136 replies to this topic

[codfishsnowman]

1. Joplin Mo. Jeff P and the blond girl 5/22/11
2.Oklahoma City...Reed T. 5/99
3. Tuscaloosa Al...various ones 4-27-11

IMO nothing beats the Jeff P video for the Joplin twister. From before it came down to when they were chasing it or almost being chased by it...truly it looked like the end of the world was upon that city. I am not sure if any science fiction movie made today could be scarier imo.

The OK City twister in early May of 1999 also kind of looks like the end of the world but kind of pales in comparison to the Joplin one at least on video imo.


Curious to see what the experts on here all think. I had a close encounter with a tornado on 6-1 and as far as I am concerned I am all set for the up close and personal thank you very much. I never saw it bc I was hiding in the basement but it was that close ( quater mile or less as the crow flies).

[Buckeye05]

There are a few tornado videos out there that have literally scared me while I watched them.
Parkersburg IA: Graduation party restaurant video
Joplin MO: Gas Station cooler video.
Joplin MO: jaime1251 inside house video
Joplin MO: nuhurizon inside house video
Wilber NE: Jim Bishop building collapse video
Moore OK: front window "inside tornado" video
Caruthersville MO: This one, which nobody seems to know about


But by far the scariest tornado footage for me was watching Tuscaloosa getting leveled live on abc3340. Knowing you are watching people die live is not a good feeling.

[codfishsnowman]

There are a few tornado videos out there that have literally scared me while I watched them.
Parkersburg IA: Graduation party restaurant video
Joplin MO: Gas Station cooler video.
Joplin MO: jaime1251 inside house video
Joplin MO: nuhurizon inside house video
Wilber NE: Jim Bishop building collapse video
Moore OK: front window "inside tornado" video
Caruthersville MO: This one, which nobody seems to know about


But by far the scariest tornado footage for me was watching Tuscaloosa getting leveled live on abc3340. Knowing you are watching people die live is not a good feeling.

wow...good grief

[HurricaneJosh]

Folks should post the videos that they're citing, don't ya think?

I think the Joplin gas station cooler video wins-- at least among the ones I've seen. That is some scary sh*t.

[HurricaneJosh]

Caruthersville MO: This one, which nobody seems to know about

By the way-- wow, awesome find. Really awesome. To anyone else reading this, skip to 5:00. The really cool stuff happens between then and 6:00.

P.S. The stupid, mega-trite text on the screen is really annoying. There's got to be a cleaner version of this footage somewhere-- without the advertising crap ruining it.

[JoMo]

Joplin MO: Gas Station cooler video.
Joplin MO: jaime1251 inside house video
Joplin MO: nuhurizon inside house video

Gas station:


jaime:



Note Lot of cussing on this one:

[arcc]

This one for me. What is so amazing is how fast it closes on him. I wonder how many people saw it coming and decided to watch it for a minute, only to realize too late to get to shelter.

[Bozart]

Fritch, TX ought to get at least an honorable mention.

[janetjanet998]

This one gave me nightmares when I was a kid...

[Buckeye05]

Inside outer edge of Moore tornado


Inside Phil Campbell as it is hit.


If you didn't like the Joplin Gas station video, you won't like this one. This is Parkersburg, and this video bothered me for a while.

[Buckeye05]

Fritch, TX ought to get at least an honorable mention.

Classic...

[HurricaneJosh]

Fritch, TX ought to get at least an honorable mention.

Omg! Completely agreed!!

I am so glad you posted this. I had seen in years ago on VHS and would occasionally look for it on YouTube. I could never find it. I'm so glad it's online. It is simply spectacular. The dude was filming inside the damn thing. You really can't top this.

The small tree in the foreground is a terrific detail. Somehow, it stays rooted, and you can just see how violent that wind is. I'm always conservative with wind estimates, but it has to be way over 100 mph at that location. (I use mph when talking about tornadoes because I know that's how y'all do it.)

[HurricaneJosh]

Inside outer edge of Moore tornado

Inside Phil Campbell as it is hit.

If you didn't like the Joplin Gas station video, you won't like this one. This is Parkersburg, and this video bothered me for a while.

Wow-- all amazing. Thanks for sharing these!

Re: the last one... At the very end, it sounds like they're OK-- just understandably freaked out.

[HurricaneJosh]

Some real treasures in this thread-- the kind of clips you just fantasizing about capturing.

[HubbDave]

Some amazing videos.
i would find it impossible to live in tornado prone areas. They have haunted me since I was a lad

[Sickman]

An oldie but a goodie... still one of my favorites.

[HurricaneJosh]

An oldie but a goodie... still one of my favorites.

Agreed. This one is definitely on my Top 10.

[earthlight]

This one is great beginning around 7:00...the whole thing is great -- but it's crazy to watch and listen to after 7:00.

[meatwad]

I remember seeing this on the Weather channel,

[Disc]

Watching a bouncing tanker come at you after the train has derailed is just a slight bit scary.

[andyhb]

[andyhb]

1. Joplin Mo. Jeff P and the blond girl 5/22/11

That's his wife, btw.

Something tells me that something similar to the the 3rd video (East Limestone) is what people in MO, Southern IL and IN saw coming on March 18th, 1925...

Oh and how did I leave this one out...

[Met1985]

Wow great videos on here. Just amazing how mother natures wins out hands by her power.

[cyclone77]

jaime:

Out of all the incredible videos that came out of the Joplin event this one is the most incredible to me. If you turn the volume up to a level which represents what it really sounded like as if you were there it makes this video extremely intimidating. I can't understand how they couldn't know something extremely powerful was heading at them. The sound of the increasing roar and the sky to the west turning pitch black still wasn't enough to get them to take cover. It took trees snapping in their own yard to finally get them to finally go inside. When you see videos like this it's no wonder so many people were killed that day.

[JoMo]

When you see videos like this it's no wonder so many people were killed that day.

I wouldn't say that. According to the local newspaper last June, 54% that died had actually sought shelter in their homes. The area doesn't have basements because it's costly due to the high water table and rocky soil. A few were actually killed in their basement when debris fell in on them. 32% were killed in non-residential areas such as the hospital, churches and the big box stores. 14% were in vehicles or outdoors.

Considering some homes were pretty much leveled with no exterior or interior walls, many that were inside their homes ended up outside or on a slab. I would have expected the death toll to be much higher than it was.

Everyone here takes severe weather seriously now, that wasn't the case before the tornado though when everyone believed they were in a protective bubble.

[Pluffmud]

^{For me..watching the Joplin Tornado videos offer the most terror you could possbily want on video. The beer cooler video is tops. You can feel and hear the terror of everyone in there in the dark. I've seen that video at least 20 times and it still creeps me out everytime I watch it..}

[EquusStorm]

Aww yeah, I love these threads. They always give me a chance to find new video I haven't seen yet. I'm an avid watcher of tornado videos ya know.

And already I'm seeing stuff I didn't know existed. Because HOLY F###. The rare Caruthersville video with those shelter ads is ATONISHING. I have never seen that video, nor heard of its existance! How terrifying.

Frankly most of the videos I would have listed have already been put forth. The Fritch TX video from 1992, the outer edge OKC video, the Gull Lake tornado, the very well-known Andover tornado video from near the AFB, and the train-derailing tornado video are among my tops as well. And there are so many terrifying videos from April 27th that I won't even bother discussing it... every single video of any of the stronger tornadoes that day is frightening. The ones from Phil Campbell and Tanner especially are riveting, and you know people are dying and homes are being swept away at EF4/EF5 level during them. Tuscaloosa and Philadelphia were also terrifying. Likewise, the videos from the outbreak in late May of last year from OK are also frightening. Included in that outbreak is perhaps the most terrifying of all, the Joplin tornado: the videos from inside and around that beast of a tornado are heart-breaking.

I'm going to shorten the YT links so that the embeds don't break the page because I have several videos to bring up; you folks can choose whether or not to click them because you've likely seen them already. If you want me to directly embed these in this post, I will. I am probably gonna come and edit this post anyway when I remember more. These are just a few of my favorites.

Basehunters video of Joplin tornado, capturing its RAPID widening, and its immediate aftermath moments after devastating the city
http://y2u.be/XT7CtF5ljxY

Inside the Kirksville, MO tornado
http://y2u.be/foQt5VknRj4

Almost ANY video from the undisputed king of drill-bits, the Elie, MB F5 from 2007
http://y2u.be/32L5OtnIPGk
http://y2u.be/3ScKKYV8u6E

Exceptionally close to a developing tornado in MN in 2003
http://y2u.be/qYp_pBZ3GwU

In tornado shelter, Mt Hope AL 4/27/11 as EF-5 passes overhead; heartbreaking
http://y2u.be/DwPAzCOlVck

Downtown Nashville compilation from Apr 16 1998, same day as the 'Forgotten F5'
http://y2u.be/59m5zpEKNjk

Allison, TX tornado 1995, one of multiple very tense videos from near the beast
http://y2u.be/djk418z9cm4

Dash cam video of Pampa tornado 1995, very famous video of incredible upward motion and flying debris
http://y2u.be/qDcb1HVQr44

Hugo, MN tornado in 2008, very close home video from outer edge
http://y2u.be/iAIfKMSFtwk

Chase video of massive Hallam, NE tornado in 2004
http://y2u.be/2U8nIA-a63Q

Driving into Parkersburg (2008) just moments after EF-5 struck
http://y2u.be/TLx7Xe6_cxo

Very close to 2003 Lawrence, KS tornado from neighborhood
http://y2u.be/61iZd_TbfVk

Incredible Manitoba tornado from 2007, massive multiple vortices
http://y2u.be/eDK-EJPM_e4

Minutes after the tornado in Tuscaloosa
http://y2u.be/x1maz1OAYE4
http://y2u.be/8bXmOy3NO-c

The forgotten April 15 2011 Tuscaloosa tornado
http://y2u.be/lppXOzUU6p8

Famous videos from Cedar Park TX, 1997, same event as Jarrell tornado
http://y2u.be/Q4GxtO8QlMA
http://y2u.be/09COikvb9O

Rice, TX tornado
http://y2u.be/93cRP4k1dOY

And, very recently, these gems from the outbreaks in the last few weeks:

April 3 event in TX
http://y2u.be/ORWJmMRObUY
http://y2u.be/UzpuNmhvqN4

April 14th (by far the best videos captured during the outbreak, that I am aware of)
http://y2u.be/S_QRG-TsfBc
http://y2u.be/bKwbyybUmmc

Very close Polish tornado from a house
http://y2u.be/shREKK6nTy0

[sugaree]

From 4-16-11 Wilson, NC tornado



Those aren't leaves!

[downeastnc]

Poor quality but still...

[greg ralls]

That Caruthersville tornado was scary as just about anything I've seen. Man, did the person shooting the video even survive? Insane!

[thewxmann]

From 6/17/10 in MN:

[Superstorm93]

The Infamous 33/40

I was thankful enough to watch this live, although it was absolutely heart-wrenching knowing that people were losing their lives.

(Skip to 7 minutes to see the tornado descend)

[Superstorm93]

This is freaking scary...

I have never seen horizontal vorts like that before.

[codfishsnowman]

• Well they say its mesmerizing to watch but when I knew last June 1 that there was one headed for my area and it started to get dark I grabbed my two dogs and ran down to the basement as fast as I could and then it got dark as midnight out and then eventually it got light again and the thing had just missed us but when I took the dogs out later neighbors told me they watched it pass just to the ene and said it was amazing and one guy said he just could not stop watching iit.

[HurricaneJosh]

This is freaking scary...

Scary until that braindead stoner opens his mouth and starts tripping out on it. Ugh. All that was missing was the crinkling sound of his Doritos bag.