F5 Birmingham, AL Tornado April 27th 2011

[Sindaiin]

Wooowww... effing incredible -something that big razing a populated place. What the hell can you do but laugh? Words don't cut it.

(Though I do think this guy was probably baked -I'd be duckin' for cover) Thanks for being baked though, I wouldn't have had the chance to see this otherwise.

[nightwriterou812]

People were dying and his was laughing. What an idiot.

[scottishson]

i would have thought jack black could afford a decent camcorder

[WeakenCombo]

EF4 and EF5

[ezmake343]

It was an EF4.

[dragonridley]

@ezmake343

Indeed. I'm glad we have people here that have their facts straight.

[Jordanftw1867]

I wonder what brand of toaster he is using to film???

[Theragonslayer]

Two words: TAKE. SHELTER.

[Candylover0005]

i think that was a potato....

[zen9151]

not birmingham, cmon get it right

[countryboy8287]

The dude laughs at the beginning... what a douche

[mitterdoo]

The radio in the beginning made it sound like my headphones were unplugged.

[oilers32roblox]

ITS AN F 4

[ProfessorIgor]

very upper end EF-4....

[oilers32roblox]

it wan't an f5 it was an f 4

[ArieskidChristian]

i was in the tornado it was scarey

[1Fuzz1]

He's clearly baked. Most would be running for their lives, but not him up on the 25th floor "...Look at that (giggle) right outside, right outside...that is just nuts." Look at that... that is insane, INSANE." What we don't hear is after he stops recording with his potato he says, "Hey honey, this reminds me, do we have any of those Bugle corn snacks?"

[RU4BN8OUT]

Young tornadoes watch this and say..."That's what I want to grow up to be."

[2pacforever22]

its kinda cool seeing little cyclones on the side of the tornado like its a monster with arms

[steven7801]

thats tuscaloosa not birmingham

[HigherWaysWoman]

nothing like a good ol' Illuminazi tornado to entertain the peasants by eh!! ( psychopathicinbredmentalillnes­sbastards!)

[Sweetheart21762]

I love tornadoes

[armarey12000]

@NvcDex shut up this tornado ripped BIRMINGHAM and TUSCALOOSA!!!

Dumbass! 

[SuperCaTalon]

BIRMINGHAM WHAT THATS RARE FOR THE U.S.A ITS REALY RARE FOR THE UK

[greener483]

@SuperCaTalon Are you being serious....? This isnt in the UK hahaha. This is Birmingham, USA...

[TXweatherwatcher]

Incredible video!

[TheBeastMode187]

Come on people this is 2011 QUIT RECORDING VIDEOS WITH POTATOES!!

[DivinityzBeAsT]

@TheBeastMode187 lol

[pmic2011]

@TheBeastMode187

STOP RECORDING WITH CACULATORS

[TheBeastMode187]

@pmic2011 LOL

[SillyBlondie143]

@TheBeastMode187 better than not reording at all isn't it?

[EliteAmericans]

@TheBeastMode187 LOL

[MadHornetSeries]

@TheBeastMode187 Not anymore. Now they are recording with lamps in 2012.

[TheBeastMode187]

@MadHornetSeries Seriously I thought 2012 was the year to record with bananas.

[MadHornetSeries]

@TheBeastMode187 Nah that's so 2007.

[JackieJoeish]

@TheBeastMode187 Oh thats no potato, this is 5000 bc and he is filimg with his istone

[froggirl5296]

@TheBeastMode187 it actually looks like they just recorded off the tv...looked like the "skycam" for the weather station

[420guddo]

@froggirl5296 yeh i agree.x

[emijack74]

enorme

[F6SuperTornado08]

@robinb4life Yea the Hackleburg tornado was actually the widest tornado ever recorded, an estimated 2.5 miles wide!!!

[MCOEM]

@F6SuperTornado08

And that would be absolutely incorrect. The EF4 that hit Hallam Nebraska in 2004 was over 2.5 miles wide and currently holds the record for the widest ever recorded.

[Landrar]

@MCOEM Partially correct. The Hallam Tornado had the widest damage path, however the Mulhal, OK Tornado in 99 was measured with a portable DOW radar at up to 4 miles wide and wind speeds as high as 315mph in localized areas.

[MCOEM]

@Landrar Either way, Hackleburg wasn't even remotely close to being 2.5 miles wide. 2200 yards is 1 mile. Not 2.5 miles.

[Landrar]

@MCOEM True enough. In b4 Moore tornado was an EF6 lol.

[MCOEM]

@Landrar Yea man, the only one I can think of which may have topped Moore was Jarrell as far as intensity. Either way, these are rare monsters with unbelievable power. I mean when you have a tornado like Joplin that picks up 300lb concrete dividers that are reinforced into the ground with rebar and tosses tham like toys, you know there is little chance of survival.

[spudcan34]

@MCOEM your right the hallam tornado is the widest on record.I've studied tornadoes for 20 years.Good job!!

[AslansButterfly]

I thought this thing was a over a mile wide? That doesn't look anywhere near as big as I've seen it look in other videos.....certainly not near a mile wide.....did it get bigger as it went or something?

[truthisbest]

@AslansButterfly

It hit Tuscaloosa before it hit Birmingham. That said, I don't think it was a mile wide when it was in Tuscaloosa either. Probably half a mile to 3/4 of a mile.

[Landrar]

Tornadoes change size pretty regularly. This tornado was as small as 1/2 mile wide and as large as 1.5 miles wide according to NWS measurements of tge 84 mile long damage path.

It also was given a final rating of EF-4 as wind speeds never topped 190mph. EF-5 starts with wind speeds having a 3 second measurement of 201+ mph.

[SAndTGames]

@Zeec360 my dad is the weatherman in Birmingham, he told me 256 people died he is one of the most respected weathermen in the area, I think he is right

[Jackatash]

is this biringham in britain either way that is freaking massive

[gigan1234]

@Jackatash NO

[gigan1234]

this is in Tuscaloosa alabama

[txbadgirl1]

My cousin dodged this storm driving home from Memphis that day....he was lucky, his home only got some wind damage.  He said it was simply crazy dodging the storms that day....he got home and said a prayer of thanks for him, and another for the people not so lucky.

[octaviorangelgandara]

Its not a tornado someone in heaven is just flushing the toilet

[keatrobot]

@octaviorangelgandara That's clever. That's also pretty disrespectful if you think about it. I'm not being a prick. I'm just saying that was really dumb. It was a tornado, a freaking HUGE tornado!!!! It killed so many people.! So don't just come on here and write dumb comments because you don't know what it is like to be part of a tornado. I live in Birmingham. Be respectful. Thanks.

[PelicanGuy]

This footage as seen here was the tornado as it was in Tuscaloosa. It later struck northern Birmingham.

[stormchaser5399]

This tornado officially was NOT rated EF-5, but rather a VERY high end EF-4. I tracked this storm on radar from it's very beginning. For those wondering, yes, this is the very same tornado that struck Tuscaloosa about 30 minutes prior to entering the Birmingham metro area.

[gigan1234]

@stormchaser5399 F5!!!!

[stormchaser5399]

@gigan1234 The National Weather Service has determined the path length of this violent tornado to be 80.7 miles (129.9 km) with a maximum damage path width of 1.5 miles (2.4 km). The tornado's most intense damage indicated peak winds of around 190 mph (310 km/h); therefore, it was given a final rating of EF4. Reports from Tuscaloosa indicated 43 people were killed, with over 1000 injured. Overall this tornado killed 63 people and injured more than 1500.

[gigan1234]

@stormchaser5399 More people died then 63 try 200 and something or 300 and something.The wind tells how strong it is not the damage.This tornado was a F5 not a F4 it was a F5

[Zeec360]

@gigan1234 Actually you are wrong. NWS set guidelines for the Enhanced Fujita Scale. The EF scale is a set of wind estimates based on damage. Its uses 3 second gusts estimated at the point of damage based on a judgment of 8 levels of damage. These estimates vary with height and exposure. The 3 second gust is not the same wind as in standard surface observations. The total death count was 63 and 1500+ injured, reported by NWS; later confirmed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

[gigan1234]

@Zeec360 liar 63 was not the death count is hundreds

[Zeec360]

@gigan1234 Can I see some documentation that shows the death count in the hundreds? Until such point, I will continue to go by the numbers set forth in the National Weather Service Damage Report published on April 30, 2011 and the report by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) published on May 2, 2011.

[truthisbest]

@Zeec360

There were 50 casualties in Tuscaloosa alone.

[truthisbest]

@stormchaser5399

That one tornado might have only killed 63 but there were many tornadoes across the state that day and the death toll was over 200.

[stormchaser5399]

@truthisbest Thank you for pointing that out to the others. The 300+ deaths was the combined total of deaths from ALL the tornadoes that day, and officially this tornado was ranked as a high-end EF4 tornado, and NOT an EF-5.

[robinb4life]

sorry correct: Including the deaths from the hackleburg Ef-5 tornado. That one was even bigger then this one, damn monsters :O

[gammafirebug1]

if I saw that shit outside my window, I'd be smashing some party liquor too

[GINNERMAN123]

Jack Black!

[paul000108]

say no to beer dude stay of the beer

[avaiae]

Wasn't this an ef4?

[gigan1234]

@avaiae try EF5

[avaiae]

@gigan1234 But...But... Everyone else says ef4 :(

[SuperCrackhead5]

Look at the upload date. Thats why he thought it was an F5 because everyone on the news was saying that. Then they lowered it to an F4.

[supercell1995]

@SuperCrackhead5

over tuscaloosa it had been an EF5 but surprisingly enough this was the same tornado that hit those two cities.

[SirRobbins]

@SuperCrackhead5 technically EF4. in old fujita measurements, it would have been an F3 based on wind speed but damage would have been F4

[DAXimuss]

HOLY, that is big mutha fker!!!!!!!

[pryt86]

jesus christ look at that thing  fuck nature is scarey

[Isjix]

I live in center point, got real close to us. Scared me, alot.

[FloridaSeverWeather]

that is Tuscaloosa? Lol

[dragonflyer91]

omg there is a f5 500m+ away and he REALLY LOLED ????

i would sure shit in my pants

[kmfdm5]

@dragonflyer91 that makes two of us

[NvcDex]

Tuscaloosa... You even hear the news reporter say it. And its on tv you dipshit

[MaddenGamingHD]

@NvcDex That tornado was in Birmingham, but there was already one in Tuscaloosa dipshit.

[MCOEM]

@MaddenGamingHD This is Tuscaloosa. The Birmingham tornado is the same tornado as this one. The tornado never lifted and was the same cell as it passed through Birmingham. If this were the Birmingham video, the tornado would be a mile wide. This video does NOT show a mile wide tornado.

[EliteAmericans]

@MaddenGamingHD well, the same tornado system that hit tuscaloosa is what hit birmingham. I know someone who lives right between those two cities and his house got fucked by the wedge.

[NvcDex]

Tuscaloosa... You even hear the news reporter say it.

[dragonridley]

@NvcDex

This tornado was hitting Tuscaloosa at the time, but it also hit Birmingham later on.

[bamagym]

why are people dumb, this is tuscaloosa

[717rch]

@bamagym they just chose a more widely known reference point, i think. not sure though, they could just be stupid. only college football fans know of tuscaloosa. i know this as an outsider.

[MyBerns1]

That is Tuscaloosa, and it's on TV nice try...

[IzrailGhazi]

The Mahdi, Christ and The Messiah have all returned. Your pastor isn't teaching you this because he/she doesn't know. Forget what you have been taught and study math, science and religion for yourself. It will help you to understand the time that we're living in and what must be done.

[TheRtr87]

thats not birmingham.

[omtomt8787]

please everyone who thinks im wrong stop embarrassing ur self, look this up, estimated winds in the tuscaloosa tornado only reached 190mph, making it an EF4, in fact it would have been an F-3 in the original fujita scale, f-3 is(was) 158mph-207. joplin tornado winds around 230-possibly 270mph and it was on the ground for around 60 miles less than the tuscaloosa tornado. i know everything about weather. come on people

[GHANA2000023]

@omtomt8787 how many miles wide is the base of this tornado?? it looks more than a mile.

[omtomt8787]

@GHANA2000023 mostly a half mile wide to 3/4 of a mile wide

[sakau2007]

@omtomt8787 you are actually incorrect. this was an EF-4. however, on the old fujita scale, winds were overestimated. 25 years ago, this damage would have been assigned to a tornado with winds well in excess of 200mph, making it an F4. when the EF scale replaced the old scale, they made the scales historically active such that an F4 from 1990 and EF-4 in 2011 are comparable.

[omtomt8787]

@sakau2007 no actually not at all, on the original fujita scale an f4 is from 207-260 mph, an ef4 put in place in 2007 is 166-200 mph, not comparable. they had radar winds measured as well in many tornadoes before the enhanced fujita scale.

[sakau2007]

@omtomt8787 incorrect. as i said, they've improved abilities at estimating wind speeds in tornadoes. what they thought was 230mph in the 1980s is now thought to be more in line with like 180mph winds. see the first sentences on page 12 of this document:

spc.noaa.gov/efscale/ef-ttu.pd­f

By correlating the Fujita-Scale wind speeds with the EF-Scale wind speeds, a tornado rated

according to the Fujita Scale will have the same “F-Number” in the EF Scale, e.g. F3 translates

into EF3.

[omtomt8787]

@sakau2007 well thats very conflicting w what credible national severe storms laboratory experts taught texas tech university..... so ur saying the may 3d 1999 tornado really wasnt 318 mph winds recorded by radar?

please. the xenia ohio tornado still stands at 280mph

[ndzapruder]

@omtomt8787 listen to him. he's right. doppler radar did indicate a wind velocity of 318 mph in the bridge creek tornado of '99, although it was 30m off the ground. but that's not the point. tornadoes CAN reach those wind speeds (the bridge creek tornado peeled roads off the ground), but it doesn't NEED to be that powerful achieve those incredible phenomena -- the original fujita scale was based on the assumption that they DID need to be that powerful. cont.

[ndzapruder]

@omtomt8787 it's the combination of the rotation and the *updraft* associated with tornadoes that makes their 150mph wind more locally destructive than a hurricane's 150mph wind. that extra dimension of motion (up) coupled the rotation makes them more efficient destroyers than straight-line winds of the same velocity. the original fujita scale was probably informed by this misunderstanding. because of their mechanics, tornadoes simply don't need to reach 300+ to literally scour the earth----

[omtomt8787]

@ndzapruder i dont know if we are on the same page. all im saying is the winds in the f5s before 2007 and the ef5s now usually are not the same. like the ones i mentioned.. jarrel, tx..hesston,ks, and others estimated wind speed still same at over 260mph. id say probably all of the ef5s this 2011 season would not be f5s before 2007, w the exception of the joplin tornado because i saw wind damage that looked to be anywhere from 235-maybe 275.

[omtomt8787]

@omtomt8787 and a few NSSL meteorologists have said after surveying damage thought maybe winds got to even 285 mph at few points. just saying, they had it right usually before 2007. they should add an ef6 and start it at 260 mph.

[Bluestorm5]

@omtomt8787 um, F scale was flawed because it measured ANYWHERE in tornado while EF scale measures only at ground level. Moore torando was measured 318 mph high up in tornado, but it was actually 250-270 at ground level because of objects slowing the winds. Joplin tornado was officially 225-250 mph, so it could have reached the peak of 300 mph high up in tornado. EF5s this year would have been F5 in the past because most f5s in the past had been 200-250 mph at ground level. Just saying ;)

[omtomt8787]

@Bluestorm5 since 2000 there have been 8 ef5 tornadoes, no f-5's, 6 this year, just sayin

[omtomt8787]

@Bluestorm5 and they also measured from damage surveying as well not just radar and as u go higher in the mesocyclone the winds are not as strong as they r under the cloud base

[SirRobbins]

@Bluestorm5 The may 3 tornado measured 318 mph at 32m off the ground and had vorticies measured at 301 mph at ground level confirmed by dr josh wurman as it moved over bridgecreek. Moore was 270 mph sustained

[Bluestorm5]

@SirRobbins 318 MPH sustained at 32 mph or the peak wind? 301 mph sustained or peak? Just wondering... but if you are saying 270 mph sustained, then I guess Moore/Bridge Creek tornado was stronger than Joplin. Joplin tornado killed more people because it went over the city of 50,000 unlike Moore tornado which went over small towns (almost into big city though... whew)

[SirRobbins]

@Bluestorm5 32 m as in 32 meters off the ground. the reason very few (I believe 44 people) died on may 3rd was because the media warnings said to leave the house or get down and most got out. there were 700 injuries though. joplin had little warning and homes with no basement. it was 301 mph sustained over bridgecreek/newcastle and stepped down to 270mph over west moore with vorticies reaching 300mph at times. it was F4 over del city and midwest city with sustained at 240mph.

[stormchaser5399]

@Bluestorm5 The May 3, 1999 tornado was the most powerful tornado ever recorded in modern day history in terms of peak wind speeds.

[gigan1234]

@stormchaser5399 this tornado was more powerfull

[ndzapruder]

@omtomt8787 ---so they enhanced the original scale to bring the wind velocities required to unleash observed damage in line with reality.

[omtomt8787]

not at all, the official rating was EF$, never ef5

[omtomt8787]

@omtomt8787 Ef4

[bfrye1990]

for the fact of the matter... this tornado was an EF5 twice in its life span so stop putting the joplin tornado on a higher note when 1 loss of life or one loss of an animal life is much more important the actual size of any tornado that may touch down... there just numbers and i think people are much more important than any number or object. so to all the tornado victims nationwide inlcuding the joplin and tuscaloosa tornados may god be with you.

[omtomt8787]

@bfrye1990 go check it up, never did it reach ef5

[TWFsbeast]

i remember hearing that 2 f-5 twisters hit alabama dont remember exactly which towns but do remembere hearing it but either way f-4 and f-5 are powerful motherfucking twisters so if they got it wrong who cares it still tore alot up

[scotthudek01]

The Joplin tornado was over a mile wide. Much more impressive, damaging than the Tuscaloosa tornado and officially an EF5.

[teamkiller211]

nope ef5 is what they said

[omtomt8787]

@teamkiller211 none of u know what ur talking about

[teamkiller211]

@omtomt8787 u don't know what u are talking about

[omtomt8787]

@teamkiller211 in what aspect am i not right? please id love to hear this coming from who?, please graduate of texas tech university and weather is my passion.

[thesportsdude90]

both were EF4's.

[omtomt8787]

TO ALL PEOPLE UPLOADING VIDEOS OF THE TUSCALOOSA BIRMINGHAM TORNADO, PLEASE GET IT RIGHT, IT WAS RATED AN EF4 WITH WINDS UNDER 200 MPH

[andyjalc]

This is Tuscaloosa, Alabama and it was an F4

:)

[ronnoc3k8]

nuts

[ferreirafsa]

holy shit that one is a big one man!

[epicnation360DreamZZ]

omg it wuz it birthday dat day

[Meme0shane]

Now I didn't include your web name in the 1st comment I made. I also said dont reply. You dont listen. So you if the nation weather service said it was snowing and MYFOXAL said it was raining, and I look out my window and it's clearly raining. Should i just asume its not really rain. People make mistakes. so it is very much possiable that The National Weather Service made a mistake. But i distanctly remember watching the NWS before agter and during the storm and they said F5. DONT REPLY!!!

[DudeDie222]

@Meme0shane Well, NWS could have rated it an EF5 as a preliminary rating, and after closer examination could've downgraded it to an EF4.

Problem solved.

[Meme0shane]

@lionsforlyons I dont give a care what The National Weather Service said. If you go to MYFOXAL it will clearly tell you it was an F5. and Please dont reply back.

[Meme0shane]

The tornado that his Pleasant Grove, which is in Birmingham, was an F5. Don't try and tell me to get my fact right, because you would think that i would know what kind of tornado hit my neighborhood.

P.S. MY FACTS ARE STRAIGHT.

[MakeupTeen94]

holymotherfuckingtits thats probably one of the biggest tornadoes ive ever seen.. goddamnnnn

[cyanimide2]

thumbs up because april 27th is my birthday..fucker

[markducoy]

Thumbs up cause my birthday is on april 25 just to days ago

[omtomt8787]

no, this tornado was an EF-4 please all of u get the facts right

[omtomt8787]

@omtomt8787 the joplin tornado the following month was a EF-5, that tornado was a monster

[MissRosa4]

Is he drunk?

[eric44ups]

Yeah this was Tuscaloosa, not Birmingham... It was the same tornado that eventually hit Birmingham but this is actually recorded in Tuscaloosa.

[gigan1234]

i was about say that

[mitch41387]

Actually there were 2 EF-5's that day in Alabama and I was lucky because it was supposed to hit Hoover, and Vestavia but it skipped over after hitting Tuscaloosa!

[ljbew]

@leiabeia09 THE ONLY F-5 IN BAMA THAT DAY WAS IN N/E ALABAMA..

B 4 you talk SHIT get it right..

[Weatherman436]

That's not the Tornado. The Tornado was documented by The Weather Channel and it was more darker than that.

[WorldOTheWeird]

If by 'right outside', you mean 'close up of television footage'...then yes, it was right outside. Idiot.

[lordhelmit3]

it was an EF4

[NR2003FUN]

this is tuscaloosa you idiot

[mitzirae87]

yeah, thats def tuscaloosa...morons.

[ljbew]

That's Tuscaloosa Tornado has two spirals on its side + it wasn't an F-5 lord what ppl will do to get VIEWS

[leiabeia09]

@ljbew actually it was an EF5 lol. good job moron.

[rascally5]

hes filming his tv...

[HARRYIC]

that was not the tornado that went thru birmingham april 27,2011

[widdawiddawaldo]

@lionsforlyons dude, what ever, didnt you see the sizse of it? its fucking huge, f4 f5, who cares?!

[CHICKOW01]

f5 means flippin 5 tornadoes

im joking D]

[mw2gangsta3399]

holey shit

[lochadkat]

WOW you spoke like my friend Aaron O.O he always says insane once there was a fire and he just said, "Woah that is insane!"

[solomama2209]

THATS NOT BIRMINGHAM U ASSHOLE AND THAT SHIT AND FUNNY I LOT FAM AND FRIENDS AND Y U HAVE TO LIE ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT

[Joshmanbran]

wow holy poop check mine out but it could not compare to this

[CH3CH2OCH2CH3net]

I've seen many tornadoes, but this is absolutely THE SINGLE WORST tornado I've ever seen!

[LoneWorrior23]

Holy Sh*t!!