Storm Chasing Fever - About Us

Tyler Schiller

Tyler was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin which is a suburb (20 miles due west) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

His first memorable experience was the April 27, 1984 - Wales, Wisconsin Tornado, 2.5 miles west of his parents house. "The whole neighborhood walked outside of their homes and just stood in shock, as the tornado approached. As it got closer, we all ran into our basements but thankfully it dissipated before reaching our neighborhood."

Throughout his childhood, Tyler grew up being fearful of storms that regularly hit his hometown during the spring and summer months. This led him to become intrigued by severe weather and began studying all aspects of meteorology as a kid. "I remember during my elementary school years during the 1980's & early 1990's, my hometown had numerous severe weather episodes in Wisconsin and I was frightened by the power of nature. At the same time I became interested and wanted to learn how storms and the atmosphere worked."

He started his storm chasing career when he was 17-years-old and has documented numerous severe storms primarily in Wisconsin on film and video. His most notable chase day was on August 18, 2005 when he captured his first tornado (while storm chasing) near Merrimac, Wisconsin. "It was surreal, you see tornadoes and their destruction on television, but to see one with your own eyes you are taken back by it."

Tyler also had a chance to experience the Florida lifestyle of lightning storms & hurricanes back in 2004. "I was an intern at Disney and couldn't believe how many lightning storms the city of Orlando had that summer. It was unbelievable. I also had the chance to experience Hurricane Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne which hit all within 6 weeks of each other in August and September. Overall, I'll never forget that experience."

Out of all chases he's been on, the 2010 chase season was a major success. He was able to document the large EF-4 wedge Tornado near Bowdle, South Dakota and captured a spectacular large tornado near Howes & Faith, South Dakota. His most recent plains chase in 2013, he captured six total tornadoes, including the Rozel, Kansas EF-4 Tornado.

Tyler went on to graduate at the University Wisconsin Milwaukee (UWM) earning a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. He once pursued his 2nd undergraduate degree in Meteorology at UWM, but put his school ambitions to rest due to lingering budget cuts.

James Cullinane

James has chased many weather events primarily in Wisconsin from May 2000 to this present day. This includes flash floods, squall lines/bow echos, lightning storms, and also experienced the largest tornado outbreak in Wisconsin history on August 18, 2005.

While not a "yahoo" chaser by any means, he tends to go after the draw-dropping shot. He is very pessimistic and a realist when conditions are not ideal for chasing."I usually chase with Tyler and he gets excited over a drop of rain, (laughing out loud). Sometimes I need to level him out and put some perspective into his thinking."

James was also affected by the April 27, 1984 Wisconsin tornado outbreak. His parents house came close to being hit by the F4 tornado near the town of Neenah, Wisconsin. "I remember my mom yelling at my dad to get into the basement with us, but he was mesmerized by the sight of the tornado."

James graduated with an engineering degree and is currently an electronic technician. He has a fair share of meteorological expertise through skywarn training, meteorology college classes, severe weather seminars and of course getting out in the field of storm chasing. He currently resides in Southeast Wisconsin.

Steve Sopko

Steve began storm chasing in high school and has been hooked ever since. "I hung out with Tyler during high school because we had similar interests, but storm chasing was something I took interest in. The times we went out we only saw the usual, rain, thunder, lightning. However, chasing in Kansas back in 2008 was really exciting."

Steve is a genius when it comes to photography, electronics, finances, digital marketing, and pretty much everything. Steve graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor's degree in Graphic Communications and Computer Information Systems. He currently resides in the Milwaukee area.

Erich Kaiser

Erich began storm chasing with Tyler and Steve while in high school. Chasing storms in the Nissan were some of the best times the three of us had back then.

Erich graduated with a Product Operations Management degree at the University Wisconsin Milwaukee and currently resides in Southeast Wisconsin.