We are so much more than a storm chasing tour.
The StormLab Collective is a field workshop developed in partnership between Girls Who Chase, creators of the flagship storm chasing training Spring Training – and Tornado Titans, creators of the massive library of accessible, bite-sized storm chasing and forecasting resources known as Titan U. We have worked hard to make severe weather accessible and understandable through education, because we believe weather is for everyone.
StormLab is designed to build skill sets (or apply those you’ve gained from our educational resources) that will prepare you to successfully storm chase on your own. This includes the obvious capabilities like forecasting and positioning – but also the practice of removing those self-limiting stories that prevented you from starting in the first place.
What is a StormLab Collective?
You should join us for StormLab Collective 2026…
…If you’re ready to apply your classroom learning in a safe, welcoming environment with others who share a collective passion.
…If you feel you need “just a little more time” with experts in the field before taking the leap on your own.
…If you want to experience and/or photograph severe weather and want a safe, comfortable means to get close to storms with trained experts.
“If you keep living with confidence, the rest of your life will unfold exactly as it is meant to. It won’t always be comfortable. Some will recognize your brave; others won’t. Some will understand and like you; others won’t. But the way others respond to your confidence is not your business. Your business is to stay loyal to you…To be brave is to forsake all others to be true to yourself.”
– Glennon Doyle, Untamed
About the workshop
StormLab Collective 2026 will take place from June 14-19, departing out of Denver, Colorado. The week will begin at 6pm on June 14 (more specifics provided in the logistics, below) with introductions and orientation, followed by dinner. We will depart (likely early) on June 15 for our first chase target location, following weather systems across the Plains until we return workshop guests to the same meeting location (possibly late) on June 19, with guests departing on June 20.
StormLab is accepting five guests in 2026, with two designated educational leads plus a driver (who is also an educator). The small group size allows us to maintain a more personal environment and to travel together in one van, so that we may continue a conversation or lesson in transit. The van can accommodate up to 12 people, so guests will have extra room to spread out and will always have a window seat.
As with all Girls Who Chase and Tornado Titans educational programs, safety will be infused throughout all decision making and is our top priority. StormLab is fully insured and all staff are storm chasing veterans with a collective 40+ years of time in the field. We will always aim to locate within an appropriate distance of storms that will allow us to enjoy their various phases and, whenever possible, to give guests a chance to photograph them. If you are looking for a tour that will get you right next to a tornado or into large hail… we aren’t it (but we are happy to recommend a few great ones!).
What you walk away with
You will leave StormLab with a thorough understanding of (1) how to forecast severe weather (in advance and in real time); (2) the process of executing a chase safely and successfully, including positioning decisions, road network and escape route strategy, and (3) tips and tricks on how to best collect the type of content you’re interested in, including photos and video.
Topics covered:
- The process and tools used to forecast thunderstorms and supercells days in advance, such as forecast models and their various pros and cons
- The process and tools used to target severe weather the day of a chase, such as satellite and mesoanalysis
- The process and tools used for real-time chasing, including radar and mesoanalysis
- Using storm structure to identify features of a rotating thunderstorm and position based on storm behavior
- Chase positioning and strategy, including assessing road networks and making safe travel decisions
- Chasing safety and etiquette
- Content creation tips and tricks, including photography and video
- Uncovering self-limiting stories and aligning with the self through storm chasing
What it includes
- Lodging for five nights (June 15th through the 19th – it does NOT include the 14th) and daily transportation to and from your hotel. On June 14, we recommend choosing a hotel at or nearby our meeting location for orientation and dinner: Hilton Garden Inn Denver Airport, 16475 E 40th Cir, Aurora, CO 80011.
- Transportation on each chase day in a comfortable vehicle equipped with Starlink WiFi and plenty of power outlets
- Three experienced guides
- Daily lessons (hopefully as many hands-on as possible!), morning forecast briefings, visits to weather-related entities and people as our location and time allows, and structured personal work time to complete all angles of the StormLab experience
- Free access to GWC’s Spring Trainings in advance of our departure
- Hands-on photography and videography instruction
- A wonderful adventure!
What it doesn’t include
- Meals and incidentals
- Transportation to and from our meeting/departure location in Denver, Colorado, on the 14th: the Hilton Garden Inn Denver Airport, 16475 E 40th Cir, Aurora, CO 80011
- Your hotel night on June 14th. We recommend choosing a hotel at or nearby our meeting location so you can easily get to orientation and dinner.
- Apps and subscriptions to weather-related tools and services
- Camera and video equipment, lenses, and post-processing software
Meet Your Guides
Raychel Sanner
Raychel is an award-winning storm chaser, filmmaker, and photographer with nearly a quarter century of experience in the field. She is the co-founder of Tornado Titans, a severe weather education brand that has grown to nearly two million followers across platforms — reaching millions of people with cinematic storm footage, meteorological breakdowns, and a simple belief that weather education belongs to everyone.
Since 2009, Raychel has been chasing and documenting some of the most significant severe weather events across the Great Plains and beyond. Her storm photography and filmmaking have earned wide recognition, including an Emmy Award, with work that captures the raw power of the atmosphere through a photographer’s eye for dramatic light and landscape.
Raychel will bring that same expertise directly to you via StormLab — reading the atmosphere in real time, explaining what you’re seeing as it unfolds, and getting you as close to the storm as safely as possible. Whether you’re a weather enthusiast or a first-time chaser, you’re in experienced hands.
Jen Walton
Jen is a storm and volcano chaser, photographer, science communicator and educator, and the founder of Girls Who Chase.
In 2018, she decided to pursue that itch for severe weather and bought a seat on a storm chasing tour – and was hooked. Shortly after, Jen saw her first tornado chasing on her own in Colorado. Empowered by these experiences and armed with just enough basics to be dangerous (pun intended), Jen taught herself to forecast and chase on her own. Her process of self-discovery – from finally allowing herself to pursue a passion; to gathering, synthesizing and processing educational resources to learn to chase; to recognizing the immense empowerment that comes from doing the work and realizing a dream – became the basis for the Girls Who Chase initiative, GWC’s Spring Training storm chasing education events, and now the StormLab Collective. She’ll oversee the full StormLab experience for guests, including educating on various chasing elements and leading structured opportunities for personal growth work.
Jen’s work has been featured on/in the Discovery Channel, The Today Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Washington Post, and more. She joined the Doppler on Wheels (DOW) team in 2024 and has participated in multiple NSF-funded research projects with the team, including the BEST tornado research project (where she deployed a pod in front of the record-breaking 2024 EF4 Greenfield tornado) and the ICECHIP hail study in 2025. Jen holds a B.A. in Environmental Communication and an M.S. in Technical Journalism & Communication, and spent the first 17 years of her career working with scientists, engineers, urban planners and other technical experts to craft communication strategies for effective climate change and science communication.
Anastasia Tomanek
Anastasia has always been fascinated with weather and began storm chasing in 2015 after chronically watching chaser live streams for years. She is currently a graduate research student in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University. Her current work focuses on extreme precipitation verification, with an additional interest in boundary layer kinematics of severe storm environments. She also participates as a member of the Doppler on Wheels (DOW) team, which recently completed the U.S. hail-focused NSF-funded ICECHIP field project.
Interdisciplinary science education is one of Anastasia’s strengths both by education and experience. Anastasia obtained a B.M.E. in Vocal Music Education from Millikin University, and taught music for five years, then returned to school to obtain a B.S. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science from University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). Anastasia brings her storm chasing and education expertise to bear for StormLab, where she’ll provide education on various chasing elements and meteorology more broadly.
Anastasia serves on the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Board on Representation, Accessibility, Inclusion, and Diversity Women’s Committee, AMS Scientific and Technological Activities Commission Committee on Radar Meteorology, and the CSU CIRA/ATS Mentoring Program team. She is the 2023-24 recipient of the AMS Women in Science Scholarship.
Registration
2026 StormLab Collective logistics
StormLab Collective 2026 will take place from June 14-19, departing out of Denver, Colorado. The week will begin at 6pm on June 14 at the Hilton Garden Inn Denver Airport, 16475 E 40th Cir, Aurora, CO 80011 (meet in hotel lobby) with introductions and orientation, followed by dinner at a nearby restaurant. We will depart (likely early) on June 15 from the Hilton Garden Inn for our first chase target location, following weather systems across the Plains until we return to the same hotel (possibly late) on June 19, with guests departing on June 20.
Please read the information below thoroughly before registering.
Base city and hotel: Denver, Colorado – at Hilton Garden Inn Denver Airport, 16475 E 40th Cir, Aurora, CO 80011.
Rate per person: $3000 ($500 deposit upon registration to hold a seat; guest must be paid in full by May 1, 2026 to retain the seat).
Registration and payment information:
- Payment options: We accept credit/debit, bank transfer or physical check. Credit/debit processing is completed via Stripe; please note there is an associated processing fee. Any discounts (when applicable) will be applied to the final payment and not the deposit amount. If you choose to pay by bank transfer or physical check, please submit the rest of the form, then email us at girlswhochase[at]gmail.com to let us know how you would like to pay. Per our Refunds and Restrictions Policy, we will hold your seat for seven days to allow time for you to successfully submit a payment. This applies to both deposits and payments in full.
- Discounts: We offer shared room discounts ($250 off per registration) for those that would like to share a hotel room for the duration of StormLab 2026. In order to access this discount, when you complete your check out process you can either register yourself with plans to share a room (and please indicate with whom so we can pair you in our system), or register two guests at once. If the individual with whom you plan to share a room does not register or cancels their attendance, you will be expected to pay the full registration amount.
- Refund policy: All deposits are non-refundable, and some payments in full may be non-refundable depending on timing. We ask that you carefully review our Refunds and Restrictions Policy prior to completing registration. Your registration indicates your agreement to this policy.
- We accept deposits to hold your seat through May 1, 2026. Guests purchasing a seat after that time must purchase in full.
- Age limit: Our age limit is 16 and up with a legal guardian and 18 and up traveling alone. Guests traveling with a minor must sign a Minor Participant Release form that will be provided electronically after registering.
Schedule:
- Arrival: June 14th by 6pm MT at the Hilton Garden Inn Denver Airport, 16475 E 40th Cir, Aurora, CO 80011. There are several hotels within walking distance if you prefer to stay elsewhere; the night of June 14 is not included in the workshop rate. Please note that hotels in this area charge for parking due to their proximity to the airport, and multiple break-ins have been reported in this area so if you are driving we do recommend planning to park your car elsewhere for the week. We recommend aiming to arrive by 3pm on the 14th at the latest to ensure flight complications don’t impact your arrival time or our departure time the following day.
- Orientation/dinner: We will meet at 6pm MT in the lobby of the Hilton Garden Inn Denver Airport, 16475 E 40th Cir, Aurora, CO 80011, for orientation. Once orientation is complete, we will walk to a nearby restaurant to eat together (optional).
- Chasing starts: June 15th; departure time will be announced during orientation on the 14th (daily departure times will be communicated to all guests the night prior)
- Last chase day: June 19th, time dependent on location where chase concludes
- Drop off location: No matter where we stay on June 19, we will make sure everyone is dropped off at the same hotel from which we departed (Hilton Garden Inn Denver Airport) in plenty of time to catch flights, rides, etc. on June 20. This means we may return to the same hotel for the night of June 19, or will be somewhere nearby.
Lodging while we’re out: We know… Plains hotels can get a little sketchy. We won’t be staying at the sketchy ones (frankly, we’re too old for that). We will stay at reputable chains (think Holiday Inn Express, Fairfield Inn, and similar levels of hotel chains) that meet regular cleanliness standards. It may mean we sometimes have to drive a little further, but we will do what is needed to make sure our stays are clean and comfortable.
QUESTIONS OR WANT TO DISCUSS? Please email us at girlswhochase[gmail].com and we will respond with next steps!