Peter K I was in this very storm just a few miles away (about 10 miles or so). It was about 430 pm. It went from daylight to midnight in about 30 seconds.
James Rosenblum I was in a tornado at Albertville High School AL ca. 1976 5th period. It got dark as night. We went in Hall, sat on floor, & put our heads between our knees. Missed us, thank God. Pretty exciting!
@@erko78 It covered 130 miles mostly Ef-5 and Ef-4 damage, 1.2 miles width and about 60km/h average speed. Comparing intensities of both tornades Phill-campbell-Hackleburg is closest to tri state tornado.
@Wallyworld30 I didn't actually shoot this video, but I was about 50-60 feet to the left of the camera. Believe me, I didn't last outside as long as the folks in the video did lol. Once I saw trees horizontal and could hear nothing but the amazing sound of the tornado, I figured it was probably time to head inside. Looking back, I felt pretty safe inside of the building I was in. But seeing the aftermath, I see that we could've easily been hurt. This clearly wasn't an average tornado.
This was the nastiest most menacing tornado I have ever seen. And it was on the ground for 132 miles crossing two states while traveling at 68 miles per hour.
@Johnny Sins , it obviously changed velocity numerous times and it wasn't traveling that far in this video. However, in other videos it most definitely is traveling that fast. Do some research before you dismiss information you know nothing about.
We were in our house in east limestone. It was hitting as you filmed this. Craziest thing I have ever lived through. Air sucked through the house, dust came out of walls under the baseboard, ears popped, heard cracking, ripping, windows shattering, wind whipping. Our neighborhood was flattened, our house was on the edge, ripped the roof off and caused $150k damage. Crazy!!!
@@savvygirl2188 insane. Glad you're OK! What a story. I just woke up from a dream about seeing a tornado. I'm absolutely obsessed but have never seen one. I guess I hope it stays that way but still, they fascinate the hell out of me.
I have been fascinated by twisters just about my whole life (never seen one live). Of all the videos I have ever watched, this was the best one yet. You captured just how freaky, dark and scary it is as a powerfull EF5 is approaching your position!!
MrGyngve Same here, I’ve been captivated by tornadoes ever since I can remember, and while I hope to one day see one in person, I hope that I never get caught in a situation with a monster like this (at least unwillingly)!
i just i was old enough to record it but i was caught dead center of this tornado, i was at my grandparents house when it happened. it sounded like a 100 freight trains running through the house. i wouldn’t recommend it personally but if you wanted a first handed experience that’s apart of it. the roof was ripped clean off the house, when we were clear that the storm passed we walked out of there basement to no room and half the house missing
Like something from a horror movie. You can't really see it because storm clouds themselves have lowered to just a few hundred feet off the ground and the rain and mist blowing across. Then you can see the blackness of the tornado emerge from the gray like a monster from a sci fi movie.
I'm so glad it missed you I don't think you realize how close to death you were. My hearts go out to anyone who had to experience this Terror this evil.
Thanks for the front row seat! Your video is the best one I have seen yet on this tornado. This was one apocalyptic looking storm! Hope it didn't hit you, and you both made it safely through it!
+MCgamertech It was an EF5 because this was the same one that wiped out Hackleburg and Phil Campbell. It had weakened down to EF3-EF4 by the time it reached Harvest though.
+OHWX123 sorry for being very late, what I didn't know was that the tornado that hit Tanner that was LITERALLY 1 MILE BEHIND MY HOUSE was the same one that ravaged Harvest, i didn't even know it at the time, but now I know the whole damage path and the general path it cleared out...
Oh my! My husband was working that day at the correctional facility and he told me about it, but I had no idea it was that huge looking! Amazing video! Thanks for sharing!
We were driving north towards Chicago to attend my favorite aunt's funeral on April 27, 2011. We saw skies which looked just exactly like the one shown here in this video. I have never prayed so much while driving during an 1100 mile trip as I did that day. I *KNOW* how hard you had to be praying at that point! We missed being hit by an EF-4 tornado by *20 minutes* that day, and we were in the direct path of four tornadoes -- not by our own volition, either.
We had a very similar tornado strike the small town of Shinnston WV in the late 1940s it tracked almost 100 miles over huge hills and it sucked up the west fork river…The fact that a tornado this size tracked over the Appalachian mountains was incredible…Many people died that day…
This is probably what the Tri-state tornado of 1925 looked like, its said that the mesocyclone was likely on the ground or very low to the ground and the tornado took on a very dusty appearance. Eventually it became rain-wrapped over southern Illinois.
@@F5Storm1 Tri State tornado was also described differently other than rolling fog. It also has double funnels, black pillar of smoke, awful commotion, and others.
Really good video. It’s easy to become engrossed and marvel at what you see. I know. That roar! The lady did a great job describing what she saw since it was dark in the afternoon. Thanks for sharing.
I've been fascinated with storms since we were hit by an F-@ in 1974. This is some od the most amazing footage I've ever seen - thank you for being so brave@
2:19-2:22.... "Oh my God, this is an F-5!!!" Indeed it was sir, indeed it was. I cannot even imagine that ghoul of a tornado quickly enveloping the horizon in almost pitch black conditions thundering towards you with a deathly roar.
@@jacksongreene3687 because it's the most dangerous area of the storm to be in. You could be driving through a blinding rain and hail core which could be hiding a monster tornado (like in this video.) It's never recommended to drive into the bears cage
Not only that, but it is possible for the tornado to expand into the bear cage, as most notably seen in the El Reno Tornado in 2013. The Bear Cage very quickly became the bear’s open mouth.
Core punching or entering the bears cage is a lot less risky with a classic supercell. There is typically very little precipitation and room. HP cells or any wedge is just a plain no no unless your just caught. Dixie storms are typically HP and fast moving with lots of obstructions (tree's and such) In the case of El Reno (or other powerful storms) sub vortexs are the main concern. I have no clue why anyone would purposely get that close to something so unpredictable. It's just silly
Thank you for this video. I was in Hanceville Alabama and we were one of the first hit by an EF3 around 6am. I was taking my stepdad to the hospital after a chainsaw accident cleaning up his and my mom's place and had no idea that Cullman was hit so bad until after I left him at the er to go and help other family. I didn't know about the rest of the state until 3 weeks later when I had went to Iowa and they were still showing updates on what had happened this day. I believe it was 58 tornadoes in one day Alabama dealt with that one day. I have moved to Central Texas and now I deal with the beginning of the storms that Alabama deals with.
@Kgivans2 This was right around 4:30ish when the first major wave came through. Glad it missed your house and equally glad it missed the prison grounds where people were! Truly blessed indeed. Something like this kind of makes you realize how insignificant you are in the grand scheme of things.
This is what the 1925 Tristate most of exactly been like but even bigger. The survivors described ominous sky with different colors of green and dark clouds and day turned into night. 0:47 It was huge mass stretching across the horizon and they didn’t know it was a tornado until it was right on top of them roaring.
I live by Wall Triana and saw this pass by down the road from me, but you guys were closer! Glad yall are ok! At around 2:10 in the video, when the sky starts to get brighter and clearer on the right, that's the way we saw it too. You could see debris flying around.
How did that thing miss the prison? It was right on top of them when they ran inside! Not only visually spectacular, but possibly the greatest audio of a tornado's roar ever.
I was working in between Muscle Schoals and Russellville that day. I'm originally from Minnesota and tornadoes like this are rare but could still happen. My crew just stayed in the AT&T shelter at the base of the tower that day. Those are nuke bomb proof so I think we were safe. Tornado passed not too far away. We ended up helping the emergency crews getting communications and power back up for 2 months after that. I couldn't believe the trail of destruction. God Bless.
1:34 Looks somewhat similar to the very grainy, brief movie-camera grab of the extremely violent Match 3, 1966 "Candlestick" Tornado in Mississippi that killed 57.
I am from Alabama, raised in Birmingham... I would NEVER be out during a tornado, filming and gaping. Even for a weak little EF1 you SHOULD have your rear-ends down safe and sheltered in!
I was just thinking what are the rules concerning a tornado hitting a correctional/prison institute...I know many are made of concrete,but if you got a direct hit say by an EF5,there would still be damage...how do you deal with the safety of the prisoners/staff in that kind of situation...seems there's a movie in there somewhere.
I was thinking the same damn thing. That very tornado at its maximum intensity would have completely destroyed parts of the prison complex and SEVERELY damaged the rest probably to the point of needing to evacuate the structure afterward and house prisoners elsewhere. But likely some staff and inmates would have been killed by the storm and chaos a real possibility. If I'm not mistaken, at this point the storm was not at its strongest intensity. Judging from the size and speed at which it was moving in this video I don't think it had weakened much, though.
I cannot even imagine what it must have been like to be in northern and central Alabama on that horrible day. Not one - not two - but THREE waves of tornado producing storms; each wave worse than the one preceding it.
I was watching those destructive storms from my home in the Atlanta suburbs back in high school. I was up until at least 1:00 AM to make sure the storms missed family here in Georgia. The closest call was the Ringgold EF-4 forming maybe a mile from an uncle's house.
@ksail70 yeah, the sound is something I will never forget. Now I know what people mean when they say it sounds like a train. A really, really BIG train.
My god, here in Texas I remember hearing all about Tuscaloosa at the time and until I did my own research I had no idea just how truly and terribly widespread the horror was that day across central and northern AL (Miss and Ringgold, GA too.) We certainly get our share of supercellular/tornadic storms in N. Texas but I've never seen anything in my area like the sheer number of huge, violent and often FAST-moving tornadoes in such a short time span and sometimes several on the ground at once.
Because of the "royal" wedding, the Tuscaloosa tornado and osama eating a bullet, most people didn't know about any of the tornadoes but the Tuscaloosa one. It killed 65 people. This one killed 72 without hitting a big city. Miraculously it missed Decatur and Huntsville, two heavily populated areas. If it's path had been just a couple of miles east, God only knows how many thousands may have been killed.
While it was still too close for comfort, at least you could see the tornado moving to the left in the shot. Some people realize too late that the tornado is heading their direction when it seems like it is growing but staying in the same place.
I can’t stop coming back to look at this video.. This jail escaped a direct hit from that killer EF5..RIP to the victims in Phil Campbell and Hackleburg..And the rest of Alabama
I live in Meridianville, knowing it came that close to me gave me the freakin chills. I was in school i think when the first one in harvest and toney hit. my dad got hit, he lived in swan creek. his trailer is gone and his car ended up on a street 2 blocks away from him...
@@vishalSharma-ol9fl the bears cage is when the RFD wraps around the entire tornado and is usually present on wrain rapped tornadoes, it contains high winds and wind driven rain with the "bear" as the tornado.
@@chvfd687 @vishal Sharma the bears cage is when the RFD wraps around the entire tornado and is usually present on wrain rapped tornadoes, it contains high winds and wind driven rain with the "bear" as the tornado.
@@SultanMapping thanks! I'd never heard this term before. One particular term I've heard over the years though in multi vortex terminology is "dead man walking". Its said if you see the man " walking" in the tornado you're a dead man. The Jarrell,Tx tornado is a prime example. Check it out on here
Use to live in east limestone,I had a basement , that I built a storm cellar in because it had a walk out type, cellar was solid 8 inches concrete, roof was 6 inches with steel reinfocement. I hope the new owners got good use of it that day. The 20 years we lived there I saw 3 tornadoes go buy on the ground,so this does not surprise me at all. In 1974 there were two F 5's went thru this area within 20 min. of each other.The only time this had happened,anywhere.
Yup 2 ef 5s went thru tanner alabama 20 min apart pretty much same track one after another. Than in 2011 outbreak ef5 went thru tanner again. That's 3 ef 5s. I know moore Oklahoma is known be a magnet they get alot but tanner has 3 f5s moore has 2
@TheCemetarian not really sure what they did in the dorms. from what I've gathered, they put them up against a wall and just sort of hunkered down. There isn't much you can do, or anywhere to go, when you're dealing with prisoners in a confined setting. Luckily, a tornado has never hit a prison head on in the U.S.
It would be a good warning to all criminals in the US. They should follow the advice of the attorney in the movie Liar Liar: ua-cam.com/video/BJF-wVW1F2o/v-deo.html
Great video to show how a deadly beast like that can sneak up on people by completely hiding behind rain and hail bands while also producing clouds of dust debris to obscure the storm even more.
Little did they know, they recorded once-in-a-lifetime monster tornado. It's legendary. Just the color of the sky is nightmare material. What an important piece of video
Alabama hasn't fared well in outbreaks. It took a beating in the Enigma Outbreak. 268 people were killed in the 1932 outbreak, we led the way in the 1974 Super Outbreak with 77 deaths. The 1989 outbreak luckily killed only 21, plowing into Huntsville. 22 were killed in the Palm Sunday Outbreak. The 1992 outbreak killed 26 and over 250 died in the 2011 Super Outbreak. I think we should have earned a pass somewhere along the line.
This video has to be the best I have seen for a MEAN EF 5 tornado. Also the most terrifying looking and dark at worlds end type looking tornado. The. Moore EF 5 and El Reno video of Dan Robinson are a couple of the others that are some of the scariest videos of GIANT and mean EF 5 tornadoes out there. I have seen a wall cloud what the tornado Genesis 2 blocks away and missing us by 500 meters. But it spun up and quickly dissipated after about 10 seconds and it sucked up a bunch of leaves but that was all it did. It was heading into a forested area anyway from our house over to the water so that could be a reason it dissipated quickly. But thats as close to a tornado from beginning genesis that Ud ever want to be! I didnt get video coz I was more worried that my family was safe 😀
I had some relative over there in Alabama in april of 2011 my uncle aunt and a cosine of mine died. My parents and other famaly whent to get my cosine that survived (inside the tornado) but I never got to see the aftermath. Because I was only. 11 yrs old.
@kravenmoore21 Yeah, I know that. I just wasn't sure from your original response if you were aware it was the same, long-track tornado, which is more than likely why boomersooner said EF-5. I just read through the survey for that area and indeed it was a "high-end EF-4" near Limestone. It said near "EF-5" with some anchored homes being completely wiped clean and thrown some 300 yards, so I'm kinda surprised it didn't get an EF-5 rating, but apparently that was very localized damage.
This is one reason so many lives get taken by tornadoes. People aren't as educated on them as they should be. Thank God it missed the people in this video, but, had it been coming straight for them, they likely wouldn't have lived to tell about it. I wish everybody had the same passion about tornadoes as I do. Learn about them, get a GOOD radar app on your phone (Radarscope) is THE only one to use. Learn how to interpret velocity signatures on the app so you'll know for yourself if it's coming towards you. I personally don't like to rely on others to keep me safe...
That's one horrendous looking supercell. Tornadoes can be funnels , Stove pipes, Elephant trunks or wedges. This one I'd call a monster A Green monster from Hell.
It was also a HIGH PRECIPITATION supercell thunderstorm !! The most terrifying thing is that the tornado was wrapped by the heavy rain and then became unrecognizable (looking like a regular heavy rain shaft) and way much scarier !!
I've mentioned this on some other videos from this day, but I pray an event even half this magnitude does not take place in a major metro like Dallas or Atlanta. Each area has seen strong tornadoes on occasion, but not enough for people to truly be weather aware like anyone in OKC or Birmingham. My greatest horror would be seeing a confirmed violent tornado going right through the city of Atlanta or an overcrowded suburb like Lawrenceville or John's Creek.
I'd say it's only a matter of time before a major, metro city is struck by one of these monsters. Joplin and Tuscaloosa both come to mind when I think of such a horrific scenario playing out in ANY of the major cities.
This tornado flattened my house.it even drilled into the basement.lucky i know my house is not much structured so on the 24th i went and evacuated and went to east Tennessee
Keep in mind, its like 3PM... in the afternoon.
+GeminiTIGER Isn't this near the end of the tornado's track? It would be closer to 6PM, but still, incredibly dark.
Peter K I was in this very storm just a few miles away (about 10 miles or so). It was about 430 pm. It went from daylight to midnight in about 30 seconds.
James Rosenblum I was in a tornado at Albertville High School AL ca. 1976 5th period. It got dark as night. We went in Hall, sat on floor, & put our heads between our knees. Missed us, thank God. Pretty exciting!
DANG
Black as night! My God how amazing and terrifying
That tornado wasn’t just an EF5, it was a once or twice in 50-100 years EF5 in terms of intensity and track.
It was the Tri-State twin
@@F5Storm1 why?
@@erko78 It covered 130 miles mostly Ef-5 and Ef-4 damage, 1.2 miles width and about 60km/h average speed. Comparing intensities of both tornades Phill-campbell-Hackleburg is closest to tri state tornado.
We had that in December 2021
@@colin7244 that was two separate EF4s
@Wallyworld30 I didn't actually shoot this video, but I was about 50-60 feet to the left of the camera. Believe me, I didn't last outside as long as the folks in the video did lol. Once I saw trees horizontal and could hear nothing but the amazing sound of the tornado, I figured it was probably time to head inside.
Looking back, I felt pretty safe inside of the building I was in. But seeing the aftermath, I see that we could've easily been hurt. This clearly wasn't an average tornado.
My friends gf saw it, looked like the Tri-State tornado
This was probably about a 1/5000 tornado. This was strong even for already exceptionally rare EF5 tornadoes.
Thank you for Sharing this footage. I hope you are doing well almost 10 years later!
My ex's home was lifted off the ground and placed on top of another house by this tornado.
@@Hopeful_Libertarian what was so special strong about this tornado? Genuinely curious.
Seems very similar to the Tri-State tornado descriptions. Very powerful, long track, often rainwrapped, shrouded in debris and moving fast.
this was a tornado so large and so fast by the time you realized what was happening it was already way too late.
@STRONGEST NATTY IN THE WORLD. no it wasn’t. But what ever floats your boat
It's like being under a huge green dome. Very, very scary. I've got family from that area coming into town monday. I'm so thankful they are OK!
This was the nastiest most menacing tornado I have ever seen. And it was on the ground for 132 miles crossing two states while traveling at 68 miles per hour.
@Johnny Sins , it obviously changed velocity numerous times and it wasn't traveling that far in this video. However, in other videos it most definitely is traveling that fast. Do some research before you dismiss information you know nothing about.
@Johnny Sins ua-cam.com/video/vhKjv9GuARQ/v-deo.html yeah that thing is bookin it, dude.
@Johnny Sins its not a myth idiot the nws even stated this tornado was traveling at speeds over 65 to 70mph.
We were in our house in east limestone. It was hitting as you filmed this. Craziest thing I have ever lived through. Air sucked through the house, dust came out of walls under the baseboard, ears popped, heard cracking, ripping, windows shattering, wind whipping. Our neighborhood was flattened, our house was on the edge, ripped the roof off and caused $150k damage. Crazy!!!
@@savvygirl2188 insane. Glad you're OK! What a story. I just woke up from a dream about seeing a tornado. I'm absolutely obsessed but have never seen one. I guess I hope it stays that way but still, they fascinate the hell out of me.
This video is the definition of intimidating. Aqua skies. Massive wedge. And the classic roar that becomes deafening. Wow.
Yeah, anyone who has seen this without having good speakers are missing the awesome roar.
I have been fascinated by twisters just about my whole life (never seen one live). Of all the videos I have ever watched, this was the best one yet. You captured just how freaky, dark and scary it is as a powerfull EF5 is approaching your position!!
MrGyngve Same here, I’ve been captivated by tornadoes ever since I can remember, and while I hope to one day see one in person, I hope that I never get caught in a situation with a monster like this (at least unwillingly)!
Have you seen this video. That's my favourite tornado video and is very scary as I find:
ua-cam.com/video/0LVMg6XNOB8/v-deo.html
i just i was old enough to record it but i was caught dead center of this tornado, i was at my grandparents house when it happened. it sounded like a 100 freight trains running through the house. i wouldn’t recommend it personally but if you wanted a first handed experience that’s apart of it. the roof was ripped clean off the house, when we were clear that the storm passed we walked out of there basement to no room and half the house missing
Like something from a horror movie. You can't really see it because storm clouds themselves have lowered to just a few hundred feet off the ground and the rain and mist blowing across. Then you can see the blackness of the tornado emerge from the gray like a monster from a sci fi movie.
When I read this comment, I was reading it in my head with Pecos Hank's voice
It's a rain wrapped tornado. This is what makes it more dangerous
I'm glad I'm able to view this awesome video again. The past year it wouldn't let me,it would say it was made private. Love this video.
I love listening to y'all talk. Every time I go to Alabama, it just makes me smile.
I'm so glad it missed you I don't think you realize how close to death you were. My hearts go out to anyone who had to experience this Terror this evil.
Thanks for the front row seat! Your video is the best one I have seen yet on this tornado. This was one apocalyptic looking storm! Hope it didn't hit you, and you both made it safely through it!
Wow. Just watched your EF5 twister again! Ya'll had a true monster within a few feet of you! Scary stuff!
hmm, i thought the one that hit Harvest was an EF3
+MCgamertech It was an EF5 because this was the same one that wiped out Hackleburg and Phil Campbell. It had weakened down to EF3-EF4 by the time it reached Harvest though.
+OHWX123 sorry for being very late, what I didn't know was that the tornado that hit Tanner that was LITERALLY 1 MILE BEHIND MY HOUSE was the same one that ravaged Harvest, i didn't even know it at the time, but now I know the whole damage path and the general path it cleared out...
Ye
Oh my! My husband was working that day at the correctional facility and he told me about it, but I had no idea it was that huge looking! Amazing video! Thanks for sharing!
Was it really that dark at 4pm? 😳
We were driving north towards Chicago to attend my favorite aunt's funeral on April 27, 2011. We saw skies which looked just exactly like the one shown here in this video.
I have never prayed so much while driving during an 1100 mile trip as I did that day. I *KNOW* how hard you had to be praying at that point!
We missed being hit by an EF-4 tornado by *20 minutes* that day, and we were in the direct path of four tornadoes -- not by our own volition, either.
We had a very similar tornado strike the small town of Shinnston WV in the late 1940s it tracked almost 100 miles over huge hills and it sucked up the west fork river…The fact that a tornado this size tracked over the Appalachian mountains was incredible…Many people died that day…
This is probably what the Tri-state tornado of 1925 looked like, its said that the mesocyclone was likely on the ground or very low to the ground and the tornado took on a very dusty appearance. Eventually it became rain-wrapped over southern Illinois.
It looks like a shelf cloud produces tornado
@@someaveragemaxrubyfan8716 exactly, could've caught even seasoned meteorologists off guard.
@@F5Storm1 Tri State tornado was also described differently other than rolling fog. It also has double funnels, black pillar of smoke, awful commotion, and others.
@@F5Storm1 and wait. Did you know Judy G.
@@someaveragemaxrubyfan8716 no but my best friend saw this tornado
Those are somebody’s bushes has been playing in my head the last 5 years or so…. Never gets old. Well done J dub
Really good video. It’s easy to become engrossed and marvel at what you see. I know. That roar! The lady did a great job describing what she saw since it was dark in the afternoon. Thanks for sharing.
This is probably the best video of that tornado. Good job.
I've been fascinated with storms since we were hit by an F-@ in 1974. This is some od the most amazing footage I've ever seen - thank you for being so brave@
2:19-2:22.... "Oh my God, this is an F-5!!!" Indeed it was sir, indeed it was. I cannot even imagine that ghoul of a tornado quickly enveloping the horizon in almost pitch black conditions thundering towards you with a deathly roar.
and at almost 70 MPH!
@@jaredpatterson1701 ikr? if anything like that hit where i am in northern wisconsin, so many would've died, and there would be such a huge scar.
He said S-5 that is the first security standpoint at Limestone. Guy was ok after this went rite over the top of the building he was in.
It's so dark in the middle of the afternoon. Terrifying.
Is this the monster Hackleburg-phil Campbell tornado?
Yes.
i would had shit myself and had a heart attack if i had been there.
Betty Boo Don't do that! first responders pass on poopy people!
Betty Boo me too Betty Boo!
That aqua colored area that she was talking about is called ''The Bear's Cage.''
Why do they call it that?
@@jacksongreene3687 because it's the most dangerous area of the storm to be in. You could be driving through a blinding rain and hail core which could be hiding a monster tornado (like in this video.) It's never recommended to drive into the bears cage
@@paranormalpabs3745 Ok thanks for answering.
Not only that, but it is possible for the tornado to expand into the bear cage, as most notably seen in the El Reno Tornado in 2013. The Bear Cage very quickly became the bear’s open mouth.
Core punching or entering the bears cage is a lot less risky with a classic supercell. There is typically very little precipitation and room. HP cells or any wedge is just a plain no no unless your just caught. Dixie storms are typically HP and fast moving with lots of obstructions (tree's and such) In the case of El Reno (or other powerful storms) sub vortexs are the main concern. I have no clue why anyone would purposely get that close to something so unpredictable. It's just silly
Thank you for this video.
I was in Hanceville Alabama and we were one of the first hit by an EF3 around 6am. I was taking my stepdad to the hospital after a chainsaw accident cleaning up his and my mom's place and had no idea that Cullman was hit so bad until after I left him at the er to go and help other family. I didn't know about the rest of the state until 3 weeks later when I had went to Iowa and they were still showing updates on what had happened this day. I believe it was 58 tornadoes in one day Alabama dealt with that one day. I have moved to Central Texas and now I deal with the beginning of the storms that Alabama deals with.
@Kgivans2 This was right around 4:30ish when the first major wave came through. Glad it missed your house and equally glad it missed the prison grounds where people were! Truly blessed indeed. Something like this kind of makes you realize how insignificant you are in the grand scheme of things.
This is what the 1925 Tristate most of exactly been like but even bigger. The survivors described ominous sky with different colors of green and dark clouds and day turned into night. 0:47 It was huge mass stretching across the horizon and they didn’t know it was a tornado until it was right on top of them roaring.
I live by Wall Triana and saw this pass by down the road from me, but you guys were closer! Glad yall are ok! At around 2:10 in the video, when the sky starts to get brighter and clearer on the right, that's the way we saw it too. You could see debris flying around.
@STRONGEST NATTY IN THE WORLD. how can they. Bro your slow
How did that thing miss the prison? It was right on top of them when they ran inside! Not only visually spectacular, but possibly the greatest audio of a tornado's roar ever.
U can tell how serious this tornado was. That howling sound is eerie... My Prayers go 2 any1 who was affected by these storms. This is a great video.
Wow, that must have been intense. Looked like it was coming right at you. Had to be scary. Awesome footage and great video
I was working in between Muscle Schoals and Russellville that day. I'm originally from Minnesota and tornadoes like this are rare but could still happen. My crew just stayed in the AT&T shelter at the base of the tower that day. Those are nuke bomb proof so I think we were safe. Tornado passed not too far away. We ended up helping the emergency crews getting communications and power back up for 2 months after that. I couldn't believe the trail of destruction. God Bless.
The dude driving his pickup truck at 1:58 is like...........whatever.
that driver in the pickup truck probably look like f**k this s**t im going
THat would so be meh DAD
more than likly he was trying to protect a loved one. unlike most of the people above the mason-Dixon line, we don't leave our people to die.
He's probably dead now
Btw, I didn't shoot this video, nor am I any of the voices you hear. But I was most definitely there.
I was There takeing shetler at meh SCHool
Just found this video. We watched this tornado from our backyard and it was frightening
1:34 Looks somewhat similar to the very grainy, brief movie-camera grab of the extremely violent Match 3, 1966 "Candlestick" Tornado in Mississippi that killed 57.
Do you know the link to that video?
I am from Alabama, raised in Birmingham... I would NEVER be out during a tornado, filming and gaping. Even for a weak little EF1 you SHOULD have your rear-ends down safe and sheltered in!
But that’s you. Others take risk. That’s life!
I was just thinking what are the rules concerning a tornado hitting a correctional/prison institute...I know many are made of concrete,but if you got a direct hit say by an EF5,there would still be damage...how do you deal with the safety of the prisoners/staff in that kind of situation...seems there's a movie in there somewhere.
I was thinking the same damn thing. That very tornado at its maximum intensity would have completely destroyed parts of the prison complex and SEVERELY damaged the rest probably to the point of needing to evacuate the structure afterward and house prisoners elsewhere. But likely some staff and inmates would have been killed by the storm and chaos a real possibility.
If I'm not mistaken, at this point the storm was not at its strongest intensity. Judging from the size and speed at which it was moving in this video I don't think it had weakened much, though.
Next to getting nuked or an ASTEROID dropping on your head this is about as bad as it gets
How about, Jail House Rocked?
A direct hit by an EF5? Concrete or not they're screwed...
Ok this is the BEST VIDEO I've EVER SEEN!!!! My heart is still racing!!!
I cannot even imagine what it must have been like to be in northern and central Alabama on that horrible day. Not one - not two - but THREE waves of tornado producing storms; each wave worse than the one preceding it.
I was watching those destructive storms from my home in the Atlanta suburbs back in high school. I was up until at least 1:00 AM to make sure the storms missed family here in Georgia. The closest call was the Ringgold EF-4 forming maybe a mile from an uncle's house.
This is the best footage of the hackleburg Phil Campbell tornado I've seen
Amazing footage, thank you for sharing.
@ksail70 yeah, the sound is something I will never forget. Now I know what people mean when they say it sounds like a train. A really, really BIG train.
This tornado was the HackleBurg EF5 as it was hitting limestone and harvest
The one that tore through fort Payne April of 2011 killed 3 family members of mine and 30 others poor souls.
My god, here in Texas I remember hearing all about Tuscaloosa at the time and until I did my own research I had no idea just how truly and terribly widespread the horror was that day across central and northern AL (Miss and Ringgold, GA too.) We certainly get our share of supercellular/tornadic storms in N. Texas but I've never seen anything in my area like the sheer number of huge, violent and often FAST-moving tornadoes in such a short time span and sometimes several on the ground at once.
Oh I'm so sorry for your loss.
Because of the "royal" wedding, the Tuscaloosa tornado and osama eating a bullet, most people didn't know about any of the tornadoes but the Tuscaloosa one. It killed 65 people. This one killed 72 without hitting a big city. Miraculously it missed Decatur and Huntsville, two heavily populated areas. If it's path had been just a couple of miles east, God only knows how many thousands may have been killed.
That was a dirty bastard of a tornado.
While it was still too close for comfort, at least you could see the tornado moving to the left in the shot. Some people realize too late that the tornado is heading their direction when it seems like it is growing but staying in the same place.
Somehow the grainy low res quality makes it scarier.
Look how powerful! Something to keep in mind, this monster was getting ready to call it a day. It was probably much stronger 2 or 3 hours earlier.
You want to be even more horrified, search the "Getting Turned Out in Prison" documentary that was filmed in Limestone Correction Facility.
Wait is this The Hackleburg EF5?
Just wanted to make sure
Yeah
Was this Hackleburg or Fyffe/ Rainsville?
it was the ending of the phil Campbell Tornado. it moved on into Tenneesee before calling it quits.
THE BURG.
I can’t stop coming back to look at this video.. This jail escaped a direct hit from that killer EF5..RIP to the victims in Phil Campbell and Hackleburg..And the rest of Alabama
Very similar to the Joplin's rain wrapped monster. A modern day Tri State remake.
I live in Meridianville, knowing it came that close to me gave me the freakin chills. I was in school i think when the first one in harvest and toney hit. my dad got hit, he lived in swan creek. his trailer is gone and his car ended up on a street 2 blocks away from him...
Wow, just wow. Crazy how intense this thing was, I assume this was the Phil Campbell-Hackleburg tornado?
Yes it was
UA-cam finally recommending me something I'm into. Never seen this before that's crazy
@GAdawgsfan93 that constant sound you hear is the tornado. No busy roads around the property at all.
Before they retreated that was the back side where the most destructive winds occur. They got in just in time. Welcome to the Bear's Cage.
Joshua Lawrence what's a bear cage?
"The Bears Cage" is a slang term for the RFD (rear flank downdraft) because of its destructive power
@@vishalSharma-ol9fl the bears cage is when the RFD wraps around the entire tornado and is usually present on wrain rapped tornadoes, it contains high winds and wind driven rain with the "bear" as the tornado.
@@chvfd687 @vishal Sharma the bears cage is when the RFD wraps around the entire tornado and is usually present on wrain rapped tornadoes, it contains high winds and wind driven rain with the "bear" as the tornado.
@@SultanMapping thanks! I'd never heard this term before. One particular term I've heard over the years though in multi vortex terminology is "dead man walking". Its said if you see the man " walking" in the tornado you're a dead man. The Jarrell,Tx tornado is a prime example. Check it out on here
Use to live in east limestone,I had a basement , that I built a storm cellar in because it had a walk out type, cellar was solid 8 inches concrete, roof was 6 inches with steel reinfocement. I hope the new owners got good use of it that day. The 20 years we lived there I saw 3 tornadoes go buy on the ground,so this does not surprise me at all. In 1974 there were two F 5's went thru this area within 20 min. of each other.The only time this had happened,anywhere.
Limestone County is like a magnet for super tornadoes.
Yup 2 ef 5s went thru tanner alabama 20 min apart pretty much same track one after another. Than in 2011 outbreak ef5 went thru tanner again. That's 3 ef 5s. I know moore Oklahoma is known be a magnet they get alot but tanner has 3 f5s moore has 2
Amazing video! You were very brave to watch this whole thing go by as close as it was. I was hunkered down in my bathroom covered in comforters.
"its like off of the movie twister" lol
Going green
No this is worse
You know your in deep shit if something in real life starts looking like a movie!
@TheCemetarian not really sure what they did in the dorms. from what I've gathered, they put them up against a wall and just sort of hunkered down. There isn't much you can do, or anywhere to go, when you're dealing with prisoners in a confined setting. Luckily, a tornado has never hit a prison head on in the U.S.
It would be a good warning to all criminals in the US. They should follow the advice of the attorney in the movie Liar Liar: ua-cam.com/video/BJF-wVW1F2o/v-deo.html
Footage shot with the old flip phones is amazingly compelling.. and creepy... impactful as hell 13 years later!
People from the South should commentate on ALL tornado videos.
Great video to show how a deadly beast like that can sneak up on people by completely hiding behind rain and hail bands while also producing clouds of dust debris to obscure the storm even more.
this is one of the most intense tornado videos I've ever seen for sure lol wow
I like how both of them talking😂
"That's like a big storm..."
Little did they know, they recorded once-in-a-lifetime monster tornado. It's legendary. Just the color of the sky is nightmare material. What an important piece of video
I was only two and a half miles from that one. It was scary!
This tornado was sucking people out of their storm shelters...
What were you doing at the prison?
Probably working. LOL
Where has this video been. Thanks for sharing
That thing was a friggin monster, damn
I saw a tornado ranking scale that had the Phil Campbell/Hackleburg Tornado rated in the top 10 U.S tornadoes based on strength
More like in the top 3.
That tornado hit when I was in the hallway at school in Ardmore 6 miles north. It killed 3 of my mothers first grade students in Tanner
Completely awesome....thumbs up to the two for hanging on for as long as they did.
Yeah, some jackasses want to chide them for recording it yet here they are watching this one and every other tornado video they can find.
Alabama hasn't fared well in outbreaks. It took a beating in the Enigma Outbreak. 268 people were killed in the 1932 outbreak, we led the way in the 1974 Super Outbreak with 77 deaths. The 1989 outbreak luckily killed only 21, plowing into Huntsville. 22 were killed in the Palm Sunday Outbreak. The 1992 outbreak killed 26 and over 250 died in the 2011 Super Outbreak.
I think we should have earned a pass somewhere along the line.
This video has to be the best I have seen for a MEAN EF 5 tornado. Also the most terrifying looking and dark at worlds end type looking tornado. The. Moore EF 5 and El Reno video of Dan Robinson are a couple of the others that are some of the scariest videos of GIANT and mean EF 5 tornadoes out there. I have seen a wall cloud what the tornado Genesis 2 blocks away and missing us by 500 meters. But it spun up and quickly dissipated after about 10 seconds and it sucked up a bunch of leaves but that was all it did. It was heading into a forested area anyway from our house over to the water so that could be a reason it dissipated quickly. But thats as close to a tornado from beginning genesis that Ud ever want to be! I didnt get video coz I was more worried that my family was safe 😀
What were you doing at the correctional facility
Probably working, dick.
I thank God that my dad wasn't there working when that happened. That was the same tornado whose winds split a tree in my back yard into 3 parts
My family got hit by this during April 27th, 2011, in Toney, Alabama. There was NOTHING left but us by the time it got done.
I had some relative over there in Alabama in april of 2011 my uncle aunt and a cosine of mine died. My parents and other famaly whent to get my cosine that survived (inside the tornado) but I never got to see the aftermath. Because I was only. 11 yrs old.
Glad y'all made it. My Kin folks have and lived in Toney and Hazel Green and Ardmore etc all there lives. I live in NC.
Kelsey Morgese I'm so sorry. At least you didn't lose any loved ones.
David Vermillion I'm so sorry for your loss.
It looks like it missed them by a few hundred yards. I was quite baffled that they stood there as long as they did, instead of taking shelter. 😳
@kravenmoore21 Yeah, I know that. I just wasn't sure from your original response if you were aware it was the same, long-track tornado, which is more than likely why boomersooner said EF-5. I just read through the survey for that area and indeed it was a "high-end EF-4" near Limestone. It said near "EF-5" with some anchored homes being completely wiped clean and thrown some 300 yards, so I'm kinda surprised it didn't get an EF-5 rating, but apparently that was very localized damage.
Wow! Never seen this vid before! Super spooky dark storm!
This is one reason so many lives get taken by tornadoes. People aren't as educated on them as they should be. Thank God it missed the people in this video, but, had it been coming straight for them, they likely wouldn't have lived to tell about it. I wish everybody had the same passion about tornadoes as I do. Learn about them, get a GOOD radar app on your phone (Radarscope) is THE only one to use. Learn how to interpret velocity signatures on the app so you'll know for yourself if it's coming towards you. I personally don't like to rely on others to keep me safe...
That's one horrendous looking supercell.
Tornadoes can be funnels , Stove pipes, Elephant trunks or wedges.
This one I'd call a monster
A Green monster from Hell.
It was also a HIGH PRECIPITATION supercell thunderstorm !! The most terrifying thing is that the tornado was wrapped by the heavy rain and then became unrecognizable (looking like a regular heavy rain shaft) and way much scarier !!
I've mentioned this on some other videos from this day, but I pray an event even half this magnitude does not take place in a major metro like Dallas or Atlanta. Each area has seen strong tornadoes on occasion, but not enough for people to truly be weather aware like anyone in OKC or Birmingham. My greatest horror would be seeing a confirmed violent tornado going right through the city of Atlanta or an overcrowded suburb like Lawrenceville or John's Creek.
I'd say it's only a matter of time before a major, metro city is struck by one of these monsters. Joplin and Tuscaloosa both come to mind when I think of such a horrific scenario playing out in ANY of the major cities.
If you're ever in a life threatening situation, you don't want her anywhere around.
What are the safety protocols for prisons in weather like this?
This tornado flattened my house.it even drilled into the basement.lucky i know my house is not much structured so on the 24th i went and evacuated and went to east Tennessee
The sound of it when it got close! Wow that's scary
Very good video...never have seen a sky that green
This same prison was hit directly earlier this year in March by a tornado
Do you know the people we hear in the background? I know some people that might fit the description.
“Oh sheet” lol get this man a radio gig
I was living in southeast Missouri when this very large tornado happened in 2011