the Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM) since January of 2024. As the WCM, he is responsible for building and maintaining partner relationships and ensuring the Kansas City Forecast office delivers accurate and timely weather and water forecasts, warnings, and impact-based decision support services for Kansas City and the surrounding region. In his career, he has worked numerous significant weather events, including two EF-5 Tornado events and supported NWS operations during two hurricanes. Jonathan has degrees in Meteorology from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and Creighton University. When he's not dealing with the weather, he loves spending time with his wife Lauren; traveling, cooking, playing golf, and has a collection of film cameras, though his results are mediocre at best.
Paul Robinson
A veteran chaser and exceptional forecaster, Paul Robinson
world class understanding of nowcasting is unmatched. His ability to read subtle cues has garnered successful intercepts for the many research projects he has been a part of including the original VORTEX, VORTEX2 ROTATE, PECAN, VORTEX SE, etc. He is a wiz at mathematics and radar data and is an integral part of the DOW's success. Paul's love of nature includes astrophotography. If you are luck enough to be in his group chat you know that the Geomagnetic storm is worth waking up and taking your camera outside! You might also be surprised to know he plays a mean bass guitar.
Josh Atkins
I am a passionate "Weather Weenie" that decided to go to school for 10 years of college to become a Meteorologist (BS, Penn State) and Atmospheric Scientist (PhD, CU Boulder). I especially love severe winter weather and mountain meteorology, but now mainly chase tornadoes and hurricanes for work. I have worked with the Doppler On Wheels (DOW) mobile radar research facility since 2018, but volunteered during grad school as far back as 2012 (Hurricane Isaac). I am now the Data Manager and Radar & Instrument Scientist for our rebranded Flexible Array of Radars and Mesonets (FARM) facility. - Josh
Brian Bledsoe
Brian came highly recommended from several of our prior guests and BOD. Brian has been an on air meteorologist for KGWN-TV in Cheyenne, Wyoming, KMEG-TV in Sioux City, Iowa, KDLT-TV in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and then CBS 58 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Thankfully, He is currently at KKTV (Colorado Springs) since late 2005 as the Chief Meteorologist.
Erik Fox
Erik has been chasing since 1995 and has been a field correspondent since 2016 for Weather Nation. Before being a correspondent, he was a DOD forecaster from 2010-2015. He has Erik started NSCS in 2019 with James Menzies. When not chasing tornadoes and severe weather, Erik is a police officer and has been with the force since 2010.
Martin Lisius
"Martin Lisius is an award-winning filmmaker and founder of StormStock (1993), a collection of premium weather and climate footage he captures on film, 4K and 16K video for licensed use in TV and film productions. Lisius is responsible for photographing the first-ever violent class tornado on 35mm motion picture film (1998), the only 35mm footage of Hurricane Katrina making landfall (2005), and for creating the first production to be entirely produced on 16K video (Prairie Wind, 2018). His content is licensed by top-tier directors for use in feature films, documentaries and commercials. Clients include Warner Bros, NBC Universal, Netflix, BBC Studios, Leo Burnett and others. Lisius was a finalist for 2023 Footage Person of the Year, an award given by FOCAL International for significant innovations in the creation and preservation of footage archives. He directs and produces documentaries and promos through his production company Prairie Pictures, Inc.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Elly K."
Melissa Moon
NWS Brownsville Meteorologist Melissa Moon is also a storm chaser and adventurer. She is incredibly down to earth and is a University of Oklahoma Alumni. Aside from being an incredible staff member, Melissa is charing the NSCS Education and Networking panel to help young future meteorologist navigate the field and career path of meteorology.
James Langford
Texan storm chaser James Langford is an incredible photographer and also has spectacular timelapses of supercell thunderstorms. We are lucky enough to have James explain the art of the Timelapse at NSCS25!
Eddie Alderine
Eddie is currently serving as Nemaha County, Kansas' Director of Emergency Management where he has served his community for nearly three years in that position. In those three years, Eddie has had to manage various disasters including tornados, damaging wind events, ice storms and blizzards, and hazardous material releases. Prior to moving to Nemaha County, Eddie had a lengthy and prestigious career in law enforcement where he served the Wichita, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri metropolitan areas. During his time with the Cass County Sheriff's Office, or CCSO, in Missouri, Eddie was an instrumental member of the CCSO's Disaster Emergency Response Team where he was involved in various incidents that included real world search and rescue and life saving activities with the Team. Eddie also has several years of experience dating back to the late 1990s as a storm chaser where he was a media storm chaser for TV stations in the Kansas City, Wichita, and Topeka media markets.
Darren Doherty
MSgt. Darren Doherty began his public safety career in 2009 as a Firefighter/EMT for the Warrensburg Fire Department in Missouri. He responded to Joplin, MO for the Tornados in 2011 where he assisted in mortuary affairs. He attended the University of Central Missouri where he earned a Bachelors of Science Degree in Political Science and a Masters of Science Degree in Criminology. He attended the Central Missouri Police Academy in 2012. After graduating, he began working at the Hannibal Missouri Police Department as a patrol officer. In 2014, he began working for the Cass County Sheriff's Office in Missouri. While there, he has gained experience in several divisions including corrections, patrol, street crimes/narcotics, canine, and now to his current position as the Director of the Cass County Sheriff's Office Regional Training Academy where he oversees two full-time academy classes each year and manages the in-service training for Sheriff's Office personnel and local agencies. Since 2016, MSgt. Doherty has held a collateral duty on the Sheriff's Office Tactical Response Team with various roles including shield operator, breacher, tactical paramedic, and currently, Team Leader. In 2021 he attended the Central Jackson County Fire Protection District's Paramedic Program. He works part-time for the Pleasant Hill Fire Protection District as a firefighter/paramedic. He is currently enrolled in the National Tactical Officers Association Command College. He is an American Heart Association BLS Provider Instructor and Heart Saver Instructor. He and his wife Sara have four children ages three-nine.
Randy Denzer
Randy Denzer has been storm chasing in Texas since 1990 and nationally since the early 2000s. He has served on multiple NWS work groups and AMS committees. He retired as a Battalion Chief last year from the Austin Fire Department after a long career in the fire service. He continues to respond to large incidents on both State and National Incident Management Teams. Randy is NSCS BOD.
