LOUISVILLE,Ky — When deadly tornadoes ripped through Mississippi Friday, killing more than two dozen people, professional weather analyst Ryan Hall was streaming on Youtube. Hall, the self-proclaimed ‘internet’s weather man’ quickly saw things get worse as the night went on.
“Now we have a tornado emergency,” Hall said during his ‘Ryan Hall, Y’all’ livestream.
Hall who lives in eastern Kentucky, steamed for hours as the storms moved through.
At one point, he says there were over 70,000 people watching. It was then Hall asked his audience for donations to help those impacted by the storm.
“Let’s do what we do best. Y’all Squad show up,” Hall said.
And show up, they did. In years prior, Hall has raised money after Hurricane Ian and last year’s eastern Kentucky floods, but never this much.
“Because we had so many people watching, they all came together and actually pulled over $100,000 in funds pretty much directed towards me through different avenues, like our merch store and stuff like that,” Hall said.
Just a few days later, Hall loaded up a trailer with supplies.
Hauling things like chainsaws, weather radios and generators, he arrived in Mississippi on Monday.
“We are now talking to local officials in every town that was hit by a tornado and we’re trying to coordinate how to best make those dollars work for the people who have been impacted,” Hall said.
The first load of supplies went to the Amory Fire Department.
“We met the mayor there, and we asked him how we could further help the town and we’re working together to try to deploy our resources so that we can continue to help them as time goes on but they were incredibly thankful for everything that the Y’all Squad was able to show up with,” Hall said.
Afterward, Hall and his team headed to Rolling Fork, another town hit hard by the tornado.
“We’re going to cook meals for thousands of people for free and make sure everybody’s fed,” Hall said. “From the victims of the tornado all the way to the first responders and all the volunteers that are helping down there.”
With over $120,000 raised, all coming from fans of the ‘Ryan Hall, Y’all’ broadcasts, it just goes to show how many people out there are willing to help.
When it comes to donating to relief efforts in Mississippi, Ryan Hall encourages people to support the local organizations working in the impacted areas.