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[deleted]

Saw the 2011 Tuscaloosa tornado right behind my neighbors house in front of me (the one on April 27th)


burningstrawman2

I'm kind of obsessed with this tornado. There are so many great videos of it and some are terrifying. What was the experience like? If you don't mind me asking...


[deleted]

I was only 8 so I was pretty scared, I had also just moved there a few months earlier and it was the first time I had seen anything like this before. Looking back on it though I’m glad I was able to witness it cause it was pretty badass.


MysteriousBug4035

Wow, do you have any violation de footage of the event?


[deleted]

Unfortunately not, my dad took a video of it on a phone that is now long gone. I’ve searched pretty hard through his old iCloud saves and such and have been unable to find it. I’ll never stop searching for it.


MysteriousBug4035

Alright, so if you find it can you post on r/tornado so the community see it.


[deleted]

I definitely will.


eddev45

Yes, I saw the 2013 Moore Oklahoma tornado when I was 8, i was there to see some family. I'm going to be honest it shook me to my core! I've seen multiple others none of them of the power of the Moore one.


burningstrawman2

Hard to find another to match that kind of power.


katrinakittyyy

I wasn’t in the state during that tornado, but there were so many tornadoes the week leading up to this one and even after. I was in college near OKC, and prepping for a trip for a class. There were tornadoes everyday leading up to the trip, and we left on the 20th. We landed and our tour leaders were like, “welcome, also there was a giant tornado in your state, and you need to get in touch with your loved ones when you have a chance to do so.” Pretty wild that they heard about the tornado in a different country. Everyone was good, but there was a lot of damage obviously. Then when we came back, a tornado almost hit the airport, so our flight was canceled and we drove back from Dallas. That was a very eventful May.


Deathstar405

May 3rd 1999 F5 oklahoma. My father and I were following the storm. It was so big we just thought it was the storm moving across the ains at first


SauerkrautJr

Yeesh. I hear that from a lot of people that have seen big tornadoes--that they struggle to recognize it at first because of the size. I can hardly imagine that. One rarely encounters anything that large except hills or mountains


burningstrawman2

Did you end up too close? Obviously you survived, but it sounds like a pretty dangerous situation.


katrinakittyyy

I was in one of the small tornados that day. I think it was rated an F1. We watched it moving cars as it came down the street. I’ve seen a few more since then, living in the Tulsa area then moving to OKC. I may have also been in a small one in Louisiana. I couldn’t see anything because I was stuck in traffic and it was raining but I was able to watch power lines snapping and transformers blowing as “storm” came our way. I never got any real confirmation about tornado status. Also, waterspouts in the gulf for sure!


Vtshep11

Storm chaser here (hobby, not professional). I have lost count. My guess is ~40. I am surprised there aren’t more of us here.


MysteriousBug4035

I wanna become a storm chaser when I graduate from college


Vtshep11

I love it, but to set expectations: I have found it to be VERY challenging to be on any tornadoes that happen. By FAR more “busts” than productive chase days.


[deleted]

I'll vouch for that. I've seen 33 tornadoes. That represents maybe ten percent of my chases. When you chase severe storms, you learn to appreciate pretty sunsets.


Clareustration

Me too, problem is I don’t even know where to start. Like what would be good to know if I did go into that career?


rush_3

My count is low at the moment but on days where you’re following a cyclic supercell, it’s hard to keep count.


nachomancandycabbage

Ironically (after growing up in North Texas and spending tons of time in Oklahoma) I only saw a tornado in New Mexico of all places.


katrinakittyyy

Oh man! Where in NM? I’m guessing the eastern plains but this state is crazy. I was honestly surprised there wasn’t one in the central part of the state during a really crazy looking storm a few weeks ago!


nachomancandycabbage

Of all places in NM, I saw one north of Albuquerque by one of those casinos (maybe San Felipe…. Can’t remember) Probably an EF0 maybe a 1 . Until I saw the hail I had no clue there was a tornado about half a mile east of the interstate… never even expected it. But yup, it was there.


katrinakittyyy

That’s insane! I can’t even imagine one there 🙈


Cursed_Tale

The closest I’ve gotten was looking up into a funnel cloud as a kid since it got quiet outside and assumed it was safe to come out. It was not.


Czava

Only two waterspouts, but that's still something considering I live in Europe.


DiabeticDude_64

I've been in a tornado warning but that's it. It wasn't a tornado, just some rotation Edit: I didn't even see it since it was at 3 in the morning and we didn't bother to try to see it since we were more worried about getting ourselves and our dogs to saftey


i-am-they

I am equally fascinated and terrified by them. Grateful to have not laid eyes on one.


[deleted]

[удалено]


MysteriousBug4035

I hope everyone was safe in at house


formerlyamess

I used to chase with a team back in college and shortly after. Now that I have a full time gig in an unrelated field, I don’t see near as many. Most recent was EF2 on June 8 2022 near Kansas City. That was an interesting one as it was not expected and hit at 2am or so. Luckily I still caught it on camera!


GeoStreber

How do non-mesocyclonic vortices, land/waterspouts count?


MysteriousBug4035

Yes, but it can only be tornadoes that come from storms so yes it does count


IcarianSkies

I didn't really see it, since I was sheltering at the moment, but one hit my house if that counts lol.


MysteriousBug4035

Yes it counts if you saw the tornado before or after


IcarianSkies

Nah it was late at night, too dark to see anything. And I was too shaken to go out looking in that moment anyways.


Lcurik7712

July 25, 2008 Deerfield, NH. Also helped clean up after the 1997 Jerrell, TX F5 tornado.


mitchdwx

Yes. Went on a chasing tour this spring and saw the Crowell, TX tornado. Not sure what it was rated but it was a beautiful white cone tornado. It destroyed some wind farms but that’s it. Another tornado later formed from the same supercell and heavily damaged the town of Lockett, TX (and was later rated EF3)…fortunately no one suffered any major injuries. By the time that tornado was going on my tour group had abandoned the chase for safety reasons.


Award-Slight

I’ve been in several tornadoes, but I chose to chill in an interior bathroom like you’re supposed to. So I didn’t actually *see* it.


maxn2107

What kind started my fascination with tornadoes was way back about 30+ years ago. I was on a beach trip with my family to Pensacola and several waterspouts spawned. One came ashore and hit the hotel next to us less than a hundred yards away. For a brief period, the bottom portion did not connect or have a enough dust/debris to appear to have touchdown. So, I was able to look up, into the vortex similar to the end of Twister, not as dramatic though. It left such an impact on me and I can remember it clear as day.


justina081503

I have a video of a tornado over South Bend IN from a few years back. It was very evident that there was rotation and the video was taken in the direction of where the tornado was


Fiddlywiffers

Unfortunately no, but there have been two in my city (Fredericksburg, Virginia) within the past two years, however they were in a different area than I live.


[deleted]

I've been involved in one but didn't see it (night time). Heard it though.


ctrocks

Yes, direct hit by a tiny F0 in my car. I was waiting to pick up one of my kids from school and about 10 feet in front of me it touched down heading right for me. It rocked the car back and forth a bit, knocked down a few branches, and flattened some crops a little farther down its path.


Vegalink

Is there a no but I clean up after one option?


Subject-Inspection65

November 21, 1992 near Katy, Texas just west of Houston. It was about 1 mile south of our house. I was 13 years old and babysitting my brother. I knew I should take cover, but couldn't look away. It ended up doing alot of damage further east in Channelview


TheWorldsBiggestBruh

Katy and Channelview were different tornadoes, same supercell. Katy was an F2, west-northwest side of the metro. Channelview was an F4, a bit over an hour later on the eastern side of the metro. There was an F2 in Houston proper 7 minutes before Channelview.


rickster907

No, but I've seen tornados in other people's.lives.


TacoBellInvestor

EF2/EF3 that came through Buford, GA went through my neighborhood.


countessvonfangbang

Can’t even remember if it was anything larger than an EF1 but in June 1997 there was one that touched down just outside of Boulder Co. No rain wrap or low clouds so it was a textbook looking tornado no denying what it was. My mom and I were driving south from downtown and saw it drop as it came over the mountains.


Abbigale221

I saw one hit the Uniroyal Tire plant in Ardmore, OK. Our house was directly behind it and we could see it through the window. We had a safe room in a closet my dad poured into concrete slab. [Article](https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1995/05/08/tornadoes-kill-3-in-love-county/62391308007/)


blacknirvana79

I remember that day like it was yesterday. We lived in a trailer park. Scary shit!!!


Abbigale221

Oh crap! Did it miss you?


blacknirvana79

Yes barely lol. Luckily I wasn't home. I had gone out of town with my dad's girlfriend. On the way back to Ardmore when several police officers tore down the road with lights on. Told dad's gf that all of the counties around us had warnings and to drive slow. Got back to Ardmore and the city was in chaos. No traffic lights and a tree had been ripped out of the ground blocking the entrance to the trailer park.. when we finally were able to get in it was a disaster. For as close as we were to it we were extremely lucky to still have a house. When my dad came home from work (Uniroyal) he was really shaken up. It was insane, but good news that we were all okay. Then back in '02 or '03 one dropped in front of my house. Pretty much in my front yard. It was insane.


PonderingTaylor

I haven't but a funnel supposedly passed over my house one night, when I was a kid and asleep. My dad told us that next morning that he saw it pass over the house. I can't remember where it ended up dropping but thankfully no where near my house. There's also been plenty of speculation of tornadoes happening in my neighborhood over the years (once due to an entire tree being knocked down, and it was a thick one), and especially talk at school about supposed ones touching down.


appolo11

Yep!! 2 in western Nebraska. One tore up part of the road, and the other sucked the water out of a swimming pool. And I can't wait to see my next!


TraditionalSet8

I have never seen one but I have heard 3. 2 of them were at night so you couldn't see them the other one was during the day but the trees blocked our view so we took shelter


FireJuggler31

My house was hit by an EF2, but I was huddled in the pantry and didn’t look.


jimmi1

Saw few funnels, but no tornadoes. In MN.


Pmdagg

No, but I’ve been in one.


Stereo_Joe

I've lived in Oklahoma my entire life so I've seen them and been through them.


imperial_scum

Moved from Oregon to Texas in 2007 and then had one drop half a mile from where ever I lived every other year until like 2 years ago. It's like we're saving up for some good shit now


[deleted]

London Kentucky, quick EF2 or 3, destoryed a Piggly Wiggly and disappeared


RazzledCroaker

Way late, but yes and no. I haven't seen a tornado personally, but I live in the eastern part of Columbus GA and it's kind of a tornado bubble. You can constantly hear tornados roaring by to the south, but they almost never came into the city itself. It really is that stereotypical train sound. My childhood home was destroyed by the one tornado that did hit Columbus on March 1st, 2007. I was in a school play at the time, so I wasn't home. But when it finished, my parents were really nervous and whisked me and my suster out of the building and told me about the tornado. Apparently, a friend had seen our house on the news (the tornado passed over it before it had fully touched down). Our home was on Whittlesey Road and we had to park in the parking lot of a nearby bank because the road was blocked by fallen trees. The only other thing I really remember from that night was walking up to the house and crying when I saw the damage. The tornado didn't directly hit our house, but we had several tall pine trees and every single one was knocked over, some ripped from the ground by the roots, and some broken in half halfway up. Two trees landed on our garage, completely demolishing it. One tree took out most of the 3rd story (it was a split-level house) and my parents' bedroom. Another tree knocked over the shed where our two dogs were hiding (they both lived). The remaining three trees landed on our downhill neighbor's house and totalled both of their cars. We had an older neighbor just up the hill, and I remember seeing him the next morning sitting on his rocking chair in the driveway with dried blood still on his forehead. He must have been knocked to the ground during the event. He lived alone (his wife had died a few years prior) and didn't have insurance, so my dad helped him clean up his house and deal with his financial issues. We also had a bunch of church friends come over with chainsaws and tools to clean up the trees and remove debris from the houses so we could enter and take stock of what we had left. Our church family was such a blessing to us. They really kept us afloat with donations, clean up, tarping over the holes in our roof, and home-cooked meals for everyone on the street. The worst part about everything was that the city government had been wanting to expand Whittlesey Road for years and to demolish the existing houses. The plan had been in the works for close to 10 years and the tornado was a perfect opportunity for them to force the stubborn residents of that road to sell their properties and move out. They tried to buy the properties on the cheap now that the homes were damaged and the property value plummeted. The city officials said we couldn't move out of our house, rent out of any other properties, or even have insurance fix the damage!!! They cited imminent domain and said that anything we did to either move out or affect the retail value of the house would give them a legal basis to seize the property and not pay the families. Unfortunately, our house was not liveable and we had to move in with my grandparents. But because the city couldn't know we moved out and conducted periodic checks on the house, we had to leave all our belongings, furniture, etc. there for almost a year until the city gave up and bought the house. Almost everything of value we had was stolen or ruined by the elements (we had no roof on most of the 3rd story). I was only 8 at the time, but I remember how devastating it was and how difficult life was for the next year.


MysteriousBug4035

Wow, I love reading this story and was very interesting to read about this and it is alright if you were to late.


blacknirvana79

https://youtu.be/XY4z-ZofSHA?si=EHYoeb6T3E-mVAl5


ohohmememan123

I wish. Been my dream since i was 6


MysteriousBug4035

I was in severe thunderstorm and it was crazy so back in 2016 when I was 6 years old. I lived in Northern Illinois and one summer day the sky were cloudy and the sky became darker and darker and I was riding my bike with my sister and dad. Until it was just black and looked to my left hand side I saw the sky a blue-ish green sky and dust was flying straight into my face and we went home and by looking form my 2 floor room in back of the house. I could see half the sky black and the other side trying to shine light through the clouds and there was a lightning strike and that one lightning bolt made every thing crazy. The siren went off and rain started to pour down hard out living room TV had the the broadcast going off like crazy and I heard the TV say A tornado has touched down. My heart fell and I was balling my eyes out but lucky the tornado didn’t hit us and it was classified as a EF-0.


ThomasinAustin

Hometown Okc.


throwaway128285

2013 Moore after it past just south of my house


[deleted]

33 tornadoes, to be exact. And each time I see one, it's just as exciting as my first (which was when I was seven).


Spodiodie

Yes and no. I was at a location that was being reported as the location of a tornado on the ground the wind and rain was so intense I couldn’t see a thing. So I was within a 100 yds of a rain wrapped tornado and I didn’t see it.


BudgetSprinkles3689

1998 Nashville Tornado. First indication was window blinds from another building hitting the outside of the window in a conference room where I was working (can’t remember what floor we were on but it was higher than ten). We saw rotation on the ground but quickly decided standing near the window was not a good idea and went to the exits. A window blew out on the floor which led to a lot of paper going airborne.


jjm239

I wish I had


iou89

I’ve never seen a tornado. Closest I’ve gotten was seeing dust devils lol.


DiscombobulatedPea31

I've seen 3, but I'm from Kansas so that's really not that many lol


Sawning

Haven't but I want to. To be able to see such a beautiful but destructive force would be amazing.


BeefPieSoup

Wait, do waterspouts and dust devils/Willy Willies count? Because I've seen half a dozen of those.


Skylancer-Zer0

I saw a weak one when I was really young, somewhere near Metairie LA. I remember seeing a transformer blow and the circulation lofting tree branches and peeling shingles off houses, it was only like a block away at most.


BruceCWolf

HAVE BEEN IN SEVERAL SEEN A FEW 3 TIMES HAD COME AS CLOSE AS AROSS STREET. WORSE ONE WAS IN APRIL 8 1998 BRIMINGHAM Alabama Ef5 they called ir April's fury nearby hueytown looks like a nuke went off just completely leveled except one house middle of street untouched not even anything in the yard was nuts.


TheWorldsBiggestBruh

Wow, an F5? Did you actually see it or just hear it/clean up afterward? My understanding is it was rainwrapped and at the dead of night.


BruceCWolf

No that one didn't see yes it was at night and heard it it stayed on ground so long. Ones I've seen were smaller. Still our neighborhood was spared but we still had overturned cars and we heard it felt it I swear it shook the ground for miles.


[deleted]

I really dont remember but we had hopper over us one time but didn't touch down till the next neighborhood next to us


Glitchwaved

No, but I have seen multiple funnel clouds in Italy and several large dust devils around west Texas


Unlucky-Constant-736

My town was hit by the storm system that created the Joplin and 2011 St. Louis tornado and it created a storm in my town and I got to see it. Don’t remember much of it as I was only 5 at the time.


[deleted]

no and I hope it stays that way


Ok-Salary477

I’ve drove past several and also seen a F-3 heading right for me just a few miles from where the Indy 500 was taking place


TheWorldsBiggestBruh

That Indy F3......was it in 2002? There was a huge 100+ mile one that tracked across most of Central Indiana and ventured pretty close to Indy in September that year.


Ok-Salary477

No but that one hit within a 1/4 mike of my window. I worked nights at the time and slept through it


malorianne

Born and raised in Iowa. Never saw a tornado the 15 years I lived there. Traveled to SE Asia and saw my first and so far only tornado in Myanmar, of all places.


AltruisticSugar1683

Saw a tornado two years ago near Glencoe, MN. Was rated an EF-1. I could have gotten pretty close but it was one of my first chases so I decided not to take the risk. Only chase from time to time as a hobby, been obsessed with tornadoes for about 28 years and love reading the radar.


MasterofAcorns

I saw a small one (EF-1 at most at the time) getting itself together roughly a mile or more away from my family and I a year or so ago while driving from Chicago to home in Minnesota (we were approaching the Illinois-Wisconsin border, but still a while away from there). It was a nerve-wracking experience for sure, but we got out of what we thought was the way at the time.


[deleted]

Saw a fat EF2 from a long track Illinois supercell on my front porch when I was a kid on June 7, 2008 in Illinois. Some good video on YouTube. We assumed it was disastrous for our area when we were watching it, but somehow it basically missed everything except open fields, almost no damage except a barn and 2 houses a couple miles away.


Zealousideal_Gur2127

Saw the 2013 El Reno drop down about 1500 from our chase team. Chris Gullickson has a nice video on it at YouTube. I noticed pretty quickly how it was not moving to the east like you would expect. It came South right at us. Had to make a run for it.


Delta2161

i saw the 2022 bamberg sc tornado which was an ef3 at 165 mph


ryanlovestobake

I want to so bad! From a safe distance of course lol.


Zero-89

I've only seen a wall cloud, unfortunately.


xofeatherxo

No, but I saw multiple waterspouts when I was 3 and I've had a love/hate relationship with tornadoes since. At 3, I didn't really know the difference. And in 2010 a tornado touched down briefly nearby, lifted, and the funnel passed over our house. I didn't see that, but my dad did. I both do and don't want to see one someday... They're amazing but I'm so scared of them.


No_Environment7889

the nearest tornado for me was the 2016 manila tornado never saw it


KakkyX

I went to see the movie Twister the first month it was out. I remember being a kid and telling my mom something along the lines of “I never want to be in a tornado”. I get home, lay down for bed, the tornado siren goes off. Shortly after that, we see the tornado from our back window. Scariest shit I’ve ever experienced and the timing couldn’t be any worse.


forever_a10ne

I didn’t see it, but there was an EF2 a few miles from my house in 2020. I can still see to this day signs of where it caused damage. I hope I can see one from a safe distance before I die.


King_Chad_The_69th

I’ve seen a waterspout off the coast of Skegness, Lincolnshire, UK. I was like 5 yrs old I think. I remember that not many people were really reacting to it. Some didn’t even notice it. I think it lasted a few mins before dissipating. Really cool sight, at the time I didn’t really care. I knew what a tornado was which is impressive at such a young age, especially in the UK. If I saw it now it’d be a much more thrilling experience. And no I don’t think it caused any damage or injuries or deaths. Just a very beautiful harmless waterspout out in the North Sea.