Sounds of the storm chase

[Danny Neal]

I have been going over video a lot the last couple of days and noticed some interesting sounds; some amusing, some horrifying. My goal with this thread is for us to express our "weird" or "horrifying" sounds from your personal experience. If you have a video or .wav of the sound you are speaking of I think it would be awesome for you to share it with us!

As you know I was trapped in the field in South Dakota, however, I do not remember much in terms of a "roar" or "whistling" noise. It was pretty much your standard sound of rain hitting the windshield. The only shrieking I heard was from the person sitting kiddie corner to me in the backseat .

One sound that sticks out to me was the sound of the RFD during the development of the Bowdle wedge. It was the first time I heard a roar without the presence of a wedge tornado. I found that to be pretty cool.


Another sound that sticks out to me was from May 10th near Wakita. We were directly behind the tornado(in the hook) and were getting a pretty significant RFD. This RFD lofted a roof from a barn and carried it into a grove of trees right next to us. Luckily video was rolling! If you don't choose to watch the whole clip, please advance to 1:03 in the video. The sound just as I roll down the window sticks in my mind. Sounds like the world is getting torn apart.


I love the sound of tornado sirens as well. My favorite shot during tornado time is driving near a town with wailing sirens and view of the tornado. *Obviously I don't wish tornadoes to occur near towns, but it is beyond my control* So I will add a couple of siren videos too. Of course the sound of thunderous hail and a close CG can also stick in the mind. I encourage the rest of you to participate and explain what sounds stick with you the most during and after a chase.

Close CG:


Tornado sirens in Norman, OK/Lexington, OK


My most memorable sound of all time though and one that will stick with me as long as I chase is the sound of wailing sirens in Dwight, IL just after an EF-2 tornado ripped through town. We entered town and encountered mobile homes destroyed as well as trees down and well built homes sustaining damage. 1:14 in the video is one that has really sunk in... Sadly one person died (nearly a month later in the hospital) Rescue efforts were underway, being a firefighter/emt I offered my services but was denied and we quickly got out of there as we didn't want to hang around in that area.


Post as many or as few as you would like. Don't have to use videos, just tell the story!

 

[Rob H]

That's pretty sweet video of 5/10, and I love audio from chasing so I'm glad this thread is here. I turned off my camera (Canon t2i, records HD video) during the RFD on 5/10 because I had just bought it a few days before and was afraid we were going to lose a window from the softball hail or a power line coming down. Some friends of ours left their camera on however..

Threat Net saying "You are approaching a twisting storm" just as you see the RFD rushing across the field was perfect timing (about 1:20 in). The guy providing commentary on this video (we're the silver Explorer in front of them) says things that crack me up like "It's RFD, it's OK - maybe 100mph winds" and "we have got to stay with this thing". 100mph winds are *not* OK, and you can't "stay with" a storm moving 60+ mph. Also, I just realized the RFD speed (65mph) and the storm motion (~65mph) were both adhering to the rules of the road (the 65mph speed limit sign about to fly into the side of their car)



I've always liked this audio. It's from an embedded supercell in Lawson, MO on 4/6/10. We're letting the hail core pass over us while hanging out under a gas station canopy. Around 1:48, the wind completely shifts and 1" hail is wrapping around the side of the car and pelting me in the head. The hail was flying completely horizontal, and it sounds almost like a jet engine. The audio from this portion in tandem with the wind shifts and the localized damage nearby almost make me think there was more than a little wind:



I *always* record the sirens, and have been known to shush people talking over them. They're one of my favorite sounds of storm chasing.

 

[Skip Talbot]

Hearing the Bowdle wedge was definitely the most awe inspiring thing I've heard on a chase. This video fails to do it justice as the servo motors are running, and the dome muffles the audio anyway.



At about 8 minutes is when we were closest, and you can definitely hear the different winds shifting from inflow to RFD. The tornado had more of a thunderous bass type sound to it though.

Here's one thing I don't want to hear again:



The crunch of driving into a big culvert. Argh!

 

[Marcus Diaz]

Not my video, but I've always wanted to have this siren blare in the distance while watching a storm scoot outside of town. I've always found these sirens around here very eerie, just bone chilling in a way. And when you get 10 of these going off all around town at once, it can really give you goosebumps hearing them in the distance.

 

[Scott Weberpal]

Perhaps not the best sound if it's your vehicle (video quality isn't great, uploaded it primarily for the sound).

 

[Adam Lucio]

Something that hasnt been covered yet...

Listening to constant thunder from an approaching mothership as you wait downstream from it. I LOVE that. Like the rumble of impending doom. From about 1:20 to the end of the video you can hear what Im talking about.

I suppose my failed attempt at narrating is amusing as well...

 

[J Tyler]

I grew up fearing two things.....Thermonuclear attack from the Russians, and tornadoes. Either way, there was one sound that signified both. The "Civil Defense siren".

Not just ANY siren either......But, the mother of all Civil Defense Sirens, The Federal Signal Thunderbolt 1000. The new sirens of today just don't have the same effect as those old Thunderbolts. Those things scared me so badly I would get sick to my stomach when they went off! Even now, as an adult, they make the hair on my neck stand up.

 

[Jason Foster]

I so wish I had a damn good microphone during Hurricane Charley and oddly Hurricane Gustav. In my screener video (click on the Vimeo link in my signature) can hear a few of the sounds...as I put even the bad shots not on the documentary in the screener video.

Two parts to hurricanes that have extra-ordinary sounds.

1) The most obvious...the amount of destruction and debris that is flying around with unbelievably loud metal banging and shattering glass. This is the sound that makes you run and hide and start praying to god that you survive (and even say you won't chase a Cat. 4 again...which you later recant).

2) The least obvious and sometimes not noticeable due to #1, the shear wind and friction of just the air against itself and a few ground elements (sand, tall grass, trees). But above you can hear insane wind in a different way than supercell winds from outside the meso. I suspect a few may have heard something similar when near to or under a funnel ready to become a tornado. It is also somewhat like the 'hail roar', but different. Collura can probably describe it better than me.

 

[Maggie Kahman]

Not even chasing, just standing outside on my front porch during a storm and happened to have my camera pointed in the right direction. ya, i get a little excited, but i love CGs and really loud thunder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIsY4gyYuLU


and another one from the same storm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVmt18yFOqw&NR=1

 

[Jason Foster]

OK....forgot about this clip. You can somewhat hear the raw power sound I mentioned before in this clip. Please ignore the tantrum I'm having with my camera though.



This is from Hurricane Isabel in Morehead City, NC in 2003.

***Caution: Very high wind buffett on microphone***


From Hurricane Ike, winds around 80mph sustained (gusts to 100....maybe).

And just found this one from our Hurricane Charley intercept. I think this is Chris Collura's or Doug Kieslings, can't remember for sure. You can hear the three of use TRYING to talk to each other in the 145mph (170+ gust) winds.

 

[Dave Gallaher]

I grew up fearing two things.....Thermonuclear attack from the Russians, and tornadoes. Either way, there was one sound that signified both. The "Civil Defense siren".

Not just ANY siren either......But, the mother of all Civil Defense Sirens, The Federal Signal Thunderbolt 1000. The new sirens of today just don't have the same effect as those old Thunderbolts. Those things scared me so badly I would get sick to my stomach when they went off! Even now, as an adult, they make the hair on my neck stand up.

Amen--that's THE sound from the fifties that I recall. I thought it'd be fun to have that as a cell phone ring tone, but haven't found it anywhere. That minor third interval is so much more dramatic than those that only have one tone.

 

[Keith Wilson]

Tyler;293348]I grew up fearing two things.....Thermonuclear attack from the Russians, and tornadoes. Either way, there was one sound that signified both. The "Civil Defense siren".

Not just ANY siren either......But, the mother of all Civil Defense Sirens, The Federal Signal Thunderbolt 1000. The new sirens of today just don't have the same effect as those old Thunderbolts. Those things scared me so badly I would get sick to my stomach when they went off! Even now, as an adult, they make the hair on my neck stand up.

They still have the T'bolt 1000's in my old hometown of Paducah, Ky. Even on a sunny 1st Saturday of the month test, they seemed to scream impending doom.

 

[Sean Ramsey]

Adam listed of my favorite sounds during a chase... when you're on a random road out in the middle of nowhere pulled over watching the storm and having nothing but silence and listening to the thunder as the storm moves towards you.