Hello, I'm Shawn Hewitt.  I'm relatively new to storm chasing, but have a life-long interest in storms.

I was born on May 3, 1964, a day I am told was one of violent weather around my home town of Milaca, Minnesota.  Mom says the skies were black as night when they went to the hospital that afternoon.

Severe weather had an early impact on me.  In fact, my earliest recollection of TV was seeing the black and white radar screen with channel 4 weatherman Bud Kreighling talking about tornadoes.  All I remember from a young age is that storms were scary.

Fast forward many years.  Fears of storms had given way to intrigue about their nature.  I was always interested in watching storms as they approached me.  We had our share of them when we lived in Florida during my high school years.  My first tornado was a non-threatening lanky waterspout off the coast.

Being a person of many interests, I rationed my time to that which had the biggest payoffs.  Namely, a BA and MS in economics took a lot of my time, as did interest in other hobbies. 

Then in the early 1990s I met Cheryl.  My wife Cheryl and I have always shared a lot of the same interests, and we spend a lot of time together.  Weather is one where our interests diverge though.  That's ok, as she has her own interests as well.

The proliferation of the internet allowed me to research weather at my own pace.  My interest deepened as more information became available on-line.  In the late 1990s I collected storm videos and purchased a number of books about severe weather in order to learn more.  I was pleased to find such resources and learn about the science of severe storm forecasting.

It wasn't until 1999 when I actually went out in pursuit of a storm.  In 2001 I took time off of work for the first time to locate storms, and found my first big personal success when I tracked the Northfield tornado.  Work and family still require much of my time, so I save my silver bullets for those days with the most promise.

After our May 2003 chase to Kansas City, I feel more confident in my forecasting and model interpretation skills.  Not so much because we captured a big tornado, but in the experience of the chase I had a chance to have a lot of meaningful interaction with my peers who do know a lot about severe storms.  I seem to fit right in.

I look forward to meeting you out in the field.

Shawn Hewitt is a technical support manager in the Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.  He and his wife Cheryl are promoters of the Cambridge Antique Fair, a 325 dealer show held on the first weekend of August, at the Isanti County fairgrounds in Cambridge Minnesota.  He is a life member of the Society of Paper Money Collectors and is active in the hobby of collecting and researching notes issued by the banks of Minnesota.  Shawn and Cheryl have two children, Rachel and Ashley.  They are active members of New Life Church in Woodbury Minnesota.  Shawn and Cheryl are active card players, and are always up for a good round of Rook, Pinochle, Spades, 500, and more.  For our business activities, visit our web site at www.north-trek.com.