The tornado, from listening to the video, sounds as if it lasted about 25 seconds. This would put them in the 'outer edge' of the tornado, which simply means that the 300 MPH winds only lasted 25 seconds and not a full minute if the center of the tornado had passed over them. Of course, 25 seconds would have been plenty of time to level everything in its path. Still don't know how the people in that cooler survived. That must have been as terrifying experience (putting it mildly).
Actually, it would have been closer to a minute than 15 seconds, because this tornado was a mile wide as I recall. And it would have taken a minute (at 60 MPH, which might well have been the speed the tornado itself was traveling) to completely pass if the center had crossed. How did they survive in the cooler? I know it was probably steel reinforced, but against 300 MPH winds they are still VERY lucky to be alive. In fact, I don't know how there was so relatively little loss of life...
So I have 3 questions for you: 1st. What is my name? 2. Where am I from? 3. How do we know each other? If you don't have the answers to all 3 then you are an idiot and cretin too. Since you don't know me and I don't know you then making a statement like this makes you a.....fool!! Shit my pants, hardly!! Stand there like an idiot and watch it come right at you hopefully no one with a normal mind would do such a stupid thing but in the US there are a lot of Jackasses and Hangover's...
everytime something like this happens Tornadoes,Earthquakes,Hurricanes etc... and if you live through them, while its happening you feel like its the end of the world. no lie.
man that lady tho that tells her kid to stop crying what a b. She I am sure when they got in the cooler was screaming just as much. shheesh. Her kid is scared and she says, "stop crying. stop."
It is a documented fact that an EF-5 tornado hit the town of Parkersburg, Iowa on May 25th, 2008. In fact, I believe it was the last recorded EF-5 until the recent tornadoes that struck the South on April 27 killing over 300 people. There's no way this is a fake. It sounds as if these people may have been quite fortunate - I hope no one was hurt there. I know at least 9 deaths occurred from this tornado. I hope I never have to live through any tornado - never mind an EF-5 monster!
dude where the heck is the Tornado...can't see it but hear lots of whining and complaining come on people WTF? You guys should get an Academy award for the screaming, lame!!
This was a very raw and frightening video. I lived down the road a little ways and was very sad when learning Parkersburg got hit by this tornado. The resilience and pride in that community is like no other I've ever experienced and was amazed at how quickly they sprung back. A great place to live.
@Caksman1027 I have a feeling you're right. I think they were probably at the edge and not near the center - and this tornado was very large at about a mile wide I believe. But someone complained about ears popping, so they must have been under the vortex briefly, I think. I suspect the house was badly damaged but not completely destroyed, unlike the one in the bank video that was completely obliterated (hope noone was there) when it apparently took a direct hit (like the bank itself).
@alanrdowney There is aftermath video after they came out of the building. It is under "Parkersburg Tornado 5/25/08." by account/name: EloiseGugeheim on yutube I think it went right through them to be honest seeing the aftermath...
@barn524 The words "You have got to be kidding..." were the first that came to mind when I saw the aftermath video. The second words were "How on Earth did they survive?" Incredible damage. And as an aside, I live in Delaware, but used to live in E central Mass. The thunderstorm that caused the Springfield tornado passed right over my old house - with my ex-wife and four kids in it. Thank God there was only hail (and some wind and lots of lightning I'm sure). All I could do was pray...
@barn524 What I meant when I wrote that they were 'at the edge' was that they were at the outside of the tornado (still in it) and not in the middle. The effects seemed to be shorter than I'd have thought if the center of the tornado passed over them. Had they been at the center, the effects (300 MPH winds) would have lasted longer - by maybe 15 seconds or so. But I'm splitting hairs - It hardly mattered. 300 MPH winds are going to take about 2 seconds to wipe out anything in its path...
@15harney1987 You are so incredibly lucky you got everyone into the cooler when you did. Was that a kid screaming? The poor thing, how scary that must've been. Thank God you were all ok, but my heart goes out to the family of the boy scouts lost.
Hey Mom...Your supposed to act calm for the kids!!!! lol not like some raging lunatic that just spotted a tornado over the "lumber store!" Excellent camara work. Oh and Russfern...Your a dipshit....From the looks of your spelling, looks like you never experienced a graduation party.
lucky it was just your grauation party ... not your wedding day ... because graduation parties are meaningless and it is a celbration for no great achievement in life
Great home video, must've scared the living you know what outta ya to see one of the biggest badest ever coming towards you. Must not have came too close to your building otherwise you wouldn't have any shelter
this day was so horrible. i live about 20 minuets from parkersburg. i was freaking out. im terrified of storms so this didnt make me feel so good. then i seen the aftermath on the news. horrible
Ugh my heart goes out to this family. I lived 20 minutes from here and have never seen such crazy destruction. With all the high school graduation parties going on that day we are really lucky more people weren't hurt. I walked up to a slab of cement that looked as if it were power washed off...it hadn't, the tornado had just taken everything but the foundation to this family's home.
No sirens? An urban community with a crystal clear tornado bearing down on it, and there were no sirens? What, did the city just assume everyone was already outside watching that monster coming up the road?
To answer several people's questions...there were 14 people in the cooler; 8 adults & 6 kids (ages 14, 10, 8, 7, 5, & 3) & everyone came out of the walk-in cooler after the tornado unhurt. The video is very real - the kids screaming are mine. If she wouldn't have walked outside & saw what she did, the outcome would have been much worse, as none of us there really were overly concerned about the weather. We'll never tease her again for being scared of storms.
@nicolemaitland Its very scary. I rode out a tornado when I was 15. It was also the biggest adrenaline rush I've ever had. It made my passion for storms even stronger. I'm glad you guys survived it and that everyone is ok. :)
This is very real. Not only is this rare because it's from inside a tornado, it's from an EF5 tornado. This building took a direct hit. I would love to see what was left of the building and the cooler afterwards. I bet those vehicles sitting outside at the beginning of this video weren't even there afterwards. You have the last picture of Parkersburg before it was destroyed.
I think it was an old steel meat locker or cooler that she locked all the kids in... I remember ABC did a 1-hour special on this a year or two ago, and they showed the whole building after the tornado went through... and the only thing left of the building was that cooler. Everything else was taken by the tornado.
OMG I LIVE IN DAVENPORT IOWA ABOUT 2 1/2 HOURS AWAY FROM PARKERSBURG....AND WOW I WAS IN PENNSYLVANIA WHEN THIS HAPPENED SO I DIDNT GET 2 EXPERIENCE IT:( IT SOUNDS TERRIBLE! IS EVERYONE ALRIGHT?
Anyone who thinks that this video is a fake is a complete moron. Look at all the newscasts and other videos from this same date May 25th, 2008. this had to be such a horribly scary experience going through it, it brought me to tears just listening.
whoever thinks this video is fake, why dont you take a trip to parkersburg and tell that to the people who went thru this horrifying storm and see what they tell you. assholes.
There are small towns as well as big cities, dumb-ass
Wedge tornadoes can be 1/4 mile wide, 1/2 mile wide, 1 mile wide, there was even one that set a new record as the biggest tornado ever, it was 2.5 miles wide.
Look up the Greensburg tornado, or the Yazoo tornado, two examples of recent 1 mile wide tornadoes.
Okay, sort of confused here - the most horrifying level of severe weather on earth is heading right for them, completely annihilating everything in its path, this woman is freaking out, yet everyone else is acting shockingly nonchalant about it? And they didn't even completely close the cooler until it was RIGHT there hitting the restaurant? These people are pretty ballsy.
@barn524 also she is really the only one who saw it tearing apart a lumber yard,,,,the other pp were probably like, "heck she probably just saw a funnel cloud"---so that is why she is probably like....NOW
this is not fake at all thesse ppl had 2 go in a freezer in a gas station i live in iowa i was about 50 miles from it nd i saw it this is not fake at allll!!!!!!!!!!!!
How could you NOT think this video was real. Holy Christ, at about 2 minutes in, this becomes one of the most frightening things I've ever watched on youtube. The terror you can hear in those people made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Thanks for posting this, and I'm glad they had that cooler to hide in.
@souldude81 It was probably pretty dark in that cooler with the electricity being out or she had the camera close to her body and most likely someone closed the door to protect everyone from the flying debris. Coolers are not all sound proof and the camera recorded the sound of the tornado tearing up the town.
@amymichele3 First off it wasn't an accident that it was on. It was an accident that she never turned it off. Secondly it's NEVER pitch black in a cooler because cooks go in there to find stuff all the time. The real reason why you can't see anything is most likely that the camera's iris was on manual because a camera would automatically adjust even at extreme low light conditions. How I do I know there was light coming into the cooler? Check out the video and the audio. Duh.
That mother was smart to get all those high school kids into that old, heavy refridgeration unit. After the tornado passed, it was literally the only thing left sitting there. The rest of the building was literally gone, like it never existed. Only thing left standing was that steel locker, with those people inside it.
I remember I was working in my grandfather's gardens when my friend called me and said "Dude, Parkersburg's gone", and I turned on the TV and the whole town was leveled. Crazy thing was, just a few months before I'd been at the school for a Quiz Bowl (our team got 4th), and we ate at a wonderful pizza place. Both were leveled. So much tragedy for Parkersburg, makes me sad.
Very intense! No stormchaser can ever capture what it is like for the ordinary person. It gives people an idea about how fast their entire lives can change. I know this isn't fake, like some seem to think. I saw this on The Weather Channel before I saw it on here.
i remember this day, i was there an hour after it had happened and i was so shocked at all the debris everywhere. it was sad and scary(i live close to Parkersburg) but I was able to help them move some things and my mom's a nurse so she helped with a search team.
@BubbyandKierra okay it was an accident that the camera was on in the first place. didnt you read the caption? and also they were in a cooler with a ton of people. you know so it was dark.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
Stop fucking SCREAMING. There's nothing you can do and screaming certainly won't fucking help. It's so annoying. I've been through tornadoes and all you do is hunker down, don't panic, and grab onto something stury and pray about it.
WOW! I have watched hundreds of tornado videos and this one is the most intense I've ever seen....heard! That was an F5! Amazing they survived above ground in a walk-in cooler. My heart goes out to all of them because I know for a fact that once you've been hit, the smallest storm will cause trauma for the rest of your life. They are damn lucky! Excellent and terrifying at the same time.
I remember driving through there on my way to Missouri because of the flood from the Cedar and Iowa Rivers and it was complete devastation, I didn't hear about the tornado before I drove thru but it looked horrible
i liv in cedar rapids iowa! and i was part of the flood 2008 luckily it didnt touch me or my family but my teacher was right by the river and got flooded out! i did here about this on the news though... i probably could not understand the pain those people went through i would of died just from being scared lolz luckilyi think only like nine people died! which is to me amazing!!!
Thanks to good ole American scientific research we now usually have a good 15 to 20 minutes before a tornado touches down. Many lives will be saved because of early warnings. The United State has done so much good for the planet!
That is true. I live in Tennessee which is the second tornado alley. When warnings are issued they do sound the sirens but people have gotten so used to hearing them that they just ignore them. If it's not on the ground they don't pay attention. When the sirens go off everybody runs outside to look. Not smart.
@ggjeffy . The united states has done so much good for the planet > LOL. The united states kill thousands of people around the world each year, they polute the world like it's their rubbish dump and just because they come up with a tornado warning system for their own towns , you say they have done so much good. I think your comment just proves that many americans forget that there is a world outside of the USA. You need to look at an atlas to see there is more to the world.
I watched your 20/20 special last night and I have to say that I can't imagine what you and your town went through. I would have been so scared. My favorite part of the special was at the end when they showed how the town came together and rebuilt all the new homes and just moved on from it and didn't dwell. That was a really inspiring story. God Bless you all.
I see this truck and this one gas station shortly after the tornado. Here /watch?v=5m5fdPgrtxc
clodags2 2 months ago
R.I.P Coach Ed Thomas
Leepfrog23 2 months ago
Man...I'd be speeding away from that town when since it's an F5!!
Brian211978 4 months ago
I'm a 23yr old man and for me this video is kinda tough to listen to. Hearing those kids screaming for their lives is just tough.
88soulsurvivor 5 months ago
this reminds me of the footage from Joplin, MO with the EF5 that hit there earlier this summer...damn
1badmexican666 6 months ago
this video touched everyone i was in fith grade when the tornado hit
carmal0480 7 months ago
The tornado, from listening to the video, sounds as if it lasted about 25 seconds. This would put them in the 'outer edge' of the tornado, which simply means that the 300 MPH winds only lasted 25 seconds and not a full minute if the center of the tornado had passed over them. Of course, 25 seconds would have been plenty of time to level everything in its path. Still don't know how the people in that cooler survived. That must have been as terrifying experience (putting it mildly).
alanrdowney 7 months ago
Actually, it would have been closer to a minute than 15 seconds, because this tornado was a mile wide as I recall. And it would have taken a minute (at 60 MPH, which might well have been the speed the tornado itself was traveling) to completely pass if the center had crossed. How did they survive in the cooler? I know it was probably steel reinforced, but against 300 MPH winds they are still VERY lucky to be alive. In fact, I don't know how there was so relatively little loss of life...
alanrdowney 7 months ago
So I have 3 questions for you: 1st. What is my name? 2. Where am I from? 3. How do we know each other? If you don't have the answers to all 3 then you are an idiot and cretin too. Since you don't know me and I don't know you then making a statement like this makes you a.....fool!! Shit my pants, hardly!! Stand there like an idiot and watch it come right at you hopefully no one with a normal mind would do such a stupid thing but in the US there are a lot of Jackasses and Hangover's...
yetibiker08 8 months ago
everytime something like this happens Tornadoes,Earthquakes,Hurricanes etc... and if you live through them, while its happening you feel like its the end of the world. no lie.
jr4chargers 8 months ago
man that lady tho that tells her kid to stop crying what a b. She I am sure when they got in the cooler was screaming just as much. shheesh. Her kid is scared and she says, "stop crying. stop."
barn524 8 months ago
lol right across the street from a gas station with a tanker truck...man
aknatonra 8 months ago
It is a documented fact that an EF-5 tornado hit the town of Parkersburg, Iowa on May 25th, 2008. In fact, I believe it was the last recorded EF-5 until the recent tornadoes that struck the South on April 27 killing over 300 people. There's no way this is a fake. It sounds as if these people may have been quite fortunate - I hope no one was hurt there. I know at least 9 deaths occurred from this tornado. I hope I never have to live through any tornado - never mind an EF-5 monster!
alanrdowney 8 months ago
dude where the heck is the Tornado...can't see it but hear lots of whining and complaining come on people WTF? You guys should get an Academy award for the screaming, lame!!
yetibiker08 8 months ago
@yetibiker08 You are a human fail.
cronoskronos 8 months ago
@cronoskronos
let me call the "waaaaaaaaammbulance" waaaaaaa....waaaaaaa...waaaaa..wa.wa.waaaaaa
yetibiker08 8 months ago
@yetibiker08 and let me guess you would be calm just waiting for the tornado to pass right? please you would shit your pants and start crying.
jr4chargers 8 months ago
@yetibiker08 You can clearly see the edge of the funnel at 16 seconds genius. Blind are ya?
81pluto 4 months ago
This was a very raw and frightening video. I lived down the road a little ways and was very sad when learning Parkersburg got hit by this tornado. The resilience and pride in that community is like no other I've ever experienced and was amazed at how quickly they sprung back. A great place to live.
benalextaylor 9 months ago
They Actually got Sideswiped right? Everyone in this video wasn't directly hit...but not by much. Right?
Caksman1027 9 months ago
@Caksman1027 I have a feeling you're right. I think they were probably at the edge and not near the center - and this tornado was very large at about a mile wide I believe. But someone complained about ears popping, so they must have been under the vortex briefly, I think. I suspect the house was badly damaged but not completely destroyed, unlike the one in the bank video that was completely obliterated (hope noone was there) when it apparently took a direct hit (like the bank itself).
alanrdowney 8 months ago
@alanrdowney There is aftermath video after they came out of the building. It is under "Parkersburg Tornado 5/25/08." by account/name: EloiseGugeheim on yutube I think it went right through them to be honest seeing the aftermath...
barn524 8 months ago
@barn524 The words "You have got to be kidding..." were the first that came to mind when I saw the aftermath video. The second words were "How on Earth did they survive?" Incredible damage. And as an aside, I live in Delaware, but used to live in E central Mass. The thunderstorm that caused the Springfield tornado passed right over my old house - with my ex-wife and four kids in it. Thank God there was only hail (and some wind and lots of lightning I'm sure). All I could do was pray...
alanrdowney 7 months ago
@barn524 What I meant when I wrote that they were 'at the edge' was that they were at the outside of the tornado (still in it) and not in the middle. The effects seemed to be shorter than I'd have thought if the center of the tornado passed over them. Had they been at the center, the effects (300 MPH winds) would have lasted longer - by maybe 15 seconds or so. But I'm splitting hairs - It hardly mattered. 300 MPH winds are going to take about 2 seconds to wipe out anything in its path...
alanrdowney 7 months ago
Holy SHIIIIT
Peebio 9 months ago
i hate when people scream
esemaniac13 9 months ago
black screen... yawn..........
JakeDaSnakeFilms 9 months ago
@JakeDaSnakeFilms yeah until the last 30 seconds when the tornado hits.
costa19871 9 months ago
@costa19871
you know they were all auditioning for a role in the local school play right?
yetibiker08 8 months ago
D: oh my god, how scary that must've been!
AMvideos321 9 months ago
What did she say at 0:22? "Look at.."? Thanks
Foroyingar 9 months ago
@Foroyingar "lookit," means "look" in midwestern-speak
katiush65 9 months ago
@Foroyingar Or she forgot to finish her sentence. but @katiush65 is right. It is Midwestern-Speak.
SonicSpeedRiders1 9 months ago
@SonicSpeedRiders1 I didn't realize other people didn't say this too! That is weird. "Lookit."
barn524 9 months ago
Sweet Jesus, was everyone ok? Oh my God, how scary
floridamn22 10 months ago
@floridamn22 this tornado hit a boy scout camp. im not sure of the exact number, but some boy scouts, and several other people died
15harney1987 10 months ago
@15harney1987 You are so incredibly lucky you got everyone into the cooler when you did. Was that a kid screaming? The poor thing, how scary that must've been. Thank God you were all ok, but my heart goes out to the family of the boy scouts lost.
floridamn22 10 months ago
@15harney1987 no sir. the tornado that hit the boy scout camp was on June 11, and it was an EF3. this was an EF5 on May 25.
AJTwister97 10 months ago
@AJTwister97 o, ya your right. sorry i thought it was the parksburg tornado that did it.
15harney1987 10 months ago
@15harney1987 dont worry, i thought the same thing too when i first read about it
AJTwister97 10 months ago
no matter how scared you are.. how much you pray.. mother nature does what she wants.
bfrye1990 10 months ago 4
i was going to that party in 20 minutes.... glad it didnt wait for me... i would've been screaming louder than that girl do doubt
callofputy 10 months ago
@callofputy unfucking real
kirkferentzrocks 9 months ago
Hey Mom...Your supposed to act calm for the kids!!!! lol not like some raging lunatic that just spotted a tornado over the "lumber store!" Excellent camara work. Oh and Russfern...Your a dipshit....From the looks of your spelling, looks like you never experienced a graduation party.
stavropulos 10 months ago
@stavropulos i laughed at this
314isabeast 10 months ago
lucky it was just your grauation party ... not your wedding day ... because graduation parties are meaningless and it is a celbration for no great achievement in life
russfern 10 months ago
lucky it was just your grauation party ... not your wedding day ... because graduation parties are meaningless.
russfern 10 months ago
Ross! Ross!
footballboy234 10 months ago
I knew this day would come!
IA Cthulhu F'thagn!
BarerRudeROC 11 months ago
that camera work was so shitty, one mite think there was a tornado headed their way.
wldamon 11 months ago
Sweet holy cthulu f'thagn.
Hammerman24 11 months ago
ENEMY TACTICAL TORNADO INBOUND, IT'S OVER.
emiemioo 11 months ago
@emiemioo LOL
leetbarker 8 months ago
HE HAS AWOKEN.
MrAppleby56 11 months ago
shi* was anyone hurt..
i hope not that sounded like open windows and doors :O
TornadoFreak131 11 months ago
why is it sf dark? -.-
TornadoFreak131 11 months ago
No hesitation on her part probably saved all of their lives.
walleyeking23 11 months ago
Scary as hell! I'm going to miss that Pizza Ranch.... I was at my grandma's on the Butler/Grundy line and that was close enough for me! Good video
bradleya725 11 months ago
Great home video, must've scared the living you know what outta ya to see one of the biggest badest ever coming towards you. Must not have came too close to your building otherwise you wouldn't have any shelter
jmeier37 1 year ago
Thank god you guys were able to get to shelter before it hit.
TheSmokingUnicorn 1 year ago
hmmm. wow
bristowboy20 1 year ago
That is INSANE!
silverlimosine 1 year ago
Those poor little scared kids. :(
Crowrocker71 1 year ago
by the way it looks i was just outside parkersburg at the time of this vid.. you guys are lucky that you didnt get hurt...
JustinHansen6669 1 year ago
u just survived an EF5 tornado, unscathed. ppl who survive EF5s usually have bad injuries. ur lucky and awesome
AJTwister97 1 year ago
why are the sirens not going off
Skybird798 1 year ago
this day was so horrible. i live about 20 minuets from parkersburg. i was freaking out. im terrified of storms so this didnt make me feel so good. then i seen the aftermath on the news. horrible
00023smitty 1 year ago
that tornado was like RAWR
EliteAmericans 1 year ago
Ugh my heart goes out to this family. I lived 20 minutes from here and have never seen such crazy destruction. With all the high school graduation parties going on that day we are really lucky more people weren't hurt. I walked up to a slab of cement that looked as if it were power washed off...it hadn't, the tornado had just taken everything but the foundation to this family's home.
emileevm9 1 year ago
Awesome vid just hope nobody was hurt
proboi522 1 year ago
Comment removed
proboi522 1 year ago
Fiesta turns to frenzy...
hebneh 1 year ago
If someone was dumb enough to go into the Kwik Star, just wow.
superjoe87 1 year ago
im glad she acted so fast
amymichele3 1 year ago 9
No sirens? An urban community with a crystal clear tornado bearing down on it, and there were no sirens? What, did the city just assume everyone was already outside watching that monster coming up the road?
AtarahDerek 1 year ago
To answer several people's questions...there were 14 people in the cooler; 8 adults & 6 kids (ages 14, 10, 8, 7, 5, & 3) & everyone came out of the walk-in cooler after the tornado unhurt. The video is very real - the kids screaming are mine. If she wouldn't have walked outside & saw what she did, the outcome would have been much worse, as none of us there really were overly concerned about the weather. We'll never tease her again for being scared of storms.
nicolemaitland 1 year ago
@nicolemaitland Its very scary. I rode out a tornado when I was 15. It was also the biggest adrenaline rush I've ever had. It made my passion for storms even stronger. I'm glad you guys survived it and that everyone is ok. :)
BellyJae 1 year ago
reminds me of the blair witch project.
tracemaster100 1 year ago
This is very real. Not only is this rare because it's from inside a tornado, it's from an EF5 tornado. This building took a direct hit. I would love to see what was left of the building and the cooler afterwards. I bet those vehicles sitting outside at the beginning of this video weren't even there afterwards. You have the last picture of Parkersburg before it was destroyed.
TheDurnans 1 year ago
hey i know this was real cuz that is how it sounds when it is over the house or by it
dspurling1 1 year ago
@dspurling1 its real because its aired on tv news it was big the next day and after it happen
Parkersburg2008 1 year ago
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Parkersburg2008 1 year ago
oh my god this is super real, best video on youtube.
mirtica583 1 year ago
@biggpapi09 you dont know how powerful tornados are dumbass a 2 year old could tell you that a tornado can level a town
click420nick 1 year ago
were the tornado sierns on
click420nick 1 year ago
you can just feel the quiet then BOOM it hit this is scary
ziming45 1 year ago
What? No tornado sirens?!!! ttt
hobbeekid 1 year ago
RAW VIDEO!!!!! This is scary
eddy75471 1 year ago
I think it was an old steel meat locker or cooler that she locked all the kids in... I remember ABC did a 1-hour special on this a year or two ago, and they showed the whole building after the tornado went through... and the only thing left of the building was that cooler. Everything else was taken by the tornado.
ptschafer 1 year ago
OMG I LIVE IN DAVENPORT IOWA ABOUT 2 1/2 HOURS AWAY FROM PARKERSBURG....AND WOW I WAS IN PENNSYLVANIA WHEN THIS HAPPENED SO I DIDNT GET 2 EXPERIENCE IT:( IT SOUNDS TERRIBLE! IS EVERYONE ALRIGHT?
polonorthc 1 year ago
dude i'd be scared as fuck lol
1986kirkhammettfan1 1 year ago
Anyone who thinks that this video is a fake is a complete moron. Look at all the newscasts and other videos from this same date May 25th, 2008. this had to be such a horribly scary experience going through it, it brought me to tears just listening.
Kimmiejo9877 1 year ago 9
@Kimmiejo9877 i was in independence when this happen what a tragic day !!!Not to mention the floods that happened a week later in cedar rapids!!!!
Hotbud69r 7 months ago
I can't stand all that screaming
In intense situations I get really quiet
ferrarimike23 1 year ago
At 2:19 lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bulldozer950 1 year ago
You can hear the kids say my ears my ears
A couple of seconds before it hit
Because it pops your ears
ferrarimike23 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Looks pretty fake to me ^^
roywoodjr1 1 year ago
OMG are they alright? i heard about deaths caused by this beast of a storm
zakzakzak91 1 year ago
Hey unipanthers3051, was everyone that I hear in the video alright after the storm?
boilers2010 1 year ago
0:15
zurg222 1 year ago
this is one of the best youtube live videos. talk about living through a tornado
Stormy48642 1 year ago
Comment removed
barn524 1 year ago
whoever thinks this video is fake, why dont you take a trip to parkersburg and tell that to the people who went thru this horrifying storm and see what they tell you. assholes.
Bulldogs168 1 year ago
be careful girl ¡¡ ..are you ok .. ¡¡ ? shit this video scary me
BsAs8Ros8Coa 1 year ago
@biggpapi09
There are small towns as well as big cities, dumb-ass
Wedge tornadoes can be 1/4 mile wide, 1/2 mile wide, 1 mile wide, there was even one that set a new record as the biggest tornado ever, it was 2.5 miles wide.
Look up the Greensburg tornado, or the Yazoo tornado, two examples of recent 1 mile wide tornadoes.
bookworm1960 1 year ago
Okay, sort of confused here - the most horrifying level of severe weather on earth is heading right for them, completely annihilating everything in its path, this woman is freaking out, yet everyone else is acting shockingly nonchalant about it? And they didn't even completely close the cooler until it was RIGHT there hitting the restaurant? These people are pretty ballsy.
aneilson1987 1 year ago
@aneilson1987 that is what we call Iowans....
barn524 1 year ago
@barn524 also she is really the only one who saw it tearing apart a lumber yard,,,,the other pp were probably like, "heck she probably just saw a funnel cloud"---so that is why she is probably like....NOW
barn524 1 year ago
this is not fake at all thesse ppl had 2 go in a freezer in a gas station i live in iowa i was about 50 miles from it nd i saw it this is not fake at allll!!!!!!!!!!!!
jjlolwebshow1 1 year ago
yeah two elderly ppl died cuz of this tornadoe i was so scared tht day.!
jjlolwebshow1 1 year ago
How could you NOT think this video was real. Holy Christ, at about 2 minutes in, this becomes one of the most frightening things I've ever watched on youtube. The terror you can hear in those people made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Thanks for posting this, and I'm glad they had that cooler to hide in.
Josh3B 1 year ago
@Josh3B i so agree, those were pure terror screams. it sounded really scary. im glad that everyone is okay.
amymichele3 1 year ago
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We just had a tornado around the Toledo, Ohio area...Millbury, Ohio looks like a war zone it's really sad...hugs from Toledo, Ohio.
82Nikkis 1 year ago
I Was At A Graduation Party When This Happend To We Ran To The House And It Ripped Like Half Of There House Off
chandler518 1 year ago
i live in parkersburg and i didnt get hit but i was in town and i was the first one to see it
noramann23 1 year ago
graduation near a gas station? i feel really sorry for this day....
babyjrrn 1 year ago
That is eery sounding.
afrosheenqueen 1 year ago
Hell yeah that video was real, did you hear them say,(I can feel my ears!!),That was their ears popping from the pressure drop.
TheZepmeister 1 year ago 2
i see
farmer123ish 1 year ago
God bless that women! She saved everyone's lives!!
wico1963 1 year ago 2
My girlfriend (at the time) and myself were 5 min behind it as it went through
SpudBusterSAE 1 year ago
I wondered why the picture went dead if the sound was still on.
souldude81 1 year ago
@souldude81 It was probably pretty dark in that cooler with the electricity being out or she had the camera close to her body and most likely someone closed the door to protect everyone from the flying debris. Coolers are not all sound proof and the camera recorded the sound of the tornado tearing up the town.
1oharalassie 1 year ago
@souldude81 it was dark, duh
amymichele3 1 year ago
@amymichele3 First off it wasn't an accident that it was on. It was an accident that she never turned it off. Secondly it's NEVER pitch black in a cooler because cooks go in there to find stuff all the time. The real reason why you can't see anything is most likely that the camera's iris was on manual because a camera would automatically adjust even at extreme low light conditions. How I do I know there was light coming into the cooler? Check out the video and the audio. Duh.
souldude81 1 year ago
This is real....... I am 35 and have been through 8 tornado's in my life.
kds7474 1 year ago
I am very sorry ya'll had to go through such a thing. I hope the town has recovered.
Jadeicewolf 1 year ago
Did all you who have viewed this notice how quiet and still it was when she saw the monster coming? That was eerie for me. This was intense!
dbrockett50 1 year ago
your mom is awesome. glad you're okay.
snandromeda 1 year ago
That mother was smart to get all those high school kids into that old, heavy refridgeration unit. After the tornado passed, it was literally the only thing left sitting there. The rest of the building was literally gone, like it never existed. Only thing left standing was that steel locker, with those people inside it.
ptschafer 1 year ago 2
I remember I was working in my grandfather's gardens when my friend called me and said "Dude, Parkersburg's gone", and I turned on the TV and the whole town was leveled. Crazy thing was, just a few months before I'd been at the school for a Quiz Bowl (our team got 4th), and we ate at a wonderful pizza place. Both were leveled. So much tragedy for Parkersburg, makes me sad.
skyclaw441 1 year ago
Lives in Waterloo, IA I will always remember this day forever!
TheKl1175 1 year ago
@ 1:44 You can hear inflow/outflow then impact @ 1:55 - 1:56. Man that would scare the hell outta me. Pretty intense stuff.
Wrendarkcloud 1 year ago
questions: how huge was the tornado when it hit ya at that point when you were outside? & did it really smashed the restaurant? OMG?
Rusty2FTW 1 year ago
That's terrifying. Yikes!!
Gitsie007 1 year ago
omg this is scary!!!!!! How was this experience for you
spooky952 1 year ago
i love how i couldn't see anything
superdupe8 1 year ago
Very intense! No stormchaser can ever capture what it is like for the ordinary person. It gives people an idea about how fast their entire lives can change. I know this isn't fake, like some seem to think. I saw this on The Weather Channel before I saw it on here.
Yarndt 1 year ago
i remember this day, i was there an hour after it had happened and i was so shocked at all the debris everywhere. it was sad and scary(i live close to Parkersburg) but I was able to help them move some things and my mom's a nurse so she helped with a search team.
Heyhihelloish 1 year ago
wow one guy stayed calm as hell.
jimmie1991 1 year ago 11
This is by far the closest you can come to being into a f-5. The best video/sound I have ever heard!
TheBucksco18966 1 year ago 5
it was and F-5
danthegreat265 1 year ago
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Usually the lens cap is off the first part of the video and then you remember to take it off not the complete opposite dumbshit.
BubbyandKierra 1 year ago
@BubbyandKierra okay it was an accident that the camera was on in the first place. didnt you read the caption? and also they were in a cooler with a ton of people. you know so it was dark.
amymichele3 1 year ago
what am i suppost to see hear hold the cmera still
farmer123ish 1 year ago
@farmer123ish read the description again.
Jadeicewolf 1 year ago
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Stop fucking SCREAMING. There's nothing you can do and screaming certainly won't fucking help. It's so annoying. I've been through tornadoes and all you do is hunker down, don't panic, and grab onto something stury and pray about it.
bsxpert1 1 year ago
@bsxpert1 watch again, it was a child screaming.
Jadeicewolf 1 year ago
That would have been me in the car.. Get the F*ck outta there!!
AirRaider56 1 year ago
WOW! I have watched hundreds of tornado videos and this one is the most intense I've ever seen....heard! That was an F5! Amazing they survived above ground in a walk-in cooler. My heart goes out to all of them because I know for a fact that once you've been hit, the smallest storm will cause trauma for the rest of your life. They are damn lucky! Excellent and terrifying at the same time.
2agray 1 year ago 3
Man were ya'll people ok after it passed.
Why2bless 2 years ago
that little girl screaming - that would have been me!
silverlimosine 2 years ago
sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo fucking real
DjanniD 2 years ago
Oh, my God. I hope your family was okay. The screaming of the children gives me chills.
allydrama 2 years ago
Look at this truck and gas station in the video `Parkersburg Tornado 05/25/08 '
zurg222 2 years ago
No. It's not fair. but thats the way it is.
Michael65698 2 years ago
is sounds like a train is passing by like if u were standing beside the track it sounds just like that
klk1900 2 years ago
I remember driving through there on my way to Missouri because of the flood from the Cedar and Iowa Rivers and it was complete devastation, I didn't hear about the tornado before I drove thru but it looked horrible
UIHawks23 2 years ago
what's a cooler?
daffodilsfield 2 years ago
A large refrigerator...
squiddy7863 2 years ago
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oh, okay. Thanks!
daffodilsfield 2 years ago
8 people died in this horrible tornado. The town is still in recovery 18 months later.
barbie200455 2 years ago
13**
Yotehunter93 2 years ago
this video is scary as hell.
nikee319 2 years ago 16
Did anyone get hurt in your home? If so, was it because of the glass ?
Maccan 2 years ago
when did it touch? i didnt see it
jonasfever560 2 years ago
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55panik 2 years ago
that video scares the s*** out of me. hope you are all fine!
i am sorry. my english seems not so good as i thought. so whats a coloer?
Zieji 2 years ago
That's like the stuff nightmares are made of.
onehitta1 2 years ago
Oh, wow.. I was at my cousin's graduation ceremony in Dubuque.. It was so scary to hear about the tornado..
xXxShifterWolfxXx 2 years ago
i liv in cedar rapids iowa! and i was part of the flood 2008 luckily it didnt touch me or my family but my teacher was right by the river and got flooded out! i did here about this on the news though... i probably could not understand the pain those people went through i would of died just from being scared lolz luckilyi think only like nine people died! which is to me amazing!!!
Olivegl23 2 years ago
Where in town (intersection) was this video taken from? Just curious! thank you!
LilStewerdess 2 years ago
Not familiar with the area but on Bing Maps it looks to be at 2nd St.and 57/14.
eleventyblue47 2 years ago
Thanks to good ole American scientific research we now usually have a good 15 to 20 minutes before a tornado touches down. Many lives will be saved because of early warnings. The United State has done so much good for the planet!
ggjeffy 2 years ago
The problem is, many people don't take them seriously.
dragonridley 2 years ago
That is true. I live in Tennessee which is the second tornado alley. When warnings are issued they do sound the sirens but people have gotten so used to hearing them that they just ignore them. If it's not on the ground they don't pay attention. When the sirens go off everybody runs outside to look. Not smart.
2agray 1 year ago
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@ggjeffy . The united states has done so much good for the planet > LOL. The united states kill thousands of people around the world each year, they polute the world like it's their rubbish dump and just because they come up with a tornado warning system for their own towns , you say they have done so much good. I think your comment just proves that many americans forget that there is a world outside of the USA. You need to look at an atlas to see there is more to the world.
munyman07 2 years ago
then move out
Yotehunter93 2 years ago
@munyman07 this is a video about a damn tornado take your anti american bullshit elsewhere
314isabeast 2 years ago 2
I watched your 20/20 special last night and I have to say that I can't imagine what you and your town went through. I would have been so scared. My favorite part of the special was at the end when they showed how the town came together and rebuilt all the new homes and just moved on from it and didn't dwell. That was a really inspiring story. God Bless you all.