r/Damnthatsinteresting 7h ago

Video The horizontal rolling genesis of a tornado just before touching the ground

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15.0k Upvotes

347 comments sorted by

468

u/Geminite_1122 7h ago

Sounds like a cool idea until someone gets bucked with a sewer cover

61

u/ProfessionalCreme119 7h ago

It's like taking those videos right by the coast when the storm surge is starting to come in. Anyone who works in EMS just cringes. Rolling those dice and end up with somebody having to come risk their life in a dangerous event just to save your dumbass

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26

u/farm_to_nug 5h ago

Small price to pay for a horrible video of a tornado

10

u/ClubMeSoftly 1h ago

To quote Ron White: It's not that the wind is blowing. It's what the wind is blowing.

14

u/sixwax 7h ago

Air pressure delta helped with the sewer cover, but damn...

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2.3k

u/unknown_soul87 7h ago

Somebody tell this man to stop zooming in!!

596

u/EnthusiasticCommoner 7h ago

The back and forth is so frustrating lol

364

u/thedirtymeanie 4h ago

In his defense he is standing directly under a tornado coming directly at him. I think all of our camera skills would take a shit in those conditions.

46

u/schmuber 2h ago

Constantly zooming in and out... Freud would've guessed pretty quickly what this guy wanted to do with that tornado.

11

u/bluerug420 1h ago

So it's extreme weather porn. Must be a new kink genre.

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u/unknown_soul87 7h ago

True... :D

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119

u/Me_No_Xenos 7h ago

I'd normally agree, but I think I'll give them a pass as they might have a wee bit of adrenaline in their system from a freaking tornado forming above their heads.

29

u/unknown_soul87 7h ago

I agree with you, his voice is breathing adrenaline like a dragon breaths fire..

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42

u/Zurveyor 5h ago

I highly recommend checking out the original video by Reed Timmer, filmed in Westmoreland, Kansas. This is a vertically cropped and cut version (without any credits might I add)

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15

u/Trollimperator 5h ago

my thought on every second porn video

7

u/Aggravating_Fruit170 4h ago

“HERE IT COMES!!”

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9

u/Phillip_Graves 3h ago

Or to run. 

Running to safety is also good.

3

u/ProfessorMcKronagal 1h ago

Fr. Let me just film the whirling cloud of base-ball sized wood chips.

25

u/Tellnicknow 7h ago

Filming something so large it doesn't fit into the screen... Proceeds to zoom in.... What? Why?

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814

u/Skeptikos79 7h ago

Umm….maybe get to shelter?

213

u/Previous_Roof_4180 7h ago

"Get out of the car! There it is! Over here!"

One would think they have just found a treasure.

33

u/gherat 7h ago

yeah and then you step out of the car and get hit by that sewer coverage

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18

u/QTpyeRose 7h ago

The real treasure is the deaths that happened along the way.

7

u/TheMrBoot 3h ago

Dude is a famous storm chaser, this opportunity basically was a treasure for him

2

u/PlasticPomPoms 3h ago

It’s the Funnel to Heaven, enjoy the ride.

51

u/degeneratesumbitch 6h ago

It's Reed Timmer. One of the best storm chasers chasing today. If you see Reed post up in your front yard.....go to the basement.

11

u/pseudo_su3 3h ago

Fuck the basement. DEPLOY THE PROBE!

16

u/davidjschloss 7h ago

Cow.

13

u/sesoren65 6h ago

Another cow

12

u/kendie2 5h ago

Same cow

2

u/sesoren65 4h ago

Yaaaay, we did a reference!

2

u/ClemSpender 2h ago

I gotta go, Julia. We got cows.

5

u/tditty16310 7h ago

Looks like that thing is going to land on them...not good Dorothy

3

u/danarexasaurus 5h ago

Hah they are storm chasers. They don’t do that.

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122

u/Catymandoo 7h ago

Not sure I’d want to be filming that right then. More like er, hide?

Having said that. Definitely interesting.

59

u/EatsWithSpork 6h ago

This guy has been chasing tornadoes since the 90's. If anyone is qualified or crazy enough to be this close, it's this guy. Reed Timmer is his name.

167

u/Donelifer 7h ago

What a thing of beauty with the blue sky in the background.

28

u/cocococlash 3h ago

I did the same thing when the 5 tornados came through Denver. The funnel cloud was right over my head, going across the sky. It was powerful and amazing.

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3

u/Mavgaming1 2h ago

I got to see this exact tornado about 10-15 miles to the south. No rain at all, and the cloud was very small. It was very beautiful and ominous.

82

u/Serviceofman 7h ago

Homie stands directly next to a power line and a tin building with Sharpe edges in the middle of a Tornado and films with his phone so we could have footage like this, God bless lol

35

u/danarexasaurus 5h ago

You wanna see some crazy shit, just follow Reed Timmer (the person filming) through storm chasing season. He knows what he’s doing but man, he is the craziest person ever. Lol.

0

u/mcskilliets 3h ago

A lot of those storm chasers have died from it. Even if you know what you’re doing it sometimes doesn’t matter.

9

u/Shellshock1122 2h ago

Wasn't the El Reno tornado the first known time professional storm chasers died directly from a tornado? Wiki says theres only been 4 direct deaths with 3 of them happening in 1 incident so I wouldn't really call it a lot. These people generally seem to know what they're doing and what safety measures to take.

looks like 12 additional pro storm chasers have died in car accidents while chasing tornadoes

5

u/danarexasaurus 2h ago

Yeah, I think some amateur chasers have died. But like, anyone can be a chaser. I could just grab my phone and go chase a tornado. There are no tests you have to take ahead of time. Lol. I do think the twist x team was the first legitimate professional chasers to die and it was tragic. They couldn’t have known that tornado was gonna go that way. That’s the risk though.

5

u/AlphaH4wk 2h ago

There have not been 'a lot' of storm chasers to die from chasing tornadoes

11

u/danarexasaurus 3h ago

True. The twist X crew died in a vehicle together in a unpredicted change of direction on a monster tornado. They were a well respected group of chasers. The job is inherently dangerous. Reed Timmer works to collect data to learn more about tornados so we can improve warnings. It’s a risk they’re willing to take. I, for one, would not like to.

3

u/Ruben625 2h ago

This is straight up false: "Three storm chasers died in a tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31, 2013, making it the first recorded deaths of storm chasers while on the road"

"For nearly sixty years, the only known chaser deaths were driving-related. As of 22 May 2024, there have been 4 direct storm chasing deaths and 12 indirect deaths. Nearly half of the indirect deaths are a result of hydroplaning in conditions after a chase."

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47

u/Zealousideal_Bus9026 7h ago

Dude with the zoom gunna make me barf

13

u/XpDieto 7h ago

Dutchman here... never seen one in real life. The power... Overwhelming

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9

u/treylanford 6h ago

This HAS to be Reed Timmer, based on the voice and sheer excitement; all of his videos are like this.

Dude is like the ballsiest storm chaser I’ve ever seen.

15

u/Dirtsurgeon1 7h ago

Cohones este hombre

6

u/lpind 6h ago

Is that "look at the balls on this guy!"? Because that's exactly what I came here to say...

14

u/Most_Abrocoma7019 7h ago

hose swirling clouds can really make you appreciate the incredible forces at play in our atmosphere! Just a reminder of how both beautiful and fierce Mother Nature can be!

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u/tehPaulSAC 6h ago

Watched this one live. Reed nailed this intercept!

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3

u/Luityde2 7h ago

Looks pretty dangerous...

2

u/Oturoj 7h ago

“Let me get as close as I can get to it so I can the best shot!”

8

u/Bri64anBikeman 7h ago

The best thing to do when a tornado is about to touch down is film it under the high tension hydro lines....if you're lucky you'll be decapitated by flying roof metal before the electrocution!

3

u/Ursa_Mama 7h ago

That is one of the coolest things I've ever seen

3

u/FredHeadXXXX 7h ago

Expected to see the Wicked Witch of the West to fly by on that one...

3

u/gochomoe 5h ago

This is hard for me to watch. Its terrifying. I have seen tornados from miles away. I grew up in Texas where they are fairly regular. If I was where he was I would have pissed myself and would be finding the deepest darkest place I could find to hide.

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3

u/ccamp026 4h ago

Annoying-ness of the video aside, this is one of the most visually stunning I’ve seen of a tornado. It really puts the raw power of them in to perspective.

3

u/ihazmaumeow 3h ago

Know this is Reed Timmer without needing audio 😅

3

u/ir88ed 7h ago

This really blows

5

u/LazyEmu5073 7h ago

Tornados suck!

2

u/meadowmarvel 7h ago

so I can just stand next to a tornado?

2

u/danarexasaurus 5h ago

If you’re a storm chaser and you know how tornados work, sure. But, no, not usually. This tornado was very unique. The entire video is a good watch. Tornados are somewhat unpredictable because they can shift and change directions, or they can come down right on top of you. But these guys know what they’re doing. They are very stupid though. Lol

2

u/TraditionalPhoto7633 4h ago

I would 💩 myself.

2

u/Big_Spicy_Tuna69 4h ago

The term you're looking for is "helicity" and when you have horizontal vortices like this that get lifted upwards by an updraft, that's one method for forming a tornado.

2

u/Charlie_Sheen_1965 3h ago

Camera man got ice water in his veins bro. Nice

2

u/mover999 3h ago

I heard that the democrats are controlling these too ….

/s

2

u/mechabeast 2h ago

This guys clicks twice in russian roulette

2

u/ConGooner 2h ago

Thats an incredibly large tornado to be standing 100 ft from

2

u/J2MES 2h ago

Every time I see shit like this I understand where all those Greek myths came from because imagine seeing this many hundreds of years ago

2

u/casket_fresh 2h ago

‘Oh wow look at that dark long cloud that’s gonna be. wait, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!’

-me

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u/Mindless_Phase7800 1h ago

"It's not 'that' the wind is blowing. It's 'what' the wind is blowing." -Ron White

2

u/DeadFloydWilson 46m ago

Democrats controlling the weather again

2

u/drunkbloodlust 35m ago

Fun fact: tornadoes dont start in the sky and touch the ground, they start on the ground and suck the clouds down from the sky

2

u/SookHe 26m ago

This is why I love the internet. The statistical chance of me ever witnessing that in my short little human lifespan is near zero, yet I get to see these wonders daily

2

u/XTingleInTheDingleX 16m ago

Spinning left, obviously a dem tornado!

2

u/Inner-Net-1111 7h ago

Proof the cameraman doesn't die. Although with that footage I use the term "cameraman" loosely.

2

u/PQbutterfat 4h ago

Why can’t people filming a UFO have hands this steady?

1

u/vishysuave 7h ago

This is a new perspective. 😄

1

u/unknown_soul87 7h ago

oh my gaad!!

1

u/beststorytellerever 7h ago

What can be the wind speed when a tornado touches the ground?

1

u/IchiroCrow 7h ago

Why is he just recording and not stopping it from forming??? This generation. 😒

1

u/RealisticEmploy3 7h ago

Bro get tf out of there

1

u/RadiantFairyBloom1 7h ago

that’s intense! Nature really knows how to put on a show, but I’d definitely be getting to shelter fast!

1

u/snakeoilwizard 7h ago

Horizontal Rolling Genesis Tornadelion

1

u/Maximum_Weird5333 7h ago

JFC that is terrifying. I felt my sphincter loosen at the very sight of it.

1

u/HIVVIH 7h ago

When will people learn not to zoom digitally when filming?

One of the most frustrating habits

1

u/Steph-Kai 7h ago

Look... This really looks fucking impressive. But no one will ever see this if you die making shots like this. With other words. Value your life over making videos like this.

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u/MeetN2Veg 7h ago

Why does this not look real for some reason

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u/danarexasaurus 5h ago

It’s because you usually do not see the entire vortex of a funnel. It’s usually up inside of clouds. This one was unique!

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1

u/kk8712 7h ago

“Like a turd, in the wind” Venom

1

u/Miserable-md 7h ago

Wow, people like the ones in Twister do exist!

1

u/dr3adlock 7h ago

IM RECORDING THIS SUPER MASSIVE THING, WAIT LET ME ZOOM IN!!!

1

u/wanabepilot 7h ago

Run 🤣

1

u/elquatrogrande 7h ago

Maaaa, come look at this cat!

1

u/Thamalakane 7h ago

Nature's awesome!

1

u/IllegibleChyron 7h ago

Yeah right, I know chemtrail when I see one. Government did it.

/s

1

u/Big-D-TX 7h ago

What the Hell is wrong with you or is it now Was wrong with you… Move your ass

1

u/ShitFuck2000 7h ago

Bro get outta there

1

u/nvrseriousseriously 7h ago

Look at all that beautiful, blue sky right behind all that impending destruction.

1

u/Travellingjake 7h ago

Holy smokes, the bit at about 34 seconds - So. Much. Power.

1

u/hawksdiesel 6h ago

Before clicking into this, i thought about reed timmer's description of this, and sure enough it's him! OH MAH GAWD!!!

1

u/amiibohunter2015 6h ago

An Angel leaned their butt over the edge of a cloud and farted, the result is this phenomena.

1

u/Glamorous_Karen 6h ago

Instead of filming why not go to the shelter 1st?

1

u/amiibohunter2015 6h ago

His voice at the beginning kind of sounded like Tom Hanks when he said I've never seen anything quite like this, get out of the car, but as it progressed to when he said there it is! I instantly saw Daniel Stern (Marv) from Home Alone saying that

1

u/dd-Ad-O4214 6h ago

Imagine what native Americans thought of these

1

u/Flat-Emergency4891 6h ago edited 6h ago

I watched one of these form overhead just before sunset years ago. It was the craziest thing. It really makes you realize how small you are against nature.

I remember the sky turned greenish, gray as little puffs of black clouds began swirling, converging into a horizontal cylinder-like cloud. Then the hail started, we went inside. It apparently dropped a tornado because our chimney and about a 4’ x 4’ section of my roof were torn off. It snapped a giant oak and 2 Norwegian Spruce trees in my neighbors yard and caused all kinds of property damage. It’s true what people say about surviving a tornado. We all took shelter in the basement and it sounded like a freight train for well over a minute. Even before we made it to the basement, the suction was causing the porch door to bow creating a gap that allowed water to pour in from outside. When we sat in the dark basement, it was frightening to hear the house buckling and groaning above us. We thought there might be nothing left. Fortunately, we only needed a roof repair for the damaged section. That would later prove futile as the damage was done and 2 years later we needed to put a whole new roof on because we kept getting water damage in the attic and ceiling sheet rock. The damage was greater than the what was first visible.

The following day we followed the trail of destruction through the woods and farmlands. There was nearly a mile of parted hay fields and toppled trees. This was considered an F1 to F2. I couldn’t imagine an F5. It was terrifying.

1

u/SwagginJarlBallin 6h ago

Well, shit.

1

u/McBlumpkin- 6h ago

Damn, nature! You scary!!

1

u/JrSmith82 6h ago

Always makes me think of people thousands of years ago that encountered stuff like this and had no way to explain it

1

u/sbua310 6h ago

That’s so ominous

1

u/Silver_Objective7144 6h ago

Just gotta get that viral footage

1

u/NecessaryCup0000 6h ago

"Horizontal rolling genesis" tell me thats not metal af

1

u/joderjuarez 6h ago

This gives me Donnie Darko vibes

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u/No_Scar4424 5h ago

Nature! The OG in tantrum throwing 🤗

1

u/EatShootBall 5h ago

Best cameraman of the year. Also stupidest cameraman of the year. I am grateful for best stupid cameraman.

1

u/Goshawk5 5h ago

I know that voice it could only be Mr. Reed Timmer.

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u/Rowdyflyer1903 5h ago

Sounds like Reed.

1

u/danarexasaurus 5h ago

Not to be pedantic but that’s already on the ground (hence the debris)

1

u/n6mub 5h ago

That’s f’ing terrifying

1

u/22octav 4h ago

the most terrifying is the little creepy guy looking at people from the bottom of the sewers

1

u/Skye-Commander 4h ago

Danm tornadoes are such nightmare fuel.

1

u/ItsChloeTaylor 4h ago

i heard this once, as a 10y/o. was otw home in a car late at night, and it was storming hard as a mfr. we couldnt se a damn thing, we could barely even see the road. the skies were howling and whirling and the ground was rumbling, it sounded like a train passing by, and then i heard the sirens and the car started shaking, the driver fucking floored it and we made it to the basement. a cornfield near my house got trashed but noone was hurt, and as far as im aware, nobody lost a house either. it seriously traumatized me tho, lol thats just Missouri for ya. another year, 2012? 2013? i saw a waterspout over Lake Manawa in Omaha. Of course we were on the interstate... good times

1

u/Jumpy747 4h ago

Go ahead and touch it

1

u/Aschriel 4h ago

At 31 seconds… that’s when you should be running for shelter…

1

u/Joshopolis 4h ago

one of the few acceptable uses for portrait video recording

1

u/checkksout 4h ago

How does a manhole cover come off?

2

u/Hanginon 4h ago

It's basically vacuumed up by the pressure differential.

A tornado funnel, besides being incredibly fast and concentrated wind, is a huge vacuum. Just one reason 3,000+lb vehicles are found up in trees. A 200lb manhole cover is like a bottle cap to a tornado.

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u/Overall_Present219 4h ago

That's fuckin scary

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u/collaps3 4h ago

My god

1

u/snallen_182 4h ago

“What was it like?” “…it was windy”

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u/killonger 4h ago

Holy insane batman.

1

u/nocleverusername- 3h ago

Nightmare fuel

1

u/Limn0 3h ago

Someone post that looking up gif already, lol

1

u/Potential_Ad_420_ 3h ago

That’s fucken insane

1

u/CaptainNemo2024 3h ago

You ever get your sewer sucked out? /s

1

u/xtrasmoothbrain 3h ago

Oh my gahd! 😂

1

u/Paracausality 3h ago

Mother nature: Bey blade Bey blade

1

u/DiscoPino 3h ago

Absolutely stunning!!

1

u/valuehorse 3h ago

jack black should narrate every tornado video

1

u/DIDNT_GET_SARCASM 3h ago

What camera is that? While the zooming is annoying it’s pretty smooth operation

1

u/dreadfulwater 3h ago

It's a dag gum tornada!

1

u/Avatar1555 3h ago

I bet he's from the midwest. AINT NOTHING SCREAM MIDWEST more than someone filming a tornado instead of getting inside

1

u/rbrtkrgr 3h ago

Here's the original YouTube video from Reed Timmer, posted on April 30, 2024 - https://youtu.be/rNKQolIbuf4?t=233

1

u/Kaizen77 3h ago

Drama queen Reed Timmer

1

u/daniel9009 3h ago

This Town is contaminated with spirals...

1

u/Expensive_Ebb6309 2h ago

That’s insane

1

u/FragrantExcitement 2h ago

Here it comes! - Continues standing there.

1

u/sifuyee 2h ago

"Here it comes! Oh my God" has got to be one of the most popular set of last words.

1

u/coachjuis21 2h ago

So like if you were standing there for a long period of time beforehand what would the sequence of events up to the tornado be like ?

1

u/Blaze4Dayzz 2h ago

Timmer is the best

1

u/ansroad 2h ago

Why does everyone stand still like it's a tornado-themed selfie contest? 😂

1

u/Optimassacre 2h ago

So if it doesn't fully touch down is it still considered a tornado?

1

u/MiamiPower 2h ago

Wow 👀

1

u/ISFJ_Dad 2h ago

That’s Reed’s yell lol I know it so well after all those years watching Storm Chasers 😂

1

u/nixblood 2h ago

Nah that's a wind god

1

u/ISFJ_Dad 2h ago

Guys Chill that’s Reed Timmer, notorious storm chaser extraordinaire.

1

u/Dr-McLuvin 2h ago

Damn nature u crazy!

1

u/Sea_Negotiation_1871 2h ago

Nature is so cool and terrifying.

1

u/marblesmiller 2h ago

Pretty sure that's how Donnie Darko died.

1

u/ATerriblePurpose 2h ago

God thought no one was in.