Tony Laubach is a veteran storm chaser and degreed Meteorologist who has pursued severe weather across the United States since his first tornado in 1997. Over three decades on the road, he has documented hundreds of tornadoes, contributed to field research with projects such as TWISTEX, and shared extreme weather stories through broadcast, digital media, and national reporting. Today, Tony continues his work with AccuWeather, tracking, explaining, and experiencing the storms firsthand.
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Eastern CO/Western KS
792 Miles | SPC Outlook: Slight

A wild September chase along the CO/KS border included rivers of hail in Burlington, amazing structure, and some of the best nighttime lightning of the year!

TORNADOES: 0
MAX HAIL: 2.00"
FLOODING: Observed
LIGHTNING: Captured

Chase Log: August 10, 2025

Northern Colorado (150 Miles)
TORNADOES: 0
MAX HAIL: 1.00"
FLOODING: Observed

Chase Log: August 9, 2025

Eastern Colorado (514 Miles)
TORNADOES: 0
MAX HAIL: 1.75"
FLOODING: Observed

Chase Log: August 4, 2025

Northeast Colorado (493 Miles)
TORNADOES: 0
MAX HAIL: 4.25"
FLOODING: Observed

Chase Log: July 16, 2025

Northeast Colorado (643 Miles)
TORNADOES: 0
MAX HAIL: 1.25"
FLOODING: Observed

Chase Log: June 13, 2025

Nebraska Panhandle (450 Miles)
TORNADOES: 2
MAX HAIL: 0.88"
FLOODING: Not Observed

Chase Log: June 5, 2025

Western Texas (723 Miles)
TORNADOES: 10
MAX HAIL: None
FLOODING: Observed
Trading the jersey for High School t-shirts with #81 (Photo: Paul Samaras)

Career Stats

Stat Keeping Started in 2002
Career Miles: 537,578
Career Chases: 548
Career Tornadoes: 474
Career Tornado Days: 197
Career Tornado Average: 0.359
Career Work Logs: 403
Career Total Logs: 951
Career 1K Mile Chases: 138

Professional Eras

2001 - Present: AccuWeather
2018-2021: KAKE-TV Wichita, KS
2013 - 2018: WSIL Carterville, IL
2007-2013: KMGH 7News Denver, CO

2007-2011: TWISTEX
2003-2021: Freelancer

M.S. Southern Illinois University
B.S. Metropolitan State University Denver

Career Milestones

May 1997: First Tornado/First Chase
Spring 2002: Stat Keeping Began
May 2004: Breakout Tornado Chases
April 2007: Joined TWISTEX
Spring 2008: Nat Geo/Discovery Shows
May 2009: Graduated as a Meteorologist
July 2013: Became the WSIL Weather Warrior
June 2021: Tornado on First Day in New Home
August 2021: Intercepted First Tropical Systems
Tactical Weather-Instrumented Sampling in/near Tornadoes Experiment
Chase Log: April 24, 2007
Central Kansas
Tornadoes: 3
Chase Log: May 24, 2010
Northern SD/Southern ND
Tornadoes: 9
Chase Log: April 26, 2009
Western Oklahoma
Tornadoes: 2
Chase Log: May 23, 2008
Northwest Kansas
Tornadoes: 7
Chase Log: April 23, 2007
Southern Kansas
Tornadoes: 1
Chase Log: May 23, 2011
Central Oklahoma
Tornadoes: 2

HAIL CHASES

Chase Log: August 9, 2011
Southwest Nebraska
Max Hail: 2.25"
Chase Log: April 17, 2025
Southeast NE/Southwest IA
Max Hail: 4.00"
Chase Log: April 15, 2016
TX/OK Panhandles
Max Hail: 2.00"
Chase Log: April 3, 2008
Northwest Texas
Max Hail: 2.00"

FLOOD CHASES

Chase Log: July 8, 2011
Northeast Colorado
Flooding: Urban Flooding
Chase Log: May 22, 2014
Eastern Colorado
Flooding: Flash Flooding
Chase Log: July 7, 2011
Northeast Colorado
Flooding: Urban
Chase Log: June 27, 2004
Northeast Colorado
Flooding: Flash Flooding

LIGHTNING CHASES

Chase Log: August 11, 2011
Northeast CO/Southwest NE
Lightning: Captured
Chase Log: August 31, 2007
Northeast Colorado
Lightning: Captured
Chase Log: April 12, 2007
Texas Panhandle
Lightning: Captured
Chase Log: April 15, 2024
Southeast Nebraska
Lightning: Captured

MY CHASING HISTORY

Where It All Began

The first chase, the first tornado, the May 14, 1997 Ohio-chase that started it all.

The Story of #81

The number of Washington Redskins great, Art Monk, becomes a storm chasing icon.

The Road to Half-a-Million

In 22 years, 2 months, and 2 days, I drove half-a-million mile chasing storms across…