Uploaded September 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
In 1957, motion picture films of tornadoes were relatively uncommon in the United States. That changed on April 2, 1957 at Dallas, Texas when this tornado moved north through the west side of the city. WFAA-TV reporters and photographers documented the event in great detail of the near full tornado life-cycle, showcased here in this silent film composite.
WFAA then produced a documentary called "Disaster: Dallas" soon after that was distributed nationwide, made available to local and national television stations. The dramatic film clips became so generically overused in television programs about tornadoes from the 1960's onward that they were often merged with other events, this mainly due to the absence of high quality motion pictures of tornadoes at the time.
Eventually the tornado was classified F3 on the original Fujita scale.
Information on the April 2, 1957 Dallas, Texas tornado: weather.gov/fwd/dallastor50year
This is a film to videotape copy of a silent 16mm film copy provided to the National Severe Storms Laboratory many years ago. For a time the film reels were publicly available for use and viewing at the Dallas Public Library.
Film © WFAA-TV, 1957, All Rights Reserved.
In 1957, motion picture films of tornadoes were relatively uncommon in the United States. That changed on April 2, 1957 at Dallas, Texas when this tornado moved north through the west side of the city. WFAA-TV reporters and photographers documented the event in great detail of the near full tornado life-cycle, showcased here in this silent film composite.
WFAA then produced a documentary called "Disaster: Dallas" soon after that was distributed nationwide, made available to local and national television stations. The dramatic film clips became so generically overused in television programs about tornadoes from the 1960's onward that they were often merged with other events, this mainly due to the absence of high quality motion pictures of tornadoes at the time.
Eventually the tornado was classified F3 on the original Fujita scale.
Information on the April 2, 1957 Dallas, Texas tornado: weather.gov/fwd/dallastor50year
This is a film to videotape copy of a silent 16mm film copy provided to the National Severe Storms Laboratory many years ago. For a time the film reels were publicly available for use and viewing at the Dallas Public Library.
Film © WFAA-TV, 1957, All Rights Reserved.
![Wrath of God: 1974 Super Outbreak Tornadoes [Documentary] 1999](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WMnuLOf9mSg/mqdefault.jpg "Wrath of God: 1974 Super Outbreak Tornadoes [Documentary] 1999
2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the devastating Super Outbreak of 148 tornadoes in 18-hours across the Midwest, Great Lakes, Northeast, Southeastern United States and Southern Ontario, Canada on April 3-4, 1974. It was the most widespread and vastly studied mega tornado outbreaks in the 20th century, elapsed in April 2011 by an even larger outbreak over many of the same geographic areas.
Numerous documentaries, television/cable programs, and many videos found on YouTube discuss the event in assorted detail. In 1999, Towers Productions produced this 45-minute documentary for A&E Home Video and The History Channel. Part of The Wrath of God series, it was one of the more comprehensive ever produced, and complemented a segment on the Roar of 1974 included in the Target Tornado program by The Weather Channel in 1994. While producers of this program took some visual liberties with assorted tornado stock footage; from a combination of meteorological overviews, eyewitnesses and survivor perspectives, this remains an excellent in-depth overview for anyone interested in learning about the event.
Further reading can be found here via the National Weather Service @NWSWilmingtonOH: https://www.weather.gov/iln/19740403
Remastered from videotape and presented in 1080p high definition.
© 1999 Towers Productions, The History Channel. All Rights Reserved")
