Jesse Risley
National Weather Festival - Norman, OK: November, 2009
Chuck Palahniuk once said, “We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.” That effectually summarizes my personal motto. I’m Jesse, an archetypal storm chaser who hails from the West Central Illinois town of Colchester, a quaint whistle-stop that lies in close proximity to Macomb, IL, the community that also happens to be home of Western Illinois University. Born and raised in Streator, Illinois, I consider storm chasing to be one of my primary hobbies, along with being a general class amateur radio operator.
Fascinated by weather at a young age, with said fascination somewhat fueled by countless hours of watching The Weather Channel, along with penultimate reruns of Tornadoes!! The Entity, my first real experience with a significant severe weather event was when I had the opportunity to scout the damage left as a result of the tornado that struck Plainfield, Illinois back in 1990. On an excursion to the Joliet mall, our family decided to take a drive through some of the subdivisions that were hardest hit by that tornado in August of that year. I can remember seeing how badly the neighborhoods had been damaged, while simultaneously wondering, within the confines of my ten-year-old mind, how such a poignant wrath could transpire from a thunderstorm. I can also vividly recall watching news reports of the April 26, 1991 tornado outbreak the devastated Andover, Kansas, among other locales. Finally, I have to credit Tom Skilling’s now classic It Sounded Like a Freight Train series on Chicago’s WGN network for cementing my fascination with tornadoes and other severe weather phenomena.
I self-educated myself on severe weather and storm structure, with the exception of some college-level geography coursework on weather and climate, becoming a trained spotter in 1999 and chasing storms on a very local basis thereafter. My very first chasing trip to the Great Plains in May of 2007 proved fruitful enough to transpire into a regular pursuit of severe weather throughout the region. Recent notable intercepts include the Yazoo, Mississippi tornado on April 24, 2010, the Falls City, Nebraska tornado on June 5, 2008, the Edina, Missouri tornado of May 13, 2009 (Kirksville storm), the La Grange, WY tornado of June 5, 2009 and the Kinsley, KS supercell of June 15, 2009.
On a slightly more personal note, I’ve been a high school (grades 9-12) social studies teacher at Macomb Senior High School in Macomb, Illinois since 2003. I either have previously instructed or currently do instruct courses in Geography, Sociology, Economics and American History, in addition to serving as a full-time class sponsor. I graduated from Illinois State University in Normal, IL in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in History and a minor in Geography. I finished my graduate studies at Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL in 2008 with a master’s degree in Educational Administration and Supervision. Never one to be finished with the pedagogy of my profession, I’m currently taking post-graduate courses in history, political science and adolescent psychology.
I also co-own a small business, American Electronics, Inc., started in 2008 as an equipment sales and service venue for amateur radio operators, as well as commercial and public safety entities. We specialize in commercial radios, lights, cellular accessories, sirens, antennas and other communications equipment for the aformentioned individuals and agencies.
You can reach my via email at kb9tma@yahoo.com. We appreciate any comments, feedback or concerns that you might have about our site. Thanks again for stopping by!
Filming the Yazoo City, MS tornado on April 24, 2010
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