Alex Resel 📸

My digital shot of an EF5 tornado near Enderlin, North Dakota on the night of June 20, 2025.

My digital shot of an EF5 tornado near Enderlin, North Dakota on the night of June 20, 2025.

Pretty surreal to say I’ve officially documented an EF5 tornado. The first EF5 tornado since Moore 2013.

Enderlin, North Dakota - June 20, 2025.

Photo of a tall, backlit, and violent stovepipe tornado lifting debris in the air over a road and cornfields west of Watertown, South Dakota on July 27, 2025.

Photo of a tall and violent stovepipe tornado lifting debris in the air over a road and cornfields west of Watertown, South Dakota on July 27, 2025.

Photo of a tall, backlit, and violent stovepipe tornado lifting debris in the air over a road and cornfields west of Watertown, South Dakota on July 27, 2025.

One week ago today, Mother Nature gifted me a birthday tornado intercept in my own backyard.

Watertown, South Dakota - July 27, 2025

Tornado over a prairie hill west of Gary, SD on June 28, 2025.

Tornado and supercell structure looking due west near Gary, SD on June 28, 2025.

Dreamy tornado before it begins to occlude west of Gary, SD on June 28, 2025.

One week ago today, I had the chase of a lifetime in my backyard

Gary, South Dakota - June 28, 2025

Supercell with wedge tornado near Essex, Iowa on April 17, 2025.

Last night I chased this monster supercell and wedge tornado in southwest Iowa. Some of the most incredible structure I’ve ever seen!

Close range CG (cloud-to-ground) lightning bolt down a country road north of Norfolk, Nebraska on March 28, 2025.

Line of storms with shelf cloud structure and lightning at sunset north of Norfolk, Nebraska on March 28, 2025.

CG (cloud-to-ground) lightning bolt north of Norfolk, Nebraska on March 28, 2025.

A stormy night in northeast Nebraska last week ⚡️

Bright aurora borealis with a variety of green, pink, red, and purple colors over a rural landscape near Watertown, South Dakota on March 21, 2025.

Bright aurora borealis with a variety of green, pink, red, and purple colors over a rural landscape at sunset near Watertown, South Dakota on March 21, 2025.

Bright aurora borealis with a variety of green, pink, red, and purple colors over a rural landscape with pine trees near Watertown, South Dakota on March 21, 2025.

Bright aurora borealis with a variety of green, pink, red, and purple colors over a rural landscape with power transmission towers near Watertown, South Dakota on March 21, 2025.

The night sky came alive recently near Watertown, South Dakota.

Large wedge tornado and mesocyclone above as it approaches West Plains, Missouri on the night of March 14, 2025. Violent motion and an extremely loud roar was observed.

Reflectivity and velocity radar signatures of a tornado-producing supercell as it approached our location near West Plains, Missouri on March 14, 2025.

We documented a violent tornado near West Plains, Missouri on March 14, 2025.

The most intense tornado I’ve ever chased. The roar sounded evil as it moved in with extreme RFD winds associated with a very wide circulation. Extreme damage also occurred near Bakersfield-South Fork, Missouri.

Will do that this afternoon!

Tornado as it first formed southeast of Watertown, South Dakota - 4:11 pm (2/24/2025)

Video screenshot of tornado southeast of Watertown, South Dakota - 4:12 pm (2/24/2025)

Photo of supercell with evident low level features, organized base, and lightning on the west side of Watertown, South Dakota - 3:30 pm (2/24/2025)

Rainbow over Watertown, South Dakota after tornado - 4:20 pm (2/24/2025)

Today I documented the first EVER February tornado in South Dakota HISTORY! 🌪️

📍 Watertown, South Dakota
🗓️ February 24, 2025

Thank you!

Thanks, Jessica!

Photo of overhead aurora with a sky full of pink, purple, and green auroras with a prairie church as the subject surrounded by trees with a walkway leading up to the entrance of the church. Photo captured near Watertown, South Dakota on May 10, 2024.

Craving more nights under the aurora

Aurora borealis along the horizon with a train track and gravel road in foreground as well as a barn and silo in the middle ground. Captured near Watertown, South Dakota on January 4, 2025.

Aurora borealis along the horizon with a road sign directing to which direction Watertown is. Car headlights are in long exposure form behind the sign.

Aurora borealis with red auroral pillars above the horizon with a group of trees on the left side of image.

The first aurora of 2025 danced in the night sky last night.

It really felt like 10 years in one lol, thank you!

• 35,841 miles of storm chasing
• 16 states visited; 3 first time states (AR, LA, MS)
• 1 new country visited (Canada)
• 31 tornadoes observed
• First Kansas, Minnesota, and Mississippi tornadoes
• First total solar eclipse
• Trip to Yellowstone National Park

So grateful.

Collage of 20 photos I captured in 2024. Photos include bright, vivid auroras, a total solar eclipse, storm clouds, tornadoes, a wolf, moose, Milky Way, and a comet. All in random order.

It’s been real, 2024. Thank you.

Tornado

Large wedge tornado behind trees near Bude, Mississippi.

Large wedge tornado behind trees and a house near Bude, Mississippi.

Here is said tornado that was chased on Saturday

I chased tornadoes in Mississippi on Saturday. This is my view back home in South Dakota today.

Sundog over a rural snow covered field, a farm building, and trees after sunrise in Watertown, SD on December 11, 2024.

Sundogs and the sun (middle) over a rural snow covered field and fencing in Watertown, SD on December 11, 2024.

Sundogs and the sun (middle) and a one way yield sign on a snow covered highway in Watertown, SD on December 11, 2024.

Can’t forget the sundogs after the sun rose!

Variety of color of light pillars at this airport in the distance. December 11, 2024.

Driving toward light pillars shining tall looking west. December 11, 2024.

Light pillars looming west over a highway. December 11, 2024

Light pillars overlooking the eastern side of Watertown. December 11, 2024

Light pillars this morning in Watertown, South Dakota. This stuff never gets old.

#sdwx #atoptics #photography

Thank you!

Same

A tornado crossing a road with storm chasers positioning ahead of it just before sunset in rural northern South Dakota. Photo captured on August 28, 2024 near the town of Mound City.

Bright green, pink, and yellow aurora borealis over a prairie church and cemetery northwest of Watertown, South Dakota on May 11, 2024.

Noctilucent clouds over an hour after sunset looking northwest over the dark rural landscape northwest of Watertown, South Dakota on July 1, 2024.

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in the night sky over rural eastern South Dakota on October 14, 2024.

Crazy to think I captured these photos just in South Dakota this year

It’s just a reality of our society. Bigger cities = more lights. It still doesn’t take away how fascinating the science is behind light pillars and other atmospheric optics. I love this stuff.

Light pillars shining high behind a grove of trees and hay bales in the rural countryside of South Dakota. Wind blown snow and very cold temperatures made for a great display of light refractions. Shot near Watertown, SD on December 4, 2024.

A lone tree without its leaves, snow on the ground, and distant light pillars in rural countryside outside of Watertown, South Dakota on December 4, 2024.

Beam me up, Scotty! Incredible display of light pillars last night in Watertown, South Dakota.

The -20°F wind chill and strong winds were brutal but it was great to get back in the elements after a long month of not picking up my camera.

#sdwx #atoptics #photography

Photo of a grungy, large tornado spinning through farmland and rural communities in western Iowa. A lone storm chaser on a main road behind the tornado drives to get closer to the tornado as a water tower indicating a nearby town dodges narrowly close by. Near Harlan, Iowa on April 26, 2024.

A large tornado ripping through farmland near Harlan, Iowa. By far the craziest storm chase of my life.

It felt like I was in a snow globe tonight in Watertown, South Dakota. A great start to December!

Lock Screen 🌪️

A wonderful display of light pillars near the University of North Dakota's campus in Grand Forks last night. #NDwx

Red and green northern lights reflecting off a lake in the forest. Photo by Jeanine Holowatuik

Pink and green northern lights reflecting off a lake in the forest. Photo by Jeanine Holowatuik

Multi coloured northern lights reflecting off a lake in the forest. Photo by Jeanine Holowatuik

Magenta Aurora Borealis pillars in Saskatchewan. Photo by Jeanine Holowatuik

The colours of 2024 🤩 as we hit a solar maximum! #solarcycle25

Activity fluctuates on an 11yr bell curve cycle, so we can still expect to see big shows for a cple years before things start to quiet down toward another solar minimum

#northernlights #auroraborealis #nightphotography #astrolandscape