David K. Hoadley

Hoadley's interest in storms and severe weather began shortly after he graduated from high school, when a severe thunderstorm caused straight-line wind damage to trees and power lines throughout his hometown of Bismarck, North Dakota, in June 1956. Following this, he chased locally and then for several springs roamed Kansas and Oklahoma.{{Cite episode |title = Hoadley Headlines |url = http://weatherbrains.com/weatherbrains/?p=460 |series = WeatherBrains |credits = James Spann |display-authors = etal |station = The Weather Company |location = Birmingham, Alabama |airdate = 2009 |series-no = 184 |access-date = 2012-02-29 |archive-date = 2016-11-04 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161104205713/http://weatherbrains.com/weatherbrains/?p=460 |url-status = dead}} He earned a B.A. in political science from Indiana University Bloomington in 1960 and a M.A. in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia in 1962.{{cite web |title = 48 Years of Storm Chasing with Pioneer Tornado Chaser: David Hoadley |publisher = District of Columbia Chapter of the American Meteorological Society |year = 2004 |url = http://www.dc-ams.org/meetings/november2004.htm |accessdate = 2012-02-29 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050123232753/http://www.dc-ams.org/meetings/november2004.htm |archive-date = 2005-01-23 |url-status = dead}}[https://www.newspapers.com/image/413249593/ "David Hoadley Received Degree"], The Bismarck Tribune, Bismarck, North Dakota, volume 87, number 158, July 6, 1960, page 5. {{subscription required}} After graduate school he volunteered for Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps, went to intelligence school, and chose to be stationed in Fort Riley, Kansas, in "Tornado Alley", as a lieutenant.{{cite journal |last=Marshall |first=Tim |author-link=Timothy P. Marshall |author2=David Hoadley |title=Chase Fever: The Early Years |journal=Storm Track |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=5–7 |location=Texas |date=1987-01-31 |url=http://www.stormtrack.org/library/people/hoadley.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304223244/http://www.stormtrack.org/library/people/hoadley.htm |archive-date=2012-03-04}} Hoadley later made a career at the Environmental Protection Agency and retired in 2003. He continues to reside in Virginia.

Hoadley founded Storm Track in 1977 following an impromptu meeting with a handful of early storm chasers at the American Meteorological Society's 10th Conference on Severe Local Storms in Omaha, Nebraska. It began as a newsletter to connect widely dispersed chasers. Hoadley edited Storm Track from 1977 to 1986, after which it was handed off to Tim Marshall and soon assumed a magazine format. He continued submitting writing, photographs, and sketches to the magazine. He has written for the World Meteorological Organization and wrote a refereed article on a tornado spawned by Hurricane David.{{cite journal |last = Hoadley |first = David K. |title = A tropical storm David tornado in Fairfax County–September 1979 |journal = Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. |volume = 62 |issue = 4 |year = 1981 |pages = 498–507 |doi = 10.1175/1520-0477-62.4.498 |doi-access = free |bibcode = 1981BAMS...62..498H}} He also provided advice and sketches for Storm Talk, the Storm Chase Manual, Tornado Talk, and the Storm Chaser's Handbook.{{cite book |last = Vasquez |first = Tim |title = Storm Chasing Handbook |publisher = Weather Graphics Technologies |edition = 2nd |year = 2008 |url = http://weathergraphics.com/chasing/ |isbn = 978-0-9706840-8-0 }} Although he generally eschews publicity, Hoadley has occasionally allowed journalists to join him on chases or granted interviews. He and his photographs have appeared in publications around the world, including Time-Life, National Geographic, Scientific American, the Chicago Tribune, and USA Today. On television, he has appeared on National Geographic Explorer, ABC's Day One, and The History Channel.

A meticulous record-keeper, Hoadley taught himself meteorology and developed a pattern recognition-based forecasting method, primarily using surface data. He has witnessed over 200 tornadoes and driven approximately {{convert|750,000|mi|km}} while chasing. Many of these miles accumulated because he frequently drove to the Great Plains from his home in Virginia.{{cite episode|title=David Hoadley |url=http://highinstability.com/ShowArchive/HI012512-92_Hoadley.mp3 |series=High Instability |credits=Gene Rhoden, Chuck Doswell, RJ Evans |station=ShockNet Radio |location=Norman, Oklahoma |airdate=2012-01-25 |series-no=92 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714172105/http://highinstability.com/ShowArchive/HI012512-92_Hoadley.mp3 |archive-date=2014-07-14}} He delivered a keynote speech about his storm chasing career – then in its 50th year – at the 2006 Texas Severe Storms Association National Storm Conference, where he was honored in a tribute dinner.{{cite web |last = Doswell |first = Chuck |author-link = Charles A. Doswell III |title = My personal tribute to David Hoadley - First among storm chasers |date = 2006-03-31 |url = http://www.flame.org/~cdoswell/chasesums/Hoadley.html |accessdate = 2012-02-27}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20250328180410/https://www.flame.org/~cdoswell/chasesums/Hoadley.html (archived version)]{{cite web |last = Edwards |first = Roger |author-link= Roger Edwards (meteorologist) |title = David Hoadley: Fine Gentleman and Father of Storm Observing |date = 2006-03-15 |url = http://stormeyes.org/wp/2006/03/david-hoadley-fine-gentleman-and-father-of-storm-observing/ |accessdate = 2012-02-27}}{{cite web |last = Rhoden |first = Gene |title = Tribute to David Hoadley and "a mere cottonwood seed" |date = 2006-03-13 |url = http://weatherpix.com/OllaPod/?p=5 |accessdate = 2012-02-27 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110902022538/http://weatherpix.com/OllaPod/?p=5 |archive-date = 2011-09-02 |url-status = dead}}

• Neil Ward
• Roger Jensen

{{reflist|2}}

• {{cite web |last = Edwards |first = Roger |author-link= Roger Edwards (meteorologist) |author2=Tim Vasquez |title = Who were the first storm chasers? |work = The Online Storm Chasing FAQ |publisher = Storm Track |date = 2002-08-13 |url = http://www.stormtrack.org/library/faq/#pioneers1 |accessdate = 2012-02-27}}
• [https://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2015/04/08/david-hoadley-first-storm-chaser-tornadoes/25413937/ First storm chaser still roams Tornado Alley] (USA Today)
• "Storm Chaser David Hoadley Interview 2013" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60UWMPzlP5I Part 1] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F-g31mshI8 Part 2] by Roy Britt
• {{IMDb name|id=2594191}}

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Category:1938 births

Category:Living people

Category:Date of birth missing (living people)

Category:American photographers

Category:Storm chasers

Category:Indiana University Bloomington alumni

Category:University of Virginia alumni

Category:People from Bismarck, North Dakota

Category:United States Army officers

Category:People of the United States Environmental Protection Agency