Ever since the age of 6, growing up in Queens, NY when Hurricane Gloria struck Long Island, I’ve been interested in the weather.  I remember staying home that day with my parents in their bedroom of our 2 bedroom apartment, and being told over and over to stay away from the windows.  Of course, as a curious 6 year old, I kept attempting to go near the windows to see what all the fuss was about.  I remember seeing violent wind swept rain carrying all sorts of debris around the courtyard area our apartment overlooked, and then…nothing.  Beautiful tranquil weather.  My father even took me outside briefly to preliminarily assess the damage and check out what of “the eye” we could see.  What does that mean to a 6 year old?  Upon returning to school that week, I started to make weather forecasts in my journal and became enchanted by the weather.

 

Fast forward senior year of high school.  Living on Long Island, it can be a little difficult so see a good storm.  But anytime there was a flash of lightning, I’d bring one of my fellow weather nerds along and we’d try to find a level, wide open place, like Republic Airport in Farmingdale, and sit and just watch. 

 

My background goes deeper than the weather.  In high school, my guidance counselor pointed me to a B.O.C.E.S. program called Aviation Operations.  He told me it went hand in hand with my love of science and weather.  And it sounded like I’d have a chance to actually fly an airplane!  As a class in high school!  Yes!  You’d better believe I was the best student in that class, earning 60 flight hours.  I even got to fly a plane before I ever drove an automobile.  I went on to earn my FAA private pilot certificate from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fl.

 

I’m now a married father of 2 with a full time career as a water plant operator in the water department.  I worked as the emergency dispatcher during Superstorm Sandy on a 16 hour shift beginning just a few hours before the worst of the storm struck the area.  This is the event that changed my life, creating my alter ego, the L.I. Weather Guy.  Seeing the help we received from tree trimming crews from around the country, I became inspired to help my fellow Long Islanders by making sure they stay ahead of the weather.

 

I created the fan page on Facebook because I’d always warn my friends about imminent weather, and it seemed like either nobody was listening, or not enough people were listening.  Well, now people listen.  I created the Facebook page on January 7, 2014.  And in my first year, I’ve accrued over 7,300 followers.  I’ve decided to bring them all along with me as I take my weather obsession to the next level as I storm chase in the Great Plains this coming May, during the peak of tornado season. I’ve also had several opportunities to visit NASA a view live launches from the VIP area thanks to the L.I. Weather Guy. 

 

My goal is to bring the most fascinating and dangerous weather in the world directly into your living room.  As my team and I chase the storms, several car mounted cameras will capture the event and webcast it live on youtube and ChaserTV.com.

 

Since deciding to start this storm chase venture, I figured we may come across places that have been ravaged by tornadoes and other severe weather, and like those hard workers coming to Long Island’s rescue, I want to pay it forward to others.  That inspired me to purchase a DJI Phantom 2 Vision UAV that I plan to use for search and rescue of people and pets.  As a licensed pilot, I have legitimate knowledge of all safety measures involved with my aircraft and have been diligently testing my equipment.  I feel confident my team and I can go out there and make a real difference.

 

We do, however, know the weather is highly unpredictable.  The time we go which should be the peak of the season, could be a dud.  But we do have a backup plan.  We will try to find and/or create a dust devil, sending different colors of smoke into the circulation.  Ultimately we will try to create this in the middle of nowhere on a wide open prairie or desert so nobody would be injured.  But the goal is to capture different color “tornadoes”.  Even if they’re just dust devils essentially.

 

We also hope to capture incredible aerial footage from our drone as well as movie quality footage of tornadoes, lightning, hail, rainbows, the Milky Way, you name it.  The viewer on our live webcasts will have a say in every storm or weather phenomena we chase.  That’s the best part.  Our goal is to get everybody involved and excited about the weather.  Get ready!