Uploaded August 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
In 1981 a collaborative field project transpired between the National Severe Storms Laboratory and Mississippi State University called SOUND CHASE. The goal was to gather electrical data from tornadic thunderstorms alongside recorded audio of tornadoes, hence the name.
One noteworthy day from the project was May 17, 1981 when the NSSL1 group with Dr. Erik Rasmussen documented a series of tornadoes at very close range between Purcell, Tecumseh and Little, Oklahoma. This specific video got quite a bit of airplay in documentaries of the 1980's and 1990's, with the statement "debris, debris, tornado, passing right in front of us" a familiar exclaim in the years that followed the event. Crew members would also frequently say the abbreviation for a cloud-to-ground lightning strike as "CG" on the videotape audio to note observed strikes. This is the raw, unedited videotape log from that day and showcases the radio communication between field teams and Doppler Radar/Lab crews quite well. The NSSL1 van video is monochrome as the on-board external video cameras were black and white.
Recording the audio of tornadoes was in part intended to serve as the basis for a sound-driven tornado warning system conceived around the same time. The idea was to develop an audio capture device to detect low-frequency vibrations and other tones emitted by approaching tornadoes and sound a warning. However due to the relatively muddled sound of the recorded tornadoes, that project was ultimately abandoned as Doppler Radar became the main player for remote sensing of developing tornadoes.
Video courtesy of the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) in Norman, Oklahoma.
Remastered from a first-generation VHS copy to 1080HD 60p.
©1981 NOAA, NSSL.
In 1981 a collaborative field project transpired between the National Severe Storms Laboratory and Mississippi State University called SOUND CHASE. The goal was to gather electrical data from tornadic thunderstorms alongside recorded audio of tornadoes, hence the name.
One noteworthy day from the project was May 17, 1981 when the NSSL1 group with Dr. Erik Rasmussen documented a series of tornadoes at very close range between Purcell, Tecumseh and Little, Oklahoma. This specific video got quite a bit of airplay in documentaries of the 1980's and 1990's, with the statement "debris, debris, tornado, passing right in front of us" a familiar exclaim in the years that followed the event. Crew members would also frequently say the abbreviation for a cloud-to-ground lightning strike as "CG" on the videotape audio to note observed strikes. This is the raw, unedited videotape log from that day and showcases the radio communication between field teams and Doppler Radar/Lab crews quite well. The NSSL1 van video is monochrome as the on-board external video cameras were black and white.
Recording the audio of tornadoes was in part intended to serve as the basis for a sound-driven tornado warning system conceived around the same time. The idea was to develop an audio capture device to detect low-frequency vibrations and other tones emitted by approaching tornadoes and sound a warning. However due to the relatively muddled sound of the recorded tornadoes, that project was ultimately abandoned as Doppler Radar became the main player for remote sensing of developing tornadoes.
Video courtesy of the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) in Norman, Oklahoma.
Remastered from a first-generation VHS copy to 1080HD 60p.
©1981 NOAA, NSSL.
![Raging Planet: Tornado [1997] The Discovery Channel](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wbgAj0F212Q/mqdefault.jpg "Raging Planet: Tornado [1997] The Discovery Channel
Raging Planet: Tornado is a 45 minute special that was produced by UK based Pioneer Productions and aired on The Discovery Channel in late 1997 and early 1998. It features many infamous tornado events and then ongoing research efforts from the early through mid 1990s and was one of the more popular tornado documentaries produced in the later part of the decade.
For references, the Pioneer Productions crew that was traveling and chasing with Jim Leonard and others, along with the mini research helicopter, are featured in this May 31, 1996 Kansas tornado chase day as documented by the late Jim Leonard: https://youtu.be/hjPSPAPPmjg
© 1997 Pioneer Productions, All Rights Reserved.")
