About - Canadian Weather Live

Our story

The beginning: Canadian Weather Live was created by 2 storm chasers who were simply tired of seeing post after post on other platforms calling for the end of the world whenever it came to weather. They knew there was a better way of doing things without the need to hype, fear monger or clickbait the general public. That is where CWL was born with the principles to inform and educate the public all while being accurate without the need to scare people. Bringing a real calm tone to weather, but knowing when to take a serious tone if the situation required it. They also wanted to create a platform that would concentrate 100% on Canadian weather and those that are a part of that community. By Canadians for Canadians.

Our foundation: Tom & Connor have been friends since 2019 through the world of storm chasing. It was only natural that they team up to bring their experience to help those dealing with severe weather. In June of 2025 they decided to create CWL. Both Connor & Tom have been chasing severe weather since 2014 across Canada and throughout the US. Connor has seen 9 tornadoes while Tom has seen 95 of them. They chased hurricane Fiona together in 2022 in the Maritimes. This was both of their very 1st hurricane chase. They have seen almost everything when it comes to severe weather, from thunderstorms, crippling lake effect snow, tornadoes, land spouts, hurricanes, giant hail, crazy lightning, thundersnow, freezing rain, supercells to damaging straight line winds. They bring decades of severe weather experience to the team.

Our promise: We will always give it to you straight when it comes to weather. We like to say that CWL will tell you when you should be concerned about a weather event, but more importantly when you don't need to. We will never fear monger, clickbait or hype a weather event just to get likes and shares.

Tom Smetana

I am a self-proclaimed "Weather Nerd" and have been interested in weather since a very young age. I can remember sitting in my parents garage with the door up watching storms pass by. I always watched any show/documentary that had anything to do with weather. Then when YouTube came out I was searching out videos on there.

In my early 20's I started a business venture in the world of electronic security. This took my focus for the better part of 18 years and had to set aside my passion for weather. However in 2014 I decided to jump into storm chasing by booking a 10 day tour with a group out of Oklahoma that brought you to the storms. Saw my 1st tornado on May 11th 2014 and let's just say I was hooked. Since then I have seen just shy of 100 tornadoes and almost every form of severe weather possible.

Today I find myself in front of a camera providing live coverage during severe weather events on one of the very platforms that fueled my passion.

connor mockett

Hello, everyone! I’m a Canadian storm chaser, weather forecaster, and photographer, based in Winchester, Ontario. My love for everything severe weather began when I was around 9 years old after watching Storm Chasers on Discovery Channel, which was my morning show at home before hopping on the school bus.

My first storm chase was in 2015 with my dad as the driver which was a tornado warned supercell just north of my hometown of Winchester. That is what truly began my passion for storm chasing, and I never looked back. In 2018 I finally got my full license, being able to chase fully on my own. From that point forward I have chased as often as I possibly can, and not just in Ontario either.

I have chased storms in 7 Canadian provinces, those being Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. I have chased the Canadian Prairies 4 times, and have hundreds of thousands of kilometers of chasing across Canada. I even chased Hurricane Fiona with Tom back in September of 2022 in Nova Scotia at the Canso Causeway.

I also have immense experience doing weather forecasts. I self taught myself as much as I possibly could, and still learn things every day, in Meteorology. That knowledge is used to know where to go for storm chasing, and helps me make the forecast videos you see on our YouTube channel and Facebook page.

kurtis fafard

Kurtis Fafard is the Chief Technology Officer at Canadian Weather Live and a Saskatchewan-based storm chaser and weather photographer. Based near Broadview, he combines hands-on technical leadership with in-field storm coverage, working to power the site's real-time reporting. That blend of engineering and firsthand chasing lets him deliver timely, accurate weather coverage while helping connect the community to the science and excitement of the atmosphere.

moderators

Andie Smith

With a healthy respect for the power of nature, I’ve been captivated by storms since childhood. I believe good weather information helps people make safer decisions, and I’m proud to support Canadians building exceptional weather expertise right here at home. I also harbour a not-so-secret desire to chase storms. Away from the radar, I’m a proud mum, devoted servant to the Meowfia, and a chlorine-dependent water baby.

Jean Pelletier

As a retired Ottawa firefighter, my interest in weather takes a meaningful dimension. I've seen first hand how quickly natural forces can change conditions and create dangerous situations.

What makes weather fascinating is that it combines science, unpredictability, and raw power. Living in Canada, we experience an incredible range: bitter cold, extreme heat, heavy snow, freezing rain, thunderstorms, high winds, and torrential rain. Each one is a reminder that nature operates on a scale far beyond us.

My appreciation for weather also reflects an important lesson: we can learn to understand and prepare for Mother Nature, but we can never completely control her. Respecting that power is something that both firefighters and weather enthusiasts understand very well.

Kevin Prow

I lived in Goderich ON a few years after the EF3 of 2011. The stories I heard from locals were terrifying. I'm thankful to be a tiny part of a platform to help save lives.

P.S. I also get hammered by lake effect snow squalls

Melody Littel

I first became interested in severe weather when I heard family talking about the Black Friday tornado in Edmonton, and saw the pictures in the newspaper. I always wanted to know the "why" of everything, and weather fascinated me because it seemed like science had more questions than answers about the why behind natural disasters, so I was keen to study it and see if I could figure out some of the answers myself. I didn't know about storm chasing or storm chasers though until I was nearly 40, and when I first saw a presentation about it, it sparked a new level of weather obsession for me. I began studying storm chasing and forecasting more intensely myself and after 10 months I began storm chasing myself in Alberta. On my second chase I saw the Didsbury EF-4 tornado from supercell development through its whole life cycle and several attempts to produce another tornado after the big one had lifted. I've been storm chasing for 3 years now in Alberta but my main interest is in learning more about the weather (and also feeding my love of photography at the same time). I volunteer during the summers as a local "weather girl" for a lot of kids camps in Alberta - seeing that they get the weather information they need to run their summer programs while also keeping the kids safe from hazardous weather. As part of the Canadian weather live team I am continuing to live out my passion for both weather and helping others keep themselves and their loved ones safe and calm during severe weather. My familiarity with all things weather and geography in Alberta and British Columbia helps support the team in bringing the same excellent live coverage to the western half of our beautiful country.

Rick Gillis

Hi, I’m Rick, a transit bus product support manager by day, father of four, and aspiring, ever-learning storm chaser by night.

My fascination with storms began growing up on the waterfront, watching storms roll across the lake and wondering how and why they formed.

I picked up storm chasing as a hobby during COVID, sharing my chases with family. Combined with my passion for scanner monitoring, that hobby eventually grew into the Lanark County Scanner & Storm Chasing Facebook page. Today, I continue chasing, learning, and sharing my passion for severe weather, with my four kids now starting to catch the storm-chasing bug too!

WHo we are