GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Storm Team 8 has secured an exclusive partnership with Michigan Storm Chasers for the upcoming severe weather season.

The Michigan-based group consists of five trained storm chasers that deploy any time severe weather forms in the state. The partnership will allow WOOD TV8 to stream storm chaser content as it unfolds live during severe weather events.

Michigan severe weather can strike fast, and most of the tornadoes that have formed in the last decade have been very short-lived. Michigan Storm Chasers prepares days in advance to be in place when storms form to have the best chance of seeing damage safely.

Even with the best technology, there is no match for a trained storm spotter’s verification on the ground. This partnership will allow the expert meteorologists in Storm Team 8’s Tracking Center to communicate with expert chasers on the ground.

“I am looking forward to bringing positive exposure to storm chasing and being able to work in the community that I grew up in for the better of everyone,” said Chandler Bos, vice president and business manager of Michigan Storm Chasers.

Safety is the focus of the partnership. Michigan Storm Chasers can have a direct line of communication to the Tracking Center for an extra set of eyes on the forming storms. In turn, deployed chasers can give immediate visual verification to our meteorologists in the Tracking Center so that Storm Team 8 can deliver you the most accurate updates on incoming weather.