Coby Sanchez-The Boy in the Storm

(HAMMOND, LA) — The thunder cracks, ringing throughout the sky. Lightning flashes like a camera, brightening up the world and masking the darkness for a millisecond. The wind howls through the nights, as the rain beats down on the ground.

Most people are spending their time during this weather curled up on the couch watching a movie. The lights of their house are dim with a comforting candle’s essence filling the room. However, this is not the case for 19-year-old Coby Sanchez.

Sanchez is a full-time student at Southeastern Louisiana University, along with pursuing his degree he is a certified storm chaser. Sanchez risks his life to chase the storms of southeast Louisiana and documents his experience.

When Sanchez was a young child he was terrified of weather, so to overcome his fear he began learning about the weather. Now, Sanchez is fascinated with weather and strives to learn more about it. Which led him to becoming certified with Skyward Storm Spotter for the National Weather Service and a certified storm chaser with the Spotter Network.

As a certified storm chaser, Sanchez has access to all the information he needs. This helps him prepare for storms by studying the weather conditions and knowing what each miniscule detail of the storm could mean. He has a plethora of equipment to study the patterns of the weather and document some of his craziest chases.

The 2020 hurricane season has been record-breaking and was Sanchez’s first big chance to chase these storms. He was out on the road for every storm that hit southeast Louisiana and traveled from Baton Rouge to Slidell capturing as much as he could.

Sanchez explained,” It’s an adrenaline you can’t explain…you get numb and you just look forward and don’t look back.”

With 2020 being such a dangerous hurricane season, there were bound to be scary moments on the chase. Sanchez’s scariest moment was during the last storm to heavily impact Louisiana, Hurricane Zeta.

“I was on Oak Harbor Boulevard, Slidell. I knew we were in a bad position…all we could do was pullover and pray. There was one point when we had to hide behind the wall of a gas station and the wind was not getting any slower.” said Sanchez.

“I texted my family a text that said, ‘I love y’all very much’ because if something were to happen, I needed them to know that I loved them and I died doing what I love.”

The text Sanchez sent out made the hearts of those who received the message drop, one of those recipients being Sanchez’s mom, Lita Sanchez.

Lita Sanchez said, “I get a text from Coby and I notice that it’s not just to me it’s to three other people and I see ‘I love you very much’ and my heart sunk and I knew, either he’s having the time of his life and he’s riding a wave or he’s in big trouble.”

Sanchez’s mom has watched him grow into the young storm chaser he is today. She watches every risk he takes and is his biggest supporter every step of the way.

“This is Coby’s heart; this is what he desires. This makes him happy, this is what he lives for and so I guess as a mom the only thing I can do is love him, support him and sit back and pray”, explained Sanhez’s mom.

Sanchez has taken the next step towards achieving his dream of becoming a weatherman. This fall, he reached out to director of the Southeastern Channel, Rick Settoon, asking if he could create a weather segment for the channel.

The Southeastern Channel has never had a weather segment, so when Sanchez presented the opportunity for it there was not a doubt in Settoon’s mind. Sanchez would be the first weatherman and pioneer of the Southeastern Channel weather segment.

“I emailed Mr. Rick Settoon a couple semesters ago and I said, ‘look I know y’all have a news channel over here but I’m not familiar with it. I know you don’t have a weather program though, and I was interested in changing that.’” said Sanchez.

Now getting to claim the title of Southeastern’s first meteorologist, Sanchez continues to push his limits and eagerly learn more about himself and the weather.

A face that will be seen on every home TV, Coby Sanchez the 19-year-old storm chaser.