Martin Lisius

Martin Lisius, "The Storm Whisperer," began tracking storms in the mid-1980's. He is a cinematographer, producer, director and founder of Prairie Pictures and StormStock, a 25-year old stock footage brand specializing in weather. In addition, Martin founded and chairs the Texas Severe Storms Association (TESSA), a national non-profit dedicated to severe weather education and mitigation, and host to the National Storm Conference. Martin produced several television programs relating to severe weather including "Chasing the Wind" (1991) and "The Chasers of Tornado Alley" (1995). He co-produced “StormWatch” for the National Weather Service, which employs it nationwide as their official storm spotter training video. Martin worked as a technical advisor on the 1996 Warner Bros. blockbuster movie "Twister" and appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show with the cast and crew. In 1998, he photographed the first-ever violent class tornado on 35 mm motion picture film at Spencer, South Dakota. In 1999, Martin teamed with Chevy Trucks to help create their "Storm Chaser" commercial for S-10 pickups. In 2018, he became the first to produce a project entirely on 16K video, a short film titled, “Prairie Wind.” He is a University of Texas at Arlington Department of Communication distinguished alumni and the author of "The Ultimate Severe Weather Safety Guide," a book he wrote to mitigate the risks of dangerous weather.