 Severe weather has been a major interest of mine since I was a kid growing up in Wisconsin. My earliest memories date back to the spring and summer of 1986 when I saw dramatic shelf clouds on the western horizon making the afternoon sky pitch black. Even though I was only in 2nd grade at the time, I took an immediate interest in watching these storms. For someone like myself who enjoyed power in the forms of warbird aircraft, fast cars and trains...this topped them all. I soon became addicted to thunderstorms and studied as much as I could find regarding them in the local libraries (yes, this was before the Internet!). Years later the TVC videos were introduced only to be followed by the Web explosion. These two events only made me a bigger weather junkie and I soon felt compelled to take photos of every storm that passed within view. As the years passed, my frustration grew concerning the lack and frequency of quality storms in Wisconsin. It was painfully obvious...I'd have to begin chasing storms; but not until I could drive! Attending UWM not only allowed me to hook up with other chasers, but I could finally get out to the Great Plains and chase once a year for around a week or so at a time. My first true chase occurred oddly enough during a Wisconsin February in 1999. Before that time I had just been taking photos of storms close to home or occasionally driving out after them without much planning or preparation.
After graduating from UWM, I was commissioned through OTS and proudly served as a USAF Weather Officer both stateside and while deployed to Iraq. I gained some unique experience in weather analysis and forecasting in just four years, but realized early on I enjoyed that aspect more than most of the other non-weather duties involved. I'm currently a federal employee doing strictly what I enjoy most...weather! I continue to chase storms whenever I have the opportunity and I'll make sure I keep it that way!
I can be reached at:  If it's been more than a month and you still haven't received a reply, it's safe to assume I've either died or have abandoned modern technology for good. Frankly, I don't know which is worse! |
Name
Matt Ziebell
Education
BS Atmospheric
Sciences @ UWM
Occupation
Meteorologist
Interests
storm chasing,
studying and documenting unusual weather events, playing guitar (various styles), music (classic rock,
metal, electronica, new age, alternative, 80's pop),
photography, and thermal duration soaring
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