Oklahoma Brothers Share Passion For Storm Chasing

When severe weather blows into Oklahoma, we send out our storm trackers. But there was a time when News 9 didn't have those chasers. It all started with one back in 1991, Val Castor.

"I have always said that if I could take Val and clone him, that would be amazing," said Chief Meteorologist David Payne.

Well, we have the next best thing, his younger brother Von. The Oklahoma brothers from Ardmore share a passion for storm chasing, Val in OKC, Von in Tulsa. Together, the two cover the state's most violent storms. Also riding shotgun, Val's wife Amy, turning storm chasing into a family affair.

"Weather's always been exciting to me," said Val Castor, News 9 Storm Tracker. "You know when you're a little kid, severe weather and tornadoes and stuff like that are kind of scary, but then as I got older, I started getting more interested in wanting to find out how they work."

Val studied meteorology at the University of Oklahoma and soon realized he wanted to be in the middle of all the action, enlisting his brother along the way.

"He called me and asked me if I wanted to go chase one time because I had a car phone," News on 6 Storm Tracker Von Castor said.

That was back in 1986. But it wasn't until 1991 when Val captured his first big tornado near Red Rock, experience the two have funneled into careers that span more than 25 years.

"God has given me and Von too, the passion to go out there and to chase storms and to put ourselves in dangerous positions from time to time," said Val.

"Of course the other things that go along with it are the beauty, I mean, God's beauty of a storm is incredible," said Von.

While the brother love chasing storms don't be fooled, their main goal is to try and help people stay safe.

"It's pretty much fair to say now, that the Castor family has the entire state covered," said Payne.

Between our two stations, KWTV in Oklahoma City and KOTV in Tulsa, we have a total of 11 teams of storm trackers across the state, the largest team across the nation.