Large Tornado & Monster Hail- South Plains, TX- May 12th, 2005

[LindaKitch]

Big Big hail!!

[tornadovideostock]

@LindaKitch LOL...the biggest I have seen to date!

[ella1bella1coolio]

Yip Thats America :P

[abdo47able]

bed

[douggab123]

I live in illinois and i have never seen anything like this any were. good job!

[tornadovideostock]

@douggab123 Thanks! Yep, my SUV still bears the scars of that day lol. Definitely the biggest hail I have ever seen

[douggab123]

@tornadovideostock when i went camping we had golfball sized hail. it ripped through our tent. my bro was saying that he was going to die and there wasn't even a tornado. but nothing we saw compared to what you saw. also was it cold in the storm? it was cold when i went camping.

[tornadovideostock]

@douggab123 Golf ball hail can still do some serious damage for sure! From what I remember it was a bit chilly after the storm due to the cool outflow from the storm itself, and the rain cooled (and hail cooled) air. Glad to hear you guys didn't get hurt when that hail came through while you were camping

[billmonster6]

@stormtracker05 O.o this comment was made one week ago, and your last activity was 3 weeks ago?!!? U COME FROM THE FUTURE

[tornadovideostock]

@stormtracker05 Thanks for the kind words! Really happy you enjoyed the video. My Xterra still bears the scars from the day lol.

[Twisterchaser1998]

Amazing Video!

[tornadovideostock]

@Twisterchaser1998 Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for watching!

[Bitchcakebaby1995]

we never get tornadoes in england i always wonder why

[tornadovideostock]

@Bitchcakebaby1995 Hi! Thanks for watching! You're right, tornadoes are very rare in your part of the world. The conditions needed to produce tornadoes don't come together very often at all in England. Here in the US the topography (Rocky Mountains to the west, and the Gulf Of Mexico to the south) are crucial in the formation of supercell thunderstorms. Even here in New York City where I live we only rarely see big storms.

[Bitchcakebaby1995]

@tornadovideostock we had one a few years ago but it didnt touch down 

[tornadovideostock]

@Bitchcakebaby1995 They do happen from time to time, just not that often as you know :) The past few years here in NYC have been pretty active I have to say. This year so far, not so much.

[333runeman]

i live in oklahoma its alot worse

[tornadovideostock]

@333runeman Chased in Oklahoma many times myself. Actually, most of my 2011 season was spent in OK this year (May 21st, 23rd and 24th). Thanks for watching

[StormChaseArizona]

Another awesome video...

[dada117angel]

Totally amazing footage, shot very well. I know the hail is difficult to deal with, but I loved watching and listening to it. Sorry it ends up being so damaging, tho.

[tornadovideostock]

@dada117angel It was an amazing storm without a doubt! Even though my Xterra took a lot of damage. Still have the dents too! Thanks for watching and I'm happy you enjoyed!

[pboscophoto]

Awesome job guys -- keep up the great work.

Watch your heads/back.

Take care.

[tornadovideostock]

@pboscophoto Will do!! Thanks for watching!!

[michaelbethhk09]

Wow! Unbelievable size hail! I have heard of this, but to see it like this...man my truck would have been hashed!

[tornadovideostock]

@michaelbethhk09 That hail was huge without a doubt! Biggest I've ever seen in person that's for sure, lol. And yes, my SUV still bears the scars. Thanks for watching!

[DevonBates1]

at the end it's look's like heaven

[tornadovideostock]

@DevonBates1 Love those Mammatus clouds at the end! Thanks so much for watching

[jthouse51]

looks like Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson and Bob Gibson are chucking baseballs at you

[tornadovideostock]

@jthouse51 LOL! You got that right! Thanks for watching!

[TheCatherinejb]

lol



[TheCatherinejb]

oh my god i hope u ok!!!!

[tornadovideostock]

@TheCatherinejb Yep we were fine! Thanks for watching!

[AndrewJ254]

cant beleive you guys drove into those power lines.

[tornadovideostock]

@AndrewJ254 Oh we certainly didn't do it on purpose that's for sure! lol. But, we did learn a valuable lesson that day. When a tornado crosses a road you HAVE to assume that there will be downed power lines and power poles. Thanks for watching!

[Killercore20]

Great video. Loved it much.

[tornadovideostock]

@Killercore20 Glad you enjoyed my video! Thanks for watching!

[vanessagirl2288]

Really awesome video! The Hail Is Huge!

[tornadovideostock]

@vanessagirl2288 Thanks so much for watching! Glad you enjoyed my video :) And yep, that was some SUPER huge hail, lol. No doubt!

[bmx4life900]

Were you on a CB or ham radio?



[tornadovideostock]

@bmx4life900 I was still using only CB radio back then, now I use ham exclusively. Thanks for watching!

[2010ditta]

First off I have to say it. YOU'RE MAD!!! I'd just stick to snow if I were you. lol Seriously though a great video and the last shot of the clouds excellent. What would you call those clouds by the way?

[tornadovideostock]

@2010ditta Ha ha yeah I love all kinds of storms, but I do not like the damage they cause and the fact that they do turn peoples lives upside down. That part we could all do without. Glad you enjoyed the video! Those clouds at the end are called Mammatus Clouds

[Granitelion]

There was simple too much SCATTER to want to think of approaching that so closely,. GLAD you guys are safe and able to share this experience. NOW GET OUT THERE AND FILM SOME MORE!

[tornadovideostock]

@Granitelion Thanks for watching! And yes...many chasers that day ended up with severe hail damage. Thankfully everyone was ok. I'll be heading back out there again in May for my annual storm chase trip!

[Dvoracekmara]

Hello, this is amazing and avesome storm video!!!Thank you for upload

[tornadovideostock]

@Dvoracekmara Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed!

[rings289]

is it a f4

[tornadovideostock]

@rings289 This tornado ended up being rated an F2 on the old scale. Thanks for watching!

[kkjhhkjhkj]

I don't understand how this works and why more storm chasers aren't dead? I guess storm fronts move from west to east in the US so they figure once the Tornado hits the ground it will travel east and as long as they are west of it, then they are safe. I doubt that is an accurate assumption. Can anyone tell me how it works? Isn't the path of tornado's completely unpredictable. When there is a Tornado siren, my ass is underneath a chair in my basement.

[tornadovideostock]

@kkjhhkjhkj Thanks for watching! As far as chaser safety goes, while it does seem that many chasers are getting too close (and yes, some do) the majority of chasers do keep safety as their top priority. There's no such thing as being truly safe when chasing, but we always make sure we know our access roads out of the area, GPS is always running, etc...many things are going on to keep us as safe as possible. And yep, for the most part, tornadoes travel to the east or northeast. Not always though.

[mrswebkinz99]

dude thats huge!!



[PMFshoeder]

This one was pretty bad ass and you just happened to get it on film, but what was the most exCELLent one you've ever gotten to experience - close or not? Where, when and anything else you would like to share?

[eaglez4evr]

hey where do u live maybe u and me can go tornado chasing someday together :D i love chasing tornadoes!!!!

[TheTigerfan99]

I love how cars keep going towards the tornado instead of just turning around

[tornadovideostock]

@TheTigerfan99 Yeah it is pretty amusing..I like getting close, but not *too* close. Then again, to some folks my idea of not too close, is too close, lol. thanks for watching!

[bigpasswordheadache]

Blimey, glad I live in safe old Blighty! We get the occasional shower but I prefer big lumps of ice in my G&T rather than knocking great holes in my car, Great vid, Ta.

[tornadovideostock]

@bigpasswordheadache Glad you enjoyed! And yes, there aren't many parts of the world that see hail as large as the central United States! LOL....that stuff was pretty big :) Thanks again for watching!

[seasonsbleed]

i figure an f5 tornado would be throwing off bowling ball sized hail?

[tornadovideostock]

@seasonsbleed LOL...possibly! :)

[mmjurczak]

I'd love to get out and do this at least once in my life, but a second car is hard on a student's salary... at least you guys are alright though!

[tornadovideostock]

@mmjurczak My chase vehicle is also my personal vehicle. Needless to say, it gets a lot of looks from the folks around NYC when they see all the hail dents!! lol

[1vulpixgirl]

the dude at 6:53 looks like my old neighbor Mr.Rich (to this day i never knew what his first name was)

[tornadovideostock]

@1vulpixgirl lol...that would be me :) Hope Mr Rich was at least a nice guy! lol Thanks for watching!

[1vulpixgirl]

@tornadovideostock  oh sorry ^_^.''

[tornadovideostock]

@1vulpixgirl LOL....no worries at all!!

[TheBeccastew]

forget the tornado the guy talkin bout the winshield is super hot

[obiwankanobi23]

is that an xterra you're driving? Was there no debris and dang those cars were close!

[tornadovideostock]

@obiwankanobi23 Yep, that's my 2004 xterra which I still have to this day! I love that truck! By the way, since this tornado did eventually hit a structure it was able to be given a rating which was F2. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[jmelkis]

@tornadovideostock awesome.

[obiwankanobi23]

how close were the cars in front? Was there no debris?

[tornadovideostock]

@obiwankanobi23 The cars that were down the road from us were pretty close to this tornado, but the shot I believe you're referring to is a little deceiving. Since I was zoomed all the way in it made it appear they were a bit closer than they really were. Still though, lol...yeah, they were kind of close. As far as debris, there really wasn't any since this particular tornado hadn't hit any actual structures, it was just churning up the dirt at that time. However, it did hit a house a bit later

[crysis109]

god nice video that guy name dave was like 200 yards away from it!!!

[tornadovideostock]

@crysis109 Thanks for watching!! Glad you enjoyed...yes....it was quite a storm!!

[crysis109]

god nice video that guy name dave was like 200 yards away from it!!!

[MartiniStrom]

Incredible...great video !

[tornadovideostock]

@MartiniStrom Thanks for watching and commenting! Glad you enjoyed the video.

[ExtremeSpinner99]

Amazing and incredibile strong tornado, in this video. Although it is very dangerous, I really hope to see one like that, someday ! Yopu made a very good job. Thank you very much, because we can see such incredible moments .

[nusz]

Great video. I was just S of this tornado so I was only able to get low contrast video, BUT I still had a wind shield afterwards :). I've seen some big hail damage, but the destruction wrought upon you chasers N of the tornado that day.......impressive!

[tornadovideostock]

Yeah a bunch of us lost glass this day! What a storm that was! Thanks for watching, commenting and subscribing!!

[Dvoracekmara]

Hello, nice storm video and brutal hails!!!

[tornadovideostock]

Thank you! Yes, the hail was very large in this storm

[triton115]

It certainly was quite a wild storm! Very entertaining watching the hail and hearing the roar of the storm.

[tornadovideostock]

That was the first time that I really heard the roar of the hail, it was surreal! Thanks for watching :)

[HintHaxHunter]

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. 5/5

[tornadovideostock]

Thanks so much! And thanks for watching!

[voma101]

What an experience! I like it, especially because you don't got too close to the tornado. Really great (also the detailled describtion)!

[tornadovideostock]

Dave and I try to get close, but not TOO close. We always like to leave a little room to breath in the event something unexpected happens. Still though, things happen as you saw in the video and we didn't plan for downed power poles. That was our mistake as we should have anticipated something like that. Live and learn. A great chase day regardless! Glad you enjoyed the video!

[csengeri]

Did the wind make those rubbling sounds at 2:30 when you filmed the tornado outside your car?

[tornadovideostock]

Actually, that was a combination of the wind, and hail roar! A very scary sound indeed!

[csengeri]

Now I understand why is that safety equipment for storm chaser cars.

[tornadovideostock]

@csengeri Yep, and we have even newer hail guards for my XTerra now. The new ones are made out of bullet resistant Lexan

[csengeri]

I hope it will prevent all the windshields of breaking in such a storm!

[tornadovideostock]

It will protect all the glass but something could still sneak in and crack the windshield possibly. That's OK though since if that does happen, the windshield is the cheapest to replace

[KikoHey]

Amzing vid! 5/5

[tornadovideostock]

@KikoHey Thanks Glad you enjoyed! Many more storm vids to come over the coming days/weeks

[Torn80cj]

Definetly softball size hail. I encountered some large hail, but thankfully it was already on the ground and not pounding my truck. When I saw your hail guard, it looked so much like the one I invisioned making myself. I don't know if you have a new and improved one yet, but I was thinking if there was a second grating put about an inch above the original, it would slow the impact by the time it got to the part that is closest to your vehicle. It would be a doubled barrier. Awesome tornado.

[tornadovideostock]

Yep, we've since upgraded our hail guards for the side and back glass. We now have all the glass protected with bullet resistant Lexan. I've posted some video on my channel to our latest hail guards which we fabricated in March/April of 2009. And yes, that hail was certainly HUGE!! lol

[tornadovideostock]

That was the biggest hail I've seen to this day luckystar. Tremendous for sure! I still have the dents on my Nissan XTerra from that storm, lol

[ExtremeSpinner99]

Excellente video, greate capture, I like the rare and  extreme weather events.

[tornadovideostock]

Never went through insurance with that one, lol....I figured I put myself in that situation to begin with. And besides, all the dents tell a story!

[MPhill1973]

Insurance companies must love you. lol

[tornadovideostock]

Thanks :) And yes, lol.....the hail was super f**in huge! Glad you enjoyed!

[pytlfamly]

Awesome video! Agreed - the hail is f**in huge! BEAUTIFUL shot of mammatus at the end! Glad you stayed safe!

[LindaKitch]

Really amazing, Scott! Wish I had been there!!

[Jamiesyme999]

amazing stuff

[tornadovideostock]

Thanks! And yes, that was the biggest hail I have ever encountered. Freakin' huge! lol

[ExploringNaturesFury]

That is just crazy! Amazing Tornado for sure, but the hail is huge, and look at the damage it did to you vehicle! Wow!!

Incredible footage Scott!