In July 2024, Arlington-based filmmaker Martin Lisius released a new documentary about storm chasers.
Martin Lisius: filmmaker and veteran storm chaser
Martin Lisius, a filmmaker and veteran storm chaser, founded StormStock in 1993, a company specializing in premium stock footage of weather and nature imagery. He has numerous credits on IMDB, and his content can be seen in hundreds of films, TV shows, documentaries, and commercials.
If you need something more intense than mere footage, he also founded the adventurous Tempest Tours—where a group of veteran storm chasers, meteorologists, and first responders take paying customers on a storm chase excursion. It’s not entirely for entertainment, though, as the team studies and tracks the storms during the outings as well.
He also wrote an eBook called “The Ultimate Severe Weather Safety Guide.” Lisius graduated from UTA in 1986 with a degree in Film/TV and is recognized as a Notable Alumni in their Department of Communication.
“The Chasers of Tornado Alley: Touching the Sky”
“The Chasers of Tornado Alley: Touching the Sky” was written, directed, and produced by Martin Lisius. It is currently rated 9.4/10 on IMDB, and has been screened at various events and festivals. It’s available to watch online through Vimeo and Amazon Prime Video.
Some of the festival honors
Photo Credit: The Chasers of Tornado Alley: Touching the Sky – Facebook page
According to the official synopsis, “filming for the production began in 2017 and took place primarily in Texas, but additional content was captured in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Iowa, Wyoming, and Oklahoma.” Going beyond tornado footage, although there’s plenty of that as well, the 48-minute documentary focuses on the storm chasers—why they chase, how they do it, and what it means to them. In addition to spectacular cinematography and incredible footage, the documentary contains insightful interviews and commentary. Lisius designed and built a 16K video camera system that he used for filming, although multiple formats were utilized in the final cut.
More festival honors
Photo Credit: The Chasers of Tornado Alley: Touching the Sky – Facebook page
One of my favorite shots in the documentary is a severe storm brewing over Cowboys Stadium, which can also be seen in the trailer. The sky looks downright menacing, and it’s a beautiful shot of Arlington. The documentary also contains footage of the May 2013 tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma—said to be the widest tornado ever recorded.
Check out Martin Lisius’ “The Chasers of Tornado Alley: Touching the Sky” and support local filmmakers!
Tornado Alley
The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is the largest metro area in Tornado Alley—an area roughly stretching from North Texas to South Dakota. DFW is an epicenter of severe weather warning systems and is home to a National Weather Service office in Fort Worth.
Tornadoes can happen anywhere at any time but are most common in Tornado Alley during late afternoons of spring and early summer. Texas has been hit by nearly 10,000 tornadoes, with over 100 in Tarrant County, since 1950. Warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico travels inland and meets cooler, dry air. Essentially, the air collides, causing unstable conditions; thunderstorms can develop and potentially spawn tornadoes.
As a lifelong resident of North Texas, I’ve always been mindful (and intrigued) by severe weather, especially tornadoes, and have watched many documentaries on the subject. The 1996 action/disaster movie Twister is a classic—I said what I said—and I’ve seen it many times. Fun fact: Martin Lisius was a technical advisor on Twister.
Blog post by Jason S. Sullivan, 11-02-24
Jason S. Sullivan 