Storm Chasers’ Weather Station Stolen Along Highway 90 in Louisiana During Hurricane Francine

Storm chaser Mark Sudduth is asking for the public's help after he and his team had their weather station stolen along Highway 90, between Franklin and Houma, LA. The weather station, an essential piece of equipment for tracking the storm’s intensity and providing critical data, was reportedly taken, leaving the team scrambling to recover it as Francine was making landfall.

Mark Sudduth, a weather documentarian, geographer, and storm tracker for Fox Weather, shared the news on X (formerly Twitter), where he is known as @hurricanetrack. Sudduth, who funds his efforts through Patreon and shares much of his work on YouTube at hurricanetrack, posted, “If anybody who is out and about chasing along Highway 90 between Franklin and Houma here in Louisiana, please let me know if you see something that looks like this in the back of someone’s pick-up truck."

"Whoever stole our equipment has paired the little computer that’s in this unit with their iPhone. We know because it started updating again just a little while ago."

"Be on the lookout! We really need that piece of equipment back.”

The weather station, vital for monitoring Hurricane Francine as it pummels the Gulf Coast with winds up to 100 mph, is not something the average person would be interested in purchasing, according to Sudduth.

Despite this, suggestions from concerned followers have ranged from checking local pawn shops to speculating that the thieves might not even understand what they’ve stolen, with one comment humorously suggesting, “a Cajun probably thought it was a trolling motor.”

While many advised Sudduth to scour pawn shops for the missing gear, others pointed out that desperate thieves might try to pawn the equipment for a quick buck. In response, Sudduth emphasized how unique the weather station was, making it unlikely that it would hold any value to the general public.

Sudduth and his team are asking anyone who spots the weather station or knows its whereabouts to contact him directly or notify local law enforcement. The recovery of this equipment is crucial for ongoing storm tracking efforts, especially as Hurricane Francine continues to make its impact felt across Louisiana.