Dan Auel started his storm spotting as a 4th grader in an Ames Elementary school where he went out for recess during the spring months searching for a green sky and rotating clouds. “I don’t remember a whole lot of those recess hours,” he says, “but I’ve been told I got pretty excited about clouds that were in any kind of spiral shape.”
After many library overdue slips from weather and science books, Dan moved on to graduate Ames High in 2011. Followed by an Associates’s Degree in Automotive Collision Technology.
Growing up in the Midwest, he has had a strong connection to severe weather. “I am amazed at how nature can produce something so small and detailed like a snowflake, or so large and organized like a supercell thunderstorm.” Dan also enjoys traveling across the country and sharing the beauty of nature that he sees through his photography.