Jeff Piotrowski: Biography
Jeff's passion for storm chasing is as intense as his personality. His self-taught tornado chasing skills are the key to his success as a world class storm chaser. The following chronicles his storm chasing career and reveals some interesting facts about his video production company, Storm Productions Inc., which has grown steadily since its founding in 1997.
Jeff's life revolves around various aspects of weather, from marketing weather radar systems used by meteorologists around the world for Baron Services to radar images of tornadic supercells that he tracks each year. Jeff stays in touch with potentially stormy weather at all times. This keeps him prepared for storm chasing, no matter what month the calendar shows.
Tornadoes have always fascinated Jeff. His passion for storm chasing began as a youngster. As a child, he was captivated by the severe storms occurring around his Broken Arrow/Tulsa home. Jeff's first brush with tornadoes came on June 8, 1974, when numerous tornadoes tracked through the Tulsa area. Jeff plotted the warnings and tornado positions broadcasted on KRMG, and tried to figure out if he would see his first tornado. The sky darkened across Broken Arrow with the approaching storm, and he spotted a large tornado to the west. He and his family took shelter in a local church basement as the tornado roared across south Tulsa. This was the sparking event that ignited Jeff’s passion for violent weather.
Severe storms nearly claimed Jeff’s life on May 30, 1976, as Tulsa's worst flash flooding in history caused the Mingo Creek to become a deadly raging river. The truck that Jeff and his boss were riding in had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time- in the Mingo Valley. The floodwaters quickly swept the truck away, leaving Jeff holding tightly to a nearby fence. Charles, his boss, was swept downstream. Both men were later rescued by the Tulsa Fire Dept., and Jeff developed a new respect for floods. His rescue also seriously bolstered his resolve to help people in emergency situations and report severe weather.
Jeff's storm chasing pursuits blossomed during the 1980's, as he finally had the opportunity to intercept some major storms. During this period, Jeff had more"bust" chases than successful ones, but this was a very important time for learning the "ropes" of storm forecasting and pursuit. This was also a time when storm chasing was in its early stage of existence. Forecast models were calculated on paper (not computer), satellite photos were a half hour or more old, and doppler radar was just becoming a way to track tornadoes. Even though the data was not current, Jeff learned to read between the lines and make forecasts, and to learn the chasing skill of "reading the sky." His gut feelings and "personal opinions only" often lead him to supercells, but the ever-fleeting tornado was seldom found. His self-taught trial-and-error way of chasing was probably one of the best learning tools he could have ever hoped for. His keen knowledge of storm environments grew sharper with time. Before long, Jeff's pickup truck started to reveal more and more hail dents, a kind of “medal of honor” for successful storm chasers.
Although Jeff had many "co-pilots" to chase with him over the years, he forged a long time friendship with his current storm chase partner, Brian Stertz. Brian was a meteorology student at O.U. and always hoped to hit the Plains and chase. On March 22, 1987 in the Texas Panhandle town of Wellington, Jeff and Brian met as they were attempting to get the latest data and separately intercept a storm. Meanwhile, they watched in agony as a huge tornadic supercell exploded along the dryline 90 miles to their north near Lipscomb TX. While their chase successes were limited at first, they both had valuable and complimentary storm chasing skills that has since brought many high octane and successful chases. The year 2001 marks the 14th year of Jeff and Brian's storm chasing association. Jeff also developed a strong friendship with meteorologist Mike Morgan in Oklahoma City during the 1980's, and offered Mike storm reports.
The 1990's represented a very successful decade for storm chasing and forecasting for Jeff. The video production company, Storm Productions Inc., was formed in 1997. Jeff's first major tornado was the March 26, 1991 F3 tornado that tracked over 67 miles across N. Oklahoma and ended at the Kansas state line. This was followed a month later, on April 26th, by a major tornado outbreak across N. Oklahoma and Kansas. Jeff chased with David Payne this unforgettable day. They saw all three of the violent tornadoes to strike Oklahoma that day, the Billings/Red Rock F4, and the nighttime F4 tornadoes at Westport and Oologah, OK. The night quickly brought the other side of chasing to both Jeff and David on the north side of Oologah. A strong F4 tornado crossed the highway less than a mile from the Blazer, tearing across the High School, several homes, and ranches. Once the tornado had cleared the area, an intense downburst followed as strong winds behind the tornado again blasted the devastated area. Once the winds subsided, many injured and dazed people started to climb out of the debris and ruined homes. Jeff and David were the first on the scene with a State Trooper, and they setup a triage in an open field where the paramedics could treat and assist the injured, some with very serious and life-threatening wounds. Life-flight helicopters were directed to the scene by Jeff and David's flashlight guidance on the ground. The crazy chase ended at that scene for obvious reasons. This was Jeff's first dose of the tragic realities of tornado aftermath, and one of the additional duties of a storm chaser that is first on the scene after a violent tornado.
Many more wild and successful chases occurred between 1992 and 1998, and the need to produce storm videos became of increased interest to Jeff. During the summer of 1994, Jeff received an Emmy for coverage of the Gainesville TX F2 tornado. To date, he is the only chaser to have received this award and distinction. Up until 1998, most of Jeff's footage was sold to media and news outlets almost exclusively. However, Jeff often received inquiries from individuals for his storm chasing highlights. This interest encouraged Jeff to form Storm Productions Inc. of Tulsa, OK. The company has since expanded to include yearly storm highlight tapes and tornado documentaries, photos, and storm related products. Jeff's intense storm footage has been featured on many tornado documentaries and training films over the past 10 years. He has worked extensively with Pioneer Productions on documentaries for the Learning Channel/Discovery Channel. The reason for the high demand for Storm Productions tornado footage is the close range excitement that very few other video production companies are available to offer. Recently he has been assisted in the production work by professional videographer Steve Sembritzky.
While Jeff chased more days in 1998, by far the most successful storm and tornado chases occurred in 1999. During the 1998 storm season, Jeff met Kathryn, who was also fascinated by storms. Jeff and Kathryn's most memorable storm chasing (and first date) occurred May 24, 1998 near the town of Wakita, OK. Almost out of the script of the famous storm chasing movie Twister, they watched a cow almost get swept up by a F2 tornado about a half mile from the Blazer. They encountered a whopping twelve tornadoes that day! Later, they were treated to Mother Nature's version of a fireworks display of continuous lightning from a huge supercell over Grant County, OK, which they watched from a distance.
The year 1999 included major tornado outbreaks, close encounters with wedge tornadoes, and some fast-paced and nervous times. Over forty tornadoes were witnessed by Jeff during the 1999 chase season, and he was accompanied by Brian Stertz on many of the chases, except the January 21 Arkansas tornado outbreak and the May 3rd Oklahoma tornado outbreak. During the period of May 30th to June 5th, Jeff and Brian witnessed a total of 12 tornadoes in Kansas and Nebraska. This active storm season continued into late June, culminating with a spectacular supercell in the Northern Texas Panhandle. Storm Productions completed a documentary of the May 3rd tornadoes titled, "Terror in the Heartland" that was released in the fall of 1999. Kathryn caught several tornadoes in 1999, including the spectacular footage of the Sitka Kansas tornado. On that scary chase they were joined by storm chaser Pat McMahon from Detroit, who had two very close calls in less than a week near Sitka and Almena, KS.
The new millenium brought a slower and less predictable severe storm season for Storm Productions, but there were 2 major events that made the season memorable. The first tornado of 2000 was captured in the NE Texas Panhandle and NW Oklahoma on February 24th. Jeff and Brian tracked this small but damaging tornado for much of its track. The next significant event occurred on April 30th between the North Texas towns of Elbert and Olney. A large, multiple vortex F3 tracked right along the highway. Jeff, Brian, and Rich Thies (a friend of Brian's) caught some incredible shots of this large tornado that was heavily involved in rain. The next major tornado event was one of Jeff and Brian's best ever. A large tornado formed near the town of Brady, Nebraska and tracked to the northwest about 12 miles. Jeff and Brian shot spectacular video of the F3 tornado that passed less than a half mile from their location. This tornado video was highly sought by national and international media outlets, and has since appeared in many documentaries. Jeff received a certificate of appreciation from the Norman NWS office for his amateur radio reports of the May 3rd F5 tornado. The year 2000 also brought wedding bells to Jeff and his wife Kathryn. They were married September 30th in Broken Arrow. Kathryn also loves the thrills and beauty of storm chasing, and is a published photographer.
