Matthew Racila

Northern Illinois Based Storm Chaser
22

[Matthew Racila @MatthewRacila]

POV I corner you at a party to show you my favorite tornado photo

[Matthew Racila @MatthewRacila]

I hate the fact that I missed this tornado

[Jason Weingart @twisterhunters]

360 orbital intercept of the Effingham, Illinois EF3 tornado on June 17, 2026

[Matthew Racila @MatthewRacila]

@wxcamryn @MillerLite I’m still waiting for my Busch light sponsorship

[Matthew Racila @MatthewRacila]

How I look at my bro when he directed me to the wrong Springfield (there’s too fucking many of them)

[Isaiah Montgomery @GumryWX]

Date idea:
You watch me drink 10 dollaritas from the local Applebees and I explain why base velocity is better than storm relative

[Aiden Watts @AWChasing]

Am I doing this storm chasing thing correctly? @MatthewRacila @a_dose_of_wx

[Matthew Racila @MatthewRacila]

Date idea:

You watch me drink a 30 rack of Busch light and start listing fun facts about the 2013 El Reno EF3

[Matthew Racila @MatthewRacila]

@a_dose_of_wx I only live in spite

[Jakob McMillin @McMillinWx]

Top Ten Tornadoes I’ve personally chased

1. Bridge Creek, OK - 1999
2. Pilger, NE - 2014
3. Wellfleet, NE - 2025
4. Gary, SD - 2025
5. Xenia, OH - 1974
6. Midway, IN - 1965
7. Hawley, TX - 2024
8. Hardtner, KS - 1929
9. Tri State Tornado - 1925
10. Garnett, KS - 1884

[Matthew Racila @MatthewRacila]

Aligned with the panhandle is crazy

[Max Velocity @MaxVelocityWX]

CAN WE STOP?!?!?!?!

[Matthew Racila @MatthewRacila]

How I look at my buddy after I get us stuck in the mud with an EF3 coming straight towards us

[Matthew Racila @MatthewRacila]

@WickyDubs2 YES

[Matthew Racila @MatthewRacila]

You shitpost to get popular. I shitpost to try to get into an exclusive groupchat. We are not the same.

[maybe: k*rk @a_dose_of_wx]

the herd rests while the lion hunts

[Matthew Racila @MatthewRacila]

@a_dose_of_wx I spent my bi weekly paycheck on things for storm chasing so what does that even make me

[John White @WhiteWeather_]

The year is 2067, You are on your first day driving for Team Dominator.

You rapidly approach a 250mph EF5 wedge with Dominator 34 getting ready to intercept.

You begin to doubt your prior training and look over to ask Reed Timmer for his guidance.

Reed Timmer (now 87 years old) unbluckes his seatbelt, looks to you, and says, "You know what to do, never stop chasing."

Reed then jumps out of the car into the outer circulation of the tornado and is immediately lofted 40kft, never to be seen again.

Tears form in your eyes as you then perform a perfect intercept in Reed's honor. You have succeeded.

[Matthew Racila @MatthewRacila]

Thanks for the photo! Do you by any chance have any photo of the strike touching the ground?

[maybe: k*rk @a_dose_of_wx]

NWS could not confirm ground contact so these were both rated cloud to cloud

[The King @JimKingWX]

Some MF in Wisconsin is having a terrible day

[Matthew Racila @MatthewRacila]

I wish people reacted this way when they saw me

[James Pettus @PettusWX]

WOW

[T☈EY FULB☈IGHT @TreyTwister_WX]

My Top 3 Tors :

#3-Galatia, KS—5/26/21. My first wedge + incredible structure later in the evening.

#2-Greenfield, IA—5/21/24. The most violent I’ve chased, but low LCLs and haze made it less photogenic.

#1-Minden to Manilla, IA—Long track, photogenic, violent tornado.

[Matthew Racila @MatthewRacila]

@a_dose_of_wx @_BoltHunter Affirmative, just bought said bolt hunter

[Matthew Racila @MatthewRacila]

To all my lightning photographers out there, is this worth the investment?