Melanie Metz Storm Chasing

HEADS UP! Severe storms and threat of tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds continues for the next few days in the Southern and Central Plains. As well as further East into MO, AR and IL later in the period. The Storm Prediciton Center Risk areas for 5/17 - 5/19 are outlined below, including Tornado risk with storms that develop today, 5/17, and tomorrow, 5/18. Along with the current severe risk area for Monday, 5/19.

The tornado risk with supercells developing today is more conditional, but they are still possible. I will be targeting any storms that can develop in the high instability East of the dryline, in the warm sector in NW to Central Oklahoma. The HRRR model guidance for convection is in the graphic below, showing what radar might look like at 7pm CDT this evening.

I will be busy in the field the next few days and will post updates when I can. As always, stay tuned to your local weather, weather radio and weather apps for real-time updates and warnings! Be prepared and STAY SAFE!

5 months ago | [YT] | 74

Melanie Metz Storm Chasing

WOW!! This was the widest Tornado ever recorded in Iowa, at 1.8 miles wide, on 4/17/25! Thankfully there were no injuries and it remained in open fields for most of it's lifespan. While this was 1.8 miles wide, it was rated an EF-1 based the damage survey by the National Weather Service.

I am still a bit in shock that I documented this historic moment. As a chaser, this is about as good as it gets. A large tornado with classic mothership supercell structure, illuminated by lightning, with zero injuries. The powerful beauty of mother nature at it's best.
This is a handheld shot from my Nikon Z8 (1 sec exposure) at 8:50pm CDT. I was about 2.5 miles south of the center of the tornado as it was West of Essex. I pulled over on the shoulder to grab a little video a few photos before finding a better side road to setup the tripod. The supercell was so incredible and the lightning so intense. I had to capture it. At the moment, I didn't even realize the tornado was ongoing right in front of me! I had not glanced at radar since I recorded the tornado near Tabor. I just continued to follow the storm, immediately to the south of the circulation. When I found this good view I stopped, and soon after pulled off.
I also took a photo with my Galaxy S24 UItra in the moment, and saw what looked like a wedge tornado, but I didn't want to make assumptions since rain shafts can be deceptive at night. Now I now, it was indeed a wedge. Not only a wedge, but the widest wedge in Iowa history!
I will be creating a video soon with chase footage from this entire day, from York, Nebraska all the way to Essex, Iowa! I did capture some video of this tornado in the lightning flashes.
4/17/25 near Essex, Iowa.

6 months ago | [YT] | 99

Melanie Metz Storm Chasing

This week and into the weekend (4/25 - 4/29) is going to get active in Tornado Alley! I'll be out there for some of the action and will share more videos from my storm chasing adventures soon. I'm excited to be on the road again! There is potential for multiple days of severe weather, including tornadoes. Just giving you a heads up! If you live in the central or southern plains, or even the mid-west, stay tuned into the weather in your area.
If you want to follow along to find out more about my chase targets and see some quick updates from the field, join me on Facebook. Just look up "Melanie Metz Storm Chasing". I share more photos and updates there. I use YouTube for my shorts and longer format videos from the chase. The longer format video take some time to edit before posting. I rarely do live videos because my priority is on capturing the best footage I can, which means great focus.
Stay safe out there!
Oh yeah, this in an actual real photo of me in front of the tornado near Ashby, MN on 7/8/20. It's hard to know what's real and what's fake these days. This one is 100% legit! What a day that was.

1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 121

Melanie Metz Storm Chasing

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for following along on my storm chasing adventures. I want to share a photo from my first chase trip of 2024. I captured this near Milan, MO this Tuesday, 4/16/24. It was a fun chase! I was not on the road as much last year, but this year things are changing. I will be providing more updates and videos of the storms and tornado intercepts. Spring of 2024 is starting off to be an active severe weather season so far! I went out for my first chase this week on April 15th and 16th. I ended up driving 20 hours straight on Monday!! And then another 12 hours on Tuesday. It can be a challenge when you have to get in position further East for a chase the next day. Monday was pretty much a bust for everyone, as storms didn't develop as expected. But Tuesday was very active in Missouri, Iowa and a bit into Illinois. I chased a storm for over 4 hours through Northern Missouri and watched it spin a couple times and develop into a beautiful supercell. It was tornado warned when I intercepted it at 10:30am. That is early for a tornado warning! I captured some haunting photographs and, of course, a little video footage! I will post a video later this week. I ended up leaving the storm only an hour before it produced a tornado near Houghton, Iowa. Lesson learned. Don't give up until it's dark!! It was only 3pm when I started heading back towards home. But to be fair, I had been on the road driving almost constantly since 6am on Monday. I got 4 hours of sleep in my car at a rest area on Mon night. The life of a storm chaser! I'm excited to start the season off strong, being on a tornado warned storm on my first chase trip. More to come soon! Thank you for following along!

1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 120

Melanie Metz Storm Chasing

🌪⚡Winner Announcement! 🌪⚡
Congratulations to Paige Berdomas and George Sheldon! You will be watching the Virtual Premiere of 13 Minutes and the Live Q&A Discussion panel this Thursday evening before the movie hits theaters on Friday, Oct 29th. Please check your email, if you haven't already.


Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway! Entries from all social media platforms were combined and 2 winners were selected for the allotment of tickets that I was given for the contest.


About 13 MINUTES:
"Four families in a Heartland town are tested when a massive storm hits, giving them just 13 minutes to get to shelter before the largest tornado on record ravages the town, leaving them searching for their loved ones and fighting for their lives. In the wake of total devastation, everyone must overcome their differences and find strength in themselves – and in each other – in order to survive." - Matt Rodgers, Flickeringmyth

3 years ago | [YT] | 57

Melanie Metz Storm Chasing

Hey All! Thank you so much for watching my storm chasing and tornado videos. It truly is my passion. I am excited to get on the road again soon, for the 2021 season. I just want to let you know that I changed the name of this channel because all the filming and editing of the videos on this channel are my work. And all the 2020 chases I was either chasing solo, or with a friend. Jessica and I will be chasing together when we can in the coming season and will be creating a new channel for any joint Twister Sisters work we do together. I will also continue posting new edits and new footage on this channel. So, I hope you'll stick with me and enjoy my new videos!

Soon, I will be releasing a compilation of all the 2020 storms and tornadoes. It should be fun to watch, especially for those of us who enjoy a good couple hours of storm video!

Thank you again for your support and comments!! I appreciate you.

Chase on.
Melanie

4 years ago | [YT] | 56