Warren Faidley is an award-winning photojournalist and journalist who specializes in extreme earth sciences and natural disasters. He is recognized as the world’s first, full-time, professional photographer and cinematographer specializing in weather and natural disasters. For over 38 years, he has documented
some of the Nation's most violent storms and natural disasters — from tornadoes and hurricanes to wildfires, earthquakes, monsoon lightning and climate shifts.
His work is featured worldwide in magazines, motion pictures, and global media, making him an expert in storm chasing
and disaster journalism. Warren is a product influencer, pilot, author, lecturer, corporate spokesperson and ambassador. He pursues extreme events in a custom-designed
Ford Rager nicknamed the Storm Ranger.
Warren's extensive, worldwide media credits include: Discovery, Time/Life, Warner Brothers, The Weather Channel and National Geographic.
As an extreme weather photographer and cinematographer for the last 38 years, I have pursued some of the planet's most extreme weather. I have witnessed awe-inspiring beauty and moments of terrifying destruction. The not knowing what of what I will encounter on any given day is a driving force of my pursuits. Every day is like a treasure hunt.
Chasing tornadoes is often like a giant game of 3D chess played out over thousands of square miles. Being in the right place at the right time is a symphony of forecasting and navigation, while dodging everything from softball-sized hailstones to dust storms and slow-moving farm equipment.
(Near Attica, Kansas – May 29, 2004)
I quickly became bored as a newspaper journalist after I graduated from college in the late 1980s. One of my escapes was to shoot lightning in the desert Southwest during the monsoon. I began to formulate a plan to chase storms for a living.
In October of 1988, my lightning pursuits paid off big time after I captured a lightning bolt striking a light pole in an oil and gasoline tank farm in Tucson, AZ. The lightning strike (comprised of multiple branches) could have killed me. Instead, I captured one of the closest, high-quality lightning images ever. It was featured in Life Magazine in 1989, which billed me as a storm chaser. My career was launched.
As a newbie storm chaser, I quickly realized I would need to expand my photographic and business enterprises. On May 22, 1987, I decided to conduct my first tornado chase in Texas. As fate would intervene, I ended up in the small farming community of Saragosa. Before I arrived, a multiple-vortex, F4 tornado struck the community, killing 30 people, including children who were attending a graduation ceremony.
Even as a seasoned photojournalist, this was a heartbreaking event and would always remind me of the dark side of my pursuits.
There are very few images of Hurricane Andrew as it slammed into Coral Gables, FL in August of 1992. Andrew struck with Category 5 winds of 150 mph and gusts of
164 mph. I was one of the few photojournalists who remained along the coast when the storm hit. I paid the price by nearly breaking my arm when hit by a severe gust
of wind. I also bear small scars on the back of my hands from holding my camera against the high winds and flying glass. This image was used on the cover of Life Magazine.
In 1995, I was contacted by a Warner Bros. writer about a new motion picture project with a storm chasing theme. The main character was to be based on a chaser like myself. But in the complex world of motion pictures, Michael Crichton's book Twister was ultimately used as the basis for the film. I was, however, used as an initial technical consultant and, better yet, rewarded with the ultimate bragging rights: one of my tornado images was used for movie marketing, including the poster and digital packaging. The actual image was taken near Miami, Texas in May of 1994—after being pounded with hailstones—but well worth the welts.
Before video cameras could shoot quality footage, 35mm motion picture film cameras were a must-have during storm chasing expeditions. Although heavy and technically
unforgiving, the footage was spectacular. In 1996, I was able to capture the first-ever tornado shot on 35mm film footage near Attica, Kansas.
By the mid-1990s, I had become a full-time storm photographer and cinematographer. My newly formed company, Weatherstock Inc., was filling an untapped niche for weather-related stock images and footage. My clients included some of the largest commercial and editorial companies in the world. I was chasing year-round, covering all types of weather and natural disasters from coast to coast. The rest is history. The following images are the continuing results of my lifelong pursuit.
My favorite time to photograph lightning is right at dusk, when long exposures and sunset light can create stunning colors. I captured this image in July 1989 from "A" Mountain in Tucson, Arizona. It remains one of my favorite lightning shots. (Shot on Fuji 50, 6×4.5 format film)
I've equated tornado chasing to big game hunting—with cameras instead of guns. Sometimes you have to overcome the urge to flee an instinctive danger in favor of using your creative psyche to compose a good shot. It can be a challenge—especially when deciding to capture a great image or escape.
(Near Simla, Colorado – June 2015)
The Southwestern US monsoon offers a wide variety of severe weather images. Haboobs (dust storms) are one of my favorite subjects to shoot. They are created when strong outflows from thunderstorms merge and sweep up dust and small debris into the air. This massive cloud of dust brought zero visibility to areas along I-10 and I-8 near Casa Grande, Arizona.
Not all weather photography is violent or dangerous. I stumbled upon this stunning sunset on the way to meet my chase team for dinner in Amarillo.
Hurricanes seem to have a common goal whenever I show up to pester them—kill Warren. They are by far the most dangerous storms to pursue. Massive storm surges of over 15 feet, winds exceeding 160 mph, and flying debris make for a hazardous work zone. (Hurricane Ike, Galveston, Texas – 2008)
If only this storm-scarred structure in eastern Colorado could talk. It must have witnessed countless thunderstorms and tornadoes over the years. (Digitally colorized from original black and white)
Both of these close-up lightning strikes were unexpected. The image on the left captures a bolt hitting a tree on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson. The photo on the right was taken behind my home in Tucson. Lightning generates an incredible amount of energy. A single bolt can produce 5 billion joules—enough to power a household for about a month.
The harsh reality of chasing cannot be ignored at times. During my career, I have walked through countless disaster scenes. The smell of fractured pine wood, tilled earth, damp fabric, and diesel oil fills the air. When the rescuers depart, people turn to searching the piles of debris, seeking even the smallest token that might connect them to the past. It's often important that the storm doesn’t take everything. The Joplin, Missouri EF5 tornado was by far the most violent tornado I have ever encountered.
(May 2011)
Most storm photography is a constant search for color. The majority of stormscapes—from tornadoes to hurricanes—are gray and void of contrast. Occasionally, Mother Nature rewards the persistent photographer. I shot this image near Tucson, Arizona, in 1996. The sunset was so brilliant that the long exposure on film saturated the image with intense color, thanks in part to ash from the Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1991.
The difference between survival and disaster is often balanced on a razor's edge. Sometimes it's calculated luck; other times, experience has saved me. There is always an internal struggle between self-preservation and a burning obsession to witness even more. (Hurricane Irma, Miami, Florida – September 2017)
The Central Plains of the United States produce some of the most violent thunderstorms on Earth. The combination of storm systems moving in from the west and moisture traveling north from the Gulf of Mexico sets the stage for explosive weather. This storm was sculpted by extreme low-level wind shear. (Near Greensburg, Kansas – June 2009)
I don't usually shoot many snow scenes unless the background or subject matter can overcome the white. Heavy snow in the Sonoran Desert is rare, and I never miss a chance to contrast the desert flora with a dusting of snow. I captured this image in the foothills of Tucson, Arizona.
I often envision images that I would like to accomplish someday. But unlike other art forms where such visions can be transferred to canvas or stone, weather photography rarely
offers up the raw materials. I had seen only a few thunderheads explode like this, but I was always in the wrong place. This time I was lucky! (Tucson, Arizona - August 1996).
The Wizard of Oz was one of my favorite movies when I was young. I always found the tornado mesmerizing. I have no doubt the Oz twister is partially to blame for my obsession with tornadoes. Between May 12 and May 29, 2004, I intercepted more than 15 tornadoes in Kansas and Nebraska. I captured this Oz-like twister near Hastings, Nebraska, on May 29. It was so mesmerizing, I lost track of its motion and almost let it move over me.
I have covered many wildfires since I first started my photojournalism career. Nothing compares to the tragic fires I covered in Pacific Palisades, California, in January of 2025. The amount of loss I witnessed was historic and heartbreaking.
Storm clouds make for an ever-evolving canvas. Light is often filtered through trillions of water and ice crystals, creating every imaginable color.
Lightning photography requires three things to survive: a lack of metal on your body, a safe distance from the subject, and knowing when to leave. I was casually focused on the distant lightning hitting a faraway mountainside when an unexpected mega-bolt struck about half a mile away. (Tucson, Arizona)
Storm chasing has taken me to the doorstep of disaster and has often rewarded me with breathtaking scenes of unimaginable power and beauty.
The Cyclone Cowboy—storm chasing beyond the lens. Educational outreach, influencer, product promotions, media appearances, and keynote speaking events.
