Top 10 tornado videos of 2008

[Chad Cowan]

In a shameless attempt to gain some exposure and readers for my new blog, I have put together a Top 10 list of the best tornado videos of 2008. I have added a poll at the bottom of the post so you can vote on your favorite. Feel free to leave a comment or post here if you think there is a better one that I left out. Only 32 days 'til March!

Top 10 tornado videos of 2008

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

Each is unique and cool in its own way, but it's apparent by looking at your youtube options, 2008 was the year of the security camera... Of those 10, I'd say the Parkersburg video with the small house getting torn apart wins.

 

[Jeff Duda]

The guy filming the 1 July 2008 Sweden tornado has got to be one of the stupidest people I've ever seen make a storm chasing video. He's very lucky the tornado was 2 feet in diameter at it's base, but he missed it by 20 feet. And by looking at the damage it did to that tree...well...he's lucky his car didn't get ripped apart like that...especially having had a kid in the car with him.

 

[Andrea Griffa]

I have to admitt that all videos are amazing , no doubt about it. Anyway I voted Doug's video because of his unpredictability to have two tornadoes in the same time so close each other, one of those is bringing you in trap taking you towards the unlimited force of the bigger one. Moreover Andrew's video is amazing the same, even if I'm more linked to Quinter wedge because of the emotions I felt that day.

 

[Matt Hughes]

The Iowa house is probably the best video but I couldn't vote for an ATM machine. I voted for Doug because of Andrea's statements above, his always supurb video shooting, and pure jealousy! What a crazy year!!!

 

[Adam Lucio]

The best footage I think is from Poland where the tornado passes almost directly over the guy filming in his house. He is extremely lucky that tornado was probably 'only' an EF-1 [if I had to guess.]

As far as chaser video goes I would vote Dougs. Nothing like filming the wedge and an apparent satelite so close together. The tumbleweeds and debris just add to the intensity and his classic line "Were about to get hit by a #$*()&@ wedge!"

 

[John Wetter]

I'd have to say the Parkersburg tornado takes the cake.

 

[Chad Cowan]

Doug K's Quinter video is in the lead with the Parkersburg house in a close 2nd and Andrew Pritchard's Chicago tornado video in 3rd.

I've added a few chaser blogs to my link list on my blog, if you want yours listed PM me.

 

[Dennis Dennison]

I voted for Dougs also as it showed a formation, and then a monster sneaking up on him from behind--I am just glad he had a ton of SA and didnt get locked into what was in front of him.

The bank shots of the house are just so cool--What I think of when I watch it is how the wind is blowing one direction, then nearly dead calm before the real opposite direction wind starts, and that bright blue flash of light crossing the side of the house, showing movement of something huge. It makes me think "Something wicked this way comes" eveytime. Whats amazing it the house(?) behind it getting ripped up and then this home,AND someone was inside it and lived!

but I want to hit you with a couple points, that so far I have not heard anyone say much about.

The video from the bus--if you look in front of the bus, the little red cars front end seems to be sucked towards the funnel by about 3 feet--before the bus rolls.
Second I have heard nothing about the little white car that the bus comes up and stops next to--from my SA it seems that car is next to the rear wheels of the bus--I wonder if the bus rolled on top of that car of if maybe the car got blown away?


Last the 2 foot base funnel in from of the van on the highway--it is such a small little suction vortex-yet it does not SUCK the tree out of the ground-rather it twists it off.

I wonder if any of you physics nuts can calculate the torque required to twist a tree trunk to fracture point, the speed of the funnel, and the temperature the tree reaches because of such?

It also appears to be really humid in that tornado shot

 

[Joel Wright]

Man there were a lot of incredible videos from 2008. Anyone of these could have easily won in other years.

I am most intrigued by the Sweden video. It's amazing how calm the air appears to be around the very narrow funnel. Even the pine tree that was moments away from being ripped to shreds appears to be almost entirely motionless until the drill bit rips it up. Freaking incredible man.

The Poland vid is also impressive as it really illustrates what it'd be like to be in your house and continue filming as a tornado passes literally right through your back yard. You can actually pinpoint individual suction vorticies in that vid too as they rotate around the parent vortex.

 

[Brian Stertz]

I am voting for Doug Kiesling's but surely love Dustin Wilcox's stuff from May 22nd a lot. He did a great job that day up there in the Dresen-Oberlin KS area. Was praying he would not run out of tape....and thankfully he didn't.

 

[Ted Keller]

I'd vote for either the Parkersburg house or the Leighton security cam.

The more of these videos that appear, the clearer it becomes we have much more to learn about tornadogenesis. Scale, multiple vorticies, satellites, mesos at the ground, etc.

Amazing stuff!

 

[Sean McMullen]

My vote for the creepiest would be the ATM footage. You think the owners of that house wondered why that ATM camera was so perfectly centerd on their house? They were being video taped everyday of their lives! I would be flippin livid if I found out my entire life was being taped! Oh well, Just so I'm not so off topic I'll go ahead and vote for Dutin Wilcox's Glen Elder footage. Man I wish I had footage like that. I mean that was incredible! How on Earth did he get footage like that!? If only I had video of such a tornado my life would be complete.

 

[Dean Baron]

I have to say Doug's video is just plain BA! "We about to get hit by a f**king wedge" LOL gotta love it. The first Parkersburg video is also pretty sick. I didn't have time to look at some of the others...

 

[Darren Addy]

Hard to pick. If I got to choose one of those guy's chase days, it would have been Andrew's Chicago-area tornadoes. Wow. One after another after another. That's a dream chase day there.