Fargo: The F5 Tornado that Changed Everything

[@pjesf]

The black & white makes those vintage tornadoes look evil 🌪️🌪️ Love your narration, Ethan 👍🏻

[@Revolver1701]

True. Also, the tornado in the Wizard of Oz scared me. The flying monkeys scared me too.

[@terrorizer9972]

This Ted Fujita guy sounds pretty smart

[@lewkeee]

i mean yeah kinda i guess

[@WeatherxCalipha]

Kind of, perhaps he should create a scale to rate tornadoes.

[@Wx_TornadoDude083]

Yeah kinda

[@kitdoesstuff_official]

Yeah, he seems to know his stuff

[@JohnnyDanger36963]

he used a computer.

[@djmoch1001]

That poor damned family. And what a way for the father to discover that nearly all his children died in the tornado. I can't even imagine how anyone could go on after such a tragic loss.

[@grunt9131]

Maybe not damned and they just went home forever

[@cs77smith67]

​@@grunt9131when home 🏡 forever where to? Like huh 😂

[@katj3443]

@@cs77smith67that made no sense at all.

[@jsp7410]

The way that man is carrying, and looking at that little one. I'd bet he saw that little face the rest of his days.

[@cs77smith67]

@katj3443 of course, it doesn't bro cause you don't understand my reply to that person lol

[@LimboJumpscaresPD]

its honestly crazy that there is videos and this tornado happened 67 years ago

[@feiradragon7915]

Even crazier that it was only two years before Sleeping Beauty first aired.

[@poweredbyjunk6773]

That’s because North Dakota is A GOD DAMN CHESS BOARD, I would know I live there

[@feiradragon7915]

@@poweredbyjunk6773 I guess tornadoes are rooks then.

[@jacobthayer236]

​@feiradragon7915 haha that's one of the best things I've ever heard, as a chess player and tornado fanatic.

[@CynthiaSandbeck]

The year I was born, july 1957, I was up north at Drayton ND hospital

[@ARCT3CH]

I live in Fargo. This was crazy fascinating

[@ricklemke9333]

I live in Fargo too.

[@stayhungry1503]

@@ricklemke9333 I also live in Fargo.

[@hsuuta8036]

Bismarck here lol

[@Sandylad846]

Hell yea ND folks in the comments 😂 Grand Forks here!

[@jalenobanphotography]

Bismarck haha!

[@uzaiyaro]

Fun fact: Dr. Fujita was meant to be a victim of the bombings. He was in Kokura, which was the city meant to take the second bomb, but ironically, poor weather meant that the secondary target of Nagasaki was chosen instead.

[@Ariatank]

I can’t even imagine what it must feel like to lose six of your loved ones in a single event. I really hope that mother and father did not blame themselves and the family was able to heal from the trauma.

[@Katmai_Bear_480]

The mother died.

[@phil_nebula676]

From nearly being Nuke to researching and creating a new scale for Tornados, Ted Fujita was one of kind, without him their will be know EF and F scale along with intrest in Tornados.

[@cmerton]

"From nearly being Nuke"... nuke is incorrectly capitalized and should be past tense (nuked). "new scale for Tornados"... Tornadoes is both spelled wrong and incorrectly capitalized. "was one of kind"... missing a word. "without him their will be know"... should be "there (not their) would (not will) be know" should be no. interest not intrest . Tornadoes again spelled wrong and incorrectly capitalized. DUH.

[@458italiap]

Dawg for fucks sake, put aside your love for being an English teacher and enjoy the video!

[@Sharpless2]

@@cmerton man how miserable does one have to be to go down about english on someone whos first language obviously IS NOT english?

[@StormChaserSquadron]

@@Sharpless2I’m surprised that I can even understand this comment……because my 1st language is not English. I once speak like that lol😂

[@te_rt]

@@cmerton appreciated

[@sahebplays3589]

I love the research on this that Ted Fujita took to write about! I remember that tragic story of a boys family being all killed whilst he survives in his neighbours house. One of the interesting things is how the vortex grows as it slows down and consequently allows for then the vortex to tighten until it reaches F5/EF5 windspeeds. Thanks for making this video @JuneFirst

[@JohnnyDanger36963]

that poor kid found his daddy's head impaled on his favorite scooter.rip

[@Russian4647]

Conservation of momentum. Angular momentum in this case. Like a ballerina

[@poindextertunes]

I thought the EF scale was based on damage and not wind speeds?

[@sahebplays3589]

@@poindextertunes ok tell me what EF-1 windspeeds are for example and you'll get the point.

[@Katmai_Bear_480]

@@poindextertunes The EF scale didn't come into existence until February, 2007. Before that, the Fujita Scale was based on wind speed. Which made more sense. In the original, El Reno would not have been a 3.

[@JoshM23]

this tornado ripped right through the Golden Ridge Neighborhood where i grew up & where my parents still live (i was born in 1978, im 45 now, & still live in Fargo). on the corner of 7th Ave North & 27th Street sat a small general store w/asphalt parking lot back in the 50s. it was leveled when this F5 hit. growing up in the 80s my mom & me always found pieces of glass, brick, & wood in the garden & the grass in the front yard never grew properly. it was only after my parents had a local company dig it up to find out that the asphalt parking lot was still there. it was never removed after the tornado. dirt & sod was just put over the top. after researching the area my parents later found out all of these things were remnants from the tornado destroying that corner store. my parents still live on that corner today.

[@nosleep8649]

I grew up in the Ridge just a few blocks down from Madison and remember thinking about how fascinating i thought this was as a child in the early 2000's.

[@jamessandsmark226]

A family friend of both my wife's and my family, Cal Olson, took that photograph of Richard Shaw, 21, carrying the body of Jeanette Munson, 5, from the wreckage. Cal was an editor and photographer for the Fargo Forum. The Fargo Forum won the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting for their coverage.

[@junefirst]

It’s an incredibly moving photo. Extremely deserving of the recognition, but at a terrible price :(

[@Lili_LaRae]

I live here. It's a famous tornado that I heard all about growing up. I have a lot of family buried at the same cemetery as the family. I go visit the children every time I see my own Family❤

[@Pam-ov1bv]

I was born in Fargo in 1958 and lived there the first 10 years of my life. I remember seeing newspapers with stories of this tragedy and it being a common conversation for the years I was there.

[@TheInvertedSympathyProject]

interesting. ive lived in fargo for years and never once have i heard of this tornado. thanks for the insights. amazing how even in your own town time wipes clean memories others would mark as everlasting

[@Cornography1996]

North Fargo hardly shows any scars of the tornado, but they're there, you just have to look. The trees in front of the main NDSU gate are replacements for the trees that were planted in the early 1900s.

[@TheClevera]

I feel terrible for the Munsons. Mercedes hearing her eldest's voice right before the tornado took six of her seven children away. Then having to go to the morgue and identify four of her seven children, and soon lose the last two who were hit. And having to do it alone, while Gerald was away at work. Meanwhile Gerald, who is likely fearing the worst with being unable to reach his wife, has his worst fears realized as he reads six names in the paper with a picture of one of his younger ones lying limp in another man's arms. And Leroy lost all of his siblings. Just like that. This tornado killed 10 people, six of which were children from the same family. I couldn't imagine losing one kid, but losing all but one has to be absolutely devastating. The picture of the coffins all lined up is heartbreaking. It may have been over 50 years ago, and by now it's very likely that Mercedes and Gerald have reunited with their kids, but to live with that must have been terrible.

[@JJfromPhilly67]

Seeing that old AM dial brought me back... Great video. The loss of all but one of Mrs. Munson's children is heart breaking. Dr. Tetsuya Fujita, what a genius.

[@benrobertson216]

I always live hearing how collaborative storm documenting is, like fujita definitely did an insane amount of work compiling all of that information, but think about all of the collaboration needed for him to have gotten the data he needed

[@Lukarocks-l3u]

My home town is Fargo,ND

[@poweredbyjunk6773]

Same twin

[@penofficial_]

That’s a shame.

[@BuffABean]

I get the capitol of nd

[@_Randomposts]

Same

[@H3LLO_K1TTY48]

SAME!

[@JaredBernardy]

My father Randy Bernardy has talked about witnessing this at around 4 years old. His dad held him up to the basement window at their house on 15th ave and 10th street as they watched the tornado rip through Fargo. He told me houses were missing entire building fronts showing each room open to full view from the street like doll houses. This was one of his core memories from childhood, and possibly the first he had. He later purchased his parents house and in my childhood held me up to the same window during extreme storms in caution of Tornadoes, and since I have purchased the house. I believe my house is shown in the photo displayed at 9:49 if that is NDSU shown middle left of screen.

[@JustinTopp]

Crazy seeing videos like this about events from my area. It’s weird knowing exactly where every location mentioned is

[@leonstrand329]

where i live now was at the very edge of the tornado, the house was damaged but survived, i can pick it out from some old areal photographs if i squiint i can see my current house at 7:09

[@Iceechibi]

Ted Fujita is amazing. Here is a man, that his town of Kokura, Japan, was the original target for the Fat Man bomb, but due to the firebombing of a neighboring city, the US decided to instead drop the bomb on Nagasaki. He witnessed the US destroy so much in one invention in his homeland, then invited to the US over 5 years later to study downdrafts and then updrafts causing tornadoes. Without him, we would be SO behind in how tornadoes work. He was the first to pioneer the idea during the 1974 outbreak that inside a large tornado there are multiple vorticies which are the biggest factors to significant damage.

[@JCBro-yg8vd]

Actually, Nagaski was chosen because the original target was obscured by thick cloud cover, forcing the bomber to diver to Nagasaki because it was running out of fuel.

[@General_Dani_Kolinski]

weather was just the one who saved him all of people say, there's too much cloud cover during the time where the intended target was pinned, so the US pilots scrapped it and went to Nagasaki.

[@DavidOConnellvTnY1991]

I remember in a science class in 4th grade, I learned about Ted Fujita and about this F5 monster.

[@gunsncars1157]

Damn he’s smart, they should name something after him

[@StormChaserSquadron]

Lol😂

[@Twistorer]

Honestly I just started watching you, but I have been liking your video style for a while now.

[@ZachB96]

So have you been watching his videos and his style for awhile now or did you just start watching him? Make up your mind

[@Twistorer]

@@ZachB96 why are you so pressed over it lol

[@ZachB96]

@@Twistorer why can't the stupid mfs figure out there head from there ass? Why say you been watching your vids for awhile and turn right around in the same sentence and say they just started watching you? Makes no fcking sense all it was is a pick me ahh comment for attention and pure IGNORANCE

[@ZachB96]

Hope this helps

[@Twistorer]

@@ZachB96 I guess, thanks.

[@notsilv3r]

I’m gonna visit every place that was hit by F5/EF5 including Fargo

[@Marshkicks]

Even in places outside of the country?

[@notsilv3r]

@@MarshkicksNah places like Greensburg and Parkersburg

[@Marshkicks]

@@notsilv3r ah, ok. I was going to say, there’s events like Elie and others in Europe that have happened

[@BengalsFan-z4q]

@@Marshkicks elie is in Manitoba and I live an hour and 15 mins away but I wasn’t alive during that time

[@P_RO_]

Gonna take a lot of effort and time because there's many of them and they're spread out all across the US and the world.

[@autisticseagull9737]

honestly this being one of my peak interests can definitely give me a career that i will love

[@Cornography1996]

I've lived in Fargo for 9 years and was a Public History student at North Dakota State from 2015-20. A lot of the photos and documents from the 1957 Tornado survive today at the NDSU archives. In fact, trees that had been planted in 1900 to honor Fargo veterans of the 1898-1899 Phillipine Insurrection were completely uprooted and thrown across the surrounding neighborhoods during the storm. You would have no idea today that one of the worst F5s in history decimated the area that is now North Fargo, however, there are a few buildings that remain today that bear scars. Peace Luthern Church was right across the street from one of my college houses and suffered serious damage during the event. There is a photo of a ND Air National Guardsmen directing traffic with the remains of the church in the background. Very sombering stuff, especially since North Fargo was my home for many years. The exact same storm today would be catastrophic...

[@deannaschrayer2012]

I so wish I'd become a weather nerd at a much earlier age in life, but better late than never I guess....I knew of Dr. Fujuita's work but didn't know the details behind his original study, so thank you so much! And that poor family that lost so many children, I cannot imagine the horror those parents felt! I've sympathized for people who've lost children, especially to sudden disasters, before but this story gave me chills that wouldn't stop.

[@matttheavgegeek7652]

Never knew this happened in my hometown rip to those 10 people

[@Mechadenzilla]

Fujita also figured out tornadoes can have multiple smaller vortices inside the main funnel.

[@skyp5507]

I'm a simple Midwesterner. I see Fargo, I click

[@Orfurgameing]

I actually live in Fargo! My house was made before 1957 and that tornado actually got surprisingly close to it, or so I'm told, I didn't exist yet ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

[@Dilo22]

I work in Fargo for part of the year, and am a big chaser. My apartment sits in what would've been the damage path. Hopefully it doesn't happen again lol

[@minnesotarailfan11]

I live about 10 miles from Fargo. I ain’t worried 😅 I say that but we’ve had Tornados pretty close to the area, I hope it don’t happen again🙏🏻

[@Sandylad846]

Not very often something interesting enough to have a video made about it happens here 😂 love seeing stuff about my home state!

[@savedbygrace6735]

My father who lived in Dale at the time, which is just ENE of Hawley talked about that tornado. He would have been 10 at the time. He just remembered how loud it was and they were in the basement when it passed just north of them. He recalls for just a split second the house rising just enough off the foundation to see light.

[@SirHaywireThe1st]

I have been to the exact path of the tornado, the neighborhood of Madison, and the school that stands today is exactly where the path of the tornado was. This region of Fargo is just much less developed than other places In between the 12th and 19th avenue. It is just so awful what happened over 75 years ago in that exact neighborhood. Golden ridge, where the tornado went through, is now the neighborhood of Madison.

[@idadood2278]

Oh, that's dangerously close to where I live. Oh.

[@lindsayschmidt2177]

This tornado was crazy photogenic, especially considering the level of technology at the time.

[@gentlemangoat]

Fujita, what does the scouter say about that tornados power level?

[@eggnogalcoholic]

I have such a deep respect for Mr. Fujita - the same man that was apart of calculating the catastrophic aftermath of one of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during WW2 later helped America understand and survive tornadoes better. This was less than ten years after the war. His empathy and tenacious spirit knows no bounds

[@eggnogalcoholic]

(Important to clarify, this comment is NOT meant to spark a debate on the ethics of America’s choice to bomb Japan in WW2 - I actually don’t have a personal answer to such a question, despite the fact that I technically would have never been born if Japan hadn’t surrendered because my grandfather was a 7-year-old POW under Japanese occupation, I don’t even know if my own life was worth that devastating decision - my comment here is simply an appreciation and extolling of Mr. Fujita’s decision to selflessly help America even though it would be very understandable if he chose to not work with America on this matter)

[@AndrewStorsved]

From ND, tornados aren’t as common as down south but it’s not unheard of. Scary part of nature.

[@TheLycanStrain]

I am a simple man, I see that June First uploaded and I immediately click on it, smack the like button because I know it'll be great, and enjoy.

[@hankhill2103]

My great grandmother was only 16 when this happened. She still says to this day it was the scariest thing she’s ever experienced

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

Just a bit of Japanese translation that makes Tetsuya Fujita even more interesting, if that's possible. Depending on the characters used to spell his given name, Tetsuya can mean "to be devoted", "to be philosophical", or "boy of iron". Any of these can be applied very well to Dr. Fujita, I think!

[@Moonflight021]

In 2016 There were a bunch of funnels forming near Fargo. I was in school so I got put in lockdown, but when I got back home my dad and all my neighbors had been outside casually watching it lmao. Midwestern dads eh

[@BMTornadoes]

Another banger! Great video!

[@nd_gunslinger_6264]

As a Farmer from North Dakota (my name is Ethan too 😂) I never knew this, im surprised we were never taught this part of our states history in school, super fascinating, but also very scary.

[@PixelPenguinShorts]

I think another F5 that is forgotten was the 1938 F5 Edit: forgot that there were 2 F5 rated tornadoes

[@TeamRampageWX]

Love your work! 🤘🔥

[@ItsJustMe0585]

I wonder just how many lives have been saved due to Fujita's research.

[@gamerguy311]

My father was an insurance adjuster. He was at his cabin an hour away from Fargo. The cabin had no phone. A worker from the store down the road came and told him his office needs him to call them. He was told to go to Fargo to check out the damage. He never gave his office contact info to reach him at his cabin.

[@michaeltriptow6877]

I live in Fargo, they actually planted special trees in the path of that tornado and I use to work for the newspaper company and can explain more details and pictures. I have the unblurred picture of that man holding that poor child and use to live in the golden ridge.

[@ex-caliburn-real]

This guy: Talking about a devastating tornado Me: "hehehehe Fujita hehehehe like Vegeta hehehehe"

[@kpkndusa]

I would always tune in to Dewy's weather show. Some times he had interesting non weather related topics.

[@dorkusdotexe]

as someone living in fargo in the direct path of the tornado string currently, this video helps my decision to move out LMAO

[@ravenm6443]

I pray we never see a tornado like this again. It’s also crazy to see the airport like that compared what it looks like now. It’s actually getting an expansion.

[@ej_makesvideos]

i live 2 miles north of where the plainfield f5 touched down

[@NatashaQaiser-s2d]

Today you earned a new sub,i subscribed to you ❤

[@junefirst]

Thanks! Glad you liked the video!

[@crazycatlady5629]

You won't regret it! June first videos are awesome!

[@TheShowblox]

June first is my b-day lol

[@carmar208]

Excellent work, subscribed

[@originaldcjensen]

I grew up with Dewey Bergquist as my primary weatherman in the 60's and 70's. If anyone would have been a help to Ted Fujita it would be Dewey.

[@wxkylegillett]

Another 🐐ed video 🔥🔥🔥

[@anthonyrausch5708]

It still amazes me to this day how “THE TORNADO” that “BIRTHED” the “DESTRUCTION SCALE” for “TORNADOS” happened in my home state of “NORTH DAKOTA” and not in “TORNADO ALLEY” proper……. And “THIS STATE” has not seen one “THAT BIG” roll through a “MAJOR CITY” since…… June 20; 1957 in Fargo; ND……. The closest we have “COME” to “THAT” was 1991 in Bismarck; ND i think…. And I remember it; it “WAS NOT” very big; probably “EF-3” in strength; but I knew it was not “FRIENDLY”…… 😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮

[@seameology]

Wadena, Minnesota, a couple hours away, straight down highway 10. I think it was 2010? Somewhere in there. Look it up. Also, in 1978is, a big tornado tore up Gary Minnesota, about an hour northeast of Fargo. I live near Gary now. It's a very small town so not as much damage but most of the houses in that town are relatively new.

[@Californiadream-I-Draw-Things]

That meso... WOW

[@piconick79]

great video as always! You have me really interested in the engineering!

[@roxiefern]

A terrible tragedy for the Munson family and all others killed by these horrible monsters 💔

[@HandsomeSteveJacobson]

Top notch work

[@Heavilymoderated]

Vegita on the Fargo tornado: “IT’S APPROACHING 9000!!”

[@brownmate3922]

You should do the 1936 Gainsville F4 tornado

[@P_RO_]

A two-into-one special featuring Elvis Presley. It's a very interesting one for sure.

[@jacksonyon5276]

Home state tornado. I live less than an hour away from where this hit but I’ve never visited the exact area it hit. I’ll have to do that one day.

[@Peter-o9p]

Its crazy how many towns in mn got what Fargo got

[@seameology]

I lived in the neighborhood this tornado hit in fifty years later. They put scattered public housing there. Houses that people didn't rebuild were used for this. I lived in a duplex. I didn't know this when I moved there. But, my grandmother kept the newspaper clippings and it was a big deal for years. I was born and raised an hour away. This was a few years before I was born.

[@seameology]

Yup. I even heard of the Monson family years later.

[@scyvr]

Holy this is way too local (I'm an hour away from Fargo)

[@jeanhiebert3425]

I love this channel!😊

[@jparrent99]

Another June first video!!

[@jrlikeshockeyandmetal]

That’s crazy

[@Sarrquatch]

Guys the spinny cloud looks scary we should watch out

[@JohnnyDanger36963]

duhBOT!

[@Sarrquatch]

@@JohnnyDanger36963 ??

[@Sharpless2]

@@JohnnyDanger36963 unable to grasp the concept of a joke, huh?

[@JohnnyDanger36963]

@@Sharpless2 why do you care,BOT?

[@jacklaforrest8728]

Shouts from Fargo

[@ceronefamily5077]

I love your videos

I always have dreams of tornadoes that come right next to me, it's scary.

[@izzetcanoz]

Have you seen the video by CFproductions? It's also about the Fargo F5, titled "The F5 Tornado That Changed Meteorology Forever".

[@junefirst]

We are both good friends and have chased together! We just so happened to write about the same subject at the same time, haha.

[@eternaldeath3]

3:44 How many smaller vortexes are forming around the main vortex 👀

[@Infswords]

The f5 looks scary I would be dead when it get near me I never saw a tornado in irl But that looks scary _-Uhhhh idk what to put here-_ Thx for sharing this 😊

[@M3TALLICA_GURLY-yc1td]

im glad this was in 1957 and not in my 10 years of being alive🥶

[@I-Stole-Your-Toast700]

The only upside of people sometimes tryna witness+record a tornado that is an active threat to their existance is that hey, footage for scientists to analyze. also more money for morgues, hospitals, and construction workers.

[@Andromeda14161]

I've lived in North Dakota my entire life (currently in fargo) and I never knew about this event. Wack.

[@superpenguinzzz]

dang, just 10 years after WWII

[@derekm9806]

Butterfly Effect: How corn led to the creation to the F/EF scale.

[@windwatcher11]

That track looks a lot like the El Reno banana-track.🤔 Similar wind setup?

[@junefirst]

Recent research has showed that slow parent storm motions with strong low-level jets can cause deviant tornado motions. If you’d like to learn more about that, check out the research of Dr. Cameron Nixon.

[@windwatcher11]

@@junefirst Thank you!

[@tornadoclips2022]

Man imagine spending one hour with Ted fugita

[@kozytime3232]

Oh yeah new vid dropped good times.

[@bosballl]

greenfield video pls

[@leatherDarkhorse]

Ted fujita looks pretty handsome at young age haha.

[@Jaxson.v]

Brother, I live here

[@HaggaiCrichton-p9f]

Brooklyn Square

[@JakkzOfficial]

Wow

[@Jay-n262]

13 people died in that.

[@wanna-be-thinker2377]

While Wikipedia is not a reliable source, the article does kinda explains this: "Ten people lost their lives in the immediate aftermath of the storm" (most of them instantly), "making it the deadliest tornado in North Dakota history. Two" (or three) "more people later died likely due to injuries sustained in the tornado, but were not counted in the official death toll. All those killed were residents of the Golden Ridge neighborhood...." Basically, the other deaths didn't happen soon enough to count, and may have even been considered indirect deaths at the time, though most evidence says otherwise.

[@junefirst]

Some of the later fatalities were associated with comas, years later. So it depends how you go about it. Nonetheless, in the moment of that night, I stuck with the 10 figure that occurred relatively immediately in the Golden Ridge subdivision.

[@Melmelmelody1]

NOT ME WATCHING THIS I LIVE IN FARGO ND😭😭

[@alexhennigh5242]

It's always a subdivision lol

[@slenderbenji]

Hello