Justin Noonan

Born and raised in Brisbane, Australia, I was fascinated but scared of storms as a child. A large flood on the farm I grew up on was the catalyst for my interest in severe weather.

 

In 2001, I ventured out for my first real storm chase. I am not going to lie; I had no idea of what I was looking at when I intercepted that thunderstorm. Over the years, I became obsessed with broadening my understanding of how the atmosphere works, and ever since, I have headed out every Spring and Summer across Queensland and New South Wales in search of severe weather. 

 

After many years of trying, I finally lived out a lifelong dream of going storm chasing in the USA in 2010. Seeing a tornado is the pinnacle of the "sport" of storm chasing, and I was lucky enough to witness a relatively pretty one in Last Chance, Colorado. While some would be satisfied having ticked this off their bucket list, storm chasing and the adrenaline you get from it is like a drug, and for me, once I saw one, I needed to see more. I have been back to chase in the USA 10 times since, and I am fortunate enough to be a tour guide for the storm-chasing tour company Silver Lining Tours, which is run and owned by the world-renowned storm-chaser Roger Hill and his wife, Caryn Hill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Being the adrenaline junkie I am, I love a good adventure, and I have also been lucky enough to head out on a couple of volcano chases, climbing Bali's Mt Agung and, of course, the infamous Kilauea volcano in Hawaii. I have recently returned from a trip to Vanuatu's Yasur Volcano, where I captured some stunning footage! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In March 2017, I ventured out for my first Tropical Cyclone chase with my good friend Andy Barber and our North Queensland counterparts, Oz Cyclone Chasers. We intercepted the eye and eyewall of Severe Category 4 Tropical Cyclone Debbie as it crossed the beautiful Airlie Beach region on the Whitsunday Coast.  We experienced wind gusts of over 220km/h for several hours. I also covered the flooding it produced in the lower regions of QLD, including destroying my mother's property. It has all culminated in an experience that I will never forget.

 

 

I cover these events for myself and the locals; I have also reported on a larger scale across Australia and the USA. Some of my interviews and reports have been seen on Channel 7's Sunrise, The Morning Show, The Daily Edition, Weekend Sunrise, and 7 News Brisbane; Channel 9's Today Extra and 9 News Brisbane; Channel 10's The Project, Totally Wild, and ABC. From 2020 to 2022, I was also the weather reported for 4BC radio in Brisbane and was known as the 'Weather Guru'.

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