Severe weather chasers help warn, educate and restore communities

STORM WARRIORS

(ROCKWALL, TX — May 2, 2016) No one should ever lose their life because of a tornado; at least that’s the firm belief of the Fords, a North Texas family of storm chasers known as the Storm Warriors.

Bill Ford, his wife Danielle, daughter Cori, son Noah and veteran storm chasers Mike Casey and Mike Prendergast make up the Storm Warriors, a team dedicated to educating communities of the states located in Tornado and Dixie alleys about how to stay safe during severe weather. The main components of their mission: to warn, assist and restore communities and families affected by severe storms.

“We build relationships with these communities because typically we’re the first on the scene, and we really just want to help these families get their lives back together,” Bill said.

The Storm Warriors recently filmed their TV pilot which follows the adventures of Bill Ford and his family as they chase the most violent weather events on earth. The team members are all certified and trained in search and rescue and CPR, and carry equipment such as chainsaws, AED defibrillators and medical supplies to assist those trapped or injured during a severe storm.

Another important item in the Storm Warriors’ inventory includes the Go Bag, something Bill said everyone should have on their person in the event of a tornado or severe weather threat. The Go Bag should have a flashlight with fresh batteries; a portable phone charger; candles and matches in a Ziplock bag; drinking water; a whistle to alert search and rescue teams of your location; sturdy shoes; a first aid kit; blankets; snacks; a picture of your family and pets to aid the search and rescue teams; cash; and a battery-operated weather radio to monitor possible incoming severe storms.

Bill said the key to surviving any severe storm is to know where to go.

“It’s inconvenient to not die from a tornado,” Bill said. “You may have to pack up the kids and head for a storm shelter five miles out of the way at least four times a year. But the one time that you do it, you may not even know that you just saved your own life.”

To aid the team in search and rescue operations, the Storm Warriors recently adopted a four-month-old German Shepherd puppy and held a contest to help name her in which the winner would receive a Storm Warriors Go Bag. They eventually settled on the name Rayne (meaning “ray of hope”) suggested by Facebook follower Anita Campbell.

Nathan Ford – Bill’s 19-year-old son – is currently being trained as Rayne’s handler, a two-year process which will see both Rayne and Nathan become certified and recognized by FEMA and emergency management in local communities to go out and perform wide area searches of storm debris and quickly identify folks in need of rescue.

Through live streaming on social media and various weather-tracking software, the Storm Warriors help confirm what’s actually happening on the ground when a severe storm hits, relaying that information back to the media so that they can properly warn communities in the path of these storms. Warning communities comes first and foremost for the team, according to Bill, who after seeing the devastation from the EF-5 which hit Moore, Oklahoma on May 3, 1999, was inclined to begin educating people on severe weather safety.

“The memories of what I saw were forever etched in my mind, and so I decided that I was going to do something different and help people who were affected by these storms,” Bill said.

The Storm Warriors chase storms throughout many different communities in North Texas, including Rockwall and Rowlett, which saw a devastating tornado come through on Dec. 26 last year. Bill said they had two Storm Warriors teams covering that storm, with his group covering the development of the supercell southwest of Waco. After the tornado ripped through the Glenn Heights community, Bill and the Storm Warriors joined the local fire department in rescuing people trapped inside their homes.

The widespread damage caused by the storm left many in utter shock and disbelief, especially considering how quickly the storm had gained its strength. The day before the devastating storm, Dec. 25, Bill was monitoring the storm’s development and found that the Storm Prediction Center and weather models didn’t show enough risk factors for the Storm Warriors to deploy. However, the next morning, he looked at the models and outlook from the Storm Prediction Center again and everything had completely changed.

“No one expected the storm to turn that severe,” Bill said.

Equally important to the Storm Warriors’ mission of warning and assisting is restoring, a component Bill said has helped the team build relationships with families and highlights the number one reason why they chase.

“Through all of those things that we do – the warning, the assisting and restoring – I think everybody on the Storm Warriors team would say that we meet a lot of great people along the way,” he said. “That’s why we do what we do. We’re not out there taking pictures and getting video, we’re involved in the communities and in people’s lives. That’s really what it’s all about for us – saving families and saving lives.”

For downloadable tips on how to prepare for severe weather, visit the Storm Warriors website at stormwarriors.tv.

Story and storm damage photo by Austin Wells, Blue Ribbon News editor. Other photos provided by Storm Warriors.

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