Tornado pr0n

June 28, 2004 2:39 PM

Cool images of tornadoes and other freaky weather at the NOAA Photo Library.
posted by scarabic (16 comments total)

More, better pictures here.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 2:49 PM on June 28, 2004

Rather contentiously offered, but thanks! Those first two links are really nice.
posted by scarabic at 2:59 PM on June 28, 2004

Damn.
posted by xmutex at 3:28 PM on June 28, 2004

Yeah! Notice the reverse lights!
posted by scarabic at 3:39 PM on June 28, 2004

Spiffy.
posted by dong_resin at 3:40 PM on June 28, 2004

I have Tornado-phobia. Seriously.

I have had re-occuring dreams about my house being destroyed by a mile wide tornado since I was a little kid.

Thanks!
posted by Quartermass at 4:09 PM on June 28, 2004

Yeah, they're definitely scary. Even pictures of those fat ones give me a twinge of vertigo: they make it look like the sky is collapsing into the ground.

There are some nice, soothing National Weather Service images for you here, Quartermass. Ah... clear skies!
posted by scarabic at 5:11 PM on June 28, 2004

Ummm, clear skies, good, but allow to try something else, in that order:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Look more appealing to me and Giger would be so proud :)
posted by kush at 5:48 PM on June 28, 2004

Wowie wow wow. Great links, all. Thanks.

I have always been fascinated by tornadoes -- truly the King of Storms. Feh on your paltry hurricanes and floods -- tornadoes are where the action is at. The movie "Twister" -- it's a how-to video! heh.

One of my pet theories: tornadoes fascinate people so much because they are the largest moving "thing" that a person will ever see.

Oh, and this pic -- damn, if that doesn't yell "Auntie Em, it's a twister!"
posted by davidmsc at 5:52 PM on June 28, 2004

Check out this 1884 picture, and compare to this 1869 drawing.

This 1935 shot is a dust-bowl classic.
posted by scarabic at 5:57 PM on June 28, 2004

The older photographs are really quite terrifying. Yikes. Earthquakes are nothin'. At least the sky behaves itself here!
posted by Voivod at 8:52 PM on June 28, 2004

Some of the scariest historical photos are the ones that show damage from tornadoes. Check out what happens when you build a hall out of unreinforced masonry in Tornado Alley.
posted by scarabic at 8:58 PM on June 28, 2004

Nice links, thanks scarabic and all!
posted by carter at 9:06 PM on June 28, 2004

I've seen'em up close. I know it's stating the incredibly obvious to say that they are scarey as hell -- but it's one thing to know that on an abstract intellectual level and another thing to stare up at one and fall to your hands and knees because all the strength suddenly left your legs (and you're damn close to pissing yourself).

As a general rule, try to avoid them. ;)
posted by RavinDave at 3:26 AM on June 29, 2004

This one in particular.
posted by RavinDave at 4:29 AM on June 29, 2004

Rather contentiously offered, but thanks!

Sorry about the snarkiness. In restitution, I offer a video compilation made by a local (to me, at least) storm chaser. It's an incredible collection from the Iowa storms in March, set to the music of Pink Floyd's Run Like Hell (appropriately enough).

Also for your enjoyment, a video of dueling waterspouts, circulating around each other. Enjoy!
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 9:23 AM on June 29, 2004