Kory Hartman is SevereStudios' senior Severe Weather Specialist.
First of all, Kory's real name is Kelly Martinson... "Kory Hartman" was a hold-over from when he was a radio broadcaster. They all use fake names, ya know?
Kory started his broadcast career at WIKB-FM in his home town of Iron River, Michigan. Not much severe weather in the Upper Peninsula, but Kory spent summers on his mom's farm near Garretson, South Dakota (just outside Sioux Falls). While visiting SD, Kory quickly became aware of severe storms and tornadoes, and they fascinated him.
Kory moved to South Dakota in 1997, and worked for a couple years at KJAM Radio in Madison, SD. Kory was on the air May 30, 1998, the night of the massive F4 Spencer, SD tornado. Kory later requested a tape from a storm chaser that was in the area. When it arrived in his mailbox, it included a documented storm "chase" all the way from Nebraska, up I-29, and west on I-90 to the Spencer area. In the background of the tape, he could hear the chasers listening to him read warnings on the radio!
To experience the devastation caused by a violent tornado, Kory volunteered to help in Spencer, and broadcast the cleanup efforts live. It was an experience he will never forget. Kory immediately knew he needed to learn how to spot and chase storms, to help protect the public, and attended his first NWS spotter training course the following spring. He made severe weather coverage the number one priority at every radio station for which he worked.
Kory worked in the media industry for 13 years before becoming a computer technician for the US Government. Now, Kory consults radio stations with programming and technical issues, and enjoys being one of the go-to storm chasers for KELO-TV.
Kory is married to a very understanding wife, and has two sons, ages 4 and 1.
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