The Fargo F5 Tornado of 1957 - The Science Behind the Slow-Moving Monster

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  • Опубліковано 19 жов 2024

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  • @weatherboxstudios
    @weatherboxstudios  Рік тому +393

    Hey everyone! It's inevitable that after I put out a video, I find out I've gotten a few things wrong. People way smarter than me often email me with incredible information and details I had not previously known, so I decided to create a corrections document for this and future videos which will be linked in the description below the sources. The document will be updated whenever I receive emails/messages with great information that I can then pass on to viewers. Thanks guys!

    • @pallmall5495
      @pallmall5495 Рік тому +16

      No worries my friend. Unless you are James Spann you will never know everything about weather or what it has done. Great videos and keep them coming.

    • @encycl07pedia-
      @encycl07pedia- Рік тому

      LEARN ENGLISH! FORECASTED ISN'T A WORD!!!!!!!!!!

    • @encycl07pedia-
      @encycl07pedia- Рік тому +2

      FORECASTED IS NOT A WORD!

    • @encycl07pedia-
      @encycl07pedia- Рік тому +1

      FORECASTED IS NOT A WORD!

    • @ns3421thelocomotive
      @ns3421thelocomotive Рік тому +2

      What might happen if a tornado(hurricane sized) merged with a hurricane

  • @CeltonHenderson
    @CeltonHenderson Рік тому +1288

    Never ceases to amaze me how ahead of his time Dr. Ted Fujita was, just incredible.

    • @pavan5272
      @pavan5272 Рік тому +54

      He was a beast of a meteorologist!

    • @DefinitelyNotEmma
      @DefinitelyNotEmma Рік тому +39

      Japanese dedication at full display

    • @2345allthebest
      @2345allthebest Рік тому +6

      Yo Celton.... Do you know this guy? Between the two of you I would imagine we might be able to get some very accurate tornado prediction in the future?? 😂

    • @Thicc_Cheese_Dip
      @Thicc_Cheese_Dip Рік тому +53

      @@pavan5272 he had a degree in engineering and a passion for meteorology. It's why he thought outside the box.

    • @GetOffMyLog
      @GetOffMyLog Рік тому +15

      ​@@2345allthebest tornado forecasting has come a very long way in the last 20 years, and models get better as time goes on and computers get more powerful. It's gotten to the point where models can predict the formation of individual cells hours in advance. We're going to keep moving forwards towards better and better forecasting.

  • @jobes8315
    @jobes8315 Рік тому +622

    Holy cow, that Fujita report is insane and shows how one man's obsession can lead to great discovery and knowledge. And with as much detail that was included, obsession is an understatement.

    • @kimm6589
      @kimm6589 Рік тому +21

      It's not an 'obsession', that's how we do things in science. He was more skilled than average at the time, though.

    • @calrivera8301
      @calrivera8301 Рік тому

      totally obsessed. shut your finger mouth up. you'd have to be obsessed to create just detailed masterpiece of human ingenuity in the fog of war that existed in metrology in his time

    • @jobes8315
      @jobes8315 Рік тому +70

      @Kim M I appreciate yours and other scientists contribution to society but ill have to disagree here, you usually see reports this detailed from a team of scientists, not 1 guy. He not only did all the calcs in the report, but animated by hand extremely detailed renditions of the event. No matter what field, there's always someone who goes beyond the definition of obsession to change that field dramatically, Fujita is that guy for meteorology.

    • @CMSonYT
      @CMSonYT Рік тому

      They couldn't handle his sheer autism

    • @laraisokay
      @laraisokay Рік тому +32

      @@kimm6589you cannot deny that the man had an incredible passion for what he did. He wasn’t just an average run-of-the-mill meteorologist. He changed the course of the science itself.

  • @StormGallade
    @StormGallade Рік тому +587

    Born and raised in Fargo here. I've heard a ton of stories of this tornado and the devastation it brought to my hometown. The first time I had heard about it though was because of a picture in a restraunt downtown that I saw when I was young, and that very picture of this tornado kickstarted my interest for weather.

    • @Xfrtrex
      @Xfrtrex Рік тому +11

      pin this

    • @lowwastehighmelanin
      @lowwastehighmelanin Рік тому +5

      Whoa!

    • @Kyle-bm2eo
      @Kyle-bm2eo Рік тому +9

      I’m from the Grand Forks area and have never even heard of this. Truly fascinating history though

    • @chacehahn6556
      @chacehahn6556 Рік тому +6

      I’m from fargo too!!!

    • @i-cant-think-of-a-handIe
      @i-cant-think-of-a-handIe Рік тому +7

      The same thing kinda happened to me,
      I was born in Lawrence county alabama (and still being raised💀)
      And I have heard stories after stories about an F5 Back in 1974 doing Lots of damage here
      And that was what kinda made me scared and interested in weather.

  • @rschiwal
    @rschiwal Рік тому +245

    My uncle was a Fargo Tornado survivor. Either he, or a family he knew (Family story) just bought a new car. It was hot and the kids were eating ice cream in the back seat. The mom was worried about the new upholstery getting stained by the dripping ice cream.
    Later that day, the new car was totalled by a refrigerator.

    • @Cokercole
      @Cokercole 9 місяців тому +13

      Not funny.....that the car was destroyed but hahaha hahaha hahaha 😂

    • @officialsnoopplays
      @officialsnoopplays 8 місяців тому +25

      BY A REFRIGERATOR!? THATS MESSED UP

    • @sabrinaleedance
      @sabrinaleedance 7 місяців тому +13

      That's true irony

    • @joshuamlnarik5942
      @joshuamlnarik5942 7 місяців тому +2

      "That fridge still works to this day! FridgitripledoggDaire, tellyawhat"

    • @martimasters7704
      @martimasters7704 4 місяці тому +1

      And then there was all kinds of food all over the seats!
      Seriously, how fortunate that no one was in the car when the tornado had touched down. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Amen.

  • @dragonlover7196
    @dragonlover7196 Рік тому +135

    dr. fujita putting together such a coherent and _accurate_ analysis of the storm is absolutely wild. what a legend; even knowing that he's a founding father of our understanding of severe weather, his work astonishes me every time

  • @ErinsEnergy313
    @ErinsEnergy313 7 місяців тому +16

    My best friend's dad was Richard Shaw, the man carrying out one of the children who passed away. I remember her showing me the newspaper clipping. She wasn't born for another 12 years, but to this day, is very proud of her brave dad.

  • @13_cmi
    @13_cmi Рік тому +155

    Those animations were incredible. You don’t even see things like that decades later.

  • @cyd160
    @cyd160 Рік тому +50

    I experienced this tornado first hand! I was 10 years old at the time. We were on our way to a baseball game at the Twins stadium in north Fargo. As we headed toward the field from our car we saw the long tail funnel west of Fargo. We got in the car and went straight home. Turned on the radio and headed to the basement. The radio commentator said “it’s time to talk to the man upstairs”. In a few minutes the tornado struck. It sounded like a bunch of freight trains were going over our heads. We could see a little from the basement windows and saw debris flying past and tall trees bending over severely. It turned out that the main funnel was only about 1000 feet from where we were as the tornado had made a slight turn away from our house just a few city blocks before it would have hit us. We were lucky. Afterward it was like a disaster zone. Debris all over the yard including wood, blankets, and other personal stuff. We found hail the sizes of baseballs in the yard too. The next few days all you could hear was chain saws cutting up trees and other debris removal machines.
    The whole experience was terrifying.

    • @martimasters7704
      @martimasters7704 4 місяці тому +4

      Thank you for sharing such a personal and harrowing experience. You write so well that I felt like I was there. So happy you made it through the storm okay. Praise the Lord and may He keep you & your loved ones safe for all the days to come!

  • @YeahNah100
    @YeahNah100 Рік тому +67

    Now that I have learned that corn sweat is a factor, I can better understand how the 1990 Plainfield, Illinois tornado was able to become so ferocious. Excellent channel and glad the algorithm finally set it in front of me.

    • @Sing_A_Rebel_Song
      @Sing_A_Rebel_Song 5 місяців тому +7

      *looks judgingly at the corn fields across the street from me*

    • @believer2
      @believer2 5 місяців тому +6

      ​@@Sing_A_Rebel_SongMaybe toddler me was right to despise vegetables

  • @maxdevos3201
    @maxdevos3201 Рік тому +50

    I live in what used to be called Golden Ridge, which is now called Madison Unicorn Park. The location of my current home is directly under the path of the tornado. Strong evidence of the tornado remains to this day; there is a distinct grouping of post-60s construction in the area which perfectly follows the path of the tornado. It is very obvious from the ground what was struck by the tornado.
    I attend NDSU (what used to be the ND Ag College) and have taken many classes in Ladd hall. To see the tornado in the background of that image provides a level of gravity that I couldn't hope to put into words. It's difficult to describe the phenomenon of seeing pictures of places that are so ordinary to me, so everyday and mundane, such as the building where I have "that chem lab" or my own intersection on my favorite UA-cam channel, especially in this context. Definitely the coolest thing I've experienced in awhile, but also the most harrowing.
    It's also interesting that this event is so significant meteorologically, since from a weather perspective, Fargo is known for its catastrophic floods.
    One last thing that I thought you might find amusing; Prairie Rose, the city you denoted to the south, is a super interesting (and annoying) anomaly. It's about 20 houses that are completely enclosed by Fargo, and exists as a tax haven for the residents to leech off of city resources (namely flood protection) without paying local tax. The City of Fargo and PR have been in on-and-off legal disputes for decades. It's super funny to see someone unfamiliar with the area see it and (understandably) mark it as a real city.

    • @maxdevos3201
      @maxdevos3201 Рік тому +11

      In 2009 and 2011, during record flood events, the city had to deploy a bunch of their own resources to prevent Prairie Rose from going underwater. The City website makes a number of "professionally snarky" comments about this.

    • @crowboy0666
      @crowboy0666 5 місяців тому +7

      @@maxdevos3201 "professionally snarky" is my favorite genre of commentary i gotta be honest, it's just so funny to see people very eloquently and politely fuckin slam someone or something else, especially as an ela nerd. also i hope everyone living in prairie rose to dodge taxes wakes up to a flooded basement next time there's rain.

    • @Sing_A_Rebel_Song
      @Sing_A_Rebel_Song 5 місяців тому +2

      I’m sorry but who names a town Madison Unicorn Park? 😂

    • @missano3856
      @missano3856 5 місяців тому +5

      Somewhere out in the Ridge there is(or was) a horseshoe stuck in a tree. I saw it once but I was pretty drunk and never found it again.

    • @RT-qd8yl
      @RT-qd8yl 4 місяці тому +1

      @@crowboy0666 I can totally understand it though if they "spend" the taxes the same way other cities like Baton Rouge or Chicago do. Remember, there's 3 sides to every story.

  • @barrybrevik9178
    @barrybrevik9178 Рік тому +14

    This is hilarious! Somehow, this video crept into my UA-cam feed, and by coincidence, I was in that tornado, but I was only 1 year old, so I do not remember it. I was told that we heard it on the radio and immediately sheltered in the basement. They said that the sound as it passed over the house was much like a freight train.
    I am grateful that this channel has posted this video so I could finally learn a lot more about an event that has been large in our family lore.
    Mom and grandma would go on and on with their stories about how the roof came off every house in the neighborhood, and then it rained inside of them. The windows and contents of kitchen cabinets were reduced to powdered glass, which was deposited over every surface. Men came down from Canada, but there was still a lack of manpower, so the contractors could not meet the demand for home repairs, and many people went months before being able to live in their homes.
    They also mentioned that the people "on the other side of the tracks" had no basements, so they fled, which caused a big traffic jam. Evidently, there was a trailer park that was hit, and those people who had not already fled were lucky to be alive.
    My dad was the radio and tv farm reporter for WDAY at the time, and he had kept a scrap book full of newspaper articles about the tornado.
    I am sorry to write so much; the video stimulated my memory of the stories.

  • @bambambam1807
    @bambambam1807 Рік тому +166

    Awesome video, and Dr. Ted Fujita was so ahead of his time with that research paper. What I found most impressive was that he triangulated the pictures taken of the tornado to there exact location, and made a basic video on the tornado moving.

  • @NancyCollazo-rk7jh
    @NancyCollazo-rk7jh Рік тому +19

    Born and raised in Fargo. I was 8 when this tornado occured. We stood on the west side of our house watching it for a long time until my mother herded all of us to the basement and we crawled under a couch that was turned over for shelter. My aunt and uncle who lived on the north side of Fargo, had a large wing back chair sucked through a small window and dropped into the neighbor's tree -chair was fully intact! Many very strange occurrences like that. Memories are very vivid of this tornado even after all these years!

  • @Alex-tx2dh
    @Alex-tx2dh Рік тому +40

    19:00 I remember reading about this story a year ago, after researching f5 tornadoes. It made me cry to first imagine the dead children and mom seeing it firsthand, to then picture the dad opening the paper at the lobby or coffee shop and reading his children were ripped apart. It definitely felt real in that moment of research, which was a shift from scrolling through what looked like open walled dollhouses but were really the homes of Fargo.

    • @Alex-tx2dh
      @Alex-tx2dh Рік тому +6

      Also 21:10 WHAT?! I missed a whole half of this F5’s story

    • @agentmueller
      @agentmueller 9 місяців тому +6

      Very well said. I’m from Moore. Since it’s this channel, I don’t think I need to say much else. I found myself tear up twice during this, especially for the father who got that kind of news, and something mundane most people wouldn’t think about. The army coming to town. I will never forget walking the streets of my hometown and it just looking like something out of the apocalypse. And then the army showed up, and the core of engineers set to helping our city folk and the army cooks were making meals and distributing them to anybody around who was hungry. It makes me tear up just writing this, it was an extremely traumatic experience for everybody involved even though we’ve become infamous for our tornados. I was in highschool and we went out for almost 8 hours helping people dig through their homes looking for pets, or looking for that one thing you would grab before you left your home on fire. Picture albums, etc. I always forget with the way the world is, that we are all Americans and we come together more than any other populace in the history of mankind when something catastrophic happens. We sat there as strangers looking through picture albums of elderly victims, and sitting on the front steps of what used to be their lifelong homes, and finding comfort in each other during a dark moment of our lives.
      I’ve always hoped that someday technology will progress to the point where we can zap the skies and disperse a tornado before it ever gets to take a single life. Now that would be an invention!

  • @Version135
    @Version135 Рік тому +21

    That picture was heartbreaking but I'm so glad you put it in. It's easy to get fascinated by these storms and forget the human cost. I have a 4.5 y/o daughter so that hit hard. Love your videos but this one was out of the park.

  • @OuterGalaxyLounge
    @OuterGalaxyLounge Рік тому +75

    I love this way of telling the story, triangulating the photos with the locations as the storm tracked. I've heard about the Fargo tornado for many years but have never seen a presentation this good about it. Congratulations on this first-rate work.

  • @cnmnnaturalist
    @cnmnnaturalist Рік тому +35

    Dr. Fujita's impeccable attention to detail and using animation to illustrate the behavior of storms is always amazing to me. He had a real gift for documentation and I'm sure he had an insatiable curiosity.
    This tornado was truly tragic, but I shudder to imagine what would happen if the same thing happened in Fargo today, as the population density is MUCH higher.

  • @2345allthebest
    @2345allthebest Рік тому +170

    Work like this really makes UA-cam shine... Its ability to bring us content creators like Weatherbox is a joy to behold. So many of us without this platform would never discover such educational, fascinating entertainment. Thank you so much for your hard work and for sharing your passion with us!

    • @P1nkR
      @P1nkR Рік тому +10

      It is a sad thing I can only give it a single like. I would love to be able to tell UA-cam: "This, push this!"

  • @jackzimmer6553
    @jackzimmer6553 Рік тому +19

    The animation that Dr. Fujita put together on the wall and tail cloud blew me away! He meticulously studied that tornado and others including the Xenia one in 1974. What he learned saved untold numbers of lives in the future.
    Great presentation as well!

  • @PelicanGuy
    @PelicanGuy Рік тому +52

    This has to be one of my favorite tornado events...one hour early lead time...unheard of! Dr. Fujita was THAT guy when it came to tornado research. I truly appreciate his work. I would love to see your video analysis on the Jackson (Candlestick Park), Miss. tornado of 1966.

  • @16BitDisaster
    @16BitDisaster Рік тому +60

    We always get cool videos about weather setups that lead to massive storms and tornadoes, but I wonder if a video about days that are forcast to be big but bust would be interesting. A meteorological breakdown of how all the ingredients for tornadoes are there, but for one reason or another it falls flat would be a pretty cool type of video.

    • @Cereal421
      @Cereal421 Рік тому +5

      Convective Chronicles has an analysis video of the 5/20/19 high risk day that turned out to be a bust.

    • @16BitDisaster
      @16BitDisaster Рік тому +1

      @@Cereal421 I should check that out for sure!

  • @yochva
    @yochva Рік тому +9

    I know this is a minor detail, but I love how you match your hairstyle and outfit to the era you're discussing. A minor detail that makes my particular inner history nerd giggle every time.

  • @vitreus0359
    @vitreus0359 Рік тому +34

    Seeing a well built video around such an early F5 in the history books has me stoked to see a modern video of the F5's that occurred near I. 1956 Comstock Park F5 and more importantly, the 1953 Flint-Beecher F5. Can't wait!

    • @danielwieten8617
      @danielwieten8617 Рік тому +2

      Have you seen @carlyannawx’s Flint/Beecher video? She did a really good job. I put Hudsonville/Comstock Park 1956 on my list too cuz I’m from Muskegon. Would love to hear the story told in detail

    • @vitreus0359
      @vitreus0359 Рік тому +2

      @@danielwieten8617 I have seen. It is a pleasure to see the past with future technology, and all the in-depth coverage of all these events that modern people can recall and/ or relate.

    • @cosmo3485
      @cosmo3485 Рік тому +2

      ​@@danielwieten8617 Would love to see either of those as I spend a lot of time between Brighton and Holland.

    • @Thicc_Cheese_Dip
      @Thicc_Cheese_Dip Рік тому +1

      I'd love to see a video on the May 1896 outbreak sequence. Even with the dearth of information, it was still arguably one of the most wicked outbreak sequences, alongside the Flint-Worcester outbreak sequence and the May-June 1917 outbreak sequence. And being a resident of NorTex, the Pilot Point-Sherman F5 is intriguing as it was the only F5 to hit the DFW area and was arguably the 19th century's answer to the May 3, 1999 F5 tornado.

  • @npeace312
    @npeace312 Рік тому +15

    Seeing that photo of the man carrying the dead girl make me cry so much. Her family lost so much. It's heartbreaking.

  • @jm94008
    @jm94008 Рік тому +72

    The production value of these videos is crazy, I’m so happy every time I get a new weatherbox notification!

  • @PamB95
    @PamB95 6 місяців тому +2

    Love that little ending you tacked on about the hurricane changing direction after the guy completed boarding up his window. lol

  • @steffen_yee
    @steffen_yee Рік тому +17

    Incredible video you made here. I felt that story with the father hearing about his children in the newspaper. Truly a tragedy

  • @atrainradio929
    @atrainradio929 Рік тому +113

    Still never hear enough love for Ted Fujita. He’s literally the greatest meteorologist of all time; was decades ahead of his time and did it all as a recently immigrated Japanese man in a time of lingering racism from WWII.

    • @opticsking4909
      @opticsking4909 Рік тому +3

      So brave and stunning

    • @moviemaker2011z
      @moviemaker2011z Рік тому +5

      i mean, his logic and reasoning WAS flawed but it was still a very much welcomed inclusion because without his insight and dedication to trying to add meaning to the chaos its unlikely that we would have the EF scale that we have today. he was a good man that had good intentions and im sure if he was still around today he would be proud of what we have accomplished thanks to his original work and efforts.

    • @niagra898
      @niagra898 Рік тому +4

      That’s a garbage pile of words if I’ve ever heard one.
      Wtf does “ Raaaaacism “ have to do with his admiration of weather.

    • @moviemaker2011z
      @moviemaker2011z Рік тому +25

      @@niagra898 did you miss the part about WWII? or are you blatantly ignoring that?

    • @niagra898
      @niagra898 Рік тому

      @@moviemaker2011z Yes, I read it Nazi- and heard your dog whistle.
      How about you just try recognizing the man for his love of weather-not his skin color or point of origin k.

  • @dillyboyq
    @dillyboyq Рік тому +22

    Ahhhhh you know it’s an absolutely premium Friday when Weatherbox uploads 🥰 your vids are absolutely top tier and I enjoy every single one. Keep it up! ❤

  • @agentmueller
    @agentmueller 9 місяців тому +2

    I posted this on another comment, but figured I’d repost it here.
    I’m from Moore. Since it’s this channel, I don’t think I need to say much else. I found myself tear up twice during this, especially for the father who got that kind of news, and something mundane most people wouldn’t think about. The army coming to town. I will never forget walking the streets of my hometown and it just looking like something out of the apocalypse. And then the army showed up, and the core of engineers set to helping our city folk and the army cooks were making meals and distributing them to anybody around who was hungry. It makes me tear up just writing this, it was an extremely traumatic experience for everybody involved even though we’ve become infamous for our tornados. I was in highschool and we went out for almost 8 hours helping people dig through their homes looking for pets, or looking for that one thing you would grab before you left your home on fire. Picture albums, etc. I always forget with the way the world is, that we are all Americans and we come together more than any other populace in the history of mankind when something catastrophic happens. We sat there as strangers looking through picture albums of elderly victims, and sitting on the front steps of what used to be their lifelong homes, and finding comfort in each other during a dark moment of our lives.
    I’ve always hoped that someday technology will progress to the point where we can zap the skies and disperse a tornado before it ever gets to take a single life. Now that would be an invention!

  • @Razzledazzy
    @Razzledazzy Рік тому +6

    I never really thought about how the fujita scale was made but hearing all the work he did on this particular tornado was incredible.

  • @joshuawarkentin9199
    @joshuawarkentin9199 Рік тому +29

    It's amazing how far climatology and weather forecasting have come in such a short period of time.
    Thanks for another great video!

  • @HexedPedestrian
    @HexedPedestrian Рік тому +12

    I lived in Fargo for 12 years. Older generations in Fargo still talk about this storm. If you live in Fargo for any amount of time you'll hear a story about it.

  • @MoldySpace
    @MoldySpace Рік тому +13

    You always do such an amazing job of conveying the human element of severe weather and the impacts it has on real people, but today's hit extra hard. Great work as always.

  • @Baldevi
    @Baldevi Рік тому +43

    I would love to see your analysis of the Jarrell TX Tornado, the infamous "Dead Man Walking." It was a monster, regardless of it's F-scale rating's accuracy.

    • @Thicc_Cheese_Dip
      @Thicc_Cheese_Dip Рік тому +12

      I'd say the F5 rating was deserved, and the winds were probably well into the F5 range despite the EF scale being generally more accurate on DIs and wind indicators. I will say that the majority of structures in Double Creek Estates weren't built very well, but the totality of destruction renders that point moot in Jarrell's case.

    • @Caddynars
      @Caddynars Рік тому +2

      @@Thicc_Cheese_DipI can understand why the rating was questionable. It wasn’t just the poor build quality of Double Creek estates, but also because the tornado’s forward momentum grinded to a nearl halt, and it just sat over the area like a giant blender.

    • @ColtsPacers1
      @ColtsPacers1 6 місяців тому +2

      ​@@Caddynarsthat's the thing about the F/EF scale. It seems to be based on damage markers as a measurement of estimated wind speeds, at least that's my understanding of it. Which is why the giant El Reno tornado in 2013, despite having wind estimates at or near 300 mph (which is deep into EF5 range) was only considered an EF3.

  • @SpecialSauce5
    @SpecialSauce5 Рік тому +9

    I have to say as a weather nerd, you do such a great job breaking down these past historic events! Really glad I came across this channel!

  • @roberthoffhines5419
    @roberthoffhines5419 Рік тому +13

    God rest the Munson family. The sweetest thing on earth is a five year-old little girl. The quality and detail of some of those B&W photos is astounding. And horrifying.

    • @fordgtguy
      @fordgtguy 6 місяців тому +2

      The story of the Munson family hit hard, I feel so bad for the father.
      Black and white pictures are actually clearer than color pictures.

  • @raelewis9957
    @raelewis9957 Рік тому +3

    You do a great job of mixing historic accounts, science and personal stories to bring it home. Thank you!

  • @jm5390
    @jm5390 Рік тому +10

    Those graphics and pictures used to show the lifecycle of the tornado were really cool. 🤩
    As for events to cover next, you should do the Terrible Tuesday tornado that impacted Wichita Falls, TX in April 1979. That was also a well documented tornado hitting a populated area.

  • @mandelbro777
    @mandelbro777 Рік тому +13

    Fujita was one of those rare individuals who could pioneer an entirely new industry within the one brain.
    That report is utterly epic.
    To say it was thorough would be an understatement.

  • @Beanrock124
    @Beanrock124 Рік тому +12

    It’s always a good day when this channel uploads!

  • @fungillooo
    @fungillooo Рік тому +7

    Love the aesthetic of your vids, your my fave weather UA-camr:))

  • @austfa7621
    @austfa7621 Рік тому +3

    Thanks for doing the Fargo tornado, I learned more about it. Fargo is my hometown and it's interesting seeing the path of the tornado how it goes from 12th Ave N to 7th Ave N and back up to 12th Ave N, then follows 13th Ave N into Moorhead, MN.

  • @mercurialjove460
    @mercurialjove460 Рік тому +8

    Wow I really loved this video! I especially loved the nice juxtaposition and transition between the two early tornado science breakthroughs: the first (broadcasted) tornado forecast and the development of the first tornado rating scale. I know some detail about the two March 1948 Tinker Tornados, but I was not so familiar with Dr. Fujita's early work and I loved learning more! There's a lot to be said about the Tinker Tornados, but here is some trivia that isn't talked about as often and may be interesting:
    While most of the focus (rightfully) is on the meteorologists who did the forecasting, Maj. General Borum's background was also oddly perfect and necessary for the events of that week to occur. First, he was effectively from Oklahoma having moved there very young and was naturally familiar with the conditions there. In fact, he was the longest serving commander of Tinker and the only one to retire to OK. Second, his skills and performance during the war were so good that post-war he was involved with the Pacific Atom bomb tests.
    It's incredibly interesting to me that many of the greatest developments in tornadogenesis in the 20th Century are connected to the Atom bombs. Of course Dr. Fujita is more directly connected to THE A-bombs than Maj. General Borum, but I have to think that especially as a man of the Great Plains being told forecasting tornados was impossible when he had seen the impossible become possible just 2-3 years earlier played a role in his actions.

  • @LMacNeill
    @LMacNeill Рік тому +11

    I don't know if it's a big enough event for your channel, but there was a tornado outbreak on March 24, 1975 in Georgia. One of the tornadoes of this outbreak hit the Governor's mansion. It's one of my earliest memories -- a couple of weeks before my 5th birthday. I remember hearing the tornado coming, and my parents running in and grabbing my sister and me, taking us down into the basement. Apparently it skipped right over our house -- in one direction, about a mile-and-a-half away, there was a huge grove of trees that were destroyed and a couple of houses were damaged, and about a mile-and-a-half in the opposite direction, was the governor's mansion. We were right smack in the middle, completely untouched. Anyway, if you wanted to cover that one, I'd definitely watch a video about it. 🙂

  • @sabrinaleedance
    @sabrinaleedance Рік тому +2

    Wow , those old black and white photos of the developing tornado, mesocyclone and wall cloud are gorgeous, and so interesting

  • @loficampingguy9664
    @loficampingguy9664 Рік тому +8

    An excellently informative and entertaining video. Thank you for all the work you put into these, it does not go unnoticed by any of us :)

  • @williammetcalf1421
    @williammetcalf1421 Рік тому +3

    Just wanna say i love the fact that you incorporate VHS / Retro style looking graphics on your videos. Big fan and former Lakewood Ohioian !

  • @condensermike
    @condensermike Рік тому +4

    Dr. Ted Fujita is a legend. Great video, man!

  • @martimasters7704
    @martimasters7704 4 місяці тому +1

    This is a fantastic video!!! Seriously, as a part-time stormchaser since 1982, I remember very well the days without internet and GPS. But how the science developed with the USAF is something I never knew about. It's the research by Dr. Fujita and university scientists who study tornadogensis that seem to make up the bulk of information vids on UA-cam.
    First. you're a very good narrator with clear diction, excellent accentuation, and a nice tone overall. Secondly, your vids are well-organized and emphasize the important points, instead of focusing on tedious details. Finally, the compilation of the video is very professional.
    I don't give many compliments on UA-cam, but here's my hat off you!!!

  • @Emily-fw1lq
    @Emily-fw1lq Рік тому +4

    Someone just shared this video with me because they know my special interest is tornadoes, and I've never been happier. This video was awesome, and I'm so excited to have another weather UA-cam channel to binge!

  • @XxCrystalPhoenix
    @XxCrystalPhoenix Рік тому +6

    This whole YT channel is a mood ❤

  • @ataricom
    @ataricom Рік тому +5

    I think I probably read about Dr. F's paper and animations, but wtf why have I never actually seen them until now? It's horrifyingly tragic, yet one of the most brilliant, meticulous, nerdy thing I've ever seen. I love it! I actually started triangulating tornado video perspectives in Google Earth a few years ago, and I can only imagine how mind blowing it would be to show him how trivial it is to do these days, and as a hobby!

  • @thehollyannrose
    @thehollyannrose Рік тому +4

    The number of times I refreshed your page waiting for this video to be public was a lot lol 😅 #bigfan

  • @PulseFireRL
    @PulseFireRL Рік тому +1

    excellent video as always dude. i call myself a weather nerd yet i have never seen fujita's animations of this event before. so so cool. and the way you packaged it all is perfect, keep it coming

  • @nqgamer
    @nqgamer 3 місяці тому

    Your passion for this subject is contagious

  • @homeequityloan1746
    @homeequityloan1746 Рік тому +1

    Thank you for linking his paper. I’ve never had the opportunity to read through it.

  • @debbieellett9093
    @debbieellett9093 Рік тому +1

    I am so glad I found your channel! You are now my most favorite channel! Thank you for being so dedicated. 👏👍

  • @silber724
    @silber724 Рік тому +1

    This channel is wonderful. Love that classy vibe.

  • @johnnomad7493
    @johnnomad7493 Рік тому +3

    As A 12 year old eye witness to 1957 tornado. I can remember every moment of that terrible day. The olsen photo is taken on 21st Street So.. Two blocks from my house. The ditch was A big area known as the Slew to us. A playground for us kids. And is now a park. It is A water tower on Main Avenue, not the air traffic tower two miles north of it.

  • @arg2981
    @arg2981 Рік тому +1

    Masterful and thoroughly appreciated explanation! BRAVO!!

  • @youtubehatesus2651
    @youtubehatesus2651 Рік тому +2

    This was very well made, very informative, very interesting, and at times downright exciting.

  • @bri-was-here
    @bri-was-here Рік тому +1

    You do a great job going into just enough detail that someone like me with an art degree can follow everything without feeling lost on the data points and acronyms

  • @nataliaschuler3949
    @nataliaschuler3949 Рік тому +2

    Dr. Fujita’s animations are incredible!! I love love love it when you can watch a brilliant mind combine science and art. In my humble opinion that’s how you spot a visionary.

  • @lucasmetz2403
    @lucasmetz2403 Рік тому +1

    As a North Dakotan, I find it interesting that while 2 F-5 tornadoes occurred in ND in the mid-50s (the other near the city of Cannon Ball) none have occurred since. Great video!

  • @Cleanse_
    @Cleanse_ Рік тому +1

    Dude the music you use is amazing, the vibes your videos give of are my favorite. Plus super informative, just an amazing channel.

  • @zcoldlel
    @zcoldlel Рік тому +6

    im a simple guy. i see a new weatherbox upload, i simply click.

  • @jabcreations
    @jabcreations Рік тому +2

    Really nice nugget of history and weather, thanks for posting.

  • @haysgoodman8068
    @haysgoodman8068 Рік тому +8

    I’d like to see analysis of the Barneveld, WI F5 of 1984. There were a number of papers written on this storm from UW-Madison, and the emphasis of the influence of the Nocturnal Jet on supercellular development was especially interesting.

    • @jeffarbogash4269
      @jeffarbogash4269 Рік тому +1

      Ah yes Barneveld the closest radar was in neenah 100+miles to the northeast

    • @Thicc_Cheese_Dip
      @Thicc_Cheese_Dip Рік тому +2

      The Nocturnal Low-Level Jet's influence on storm strength has been seen elsewhere, notably the Blackwell-Udall outbreak, the Greensburg outbreak and the 2019 Memorial Day Weekend outbreak.
      I'd go as far as to say that wind shear and the dryline can be underrated with some tornado setups, as seen on April 19th, 2023 in OKC.

    • @mattschneider6773
      @mattschneider6773 Рік тому +1

      I remember Barneveld. Was a monster and hit in the middle of the night.

  • @HistoricUSRoute20
    @HistoricUSRoute20 Рік тому +2

    Well done on this video! You are bringing to life the storms and people we learned about and studied in college (back in the 90s).
    Truly appreciate your effort and dedication to these classics.

  • @fishskigaming
    @fishskigaming Рік тому +5

    Very interesting video! I dont know much about this tornado but nice video. I really understand your videos.

  • @user_romanport
    @user_romanport 8 місяців тому +1

    Great video. Fargo resident here. I work in radio and have a tower site in Moorhead right across the river that has a cold-war era bunker in the building. In that bunker I've seen a number of old logs/reports dating back many years. I'll take a look next time I'm out there and see if I can find anything related

  • @apollosaturn5
    @apollosaturn5 9 місяців тому +1

    I can't imagine the hell that family went through. The 14-yead-old loosing his home and all of his siblings, the mom finding her house and 6/7 children gone and the dad finding out the next morning on a newspaper with a photo of the body of one of his children. The survivor's guilt, especially as a parent, never leaves you.😢

  • @racerxfile
    @racerxfile Рік тому +1

    The video analysis that Ted Fujita and the U of Chicago did on this storm is truly a labor of love.

  • @danielwieten8617
    @danielwieten8617 Рік тому +2

    Damn, this might be my favorite video you’ve done. I always feel indifferent to older tornadoes because of the lack of footage and information, but you really brought it to life and made it interesting. Yet another level of Dr. Fujita’s genius I wasn’t aware of. Would love to see you cover:
    1953 Waco F5
    1956 Hudsonville F5 (cuz I’m from that area)
    1992 Chandler F5
    1995 Kellerville F4
    1999 Loyal Valley F4
    2011 Smithville EF5
    2014 Mayflower/Vilonia EF4
    2020 Bassfield/Soso EF4

  • @emiliotorano1934
    @emiliotorano1934 Рік тому +3

    Day has been made he has uploaded 🙏💞 dude I love your videos so much as a weather nerd and I love watching your channel grow!

  • @hebneh
    @hebneh 6 місяців тому +3

    21:39 - Technological correction: Dr. Fujita did not use a VIDEO camera to create his animations; he used a FILM camera that probably shot 16mm movie film. There were no small video cameras at that time.

  • @superhealthkyle
    @superhealthkyle Рік тому +2

    Amazing video, Steve. I'd love to see you cover one of the three most famous Oklahoma tornadoes (Moore 1999, El Reno 2013, or Moore 2013).

  • @youtubehatesus2651
    @youtubehatesus2651 Рік тому +2

    Hurray. A new video. These are so well done they are a treat.

  • @Job.Well.Done_01
    @Job.Well.Done_01 Рік тому +1

    The synth music really cranks up the mystique on the videos! Masterful

  • @Wizecrack22
    @Wizecrack22 Рік тому +6

    Just have to echo how top tier your channel/productions/episodes are. I learn so much each episode. You really do great work on this channel. Several 👍👍👍 up!

  • @alyssinwilliams4570
    @alyssinwilliams4570 Рік тому +1

    Not just a good video about a tragic event, but delving into some of hte history of storm and tornado forecasting and Dr Fujita's work makes this amazing. Definitely will be watching more content from this channel (esp. the Edmonton tornado; I still remember news reports about it, I live in Calgary 300ish KM to the south so news about it was everywhere)

  • @teresaniswander1243
    @teresaniswander1243 Рік тому +1

    My grandparents and mom lived in Fargo during this tornado. They were lucky that they didn’t have a direct hit from the tornado, but they did have some damage to the roof, grass in the washing machine, cars moved from one side of the street to the other and blades of grass stuck in tree trucks (all info from my mom). Unfortunately - I cannot ask for any other information as my grandparents and mother have since passed away. My mom did say the sound was very scary to her (she was 6 at the time of the tornado). Thanks so much for covering this tornado - I haven’t seen much said or documented about this tornado.

  • @greenbriar07
    @greenbriar07 Рік тому +1

    Well, I learned something new today. I had no idea corn fields could contribute enough moisture to shift the weather. (The short film clip of the guy at the very end was a nice addition, heh!)

  • @TrinityCourtStudios
    @TrinityCourtStudios Рік тому +1

    Your videos are absolutely brilliant. My BF and I are endlessly fascinated by tornadoes.
    Have you done a video on the Worcester, MA tornado from the 1950’s?
    It was an F4 but had the potential to be an F5 due to the structural damage and high death toll.
    Plus the storm that formed the Worcester tornado had formed significant tornadoes in Waco, Michigan days prior!

  • @rickkearn7100
    @rickkearn7100 Рік тому +2

    Equally rare, an EF4 in Massachusetts (the city of Worcester) in 1953. The outbreak started over OHIO and moved East overnight, culminating in the worst and deadliest tornado in New England history on June 9th. Would be great to see this channel dig into that one, as I could find no specific content for this event in the Weatherbox archive. It has been conjectured this tornado actually achieved brief F5 intensity. Excellent content, production, quality and presentation here. I was pleasantly surprised at finding this great channel and so I subscribed.

    • @rickkearn7100
      @rickkearn7100 Рік тому

      @poof69420 And the survey was conducted by Fujita himself! Go figure.

  • @kendralewellyn2654
    @kendralewellyn2654 Рік тому +1

    Also from the Fargo area here. Having worked in "the ridge" area for quite a few years, it was a story I'd heard quite often. Tornados are not particularly common here though, and really never often to this degree; it really was a historic weather event. Still, I had no clue the impact Dr. Fujita had by bringing this particular tornado to life through his data, animations, and pure passion and dedication for his career. Really glad the people of Fargo were able to contribute to that in some small way through their photos and videos.
    It's hard to fathom the sheer amount of lives saved because of that man though...
    Goes to show, you never know the power and effects you could have simply by just giving a shit.

  • @Isaactheweathernerd
    @Isaactheweathernerd Рік тому +4

    Awesome video, man. I've always loved the tornado videos you do!

  • @benjaminphelps561
    @benjaminphelps561 Рік тому +1

    Im from fargo, and it blew me away when i was a kid when i learned how important my city was in the story of tornado understanding and categorization, we were a very small town back then, even now we are small, and to think we contributed to something this important makes me happy, not alot of love for the upper plains.

  • @mrjayjay124
    @mrjayjay124 Рік тому +1

    Fantastic work again Steve! This tornado has been something of interest for me for a while. Loved the video!

  • @lorrainezafke7048
    @lorrainezafke7048 Рік тому +2

    So totally interesting. My parents lived in a small town south of this and has mentioned in on many occasions. i never knew the entire track or history made but did know he had friends in the 12th Ave N area that were affected. Thank you for the history.

  • @teacfan1080
    @teacfan1080 Рік тому

    I live in Fargo. Every year on the anniversary of the tornado people talk about it. This was a great video about this event!

  • @broadkiwi6882
    @broadkiwi6882 Рік тому +1

    How the heck are you still less than 50k subs?? You deserve WAY more!

  • @91rattoyota
    @91rattoyota Рік тому +1

    Very well detailed video sir! I really do enjoy learning how things have changed with time as far as forecasting goes. Fujita was way ahead of his time, just brilliant!!!!!

  • @Funz
    @Funz Рік тому +1

    this channel is so friccin great man. keep up the good work

  • @stephenmorton6180
    @stephenmorton6180 Рік тому

    AMAZING - Dr. Fujita! Thank you for this!

  • @entr0pix
    @entr0pix 8 місяців тому

    thank you dr fujita, for helping us understand severe weather better and saving countless lives!!!

  • @RealLucky35
    @RealLucky35 Рік тому +1

    As an Ohioan, I would love to see an analysis/documentary on the F4 tornadoes of the Palm Sunday Outbreak in 1965, specifically the Pittsfield-Strongsville F4 as it tore directly through where my grandparents lived at the time (they were fine, thankfully). I also believe it inflicted borderline F5 damage in Strongsville! Regardless of what you make a video on next I'll still be excited to watch it. Keep up the great work!

  • @grahamman80
    @grahamman80 Рік тому +1

    Love this channel. The technical breakdowns of the atmospheric condition and of course the historical tidbits are great. If/when you decide to to a hurricane video I'd love to see Hurricane Harvey. A truly unique and obviously devastating storm setup.