Did North Dakota Really Propose a Storm Chaser License?

We've had some pretty massive storms in North Dakota this year. As a matter of fact, this past storm season has broken several records. According to Fox Weather, our September 14th storms spawned 20 tornadoes over a span of 200 miles, from Minot to Mobridge. This incident, along with several others throughout 2025, led to us breaking our yearly tornado record.

The source says the forecasters with the National Weather Service in Grand Forks and Minot confirmed that our highest tornado outbreak before this was in 1999, when we got a total of 61 tornadoes.

According to Valley New Live, the total recorded tornadoes as of September 22nd was 83 -well surpassing our record from 25 years ago.

Not only have we had more tornadoes in total this year, but they've also been stronger and more deadly. Just look at the Enderlin tornado that occurred on June 20th. It was rated an EF5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. This is the first time we have had an EF5 in the United States since 2013, in Moore, Oklahoma.

The Enderlin tornado ripped through the countryside, flattened homes and farms, and sadly killed three people.

With all of the storm activity we've had lately, of course, it attracts storm and weather enthusiasts to the area. I'm sure you've seen some of their supped-up vehicles driving around town.

Hoax in North Dakota

It is fascinating what storm chasers do; they capture some of the most terrifyingly breathtaking storms on video, and even help confirm tornado touchdowns.

Earlier today, multiple posts started circulating on Facebook using local news outlets' logos, claiming there is new legislation under review in North Dakota, which would require storm chasers to obtain a "Storm Chaser License."

One of the posts said the following:

"House Bill 42069 § 3.14 — The Storm Chaser Licensing and Atmospheric Safety Act of 2025 HB 42069 § 3.14 — “Any person engaging in the active pursuit, filming, or documentation of meteorological phenomena within North Dakota shall obtain a Class S (‘Storm’) License issued by the Department of Atmospheric Stability. Non-residents operating without such a license shall be guilty of a Class C felony and subject to immediate confiscation of dashcams, drones, and lightbars. Section 3.14(b): Licensed chasers may disregard closed roads when accompanied by a certified chaser badge."

A Class C felony charge seems a little harsh for storm chasing, doesn't it?

To be sure, I looked this up and could not find the bill on Legiscan. It doesn't look like any such bill exists, and there isn't any conclusive information that shows it will be proposed in the next legislative session (January 2027).

That said, it's not completely out of the realm of possibilities that we will see something like this introduced in North Dakota in the future. In Oklahoma, House Bill 2426 proposed licensing for professional storm chasers. Local New Outlets covered this topic earlier this year.

What do you think? Should weather reporters and storm chasers get special licensing to operate, essentially, as emergency vehicles during severe weather events?