David K. Hoadley

David K. Hoadley (born 1938) is an American pioneer of storm chasing and the first widely recognized storm chaser, as well as the founder and former editor of Storm Track magazine. He is also a sketch artist and photographer.

David Hoadley
Born1938 (age 84–85)
Spencer, Indiana, USA[1]
Alma materIndiana University (B.A.)
University of Virginia (M.A.)[2]
Known forEarliest known storm chaser; founded Storm Track magazine
ChildrenSarah Hoadley
RelativesNancy Lindsay (granddaughter)

Biography

Hoadley's interest in storms and severe weather began shortly after he graduated from high school, when a severe thunderstorm caused straight-line wind damage to trees and power lines throughout his hometown of Bismarck, North Dakota, in June 1956. Following this, he chased locally and then for several springs roamed Kansas and Oklahoma.[3] He earned a B.A. in political science from Indiana University and a M.A. in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia.[2] After graduate school he volunteered for Army ROTC, went to intelligence school, and chose to be stationed in Fort Riley, Kansas, in "Tornado Alley", as a lieutenant.[4] Hoadley later made a career at the Environmental Protection Agency and retired in 2003. He continues to reside in Virginia.

Hoadley founded Storm Track in 1977 following an impromptu meeting with a handful of early storm chasers at the American Meteorological Society's 10th Conference on Severe Local Storms in Omaha, Nebraska. It began as a newsletter to connect widely dispersed chasers. Hoadley edited Storm Track from 1977 to 1986, after which it was handed off to Tim Marshall and soon assumed a magazine format. He continued submitting writing, photographs, and sketches to the magazine. He has written for the World Meteorological Organization and wrote a refereed article on a tornado spawned by Hurricane David.[5] He also provided advice and sketches for Storm Talk, the Storm Chase Manual, Tornado Talk, and the Storm Chaser's Handbook.[1] Although he generally eschews publicity, Hoadley has occasionally allowed journalists to join him on chases or granted interviews. He and his photographs have appeared in publications around the world, including Time-Life, National Geographic, Scientific American, the Chicago Tribune, and USA Today. On television, he has appeared on National Geographic Explorer, ABC's Day One, and The History Channel.

A meticulous record-keeper, Hoadley taught himself meteorology and developed a pattern recognition-based forecasting method, primarily using surface data. He has witnessed over 200 tornadoes and driven approximately 750,000 miles (1,210,000 km) while chasing. Many of these miles accumulated because he frequently drove to the Great Plains from his home in Virginia.[6] He delivered a keynote speech about his storm chasing career – then in its 50th year – at the 2006 TESSA National Storm Conference, where he was honored in a tribute dinner.[7][8][9]


See also

References
  1. Vasquez, Tim (2008). Storm Chasing Handbook (2nd ed.). Weather Graphics Technologies. ISBN 978-0-9706840-8-0.
  2. "48 Years of Storm Chasing with Pioneer Tornado Chaser: David Hoadley". District of Columbia Chapter of the American Meteorological Society. 2004. Archived from the original on 2005-01-23. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  3. James Spann et al. (2009). "Hoadley Headlines". WeatherBrains. Series 184. Birmingham, AL. The Weather Company.
  4. Marshall, Tim; David Hoadley (1987-01-31). "Chase Fever: The Early Years". Storm Track. Texas. 10 (2): 5–7. Archived from the original on 2012-03-04.
  5. Hoadley, David K. (1981). "A tropical storm David tornado in Fairfax County–September 1979". Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 62 (4): 498–507. doi:10.1175/1520-0477-62.4.498.
  6. Gene Rhoden, Chuck Doswell, RJ Evans (2012-01-25). "David Hoadley". High Instability. Series 92. Norman, OK. ShockNet Radio. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14.
  7. Doswell, Chuck (2006-03-31). "My personal tribute to David Hoadley - First among storm chasers". Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  8. Edwards, Roger (2006-03-15). "David Hoadley: Fine Gentleman and Father of Storm Observing". Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  9. Rhoden, Gene (2006-03-13). "Tribute to David Hoadley and "a mere cottonwood seed"". Archived from the original on 2011-09-02. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
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