The Tuscaloosa Tornado - A Real Life Monster

[@highriskchris]

Click here displate.com/?art=67165bd91e4e3 or use the code RISKCHRIS now to grab the best deals available on their site. Don't miss out! What was the craziest thing about this tornado?

[@ChocolateChipCookie4]

That it was doing so much damage bro how did it hit 2 cities

[@SuperCube-SuperCube]

you ever heard of the tri state tornado? thats the craziest part of this tornado, the tri state tornado destroyed like 10 towns/cities and affected 3 states

[@ExiMaster]

wtf was that ad bro ew

[@CamilleWyatt]

I still live in Tuscaloosa and in some parts we still haven't rebuilt homes.

[@CamilleWyatt]

Another one: My mom still remembers walking on the chunks of asphalt that was destroyed during the tornado.

[@tornadotrx]

This entire day was built to create the strongest tornadoes possible. It's an absolute scientific rarity. Awesome documentary on one of the most prolific storms.

[@danielalvizua6956]

hello how are you

[@LVM5584]

It’s crazy how all the F5’s especially Phil Campbell did the type of damage of Jarrell 97 and Moore/Bridge Creek 99 while moving at twice the speed.

[@alextherussianfan12]

Hope you get 100k subs TornadoTrx!

[@pabloEstas_1]

@@LVM5584These tornadoes moved WAAAAAAAY faster than twice the speed of Jarrell, the tornadoes moved like 7 or 8 times faster than Jarrell while still causing the same kind of damage Jarrell did.

[@StormChaserSquadron]

And the Smithville storm…

[@JDP_93]

I’m a survivor of the 4/27 tornado in Tuscaloosa. Thanks for telling our story. Lost multiple neighbors and a football teammate, I was a senior in high school living off of crescent ridge road, right in the eye of the storm. My family and I were buried under debris but thankfully we made it 🩵 I’ll never forget the scene of standing up out the debri and my entire neighborhood being unrecognizable and in complete chaos.. people screaming under debri that you can’t see, people standing around bloody, etc.. absolute madness

[@LVM5584]

Did you take a direct hit ?

[@JDP_93]

@ yes, a direct hit, a moment I will never forget

[@LVM5584]

@ you guys are so very lucky to survive that monster. Say a prayer everyday my friend

[@hamstercreature951]

​@@JDP_93woah... I'm glad I live in the UK so tornadoes here are super rare! Hope you're ok ❤

[@joven_wbu]

can you stop lying. lying isn't funny

[@CeltonHenderson]

April 27th 2011 was built different, that day is an endless rabbit hole of incredible tornadoes and tragic stories. Excellent job dude.

[@S1LLY_T1T4N_SB_L0V3R]

Agreed.

[@roymunson1]

Like 74'

[@dancline2143]

Agreed!

[@dannyllerenatv8635]

And to think, after the absurdity of this day, 2011 wasn't done yet; A month later, 2 more incredibly violent EF5 tornadoes would occur, with one of them being the infamous Joplin EF5 and the current highest-rated tornado on the EF scale, the El-Reno-Piedmont-Guthrie EF5. There's also the Goldsby and Chickasha EF4s, which are two tornadoes that likely should've received EF5 ratings. Had those two tornadoes earned EF5 ratings, we very well might just be talking about May 22-Ma24, 2011, being a super outbreak as well. That would've been two super outbreaks in 1 year in the span of a month. That's how bad 2011 was.

[@w1ndgeneral226]

Yikes, and that's my birthday too.

[@USJTAC]

…and then to think, less than a month later the Joplin EF5 occurred. 2011 was a wild year.

[@LVM5584]

@@USJTAC and 2 days later the El Reno/Piedmont F5 roared through.

[@daffahilmi6918]

2011 was madness

[@USJTAC]

@@daffahilmi6918 We could even take it as far back as April 15 - April 16th. A high risk day with multiple long track and deadly tornadoes across South and North Carolina…North Carolina to the brunt of this outbreak.

[@dannyllerenatv8635]

@@LVM5584 Don't forget Chickasha and Goldsby, either. If those two were to earn EF5 ratings, the outbreak sequence from 05/22-05/24 could've very well been considered a super outbreak, which would've meant two super outbreaks in 1 year separated by the span of 1 month. That's the absurdity of 2011.

[@ILoveOldTWC]

@@USJTAC Yes, April 14-16, 2011, plus the EF4 on April 22nd that struck Lambert St. Louis Airport.

[@TacticalRabbit42]

As someone who lived just a few towns north, we all remember that night. I was one of the first on the scene doing recovery. It was a long, stressful few days without sleep. It was easily an EF5, nothing was left standing, reduced almost everything to the slab. Thank you for covering this so well.

[@Turk_2023]

There is not a whole lot of difference between EF3 to EF5. If you're in the path you're going to have a bad day either way.

[@jmcsquared18]

It's debatable if it was EF5 but one thing's certain: it sure looked the part. I have honestly never seen any tornado look so much like a Cthulu monster straight out of a Lovecraftian horror story than Tuscaloosa. And a maximum width of 1.5 miles to boot? That is a walking nightmare.

[@Basgerin]

It was such a shitty time. The town felt like it was completely gone. My step-brother was working at Hokkaido when it hit. We had no idea if he was still alive until a little while after. The only thing that survived was the walk-in freezer, which the staff was hiding in.

[@Coolishstuff]

This tornado had some of the most scary tornado footage ever recorded in my opinion. Imagine living in Tuscaloosa and seeing a giant tornado with horizontal vortices that stretch for hundreds of feet approving your home. Absolutely terrifying.

[@user-dv4bu6jq4n]

I would certainly like to not relive that day

[@treybrannon4964]

Don't have to imagine it. I was there.

[@huntertherealtor0.o]

I wasn't in Tuscaloosa, but I was living in Birmingham when this was happening. Never forget it. I remember that morning everything had an "eerie" feeling to it. It was like an uncomfortable, impending doom feeling in my gut..

[@JK_Kitten10]

Cool :0

[@xA-A-RONx]

I lived through this. It missed my property by about a half mile. I was at work when it hit and the drive home was ominous... it literally looked like a bomb went off. Nothing was left standing, and it looked like I was in a foreign land. Everything was completely unrecognizable. It's a sight and a memory that will always stick vividly in my mind. I saw the true force of Mother Nature that day, and she isn't anything to play with.

[@LVM5584]

6:29 that photo is like a murderer leaving the scene of the crime. Rainsville’s F5 has a similar photo. Simply Bone Chilling. Taking a direct hit from 200 mph winds possibly higher in a ups truck and surviving it. Someone’s watching over you. Amazing video Chris how you went into deep details that I never knew about this Tornado. Can’t wait for more future episodes

[@steveamato4857]

My wife was in this storm (before we were married). She had severe depression and absolute storm terror after this tornado. She and her friends immediately after helped clear the roads and cover the dead. She is now less terrified of storms, but she keeps the weather on during an event.

[@katcana1]

Gomez's footage ACTUALLY haunts me, the way it so quickly completely demolishes the building and the camera almost immediately cutting to black as you hear the insane wind rushing into the building, god its so unnerving.

[@junefirst]

Is this the HIGHEST Risk of High Risk Chris? Kinda makes a fella wonder...

[@ericascherbarth5433]

Yo it’s June first lol

[@cookie_muncher4567]

wawa

[@GalaxyGoesCrazy]

@@cookie_muncher4567 wawa

[@nursestoyland]

@@GalaxyGoesCrazywawa

[@oscark1810]

Hello

[@Janiejanes7]

I was 17 at the time and this day still stands as the scariest day of my life. Even watching videos on the tornado after all this time still chokes me up. Tuscaloosa is my home and we have worked so hard to rebuild since then but our town has never been the same. 💛

[@sicksickBacon]

me too, i was 7 at the time. a few years after that i was scared every time it so much as sprinkled rain. and i mean every. single. time.

[@Appl-f5d]

I was 5 when this happened, Tuscaloosa came back better than ever. It really took our community working together to save more lives and rebuild our homes. I was at Holt Elementary when Obama came to visit 😂

[@zed4225]

The strength of community, disasters bring out the best in communities, sadly. But thankfully. I'm sorry for the losses sustained, both in lives and homes. Homes can be re-built, but not always humans.

[@saschaross5749]

We can All agree on one thing. James Spann saved a lot of lives that day.

[@LVM5584]

@@saschaross5749 I would say possibly millions and that’s not an overstatement. And don’t forget Jason Simpson who was there for the morning round and right with James during the main event.

[@CMHplanespoting]

Used to live in Birmingham. He used to see him all the time he came to my school once he’s a nice guy I believe when I was in elementary school he came and we got to lunch weather balloon from the school parking lot.

[@RT-qd8yl]

I still watch his daily weather updates on youtube.

[@Iceechibi]

@@RT-qd8yl Yep I live further south on the Mississippi side, but James Spann is a legend even down here on the gulf coast

[@earthtoboom-5888]

What’s even crazier and proves his dedication to keep people safe when the 300 people died in 2011 from the storms he actually took the time to learn every name on the list.

[@Aldairion]

When driving from college in Kansas back to home in Georgia, summer of 2011, I passed through Alabama and saw the damage path. It's the first & only time I've seen tornado damage. It's mind-boggling how "sharp" the path is. It really looked like a giant had just dragged its heel across town. Ironically, the whole three years I lived in Kansas, I never experienced a single tornado. Thank you for another great video. I found your channel a month ago and I've sort of been waiting on this one, as it's the one that hits closest to home.

[@CelticStar87]

I was in Tuscaloosa for disaster relief after that tornado (my team was the second wave, so two weeks after). First time I can remember seeing tornado damage, even now it sticks in my mind. I can remember seeing the McFarland area and how one side of the road was completely flattened and the other barely had any damage. As we were serving meals in one area, a member of the national guard said that he could see the path from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham as they were flying over. We were in Tuscaloosa when Joplin was hit.

[@zed4225]

Yet lol stay safe, my love of them started in Kansas with Dorothy, Toto and a tornado🌪❤

[@LukesterGD]

10:38 The sound in this recording is simply terrifying. Just hearing the muffled screams of the people in the building is enough to send shivers down my spine.

[@richarpadilla1891]

Now this is a great video ! i survived the 12-10-2021 Mayfield Kentucky tornado working at the candle factory that night ! that was a high end EF4 190 mph winds tornado which remids me the Tuscaloosa tornado ! everytime i see a Tuscaloosa tornado video i compare it in my mind with Mayfield ! that was rain wrapped at times and it was at night ! i could identifie myself with the people of Tuscaloosa ,some meteorologists said that Mayfield's reached a little bit more than 200 mph winds ! it was a very violent tornado just like the Tuscaloosa's !

[@KaileyB616]

If we're being honest, Mayfield was obviously an EF-5, but all of that aside... the fact that it was nighttime, it was the time of year not known for having violent long track tornadoes, and you were working with bosses who clearly didn't give a 💩 about yalls lives in a factory built using a design that is notoriously terrible in tornadoes/extreme winds... oh and let's not forget that a lot of the candle factory employees who managed to survive the direct hit by the tornado were buried alive under rubble for HOURS IN THE DARK... all of that combined just makes it so much worse. Plus Mayfield didn't occur in the middle of a big spring outbreak being covered on TV by James Spann, so emergency response time had to be slower. it all sounds so incredibly terrifying, I'm sorry you had to go through that. Your bosses deserve to be sued for everything they have because that tornado was on the ground for a long time before it reached youur location, and if they cared at all about anyone besides themselves, they could've easily looked online or turned on the news to figure out where it was at and where it was going!

[@dannyllerenatv8635]

Mayfield was a bit more solid and uniformed in structure, although it was multi-vortex as well. Rolling Fork and Barnsdall on the other hand remind me a lot of Tuscaloosa in their appearance.

[@richarpadilla1891]

@@KaileyB616 That's a very well description of what happened that night ! i wait for 3 hours under that rubble and honestly at a point i thought that night was my last one in this world !

[@kirashields7383]

Oh I remember seeing your comment on Celton's video on this! Mayfield was crazy, the destruction was on another level. I heard you weren't allowed to leave or risk losing your jobs?! Insane. I'm sorry you had to go through all that. 😟 I live in England, lived in the same small city in the east, my whole life. We do get small tornadoes, maybe 30 a year, EF0-1 mostly. We have our own Tornado alley, running downwards, from Manchester, to Birmingham, to Bristol. Basically far left side of England. But nothing like the US. Tornadoes are both fascinating and terrifying. I couldn't imagine living somewhere where they're incredibly common. Even more terrifying if it's rain wrapped, at night, or both. Every sense heightened because you can't see it. Been binging these sorts of videos, from numerous people, I've always been fascinated by them, I'm autistic, it's one of my 'tism interests, but I couldn't imagine how I'd react if I lived through one. Breaks my heart to hear of the destruction and deaths they cause. I am glad you're okay 😊

[@richarpadilla1891]

@kirashields7383 thanks for commenting here, tornadoes are a nature's marvelous manifestation, but also deadly !

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

I'm glad this channels really coming into its own. I think "NadoTube" really needed a channel with a more relaxed, almost blithe approach. I love all the tornado/weather channels but it gets to be very dire after a while - of course it's often very dire subject-matter but when you can, you have to exhale eventually. Risky Chris and Swegle are a breath of fresh air in that regard.

[@highriskchris]

Thanks Fuzzy 🙏

[@jasonhahn8797]

Have you ever tried "TornadoTRX"? Not very many videos, but he's pretty easy to watch.

[@shoesr21]

I love Risky Chris, Swegle, and weatherbox.

[@aprilbrooks9068]

the infamous 2011 Severe Weather/Tornado Season that year would never be forgotten i remember watching that outbreak on TWC/The Weather Channel that outbreak was crazy

[@LVM5584]

@@aprilbrooks9068 Greg Forbes’s finest hour.

[@BellaMolina-qg8hg]

I was born in the sixth day in Birmingham

[@BellaMolina-qg8hg]

Sorry, I mean the exact day

[@aprilbrooks9068]

@@BellaMolina-qg8hg April 27th 2011 severe weather outbreak speaking severe weather outbreaks from what I've seen on Tv Hurricane Milton had spawned some big Tornadoes the type that you usually see in the Midwest/Plain States which is unusual for a Tropical Cyclone to have an severe weather outbreak like that especially when it comes down to large Wedge Tornadoes that Milton had spawned what are your thoughts on that???

[@aprilbrooks9068]

@@LVM5584 we here in Georgia and Carolina were in the slight severe weather risk on that day in fact we here in the Augusta area aka the CSRA were supposed to get severe weather during the afternoon on that day and last through the early AM hours of the next day on and off but we didn't get any severe weather until the early early AM hours of the next day

[@ackmess]

I was there and rode it out with my future wife and three dogs. We were about a mile from the University Mall, well out of the path, but close enough to see/hear/feel it. It's nearly impossible for me to revisit this day without getting highly emotional. You touched on it, but I think the one thing that can't be understated is how loud this storm was. We were hunkered down in an internal hallway with the TV turned up loud during the tornadoes approach and pretty much could only hear James Spann speaking. When the power was cut the "jet engine" sound was something I'll never, ever forget. I had always heard tornadoes described as sounding like a freight train, but this was much more powerful and violent. If you've ever heard an f-22 raptor it's like something in that spectrum. So loud you can't really even think a clear thought. Terrifying. Thanks for the well done video. RIP to all the victims that day.

[@_Typos]

15:40 I can't ignore the fact while there was a life changing tornado that happened, that was one of the best and clearest shots of a lightning bolt I have ever seen.

[@Demon_Child-k9o]

I was looking for this

[@TheTWISTEDCREECH96]

Ikr, a lot of the storms on 4/27/11 had crazy cg lightning.

[@S1LLY_T1T4N_SB_L0V3R]

The Tuscaloosa tornado was a whole lot more insane than I ever imagined! You're absolutely right, Chris. Tuscaloosa deserves an EF5 rating.

[@highriskchris]

It's right on the edge

[@Artfanbookfan25]

I've seen debates about how the famous Pampa F4 of 1995 also reached F5 intensity at some point.

[@trasheyhamster]

@@Artfanbookfan25Thomas Grazulis said that it could have had F6 intensity

[@LVM5584]

@@trasheyhamster in reference to Pampa 1995 that was a very slow mover just like Jarrell.

[@sharpsvilleBill]

@@highriskchris Crazy thing is that the El Reno tornado was also only assigned an EF4 rating. The mobile radar that day clocked internal wind speeds of ~300MPH. It was mostly over very rural areas and the few buildings that were hit didn't show EF5 damage, but it seems obvious it was indeed an EF5 monster.

[@09enderman]

Those cameramen is the definition of 'the cameraman never dies'

[@bur_n_t]

to be fair, you never hear about the ones that do

[@SurfTheSkyline]

The Houndsooth Condos footage is the video that really kickstarted my full fascination with tornado videos because it was the first I had seen that wasn't part of a documentary and was raw to me and it reminded me so much of the apartment complexes of my college town and just really flipped some switch in my brain. Truly horrifically mesmerizing.

[@michaelwillever3522]

The part about the tornado intensifying while crossing the lake was something I don't think I knew happened. Awful day. Great video. Thanks.

[@latashaharvin618]

That Tuscaloosa and Birmingham tornado had tentacles 😨😱 that twister was scary looking, my son said tornados love to cross highways. Rest In Peace to the people that died 🕊️🙏🏽.

[@Turk_2023]

So did other tornados that day. Philadelphia Ms and another that looked like a shape shifter

[@latashaharvin618]

@@Turk_2023 Wow😲😨😱

[@highriskchris]

Thanks Latasha. yeah they really do seem to like crossing highways.

[@aprilbrooks9068]

I remember watching a storm chasing video of the Tuscaloosa AL Tornado and the thunder from the storm that spawned that Tornado sounded like something between loud bombs going off and what you here in the lightning compilation videos but a little further off in the distance that was one evil sounding Thunderstorm

[@aprilbrooks9068]

and yeah it was thunder bcuz there was bright flashes of lightning then there was a loud boom in between the flashes of lightning

[@trailerparkfarm9198]

Videos on tornados are my new rabbit hole…omg they’re terrifying.

[@zed4225]

Done volcanoes, awesome

[@pgull1]

I like how theres two tornado documenters here already

[@cooltrtlevlogs7178]

This was a terrifying day for my friends this was a great vid

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

Content Squad, assemble!

[@mayankbaruah3997]

I believe its 3 now

[@kirashields7383]

​@@mayankbaruah3997 yep, I've seen Tornadotrx, Celton Henderson and June first. 😆

[@braxtonstewart1655]

Most of my family survived this, a few people were a little too late to get to the storm cellar. Our house was just gone all the way down to the foundation. I’ll never forget the look on my dads face, a vague smile of absolute shock and disbelief and all he said was “it’s all gone” with a defeated chuckle

[@zed4225]

Guess he knew the risks of living in tornado alley, i'm sorry for the losses sustained that day. Mother Nature is both jaw dropping and terrifying.

[@Vahlee-A]

I'm glad you mention the tornado's forward speed here because it absolutely plays a role in what rating a tornado gets. For example the Jarrel tornado in 1997 was rated F5, not because of its wind speed but because it's forward speed was extremely slow, giving it a lot of time to absolutely decimate the ground. Slow-moving, powerful tornadoes will receive high ratings. Tornadoes with high winds don't receive high ratings if they don't destroy anything.

[@MeesterJ]

Wrong, that is a myth. Jarrell was rated F5 because it had insane windspeeds, which decimated everything and killed everyone within mere seconds. After that, it had its time to granulate everything beyond belief and beyond anything we ever saw before

[@Im1ofTh3m]

@@MeesterJ WRONNNNNG!!!!!! lol... Really though they're not wrong when they say weaker tornados can cause significantly more damage when moving a slower speeds, but yes Jarrell had devastating wind speeds, but ended up causing even more damage because of it's slow directional speed as well. I'm not sure what "myth" you're talking about personally.

[@reeupshawty4615]

Remember this day like yesterday! I stayed on University Blvd, 35th Ave directly behind Chastain Manor. Which was on 34th Ave. Worst tornado to ever touch Tuscaloosa. Its a blessing to be alive and talk about it! Prayers up to the deceased victims and their families!! A special prayer to one of my mentors who also stay in Chastain Manor, Lil Sister 🙏🏾🙏🏾. She moved there two weeks before the storm and was so happy about retirement. Blessings and Bless Up to everyone and enjoy this ride we call life ✌🏾

[@russelltilley2776]

One of if not the best videos I’ve seen on this tornado. I live 20 mi southeast of Tuscaloosa and the damage was unimaginable on the ground. Completely changed Tuscaloosa.

[@Hurricane0011]

This tornado has been in my head for so long. All footage of it is absoutely terrifying with the subvortices and the sound

[@markriosn7589]

I'm from Tuscaloosa. The tornado fundamentally changed the city. The reconstruction brought a big real estate boom as the University began expanding. Went from being a large town to a small city.

[@hayleebilll]

I was there that day visiting my sister at the university of Alabama for spring break. We were about to go out to the galleria that day and ended up falling asleep. We were spared I am so thankful, we slept through everything. My heart still goes out to the families that lost a loved ones.💓

[@JohnsonTv]

Ads that genuinely fit into the niche of what content creators stick to I think add a nice touch to their videos, this one included. Then again, this video is well made enough that nothing beats it

[@xxm0nst3rxx97]

Something tells me that I am not normal. I love watching tornado videos but I would NEVER want to experience a tornado hitting my hometown. Keep up the awesome work man! ❤

[@WightChambers]

The Tuscaloosa tornado looked like it had tentacles.

[@Rubyfortnitesskin]

Dead man walking

[@Fido-vm9zi]

It might for all we know.

[@-RedPainter-]

Wither storm

[@fionadakitsuneko]

​@@-RedPainter- Exactly what I was thinking

[@-RedPainter-]

@@fionadakitsuneko real

[@Knocxy]

Thank you for covering this. From someone who was there that day and will never forget how it affected t-town.

[@jeremywatkins6929]

I am from Philadelphia, mississippi. It was talked about all morning, and once I saw the dominator suv in the lowes parking lot, I knew something was going to happen.

[@LVM5584]

And where you are from got hit by an F5 Tornado which Reed said was one of the strongest he’s ever seen

[@davidchambers44]

April 27th was a day like no other. Incredible just how many major tornadoes happened in one day. Something I noticed at 10:00, the tornado kind of resembles the Greenfield, Iowa tornado from earlier this year. Quite eerie.

[@davis83]

Nice work again bro 🙌🏽🙌🏽 I’m located in Brisbane, Australia…. And I remember watching the James Spann coverage live back in 2011. This was unbelievable and unreal!!!

[@zed4225]

Excellent documentary. RIP to all those who lost their lives that day, condolences to the families left to carry on. Stay safe in tornado alley. Nice bunker absolutely critical. Hope it's required by law to have a bunker. Saves so many lives. Had a fascination for tornadoes since i first saw The Wizard of Oz

[@gawdszn302]

I live in Louisiana been following Mr James Spann for years I always check anytime we have severe weather & his breakdowns

[@lowspeedhighdrag566]

What is impressive to me is not only the account of the tornado overall but the individual attributions of video and images... Helps understand the timeline and how the tornado changes.

[@jacibagel5687]

I was 13 when it happened. I was a few towns above Tuscaloosa, and my uncle took my family in because he had a storm shelter. About a week after the tornado came through, i was able to go to Tuscaloosa and seen a town I've seen my whole childhood just.. torn from the hinges.

[@zed4225]

Hmmmm I had similar trauma but my town was taken over by Kosovan refugees and destroyed. A human tornado.

[@ApprenticeKate]

I'll never forget 2011. I was 8 years old when previously the outbreak started in the south in Ok/Texas where I experienced my first tornado warning in my life. I was in a suburb of Dallas where a tornado was reported and headed for my school but it passed us. That day, without being a fraction as devastating as this tornado was enough for me to remember, fear and slight ptsd, but then I guess ignite my interest in the weather in what I hope I can study today. What a year.

[@colorgreen8728]

Showing the tornado scar on the land as it passes is a nice touch

[@Jack-fp3em]

love your videos i get home from school and am so excited to see you uploaded

[@Galaxyspacial]

2011 was a insane event😢 I hope everyone that survived doesn't have trauma from the event to right now

[@garrettlake7970]

I lived in Moundville at the time. I was 12. After we realized that it was going to miss us, we watched it roll towards Tuscaloosa from our front yard. Also James Spann is one of our most beloved people in the state. Saved many lives that day.

[@roymunson1]

April 27 was one bad day. Similar mayhem as what happened in 74'. Great video!

[@GhostHead997]

I was in the fourth grade when this happened and the last ef4 of the day was about 20 minutes from where I live. To this day this is one of my only memories I can depict vividly because of how scary it was, I remember waking up and that morning there was. Just a feeling of dread in the air, the clouds were a jet blue and I knew something bad was coming

[@AGuyMakesContent]

And this was only one of the many intense tornadoes of that day. It would be almost impossible to have another day like this or the 1974 super outbreak. Good video.

[@Nunyah_Bidness]

Conventional wisdom and anyone with decent weather knowledge would agree with your "almost impossible" statement. However, I'm afraid we'll likely see more days such as this in the coming years..... and not because of any "global warming/climate change" nonsense, either.

[@AGuyMakesContent]

@@Nunyah_Bidness true

[@DanRustle]

Love the vids man. Detailed timeline of events from the tornado. Keep kicking butt man

[@summerchildmid90s]

As I watch this, all I can do is just...cry. Losing a loved one has got to be the most painful, devastating and traumatizing thing any living human could ever experience. On top of that, there's survivors guilt as well. I am so, so, sorry to those who are experiencing this level of pain and sorrow.

[@THEDC777]

I live in central Alabama , & I watched all of this havoc on the news. It truly was a historic day. The phil Campbell/Hackelburg storm was giant

[@rivertowne6911]

The horizontal vortices of the 2011 Tuscaloosa tornado were truly otherworldly. One thing you never want to see as a tornado is barreling towards a metropolitan area.

[@dannyllerenatv8635]

@@rivertowne6911 what’s also crazy is the fact that this thing grew to an almost Greensburg resembling 1.5 miles in diameter and became rain wrapped as it barreled towards Birmingham. It’s bad enough it tore directly through the southern portions of Tuscaloosa. If it tore directly into the heart of Birmingham, I don’t even want to imagine how much worse this already worst case scenario tornado would’ve been. A 1.5 mile wide rain-wrapped wedge heading directly into a metropolitan area. That was 4/27/2011

[@korlu01]

Awesome coverage of this event. Truly remarkable the way you presented all of this footage to capture the totality of the carnage as it unfolded. Thank you for the watch.

[@TornadoAlertWX]

This is Epic 1 day have a new tornadotrx video then the next day a new Junefirst video and now day 3 a new Chris video

[@davesing]

The footage of the mesocyclone reaching the ground is absolutely horrifying. Thank you for your excellent work on this video.

[@bumplebees]

I remember watching this outbreak on the news when I was in high school. It was terrifying but mesmerizing.

[@HuskiesFan1415]

I remember this. I live in Etowah County in northeast Alabama. The F5 that passed through Tuscaloosa was originally headed right toward us, but it turned at the last minute. One of the scariest days of my life. A horrific storm that affected Alabama to this day.

[@PunchGod741]

it blows my mind that there are people in europe who think building houses out of concrete would stop a monster like that

[@zed4225]

The American Navy put up houses in Exmouth, West Australia made out of concrete blocks, they are ugly but can withstand Category 5 cyclones (hurricanes). I've often thought building materials coulld do with being more solid in tornado alley and a bunker required by law. Saves so many lives. Stay safe x

[@GrainOnTheGo]

I will never forget this storm and night. We were in an area we thought might be hit so we travelled to Mountain Brook to stake it out at one of the reinforced restaurants. Of all the storm outbreaks I experienced growing up in Birmingham this night was one of a few that genuinely scared me. The next day so many people from Tuscaloosa came up north to Bham. Hundreds of them without homes. God bless them all.

[@dArkmoonGoddess]

Eye was in the midst of this devastation.. in Tuscaloosa.. will never forget this day as long as eye live ..

[@09enderman]

I

[@isaacsucks]

shoulda worn goggles

[@TGACmapper11]

I’ve been intrested in tornados for a bit by now, and I didn’t know they could get this violent and this big. This changed my whole views on tornadoes, wow.

[@KaileyB616]

if you wanna see a particularly violent and large tornado, look up the El Reno "EF-3" with a maximum width of 2.6 miles and a forward moving speed of 55 to 60 mph. Oh and let's not forget the DOW measured wind speeds inside the tornado of over 300 mph!! the fact that it got an EF-3 rating is so incredibly ridiculous

[@toddvergith9485]

Whether it's EF4 or EF5, the damage is still catastrophic and (if you survive) life altering. The EF scale is flawed either way and I'm glad it's being updated.

[@packpackcheesehead8613]

I was in 11th grade when this happened. That day started off sunny and quiet. We sat in the school halls for awhile, before they decided to dismiss us. Again, still super sunny, and quiet. Then the storms came. My parents were at work. My mom's work let people come home if they wanted to. She was on her way home when, she stopped at a piggly wiggly for cover. she decided to leave and go across the street to the publix (her reasoning was that the storm would flood her car away with how the parking lot was). The tornado came through and when she came out, the piggly wiggly was gone. As kids, it was humbling when we drove 10 miles down the road and saw houses gone, while we were just out of power for a week. Thanks for this video.

[@donutpredator4945]

I still have nightmares of this day a tornado touched down beside my house and went on to a ef3 when it hit the next town i cant stand thunder or even simple rain storms anymore

[@C.L.190]

That opening shot of the tornado was BEAUTIFUL.

[@imcherylynn]

Many people talk about this particular tornado because of notoriety and sheer amount of footage of it. Although quite literally the worst of this outbreak was not the Tuscaloosa tornado, but the Hackleburg-Phil Campbell EF5 that passed through 2 states and caused higher fatalities and damage. It doesn’t get nearly enough attention because there’s far less footage of it. I’ve always wanted to learn more about it. That tornado was MASSIVE. Not taking away anything from this one, as it was terrible and highly destructive as well. This whole outbreak was awful. It’s just that I’ve probably heard as much as I could learn about this one.

[@highriskchris]

Totally agree, working on a video of that tornado. Stay tuned!

[@MeesterJ]

That was the modern day Tristate tornado

[@alabamajenny8751]

I wonder what happened in the year 2011 to create such a volatile environment in so many states? What an absolute amazingly detailed and informative video. Very well done. Thank you.

[@SW.Productions]

Could you make a video on the 2007 Enterprise, Alabama tornado? It was an EF4 that destroyed a school and killed a bunch of kids. No KZbinrs have made a video on it yet

[@TrialzGTAS]

So rad to see other storm chasing content creators in The comments

[@highriskchris]

We are all buddies

[@TornadoTwistarGaming]

I was living in Pleasant Grove over on 5th Street about 200 yards south of the Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church and Cemetery. I was 19 at the time and had graduated from the high school the year prior in 2010. On 4/27/2011, me and mom drove out to my Aunts house about 3 miles away over on 14th Avenue since she had a basement while our home didn't have a basement. I can NEVER forget the moment me, mom, my aunt, uncle-in-law, and cousin all sitting there on the steps half-way down in the basement to suddenly hear the wind stop for a brief moment then hear the debris ball come rolling through. I was thinking that any moment that house was going to implode and we were all going to die.

[@flaca2787]

I honestly believe they shoulda rated this tornado an ef5.

[@AnnabelBarker-cs1ui]

The videos of this storm do a great job of capturing the sheer SIZE of this behemoth. I can’t imagine seeing it in person.

[@Jacob9335wastaken]

This was a horrible day. My mom was supposed to work at the hospital, but was off that day, for me as I wasn’t even one yet.

[@highriskchris]

Wow, good thing it missed the hospital. Thanks for watching Jacob!

[@Jacob9335wastaken]

@@highriskchris yeah. Very glad. Thank you for making this video!

[@scottbostic6247]

Well done. I remember this well. At the time, I lived in Locus Fort Alabama. We had to work that day but did not make our product. Just cleaned machines and so on. I left work at 1:50pm. I'll never forget that James Span was begging everyone to stay home that day. Since when do we have "tornado days" I thought to myself. This must be serious. 10 minutes from home and I heard the first touch down. All night I watched and had everyone together so we could get to the shelter. One went north of us and one went south. I'll never forget that day. I've seen a lot of tornadoes living in Alabama but that day was different. That day it looked green outside. It was bad. By the way, you do an excellent job and I appreciate the work and investigation you put into these. Well done.

[@highriskchris]

Thank you Scott. Glad you made the right choice that day, must have been extremely harrowing watching tornadoes hit nearby communities.

[@scottbostic6247]

@@highriskchris i meant to tell you, the next day, going in to see what type of damage was done at work, I picked up a piece of paper that was a prescription dated back from 1976. I assuming it hit the storage area in T-town and that little paper made it's way to Tarrant Alabama, where I worked. That's a long way.

[@highriskchris]

Wow, that's incredible. Thanks for sharing

[@bakariw210]

2011 was insane

[@Artfanbookfan25]

Rainsville was, IMO, the craziest of them all. 😮

[@bell_70]

@@Artfanbookfan25Smithville and Piedmont:

[@UnitedStatesGovt]

James Spann is a legend in Alabama and probably the most beloved person in the state and the most trusted weatherman in Alabama.

[@reeupshawty4615]

Facts!!! The funny thing is I watch a meteorologist that gets millions of views!! And you know who he said he looked up to?? James Spann the Legend!! Bless up 🙏🏾

[@Artfanbookfan25]

Like Andover (1991), this has to be one of the most videotaped violent tornadoes ever. Interestingly, I recently saw footage for the first time of the 1999 May 3 F5 that showed that there were also horizontal vortices at times (no video of May 3rd that I saw prior to this had indicated it).

[@LVM5584]

@@Artfanbookfan25 the footage of it entering town on the tower cam with no clear condensation funnel and multiple Vorticies. Instant flashback to Bruce Boyd’s video of the 1974 Xenia F5.

[@dannyllerenatv8635]

Yeah May 3rd looked pissed off. That’s the only way to describe it. It also went through so many different phases, but just when you thought it would die out, it would re-widen back into a wedge. This thing looked pissed off too. Like an angry kraken rampaging through the city.

[@bamar2424]

Not gonna lie, this brought back a lot of raw emotions from that day. However, this is probably the best edited piece I’ve seen since it happened. Good job! The ad made it a bit awkward and ill timed, but great good nonetheless. RIP Danielle (I miss her hugs) and everyone lost that day.

[@notsilv3r]

Monster tornado. This tornado overshadows April 27 2011 tornadoes even stronger like Hackleburg-Phil Campbell or Smithville

[@meghanhause9435]

Because it hit to major cities, plus it has a lot of clear pictures and video documentation, Smithville has a handful of it, Hackleburg has a lot of it, but a majority of it isn't clear.

[@notsilv3r]

@@meghanhause9435 I remember seeing a Whelen siren get evicted from its pole in Phil Campbell in some footage

[@dannyllerenatv8635]

@@meghanhause9435Smithville in particular doesn’t have many photos of it. It was a large photogenic wedge, but the tornado formed and raced into town so quickly that it definitely must’ve been either too risky it too difficult to capture. Hackleburg does have a good amount of videos, but it’s often titled under many of the different towns it hit, like Mt hope and limestone for example.

[@guccilady1017]

I was a sophomore at A&M when this hit. I had to drive home to Trussville from Huntsville in the aftermath. The destruction was gut wrenching. Til this day I’ve never seen anything like it. Completely wiped everything out. We had to shelter in the dormitory. The sounds of the tornado were traumatizing. Sounds like a train roaring right at you. I’ll never forget it

[@nursestoyland]

Well hot dog! First june first, then tornado trx? This is a dream come true!

[@volantcord2210]

I was barely in middle school, and was living in Birmingham when that tornado came through. It was incredibly wild. The best part is that I moved back to my hometown for a few years, and ended up watching my hometown get hit by two more tornadoes a year later back to back.

[@SamukelSpace_Official]

It's crazy to think that James Spann was on air for the whole day.

[@CASH-THE-NERD]

I’m pretty sure it was more than a day

[@bartonbella3131]

Alabama is the 2nd tornado alley. We have so many tornado watches and rarely damage but when it hits... it hits hard

[@Zaidius]

4:28 this caught me off guard so hard that my heart started palpitating

[@Meatman8089]

Wifey and I drove through Birmingham area in the winter of 2012 (early Feb). It was the first time I ever saw a tornado path. Just a line of erased buildings and void of all foliage. It was a sobering experience.

[@dantheman9591]

The Ringgold GA EF4 has done similar damage comparable to this tornado but it was given the same High End EF4 rating with the same maximum wind speeds of 190 mph

[@highriskchris]

I'd love to cover Ringgold in a future video. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@dantheman9591]

@@highriskchris You're welcome and both this tornado and Ringgold's was not the only tornadoes to be in the rating debate even the Springfield MA EF3 that occurred two months after the 2011 Super Outbreak is also in the debate it was rated a High End EF3 with maximum wind speeds of 160 mph but I have seen comments saying it should have been rated a EF4

[@lebroncurry3222]

Ringgold still hasn’t recovered from that tornado. Everything in its path was destroyed. Absolute nightmare.

[@LVM5584]

@@highriskchris that whole supercell that Ringgold formed from dropped 2-EF5’s and another EF4 before that one. Along with 2 more EF3’s in Tennessee the storm went all the way into Virginia. I call it the OG Quad State Supercell. Violent Tornadoes in 4 states. MS, AL, GA and TN. That whole cell deserves a video

[@meghanhause9435]

@@highriskchris Ah good, nobody seems to talk about that tornado all too much, it only gets a brief mention.

[@Bobby_wobby]

Man that tornado just did not want to die, it laughed in the face of death with how long it went.

[@jadefox5285]

Hideous vortices... 🌪

[@gorillavibes-k9s]

The footage filmed by Gomez is genuinely heartbreaking between the muffled screams of terror, the video cutting to black, and the fact they were in a building that wasnt able to handle EF4 conditions. Its just sad.

[@Twj2001]

So incredible lucky that the tornado jumped straight over my house and did little to no damage, but as for my beloved city, it wasn't as fortunate. (Update: I can see my house in this HAHA)

[@riannespurlock]

I was working in Huntsville, AL on this evening. I live about 30 miles North of Huntsville in TN. We spent our entire shift in a centralized room of the building underneath tables and desks. We knew it was bad but had no idea to what extent. When we were finally able to leave, the entire city of Huntsville was without electricity. Walking out to our cars, you couldn't even see your hand in front of your face it was so dark. That was such an eerie drive home. The city was so dark since there were no street lights or any other lights, for that matter. As I was approaching the state line, there were dozens of cars coming back from TN to AL where they had come North to get gas for generators and just whatever else they may have needed. In my hometown, ppl found items, such as pieces of mail, that had come all the way from Phil Campbell and Hackleburg. It truly was a devastating and scary day for those of us in these areas. We are used to the looming threat of tornadoes, once spring hits, but this was the worst to take place in my lifetime, thus far.

[@AlwaysChasingStorms]

Everyone remembere the afternoon to evening outbreak on the 27th but it seems everyone forgets the morning outbreak.

[@robertstewart1223]

That drawing you have of the Forester at 4:09. That was part of my job in the Auto Industry. Whenever a vehicle is getting ready to go to Production, what we call , These 4 panel drawings are put together in the "Regulatory" Package goes to the Government for certification. Each country has their own requirements on what to show in these drawings. I had to do this for the Lincoln LS back in the 90's and it was going to be sold in 53 countries! Luckily most fit under the umbrella of a bigger Country. For instance, I had to this for America, Canada and all of Europe that was LHD; The UK which worked for all RHD vehicles except Japan; Japan who is the most stringent of all of the regulatory countries and finally for Saudi Arabia which was used by all of the Middle Eastern regulatory countries...I had my hands full! It was just cool to see you have a 4 Panel on your wall.

[@highriskchris]

Haha interesting, yeah I used to be an engineer so I love the look of these technical drawings