Reed Timmer Biography

Reed Timmer is an American journalist working as a meteorologist and Storm Chaser for AccuWeather. He was born on March 17, 1980, in Ada Township, Michigan, USA. He has been interested in weather since he was a young boy after he experienced a thunderstorm that dropped a golfball sized hail in his yard.

He went to Forest Hills Central High School situated in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He attended and graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Ph.D. in meteorology.

Reed Timmer AccuWeather TV

Timmer’s in-field severe weather coverage combines his meteorological knowledge, experience, and passion for chasing storms to deliver the most riveting, up-close local breaking weather coverage in the industry on cable and digital.

He uses 360 video cameras to bring viewers closest to the action, providing a new level of video innovation. His immersive cutting-edge 360 videos give AccuWeather viewers a unique insider perspective on weather events, driving the most in-depth understanding of severe weather, in addition to high engagement.

Timmer has documented over 1,000 tornados since beginning his career in 1998 and has also chased a vast amount of hurricanes and blizzards. He has been present at the most historic extreme weather events including Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Super Outbreak in “Dixie Alley” in 2011.

Timmer is highly recognized in the public eye for his tenure on Discovery Channel’s “Storm Chasers” television series from 2008-2011 and is a published author.

Reed Timmer Age

He was born on March 17, 1980, in Ada Township, Michigan, USA. He is 43 years old as of 2023.

Reed Timmer Height

He stands at a height of 5 feet 8 inches tall.

Reed Timmer Family

Reed is the son of Susan Tolbert and Dan Timmer. He is the second oldest child. He has a big sister, Cortney Timmer, and a little sister, Dayna Timmer. They all grew up together in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His parents however divorced when he was ten years old.

Reed Timmer Wife

He was married to Maria Molina, a meteorologist. The two got married in December 2015 at the Masaya Volcano National Park in Nicaragua. They got divorced in 2018.

Reed Timmer Net Worth

He has an estimated net worth of between $1 million and $5 million.

Reed Timmer Salary

He earns an estimated annual salary of between $45, 000 and $110, 000.

Reed Timmer Storm Chaser

Reed is known for starring in the Discovery Channel reality television series Storm Chasers, as well as in the documentary film Tornado Glory and in the series Tornado Chasers. In 2009, while chasing storms in Aurora, Nebraska, a tornado strengthened while passing over the Dominator and blew out the driver’s window.

Its exterior Lexan window failed to roll up. Timmer and Chris Chittick suffered lacerations to the face from the flying glass. The incident was documented as part of the Storm Chasers TV series. The day before the Yazoo City tornado of April 24, 2010, Timmer and colleague Joel Taylor got into a heated argument as to whether or not to make the trip.

An EF4 tornado went through the town the next morning, and the team helped rescue people from the rubble. Taylor ended up saying that he was glad he committed to the chase as he saved lives. Timmer started Tornado Chasers on his website TVNWeather.com.

The first two seasons debuted in 2012 and 2013. Season 1 included 12 episodes. Few tornadoes struck that year. In one episode, their SUV’s windows were shattered by large hail. Season 2 had far more tornadoes and footage than Season 1.

The most notable tornado was the May 31, 2013, El Reno tornado, which killed Tim Samaras. The season showed Timmer enrolling in the KFOR 4WARN Storm Chasing team. Joel Taylor returned for episodes 1 and 2. Jim Cantore and Ginger Zee also appeared.

Reed Timmer Dominator

Timmer created several chase vehicles, each called the Dominator. The first Dominator was a modified 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe that was used during the 2008 storm-chasing season and debuted in the 2009 chase season.

In early 2011, Timmer and other members of TVN purchased a 2011 GMC Yukon XL, which would be the base vehicle for a second Dominator vehicle named Dominator 2. A third Dominator vehicle debuted in late April 2013.

This vehicle, named Dominator 3, began life as a Ford F-350 crew-cab pickup featuring a 16-gauge body strengthened with a polyethylene Kevlar composite, thick Lexan windows, and gull-wing doors to repel hail.

When storms approach, hydraulic systems lower the vehicle to the ground and drive spikes 8 inches (20 cm) into the ground to prevent wind from getting underneath. With a heavy presence on Twitter, Reed was often found chasing in his 2018 Subaru Forester, donning the name Dominator Fore.

Dominator Fore featured an increasing number of hail stone dents in its factory sheet metal body and undergoes several windshield replacements each year due to Reed’s attraction to sitting under what he refers to as Gorilla Hail storms.

In September 2022, Timmer posted on Twitter that he had abandoned Dominator Fore to the storm surge of Hurricane Ian while tracking the storm at Pine Island, Florida. The car was later found battered, and was no longer drivable, although attempts to fix it are ongoing. In December 2022, Timmer purchased a 2016 Subaru Forester to replace Dominator Fore.

Reed Timmer Divorce

Reed got divorced from Maria in 2018.

Reed Timmer Gay

Reed is not gay and he was in a heterosexual marriage with Maria Molina.