Real-Life Twister Chasers Go Viral with Livestreams of Dangerous Weather, Then Help Survivors Rebuild (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Ryan Hall donating $15,000 on representative from the Rolling Fork, Miss., animal shelter after an EF-4 twister ravaged the area in March 2023.Photo:Chandra Thacker/Y’all Squad

Chandra Thacker/Y’all Squad

Ryan Hall did not anticipate being a “YouTube Weatherman” when he first started creating content online, but now he is putting his lifelong fascination with weather to good use.

One year ago, Ryan started hisY’all Squadnonprofit, leading a group of storm chasers who track down twisters and other severe weather, while also giving back to the impacted communities.

The 30 year old broadcasts from his headquarters in Kentucky while contracted chasers pursue the storm on the ground. HisYouTube livestreamsregularly reach millions of viewers, emphasizing safety first and encouraging people to donate whatever they can to help victims rebuild.

“We kind of realized it would be the responsible thing to do,” he tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue.

Ryan Hall, storm chaser and founder of Y’all Squad.Chandra Thacker/Y’all Squad

In 2020, he began covering weather online. One of the first major tornadoes he tracked was the EF-4 twister that hit western Kentucky, most notably the town of Mayfield, in December 2021. The stream attracted 10,000 viewers.

“It was that event that really kind of made it apparent to me that what we were doing here is important, and we could help a lot of people,” Ryan tells PEOPLE.

For more on Hall’s story, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere.

After the Mayfield tornado, viewership spiked. Now, their tornado coverage draws at least 40,000 viewers at a time.

Chris Hall, and member of The Y’all Squad, photographed an EF-3 torndao that tore through Minden, Iowa on April 29, 2024.Chris Hall/Y’all Squad

Chris Hall/Y’all Squad

Currently the Y’all Squad collects between $30,000 and $50,000 in donations for each disaster, which goes to purchasing items lost in the storms as well as food and supplies for local shelters.

The organization even helped replenish Christmas gifts after a twister devastated a Tennessee community in December 2023. “Whatever it seems like would be the best thing to do with $50,000, we just do that,” Ryan says.

In March 2023, the Y’all Squad helped raise more than $100,000 after amonstrous EF-4 tornadobarreled through the Rolling Fork and Silver City areas of Mississippi.

Chris Hall (no relation to Ryan), another member of the Y’all Squad, said the group helped deliver more than 20,000 meals to residents in the affected area in the week following the twister. They also gave out thousands of dollars’ worth of much-needed supplies.

Thousands of people have written letters and messages expressing gratitude to the Y’all Squad. One family told Ryan they wouldn’t have known about an approaching tornado had they not seen his live stream.

A family of 12 had a similar experience in May when a tornado ripped through Columbia, Tenn. “I’m super honored that people are trusting us,” Ryan tells PEOPLE.

Chandra Thacker, left, and Caleb Beacham, right, deliver $30,000 in toys and supplies for tornado victims in Tennessee in December 2023.Chandra Thacker/Y’all Squad

Now, Ryan is eager to see what the future has in store for his team, and he hopes to keep building on their recent growth.

He adds, “We’re trying our best to take it to the next level."

source: people.com