James M. Leonard (February 17, 1950 ‒ November 3, 2014), also known as "Cyclone Jim", was an American professional storm chaser, photographer, and videographer.
Intercepting severe weather including thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes and typhoons,[1] he was among the earliest storm chasers.
[3] He grew up in south Florida and in 1971 began chasing tropical cyclones in the United States and the Caribbean, as well as on Guam and Hawaii.
Leonard began chasing thunderstorms in 1974 and traveled across the Great Plains as well as locally in Florida where sea breeze interactions and waterspouts are common in summer.
He was a contributor to Storm Track magazine and his photographs appeared frequently in Weatherwise and other publications.