Video Archives

 

On this page you'll find videos of a few of the better tornadoes I've seen along with a couple of other things I found video worthy. These videos are also available on the pages for the year they were taken as well as the specific day they were taken on. The videos are in chronological order.  


Chappell, Nebraska stovepipe tornado: On June 10th, 2004, we intercepted a tornado near Chappell, Nebraska. We observed the tornado for over 30 minutes as it circled the outer edge of the meso (I have video where it at first is moving left to right on my screen, then as it comes around the back of the meso it is going right to left) then collapsed into the wall cloud and generated a very large stovepipe. Here are the highlights. The tornado gets larger and larger as the video goes along. At the beginning, the first few moments are the preview to the main feature: The Woodrow, CO truncated cone tornado we'd seen the day before.

Chappell, Nebraska run for our lives!: After seeing the Chappell tornado, we chased the storm north where it eventually morphed into an HP hailer up in the Sand Hills. Our escape road, which was indicated to be paved by our Delorme GPS, turned out to be an unpaved glorified cattle trailed that weaved back and forth for 17 miles as we got pummeled by hail of up to golf ball size and 70 MPH winds. We drove through puddles, of road into the fields, and through a herd of cows before we got to the main road. Video taken by SLT guest Greg Mazur, the only video / photography on this site I didn't take myself! I'm driving the gold van in front of the one the video is being taken from.

Bismarck, ND Night Time Lightning: Tim Marshall has an incredible knack for finding the absolute best spots from which to film. On May 27th, 2006, we stopped on a hill overlooking the city of Bismarck, ND and watched a highly electrified storm pass over.

Erick, OK Hail Core: On May 30th 2006, we decided to let a HP supercell run us over and sample the core from the shelter of a car wash.

Quinter, KS Wedge Tornado: On May 23rd, 2008, I saw the largest and strongest (rated EF-4) tornado I'd seen to that point, south of Quinter, Kansas. This tornado was a monster, at times nearly a mile wide.

Glen Elder Multi-Vortex Tornado: On May 29th, 2008, we intercepted a multi-vortex tornado between Tipton, KS and Glen Elder, KS. The mesocylone produced tornado after tornado as it charged towards us. The most exciting 15 minutes of chasing I've been through.

Rhome, TX Lightning Show: On May 26th, 2009, we saw possibly the most beautiful supercell I've ever seen at twilight to the northwest of Ft. Worth, TX. Rather than charging for the core, we decided to stop about 10 miles away and observe the lightning show at dusk.

Bowdle, SD EF-4 Tornado: May 22, 2010 was the best chase day of my career: we were on the Bowdle tornado from the first updraft until it's EF-4 rated wedge stage. What a fantastic tornado! The video also features the Roscoe, SD elephant trunk from later in the storm, and then some fantastic structure shots.

Atwood, KS, Lightning Show: On May 23rd, 2010, the day after the Bowdle tornado, we saw 3 nighttime tornadoes near Goodland, KS. After the storm became HP, we stopped near Atwood, KS for a fantastic lightning show.

Bartlett, CO, Cone Tornado: On May 25th, 2010, after a long day of chasing, we lucked upon a fantastic cone tornado near Bartlett, CO while hunting large hail. The initial tornado touched down no more than 100 yards from us.

Canton, OK Wedge Tornado: On May 24th, 2011, we observed 5 tornadoes, including the EF-3 Canton, OK tornado that showed nearly all the potential tornado types: Multi-vortex, elephant trunk, stovepipe, cone, and then a big wedge as it went across Canton Lake. We had a great view of it from initial formation all the way to the end of the life-cycle.

La Crosse, KS Nighttime Tornado:  On May 25th, 2012, after a long, frustrating chase day, we were rewarded with an awesome nighttime tornado that traveled from the western outskirts of La Crosse, KS to the northern outskirts, and was on the ground for 54 minutes, the longest tornado I've seen. Most of it occurred after dark, so it was only visible when lightning flashed. Between the darkness and the tornado sirens from the town it was a spooky cool experience!

Shawnee, OK Tornado Part 1: On May 19th, 2013, I arrived in Oklahoma and went right from the plane directly into chase mode. After intercepting two tornado in and northeast of Edmond, OK,  we dropped south in front of an oncoming tornado near Shawnee. In this video the tornado is just crossing the Shawnee Reservoir to our immediate northwest. We're close to the mesocyclone but the tornado is partially obscured by trees. The motion was incredible and the roar of the tornado was as loud as I've heard.

Shawnee, OK Tornado Part 2: About 10 minutes after Part 1, we finally found a clear vantage right at the height of the tornado, which was just to our north. This tornado was rated EF-4 and did considerable damage in Shawnee.

Arcadia, NE Electrified Supercell: On May 26th, 2013, we intercepted a terrifically structured supercell rotating so hard it was clearly visible to the eye. The storm was highly electrified, which led to a spectacular show!

Bennington, KS Tornado: On May 28th, 2013 we intercepted a nearly stationary, monster EF-4 tornado near Bennington, KS. The tornado was on the ground for nearly an hour and barely moved the entire time, coming in and out of the rain, eventually expanding into a large wedge tornado before finally becoming totally rain wrapped.

Weatherford, OK Hail Core and Lightning: On May 29th, 2013, after chasing storms south of Erick, OK, we had to blast through two hail core to get east of a line of storms to continue chasing. Later that night, the line caught back up to us and gave us a tremendous lightning show as we passed through a wind farm on I-40 near Weatherford, OK.

Canadian, TX Tornadoes: On May 27th, 2015 we intercepted 4 tornadoes over a 4-5 period near Canadian, TX. Over the course of the entire chase we barely moved 10 miles as the storm was anchored near town the entire time.

Dodge City, KS Cyclic Tornadic Supercell: On May 24th, 2016 we intercepted a cyclic tornadic supercell just south of Dodge City, KS. Over an 80 minute period the storm produced at least a dozen tornadoes, sometimes with two or three on the ground at once.

Jal, NM Core Punch: On May 22nd, 2017, we punched through a huge precipitation core trying to get out in front of a storm west of Jal, NM. Hurricane force winds, zero visibility, and tons of quarter to nickel sized hail. The action really picks up about 3:30 in.

Buffalo, OK Daytime Lightning Show: On June 12th, 2018, we chased several highly electrified supercells between Protection, KS and Rosston, OK. Here is a sample from just west of Buffalo, OK.

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