Zach Sharpe, Iowa Storm Chasing Network, May 15, 2026

Today, I'm going to take some time. I'm going to visit with Zach Sharp. Zach is the owner of the Iowa Storm Chasing Network. And Zach, thanks for taking some time to visit with us. Well, thanks for having us on today. I know that people are going, what? Someone actually owns a storm chasing network. So first, give everybody a little bit of background about yourself. I know what you went to Iowa State, I think, didn't you? Yeah, so went to Iowa State studying meteorology. And the reason for that is back in 2007, when I was in high school, I was a Norwalk graduate. And that summer, we had my family just went out shopping and came home bright sunny day. And a matter of a few moments, the tornado sirens were going off. And we were in the basement with a confirmed tornado moving through the city of Norwalk. And experiencing that made me awestruck of just how in a matter of a few moments, we could go from a clear sunny day to, wow, my life could have changed drastically if it had been a much stronger tornado and, you know, it took our possessions. Obviously, we were safe and the damage was minuscule. It was an EF2 tornado, I believe. And so it just made me want to study meteorology. And so I decided to go that route. And while doing that, I started sort of blogging or posting on social media on Facebook about the weather and storm chasing and all that. And it just sort of rapidly evolved into what Iowa Storm Chasing Network is today. So just kind of kept building it up. Now, is it more than just you? Obviously, if you're a network, you must have others that are out there too. Yeah, there's about 12 of us storm chasers. So it's just a collective of storm chasers that I've met throughout the years. And they've became good friends of mine now. So essentially, we are a freelance media company that goes out and live streams these storms. And I don't want to just focus on the tornado aspect too, because obviously, we cover the hazardous winter weather like blizzards and all that as well. And so we live stream that to mostly YouTube, but any platform that is down there, some of them will use like Twitch or they'll use Facebook and provide that live video content. And that way we can pipe that into TV studios locally and nationally. So it could be all over the country. You could be seeing some of the data, some of the information you guys have collected and put out there, the stories. Almost certainly. We've made frequent appearances on the Weather Channel or even the the main national and then TV channels out there like CBS Evening News or ABC World News. All I remember is going through the derecho, because I watched that came right at us in the middle of the morning, that one. But you know, we've seen some pretty strong storms around here in Central Iowa. Obviously, this year just happens to be the big anniversary for what we call the Jordan Tornado. And of course, that was a monster EF5. And don't care to do too many of those. But it's one of those things where yeah, it was a nice day for a lot of people. And you know, and it was just all of a sudden there it was just a giant, giant storm. Do you when you're going out there and stuff, and obviously, you know, I know a lot of people go, Well, isn't that a little bit dangerous? Obviously, you guys have to take some precautions. You kind of have to know where things are going. You know, we also had Twister filmed here in Boone County, some of it. So yeah, we people get a little they like to go out and see them. But how close do you get? Yeah, so I store chasers as a whole, you know, they're chasing method is based on the chasers. Yeah, there are chasers out there that will get rather close. Someone will even intercept them because they have vehicles designed to do so. Mostly our team, we like to keep a fair distance between the storm and us, you know, and we're talking probably one or two mile distance just to, you know, get a good visual of it. Obviously, when you get closer, you can see some of that ground swirl around that tornado. But you know, when we're further away, you have more time to react. And that's what I always tell people that, you know, when we go and do presentations about, you know, our storm chasing technique, I always like to say, we like to have a good distance between us and the storm just in case the storm does radically change direction and starts coming at us, we have time to react instead of getting caught off guard. And which, you know, at the end of the day, it could be a fatal mistake. So obviously, making sure we have that distance and having multiple road options to get out of there and safely do so. And like you mentioned, with the rise of these weather related shows, like Twister or even the newer version of Twister, we're starting to see more and more storm chasers out there. And that's the thing is, as more and more storm chasers get out on the road, it really begins to clog down that road network, which then also limits the time you do have to react because you're basically in a conga line of vehicles. Sure. Now, and for some of those, and people need to remember, a lot of those are being done for scientific purposes, trying to collect information data. You guys are more getting the phenomenon of the story. You're after the story or are you trying to collect data and information as well? Yeah, that's a great point. There are a lot of research groups out there that are studying things like hail sizes and how it impacts homes and properties and how we can, you know, better build materials to withstand hail. Then there's, you know, research groups out there that are still studying how tornadoes form and getting that type of scientific data. But our groups out there just to provide that the information, you know, obviously we're live streaming that and providing that back to TV stations that are actively on the air, informing their viewers about the tornado warnings if there are any. And we're also relaying that information back to the National Weather Service. Obviously, Doppler radar can only see the storm. It actually can't tell you if there's a tornado visually. So that's where we are underneath that storm. And we can relay that back to the weather service that, hey, we got a rotating wall cloud or hey, we have a funnel cloud or hey, we even have a tornado now. So we relay those reports back to the weather service, which are issuing those tornado warnings. So that way it helps aid their process and they can actually know what's going on underneath that storm. So as you're going through this and I know a weather service, they like to have people that have been trained to do this. So you guys have, like you said, you went, did meteorology, I would say. So you got the training, the background and most of your team, I'm guessing pretty much the same thing. They've got that, expertise. Yeah, most of the team, that's the thing is the storm chasing is a trade that you can sort of learn throughout. I don't want to say trial by error, but really just by years of experience, chasing with others or just basically on yourself, you can pick up on these things and obviously learn the tricks of the trade. Now, I will say, obviously, we don't, we strongly just encourage going out there your first time, not knowing what you're doing, because obviously that can be a hazardous thing, but obviously everyone on our team has years of experience storm chasing and they started off somewhere, whether that was doing the storm spotting class from the National Weather Service or just riding along with a friend that they learned from them and now they're doing it on their own. So, but yeah, our team collectively has years of storm chasing experience. So I'm guessing probably discouraging just grab the kids, throw them in the car and let's go follow the storm. Well, yeah, and that's the thing, like I said with, you know, the rise of these new TV shows or movies about storm chasing, everyone thinks it's awesome and wants to go see these tornadoes, which I don't blame them, you know, that they're out in a rural area when they're not doing damage, weather is just awe inspiring. And unfortunately, we are seeing a rise of people that have no experience storm chasing that want to go see these tornadoes. And you know, unfortunately, we're starting to see accidents happen because of it. Well, let's talk because one of the interesting things that Iowa Storm Chaser, Storm Chasing Network does, whether it be in the middle of a blizzard or if it be in the middle of a severe thunderstorm or potential tornado, you really have a safety first kind of stream that you have that when you're streaming this information stuff, you're trying to make the public aware, these are the dangers out here, you know, stay safe, do what you need to do to stay safe at home. Yeah, you know, and the reason behind that is, you know, it's been proven that, you know, if we can physically show, you know, a geographical location on our live stream, you know, let's say it might be the case down the road, you know, if we can show, you know, some location and be like, oh, hey, I know where that's at. Oh my goodness, there's a tornado right there. Maybe I should take it more seriously. You know, then that's, you know, we're really hoping that maybe people will take, you know, when there's an actual tornado warning issued, things more seriously than, you know, the problem with tornado warnings is there's typically a pretty high false alarm ratio, you know, many tornado warnings, you don't actually physically go on to produce a tornado. But the time they do, we obviously want people to take those seriously, and that's the thing is even if it's not producing a tornado, every tornado warning, you should take seriously because you just never know when that storm is going to pop down a tornado. Like you said, coming home from shopping and on a clear sunny day, and all of a sudden, there's a sirens going off too. I know you do a lot of this off Facebook, Instagram, you got pretty good following for that, and I'm guessing that's one of the ways you said, you know, you do multiple streams, multiple feeds, and again, continuing to keep other media updated as well. People can follow along with this if they check out, what is it, Iowa Storm Chasing Network, right? Yeah, so on Facebook, we have a little over 315,000 followers, and then you can find that by searching the Iowa Storm Chasing Network. We're also on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and on our website, which is IowaWeather.com. Okay, and so you guys, do you have other jobs, or is this because you own this network here, and how is it, is it just basically that you just started it, and then we can put advertisers on there? How do you handle that? Yeah, so right now, it's not a full-time gig. Obviously, trying to sort of grow it that direction as more and more people are switching towards getting their information through digital platforms like ours, but you know, obviously, we've seen a very large insurgence in following in the last several years, and it's because we're seeing this big shift to digital, so obviously, we're starting to accept advertisers on our platform to help sort of provide this information to our followers that are free of charge. Obviously, we have a free weather app that people, if they want a weather app that sort of acts like a weather radio, you can find that on the app store by searching ISTN, Weather ISTN, Standing for the Iowa Storm Chasing Network, and so yeah, right now, it's just sort of a part-time thing that we help keep people safe and informed, and hopefully, they take the information very seriously. Obviously, this is the time of the year we look at a lot of the, obviously, potential tornadoes, things like that, but now we are running into those storms, like the derechoes, and things like that, just as severe, just as dangerous. Yeah, we've seen that our derecho season typically happens more in late June, July, August timeframe. The April, May, early June timeframe is more of our peak tornado season here in Iowa, so we're in that peak tornado season, but as we get towards those summer months, that's when we start to see more of that derecho threat begin to increase, and I know because of that derecho that we had back in 2020, that everyone thinks it's a new phenomenon or a new terminology, and it's been around for quite some time. It's just because when we get these super impactful weather events like that derecho 2020, basically, it sticks in people's mind, and now, anytime a derecho comes through, unfortunately, it gets associated with that one, and not all derechoes are like that. That was one for the history book. Well, yeah, and it was one to be without power a long time at my house, so I know that. We went through a lot of, there was a lot of folks that got hit pretty hard by that one, and you may also mention like in the winter storms as well, too. You guys are going out there in the blizzards and things like that. Also, not overly safe, I'm going to say, that could be a little treacherous and dangerous as well. Yeah, so from the winter weather standpoint, we don't do a full water chasing. Usually, it's very localized. Obviously, the winter weather events impact a more large-scale area, which means you don't really have to venture far, essentially. From a coverage standpoint, our storm chasers might venture around their home area and get some video, but more so, we cover it from an online perspective, giving people timing as well as no fall amounts and wind speeds and what they can expect to sort of keep themselves prepared, because just like everyone else, out there encouraging not to go driving out in the blizzard if you absolutely don't need to. Obviously, we don't want to put ourselves out there in that situation as well. Again, we're speaking with Zach Sharp. He is the owner of the Abastorm Chasing Network, and once again, the big thing is, he got it started, building it, continuing to build it, and discovered, again, the way technology is now. Everybody's got it in their hand pretty much, and that is the fastest way to get to a lot of people, again, with Facebook, again, Instagram, anything like that. You guys are making use of what resources are out there to get your connectivity, I guess. Yeah, so as you alluded to, obviously, as more and more people are transitioning away from traditional media, for example, like TV or newspaper and all that, we're seeing that more of that digital switch that people are now tuning in because they have it at the palm of their hand, which is why several years ago, we launched our Weather app, and why we do several Facebook live streams as well as YouTube streams, just bringing that information to the palm of your hand, whatever platform that might be, whether that's Facebook, or YouTube, or TikTok, just trying to connect to those folks that are now using those digital means to get their information out there today. Having known sitting here in the studio, watching the radar, and trying to guess when it's going to hit, and how strong what's going to be happening there, and you can look at all the, it's not the same as being out there getting a chance to see it. Difficult at night? Again, those are the typical things like, a little hard to see at night out there, and that's always one of the dangerous times, isn't it? Yeah, and typically our team, our philosophy is, obviously, as soon as the sun goes down, our chase day is theoretically over. There are other chasers out there that will try to use those lightning strikes. It's still a safely storm chase, but that risk does significantly increase as the night sets in because you just can't no longer see it. So once again, going back to our earlier conversation, safety is our number one priority, which is why typically more times than not, we will end our chase after the sun goes down, just simply because we can no longer safely visually see the storm, and then at that point you're solely basically relying on radar. Well, we've had, like I said, plenty of that kind of activity, the tornadic activity around here. We know that, and we know it can happen any time of the year. We've had them clear into November. We've had early in the year. It's just, you never know when Mother Nature is going to decide, Yeah, I mean, it's funny that you mentioned that because our number one active tornado day with the most active, or most amount of tornadoes in a single day in the state of Iowa was actually in December because of that derecho we had a few years ago on that roll-through in that December time frame. So it's just crazy to think that, you know, the most given days or most given tornadoes in a single day is in December in Iowa of all places. Well, it can happen there. Once again, Zach Sharp is the owner of the Iowa Storm Chasing Network. And once again, people, if you'd like to be part of following along, see, I don't want to say get out there and start joining the team. I'm guessing there are some qualifications to be able to put streams out there and things like that for you. So you probably have a pretty good team that you can depend on. But people want to follow and get that kind of information. Just get yourself on a face, just hook up on Facebook, Iowa Storm Chasing Network, right? Yeah, that's right. And obviously we love a viewer photos and videos. So if you ever see anything and are safe to do so, please pass that along to us and definitely help get the information out there. Alrighty. Zach, I appreciate you taking time giving us an update on what's going on with the Iowa Storm Chasing Network and how you got started and everything else. And I didn't ask you if you've run into any real serious problems of those tornadoes kind of cutting across your path or not. But pretty sure that is not a common thing, not uncommon either. Yeah, no. Luckily, all the tornadoes that we've witnessed up to this point, we've been safely able to do so. And we're planning to keep doing that. And I guess the big thing to remind folks is the information you give is really to allow the public to stay safe. That's the big get the bottom line. Yeah, that's exactly why we're out there. We're out there to provide this information to keep everyone safe and informed and give them as much lead time as possible. Zach Sharp, Iowa Storm Chasing Network, thanks for visiting with us. Well, thanks for having the phone.