Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪

NWS Meteorologist, Storm Chaser, Firefighter, Foodie, EDM.
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Any views expressed here are my own.

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

#SongsIChaseTo includes some alternative and rap mixed in with my EDM.

One thing I like about Wiz is he experiments with many different sounds in his tracks, and they're not all exclusively the same tired old money/cars/sex...he sometimes tells stories, and occasionally includes elements of positivity and empowerment.

So here's the next song on the (now 250+ track) chase mix!

https://t.co/HfGIX5iCBs

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

Welp...the effort was valiant.

Stopped at 8 different @caseysgenstore in the last 24 hours, but none had @MountainDew Overdrive left on the fountain.

Guess my cup at the Wahoo, NE location last month will be my last ever.

End of an era. R.I.P. 🙏 😢

[Attn: @AdamLucioWX]

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

No cigar.

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

🎯 Watching the I-70 corridor in northeast Colorado and northwest Kansas today to see if a storm can initiate before I have to finish the drive home. 👀 #cowx #kswx

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

@jasonkellerpt Oh wow, that is close! I'll need to add it to the bucket list though and get back on the road soon.

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

Chillin' on a boundary. 😎

But seriously though...GAH it's so beautiful out here. Parked on a perch in the middle of nowhere, car shut off, 20 MPH winds hitting my face, just staring out at a great view across my beloved Plains. ❤️

#kswx #wxtwitter

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

🎯 Watching the I-70 corridor in northeast Colorado and northwest Kansas today to see if a storm can initiate before I have to finish the drive home. 👀 #cowx #kswx

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

And OMG the weather is amazing! Cloudy, cool, and breezy. Eating outside!

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

3rd new BBQ stop of the chase! Big Phatz BBQ in Garden City, KS. Flavors are SOLID. #kswx

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

@LukeZimWx The drama is exhausting on here.

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

Lots of great points here. Certainly doesn't mean the NWS is above scrutiny or folks can't ask questions, but we all should be working together more to best achieve public safety. #wxtwitter

[maybe: k*rk @a_dose_of_wx]

Some weather influencers will claim to support the National Weather Service or SPC while simultaneously building brands around the idea that they themselves can and will replace it.

Those positions are difficult to reconcile. Private weather communicators do complement the NWS and are fantastic at hyper localized real time coverage, but at this time are not a substitute for the public infrastructure, research, observations, and warning systems that make modern forecasting possible.

Supporting the NWS means recognizing that distinction without trying to get workers fired for over/under warning, I don’t think we will ever have the perspective of what’s it like sitting on issue warnings at that desk and I think there’s a place for all in this space.

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

Having a sit-down meal on a chase, ESPECIALLY at night, is such a rare blessing! Gotta take it when you can get it.

Found a local 24-hour diner in Wellington, KS! #kswx

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

@Intini_WX Well that's a big fat WOW!

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

@DanielShawAU I, too, bailed via my escape routes on 2 different storms yesterday. This was one of them.

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

Just caught golf ball size hail in Belle Plaine, KS! Sending measurements in to @NWSWichita. #kswx

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

Today's Chase: Playing with hail! Currently under a core near Viola, KS. #kswx

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

Well...frustrating chase today (as we knew it would be) primarily due to very fast storm motions. Got on multiple tornado-warned supercells, but had to bail on 2 of them via my escape routes to stay safe from circulations and hail cores, and others featured tornadoes that were heavily rain-wrapped. Visually caught 1 large tornado, 1 funnel cloud, some gorgeous structure, and in-progress wind damage. Very sadly, I am hearing there is major damage and injuries from several of these storms/tornadoes. 😞 #ilwx

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

CURRENT VIEW: Dangerous supercell thunderstorm rolling into Sullivan, IL. #ilwx #wxtwitter

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

Tornado Warning! #ilwx

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

🎯 Today's Target: Positioning south to Williamsville, IL to monitor mesoscale trends. Potentially a very dangerous day ahead for tornadoes, very large wind-driven hail, and damaging winds. If you live or will be traveling in the region, PLEASE make sure you are monitoring for warnings today and know where you will quickly take shelter if a severe thunderstorm or tornado approaches. #ilwx #inwx

(w/ @kctornadochaser, @CackalackyChasr, @Blackoutstormwx)

[Kevin Smith - Meteorologist / Storm Chaser 🌪 @KevinSmithWx]

What a fun chase yesterday! Tuesday, June 16th, 2026 took @CackalackyChasr and I eastward across central Indiana largely targeting a single supercell that developed a bit ahead of a main broken line of storms along an approaching cold front. We chased it across most of the state. It became the first tornado-warned cell of the day in the region near Walton, IN, which is when we captured this scene. 😱 This was one of the absolute coolest wall clouds I have ever intercepted at close range! Very low to the ground and constantly evolving with strong visual rotation, and we believe it came VERY close to producing a tornado a couple times before seemingly occluding up the back side of the storm and dissipating as a new wall cloud formed on the southwest side. We made multiple real-time reports to the National Weather Service around this time updating them on the storm. The same storm also went on to give us a funnel cloud, some more structure, and a brilliant rainbow. More photos yet to review! #inwx #wxtwitter @NWSIWX