Freddy McKinney
An editor has nominated this article for deletion. You are welcome to participate in the deletion discussion, which will decide whether or not to retain it. |
Freddy McKinney | |
|---|---|
 McKinney's photo of a supercell near Waco, Nebraska in August 2018 | |
| Born | 2001 or 2002 (age 21–22) |
| Known for | Storm chasing |
Freddy McKinney (born 2001 or 2002) is an American storm chaser. After becoming interested in weather at a young age, McKinney first began chasing with his father, who was also a storm chaser. He also chased storms alongside WOWT, and several notable tornadoes in 2023. McKinney also streams and posts storm chasing content on social media, including on YouTube.
Life and career[edit]
McKinney was born in Rising City, Nebraska.[1] He became interested in weather at age 4, but also developed a fear of thunderstorms a year later, at five years old.[2] After experiencing with radar equipment and studying with meteorology literature, McKinney began storm chasing with his father, John, who was himself a storm chaser as well.[1]
In 2019, McKinney chased a supercell near Imperial, Nebraska, describing it as "the most amazing storm I have ever seen", with other storm chasers naming it the "Imperial mothership" due to the structure of the storm.[3][4] He notably chased storms with WOWT in 2021[2] and several tornadoes, including an EF4 tornado which struck Rolling Fork, Mississippi in March 2023 and an EF3 tornado which struck Perryton, Texas nearly three months after the Rolling Fork tornado, the latter event of which he captured with his father.[5][6] On May 2, 2024, while chasing an EF3[7] tornado near Hawley, Texas, McKinney rescued an injured family and their dog from a demolished house and rushed them to a hospital, where they were hospitalized with various injuries.[8][9][10] McKinney received widespread media coverage following the event, and wrote, "Thank god they survived that tornado" on Twitter.[11][12]
McKinney streams and posts storm chasing content on TikTok and YouTube, the latter platform of which he has 112,000 subscribers on as of May 2, 2024.[9][13]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Dykstra, Tanner (July 7, 2023). "A changing profession: Social media's impact on storm chasing". Nebraska Public Media. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ a b Ostarly, Clay (April 10, 2021). "WOWT partners with local storm chasers". WOWT. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ "'Mothership' supercell rips through US in volatile tornado season". The New Zealand Herald. May 29, 2019. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Livingston, Ian (May 30, 2019). "Pancake-stacked supercell in Nebraska stuns storm chasers and scientists alike". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
- ^ Latino, Russ; Ulmer, Sarah (March 25, 2024). "Mississippi Tornado Carves 100-Mile Path of Destruction, At Least 25 Dead". Magnolia Tribune. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ "Father and Son capture Deadly Tornado as it rips through Perryton TX". Severe Studios. June 19, 2023. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Garner, Erica (May 7, 2024). "UPDATE: Hawley tornado that injured family of 4 classified as "high-end" EF-3, wind speeds of 165MPH". KTAB-TV. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
- ^ Adams, Abigail (May 3, 2024). "Storm Chaser Rescues Texas Family After Tornado Destroys Home — and It Was All Caught on Livestream". People. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ a b Garner, Erica (May 3, 2024). "'Oh my gosh. There's people': Storm chaser rescues family live on YouTube during Hawley tornado". KTAB-TV. Archived from the original on May 4, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Logan, Buddy (May 8, 2024). "Storm Chaser Rescues Texas Family After Their Home Is Hit by a Tornado, GoFundMe Now Live". KNUE. Archived from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
- ^ Vandergriff, Caroline (May 3, 2024). "Storm chaser saves Texas family of 4 after tornado destroys home". CBS Texas. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Edwards, Joe (May 3, 2024). "Dramatic tornado video shows storm chaser saving Texas family". Newsweek. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Yan, Renee (May 5, 2024). "Storm chaser rescues Texas family from tornado while streaming on YouTube". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.