Thunderbolt 1000T Tornado Siren Test | December 21, 2011 

This is one of the most healthiest sirens iv ever seen on youtube.

I remember being woken up from a deep sleep in college because of a Thunderbolt siren. This was in 2005 and it was 7:00 AM. It had been raining the night before. When the unmistakable growl of a Thunderbolt shook me out bed, I looked out the window of my apartment and the sky had a yellowish tinge mixed with some boiling, very black low clouds. I could also see both city and university police staging at the nearest intersection. I headed for the laundry room, but got caught up in the maelstrom of panicked-but-curious students. Some used the occasion to actually do their laundry. As for the tornado itself, it touched down just outside town, off to the west, heading east-northeast - right towards us. Thankfully, it was summer semester and instead of 12,500 panicking students across campus, there was maybe a couple thousand. Further, the tornado was rated F-0, not EF-0 (it was a couple years before the Enhanced Fujita scale was implemented, anyway). It dissipated before it could reach too far into town. Great times.

This sound has been apart of the lives of many generations in the Midwest. Anyone living there instantly will recognize it's sound.

Power: *Goes out* That one girl in class:

This siren has been restored so well that it practically looks and sounds like new!

It's all fun and games until you pause this video and the siren keeps going.

This sounds so apocalyptic, it’s scary af

Thunderbolts still give me creeps. My town had one, just remember sitting in a dark shelter underground listening to that undgodly wail spool up.

Me: _silent_ My brain:

I love that sharp tone during the windup! Absolutely sounds amazing!

that's got one hell of an echo

Frightening when you know that this was the sound that would also herald the end of the world. During the Titan II missile program, these were installed above ground to alert an impending launch.

That tornado siren sounds beautiful, I love it, Thunderbolt 1000ts are my favorite tornado sirens.

This is so aswesome! The echo is insane!

This is my favorite tornado siren. Wish my town still used 'em.

love that growl on the wind down classic

man that siren is healthy still

Growing up in the Midwest I can remember we had this exact tornado siren. Brings back a lot of memories

People two years ago: hmmm very cool siren People now: *SiReN hEaD* !!!

*R E J O I C E*

What an amazing sound this siren has! The red blinker light is so cool!

Wow! This video does an awesome job of catching the 2 tones of the 1000t siren! Beautifully maintained. Props to the city or organization that kept it working all these years!

By far the best looking Thunderbolt, it clean, well taken care of, super yellow, looks brand new!

I like the T1000's raspy wail. It's so unique

This is the official sound track of old tornado documentaries

**HIS THRONE**

THE ECHO IS SO BEAUTIFUL

Love the echo! (this is my favorite tornado /civil defence siren)

That was in nice condition!!!!!

Butler, Alabama had one above their main police station, right next to the county library. I can't tell you how many times I darn near jumped out of my shoes when that thing went off for the daily noon test while I was visiting the library as a kid!

The Thunderbolt will rein forever! I grew up in the 70’s hearing this from my childhood 🙂

For those who don't know much about tornado sirens, the thunderbolts run off of a blower and a chopper. The blower is powered by a single motor that spins a belt blowing air up to the siren head through a tube. Once it gets to the head it goes into the chopper intake and goes out to holes going out the horn. On the 1003 models, there are solenoids that block of ether chopper hole. Yeah I am sure that if you watch this video you already know this.

PERFECT SETTINGS FOR THIS THUNDERBOLT!!!! I LOVE THIS!!! CAN'T GET A BETTER SOUNDING THUNDERBOLT...THIS IS JUST RIGHT

Nick Mullens favorite siren

This sound is ghastly. I love it.

This was the siren by my old house in the 90’s, it seemed like the end of the world when you hear this sound. Miss them

That whirl up is terrifying

Everyone here saying how awesome thunderbolts are and i'm just here like holly crap this is like the only 2011 siren video with both HD and non ear-bleedingly bad audio.

She looks amazing! I love the little flashing red light you got on there. Fantastic...

I think an in-depth video of this piece of equipment is in order, I wanna know about the blower and how the control wiring works, what you had to do to restore it and so forth. It would be much appreciated.

This was loud as hell in its day!!!!!

Sweet siren!!! I miss having the thunderbolts in my area. Anytime one went off for a tornado warning, My skin would literally crawl. People actually took warnings seriously too. And they actually worked; those Whelan sirens we have now seem to break down and fail a lot during testing. Plus they sound terrible!!! You most definitely got a healthy sounding siren!!!

No One: Literally no one: me when i stub my toe:

Can you update us on this siren, and maybe explain how you have the remote activation set up?

1:54 R E J O I C E

Where did you get the flashing red light on the siren?

This is childhood. I can't explain how this siren makes me feel both nostalgic and nervous at the same time.

That souns so beautiful! I wish they would bring back the thunderbolts!!!!

4th grade, summer, outside for Phys Ed. 1pm rolls around and the sky blue Fed Sig Thunderbolt 1000T went off. It was probably 50 yards away on a large mound hill. Scared the crap out of me, and was damn loud. Though I love the sound this and the ACA Allertor 125 (that's the funky oval top horn with the chopper at the bottom section). These two sirens where everywhere in MN. We had a few others, but those two were the main.

That startup echo though😍

This is what my town needs. 😂

Still sends chills down my spine.

Can you make an update video on this thunderbolt?

The perfect thunderbolt 1000T doesn’t exi-

Love the sound of the dual tone thunderbolts, especially when they first wind up. So eerie but I love it

Awe man, that is the scariest sound, I appreciate you downloading the video I remember back in the day of the '88 tornado, it was rough.

Was listening to this and then the emergency alert system came up on the TV in my living room....is this what I think it is??? Nah just a coincidence. Edit: also just now on 6-4-18 I was listening to this and the siren in my town went off.

I remember this. Great video!

First ever video i watched of a tornado siren. Thank you Charlie for getting me in tornado sirens

These sirens are still my favorite.

The spool up and wind down of this beast is siiick

0:03 alert 1:54 attack I'm a going to keep this to myself Anyway

These are so amazing and the sound carries really well. I could hear them in the basement from blocks away during tornadoes in the city where I grew up. Currently, we have electronic sires (I think?) and I have to open the windows or go outside to hear if they're really going off. Has to be some lowest bidder crap.

this is my all-time favorite thunderbolt recording its agastat is perfect and it sounds EXTREMELY AWESOME

Ok, I have followed you for years and how did you get permission to use the sire? Or do you test it whtn your county tests theres?

Teacher:okay all lets try your voice Me: 0:04 All:da heck

This thing sounds absolutely great!

I can see why nick loved this one so much

That tornado siren is Awesome!

That startup was the coolest shit I ever heard growing up

One of my favorite tornado sirens!

One of the best looking ones!, and the ambience from others is super!

Thunderbolts are my favorite. =D plus i love the siren startup

H I S T H R O N E

What is the professional name for the companies that install these? I need one for my fire department but we don't have a lot of options here on the west coast / northern California...

At the very beginning where it starts to go off, the echo sounds sooo cool

Imagine one the first day of the month (Or when ever your states test the sirens) and it was cloudy, but no storms and then you heard a thunderbolt go off next to you

Damn! That alarm scared me! I rate that 20/10

I grew up in the cold war era in Tucson Arizona on the Northwest side. We had these throughout the area. I remember when they used to test them how loud they were.

Very cool! This happened only a few days after i was born :D

The only sirens I’m ever going to hear is the dust/sand storm sirens in AZ

When you live down the block from a fire station that sounds one of these off Everytime they get a call as a child I kinda got used to it haha

What's the difference between one long blow and the up amd downs

The siren looks new and the sound is new, Amazing Video

The PeelerBolt has returned.

Excellent! 👏 very healthy and very well kept Tbolt 😊 love seeing them still in their prime like this 😀 please, please can the UK have some Tbolts America? Pleeeaaasseee!!! 😉

Does anyone know what kind of blower is on this unit ?

We have one of these where I live, it's the exact same pitch and procedure too, it's loudest when it faces you, and when it is, it drowns out the other siren, I don't remember what it is, on the other side of town.

When My brother of 3 years walk in the night:

HIS THRONE

Think I've commented on this video before but it came up again so just had to come back and say how amazing it looks and sounds! Thunderbolts are untouchable in the siren world! 🔊😍

one of the best sounding 1000t's ive heard

Ight let me see my gay brothers

2:06 The Spoopy Moon appears

when You Set the video at 2x the sounds still normal right?

Is it just me or are there NO thunderbolts that have the red light on the pole?

Me when the moon

Local 58 Skywatching anyone?

Grew up in Moore, Ok. Had one of these ol things right near my house, like im talkin 1/4 mile. So I'm pretty use to em. I grew to love how they sound. Just a powerful thing to hear when it isn't noon on Saturday.

When I was i kid in 1960 it meant to duck and cover the world was about to end... damn you Khrushchev!