Uploaded January 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Seeking The Tornado [1986] was a NOAA National Weather Service spotter training film distributed to emergency management groups and weather forecast offices beginning in 1986. Intended as an upgrade from the 1977 'Spotter's Guide' slide and film series , this film added a new narrator along with then updated tornado films taken by National Severe Storms Laboratory storm intercept crews primarily from the 1981 tornado season. Prior to this era, such extensive, detailed film/video clips of tornadoes had been relatively sparse. The extended footage with music at the end was actually a 3/4" videotape recorded by a KAYS-TV news photojournalist on May 10, 1985 near Ellis, Kansas. It was bounced to 16mm film specifically for incorporation within this production. Ultimately STT was transferred and offered on videotape when VCR's became more commonplace in the later part of the decade.
STT [1986] was frequently shown by National Weather Services offices across the Midwest and Plains until the early 1990's when it was replaced by the production of 'StormWatch' by Martin Lisius and the Texas Severe Storms Association [TESSA] in 1995. As it fell into the public domain in 1996, 'Seeking the Tornado' was eventually mass marketed by Good Times Home Video in the wake of 'Twister' and the tornado video production boom of 1996-1997.
This has been remastered from a film to videotape copy.
Produced by the National Weather Service, 1986.
Seeking The Tornado [1986] was a NOAA National Weather Service spotter training film distributed to emergency management groups and weather forecast offices beginning in 1986. Intended as an upgrade from the 1977 'Spotter's Guide' slide and film series , this film added a new narrator along with then updated tornado films taken by National Severe Storms Laboratory storm intercept crews primarily from the 1981 tornado season. Prior to this era, such extensive, detailed film/video clips of tornadoes had been relatively sparse. The extended footage with music at the end was actually a 3/4" videotape recorded by a KAYS-TV news photojournalist on May 10, 1985 near Ellis, Kansas. It was bounced to 16mm film specifically for incorporation within this production. Ultimately STT was transferred and offered on videotape when VCR's became more commonplace in the later part of the decade.
STT [1986] was frequently shown by National Weather Services offices across the Midwest and Plains until the early 1990's when it was replaced by the production of 'StormWatch' by Martin Lisius and the Texas Severe Storms Association [TESSA] in 1995. As it fell into the public domain in 1996, 'Seeking the Tornado' was eventually mass marketed by Good Times Home Video in the wake of 'Twister' and the tornado video production boom of 1996-1997.
This has been remastered from a film to videotape copy.
Produced by the National Weather Service, 1986.
![Storm Chasers [1996] with Matt Biddle and Mark Herndon, CBC](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NGj6KFwYJXY/mqdefault.jpg "Storm Chasers [1996] with Matt Biddle and Mark Herndon, CBC
The media circus surrounding the topic of storm chasing, storm chasers and the Hollywood blockbuster film Twister reached a crescendo in mid-1996. It seemed wherever one turned, mostly on television, were interviews with seasoned storm chasers [or those intentionally seeking notoriety] about the realities of the topic. This interview by the Canadian Broadcast Company spotlights two chasers whom were directly associated with aiding the some elements in the development of Twister, Matt Biddle and Mark Herndon.
Matt Biddle was working on his MS in geography at the University of Oklahoma and participated in Project VORTEX 94-95, as part of the Probe 3 crew. His eccentric personal vehicle, a decked out Chevy El Camino, along with his Moderate Risk + Some Fear promotional branding and storm chase highlight videotape productions of that era were all fun parts of his personality. Afflicted by numerous health ailments since birth, his determination and drive was inspiring to anyone who knew him. Matt passed away on April 10, 2018.
A tribute to Matt Biddle by Dr. Chuck Doswell can be accessed here: http://cadiiitalk.blogspot.com/2018/04/a-tribute-to-matt-biddle-my-friend-and.html
Mark Herndon signed onto the 1995-96 Twister production as a consultant and storm chaser, leading actors out on actual storm treks and guided film crews [with Biddle] to aid in capturing actual storm cinematography that was intermixed with computer simulations in the film. Herndon, an avid rock climber and self-admitted thrill seeker began chasing in the late 1980s and joined up with Biddle prior to the inception of Twister.
This CBC interview with Biddle and Herndon is an excellent representation of how storm chasing was both achieving a foothold in popular culture, yet still remained in humble territory for what was to come a decade later. In 2014, I interviewed both Matt and Mark for the Storm Chasing Anthology documentary project, but Matts health had taken a turn for the worse which made long conversations problematic. This perhaps is the best interview I am aware of that featured both Matt and Mark.
Video © 1996 CBC, All Rights Reserved. The Twister clips were furnished to media outlets worldwide for promotion of the film and are © 1996 Warner Bros. and Amblin Entertainment.")
