12/29/2023 Lowell Ledger Podcast - Chasing Tornadoes - Storm Chasing With Joel Fritsma
In this podcast we talk with LHS Class of 2018 graduate and current CMU Meteorology major Joel Fritsma. He’s part of a group growing in popularity on social media, the “Michigan Storm Chasers”.
YOUTUBE VIDEO
Justin Scott || School and Sports Reporter
12/29/2023
When the weather gets severe, whether that’s a snowstorm, thunderstorms, tornadoes, or any other form of dangerous weather, that’s when the “Michigan Storm Chasers” go live. The group of weather fanatics started up in 2023 but the concept came about two years ago, and their page just recently hit 100,000 likes here on Facebook.
LHS Class of 2018 graduate Joel Fritsma is one of the members of the group, and is currently a meteorology student at Central Michigan University. During his time at LHS, Fritsma did the weather for the school’s Red Arrow Report daily news segment, incorporating graphics, insight, and forecasts of upcoming weather. He was always looking for ways to keep people informed, including graphics on the school’s videoboard at Bob Perry Field.
Now, instead of the studios at LHS, Fritsma goes live with his fellow Michigan Storm Chaser members when severe weather strikes. They’ll go live over free to use platforms like Facebook and YouTube, amassing thousands of viewers from across the state. The team walks through radars, scans, and the latest readings in real-time while addressing comments and concerns. They didn’t require payment, but you can subscribe to them on platforms like Patreon for more detailed analysis, as well as tipping through Facebook’s Stars program. They also run a weather apparel store called Helicity.
“I’m an advisor, so I help oversee the operation. I put posts out, help with live streams, make graphics, and go out in the field among other jobs,” Fritsma said of his role with MSC.
When they’re not live, they’re out in the field, chasing storms, tornadoes, and bringing live video feed to those watching. Last summer, I was able to accompany Fritsma on such a tornado chase on July 12th, where we encoutered a tornado-warned storm near Decatur. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on your viewpoint, darkness enclosed quickly, and the rain-wrapped storm didn’t allow a view. Storm chasers do want to see tornadoes if they do touch down, but ultimately they hope what they do helps warn those in tornado paths of the potential danger.
Later that night though, as we drove back to Grand Rapids empty handed, a fellow member of the team encountered tornado damage behind a storm that went through Colon, MI. That wound up being an EF-1 tornado. Fritsma wasn’t far behind the Webberville tornado that ravaged land around I-96. The trees from that storm still can be seen snapped and warped on the drive from Grand Rapids to Detroit for example. His first tornado he captured while chasing came in 2021 in Jay County, Indiana, and has been storm chasing for nearing a decade now.
“In Michigan we check out shelf clouds mostly, get a lot of damaging winds, but tornadoes aren’t terribly common. Michigan’s standards are pretty low for severe weather because of the lakes influence, but occasionally there are some surprises like we saw last August.” Of course last August was when a tornado warning occurred during the Lowell vs. Mattawan football game. The tornado on the ground struck the Belmont area and disappated before impacting the greater Rockford area. Those on the ground at LHS, where cell service is limited to say the least, didn’t know that. Michigan Storms Chasers were live at the time, and was one of the places for news that night for those able to be online.
“There’s not really a dedicated non-news station run weather source of information,” Fritsma said. “Trust the National Weather Service, your local news stations, where we have a couple guys we work with around the area and they’re pretty good. We just want to help keep Michiganders safe with our coverage,” he added.
You can follow Joel and the Michigan Storm Chasers on their website and on Facebook.
