Warning: Tornado Alley Videos Ahead!
Tornado information that can help save your life. Below you will find tornado videos, information about the Fujita Pearson Tornado Scale used to rank a tornadoes strength and speed of the winds. Plus useful information for what you should do in case of tornado sirens sounding in your area. Are you studying to become a storm chaser? Maybe you are just looking for some tornado safety tips or you want to debunk the myths about tornadoes. Watch videos of the deadly F5 Tornado that ripped Oklahoma, plus a video of the tornado that tore through Atkins, Arkansas.
These Tornado Safety Tips are sponsored by SquidBuilders.com
These Tornado Safety Tips are sponsored by SquidBuilders.com
Tornado Safety Tips
Be aware during a Tornado and it may save your life!
If a tornado "watch" is issued for your area, it means that a tornado is "possible."If a tornado "warning" is issued, it means that a tornado has actually been spotted, or is strongly indicated on radar, and it is time to go to a safe shelter immediately.
Be alert to what is happening outside as well. Here are some of the things that people describe when they tell about a tornado experience:
* A sickly greenish or greenish black color to the sky.
* If there is a watch or warning posted, then the fall of hail should be considered as a real danger sign. Hail can be common in some areas, however, and usually has no tornadic activity along with it.
* A strange quiet that occurs within or shortly after the thunderstorm.
* Clouds moving by very fast, especially in a rotating pattern or converging toward one area of the sky.
* A sound a little like a waterfall or rushing air at first, but turning into a roar as it comes closer. The sound of a tornado has been likened to that of both railroad trains and jets.
* Debris dropping from the sky.
* An obvious "funnel-shaped" cloud that is rotating, or debris such as branches or leaves being pulled upwards, even if no funnel cloud is visible.
If you see a tornado and it is not moving to the right or to the left relative to trees or power poles in the distance, it may be moving towards you! Remember that although tornadoes usually move from southwest to northeast, they also move towards the east, the southeast, the north, and even northwest.
Encourage your family members to plan for their own safety in many different locations. It is important to make decisions about the safest places well BEFORE you ever have to go to them.
Fujita Pearson Tornado Scale
The Fujita Pearson scale measures the winds and damage of tornadoes
F-0
40-72 mph, chimney damage, tree branches broken, broken windows
F-1
73-112 mph, mobile homes pushed off foundation or overturned,broken tree
F-2
113-157 mph, considerable damage, mobile homes demolished, trees uprooted
F-3
158-205 mph, roofs and walls torn down, trains overturned, cars thrown
F-4
207-260 mph, well-constructed walls leveled
F-5
261-318 mph, homes lifted off foundation and carried considerable distances, autos thrown as far as 100 meters
Tornado Myths and Facts
Popular myths and the facts about Tornadoes!
Tornado Myths:MYTH: Areas near rivers, lakes, and mountains are safe from tornadoes.
FACT: No place is safe from tornadoes. In the late 1980's, a tornado swept through Yellowstone National Park leaving a path of destruction up and down a 10,000 ft. mountain.
MYTH: The low pressure with a tornado causes buildings to "explode" as the tornado passes overhead.
FACT: Violent winds and debris slamming into buildings cause most structural damage.
MYTH: Windows should be opened before a tornado approaches to equalize pressure and minimize damage.
FACT: Opening windows allows damaging winds to enter the structure. Leave the windows alone; instead, immediately go to a safe place.
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Worst tornado ever on video!
This F5 Tornado struck Oklahoma City on May 3, 1999
Watch the video of the worst ever tornado on earth! This tornado destroyed over 10,000 homes and buildings, and killed 44 people. The wind speed from this tornado was recorded to be 318 mph. If there was an F6 level this one would have made it!
F5 Tornado, Oklahoma City, May 3, 1999
This is the tape of the worst, the strongest tornado ever recorded on Earth. It killed 44 people and destroyed more than 10.000 homes on May 3, 1999.
Runtime: 3:49 | 993678 views | 2264 Comments
automatically generated by YouTube
The Story of a Killer Tornado
Storm Warning: by Nancy Mathis
From Publishers Weekly
On May 3, 1999, a series of 71 tornadoes blasted Oklahoma. The biggest of them all spanned a mile-making it the largest in recorded history-and delivered ground-level winds of over 300 mph. In her exhaustively researched book, journalist Mathis brings the Tornado Alley calamity to life. A native Sooner who spent many hours crouching in fear in her grandmother's root cellar, Mathis has a visceral connection to the region and its heavy weather that she supplements with the expert use of interviews and historical research.
On May 3, 1999, a series of 71 tornadoes blasted Oklahoma. The biggest of them all spanned a mile-making it the largest in recorded history-and delivered ground-level winds of over 300 mph. In her exhaustively researched book, journalist Mathis brings the Tornado Alley calamity to life. A native Sooner who spent many hours crouching in fear in her grandmother's root cellar, Mathis has a visceral connection to the region and its heavy weather that she supplements with the expert use of interviews and historical research.
Storm Warning: The Story of a Killer Tornado
Amazon Price: $11.97 (as of 12/09/2009)
Customer Review
Just finished reading Nancy Mathis's Storm Warning in one sitting. Having grown up in Oklahoma and spent more than two decades as an airline pilot, I thought I knew a thing or two about hook echos, Doppler radar and microbursts. Mathis nails these down--making the science interesting and easy to understand.
Tornado Damage and Destruction
F5 Tornado that ripped thru Oklahoma on May 3rd 1999
The 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak was a severe weather event that lasted from May 3 until May 6, 1999 and brought violent storms to Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, and Tennessee. This article concentrates on the events on May 3, when 66 tornadoes broke out in Oklahoma and Kansas. The most significant tornado first touched down southwest of Chickasha, Oklahoma, and became an F5 before dissipating over Midwest City, Oklahoma. The tornado tore through Bridge Creek, Oklahoma and Moore, Oklahoma, causing $1.1 billion in damage. Forty-eight people perished during the outbreak. This tornado event ranks in severity with the Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965. With a total of 66 tornadoes, it was the most prolific tornado outbreak in Oklahoma history, although not the deadliest.An F5 tornado from Moore, Oklahoma tornado on May 3rd, 1999, wrapped a large four-wheel drive pickup around a utility pole, stripping most of the truck's sheet metal. Several other automobiles were strewn through the surrounding fields.
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Oklahoma City F5 Tornado
May 3rd 1999 brought an F5 Tornado to Oklahoma City
May 3, 1999 started sunny, warm, and humid across the affected region. The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma initially issued a "slight risk" for severe weather for most of the state of Oklahoma early that morning. By late morning the latest observations and forecasts began to indicate an increasing likelihood of widespread severe weather, and the SPC upgraded sections of the southern plains to "moderate risk." By 3 p.m. it had become evident that a widespread severe weather event was imminent. Parts of Oklahoma and Kansas were then further upgraded to "high risk". When a "high risk" is issued, this usually indicates the potential for a significant severe weather event, including damaging tornadoes. The SPC issued a tornado watch by mid-afternoon as conditions gathered together for what would be a historic tornado outbreak. By the afternoon the CAPE values reached nearly 6,000 J/kg over the region. Large supercell thunderstorms developed and in the late afternoon through the mid-evening hours of that Monday, tornadoes began to break out across the state.The tornado outbreak of May 3, 1999, brought near total devastation to this Oklahoma City neighborhood.
What causes a Tornado to form?
Tornadoes often form during severe thunderstorms.... why?
What causes tornadoes?Thunderstorms develop in warm, moist air in advance of eastward-moving cold fronts. These thunderstorms often produce large hail, strong winds, and tornadoes. Tornadoes in the winter and early spring are often associated with strong, frontal systems that form in the Central States and move east. Occasionally, large outbreaks of tornadoes occur with this type of weather pattern. Several states may be affected by numerous severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.
During the spring in the Central Plains, thunderstorms frequently develop along a "dryline," which separates very warm, moist air to the east from hot, dry air to the west. Tornado-producing thunderstorms may form as the dryline moves east during the afternoon hours.
Along the front range of the Rocky Mountains, in the Texas panhandle, and in the southern High Plains, thunderstorms frequently form as air near the ground flows "upslope" toward higher terrain. If other favorable conditions exist, these thunderstorms can produce tornadoes.
Tornadoes occasionally accompany tropical storms and hurricanes that move over land. Tornadoes are most common to the right and ahead of the path of the storm center as it comes onshore.
Latest Tornado News
Recent blogs about Tornadoes and Storms
These are the latest blog posts about tornadoes and storms damage and sitings.
- Anoka, MN Tornado Destruction, June 1939 | GenDisasters ...
- Anoka MN tornado 6-18-1939.jpg Anoka MN tornado 6-1939.jpg MINNESOTA TORNADO KILLS 9, INJURES 200. Anoka, Minn. -- (UP) -- National guardsmen, police and volunteers under the personal direction of Gov. read more »
- Austin, MN Tornado Destruction, Aug 1928 | GenDisasters ...
- BIG STORM TOLL IN MINNESOTA, NORTHERN IOWA. EIGHT DEAD, NEARLY ONE HUNDRED INJURED AS RESULT OF TORNADO; HOMES AND BUSINESS PLACES WRECKED. read more »
- Sustainable Peachtree Corners: Turnips and Tornadoes
- Turnips and Tornadoes. So early this morning over coffee and Facebook (I'm not the only one with this guilty pleasure, am I?), I came across this post, "Last night, 2 am, a tornado hit the farm. Lost 4 barns, grain tower, finishing barn ...
- Castle Rock, MN Tornado Damage, May 1920 | GenDisasters ...
- Castle Rock MN tornado 5-22-1920.jpg Castle Rock MN tornado 5-22-1920 2.jpg ONE KILLED AND TEN INJURED IN MINNESOTA STORM. CYCLONE SWEEPS SOUTHERN COUNTIES IN GOPHER STATE ON SATURDAY. CLOUDBURST AT RED WING DAMAGE TOTALS THOUSANDS.
High-quality art print of a Tornado
Framed Tornado Art Print
This high-quality art print is expertly produced to capture the vivid color and exceptional detail of the original
Title: Tornado in Monument Valley
Artist: Peter Rauter
Type: Framed Art Print
Frame:
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Protective Layer: Clear Plexiglass
Finished Size: 35 x 25 in
Item #: 916997
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Title: Tornado in Monument Valley
Artist: Peter Rauter
Type: Framed Art Print
Frame:
Onyx (1 3/8")
Protective Layer: Clear Plexiglass
Finished Size: 35 x 25 in
Item #: 916997
Usually ships in 3-5 Days
Our Price: $124.99
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What causes a tornado to form?
Tornado conditions are caused when different temperatures and humidity meet.
Tornado conditions are caused when different temperatures and humidity meet to form thunderclouds. In the United States, warm, wet winds from the Gulf of Mexico move northward in spring and summer, meeting colder, dry Canadian winds moving southward. The place where these two winds meet is called a dry line. High, dry air coming from the north piles on top of low-moving, moist Gulf air at a height of over 10,000 feet. The warm southern winds try to rise, but the cold northern air blocks them. This clash causes the warm, trapped air to rotate horizontally between the two air masses. At the same time, the sun heats the earth below, warming more air that continues to try and rise. Finally, the rising warm wind become strong enough to force itself up through the colder air layer.
Adventures in Tornado Alley
Take a photographic journey right into the center of many violent storms.
This book is a photographic journey directly into the paths of oncoming storms. The book is full of amazing photos of violent storms taken by two of the best photographers and storm chasers there is!
This book has been rated 7 times and has gotten 5 stars from each person rating it!
Get it today, you will love it!
This book has been rated 7 times and has gotten 5 stars from each person rating it!
Get it today, you will love it!
Adventures in Tornado Alley: The Storm Chasers
Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 12/09/2009)
List Price: $29.95
Used Price: $11.98
Book full of beautiful photographs of violent storms and tornadoes!
This book has a 5 star rating by 7 out of 7 people!
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Storm Chaser - Images of Tornadoes
A Photographer's Journey Images of tornadoes and storms
This book is a weathers lovers dream come true! It is full of awe inspiring photographs and stories about natural disasters like Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Lightning and Thunderstorms! 7 people have rated it a 5 star book!
Storm Chaser: A Photographer's Journey
Amazon Price: $23.10 (as of 12/09/2009)
List Price: $35.00
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A photographic journey of storms! See the storms and their aftermath threw the lens of a camera!
5 star book for weather lovers!
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What is a Storm Chaser
Storm Chasers are fearless of tornadoes!
Storm chasing is broadly defined as the pursuit of any severe weather condition, regardless of motive, which can be curiosity, adventure, scientific exploration or for news / media coverage.
A person who chases storms is known as a storm chaser, or simply a chaser. While witnessing a tornado is the single biggest objective for most chasers, many chase thunderstorms and delight in seeing cumulonimbus structure, watching a barrage of hail and lightning, and seeing what skyscrapers unfold. There are also a smaller number of storm chasers who chase hurricanes.
Atkins, Arkansas Feb 5th 2008 Tornado
Watch a video of the tornado that ripped thru Atkins Arkansas
Brief Summary: At 4:30pm I reached Atkins, AR ahead of a fast moving supercell that was making a beeline for the town. Unfortunately, this part of Arkansas is heavily wooded. I had planned on chasing E AR but that didn't pan out. It took me a good 20 minutes to scout a location with good road (escape) options and view to the southwest. I found this location on the southwest side of town as the updraft base was coming into view. The base was fairly small and with rapid rotation. I was confident that it was producing a tornado without having a view of the surface. At 5:00pm, I got a clear view of the tornado as it grew form an elephant trunk within a translucent bowl of rain, into a wide stovepipe. The core overtook me at 5:02 and I never saw it again. Moments later I came across the damage 1-mile east of Atkins. The damage track appeared to be about 1/4-mile wide. Two homes on the periphery of the tornado appeared to have EF-0 to EF-1 type damage. The home in the middle of the path was completely removed from its foundation and disintegrated. It appeared to be built on a stacked cinderblock foundation. Two of the neighbors from surrounding homes were at this house looking for survivors. I asked if everyone was okay and they said they were fine. Although, they didn't know if anyone was at the home that was leveled. About an hour later I came back through the same area and there was a bad car accident at the start of the damage path. A car had collided with another vehicle that had stopped where a power pole was across the road. Judging from the damage the car must have been going at least 50 mph and I wouldn't be surprised if fatalities resulted from this accident. The accident likely occurred when visibility was reduced by a line of storms moved through after the initial supercell.
automatically generated by YouTube
Tri State Tornado
The Story of the worst tornado disaster in United States History!
The Tri-State Tornado is a gripping account of the worst tornado disaster in American history. Claiming 689 lives during a three-hour rampage across Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana on March 18, 1925, the storm had one of the longest uninterrupted paths (219 miles) and one of the widest (up to one mile) of any recorded tornado. Its continuous energy was so extreme that it completely obliterated several small towns in its path. Although the fatality count was nearly that of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, with the exception of meteorologists and residents of the affected area, few had ever heard of this catastrophe until this book's initial release in 1992.
The Tri-State Tornado: The Story of America's Greatest Tornado Disaster
Amazon Price: $12.55 (as of 12/09/2009)
Used Price: $14.60
The Tri-State Tornado reconstructs the tragedy, using vivid eyewitness accounts of fourteen survivors who lived along the tornado's path from the Missouri Ozarks to southwestern Indiana. The clarity with which they recall that day in their lives over sixty years earlier will give readers the unsettling feeling that the tornado struck days, not decades, ago.
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Beautiful photo of tornado and lightning
1974 Xenia, Ohio F5 Tornado
Watch this tornado wreck havoc in this youtube video!
Location: 1974 Xenia, Ohio F5 Tornado
Watch tornadoes in these tornado videos
The top tornado videos on youtube.com
automatically generated by YouTube"
Links to information about tornadoes
More Tornado Information, myths, and facts
- BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | How a tornado is formed
- A guide with graphics explaining how a tornado is formed.
- Severe Weather Alerts, Watches and Warnings - weather.com
- The Weather Channel provides detailed information on all severe weather alerts, including watches and warnings, for every state.
- Tornadoes....Nature's Most Violent Storms
- Pictures of tornadoes and waterspouts, how they forum, myths, and safety tips.
- FEMA: Tornado
- Tornado safety tips from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
- The Tornado Project Online!
- The Tornado Project is a small company that researches, compiles and makes tornado information available to tornado and severe weather enthusiasts, ...
- The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC)
- Questions and the answers about tornadoes.
- Tornadoes
- A tornado is a violent rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground. The most violent tornadoes are capable of tremendous destruction ...
- NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Tornadoes
- Tornadoes. Information on tornadoes and other severe weather may now be found at the NOAAWatch
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- ChineseKitesforKids ChineseKitesforKids Aug 15, 2009 @ 10:01 pm
- Did you see "Raging Planet" on Discovery last weekend. OMG!! They had a tornado epsiode that was just riveting!!! I was looking and I didn't see where it said what to do if a tornado is right up on you and you are in your car? The special on Discovery didn't say either. I know where to go in the house if I don't have a cellar but what about if you're in your car on the road. The car is just a death trap so where do you go?
I live in California so no rush on the information there Thomas... lol But if you happen to know you should shoot me a msg on Facebook... lol
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- DeboraR DeboraR Jul 29, 2009 @ 12:57 am
- Love to watch the tornado videos and see pictures but I sure hope I never see one in real life!
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- Wysiwigs Wysiwigs Jul 7, 2009 @ 7:45 am
- We live in hurricane "country", but tornadoes happen here too. They are more frightening to me than hurricanes due to their unpredictability. Very good information and an excellent lens!
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- cameron clark cameron clark Jun 10, 2009 @ 5:16 pm
- I saw A F0,F1,F2,F3,F4 AND F5 Before.
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- copperpenny22 copperpenny22 Jun 6, 2009 @ 4:45 pm
- We were out of town when a tornado came through our neighborhood in April. Power was out from downed trees and some roofs were damaged. A tree fell on our neighbor's car. Thankfully, there was no damage at our house.
This is a great lens. Rated it 5-star and lens rolled it.
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- ArtByLinda ArtByLinda Jun 2, 2009 @ 11:48 pm
- Great lens, tornadoes really frighten me. I am just happy to live in the west! Well done! Linda
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- unicron unicron May 12, 2009 @ 11:22 am
- good one
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- loraseverson loraseverson May 11, 2009 @ 6:52 pm
- Saw you on the Selling Lounge. Great lens with lots of useful information
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- Zoey Zoey May 11, 2009 @ 9:43 am | in reply to Nelia
- yea it is really cool but they can bring a lot of damage
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- dustytoes dustytoes Apr 30, 2009 @ 12:54 pm
- I've had nightmares about tornadoes my whole life...(probably from watching Dorothy swirl around in her house)...they are so scary. Thanks...I'll probably have nightmares tonight. But, it is a great lens.
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- Nelia Nelia Apr 26, 2009 @ 4:46 pm
- Wow. Beautiful but incredibly deadly. Thanks for compiling this footage. Awe inspiring lens.
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- Susan52 Susan52 Apr 18, 2009 @ 4:45 pm
- Someone from our family had severe damage to her home recently in the Mena, Arkansas, tornado where three people were killed. The only good thing about a tornado is the outpouring of support from total strangers helping clean up in the aftermath. I lived in Ohio in 1974 and remember the Xenia tornado that you mention above very well. Very nice lens, well done!
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- kiwisoutback kiwisoutback Apr 8, 2009 @ 9:53 am
- I love watching tornado videos.. they've always fascinated me. Great layout and design, Squid Angel blessed!
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- becci 2010 becci 2010 Mar 25, 2009 @ 1:43 pm
- i cant believe how tornadoes look like they do they are AWESOME!!!!!!!!
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- mistyblue75605 mistyblue75605 Mar 13, 2009 @ 9:12 am
- It's neat to watch the storm chasers on t.v. but the reality of the storms are scary. 5*'s
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