Favorite Tornado Documentary

[Mike Tobin]

i was watching Nature Tech- Tornadoes from 2003 and its a great video. What are your favorite Tornado Documentary.

 

[Shane Adams]

Twister - Fury on the Plains.

I think this was made in 1996, but I'm not sure. All I know is it aired in early 1997 right before my rookie season started, and it was a huge inspiration. Packed full of classic video clips, this one definitely tops my list.

 

[John Olexa]

Wonders of Weather. Aired on the old The Learning Channel. I taped it (VCR) and still have it.

 

[GPhillips]

If you consider Tornado Video Classics a documentary, then that is mine. I loved the history and perspective from that series, especially the first one.

 

[calvinkaskey]

TVC all the way baby!

 

[mikedeason]

All great choices, but for me it was the 1985 episode of "Tornado!" on NOVA. That was the one that really stirred the interest in me.

 

[Adam R Davis]

My favorite is still Tornado Video Classics Volume 1. It was not only a comprehensive history of tornado documentation, but also a great beginner's guide to types of tornadoes, their life cycles, and the supercells that spawn them. The segments on early reasearch projects leading up to the beginnings of the mobile Doppler era were some of my first exposures to chasing. I was already rather obsessed with severe storms and I was amazed that people were able to successfully find tornadoes and watch them safely. I also remember thinking, this would make a fantastic movie, and even wrote a draft or two for how it would play out. Turns out Hollywood was getting that very idea about the same time...

 

[Greg Campbell]

I don't know about a 'favorite,' but two of the most spooky and 'influential' were Terrible Tuesday and Death out of Darkness.

Death out of Darkness covers the Palm Sunday outbreak, showing all manner of damage and mayhem, but without a single picture or video clip of the actual tornadoes. I'm pretty sure I saw this way back in the dingle-digit years, and it scared me to death. At that time, I didn't have any notion of what a tornado was, other than a dark funnel that randomly descended out of the sky. The film didn't do much to educate me - all if did was make me even more spooked of the damn things. The fact that I was living in California at the time didn't even register...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd9k-ItZ1vI


Terrible Tuesday, which came along a short while later, wasn't much better. The first spoken words are "It can happen... anywhere." Great, just what I needed to hear!
The graphic accounts of several folks who wound up outside in the 'blender' was new to me. When people come out missing arms and legs, you know this *** is serious! The tornado video was enthralling and terrifying all in one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGXIy0WtFWE

 

[Ed Sweeney]

Several of my favorites have already been mentioned, but my all-time favorite documentary/special was The Weather Channel's "The Enemy Wind" from 1992. While I had already become highly interested in meteorology & severe weather as a kid, this show (which largely focused on the Andover, KS F5. Additionally, I remember receiving a VHS tape, which included approximately 30 minutes of chasing footage from Warren Faidley. Honestly, I was blown away (pun intended); it was my introduction to the concept of chasing storms; been hooked ever since that time. Thank you, Warren.

 

[ngjere]

I second the NOVA program TORNADO! Probably the greatest explanation of tornado genesis using computer graphics I've ever seen!

 

[Warren Faidley]

Several of my favorites have already been mentioned, but my all-time favorite documentary/special was The Weather Channel's "The Enemy Wind" from 1992. While I had already become highly interested in meteorology & severe weather as a kid, this show (which largely focused on the Andover, KS F5. Additionally, I remember receiving a VHS tape, which included approximately 30 minutes of chasing footage from Warren Faidley. Honestly, I was blown away (pun intended); it was my introduction to the concept of chasing storms; been hooked ever since that time. Thank you, Warren.

Thanks very kindly Ed.

Those videos seem so lame now days compared to the digital age and all the wild, high quality footage to be had. I've thought about re-releasing them in a digital format. Some of the original footage has not been seen in years.

W.

 

[Marcus Diaz]

Warren I'm willing to be there's several people, including myself, that would love to see some old footage from you.

 

[Alex Heimberger]

Always like anything NOVA puts out.

 

[Jonathan Beeson]

The NOVA documentary recapping the 2011 season was pretty good, but I think Hunt for the Supertwister is my favorite tornado documentary.

 

[Andy Berrington]

These videos from TLC in 2000 are definitely among my most-watched/favourite tornado documentaries.

Also Twister: Fury On the Plains was mentioned earlier and that's another personal favourite.