Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Burnett.
Chelsea, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have been an avid weather fan since toddlerhood. I’d watch the storms out the window, listen to my NOAA weather radio, and clip newspaper articles of storms that occurred every season. I still have a binder and a journal of my daily weather observations! I remember studying weather in my 6th grade Earth Sciences class, and feeling excited at the thought of growing up to be a meteorologist. My 7th grade math teacher warned me of how much math would be involved in the meteorology field, and boy did I feel that during my summer and fall semesters at the University of Oklahoma. The math was complicated enough that I had to eventually drop out of OU’s meteorology program and pursue college on a different path. This path led me to Texas, and graduating with my Bachelor’s in General Business eventually. I attended a local Skywarn Storm Spotting course in Plano early 2010 and obtained a ham radio license, after discovering other storm chasers use the device when tracking storms. I met David Reimer, owner of Texas Storm Chasers, at a local weather conference TESSA in 2011 and began chasing storms. Since then I have witnessed several tornadoes anywhere from Texas to Kansas and am now an active member of Texas Storm Chasers. I head up the severe weather preparedness presentations given all over north and central Texas when storms aren’t in the forecast.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not been a smooth ride at all! I lost my drive to pursue meteorology in general after leaving the University of Oklahoma and moving to Texas. Life events such as marriage, courses at University of North Texas, a full-time job, buying a house, having a baby, going through divorce, and selling said house diverted me for several years.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Texas Storm Chasers story. Tell us more about the business.
Texas Storm Chasers was founded by David Reimer and Connor McCrorey in 2009 after extensively covering major wildfires and making the social media rounds for said coverage. (Excerpt from texasstormchasers.com/about) “Fast forward to 2011 and we had a few years of chasing under our belts. Our social media channels had around twenty-five thousand combined followers….. We had begun blogging about ongoing and upcoming potential hazardous weather the previous year. Those blogs were well received and were responsible in part for our growing social media presence…. In the years since we’ve aided in the dissemination of weather information ahead of high-impact events, ranging from floods and blizzards with a few tornado outbreaks mixed in. Our small family has grown and so have our product offerings. We continue to provide Texas weather information along with high-quality storm chasing content. Recent additions include scheduled speaking engagements, a free mobile app for smartphones, and live storm chasing videos.” I’m most proud of TSC in that we have banded together as six individuals from all walks of life, over a common passion we all have – weather. I believe that’s what sets us apart from other storm chasing groups, our diverse backgrounds and what each of us has to offer and contribute to the growing success of the company.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Good luck in that there’s always weather in Texas, and bad luck in that there’s always slow active weather pattern years!
Contact Info:
- Website: texasstormchasers.com
- Email: contact@texasstormchasers.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/texasstormchasers/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TxStormChasers/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/txstormchasers
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/wxfreakk
Image Credit:
Ben Holcomb
Kali Danielle Photography
Christa Robey Photography
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