Filmmaker and meteorologist Ken Cole teams up with world-famous storm chaser Reed Timmer (again) to explore the emotional reality of storm chasing in the documentary, Never Stop Chasing.
This time, they’re taking us along for the ride.
Synopsis: Haunted by the tragic death of his mentor, Tim Samaras, in the historic 2013 El Reno tornado, and the sudden loss of his best friend and long-time chase partner, Joel Taylor, Reed’s life on the edge takes a severe emotional toll. Driven by an unshakeable compulsion, he pushes his mind and body to the absolute limit in pursuit of the perfect storm.
Operating the custom-built, armored “Dominator 3,” Reed and his eclectic crew—Connor, Mike, Edgar, and “Local Man“—plunge directly into the impact zones of apocalyptic supercells. The film captures the duality of their extreme lifestyle: the euphoric highs of intercepting a tornado alongside an embedded New York Times reporter, and the terrifying lows of being overtaken by a massive wedge tornado inside their vehicle.
When the Dominator suffers a catastrophic engine failure, the team is forced to continue their pursuit in a vulnerable rental car. This fateful decision places them directly in the path of the devastating 2024 Greenfield tornado. Confronting the horrific human toll left in the storm’s wake, Reed and his team must reconcile the adrenaline of the chase with the profound destruction they witness. Ultimately, the renegade crew captures unprecedented visual data that forces the meteorological establishment to finally validate Reed’s methods, cementing a historic breakthrough in tornado science.
Check out our interview with Reed and Ken:
Reed Timmer is the most famous storm chaser in the world, currently commanding an audience of over 8.4 million followers across his social media platforms. Holding a Ph.D. in meteorology, he is known for his aggressive and controversial approach to tornado science, frequently driving his custom-built armored vehicle, Dominator 3, directly into tornadoes to collect data. The 2024 summer blockbuster Twisters and its charismatic lead, Tyler Owens (played by Glen Powell), were directly inspired by Reed’s maverick persona, with Powell’s famous catchphrase, “If you feel it, chase it,” originating from Reed’s own iconic motto, “Never Stop Chasing.” Reed rose to global fame starring in the Discovery Channel series Storm Chasers and returns to television this summer in the highly anticipated Discovery series In the Eye of the Storm: Chasers.
Ken Cole is a filmmaker whose work spans documentary, narrative, and experimental cinema. He made his PBS debut with Tornado Glory (2006) and served as the showrunner for the award-winning series Tornado Chasers (2013). A trained meteorologist and accomplished storm chaser, Ken brings firsthand knowledge of extreme weather to his films, blending scientific insight with human drama. He has chased alongside Reed Timmer for over two decades, giving him unprecedented access to the storm-chasing subculture and personally wrangling a massive 20-year archive of historical footage for the film. His work often explores resilience, curiosity, and the extraordinary in everyday life.
