Multivortex-Tornado south of El Reno, May 31, 2013

First 10 Minutes of its life as a multi-vortex structure, before it transforms into a massive rain wrapped ground circulation. My storm chase blog: westwind.ch/usa13/

[@QLCSChasing]

How does this not even have 100k views. This is literally the best and clearest footage of the opening stages of the tornado.

[@gradplanner]

Agreed!

[@Powershot300]

Does now

[@DaveDFFA]

agorithm lol

[@KHquick]

I've been watching tornado videos for years and never saw this one either! Incredible

[@gl3618]

This footage puts the el reno tornado in the dead man walking category of violent multi votex structures. Its known to have had multiple vortices that were pushing winds at 300+ mph, but the early shape(s) give off the dead man walking appearance. Beautiful

[@steffir9506]

El Reno 2013 was a Dead Man Walking tornado.

[@adinamcgriff5152]

That goes for Joplin Xenia cullman and Jarrel

[@iceresistance]

I have heard people call it the "Grim Reaper Walking"

[@princessamber18]

I agree… besides the up close and personal ones lol ❤ I’m jk! Great video!

[@keyboardwarrior4092]

@@steffir9506not really, for most of its life it was moreso like joplin-a giant multivortex wedge

[@bodhithebodhisattva4106]

Wow! I thought I had seen all the film of this storm. This is the best vortex evolution footage I’ve ever seen. Other chasers had similar positions and vantage points, but the detail and backlit shots here are stunning!

[@libertylost8286]

In the beginning, it reminds me of a macabre merry-go-round. The horizontal vortices going up and down and and the vertical vortices spinning around, is amazing, yet terrifying.

[@milliemaxwell5282]

Like a dance...

[@Cokercole]

​@@milliemaxwell5282yeah....... like a dance 😎

[@snackentity5709]

this is the best footage i've seen so far that captures the evolution of this tornado's shape

[@F5Storm1]

By far the most insane motion I've ever seen, incredible vertical and horizontal vortices indicating intense rising and sinking motion in and near the tornado, what a beast, wish I was there to see it.

[@TheCjbowman]

Thank heavens you were far enough away to the Northeast when you headed South. When that became rain wrapped the tornadic wind field had expanded to over two and a half miles wide. Others who headed South, and East, got caught. Fantastic footage of the genesis - so mesmerizingly violent and beautiful at the same time. Well done!

[@stickboy2672]

I think it only looked rain wrapped at the end. It was actually in the process of growing huge. I think all of that dark column was part of the tornado's circulation.

[@wisemanofsorts6068]

It was, thats what made this Tornado so dangerous to storm chasers. Many though that they were right next to a ran band and thought the Tornado was deep behind the bands. They didn't realize they were looking right at the Tornado wall, until it was too close.

[@UnrealDerek]

This tornado will always remind me of just how dangerous and unpredictable tornadoes can be. A definite cautionary tale so to speak. Absolutely brilliant footage.

[@danielwieten8617]

I’ve been obsessed with this tornado for years, and I’m always frustrated by the lighting of the videos, until now. This is perfect. Not sure what you did here, but it’s the only video I’ve seen where the body of the main tornado is visible. Well done.

[@gothivore277]

It has to do with where he’s positioned to film the tornado. He is filming it from the north looking south which is why it has such high contrast but this comes with risks. MOST tornadoes move north east which is why most of the KZbin videos of this tornado are filmed from the south looking north. But on some rare occasions tornadoes can move south or even west. This particular tornado took every storm chaser by surprise and moved southeast while growing to a massive size then hooked left to a normal northeast trajectory

[@danielwieten8617]

@@gothivore277 damn, really appreciate the explanation thank you. Just in time too, since I’m binging again lol.

[@tysongolden6907]

I think this is probably the best footage of this tornado Iv'e seen, and believe me, that's saying alot.

[@thethundercat1863]

tyson golden ya definitely and I have watched like 100 videos of it now, fascinated by this storm

[@cjansenATL]

Absolutely. It doesn't capture the immediate threat of the storm, but the scale and horrifying beauty.

[@michelekurlan6489]

I agree with tyson golden AND have viewed myraids of footage of this event in the 7.5 years since it happened. This captures it thru so many stages of development to the point of "the bear becoming wrapped in its own cage" and despite that, it still kept going, gaining momentum and strength. There's way more going on in this footage than this novice severe weather enthusiast can comprehend,let alone describe. Dunno how these chasers stayed so cool and collected. Amazing work guys!

[@F5Storm1]

Absolutely, the close ups of the vortices is unbelievable i wish I was there to see it myself, unreal.

[@billtomson5791]

Ditto.

[@stormchasernichtpit1493]

I think this is the best footage of the El Reno tornado

[@klax001]

It is. It's an incredible shot of the development. I'm still amazed by it all these years later.

[@gaurihadavale8648]

This is by far the best footage of El rino tornado i have come across on KZbin. Kudos for capturing this masterpiece, it will definitely be of great help to the scientific and research community who study about tornadoes.

[@XmasLightsGuy]

Really great view of that crazy multi-vortex stage!

[@mattmorganflash]

There’s that one saying when you see the “dead man walking” that death is coming. You can see at 2:14 & 6:20 the multiple vortices look like 2 legs walking.

[@bw2569]

Good catch. 3:26 on this video you can really see it. Terrifying. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eHXbanSvnbx8q6M

[@kiowatribegirl]

Omg, I totally see it! Gives me chills to watch this monster grow

[@steffir9506]

Yes, Dead Man Walking 🌪

[@scotabot7826]

This is the BEST El Reno footage there is, by far. None of the "look at me" yelling the same phrase 8 times by each person in the car, like they each have a check-off sheet. Man, these guys could give a lesson for sure!!!

[@joeschoe4477]

Among the best early footage, definitely. Seeing what it developed into is what sets El Reno apart.

[@coreysharp9794]

It's because they weren't Americans craving attention. Who knows why they were even here tbh. Impeccable timing.

[@aaaaaaaaaa97]

Wow, the luck of this guy to travel to the states to chase and getting this... Definitely deserves it for the effort he put out!!!!!

[@F5Storm1]

The odds of traveling here to see history

[@mozes88]

Once in a lifetime for Americans, but for other people!? It is like hitting the lottery.

[@darthteej1]

Really impressed by how you pan up constantly to check meso structure and evolution.

[@scott729]

For the past two years I have been mesmerized by this storm and it's mysterious haunting existence. So powerful and uncharacterized motion, movement, change of speed and exponential growth. I thought I had seen all the videos and I am stunned to stumble onto this one. Awesome job capturing not only a freak of nature, but a freak amongst freaks. Of course there are the same 5 idiots that bounce around giving every video they can watch a thumbs down. Just plain stupid people with nothing to do, probably pissed about the non- english speaking narration/ conversation.

[@jquest43]

Farmers have seen,over and over,these same " uncharacteristic" movements before with big tornados. It's a hook or j path.

[@dreemsnake1]

I like the different language for a change. And they don’t yell and blab through the whole thing.

[@TirsaPowell]

Those first couple of sentences belongs in a book.. beautiful description.

[@scott729]

@@TirsaPowell Very kind of you, thank you.

[@joeschoe4477]

We've all seen Reed's footage from much closer, and distant video too, but this is the best video I've seen from a medium vantage point. Not only are the earlier multiple vortices visible, it's easy to see the structure they emerge from, and the evolving wedge they become. From that vantage point, we can see it as it becomes rain-wrapped, which is missing from most video shot from the South and East.

[@bulletman124XXL]

Does it get any better than this,, perect lighting perfect filming driving, great positioning,, thanks for sharing

[@klax001]

This footage is still the best I've seen of the development. Absolutely incredible.

[@gmlaster]

This footage is amazing! And I’m not entirely sure why, but I’m enjoying it so much more in German. I think it’s because I can tune out the commentary and just enjoy the tornado. Awesome video, guys. One of the best videos on the internet. Glad you made the trip over here to get it.

[@StudleyDuderight]

Is it German? It sounds more like Dutch to me, but I could be wrong.

[@stevieswizzle6959]

@@StudleyDuderight Swiss

[@pinlight97]

That scoop effect with the cloud formation and with the rain is awesome, truly.

[@Mike-e1h1z]

Best video of the El Reno sub-vortices I've seen thus far. This got me to thinking about the "ratings debate" which has been around awhile, along with a research paper I recently read (Orf, L. et al. (2017). "Evolution of a long-track violent tornado within a simulated supercell. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society."). According to Dr. Orf, recent high resolution numerical simulations strongly suggest that the ground-level winds in some sub-vortices may be much higher than previously thought, possibly exceeding 500 mph. In turn, this reminded me of a recent video I saw in which a multi-ton freight car was send hurdling "hundreds of yards in the air", all courtesy of an alleged EF1 tornado. Somehow this is rather hard to believe. Some EF1 tornadoes do demonstrate sub-vortices, and I'm guessing that one of these at EF-4 or EF-5 level may have been the real real reason for the "flying train".

[@gmlaster]

This was extremely well done and professional.

[@F5Storm1]

Just thankful it never hit any major population centers

[@YouOnlyIiveTwice]

The creepy multiple vortices and their incredible growth rate in such a short period of time had death written all over it. Being within 10 miles of such unstable conditions would be way too close for my comfort. The incredible footage taken of this tornado and knowing it killed people makes it one of the most haunting tornadoes to have ever been recorded in my opinion. If more people respected mother nature's power then it could have potentially saved some people's lives that day.

[@jquest43]

Yes,we need to respect Father Nature!

[@IndyBod05]

Hey, a fellow Swiss storm chaser! 🎉 Hoi from Australia 🇨🇭

[@derekpowell5688]

Nice! It's structure and behavior reminds me of the 1979 Orienta, Oklahoma tornado (video footage can be seen elsewhere on You Tube)

[@johnbernard7280]

This is the best I have seen of El Reno! This is from the north side?

[@markuspfister6269]

John Bernard, yes, from east, then from north, going parallel, until the tornado unexpectedly lunged out to the north.

[@johnbernard7280]

Markus Pfister Very well done 👍🏼!

[@duanescott3091]

I think the sub vortexes dropped or hung under the main funnel before it expanded. That, or they merged into one singular vortex that was so strong it created another set of 4 subs that actually grew to f4-f5 size and wind speed.... Like a super f5 with 4 other f5s circulating it almost perfectly. Scariest tornado in history and i pray its the last one

[@Aarzu]

Even more terrifying is just the week before this tornado hit, the Birdgecreek/Moore, OK area was hit with an EF5. The area where this one hit was VERY close to it. That area has been hit by so many severe tornadoes that if severe weather is forecasted for the day and it's a school day, school absences are excused and that's if officials don't cancel school preemptively.

[@Art_and_Anxiety]

1:38 - very eerie

[@catherinehubbard1167]

Stunning footage of a monstrous tornado unlike any other yet recorded. I’m glad these chasers made it through safely.

[@acdc7551]

That is one of the most photogenic tornadoes that I’ve ever seen! However, do you know what would scare more than watching a tornado form out on a flat and open plain like that? All the lightning where you’re probably the tallest thing nearby. That storm was popping out some serious lightning. The thought of being struck by lightning here scares me more than the tornado!

[@timothius50]

It's hard to find (Pre cell phone) The 1983 tornado in Niles Ohio dug up coffins and bodies and tossed them around town.

[@derekbaker3279]

"...dug up coffins and bodies..."

[@manda60]

I remember that storm very well. Pretty sure it was 1985 though.

[@wazzpqazzza]

Just terrifying. The chaotic directions of the wind in the circulation just terrifies me.

[@ImageJPEG]

I’m learning German and was able to pick up a few words. Ich verstehe nur ein bisschen. Awesome video! I’ve been really fascinated in the El Reno tornado.

[@b.t.walker2295]

These folks sound like they’re from northern Germany; they sound like they’re speaking Dutch sometimes. They do not sound Bavarian, however, this is my extremely unqualified opinion. Ich spreche Deutsch wie ein dreijähriger Amerikaner.

[@dogtrainerjen]

Why hasn't this video gone viral?? Fantastic views of the motion and formation! #elreno2013 #elreno #elrenooklahoma

[@nickdavis965]

0:05 is that heidi farrar?

[@holden6104]

I'd be so paranoid that another one would be dropping right on my head at any minute.

[@flynnzilla8796]

Where has this video been all these years!? What an otherworldly tornado…

[@herrdoktork3824]

The birds chirping give the first few minutes such surreal and eerie vibe.

[@whodatis2]

Birds having a conversation in the background while a monster unleashes its fury

[@mozes88]

Great footage. Im Dutch, but i can understand what you are saying. You south african?

[@avemetatarsaliaenthusiast8202]

Interesting how almost unassuming it looks. It seems so wispy and disorganized, certainly not something to get close to but not the monster it became. Truly tragic how much different this event may have gone down in history had there not been the associated deaths.

[@NEFeldman]

Right past the 7:50 mark you see a flash of lightning and a loud backfire! Typical of severe cells like this one!

[@PsychedelicFairy420]

I was watching Dans video right before this when he was outrunning/escaping the tornado and it was so scary to watch.. now watching this video just shows how much of a monster this tornado truly was.

[@robynmontgomery9826]

How quickly that elegant ballet turned into a giant mosh pit.

[@Alphadan]

@9:46 reminds me of that scene in Twister where they mention the characteristic greenish tint in the clouds.

[@XmasLightsGuy]

The beginning part of this tornado is truly amazing & cool looking.

[@wallyman292]

damn nice vid! I've never seen such an inflow like this. . .

[@IvoryOnMars]

At 2:12 you can see the same “dead man walking” vortices that Heidi Farrar observed from her location.

[@ericschultz4004]

Reminds me of the dead man walking in Jarrell. You can even see the legs walking towards Tim, Paul, and Carl.

[@jays2551]

it's like the entire mesocyclone just dropped several hundred feet and hugged the ground. even in the beginning, when it was multiple small-ish vortices, the mesocyclone looked dramatically lower than typical for these types of storms

[@sabishiihito]

I wonder at which point did the outer circulation expand to include the entire area of rotating rain curtains.

[@brandonjvl1987]

sabishiihito It's hard to say exactly when however after watching many videos, looking at research papers, and information from radar I can say it was before the tornado crossed highway 81. When it impacted the weather channel crew it was already rain wrapped as you can see by various camera angles from the weather channel coverage. When looking at radar, the debris ball was initially moving southeast and clear from rain and then as it turned more easterly the rear flank caught up with the circulation.

[@derekbaker3279]

@@SusanKay- I can tell you that even prior to tornadogenesis, the supercell was firing out powerful positive strikes all around it. I was a couple miles away and still retreated to the car when the positive strikes started!

[@Agui007]

An armor plated tornado at the end concealed behind torrential rain! 😲

[@nooranen3178]

Great video capture of the development!

[@StarSCTEBunToaster]

this is literally the most informative tornado video

[@peterolbrisch8970]

This is my favorite tornado video.

[@trendmassacre8423]

You both must be Swedish? I am Swedish also, but was born here in MN. My Grandparents came over from Sweden shortly after they were born, Grandpa in 1915, Grandma in 1917 in retrospect. You guys come to America to chase, or do you live here?

[@joeyjohnson942]

9:34 that is the tornado

[@richardcatalinajr.369]

Stunningly beautiful. Amazing footage. Thanks for posting.

[@jamesm8132]

8:55 No shot of this tornado puts it into perspective more than this one, incredible

[@gradplanner]

That was excellent footage. Thanks for sharing.

[@Fullmetalminos]

Are you German? I read a while ago Germany is amongst the few European countries having a good percentage of tornadic storms. Is that true, or not? Vielen Dank fur das Video!

[@Mike-01234]

This video isn't in Germany this is in El Reno Oklahoma EF5 tornado?

[@Fullmetalminos]

I was talking about the guys who recorded this twister. They were talking in German.

[@Mike-01234]

I was wondering that too maybe tourist

[@flappah]

I'd say they are from Switzerland or Austria.

[@jquest43]

@@Mike-01234 duh-uh!

[@Caleb0102]

These people had no idea that this would become the largest tornado ever

[@markuspfister6269]

Of course not. It doesn't happen very often.

[@TheOfficialRandomGuy]

6:20 “Dead Man Walking”

[@thethundercat1863]

Tony Ory what does that mean

[@simkani3294]

@@thethundercat1863 Dead Man Walking is a rather rare type of multiple vortex tornado, in which the motions of the multiple vortices make the tornado look like it is "walking". Dead Man Walking tornadoes are usually extremely violent and deadly, and this monster, which eventually reached 2.6 miles wide and produced sustained winds higher than 295 miles per hour showed that off, my killing 8 people, including storm chasers, one of those being Tim Samaras.

[@thethundercat1863]

Superstorm the Great wow amazing thank you

[@beanie168]

@@thethundercat1863 there's a photo hear of the Jarrell tornado which has been dubbed Dead Mab Walking tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2013/05/tornados-producing-dead-man-walking.html

[@mallarysangel]

Can I give you a little more information to your question? - I'm Native American, and there is folklore behind the dead man walking. The term actually originated from the American Indians in the 19th century. The story goes that if you see the tornado walking, which is multi vortex as already stated, the person seeing it should die. If he survives, though he should've died, he is a dead man walking. It was known by my ancestors that this was a particularly dangerous type of tornado long ago. - Many people think the legend says the viewer will die, but that's not the case. It's that the viewer should've.

[@melaniemeyer3558]

Dieses Video müsste 10 Mio views haben. Es ist DER Tornado. Der „El Reno“. Als würde man die Mondlandung filmen.

[@psillycybin8361]

Great video!! The horizontal vortices at 1:37

[@maxsaviation9512]

2:10 if you look closely you can see the deadman walking for a quick second

[@justinbrink7425]

can someone tell me... the first two minutes you look at the vortexes and you can see how fast the wind speeds are moving. Being out in an open field with no flying debris (dust maybe).. doesn't anyone else think that you could walk through that tornado in that field and not get hurt?? At the beginning I'm saying..

[@markuspfister6269]

Interesting question. I realized once in straight line winds kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXfToKhqrLiEr5Y that everything beyond EF2 strength (200 km/h or 120 mph) is not doable anymore, because even small soil particles become bullets that start to rip your skin and clothes apart.

[@wisemanofsorts6068]

You would not. The winds would ve alternating from calm to extreme. It would not be fun to be there.

[@justinbrink7425]

@@markuspfister6269 would be good campfire story tho 😱

[@troysundt8406]

It’s literally the Orienta OK tornado repeating itself!

[@cosmiccharlie8294]

Great piece of film!

[@djmerchant]

I saw 3 or 4 Dead Men walking. Absolutely terrifying!

[@Amz_I_am22]

Amazing camera shots! What did you use to shoot this video?

[@markuspfister6269]

Was some average Canon Powershot SX with a good zoom

[@armyguy918]

Thanks for that awesome video of that huge monster of a tornado

[@polotiks-w7f]

The main tornado itself was only a wedge and a cone, the wind field stretched to be 2.6 Miles wide

[@mikeenike13able]

The rotation on this storm was absurd.

[@ArabiK-bf8gc]

2 -​ 0 -​ 1 -​ 9?

[@livingmultiverse5544]

Omg dead man walking 6.20ish jesus. Rip tim Paul and carl, im curious to know if what they saw inside the the mind of the beast awed them into the next realm, i do hope so.

[@ToyManFlyer1100]

Just think, like somebody else said...If this puppy hadve come through OKC Metro, just like Hurricane Katrina and Rita did New Orleans, they would STILL be tryna rebuild today...April 2021 ..

[@davidkosiba624]

I mean a Tornado can achieve much higher wind speed than a Hurricane so it make sense

[@SindbadDerSeefahrer]

They speak Swiss 🇨🇭 german! 😊

[@kernallingus6205]

is this THEEE el Reno tornado? the record breaker?

[@nocturnalvisions7782]

Yes sir. This is the one. From the beginning until a few miles out from approaching highway 81 (Mike Bettes encounter).

[@JamesBurch93]

Great shot!

[@fredtaylor9792]

The bottom of that Mezzo, while it's gathering strength at the beginning, looks like a churning cauldren of death.

[@theoriginalbrianguillen235]

Anyone noticed the tornado keeps dying off a few times?

[@MrKnorm]

Cool! Paar Schweizer! 🇨🇭😎 Isch ou mi Troum mou en Tornado z gseh irgendwo. Fastinierent! .

[@raeraebadfingers]

There were times that thing looked like a crazy demon thing ominously walking across the landscape. I've never seen something like that before. That's terrifying and amazing.

[@susiearviso3032]

This tornado was deceptive in-that it was rain-wrapped, which made it very hard to see the tornado. It also was nearing 3 miles in width at 2.6 miles wide. It was the widest ever measured on earth. It had multiple vortices, it lasted 40 minutes traveling 16.2 miles. It killed 18 people. Since it was evening, chasers as well as all others should have been taking shelter rather than stalking the tornado. This tornado was one huge boobytrap. Night chasing a monster like this was very stupid.

[@susiearviso3032]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmiynIZmhrlkrrc

[@Deucealive75]

LOL. What makes you think this was at night? The tornado was on the ground in between 6 and 6:45 PM

[@johngoguen361]

Great filming nice and sharp it shows the birth and milti vortex in detail for study,

[@cooper5220]

Very good footage

[@humansrants1694]

One of the tornados it threw out moved along the ground at 175mph and had wind speeds of 295mph that is what killed Tim Samaras, his son and research partner, you cant get out of the way of that no time to move.

[@therealkevinhart3053]

How did a tornado move along the ground at 270mph?

[@humansrants1694]

​@@therealkevinhart3053 Was typo meant 175Mph it was the sub vortex speed around the core.

[@shantiveit9697]

Wild, love a multi vortex,dancing nader. Nice.

[@beckylynn209]

Great footage of the beginning of this massive tornado 🌪️. What language were they speaking? 🤗

[@Gracell0]

Whenever i think "oh theres the main funnel!" The tornado fools me and kills that "main funnel"

[@terrymaloney3973]

Good camera work.

[@IvoryOnMars]

Is that Heidi Farrar at the beginning saying, "coming this way!" ?

[@liampanther6078]

Even though though the tornado may seem weak out in the farmland it is still likely very powerful

[@richardmcdonnell4054]

I was wondering if all tornados are made up of multi- vortexes?

[@Frankeh]

Watch closely at 1:30 at the bottom right. It looks like a car is being dragged toward the circulation, I see headlights maybe

[@auburntrojan2010]

Yeah if you play it slowly you can see it. Most likely a vehicle backing up, but very possible.

[@ThereGoesTokyo]

Probably Reed Timmer and crew.

[@jquest43]

@@ThereGoesTokyo teed rimmer

[@SiennaXD]

1:30