Real-Life Twister Chasers Go Viral, Then Help Survivors (Exclusive)

Ryan Hall did not anticipate being a “YouTube Weatherman” when he first started creating content online, but now he is putting his lifelong fascination with weather to good use.

One year ago, Ryan started his Y’all Squad nonprofit, leading a group of storm chasers who track down twisters and other severe weather, while also giving back to the impacted communities. 

The 30 year old broadcasts from his headquarters in Kentucky while contracted chasers pursue the storm on the ground. His YouTube livestreams regularly reach millions of viewers, emphasizing safety first and encouraging people to donate whatever they can to help victims rebuild. 

“We kind of realized it would be the responsible thing to do,” he tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue.

Ryan was drawn to the science of weather at an early age. On Memorial Day weekend in 2004, when he was just 10 years old, Ryan found himself fascinated by coverage of the flash floods in eastern Kentucky, where he lived. Several years later he was glued to similar coverage of the 2011 tornado super outbreak in central Alabama.

In 2020, he began covering weather online. One of the first major tornadoes he tracked was the EF-4 twister that hit western Kentucky, most notably the town of Mayfield, in December 2021. The stream attracted 10,000 viewers. 

“It was that event that really kind of made it apparent to me that what we were doing here is important, and we could help a lot of people,” Ryan tells PEOPLE.

For more on Hall’s story, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.

After the Mayfield tornado, viewership spiked. Now, their tornado coverage draws at least 40,000 viewers at a time. 

They also launched shopryanhall.com — where supporters can purchase Y’all Squad-themed merchandise — to raise funds to assist those impacted by the storms they cover.

Currently the Y’all Squad collects between $30,000 and $50,000 in donations for each disaster, which goes to purchasing items lost in the storms as well as food and supplies for local shelters. 

The organization even helped replenish Christmas gifts after a twister devastated a Tennessee community in December 2023. “Whatever it seems like would be the best thing to do with $50,000, we just do that,” Ryan says.

In March 2023, the Y’all Squad helped raise more than $100,000 after a monstrous EF-4 tornado barreled through the Rolling Fork and Silver City areas of Mississippi. 

The team wrote checks to six families and made a large donation to the volunteer fire department in Rolling Fork, which was “completely destroyed” by the twister. They then spent the next four days preparing 10,000 free meals for those impacted by the storm.

Chris Hall (no relation to Ryan), another member of the Y’all Squad, said the group helped deliver more than 20,000 meals to residents in the affected area in the week following the twister. They also gave out thousands of dollars’ worth of much-needed supplies.

Thousands of people have written letters and messages expressing gratitude to the Y’all Squad. One family told Ryan they wouldn’t have known about an approaching tornado had they not seen his live stream. 

A family of 12 had a similar experience in May when a tornado ripped through Columbia, Tenn. “I’m super honored that people are trusting us,” Ryan tells PEOPLE.

Now, Ryan is eager to see what the future has in store for his team, and he hopes to keep building on their recent growth.

He adds, “We’re trying our best to take it to the next level.”