2011 Joplin EF5 Tornado: Unedited broadcast beginning 9 minutes before historic disaster 

Worked for the Red Cross as a volunteer at the time, definitely a life changing experience

Agreed. It's easy to be an armchair quarterback when one has never been in a situation like this. This unfolded very quickly, in a matter of minutes. I can only imagine what must have been going through their minds when they realized the gravity of what they were seeing, not to mention the very real possibility that their station could be in the direct path. This isn't Oklahoma City where stations send up choppers and are in reinforced concrete facilities that are built like Fort Knox. KSN's Wichita station faced a similar scenario years before in which meteorologists had to evacuate everyone from the studio (including themselves) and take shelter underground while continuing to report on the storm. I think these folks did the best they could in a dire situation with what they had, and their coverage probably saved lives that day. Until we've been in their shoes....

If either of them knew how to read radar they would have seen the velocity signature before it even hit the ground. They failed miserably.

Absolutely. They are paid to be able to recognize those signs and warn those in its path as early as possible. They dropped the ball big time, and they cost many people their lives

@@DanDrolett The storm developed a hook echo by 5pm. Multiple chasers were converging on it by the time it dropped and recorded it at tornadogenesis using radar apps on phones and Ipads. The TV people were looking out their door 15 min later to see if there was a tornado while debris signature was showing on radar. They didn't know how to read radar and that was their job. I was watching live chasers that day and started praying for Joplin at 5:10. I specifically recall looking at my clock and thinking- this is going big. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XN4AMUkIEhQ.html

Considering they were in the area, I'd be somewhat scared too.

I've never seen this at all, much less in this quality.

Bestie was probably cleaning out old tapes and found this in the back of the cabinet. Amazing and tragic coverage.

Right

:47 She said baseball crap softballs!

Who cares?

Especially having it 12 years later

Waiting for KOAM's, another station in the area. They only have the aftermath coverage uploaded in parts.

I was in NE Oklahoma and I remember Travis Meyer being on TV as there was a helicopter cam flying over the city of Joplin after the tornado. It flew over a spot that Travis said, "Looks like a triage area" and a few seconds later it hit him. They were definitely bodies, and he was super apologetic and disturbed

Agreed. It’s heartbreaking but a historic moment that needs to be seen.

@@jimlthorDo you know anywhere I can find that? I can’t even imagine how mind blowing and sad it would have been to see that.

You can hear them screams behind in the news room, that's so eerie, indeed.

Yeah that’s insane

@@A_Foolish_Arrangement timestamp?

@@youtubeuser9496 13:12

The skycam video from ABC 33/40 from the Tuscaloosa tornado is much worse, ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sA7TKSHJ_wM.html

I’m surprised they didn’t mention how absolutely huge it was! They just kept confirming they had eyes on it. But I’d also be peeing myself so good for them for keeping calm!! Also the clock ticking at 23:00 also adds a very eerie foreboding atmosphere

Was it 12:41 ?

@@catsinwonderland7473 damn thats eerie as hell

True, whether on purpose or coincidence,it is very dramatic to the reality about to unfold.

When it goes silent like that, I almost imagine that for a second, the entire news room actually went silent for a split second before they just broke into a panic. Like, one moment, they were just mentioning the possibility of a tornado... then they turn the camera, and there is a _massive, wide, cone-shaped wedge of condensation_ swirling right in front of them. Imagine how utterly shocked they were, that this tornado utterly _evaded_ them and was barreling towards Joplin.

It's bad enoigh when a station is on the air with frantic commentary from the news anchors as the event unfolds. It's much worse when you have silence, and an erratic sputtering picture. This means that things have gotten far into the extreme, that even a normally solid and reliable broadcast station can't maintain a normal transmission. This is (was) truly on the level of apocolyptic. =\

@@BingBreep-mk6om yes, thank you!! This is it exactly!! When the trusted source of all your information goes silent, you truly feel alone!

It feels like somthing you would see in an anologue horror video, only much more terrifying.

I wonder where people get this lost footage from!

There's tons of videos like this on RU-vid alone.

I’ve been looking for anything news related for years so a agree!

Nothing since the the 50s is lost to history

@@Snowstar837 he explains in his description he recorded it at the time, and now stumbled across it

Obviously no one at the station even knew how to read radar. Basehunters and other chasers that day knew exactly where it was going to drop- pinpointed it a good 10-15 minutes before it formed. The crew at the tv station failed miserably. Looking outside to see if there was a tornado there? Commercial breaks? Mind boggling. No wonder the recording is hard to find, they probably hid it. Here's basehunters pinpointing tornadogeneses from radar. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XT7CtF5ljxY.html

It’s so rain wrapped you can’t tell it’s a tornado unless you know what to look for

13:09

The calm before the storm is the creepiest thing. You see the scary sky and know something is coming but it's so calm you want to go outside. We were at work one day and a tornado watch popped up. I've never seen clouds that were green like that. Scariest thing as we kept working and trying to figure out a plan of what to do.

@@jimmycline4778 Doppler radar clearly showed a strong velocity signature just prior to tornadogenesis. A lot of chasers saw it and headed to the spot before it dropped. The only reason these tv people were sticking their heads out the door to look was because they didn't know how to read radar. Shameful- as they were responsible for emergency warnings.

Very well said.

This is so well said. Thank you. 👏👏

Well said. But Why would anyone believe northeast when the dang storm was clearly moving East maybe even southeast

Most of what you said was spot on. But you are wrong about KSNF having the only tower cam in Joplin. KOAM also has a tower cam at 7th and Rangeline, but like KSNF it was pointed to the Northwest and was later panned to the south to try and spot the tornado when they learned there was a tornado on the ground in Joplin but unfortunately by the time they panned their camera the tornado was East of rangeline.

DId any of the KSNF staff die during this?

The Joplin tornado was moving faster then the Jarrell tornado. At some point the Joplin tornado slowed down to 20 miles per hour.

@BOS37631 Have you seen local coverage from the may 3rd 1999 okc tornado? Highest wind speed ever recorded on planet earth. Gary England in particular was fantastic. It’s a must watch.

It was actually at 8:20 it was a Tuscaloosa like disc around it for a small frame it was stationary between cyclonic and anticyclonic

Why ?

@@pierren___e previously had no full coverage to get a better understanding of the lead time and what citizens of joplin were seeing and hearing to get themselves prepared before the tornado approached. also always something to learn from coverage, especially for me as a communications major

@@yeoscore im not american sorry is that unusual ?

@@pierren___ The only previous footage shared online was a brief camera recording of a few sentences.

@@pierren___ Not necessarily unusual to not have archived news coverage, but for an event this massive in scale in terms of both damage to property and loss of life, it’s extremely helpful to have the footage, as it helps paint the picture as to why so many were lost that evening. The local news served as the only warning for the average person at the time; people who aren’t weather nuts unfortunately don’t commonly keep a weather radio on them. In 2011, news channels also weren’t simulcasting to facebook and RU-vid like they do now, Twitter wasn’t as popular among the average person, and we didn’t get dedicated weather streams on RU-vid like we do now. “Lead time” refers to how long a person has between receiving a warning and the tornado affecting them. There’s already a video here on RU-vid that has the coverage synced to a live map of the tornado’s path that shows exactly what the lead time for each street was. Overall good to have all around.

The tape stopping for almost a full minute, followed by their panicked voices, and then the broadcast falling completely silent bar a few radar pings… nightmarish

When it froze to show how large the tornado was.... that made my heart stop.

I remember watching this live from The Weather Channel in 8th grade. Had just finished playing some Black Ops matches, and then just put on the TV. Watched The Weather Channel because I loved watching weather events and the weather in general. Then they had started talking about the dangerous storm going thru there. It was intense and I felt scared for the people in the path of the storm. Then the aftermath was terrible. Man.

@@timmytacoburrito Oh man, I watched it live too. The coverage by Mike Bettes is absolutely heart-wrenching. I cried with him.

This is probably the most "famous " tornado in US history due to it's size and destruction and all that recorded

Watch the Basehunters video of it. It’s unreal. The thing is a rotating supercell, starts dropping a tornado, and within 20 seconds is a massive and F3+ violent wedge. It’s terrifying and shocking how quickly it exploded into the awful monster it was.

I can hear the change in the woman voice after seeing the tornado I can hear the fear in her voice.

The people yelling in the background too

It felt like 9/11 intensified by 50. I never want to live through something like that again.

​@@ladyfreedomrocksit is because it's not done by human hands. I lived through 9/11 and a tornado. I would go with the former. Tornadoes are so devastating that towns get wiped out. I'm glad you got out okay.

@@maybemablemaples2144 it took my home , my two dogs and the part of town I grew up in. And if it wasn't for the fast action of my guy , it would have taken me.

i seen power flashes start at 6:00 . I really hate to say this.. but I really think lives could have been saved if they switched to '' get to shelter mode '' at the 6:00 minute mark......

He did correct himself at 12:46, to his credit, just before the audio was lost. At 6:00, it is possible that those were power flashes well off in the distance but it would have been hard for them to detect that in real time, when they were concentrating on other things, like the reading their reports and looking at the radar, etc.

Look up Joplin tower cam, there is a 3ish minute phone video, you can hear what is said when it cuts out.

@@timcrnkovic8991 I confirmed this view isnt even toward main joplin , its in the direct opposite direction really :P so what we are seeing is a distant radio tower

@@devinrobinson5642 For those curious, the video mentioned (with the lost audio) is titled "Joplin Tornado EF5 Missouri May 22nd KSNF Channel 16 Tower Camera coverage" by "tallfarmboy"

I think you're being a little overly defensive to people asking genuine questions, which they are asking precisely *because* it is an uncommon situation. Furthermore, while I can only speak for myself, I have been into severe weather since I was a child & was personally involved in numerous tornadoes (including an EF5). To toss the comment in there suggesting it's people who "don't understand weather" asking these questions, as if to gatekeep weather or perch yourself higher up than others, is silly and unnecessary. There's also little excuse to not have at least one singular person looking through the camera that they *finally* showed. It rotates, so, what harm is there in having someone monitoring it and looking in different directions? I was already previously on their side. I still am. I don't really think they did anything wrong, and I certainly don't blame any lack of info *on them*. I think the camera part could've been handled better, but really, that's it.

@@holyjewel - Their overall coverage was fine. It was the cut-away to the national news for 2 minutes, is where they dropped the ball. Before cutting to the national news, they even said that NWS indicated that the strongest rotation was between Galena and Iron Gates. That would literally put the rotation right to the west of their TV station.That alone would've been enough for me to stay with the storm, or tell the viewers that they're taking cover.

@@kingstonshacklebolt1431 “they didn’t even know there was a big wedge near them” well one, it was an hp supercell making it really hard to see anything until it’s right on top of you, two, like I said this thing went from funnel to wedge in a matter of a couple of minutes and stunned everyone. You try and go on camera in front of a town trying to distinguish a tornado from an hp supercell. You can’t see a tornado until it’s right on top of you in those storms. Don’t give me this bs.

@@holyjewel the thing with the camera part is that a separate crew member operates that in the control room. It’s usually called a ptz camera. Like I said, NWS said the track was to the NE, not the E. They were going based off that. No one knew it was heading due east.

​@@thetrainwxgeek Which... implies they can't look, anyway? It seemed to be clearly visible even before they rotated the camera. Relying *solely* based on the NWS in an active situation is silly because there's zero guarantee they'll have the absolute latest info as these storms develop and change so rapidly. I plainly fail to see the harm in whoever was controlling this camera checking multiple sides. We may simply disagree on this matter, friend, and I think that's plenty fine. I'm in no ways irked by your opinion or point of view. I do think, however, it may be worth reconsidering how you frame others' views and questions or concerns, lest you are intending to try and elevate yourself above others by proclaming their alleged inexperience is the reason they think this way and have questions; furthermore, even if that is the case, people who are curious are something to build up and not condescend in cases where they are actually not yet knowledgeable, either of this particular storm or severe weather in general. I appreciate the discussion. :)

W tree

Nah you got a purpose you’re head to impact someone or something You’re a good dude

Here*

Man idk about you, but that was a God moment right there.

That’s Divine intervention my friend

Let's just say there were not using their eyes in a proper manner. Especially that woman anchor.

@@MrBiszkoptyhow so

@@gracewildsmith1183If there are winds between 40-70 mph, I think every weather station has the duty to at least warn people of the chances of a tornado forming.

@@Joseph-ed6hl they did

@@gracewildsmith1183 The original commenter said they didn’t, you said you didn’t understand so I explained why he said that

I also have been looking for the 2 tornado warnings to see how they are worded because I have heard that the second tornado warning was confusing to the people in Joplin.

That sky cam was the perfect shot you could see explosions in the distance very awful knowing there’s people over there

I too was so excited to find this! I’ve been looking for it for years as well!!

Why was this hard to find? If i may ask

@@carina-nonbinary I don’t know. I love to watch these kinds of videos & I’ve watched all the “major” ones over the years, searched high & low for this coverage and it just wasn’t there.

I too love Tool

Thank you for sharing this.

true dat

My late grandparents lived in Joplin at the time and thankfully it missed them, but we weren't able to get a hold of them for a few days because of the telecommunications outage. We went there a month after and good Lord I have never seen anything so apocalyptic in my entire life, it was before they tore down the hospital and there was still destroyed houses and there was literally nothing where half the town used to be. It was a field of foundations and grass.

I do not mean any disrespect, but I have family in Joplin, and the city was in decline well before 2011. It has a weird dynamic of Bible Belt ideology, criminal/drug activity that seemed to settle and become complacent in the area, and the northeast Oklahoma casinos exacerbating the criminal mindset. The Jesus freaks, rednecks and the addicts do not acknowledge nor empathize with one another, and you can feel the weird energy throughout the area.

Same street Jeff pitriowski was driving down when he shot his amazing footage before turning east on 20th

The video of the tornado forming over Schifferdecker is insane I forgot who recorded it

Wow are you saying your cable box force-tuned to the weather channel as a sort of emergency alert function to make you aware of the danger? I wonder how many other people missed this broadcast due to that and weren't made aware of the full scale of what was going on...

I’m Glad Y’all Made It ❤❤❤❤

If your equipment force-tuned the channel to TWC (which couldn't get on the air with vital emergency info on the national feed in time) then that must explain (one of the reasons as to) why footage from the local news networks must be hard to come by, and yet another reason why so many lost their lives, in addition to this (rain-wrapped) storm growing and changing in size so quickly.

@@andrewhaywood1262 No it wasn't. NOBODY was properly warned or Prepared.

I went through Joplin in 2021 and had nothing but kind people give me directions at the big deli style shop.... I had asked directions to a cashier, but i was soon met with 5+ people asking where i needed to go " take a right at the dead starbucks.... just keep going they build a holiday inn back there somewhere" I have no idea how that place stays in business ( the starbucks ) and i think that is the second outta 3 i encountered true southern hospitality. The people to know and overhear me trying to get directions in a diner of 30+ is immaculate. I am very sorry this tornado ran through your community, But your community ran through me. I clicked on the wrong person to reply to in my previous message^

That's because they pulled the channel off the air after the tornado passed. Its probably because all the channels got knocked off the air once the tornado entered and it would be pointless keeping the chanel going if no one will be watching them

Yes! If I am not mistaken it also sounded like the broadcaster said at one point that they were the only ones showing it. Just goes to show how little real warning the people of Joplin had which likely contributed immensely to the high death toll. So incredibly sad.

Even though they had a 19 min lead time it did not matter because of how close the tornado touchdown to the city limits. After touchdowning the tornado started going into Joplin 2 mins after it touchdown. They really no time to take cover.

@@Sj430 lead time means nothing when no one could seem to actually convey the severity of the situation….let alone even recognize what was even happening to explain to their community what could happen before it was too late. 19 min lead time is huge and the technology gave them that, but they failed to utilize the tools. A lot of failures that lead to so much death

@@nahmastay3300 100 percent. I saw power flashes at 6:00 and it took them 7 minutes to finally say TORNADO ON THE GROUND... seven.. long.. minutes..

@@endofage8495 yup. So painful to witness the cluelessness by the people you’re supposed to RELY ON for this exact information!!!!

It's the way her voice cut off like that around 12:47 for me... Bone chilling stuff..

Also, the horror in their voices as they realize the funnel’s been on the ground for awhile now, but they simply couldn’t see it because the storm was so massive that it couldn’t fit entirely in frame at that angle.

I'm surprised a tornado emergency was never called for the Joplin tornado. This was a worst-case-scenario event and it was the deadliest tornado in modern history as of now. That monster had a nasty debris signature (no surprise at all, look at the devastation it caused) and a nasty hook echo on the radar once it finally formed.

@@dannyllerenatv8635 It was also clearly visible on the tower cam for a little bit. That thing was huge in diameter.

@@dannyllerenatv8635 From what I remember a tornado emergency WAS issued for Joplin but by then the disaster was well underway. Communication was very slow between storm spotters, storm chasers, first responders, the NWS and the media, and this thing was moving at highway speeds.

​​​From what I know about the Joplin tornado a tornado emergency was never issued for Joplin. I watch a video on how tornado emergencys work in that video it explain why it was never issued for Joplin. The Nws said that the tornado happened quickly and by the time it showed up on rader the tornado was half way thru Joplin.

@@Sj430That’s right it never was. The NWS Office in Kansas City did issue a Tornado Emergency for Jasper County, but was unfortunately never received.

Chris Lucas was the manager at the pizza hut he managed to get the employees and customers in the freezer the door would not close so he took a bungee cord to hold the door until the tornado took him out of the building. He sacrifice his life to save others.

I agree. I’ve seen so many videos on historic tornadoes but Joplin just hits so different for me and I can’t explain why. One of the the facts about Joplin that I still can’t get over is the cases of flesh eating mucormycosis. 13 cases, 5 deaths. Several left permanently disfigured. The case study said that these poor people developed white fuzz growing out of necrotic wounds. It was a fungus found deep in soil and the Joplin tornado picked it up and deposited into wounds caused by projectiles. There’s just something sooo insidious about the whole thing it’s #1 in my book of catastrophic weather events

Agreed, but you are using the word “ominous” wrong… Ominous means: A sign of evil that will come in the future days.

@@strongestnattyever-videos2247 good point, maybe intimidating is a better word.

@@nahmastay3300 holy crap I didn't know about that!

I agree! I love your videos too man!

Sorry that happened, hope all is well now, never give up! 😁❤️

@@FunkyTheMainMonkey it is. I don't blame my family for it at all and there are no hard feelings. Been clean since May 2008 (earthquake was in April 2008)

It honestly kinda reminds me of Japan's earthquake early warnings, when it cuts to a picture of the impact zone with nothing but morse code

I read your comment at the start of the video and thought wow... sounds like you're being a bit emotional. I as well had tears in my eyes when i saw the tornado and heard them pleading to take cover. RIP to all those people.

@@Half-CockedG It's the combination of factors. I have stopped the video at the time point when the tornado is about to enter Joplin. The tower cam is finally broadcasting it. It's HUGE and looming very ominously over a small city (just a little larger than the one I grew up in). Every structure looks hopelessly vulnerable. The gigantic tornado is going to whirl into Joplin and nothing can stop it. We know just looking at it that it will be a killer. The anchors at the TV station are trying to suppress their fear and warn everyone but you can hear their panic. Then the broadcast stops. The viewers don't know what happened and have no one guiding them. We know in retrospect what this monster did to Joplin and its people. We're poised on the brink of massive, years-long disaster here. Fear, awe and tears are entirely appropriate.

It’s wild to me to think about they’re talking about possible funnels and there is an obvious hook echo just west of joplin in the late 2 minute mark.

@@brysonhawes6006 I guess everyone can improve at identifying parts of storms, the anchors were talking about power flashes from lighting when there was a very clear and large tornado visible from the tower.

@@brysonhawes6006 wasn’t this the storm that produced a tornado so fast that by the time the radar noticed a definitive hook echo it had already hit Joplin?

@@brysonhawes6006 While hooks are a big sign of trouble, believe it or not, it does not always mean a tornado. I have seen some very large hooks, just for no tornado to result. Strong mesocyclones can create a large hook. Since this particular station had little money and their meteorologist was not present at the time, they only had the reflectivity available. And as you can tell, it isn't of the best quality.

@@brizzle3903 if you watch the video the hook is present west of Joplin where the tornado initially dropped the entire video minutes before touch down even happens a good 9 minutes. Not to mention funnels had been being reported since the cell was over Columbus KS. I know I’m completely being a Monday Morning quarterback just astonishing to me.

I am beyond Appalled at the Jasper Co officials and NWS Office in Jackson Co,MO. This was the Titanic Disaster of EF5 Tornadoes. 167 people Died. ALL because of how horrendously unprepared for a Tornado event Joplin was. ZERO Weather Spotters, the Damn Storm Chasers had to double Spotting duties, Poorly operating Tornado Sirens WTF? Bad infrastructure, Little homes with Basements, Shoddy Live Feeds, a Sluggish EMS System, Understaffed Weather Bureau, Blatant Complacency from Jasper Co Officials and most offensive, the NWS Office in Kansas City’s FAILURE to fully clear a PDS Tornado Watch and A Tornado Emergency Warning. Honestly, this footage makes me a little Angry. This was the Exact Opposite of the Alabama Outbreak. *Sigh*.

​@@plawson8577it wasn't their fault though. The local weather channel didn't have enough funding for their own radar and had to rely on NWS reports. Joplin was already tornado warned from rotation near the town and the tornado was impossible to see because it was rain wrapped. I live near Joplin and did in 2011. No one takes tornado warnings seriously in southwest Missouri because they happen all the time and nothing ever comes of them, at least before 2011. Stop blaming people for an EF5 tornado hitting a low income town.

Also that the tv tried to play ads

yikes that's scary

Have you ever seen the movie Twister? That happens when you're in the direct path of a tornado. It's how the animals know how to get away.

I was seventeen at the time my friend I live right over by a Stones corner I was fortunate enough to be working an estate auction in Carthage, the downside being however nobody knew it was coming like everybody that auction had no idea our first indication we're some rain clouds immediately followed by baseball-sized hail coming down and crashing through the estate auction tables, we had no clue what had happened to the town we lived in...you can only imagine our shock as we were coming back into (the car we were in had no head unit) town something was off we came in through Webb City and made it over to my parents house by stones corner, where then, we finally learned what had happened, I can't even explain the shock that we incurred I mean we literally had no idea at all and we didn't find out until we made it all the way to the south side of it definitely screwed us bad and even though we endured the shock of it I still stick with my previous statement we were fortunate to have been in Carthage I can only imagine what everybody went through end of the same time I hope nobody else other than me and him had to incur the shock have a mess of town you've been staying in for 10 years, was just basically destroyed...at first i literally thought my dad was joking...but he was a doctor for st johns and as he walked paste briefly telling me what happend and getting in his excursion and hauling balls straight out to the hospital i was just stuned stupid, even now feels like all I've done is ramble on but hopefully someone else might understand my thinking here. Just thought I would share what my perspective was that day

​@@AustinWilson-eh3viIt sounds mind-boggling. I can only imagine how that must have felt.

You poor thing, I remember this, as an adult living in Seattle; our hearts really broke for all of you, just so sad.

And by reading the comments, I see a ton of people agree with me. What you did here, my friend, has real meaning to the lives of many. Such a nice change from the garbage that is usually posted to the internet.

History I never wanted to live.

@@ladyfreedomrocks I don't have much I can add to that statement except for this. No one that meets history like this wants to be a part of it. It's traumatic and ugly. But when it happens, you want a record of it so it is never forgotten. That is what this is. No one has ever posted the live coverage of the local newscast until now.

It truly is phenomenal this footage exists. Im hoping to find the same type of footage from KOAM and KODE, the CBS and ABC affiliates. I know KOAM's exist, just hasn't be uploaded. I am assuming KODE has their in station archives. Maybe shooting the station an email might get them to pass it along for educational purposes.

holy r u fr?

Dang, scary

I don't understand Americans living in the land of tornadoes yet lots of people don't have a shelter, not even in Oklahoma and few others southern states which are regularly hit by large tornadoes

@@goxyeagle8446 This has been commented on through other RU-vid channels, but most people in Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska has never had an encounter with a tornado, so they don't see a need to build a shelter. Personally, if I was living in those areas, I would build something underground.

@@goxyeagle8446 They do have shelters. Many homes are built with underground shelters. To say they don't have shelters is erroneous.

I drove through Joplin on my way home to Michigan, from California about a month after this storm. I could not believe what I saw. It was as if a giant hand came through and scooped away blocks and blocks of the city. I was floored. But I also saw every single person in that community helping to rebuild...electric companies working on new power poles, construction going up. You really see who people are after a nasty event like this and Missouri...You rock!

​@@robertstewart1223 Janis Joplin tornado

@@robertstewart1223😮 6:22

@@advocateforaimassist8217 I consider Janice more of a hurricane than a tornado.

@@robertstewart1223 I'd say she was more of a train wreck, than a storm. The poor woman. Addiction is an absolute monster. I hope she's found peace, in the Great Hereafter.

Our only defense against mother nature, we may not be able to stop it but at least we can get prepared for when a storm comes

​@d0ntbanme But covering all the details, updates, being calm clear and concise is a huge skill

Fun Fact: The two speaking throughout this were just normal news anchors; the station had one meteorologist and he wasn't there that day. He was on his way to the station but got stopped by debris.

​@@CyberAndy_you need to be to predict one and avise people to take shelter as fast as possible

​​@@CyberAndy_well..we never had tornado in my country or supercells storm(i hope i write that well)and before few days people are all outside seeing shell clouds and driving in the cars so nobody pay attention i mean we all see it and thinking what a strange clouds but doesen't know in that time it will destroy half of the city.Then storm killed 4 people,injure 60 and more because nobody on the news said it was dangerous.People are all thinking it was just a simple storm.Maybe if someone tell on the news it was supercells storm more lives could be safe.

Did he get sucked up in one

A Ford Focus? Really??? I owned a 2007 and wouldn’t drive that thing into anything worse than a light rain/snowfall!

A Chevy Cobalt was used by 3 professionals in late May 2013. El Reno, OK...we lost Twistex in a small car that day. Don't chase them, please. The NWS spotters (like myself) are told that we shouldn't actually chase

i remember being in weld county when a tornado touched down and my mom was driving me on an interstate back home, but the tornado trapped us and we had to hide in a ditch, we both luckily survived but an unlucky man in a trailer park didnt, it was an EF3

Thanks!

I was just gonna say. I thought it was my connection but the video was still rolling so I then thought that the videos picture froze as it was still rolling. But that makes so much sense.

Thank you for clarifying. I thought it was a glitch on my end when footage and audio froze/cut out.

the switch to radar happens at 17:50, and the point where the station actually loses power is at 20:59; you hear a mic activate and then a clink right as the image freezes

@@tabloidfootprints ahh nice catch

I'm so sorry for her.

@@cherylhulting1301 don't be sorry for her , she's alive and that's the important thing. PTSD is not something to feel sorry to victims about , that's pitying them and they don't want pity , as I know my wife wants no pity either. What those people lived through is nothing I would ever wish upon my enemies.

​@@wadewilsonredmond3934we live in Springfield and did in 2011, and my late grandparents lived in Joplin and thankfully it missed them. However we went to Joplin very soon after it happened I'd say two weeks, we pretended to have press passes to be able to get into Joplin to check on our family. I was about 10 at the time but I remember being absolutely speechless going through main Street and seeing literally nothing. There was just some foundations and then nothing. No buildings, no trees, just debris the hospital and people walking around. There were no birds, no animals, it was just complete silence and a field of grass and debris

@@wadewilsonredmond3934not to be nosey but do you guys still live in tornado alley?

​@@tessalarvie7168most of us that grew up in tornado Alley stay for life. I was born in St John's hospital, even after Joplin got smashed I just moved 60 miles north. Tornadoes are a part of life here, both scary and fascinating.

You can SEE the Wedge. Heading Straight for Jasper Co. Moving East Northeast.

I'm in awe and fear just looking at it. The video presents an amazingly good view of the full tornado.

I have heard that those 2 storms had not merged together the Joplin tornado would of not happened. Looking at the video of the Joplin tornado touching down it look very disorganized not to anything.

Oh i guess there's a tornado, lets sound the sirens at the last minute! No wonder hundreds died

@@Jero-Pdid you not listen to anything they were saying? nws said the rotation would be northeast of joplin, and if there was a tornado it would miss it completely. obviously incorrect. not only that, but again, the tornado was rain wrapped. you would be very unlikely to see it with bare vision.

Yeah it’s really disappointing how it was handled. The broadcasters had neither the technology nor the experience in meteorology to be able to see it coming.

I was watching chasers who were warning of a strong velocity signature on this thing 10-15 min before it hit the ground- apparently those people at the station didn't even know how to read radar? Looking out the door to see if there was a tornado? You have got to be kidding me. Massive failure.

@@Elysian777 In all fairness warned of a possible tornado that would be rain-wrapped and hard to see from the beginning. They specifically warned people not to go outside and try to confirm it.

@@Elysian777 Copy-pasted from another comment on this video: "Second, I’m seeing a lot of criticism being thrown at KSNF meteorologists Caitlyn McArdle and Jeremiah Cook here for not seeing what was coming and giving more warning of it. I’ll add some background I read in Mike Smith’s book about the Joplin tornado, When the Sirens Were Silent. I would cut McArdle and Cook some slack here. All the Joplin-area stations were relying on the National Weather Service computer projections. The problem was that the NWS was using a bad computer program that gave a northeasterly course for the tornado that had it at worst from a Joplin standpoint clipping the northwest corner of Joplin. KSNF was the only station with a tower cam. It was pointed northwest because that’s where NWS said it would be going. When McArdle and Cook panned that camera to the left, which would have been west southwest, and saw the wedge tornado, that was the first time anyone in Joplin (save for storm chaser Jeff Pietrowski) could see that the NWS was wrong, that the tornado was headed not northeast but east, and was not only not going to miss Joplin and not only going to hit it head on but was already entering town headed straight for the KSNF studio. At which point Cook says, “Uh, Caitlyn, I’m gonna let you take over for a moment …” Some unintentional humor. His first of two. The second being, “Don’t go outside!” when he himself goes outside. When KSNF’s sound goes out, the NWS broadcast still has the tornado headed northeast and going to pass northwest of Joplin. McArdle and Cook and their staff knew the tornado was going to be bad, knew their lives were in serious danger, but also knew they were the only warning Joplin had of the tornado, so they stayed in their studio and got the warning out as best they could. This was true courage in journalism, and McArdle, Cook, and the KSNF staff deserve serious credit for holding their ground here. The criticism of McArdle and Cook should be directed to the National Weather Service, whose post-storm report largely leaves out its inglorious role in this." -Jeff Cox While the meteorologists may have had some inexperience in this situation, they aren't fully to blame at all. In such a dire and sudden scenario, things such as panic, being unable to see anything due to heavy rains, and the failure of the National Weather Service to report sound data caused local weather stations such as the one in this video to report false information.

Not only did it have a strong hook echo on radar, but it also had a gnarly velocity signature and one NASTY debris ball. That alone should have garnered an immediate tornado emergency for Joplin.

there is no other side

@@swmann2 yes there is..

So I’m still learning about how to read radar for tornadoes, and this footage has radar that is inferior to today’s images. Is the entire bottom left of the supercell near Joplin the hook? If so, that’s the most massive hook I have ever seen, and it curves opposite of the way most hooks curve. Do you think that’s what may have thrown them? Thanks in advance! (From a radar newbie) 😊

@@kristita_888 the hook begins just west of Joplin and the inflow is the big batch you see in the bottom left (south west), it gets sucked up into the supercell and that's what caused it to grow in size and intensity so fast (funnel clouds to a massive wedge). If you look up the reflectivity and velocity scans in a different video you can watch it all come together and get a better idea of what the basic radar scans are showing in this.

I'm sitting here re watching it and as the storm organized the radar glitched showing the old scan over new radar scans (around the 9:10) mark.... 😢

@@devinrobinson5642 Thanks so much for your reply!

Have you seen the footage from Roger Hill? He and his tour group were in front of it and that infamous lighting bolt seen in all of the other videos from Joplin was seen in his video They nearly got hit on rangeline road, even though their video wasn’t as clear as the tower cam footage it’s still unbelievably terrifying from their perspective, they caught the power flashes from the ground just to the west

Yes, I'm looking at the footage from around 14.00, when the tornado is becoming rain-wrapped. You can really see that unearthly green tone in the sky.

Yeah, all this panic and then it was too late to tell people to leave their homes as other meteorologists have done in the past with a couple of major tornadoes. Sirens were also a bit late. Rolling Fork was another travesty. Hundreds of years of tornadoes and research and America still can't figure this out.

That ef5 that the must big monster tornado…

My husband, kids and I LOVE Joplin. The people there are amazing. We visit there quite a bit, and are seriously considering moving there next summer. Problem is, living in Tulsa, Oklahoma most of our lives, I'm tired of living in tornado alley and kind of want out....but it is something we are seriously considering. We love the sense of community there.

May 31 1985 lot's of damage like this occured even a 2+ mile wide monster in moshannon state forest that traveled 69 miles.

@@tornadofire82yep. My mom is from northern Mercer county and was only a few miles away from the Atlantic tornado. Insane day in PA state history, F4/F5 tornados in our state is virtually unheard of.

Really effing scary. And then the signal just cuts out at a later point of the video, and stays cut out. This made me feel weird tbh

This. The Joplin Supercell which had formed west of Kansas City was a Nasty Rain Wrapped Goblin. And Majority of those Broadcast Feeds in SW Missouri were Still running old Analog Feeds from the mid 90s in Standard 480i. So the frequency was certain lagging and completely off.

It also kindve pisses me off because we have watches, sirens and warnings every year, multiple times a year here in Joplin...you would think they would know these things

@@daisuke4bleach Me too. They did the EXACT thing in Alabama Just 25 DAYS earlier prior to this Tornado and were able to save Hundreds of Lives during a Tornado Outbreak. How THE HELL did this happen in Jasper County Missouri?

Sarcasm here, but would they ask the storm for an autograph and then invite it out to lunch, too? /jk, no hate, friend. I hope you have a fantabulous day. Take care of yourself, for you are worth it and deserve it.

damn you not that old then

I was 10 or 11 at the time, and I've lived in Springfield my whole life. My late grandparents lived in Joplin and thankfully it missed them but we couldn't contact them for several days. The sky was green even in Springfield, and we turned on the weather and my dad had recorded the full weather broadcast as seen from Springfield which he has somewhere and I plan to upload it at sometime because it gives the reactions of the Springfield weather team. Anyways, me and my dad went to Joplin two weeks after it happened and we were able to get in with "press passes" to check on our family, and it was apocalyptic what we saw, I just remembered seeing a field of grass, debris, and foundations, and nothing was recognizable. I mean I had been in Joplin millions of times to visit and had a good idea of the layout of the town and I had no idea where we were, and my dad, who grew up in Joplin, had no idea where he was either.

Damn you born in 2011? Ur like 12/13 now……..fuck I feel old

My God. That's just too close a call. I'm so glad she made it.

Well then she was one lucky lady. Because St John's was practically decimated by the Joplin tornado😢. Dear Sweet Lord Jesus....

Under funded, under equipped, and under manned station doing what they could. In a larger market this would have been saturated by radar and chasers. Look how they're relying on other radars in Tulsa, Wichita, STL. Damn shame.