Timothy Patrick Marshall (born October 17, 1956) is an American

structural A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

and forensic engineer as well as a

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists ...

, concentrating on damage analysis, particularly that from

wind Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...

hail Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailsto ...

, and other weather phenomena. He is also a pioneering storm chaser and was editor of ''

Storm Track ''Storm Track'' was the first magazine for and about storm chasing. The magazine was in circulation between 1977 and 2002. History and profile ''Storm Track'' was started in 1977 by chasing pioneer David K. Hoadley, David Hoadley following an ...

'' magazine.

Early life and education

Marshall was born to Charles and Catherine Marshall in Evergreen Park near

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, in 1956 and raised in Oak Lawn, then in Oak Brook. Oak Lawn was heavily damaged during the historic 1967 Oak Lawn tornado outbreak of April 21, 1967, when he was 10 years old. The F4 "Oak Lawn tornado" touched down about west of his home and killed 33 in town, including some of his classmates. This experience served to strengthen his interest in meteorology, and he focused his studies on

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

es. Marshall attended

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

(NIU) in DeKalb, attaining a B.S. degree in

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

with a concentration in

meteorology Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...

in 1978. As an undergraduate student there, he and classmates surveyed some tornado damage paths of the

1974 Super Outbreak The 1974 Super Outbreak was one of the most intense tornado outbreaks on record, occurring on April 3–4, 1974, across much of the United States. It was one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. It was also the most violent t ...

during an informal trip to the

National Climatic Data Center The United States National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), previously known as the National Weather Records Center (NWRC), in Asheville, North Carolina, was the world's largest active archive of weather data. In 2015, the NCDC merged with two other ...

(NCDC) to collect severe weather data. Later, he and fellow students visited the

National Severe Storms Forecast Center The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is a US government agency that is part of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), operating under the control of the National Weather Service (NWS), which in turn is part of the National Oceani ...

(NSSFC) and obtained a large collection of materials the library was dumping, which formed the basis of his own library. Marshall went to Texas for graduate school, seeing his first tornado a few hours after entering the state. In 1978, he began storm chasing in west Texas and Oklahoma. He participated in field research and damage surveys. In 1980, he earned a M.S. degree majoring in

atmospheric sciences Atmospheric science is the study of the Earth's atmosphere and its various inner-working physical processes. Meteorology includes atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics with a major focus on weather forecasting. Climatology is the study ...

from

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

with the thesis
Topographic Influences on Amarillo Radar Echo Climatology
', then went on to earn an M.S. degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

from the same university. At Texas Tech, he worked part-time at the Institute for Disaster Research where he began surveying tornado and hurricane damage. His first official tornado damage survey was in Grand Island, Nebraska, in 1980 and his first hurricane damage survey was

Hurricane Allen Hurricane Allen was the strongest Atlantic hurricane by wind speed on record. An extremely powerful tropical cyclone, Allen affected the Caribbean, eastern and northern Mexico, and South Texas in August 1980. The second tropical depression, fi ...

in south Texas later that year. His thesis was titled
The Utilization of Load and Resistance Statistics in a Wind Speed Assessment
'.

Career

In 1983, Marshall was hired by the leading Texas firm Haag Engineering and eventually became Senior Engineer and Meteorologist. At Haag, he travels a great deal surveying storm damage across the United States. He has conducted more than 100 damage surveys of hailstorms, tornadoes, and

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

s. Some of the famous tornadoes he surveyed include the F5s at Jarrell, Texas (1997), Bridge Creek, Oklahoma (1999), Greensburg, Kansas (2007), Alabama (2011), Joplin, Missouri (2011), and Moore, Oklahoma (2013). Some of the famous hurricanes he has surveyed include Alicia in Texas (1983), Hugo in South Carolina (1989),

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

in Florida (1992),

Opal Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silicon dioxide, silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3% to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6% and 10%. Due to the amorphous (chemical) physical structure, it is classified as a ...

in Florida (1995), Katrina in Mississippi (2005), and Ike in Texas (2008). He became a

Professional Engineer A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

in 1989. Marshall still finds time to pursue his hobby storm chasing. During the past 30 years, he filmed more than 200 tornadoes and experienced 17 hurricanes. In 2004, he rode out

Hurricane Ivan Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, and devastating tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane, and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic h ...

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

and, in 2005, he rode out

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

Slidell, Louisiana Slidell is a city on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 28,781 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the sixteenth-most ...

. In 2008, he rode out

Hurricane Ike Hurricane Ike () was a powerful tropical cyclone that swept through portions of the Greater Antilles and Northern America in September 2008, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and agriculture, particularly in Cuba and Texas. Ike took a sim ...

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

. Marshall appeared on dozens of television programs including those on

The Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It initi ...

The Learning Channel TLC is an American multinational cable television, cable and satellite television, satellite television network owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks, Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established in 1980 as The Learn ...

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...

The History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the General Entertainment Content division of The Wa ...

, and

The Weather Channel The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel ...

. He was a guest on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

'' twice and appeared multiple times on ''

NOVA A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...

''. He has also been a radio guest, such as on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, and has been featured in magazines such as ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

'' and ''

Weatherwise ''Weatherwise'' is a magazine founded in 1947 by American historian, meteorologist, and author David M. Ludlum. It covers weather and climate for weather enthusiasts as well as meteorologists and climatologists and is the only popular press p ...

'', to the latter of which he has contributed some articles. He also has published tornado related articles in the ''

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society Bulletin or The Bulletin may refer to: Periodicals (newspapers, magazines, journals) * ''Bulletin'' (online newspaper), a Swedish online newspaper * ''The Bulletin'' (Australian periodical), an Australian magazine (1880–2008) ** Bulletin De ...

'' and ''

Weather and Forecasting ''Weather and Forecasting'' is a scientific journal published by the American Meteorological Society. Articles on forecasting and analysis techniques, forecast verification studies, and case studies useful to forecasters. In addition, submissio ...

''. Marshall was selected by the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...

(NOAA) to serve on their Quick Response Team (QRT) where he has surveyed tornado damage in Alabama and Georgia in 1994,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

in 1998,

La Plata, Maryland La Plata ( ) is a town in Charles County, Maryland, Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 10,159 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Charles County. History According to an unconfirmed loc ...

in 2002,

Parkersburg, Iowa Parkersburg is a city in Butler County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,015 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase from 1,870 in the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. Parkersburg, although not the county seat, ...

in 2008, the

2011 Super Outbreak The 2011 Super Outbreak was the largest, costliest, and one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks ever recorded, taking place in the Southern, Midwestern, and Northeastern United States from April 25 to 28, 2011, leaving catastrophic destruc ...

, the

2011 Joplin tornado The Joplin tornado, also referred to as simply the Joplin EF5, was a large, deadly and devastating Enhanced Fujita scale, EF5 tornado that struck the city of Joplin, Missouri, United States during the evening hours of Sunday, May 22, 2011, causi ...

, and the 2015 Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex tornadoes. He was on the development team of th
Fujita Scale Enhancement Project
which produced an

Enhanced Fujita Scale The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated EF-Scale) is a scale that rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage a tornado causes. It is used in the United States and France, among other countries. The EF scale is also unofficially ...

to update the original

Fujita scale The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is determ ...

of tornado intensity. He was also a major contributor to the committee to update the

Saffir–Simpson scale The Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (SSHWS) is a tropical cyclone intensity scale that classifies hurricanes—which in the Western Hemisphere are tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical sto ...

. He has been a principal trainer in damage surveys for the

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

(NWS) since the 1990s. Between 2006 and 2012, he was elected to serve on the Severe Local Storms committee for the

American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is a scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. Its mission is to advance the atmosph ...

. In 2009 and 2010, he was part of the government sponsored

VORTEX2 The Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment (or VORTEX) are field experiments that study tornadoes. VORTEX1 was the first time scientists completely researched the entire evolution of a tornado with an array of instrumentat ...

experiment working on the Center of Severe Weather Research (CSWR) team with

Joshua Wurman Joshua Michael Aaron Ryder Wurman (born October 1, 1960) is an American atmospheric scientist and inventor noted for tornado, tropical cyclone, and weather radar research, the invention of Doppler On Wheels, DOW and bistatic radar multiple-Dopple ...

. In 2012 he continued working with CSWR on th
ROTATE
(Radar Observations of Tornadoes and Thunderstorms Project). His job was to deploy

in-situ is a Latin phrase meaning 'in place' or 'on site', derived from ' ('in') and ' ( ablative of ''situs'', ). The term typically refers to the examination or occurrence of a process within its original context, without relocation. The term is use ...

pods in the paths of tornadoes and perform mobile

mesonet In meteorology and climatology, a mesonet, portmanteau of mesoscale network, is a network of automated weather and, often also including environmental monitoring stations, designed to observe mesoscale meteorological phenomena and/or microclima ...

transects of storm environments.

Personal life

During his early years in Texas, Marshall was married to Kay, who he met at a concert. She is a

natural history museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

exhibit designer and an

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

. She sometimes accompanies him on storm chases. He learned and taught guitar as a youth and enjoys mountain climbing, snorkeling, and scuba diving.

Publications

Marshall has authored and coauthored numerous scientific publications in the realms of meteorology and civil engineering. In addition to editing and writing for ''

'' (1986–2002) and writing various articles for ''

'', he wrote the following booklets: * ''Storm Chase Manual'' (1979. 1983, 1986, 1998) * ''Storm Talk'' (1995) * ''Tornado Talk'' (1998) * ''Tornado Forecasters Workbook'' (1998) Marshall also released the following DVDs through ''Storm Track'': ''1991 Kansas Tornadoes'', ''1995 Wedgefest'', ''1998 Octoberfest'', ''1999 Oklahoma Tornado Outbreak'', ''2000 Millennium Chases'', ''2002 Chase Highlights'', ''2003 Chase Highlights'', 2004 Midwest Mayhem, ''2005 Spin Summer'', ''2007 Tornado Chases'', ''2008 Tornado and Hurricane Chases'', ''2009 Inside VORTEX 2'', ''2010 Tornado Chases'', and ''Tim Marshall's 25 Years of Tornado Chasing''.

References

External links