Recollections: May 3, 1999 Central Oklahoma Tornadoes Blake Naftel 2026-09-26 | Recollections: May 3, 1999 Central Oklahoma Tornadoes
Whatchamacallit! 🍫 Blake Naftel 2025-10-09 | Whatever it is, whatever it was, I’ll always remember this creative animation from 1990 .
Storm Chasers Talk Reality on a HAM Radio | May 9, 2004 Blake Naftel 2025-10-03 | A real-time two-meter HAM radio conversation about storm chasing culture, personal experiences in Central Oklahoma at the University of Oklahoma School of Meteorology department on May 3, 1999, and other elements during a storm chase bust in southeastern Minnesota near the @MayoClinic on May 9, 2004.Jump to 17:38 for the initial real-time HAM radio discussion to start!Enjoy reality videography before reality television took root!
The Weather Office ⚡️ Blake Naftel 2025-09-29 | A day and night at the WNDU weather department on July 21, 1998. @16newsnow Full Videotape 📼 youtu.be/jmzgkqgo_HU?si=87LSTYmZ5VRR2lmr#vintage #weather #news #video #southbend #indiana #michigan #1998 #vhs #video #journal #life #thenandnow
A Day At The WNDU Weather Office | July 21, 1998 Blake Naftel 2025-09-29 | In 1998, I was a 17-year-old freelance weather videographer, storm chaser and budding student of meteorology. On July 21, intense severe thunderstorms developed and moved southeast through Southwest Michigan and Northern Indiana. I was job shadowing in the weather department at WNDU Channel 16, the NBC affiliate in South Bend, Indiana, and this is my video journal of that day.At the time, I was quite set on enrolling in the geography and meteorology department at Valparaiso University. While that specific academic path ultimately did not materialize, I later pursued and earned a Bachelor's degree in Geosciences from Western Michigan University. Featured in this video, ironically is a then student intern from the Valparaiso University meteorology department, Jessica Irvin, along with former chief meteorologist Mike Hoffman, who was kind enough to both hire me on as a freelance storm chaser and videographer with WNDU. Aware of my interest in broadcast weather and news, they welcomed me into the station to witness firsthand how live severe weather coverage transpired in the Michiana market. Personally, the experience was exciting, great, and opened so many doors in the year ahead when I landed my first local television job in my hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan, at WWMT Channel 3, the CBS affiliate for West Michigan. The VHS videotape quality has held up over the decades and was intentionally recorded with an older Panasonic WV-3240 Newvicon color video camera and portable VHS VCR, mainly due to the great manual lens and focus pull that particular camera had. I also loved the grainy and tube based effects I could achieve with that particular camera from 1984, of which was also the exact type of video cameras scientific meteorologists formerly used at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma. I still have and use the exact same camera for assorted video productions to this day!Enjoy this early "documentary" of my initial experiences in local broadcast news and weather as life and professional career in that industry began to intersect! Much has changed since, yet was thankful to be a part of this era!
Sleeper Predicted This! 🎞️ Blake Naftel 2025-09-28 | The 1973 film Sleeper predicted TikTok and modern day "social" media.Regardless of opinions or disdain for Woody Allen, this film is a hilarious take on the year 2173, yet is highly relatable to present day 2025 from the electric cars, robot servants, a frigid society and the gyroscope two way mirrors. Much of this was of course inspired by assorted bits of 1960's pop culture, the writings of George Orwell, the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey, amongst many other references. Either way, it still holds up today and provides plenty of ridiculous moments of laughter.
Paw Paw Season! 🍈 Blake Naftel 2025-09-21 | The time to purée, freeze and or enjoy Paw Paw fruit off the trees is now!
9/11/2001 at WWMT Channel 3 Kalamazoo, MI Blake Naftel 2025-09-08 | These are some of my recollections and video from Tuesday, September 11, 2001 while working at WWMT Channel 3, the CBS affiliate in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was a typical morning up until the 8:55 a.m. local news cut in. Nobody at the station realized the significance of the events until United Airlines Flight 175 crashed directly into the World Trade Center LIVE on national television just after 9 a.m. The rest is history.Millions of personal stories from far and wide transpired throughout the United States and globally this day as al-Qaeda terrorist hijackers gained control of four American and United Airlines planes of which resulted in the deadliest attack in global history resulting in 2,996 deaths. Information on 9/11/2001 can be accessed here: 911memorial.org/911-faqsFor this video I have edited together 57 minutes of mostly uncut national and local West Michigan television coverage from the hours of videotape I recorded over a 48 hour period both at WWMT and later when back at my Kalamazoo apartment. While I was not recording at the moment the first CBS cut in happened, I did incorporate video from WUSA 9, the CBS affiliate in Washington DC, as an example of the original morning broadcast.@OfficialDanRather @CBSNews @wwmtnews @CBS @CNN @howardstern @NBCNews
Weather Bulletin Cut For Time | WWMT 3 Kalamazoo Blake Naftel 2025-09-05 | How did a weather warning make it to the West Michigan airwaves in 1991? This segment was cut for time in the production of the March 1991 WWMT News 3 severe weather special, but it showcased how the then weather alert process worked. This features former chief meteorologist John Wendel, Larry Osterman II [studio director] and Don Villette [technical director].Enjoy this random moment of West Michigan weather broadcast history!Video © WWMT 3 and West Michigan Television. All Rights Reserved.
Hurricane Katrina & WMU Bronco Bash | August 2005 Blake Naftel 2025-08-31 | A mixtape of LIVE radio and television news coverage from August 30-31, 2005 about the dire after effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the southeastern United States, coupled with Bronco Bash on the campus of Western Michigan University via WIDR 89.1 FM and WWMT News 3 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Enjoy the broadcast history from 20 years ago, today, preserved for generations of tomorrow.Blake
No Kings Protests | Chicago | June 14, 2025 Blake Naftel 2025-06-15 | This is an edited on scene documentary with some humorous commentary from the Saturday, June 14, 2025 No Kings Protest March in downtown Chicago, Illinois. The protests were part of a widespread national movement within the United States against the present push towards authoritarian fascism by the present Trump administration. Enjoy!Videography and editing by Blake William Naftel© 2025 Three Reel Films | All Rights Reserved
Madison Reacts to Obama Win | November 2008 Blake Naftel 2025-05-28 | This was how State Street and the University of Wisconsin reacted in Madison upon the November 2008 election of then senator turned president elect Barack Obama. Never in my life beyond film or videotape from the late 1960's had I witnessed such energy or a sight on an election night. The scene was electric! This was a different era entirely contrast to 2025, post bank economic collapse and housing bubble pop entirely. Yet still, here were the people, were excited for change. Over the course of 2008 I interviewed then senators and presidential contenders Barack Obama, John McCain and Sarah Palin on the campaign trail in Indiana and Wisconsin. It was a true education on politics, power, projection and messaging. This video was originally posted to this very channel in 2008, yet over time, I chose to delete it when a "news colleague" told me it would be "bad move" for my career in legacy media. That advice and era in itself is ancient history and thus, here it is again, remastered and rebooted. This is what democracy looks like, or does it? You decide. I've posted this video again to showcase "sides" in this so called country, something that has since become polarized beyond sanity and reality. Few will see this clip as it will not gain traction on YouTube due to the algorithmic game that is in place. Since this time, much has transpired and other elements remain to be experienced. Yet beyond the mindless infighting within 2025 American politics just remember that the people you elect to office really do matter, for better or for worse! On a sidenote, this was intentionally recorded on a 1984 Panasonic WV 3240 Newvicon color video tube camera and portable Panasonic AG 2400 VHS VCR for a then “vintage” look. 📼~ Blake William Naftel
Party Like Its 1999! The Final Day at Mattawan High School Blake Naftel 2025-05-26 | This is an original video documentary from the final day for the senior class of Mattawan High School in May 1999. I recorded this as part of a production a fellow classmate, Aaron Graham and I were tasked with creating for our class. That video production titled, "They Always Save The Best For Last" was loaded with copyrighted music and was distributed to those in the MHS class of '99 on VHS video that summer.That original 1999 video production bumped over from SVHS videotape is available here: youtu.be/K6nMv6djQIoFeatured here is the raw videotape from that rambunctious May morning at Mattawan High School with a few minor edits for content. A bonus musical number concludes the video. For those viewing this video born after 1999, there a few things to note about this era. Social media had not arrived yet. People still used pay phones or beepers if you to connect from the school. Smart phones were several years away in development. Most individuals did not have cell phones and fewer still had pagers. Dial up mass consumer internet via America Online, CompuServe, Netscape, Prodigy and other web platforms had been around for just shy of a decade. DVD's were emerging but had not caught on quite yet. American Pie, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me or The Matrix had yet to arrive to movie theatre's. Woodstock '99 was inbound and The Tom Green Show was a staple on MTV. A morbid but obvious difference between high school now and then were no metal detectors or active shooter drills at Mattawan High School, despite the tragic events at Columbine a month prior to recording this video.Like so much else on this channel and on YouTube, I am sharing this videotape as a multimedia time capsule for those who were there, whom want to reflect upon this era and/or show this to their own families who are still in the area.I recorded the entire day on Super VHS videotape with then professional Panasonic broadcast television video equipment, nevertheless, pardon the tape glitches!Enjoy!
Detroit Tigers WKZO TV3 Sports Promo | May 1980 Blake Naftel 2025-05-21 | A quick promo from WKZO TV3 in Kalamazoo featuring the Detroit Tigers and Baltimore "Oreos". This was during the days of live booth announcers between newscasts in May 1980. Enjoy!
The Chicago Dust Storm | May 16, 2025 Blake Naftel 2025-05-17 | A short video from Old Town Chicago of the dust lofted from Central Illinois amidst an impressive area of low pressure situated around Milwaukee. Videography and editing by Blake Naftel © 2025.
A Chicken, The Theatre & The May 1980 Kalamazoo Tornado Blake Naftel 2025-05-13 | Two personal stories from the Tuesday, May 1980 Kalamazoo, Michigan F3 tornado on this 45th anniversary of the cities worst natural disaster to date. The interview with my Mother, Kristin Naftel, was originally recorded in early May 2010 for the broadcast documentary program I was producing with the weather department at WXMI FOX 17 in West Michigan. It was cut for time and other production decisions, yet as her story is what sparked my early childhood interests in meteorology, tornadoes, science and storytelling, I'm sharing it here.The original WXMI FOX 17 Kalamazoo tornado "30 years later" broadcast retrospective can be viewed here: youtu.be/xvbKH4QB5t0If you have any memories of the May 1980 tornado, do feel free to comment and share.Enjoy!
May 7, 2024 Portage, Michigan Tornado | Raw Video Journal Blake Naftel 2025-05-07 | The original unedited video journal and area storm chase day I recorded of the pre storm environment and what became the Texas Township and Portage, Michigan tornado starting on Monday, May 6 through Tuesday, May 7, 2024 in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Viewers are welcome to utilize any portion of this video for non-for-profit educational, emergency management or spotter training purposes. I did not visually see the tornado with my own eyes until about a minute prior of turning south on Westnedge Avenue. This was due to the opaque green, yellowish colored nature of the water vapor vortex as it was passing through the Gourdneck State Game Area to my southwest, until very rapid "downward motion" and "debris" was noted immediately to the south behind Crossroads Mall, thus providing me confirmation of a tornado in progress. The green and yellow coloration of the tornado was a combination of foliage and soil lofted into the vortex over the then heavily forested area of Gourdneck. Light refraction from the sun backlit the coloration from my perspective. While the radar signature was quite impressive at the time, I was not looking at a radar, rather, purely visual per habit.For THE HOME-TOWN TORNADO documentary with commentary: youtu.be/ZQWg0Dl8epQVideo © Blake Naftel, All Rights Reserved.
May 1980 Kalamazoo Tornado: 30 Years Later | May 2010 | FOX 17 WXMI Blake Naftel 2025-03-27 | May 1980 Kalamazoo Tornado: 30 Years Later. This is the full broadcast 10 p.m. news and tornado anniversary weather special as it aired on Sunday May 9, 2010 on WXMI FOX 17. Jump to 30:00 for the weather special. Thank you to my Mom, Kristin Frank Naftel, who both introduced me to the story of this impactful Kalamazoo severe weather day in May 1985 as a four year old, sparked my early interest in meteorology and originally recorded this on VHS videotape at home while I was embarking on a long distance storm chase to Oklahoma the very night this aired.Also of note, a very special microburst of gratitude to everyone at FOX 17 WXMI in GR who made this broadcast television weather special possible, regardless of the "sky drama" that transpired! ;0)Enjoy!Executive Producers: Blake Naftel, Chris Pantaleo.2010 Weather Unit:Peter Chan, Kevin Craig and Jon Shaner. Videography:Pete Burd, Brian Farber, Eric Jansen, Blake Naftel.Editors: Brian Farber, Blake Naftel, Jon Shaner.Assistant News Director: Chris Koops.News Director: Tim Dye.
The Kalamazoo Tornado Project 2010 | Arts & More 102.1FM WMUK Blake Naftel 2025-03-09 | This is an older formal radio interview I recorded with former WMUK 102.1 FM Kalamazoo morning host Lorraine Caron about the 2010 Kalamazoo, Michigan tornado documentary project that was both a part of FOX 17 WXMI and later a version for the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids, Michigan from May 14, 2010.At the time I had also launched a website on the topic, which eventually became this Kalamazoo Valley Museum exhibit 10 years later during the pandemic. If interested in local Kalamazoo stories, weather, tornadoes and broadcast history visit: 1980kalamazootornado.orgKalamazoo Gazzette: mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2010/05/project_details_legacy_devasta.html
Super Bowl XXXII & Nintendo 64 | January 25, 1998 Blake Naftel 2025-01-12 | A video journal from January 25, 1998 in Mattawan, Michigan on VHS videotape.This is a video journal I recorded on VHS videotape with friends Aaron Graham, Chris Noack and Steve Morgan at the former Graham household in Mattawan, Michigan on January 25, 1998 during Super Bowl XXXII featuring the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos. A match of 'GoldenEye' on the Nintendo 64 is also featured along with other technological elements of the late 1990's. Fyi, all of us had just turned 17 when this video was recorded, alas, our maturity levels are a bit out to lunch.On a fun side note, the Super Bowl XXXII pregame show was narrated by one of my voice actor inspirations, actor and comedian Phil Hartman.Enjoy!
The Eclipse Trip | April 8, 2024 | A Video Journal Blake Naftel 2024-12-25 | On April 8th, 2024 optimal weather conditions prevailed across much of Indiana and Ohio for the spectacular annular solar spectacle. My father and I ventured south towards Parker City and Winchester, Indiana in Randolph County for the sky show. This is my video journal of that day with some opening commentary. Jump to 5:55 to start the trip.After the May 1994 solar eclipse I experienced with my 7th grade science class in Mattawan, Michigan, I had always wanted to see "this" specific one as it was noted on the local evening news that night. My recording of that WWMT Channel 3 newscast can be viewed here: youtu.be/X3RdZQk-jNMAfter a blur of events from 2024, this moment personally stood out as the most awesome. Thanks for sharing this with me, Dad! This video is dedicated to Bruce Naftel. Merry Christmas 2025!Enjoy!
West Michigan Home Movies | 1997 & 1998 Blake Naftel 2024-12-07 | I dig out and discuss an assortment of silent, color Super 8mm home movies I shot between December 1997 and May 1998. The first is the great Naftel 1997 Christmas tree expedition in Paw Paw and Lawton, Michigan, followed by some home scenes with Gus the Cat, a couple of early season storm treks with Aaron Graham and an assortment of area bird species. These films are mainly online for family and friends, but if you find home movie cinematography appealing, enjoy the films!Digital Super 8mm film scans courtesy of Pro 8mm in Burbank, California.
Zabu The Chimp LIVE | WWMT CBS 3 | March 29, 2001 Blake Naftel 2024-12-05 | Once upon a time, a circus came to Kalamazoo, and with it, a Chimpanzee named Zabu. The newsroom at WWMT received a press release about said acting Chimp, phone calls were made and within the span of a few hours, these wholesome live television moments transpired on News 3 at Noon. I will note here on the many times "monkey" is used in the audio, that Chimpanzees are not "monkey's", rather a separate primate group entirely. "Monkey" was also a favorite slang term targeted at young production assistants, coined by the director of this show, Mike Dinvald. ;0) It was all in good humor of course. This videotape is the original production audio from our crew at the time. It contains all the cues, commands, and commentary that viewers do not get to experience. This was also in an era before full automation, where all cameras, switchers, videotape decks, chyron and audio was operated by humans. It was also a lot more fun in this era as well, mainly because of all the people involved behind the scenes. Enjoy this original WWMT 3 news and production broadcast from Thursday, March 29, 2001 as broadcast from Kalamazoo, Michigan. A retro 1990 News 3 promo surprise follows the original 2001 broadcast. Remastered from the original SVHS production work tape.
GET READY for Channel 3! 1990 WWMT CBS 3 Promo Blake Naftel 2024-12-04 | A promotional spot for the CBS and WWMT Channel 3 show lineup for Fall 1990. The design was inspired by the Memphis style from the early to mid 1980's that carried over into the early 1990's with shows such as "Saved By The Bell", "Pee Wee's Playhouse" and "Parker Louis Can't Loose." The music and lyrics are fronted by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles from Motown. Enjoy!
Florida TV News Bloopers | WMBB TV 13 ABC | 1988-1990 Blake Naftel 2024-12-03 | A recently rediscovered collection of vintage local TV news bloopers, flubs, and live flops from WMBB TV 13, the ABC affiliate in Panama City, Florida. Remastered from 3/4" Umatic videotape over the Thanksgiving holiday. Enjoy!
Pop Goes The Nesa | 1996 | WWMT CBS 3 Blake Naftel 2024-11-28 | A woman quits her job on a LIVE WWMT newscast. This was a different take on the “Hello West Michigan” theme of the era!One night before the sports tease on WWMT News 3 at 11, a production assistant who had been denied a $0.25 raise by management decided to quit her job "live" on the air to spite her employer. This is how that moment played out on West Michigan television. The woman later formally apologized to station management and left the television broadcast industry entirely to become a successful relator in the Atlanta region.While humorous and fairly innocent by 2024 standards, this was also illegal per FCC regulations and could have resulted in a substantial fine or license strike against WWMT. The live on camera departure drew the ire of station management so much that the "incident" was banned from the Christmas blooper reel later that year. The moment was still hot on the memories of many when I first started work at that station three years later. This was broadcast LIVE on September 13, 1996 via the WWMT TV 3 CBS airwaves in Kalamazoo, Michigan.Enjoy the memories!
Star Wars: The Debate | WZZM ABC 13, May 2012 Blake Naftel 2024-11-20 | Every year on May 4, primarily in the United States and Canada, Star Wars fans dress up, gather and connect over the force that interconnects all cinematic galaxies. Former colleague at WZZM ABC TV 13 News Brent Ashcroft and I sat down for a "Star Wars Debate" on May 3, 2012 for for the 11 p.m. newscast and then random bantha fodder for the station website. This was not intended as real news, rather, a mandated Gannett broadcasting "JUMP" moment to bring some sass to local media.May the memories be with you! @13ONYOURSIDE Enjoy!
A Brief History of TV News Equipment | WZZM ABC 13, 2012 Blake Naftel 2024-11-17 | In early April 2012 while pre producing segments for the upcoming 50th anniversary shows for WZZM TV 13, one of two ABC affiliates in West Michigan, I was given the green light by then corporate station management to produce a series of vintage technology stories.Originally a three part segment; one shot entirely on 16mm film, another which utilized the stations' then lone fully functional RCA TK76B three plumbicon tube color video camera, my own Sony VO 4800 3/4" portable video tape recorder, a bit of Betacam SP videotape pitched into the mix, combined with elements from this cooking styled vintage video segment featuring select pieces of actual equipment utilized at WZZM TV 13 between 1962 to 2012. This is the raw, unedited version that was produced in tandem with the other segments on film and videotape with the late Lee Van Ameyde, who had been at the station at that point since 1977. The executive producer on this segment was Chris Fleszar. Enjoy! Much more to come! Along with some light comedy :) Lee Van Ameyde obituary, 2019:metcalfandjonkhoff.com/obituary/Lee-VanAmeyde
Got Any Milk? 2008 Blake Naftel 2024-10-08 | A moment between two friends in Portage, Michigan, one whom is in a desperate search for milk. Found footage from my original, now long defunct YouTube channel from 2008. This is why the platform was originally created. To create and share videos with no strings attached!Original sketch video by Blake Naftel and Dave Gysin, 2008.
Facebook Show | Radio Free Kalamazoo | 89.1 fm WiDR Broadcast 2005 Blake Naftel 2024-08-11 | The Facebook Show | Radio Free Kalamazoo |89.1fm WiDR LIVE Radio Broadcast:DONTATE TO WIDR @ widrfm.org@89.1WIDRfm In 2005, Facebook and what became modern day social media was a new technology amongst colleges and universities. The platform had either just expanded to or was nearing the point of including high schools into the social media mixer. At the same time, LiveJournal, America Online/AIM, MySpace and other platforms were a thing. The topic of Facebook profiles, people and assorted elements became a point of humorous discussion on RADIO FREE KALAMAZOO, a college radio show via 89.1fm WiDR that use to broadcast on Monday and Tuesday from Noon to 1 p.m. EST to the West Michigan airwaves. This excerpt from that one hour program with hosts Josh Haskins, Sam Herald, Blake Naftel and Kelly Meloney covered some hot button topics at the time in a fair and somewhat balanced fashion. Point of note to the listener. This is LIVE volunteer college radio in 2005. We were all somewhere in our 20's, figuring out life, the pace of live radio broadcasting and how to project on the air. Most of all this broadcast program was and is still intended as a comedic performance. It is not meant to be taken literally or seriously! All for fun. Enjoy your meals! Kelly and Sam, our ionospheric radio play lives on! Miss you both!gildasclubchicago.orgdonate.cancer.orgSam Herald (1983-2015): lifestorynet.com/obituaries/sam-herald.107075Kelly Meloney (1984-2010): kristanfuneralhome.com/obituary/620842Original recorded audio from the multimedia archives of Blake William Naftel.Radio Free Kalamazoo created by Ben Jones and Blake Naftel, July 2005.Live September 26, 2005 broadcast on 89.1fm WiDR Kalamazoo, Michigan.Hosts: Josh Haskins (DJ Josh), Sam Herald (Dr. Staticoy), Blake Naftel (The Storm Chaser) and Kelly Meloney (Dr. Yoder).Made possible through the facilities of Western Michigan University's Faunce Student Services (aka 'The Birdcage).
Ant Busy | Mi·cro·cosm in Motion | July 2024 Blake Naftel 2024-07-19 | ANT BUSY: A Mi·cro·cosm In Motion | Video short and poetic prose by Blake William Naftel, July 19, 2024. Inspired by a busy single Black Ant observed cleaning a table of debris on July 14, 2024. The Busy Ant | Poetic Verse for Children and Adults:Inside the shed, some flakes did lay,For there they sat, within the way. Yet one Ant saw, that scattered mess,It got to work, cleaned up with zest! As one by one, those flakes did fall,Over the edge, by one for all. A line did form, upon the ground,That Ant quite busy, sure got around.Then soon the task at hand complete,The table was clear, quite tidy, neat! Yet the Ant took pause, as evening had come. For dinner and rest, under leaves of Sweet Gum.Poetic prose composed by Blake William Naftel on July 19, 2024.blakenaftel.comVideo recorded on July 14 & 19, 2024. Michigan. © Blake Naftel and Three Reel Films. Multimedia Equipment:Canon XA40 4K Video Camcorder (2022)Panasonic WV 3240 Newvicon Color Video Camera (1984)Panasoinc AG 2400 Portable VHS Video Tape Recorder (1985)Sony DCR TR 7000 Digital 8 Video Camcorder (1999)Maxell P6-120 Digital 8mm Videotape Stock. Video Edited with:Final Cut Pro XAdobe Premiere Pro
Pond Life | Ambient Nature Video Art | July 2024 Blake Naftel 2024-07-01 | POND LIFE: An ambient multimedia nature video by Blake William Naftel. Created on July 1, 2024. Inspired by the works of video artist Bill Viola. Happy Summer! Equipment Utilized:Panasonic WV-3240 Newvicon Color Video Camera (1984).Panasonic AG-2400 Portable VHS Video Cassette Recorder (1985).Sony DCR TR-7000 Digital 8 Video Camcorder (1999).Canon XA40 4K Video Camcorder (2021).Final Cut Pro X (2017).
The Home-Town Tornado | May 7, 2024 | Portage | Kalamazoo County, Michigan | Documentary Blake Naftel 2024-05-16 | THE HOME-TOWN TORNADO: On Tuesday, May 7th, 2024 a significant tornado developed over southern Kalamazoo County in Texas Township and tracked northeast through residential and business sections of Portage, Michigan. While numerous individuals were directly affected by this natural disaster, there were no serious injuries or deaths caused by the tornado. Officially rated as a high-end EF-2 tornado by the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids, Michigan, several additional significant tornadoes occurred across Southern Michigan, Northern and Central Indiana and Northwest Ohio during this outbreak of over 51 tornadoes in the Southern Great Lakes, Midwest, and Ohio Valley region. This is a full video documentary of the day. This production begins with a meteorological synopsis ahead of the Tuesday, May 7, 2024 Texas Township, Portage and Kalamazoo County, Michigan supercell thunderstorm and significant tornado. Some local and regional tornado history from the Kalamazoo County and Southwest Michigan region is showcased at 3:38, followed by a full video log from the day and tornado. Tornado genesis in Texas Township southwest of 8th street/S Avenue and eventual vortex encounters along Center/US 131 and later S. Westnedge Avenue begins at the 15:00 point. The aerial drone videography survey recorded on Saturday, May 11, 2024 is courtesy and made possible by Caleb Staufer of Staufer Aerial.STOP LIGHTS! As the large and destructive tornado moved northeast at 35 mph through Portage along and north of Center Street just after 6 p.m., I made a decision to cautiously yet illegally proceed through a red light as the tornado crossed over Westnedge less than a mile to my south just behind Crossroads Mall and Target Store complexes. With minimal traffic around and the large destructive tornado in progress, I then made a decision to illegally turn at another red arrow, get completely off the main road, document the tornado from a stationary position and provide a secondary, formal phone spotter report to the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I fully acknowledge that my scofflaw road maneuvers were purely reactionary, irresponsible and ultimately unnecessary, nor do I strive for or advocate such behavior be it while observing a tornado or on an average day.The Van Buren [Decatur] and Kalamazoo County [Portage] tornadoes of Tuesday, May 7, 2024 occurred days before the infamous 44th anniversary of the deadly Tuesday, May 13, 1980 Van Buren and Kalamazoo County tornadoes. Both tornado events were synoptically similar, with supercell thunderstorms that developed initially in Illinois/Indiana and tracked along a warm frontal boundary. The 2024 Texas Township and Portage tornado also followed an eerily similar path to the mostly forgotten about, deadly long-track August 8, 1939 F4 Kalamazoo County tornado.The tornado events of Tuesday May 7, 2024 occurred in my home-town region of Texas Township and Kalamazoo County. I knew several people in the immediate path as the tornado occurred and have traveled those roads for decades. To witness, chase and document that tornado as it moved through populated areas I am very familiar with was not an enjoyable experience at all, albeit surreal to see. It was a pure twist of personal fate that the Tuesday, May 13, 1980 Kalamazoo tornado that passed over my former childhood home on Stuart Avenue, of which my Mom witnessed approach from The Civic in downtown Kalamazoo initially fueled my life long interest in tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and meteorology... only to have another major tornado event transpire decades later very close to home as well. All is very cyclical!Thanks for watching! This video production was produced and intended for area libraries, schools, emergency management and the National Weather Service for educational purposes. Commercial broadcast or multicast of any material within this production without written permission or official license is prohibited. Produced and Narrated by Blake Naftel, Three Reel Films. © May 2024, All Rights Reserved.Aerial videography by Caleb Staufer, Staufer Aerial. © May 2024, All Rights Reserved.Full aerial video survey: youtu.be/lpQN4HnI7Qg?si=rQge3QwDLf8Ulb_COriginal incorporated tornado sketch art by David K. Hoadley, 1981.Original Music by LOTUS'Black Tern'Licensed through Epidemic Sound, May 2024.
Under The Dark Sky | April 26, 2024 | Southeast Kansas to West Missouri Tornado Chase Blake Naftel 2024-05-02 | Under The Dark Sky | A video chronicle of the April 26, 2024 tornadoes produced by a cyclic supercell thunderstorm that spanned a 112.5 mile expanse across Southeast Kansas and Western Missouri. Multiple tornadoes, between 5-7, were observed beginning north of Altoona, Kansas just after 4:00 p.m. CT until the final vortex dissipated within close proximity to my viewpoint location east of Clinton, Missouri at 7:55 p.m. CT. Brief views of the cyclic, often HP [high precipitation] mode of the supercell and occasional close-range views of tornado genesis were had. The storm was moving at or greater than 45 mph in a northeast direction, over mostly forested, hilly terrain, all which made for challenging observations. A detailed storm chase account for this video can be accessed via the Stormtrack forum: stormtrack.org/threads/2024-04-26-reports-ia-ne-ks-mo-ok.32696 Original music produced by Johan Glössner, licensed via Epidemic Sound.Videography and editing by Blake Naftel, © 2024.
The Day After Greensburg | May 5, 2007 | Central Kansas Tornado Chase Blake Naftel 2024-04-21 | On Friday, May 4th, 2007, a moderate risk for severe weather was in place for much for Saturday, May 5th. The high end day advertised significant tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds from southern Nebraska through most of central Kansas along a dry line. Late Friday afternoon, friends and I met up in Morton, Illinois with a plan to drive as far west as possible that night to set up for a potential southwest Kansas chase day. On the drive out, most of the severe risk that evening had been capped off with little activity other than in northwest Oklahoma. Several hours later and for the first time I recall, we watched a live video stream on the internet from another storm chaser near Greensburg, Kansas of a very large tornado at night. Damage reports rolled in, yet it wasn't until we turned on a television at a Topeka, Kansas hotel that it dawned on us of the extent of what had transpired.Much has been published and presented about the terrible night of May 4, 2007 when a 1.7 mile-wide EF5 tornado destroyed 95 percent of Greensburg, Kansas. Additional large tornadoes continued to the north towards Trousdale, Hopewell and Macksville, Kansas causing death and injury. This video focuses on the day after and the second round of significant tornadoes that spun through essentially the same Kansas region less than 24-hours later.By the morning of May 5th, 2007, the Storm Prediction Center issued a rare high risk for most of Kansas into south central Nebraska. Large and destructive tornadoes were again in the forecast. The storm system evolved quickly that morning with an initial PDS [particularly dangerous situation] tornado watch issued around 10 a.m. for western Kansas. Our group wandered west along and north of I-70 near WaKeeney as initial storms developed and struggled. A few hours later along the advancing dry line, several supercell thunderstorms began to intensify and produce tornadoes near Great Bend and points south.The first tornado observed by our group was east of Larned to the southwest of Great Bend, Kansas. As we dropped south to the next supercell along the line, a series of tornadoes unfolded, some quite large, all moving primarily due north. As dew points were in the low 70's, multiple supercells one behind another reduced visibility as daylight dwindled. Eventually with a lack of visibility, the situation became too dangerous near the largest tornado of the evening near Stafford, Kansas. That tornado [not visible from our perspective] directly impacted the Doppler On Wheels crews [whom we passed earlier in the video] along with a few other chasers. We called the chase off just prior to that point and headed back east.This video journal is shot documentary style and chronicles my only "big" chase day of 2007. The video was never formally released in full. Remastered from Digital 8mm videotape. Special thanks to Keith Brown, Darin Kaiser and Mark Sefried for sharing the experience!Video © 2007 Blake Naftel, All Rights Reserved.
The Big Storm | May 29, 2004 | Southern Kansas Tornado Chase Blake Naftel 2024-02-23 | 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of a unique, highly photogenic tornado event in Kansas on May 29th, 2004. Nature and reality overshadowed every faux Hollywood production made about tornadoes on this specific day, all well chronicled here in a freewheeling documentary style. This production is a composite from several hours of raw videotape recorded between Friday, May 28 and Saturday, May 29, 2004.The lead up to this vivid Memorial Day weekend tornado outbreak followed an incredibly active week across the Plains and Midwest. Beginning on May 22, a series of significant tornado events occurred, primarily across Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. That week's weather pattern was a dream for storm chasers, meteorologists and the severe weather obsessed. For area residents, it was a nerve-racking period of tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, flooding and storm chasers in pursuit of those natural phenomena.By Thursday, May 27th, another significant wave of upper-level atmospheric energy moved east towards the central Plains. Forecast discussions painted a significant tornado event, specifically across Kansas for Saturday, May 29th. As it was a holiday weekend, climatological peak for tornado activity and in between most college semester terms, there were A LOT of people out and about! Three specific focus zones from north-central Kansas, southern Kansas and north-central Oklahoma fortunately aided to spread out any mass storm chaser convergence.During that week I was working as a tour guide and driver with Tempest Tours, a storm chasing expedition company based out of Arlington, Texas. The tour groups experienced tornadoes on three of the five days out: May 22, May 24, and May 26. My time with Tempest Tours concluded on May 28th. The day before the "big day" also happened to be the premiere of a natural disaster film, 'The Day After Tomorrow' at a Norman, Oklahoma cineplex. I joined up with a group of meteorology students from the University of Oklahoma to take in the movie for a good laugh. Mike French, then an OU School of Meteorology graduate student, sums up his opinions on that piece of cinema in relation to the anticipated convection 24 hours later.By Saturday, May 29th, two obvious forecast target zones were evident, one in north-central Kansas near a dry line/triple point, and the other along the dry line within an extreme instability axis along the Kansas-Oklahoma border west of Interstate 35. In anticipation of both targets, a decision to drive from Norman for an overnight stay in Wichita was made the night before to get an early leg up on the day. Melissa Moon and I teamed up and chased together on this day. We were then both undergraduate students of meteorology and geography respectively; she at the University of Oklahoma and I at Western Michigan University. I had mild ambitions of graduate school at OU in those days, hence the SOM t-shirt in the video, a welcomed gift from her!By late morning we ventured to the Park City, Kansas public library for updated data and forecasts. No smart phones in this era. Encouraged by the off-the-wall parameters, we grabbed a quick lunch and then met up with another friend and fellow chaser/meteorology student, Tony Laubach. By 4:00 p.m. our trio buzzed up to a Newton, Kansas truck stop to access the only public WiFi hotspot available. Southeasterly winds were sustained at 25 mph at this point and the atmosphere was revving up! While there, we met up with two other OU meteorology students, Kyle Mozley and Chris Nuttall. Together we formed a caravan, linked via HAM radio communications and headed southwest.While storms to our north did develop first and became tornado warned, three supercells initially formed along the dry line to our southwest near Pratt to the OK-KS border. After some route stepping along the line to the dominant supercell thunderstorm, our group of four, sans Tony whom eventually took another route, observed the evolution of a single, cyclical supercell that produced multiple, highly visible tornadoes of every shape, size and intensity in Harper and Sumner County, Kansas from 7:30 p.m. until just before 10 p.m. We all lost count after tornado number 7! The tornadoes occurred primarily over open terrain, with few structures directly impacted. Our tornado viewpoints are all from Sumner County, Kansas; primarily southwest of Argonia and Conway Springs. For everyone involved, this was indeed THE BIG STORM of the era!Original videography by Melissa Moon, Blake Naftel and Chris Nuttall. © 2004, 2024 All Rights Reserved. Original music by O.T.E. licensed through Epidemic Sound. Produced and edited by Blake Naftel, February 2024.A meteorological overview on the May 29, 2004 Harper and Sumner County, Kansas tornadoes via the National Weather Service in Wichita, Kansas: weather.gov/ict/event_20040529
Meteor Crater, Northern Arizona, 2023 Blake Naftel 2024-02-03 | A visual tour of Meteor Crater, the world's most well preserved meteorite impact site in northern Arizona. Recorded in October 2023.More info on Meteor Crater: meteorcrater.comVideography by Blake Naftel © 2023, All Rights Reserved. Recorded with a Canon XA40 camcorder.
The Painted Desert, Northeast Arizona, 2023 Blake Naftel 2024-02-03 | The ornate geography of the great Painted Desert in northeast Arizona. Complete with the remnants of petrified forests, on a pleasant fall morning in October 2023.More information on the Arizona Painted Desert and Petrified Forest: nps.gov/pefo/index.htmVideography by Blake Naftel © 2023, All Rights Reserved. Recorded with a Canon XA40 video camcorder.
Texas Summer Sunflowers, August 2015 Blake Naftel 2024-02-02 | Southwest of Lubbock, I caught sight of this vivid field of Texas sunflowers. This was a nice break from driving with some nature videography as an added bonus!Videography by Blake Naftel © 2015, All Rights Reserved. Recorded with a Panasonic HMC-150 3CCD AVCCAM camcorder.
North Bend, Washington Scenery, 2015 Blake Naftel 2024-02-02 | Scenery around and in North Bend, Washington. Recorded in August 2015. Fans of the 1990 television series 'Twin Peaks' may recognize a couple of the locations. This was my first venture to the North Bend area outside of Seattle. The mountainous settings had a very magnetic draw as vaporous mist rose along the treetops, yet the serenity was followed by some damn fine coffee and delicious cherry pie!Videography by Blake Naftel © 2015, All Rights Reserved. Recorded with a Panasonic HMC-150 3CCD AVCCAM camcorder.
Dusk at Mount Saint Helens, 2015 Blake Naftel 2024-02-02 | Dusk at Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument, August 2015. I was exploring the Pacific Northwest for the first time in 2015 when this and the other "geography" video series were recorded. The eruption on May 18, 1980 had fueled my early interests in earth science and intermixed with meteorology/severe weather in childhood, so to finally see the mountain all those years later was rather special, a feeling that cannot be conveyed in the video. Aware of the backstory of David Johnson, the American volcanologist who relayed an excited dispatch to the world before being overtaken and killed by the explosion; to see what his perspective was eerily beautiful at dusk, symbolic for me at the time in a way. Wildfire smoke was very prevalent at that point in late August 2015, but that did not detract from mountain's aura, a shadow of the prior form, quietly growing again for visitors to appreciate. If you're into geography, volcanos and natural scenery, it's worth a visit!Further information on Mt. Saint Helens and David A. Johnson: usgs.gov/observatories/cascades-volcano-observatory/legacy-david-johnstonVideography by Blake Naftel ©2015, All Rights Reserved. Recorded with a Panasonic HMC-150 3CCD AVCCAM camcorder.
Dawn at Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, Washington, 2015 Blake Naftel 2024-02-02 | Fantastic dawn sunrise at Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Forest near Port Angeles, Washington in August 2015.Videography by Blake Naftel © 2015, All Rights Reserved. Recorded with a Panasonic HMC-150 3CCD AVCCAM camcorder.
Pacific Coast Highway Scenery, Big Sur Region, 2015 Blake Naftel 2024-01-31 | Views and scenery along the Pacific Coast Highway around the Big Sur region, recorded August 2015.Videography by Blake Naftel © 2015 All Rights Reserved. Recorded with a Panasonic HMC-150 AVCCAM 3CCD camcorder.
The Vasquez Rocks, Southern California, 2015 Blake Naftel 2024-01-31 | A video tour of the Vasquez Rocks near Auga Dulce, California on a warm, windy afternoon. Recorded in August 2015.Videography by Blake Naftel, © 2015 All Rights Reserved.
The Blizzard of 1978: As It Happened! Elkhart, Indiana WTRC-AM 1340 Live Broadcast Blake Naftel 2024-01-12 | The Great Blizzard of January 26, 1978. Recorded LIVE audio off air as it happened. This is the original 27-minute 6 p.m. special news broadcast by WTRC AM 1340 in Elkhart, Indiana. From a real-time radio broadcast perspective, the production values are excellent!For those living in or around the Great Lakes and Michiana region, this landmark record-setting storm resulted in snow accumulations between 28" to 41" of snow in various spots, along with higher drifts amounts. The benchmark blizzard provided generations of area residents with snowbound stories for decades, still to this very day. Full synoptic meteorology, details and eyewitness accounts can be found @NWSNorthernIndiana weather.gov/iwx/1978_blizzardAudio © 1978 WTRC AM 1340. All Rights Reserved.
May 24, 2004: High Risk Tornado Trek, SE Nebraska to NE Kansas Blake Naftel 2024-01-06 | May 2004 was an incredibly active period for severe weather and tornadoes in the Midwest and Plains states. The last two weeks corresponded with my then annual 'tour of duty' as a driver and tour guide with Tempest Tours, a storm chasing expedition company based out of Arlington, Texas. Our group began the day in Lincoln, Nebraska with a forecast focus zone west of Beatrice, Nebraska. The pattern for severe weather and multiple tornado days had been advertised for over a week on medium/long range forecast models, with this day on the heels of the record breaking 2.5 mile wide Hallam, Nebraska F4 tornado event on May 22 within the same region. There were two zones [in our region] to initially focus on that morning. One to the east near the Missouri River, of which we preferred to avoid due to hilly topography and trees. Another was over excellent terrain [for visibility] and closer to the surface low around Hebron, Nebraska. The Storm Prediction Center had a broad high risk zone extending from the southern Nebraska and northern Kansas region east, including all of southern Iowa, northern Missouri and western Illinois; with tornado potential further south along the dry line all the way to and west of Oklahoma City/Norman, Oklahoma. Our tour groups eventually committed west and with that decision, experienced a series of highly photogenic tornadoes associated with a supercell that moved sharply south/southeast. Tornadoes began initially west of Hebron [near Deshler], Nebraska. As the supercell re-phased, the next was west of Belleville, Kansas, and for us, a relatively close range view. Our chase day continued until dusk with severe thunderstorms north of Topeka, Kansas and culminated with pulsating inter-cloud strobe lightning accompanied by an earth-techno pop minivan music "happening" at a northeast Kansas gas station. The music was produced and provided by Wisconsin storm chaser, Kinney Adams, for his 'Sky Dance Alliance' music project at the time. This is my video journal of May 24, 2004. Up to that point, this was my top tornado day of 2004, until just five days later [May 29]. I was a 23 year old geography/meteorology student at the time, almost constantly recording video for a documentary about 'storm chasing culture' that was then a mere a pipe dream, and in the midst of experiencing an already fantastic season of observing the turbulent atmosphere. The audio unfortunately was over modulated on the original Mini DV videotapes for much of the time after I accidentally bumped the manual audio levels over 0db. I attempted to "fix" that in editing with audio normalization, but it is what it is. Some of this material was contributed for a segment in a 'Storms of 2004' video compilation, later screened and sold at the American Meteorological/Society Severe Local Storms conference, but I never formally released the video on VHS or DVD at the time aside from providing a few copies to friends.On reviewing all of the raw footage for the first time in nearly 20 years, some of the video is good, but a lot of the over-excitable commentary is cringe worthy, much omitted from this edit. Thank you to the group with Illinois College, Bill Reid, Brian Morganti, Keith Brown and Kinney Adams for tolerating my verbose energies of that day and era. I am ever so grateful for the people and experiences of 2004!More in-depth meteorological information on the May 24, 2004 tornado outbreak: weather.gov/gid/May22Tornadoes2004Videography by Blake Naftel, © 2004 All Rights Reserved. Remastered in January 2024 into HD 1080 from the original SD Mini DV videocassettes. Recorded with a Sony DCR-VX1000 Mini DV 3CCD Camcorder. Original music produced by Kinney Adams.
PIC: A Photographers Story / April 11, 1965 Palm Sunday Tornadoes Blake Naftel 2024-01-04 | Stories of the Palm Sunday April 11, 1965 tornado outbreak across the Great Lakes and Midwest have been recounted by eyewitnesses, survivors and journalists time and again for decades. Yet a series of photographs, specifically one of a destructive twin-tornado vortex, wowed anyone who glanced at the image upon initial publication in The Elkhart Truth newspaper on April 12, 1965, and the world over in the days, weeks and years to come. The "twin tornado" photograph at Dunlap, Indiana, along with six others, taken by Paul Huffman, a former photojournalist and reporter with the Goshen bureau of The Elkhart Truth, are some of the best known if not the most historical tornado photographs ever taken in the later part of the 20th century. Paul and his wife Elizabeth were returning from church services where they had dropped off one of their son's for Palm Sunday services, when 'Betty' caught sight of what she presumed was a "smoke plume" to the west. Paul instinctively knew it to be a tornado, aware of the potential for severe weather that afternoon. The event and spectacular photograph earned Paul a lifelong nickname: 'Pic' by friends, colleagues and family. The rest is history, recounted here by Paul [Pic] and Elizabeth Huffman in restored recorded audio detail, released for the first time publicly. In June 2010, Bob Hartig; a writer, storm chaser and musician who grew up in the Michiana region interviewed Paul [Pic] and Elizabeth Huffman about that photograph and the events of Palm Sunday, April 11, 1965 at their home near Elkhart, Indiana. Paul was hard of hearing by that point, so Elizabeth told most of the story. This interview was initially intended as an audio recollection for Bob Hartig, who was planning to write a book on the day's events. The book idea was shelved and morphed into a blog entry, still publicly available here: stormhorn.com/2010/06/19/interview-with-paul-and-elizabeth-huffman-insights-into-a-historic-tornado-photographIn 2023, I asked Bob if he would care to share portions of the audio interview publicly, of which he gladly did. This edit is a condensed version from a longer audio interview with Paul and Elizabeth Huffman, both about the tornado encounter and life story in Elkhart County, Indiana. The full interview tape along with a physical copy of this production will be preserved at the Elkhart, Indiana Historical Society for posterity this year.Paul Huffman passed away on November 15, 2014. Elizabeth 'Betty' Huffman passed away on January 13, 2023. This is believed to be the last and only preserved full-length recorded audio interview about the 1965 tornadoes by Paul and Elizabeth Huffman.Audio interview with Paul and Elizabeth Huffman by Bob Hartig, June 2010 © All Rights Reserved.Video produced, narrated and edited by Blake Naftel, January 2024 © Three Reel Films, All Rights Reserved.No portion of this video or audio may be re-edited or multicast without written permission from the producer.Palm Sunday April 11, 1965 was the last occurrence of widespread, violent tornadoes to affect the Western Great Lakes and Midwest region to date. Over 50 tornadoes [47 officially listed] transpired, 266 individuals perished, over 3,000 others injured and over $1.2 billion dollars worth of damage [in 1965 dollars] occurred. Elkhart County, Indiana alone experienced five significant tornadoes within a span of just a few hours and was the worst region affected by the outbreak. Additional information on the Indiana 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak available here: weather.gov/ind/palmsuntor#:~:text=On%20Palm%20Sunday%2C%20April%2011,deadliest%20of%20all%20Indiana%20outbreaks.April 11, 1965 tornado in Kent County, Michigan: weather.gov/grr/1965PalmSundayTornadoAnother documentary produced for the 50th anniversary [2015] of the Kent County, Michigan Palm Sunday tornado: youtube.com/watch?v=dlE5dh8_BUIA local television documentary produced in 1995 by WSJV-TV 28, of which was a former ABC television affiliate for Michiana in 1965: youtu.be/UGEf04tdmyE
April 12, 2022: Northwest Iowa Tornado Trek Blake Naftel 2023-12-31 | Early April 2022: The Great Lakes region featured abundantly warm, pleasant conditions by the 11th, just the type of day for a host of outdoor activities. My meteorological eyes however were focused slightly to the west as a strengthening area of low pressure moved northeast towards eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. By April 12th, after much debate whether or not a round trip to Iowa would be worth it, a look at the morning visible satellite and surface map, with some hints by a couple of CAM [convective allowing model] runs got me out the door by mid-morning. My forecast focus area was a region between Ft. Dodge and Humboldt for late in the afternoon, along a northward advancing warm front and ahead of the triple point. A tornado or two seemed quite feasible. Over the years with many ventures to n' from the Hawkeye state, I had very little luck in observing tornadoes there, the last being on June 11, 2004. This day seemed promising enough, for storm observers at least, to venture west on just shy of an 8 hour direct drive. Just after 4 p.m. CT, enhanced cumulus clouds began to tower and break the cap to my southwest along Highway 20 and 71 near Early, Iowa. As the storms developed, phased and matured, I ventured back east with them, taking Highway 169 north out of Fort Dodge to Humboldt. The main storm looked better visually by the point as I headed west on Highway 3 towards Gilmore City, with a very well sculpted tilted updraft base to the hazy southwest. I zig zagged onto a farm to market road grid to the northeast of Lizard Lake, got the video camcorder on a tripod and watched at a distance of several miles as the wall cloud rapidly organized. Just as the circulation began to spin up, the Canon XA40 camcorder had some technical issues after I switched from auto to manual mode, of which stopped down the recording. I was too preoccupied with taking iPhone photographs that I falsely assumed the camcorder was still rolling. Annoyed upon that discovery, recording resumed after the mature stage of the tornado, then it was time to reposition. While predominantly over open terrain, a few farmsteads did sustain EF-2 damage with one minor personal injury.I drove west for a final viewpoint at closer range as the tornado tracked north. As the vortex occluded, a secondary circulation began to develop overhead. Now off the dirt road grid, I jumped back onto Highway 3 near Gilmore City and started east. The next circulation moved east/northeast, wrapped in precipitation and was followed by severe northwest to westerly rear flank downdraft [RFD] winds that came packed with an audible roar. Some power poles and tree limbs were snapped along the Highway 3 corridor west of Humboldt. Once that mesocyclone, along with dozens of other storm chasers, passed in a desperate race to find another tornado, I held back and watched the southern flank of the storm. By 7:15 p.m. now northbound on Highway 17 between Renwick and Corwith, Iowa, the next area of rotation attempted to organize. No additional tornadoes were observed, but plenty of cloud to ground lightning around the mesocyclone. The scenery was replaced by plenty of widespread SLC [scary looking clouds].With a long return trip anticipated back to Michigan, the chase concluded at dusk. Eventually exhaustion took hold, and I found a nice hotel in the Quad Cities region to catch some rest. Overall out of the few storm treks of 2022, this was the first and best day of my season. It also marked the first time in 18 years of observing a tornado, finally with decent contrast, in Iowa.Information on the April 12, 2022 Northwest Iowa tornadoes can be accessed here: weather.gov/dmx/April12th2022StormsVideography © 2022 Blake Naftel, All Rights Reserved.
