Shadowing Practice: When Storm Chasers Are Hit By Tornadoes - Learn English Speaking with Video
Les maken...
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The day is May 31st, 2013, and storm chasers from all over the country are moving towards one spot, El Reno, Oklahoma.
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The extreme storm chaser convergence is due to the moderate risk
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with a 15% chance of tornadoes over central Oklahoma during late May, peak tornado season.
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However, the chaser convergence is made even worse because only 11 days prior, an EF-5 tornado tore right through the suburb of Moore, Oklahoma.
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With the EF-5 still fresh on everyone's mind, no one knows there's about to be another disaster.
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But this time, it would directly impact the storm-chasing community.
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At 4.37 in the afternoon, a line of storms initiate west of El Reno.
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With the anticipation for what is about to happen, Mike Bettis reports live for the Weather Channel.
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Very quickly these storms fired up and that's going to happen with all of these.
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We could follow in behind it on the safe side of it, stay out of the rain, stay out of the hail and have a view of a tornado and keep everyone alerted as to what the danger is.
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Unknowingly, Mike foreshadows what's about to happen.
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As the complex of storms matures, the southern storm begins to dominate and a massive hook forms on radar.
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At 6.03, a tornado touches down southwest of El Reno, Oklahoma.
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Immediately after touching down, the tornado exhibits a strange behavior.
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Instead of a single circulation, the tornado consists of many smaller, short-lived vortices that are extremely unpredictable.
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One of the chasers nearby is Oklahoma local Richard Henderson, who's out on his first storm chase.
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He captures the small vortices of the tornado as it touches down, although he doesn't have much time since the tornado is heading right towards him.
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Richard flees to the east, narrowly escaping the tornado.
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A mile away are storm chasers Brett Wright and Brandon Sullivan.
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Unlike Richard, these two have years of storm chasing experience.
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After recording the start of the tornado, they realize they're directly in the tornado's path, so they begin their escape south, away from the tornado.
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They leave early enough to evade the extremely strong core.
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However, the tornado is much larger than it appears.
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To the south of the core are powerful, invisible winds surrounding the tornado, blowing debris onto the road.
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Brett struggles in the debris-filled crosswinds before a hay bale is blown into them.
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Fortunately, Brett and Brandon survive the encounter.
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However, the tornado is marching towards dozens of other chasers, and it's only getting stronger.
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To the north of the tornado, a line of chasers frantically drive east, alongside the circulation.
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In the rear of the pack is Team Dominator, led by the legendary storm chaser Reed Timmer.
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His passenger records the monster tornado to their southeast.
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From their position, you can clearly see the outline of the massive tornado, despite it being wrapped in rain.
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Also, the tornado has immensely grown in size, and so have the sub-vortices at the core.
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No chaser, not even a tornado tank like the Dominator, is able to survive a hit from one of these powerful sub-vortices.
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In front of Team Dominator are the taillights of another notable storm-chasing team, Twist-X.
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Inside the TwistX vehicle are three chasers, father and son Tim and Paul Samaras, and longtime team member Carl Young.
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TwistX is positioned extremely close to the tornado since they are
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chasing with the goal of deploying a probe inside of the tornado.
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The line of storm chasers continue east until Team Dominator is stopped by power lines blocking the road.
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Right around the same time, Team TwistX realizes they're in danger, so they turn north away from the tornado.
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Anderson continues east, tracking alongside the tornado, likely unaware of how much danger he was in.
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At the same time, Mike Bettis is live reporting back to the Weather Channel.
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Guys, that's it, right there.
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Look at that monster, this is a huge tornado.
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He realizes they don't have a lot of time since the tornado is getting closer by the second.
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This thing is moving relatively slowly.
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We could be putting ourselves in a dangerous position here.
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We may actually quickly try to get in our cars and get south of this.
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I think we have to go now in order to stay ahead of this and not get run over by it.
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Mike then makes the call to escape the tornado by going south on Highway 81.
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This is a huge mistake.
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As the Weather Channel crew frantically drives south, the tornado grows in size while also accelerating.
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The combination of growth and increased forward speed
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means that the tornado is effectively moving towards them at over 80 miles per hour.
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However, they have no chance of escape.
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Within minutes, the Weather Channel vehicle is at the core of the circulation.
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Hold on brothers, hold on.
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Everybody duck, go, go, go, just keep going if you can.
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Keep going if you can, everybody duck down.
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Their car is rolled 100 yards into the adjacent field.
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Somehow everyone survives.
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But as the tornado barrels onwards, others would not be as fortunate.
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Immediately after striking the Weather Channel crew, the tornado turns north towards Richard Henderson, who's still driving east.
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Richard is caught in the violent core.
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His vehicle is thrown into the nearby field and is crumpled.
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Tragically, Richard does not survive.
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As the tornado is impacting Richard, it reaches a peak width of 2.6 miles wide,
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making it the widest tornado in recorded history.
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Meanwhile, to the north, Team Twistex and another chaser, Dan Robinson, are frantically driving east on Reuter Road.
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They are now driving through the outer bands of the circulation.
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As the The core of the tornado approaches Twistex, the winds momentarily subside, and Tim becomes aware of the dire situation.
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Moments later, their vehicle is directly impacted.
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Their vehicle is tossed a third of a mile to the east.
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Tim, Paul, and Carl do not survive.
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A mile to the east, Dan Robinson abandons his car on the side of the road and takes cover in a ditch.
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Robinson narrowly escapes the violent core of the tornado that killed Twistex.
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Bruised and scraped, Dan gets back in his vehicle and flees south away from the monster storm.
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Soon after, the tornado terror would come to an end.
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In 40 minutes, this record-breaking tornado took eight lives, 4 of which were storm chasers, with every death happening in a vehicle.
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This was the first time storm chasers had been killed by a tornado, and Team Twistex were some of the most experienced and well-respected chasers in the community.
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Storm chasers dying to tornadoes was always a possibility, but no one thought it would be them.
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Despite their decades worth of combined experience, they were not ready for the extremely erratic behavior,
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power, and size of the 2013 El Reno tornado.
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This traumatic event served as a lesson for the storm chasing community for years to come.
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But in 2019, another large group of storm chasers would take a direct hit from a strong tornado.
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Before I get into the next storm chasing incident, I'd like to tell you about the sponsor of this video, Fessy.
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It's May 28th, 2019, and a moderate risk with a 15% chance for tornadoes is taking shape over Kansas, Storm Chasers' favorite state.
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Of the many chasers out that day, one group is the well-known storm chasing tour, Silver Lining Tours, led by veteran chaser Roger Hill.
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With over 35 years of experience and more than two decades running the tour, few, if any, can match Roger's experience around tornadoes.
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By 4 in the afternoon, a cluster of storms forms south of Topeka.
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The complex of storms evolves, and the southern storm develops into a fully mature supercell.
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Roger, being as experienced as he is, has seen this pattern unfold countless times, and positions the tour group in the perfect spot.
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Soon after, the storm produces a tornado east of Carbondale, Kansas.
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But there's one problem.
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This is a high precipitation supercell.
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A type of supercell that is so loaded with rain and hail, any tornado it produces is essentially invisible.
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Unless a storm chaser is willing to get close.
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Silver lining tourists is well aware of the ongoing tornado, but given their position, they can't see anything.
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Instead of distancing themselves by continuing east, they make the aggressive decision to go north and position in the storm's notch.
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The only way to see a tornado, on a high precipitation supercell.
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This is an extremely risky maneuver.
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However, they are not alone, as many other storm chasers do the same exact thing.
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One of these chasers is Quincy Vigal, who captures the tour vans passing by.
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Eerily, the tornado is somewhere in this rain.
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As the tour drives north, they see something concerning.
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Another, even larger circulation is forming in front of them.
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Not wanting to risk driving into what is likely another tornado, they turn into a cemetery parking lot to stop and reassess.
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They decide to turn back south, away from the new circulation.
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The four tour vans awkwardly turn around in the parking lot, which burns a significant amount of time.
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Time that they did not have.
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Quincy captures silver lining tours as they head back south.
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This is the last time they are seen.
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The convoy of vans continue south through the heavy rain and are hit by a wave of intense winds.
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And then suddenly, Roger sees something out his window.
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It's debris falling from the sky!
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Debris falling!
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Tornado right here!
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Give me the tornado!
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Shots to death!
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Ah!
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One van is rolled while another van is lifted into the air, tumbling multiple times across the road into a field.
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Despite the horrific damage to the vans and large number of chasers impacted, nobody dies.
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However, one tour guest suffers major injuries.
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After 2019, the storm chasing community was on their best behavior.
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But in 2023, an early season setup in the southeast would start the year off on a low note.
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On March 24th, a moderate risk with a 15% chance for tornadoes is materializing over the southern portion of the Mississippi River.
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Many chasers are out because of how potent the system is forecast to be.
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But by 5pm, storms still hadn't produced any tornadoes.
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Many chasers write this day off as a bust.
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Then right at sunset, a strong current of air in the lower levels of the atmosphere, known as the low-level jet, ramps up over the area,
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dramatically increasing the tornadic producing ability of storms.
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And there just so happens to be a single dominant supercell in the area.
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Storm chasers see what's unfolding and they all converge on this supercell, which begins to rapidly rotate as it crosses the Mississippi River.
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One chaser who goes by the name Chris FL Tornado is streaming on YouTube documenting his chase
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and he's now moving into Rolling Fork, Mississippi.
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And at 7.57, a tornado touches down southwest of Rolling Fork, the town Chris is in.
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Right behind Chris on Highway 64 is storm chaser Max Olson, who captures the early stage of the tornado as it's directly to his west.
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Multiple storm chasers in the area report the tornado, and a tornado emergency is issued with Rolling Fork right at its center.
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While Max is recording the tornado, Chris is in town, live streaming to an audience.
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He passes multiple businesses and homes on the east side of town.
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Little does he know, many of these buildings would be flattened minutes later.
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Chris takes a left into the residential part of town.
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He looks at radar and he's right in the path of the circulation.
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Chris continues down the road and stops for nearly a minute at a stop sign, lingering for far too long.
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Chris then says he's listening for the tornado and that he needs to be careful because things are about to get ugly, and he could not be more right.
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Meanwhile, Max is southwest of town, recording the tornado with an unobstructed view.
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By now, the tornado has grown into a massive beast, and it is rapidly closing in on town, where Chris continues to meander.
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Even though it's at night, frequent lightning strikes and power flashes light up the monster lurking in the darkness.
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However, Chris's view is obstructed by the homes and trees in town.
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Chris turns east, unknowingly entering the tornado's path.
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He mentions that he wants to get out of town, but little does he know the tornado was already doing damage less than a mile away.
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As Chris struggles to find a path back to the main road, he's stopped at a dead-end street, losing him even more time.
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He makes a couple more turns and then a loud roar begins to drown out all other sounds.
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Chris nervously closes his windows to quiet the roar for his stream and he seems to be aware of what is happening.
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Another chaser, Marcus Reynolds, is a couple blocks to the north and captures the tornado as it's illuminated by a power flash.
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By now, Marcus and Chris are both aware of the danger they're in, but time has run out.
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The wind picks up and debris flies across the road on Chris's dream before it cuts out.
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Moments later, Tornado overtakes both chasers.
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Both chasers survive.
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However, had they been just a single block to the south, They likely would have died,
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since this area was found to have evidence of winds of at least 195 miles per hour, which are essentially unsurvivable for anyone in a vehicle.
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The Rolling Fork tornado was only the first big tornadic event of 2023, and already two chasers were hit by a strong tornado.
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And less than two weeks later, another tornado would impact multiple chasers.
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Holy shit!
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And I was one of them.
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The story actually starts a few days earlier
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when an extremely potent system was coming through the Mississippi River Valley on March 31st. As a storm chaser, I wanted to get involved in the action,
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so I road-tripped east to chase the northern portion of the risk, where a 30% chance of tornadoes was outlined over Iowa and Illinois.
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On the morning of the chase, I faced a difficult decision.
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Which side of the Mississippi River should I chase, Iowa or Illinois?
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I chose Illinois, which was a huge mistake.
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While I chased garbage storms in Illinois, 60 miles to my west, Tanner Charles captured this incredible tornado in Iowa.
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Chasing this incredible tornado left me with an unhealthy hunger to redeem myself, and I would get that chance just a few days later.
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Another extremely similar setup was over almost exactly the same area.
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Not wanting to make the same mistake again, I started my day in Burlington, Iowa, leaving both sides of the river in play.
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But soon after, a large, powerful complex of storms was initiating and moving into Illinois.
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For a second time in a row, I was suckered into chasing the Illinois side of the river.
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I made my way south to get a view of the storms, and it was a massive supercell that's spitting out incredible bolts,
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a telltale sign the storm is intensifying.
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Even though there isn't a tornado, I make sure to stay northeast of the storm, just in case a tornado does form,
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and because it was moving at nearly 45 miles per hour.
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Eventually, I'm overtaken by the core of the storm, the area filled with rain and hail, limiting visibility to nearly zero.
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However, as I travel east, the storm begins to show signs of rotation on radar,
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and just after 7pm, a tornado touches down a few miles southwest of Lewistown, Illinois.
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Around the same time, I break out of the storm's core and get a clear view of the storm's updraft.
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Right in front of me is the most incredible supercell I have ever seen.
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I pull over at an intersection, keeping in mind that I would need to travel east to stay with the storm.
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Right behind me is Tanner Charles, who's leading a vehicle with three other storm chasers.
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Yeah, here we go.
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Is that it right there?
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Or wait, no, it's over here on the right.
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Yeah, it's right here on the right.
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Everyone in the car is somewhat confused about whether or not they're in the right.
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It's right here on the right.
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Everyone in the car is somewhat confused about whether or not this is an actual tornado or just a rotating supercell.
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However, moments later, the tornado reveals itself as a tight circulation underneath the storm's mesocyclone.
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And this is when I begin recording on my second camera, the only camera that would survive.
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Wow, look at this thing.
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Oh my god.
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Holy shit, Tanner.
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Tanner and crew pull up to the same intersection, positioning themselves to the east to allow for a quick escape.
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Also, you can see me in their video pulled over on the other side of the road.
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Let's go, bud!
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As incredible as the tornado in Supercell is, there's one problem.
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It's moving directly at us.
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It's coming right at us!
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Yeah, this is.
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Oh my.
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As the tornado gets closer, a local yells.
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We're good, we're good.
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We got time.
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And I resist their advice, thinking I had more time than I did.
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Tanner's group is more cautious, and they escape to the east.
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I hesitate for another minute, since I'm frozen with a mixture of fear and awe.
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And to make matters worse, I couldn't find my phone.
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Where the fuck is my phone?
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Eventually, I find my phone, pull a U-turn, and then make the single most pivotal decision of the chase or really my entire life.
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Instead of going north away from the tornado, I turn east to race out in front with the intention of keeping up with the tornado for as long as possible.
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As I frantically drive east along Epworth Springs Road, Tanner and his crew turn north on the Highway 100.
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They seem to have escaped in time.
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However, high-voltage power lines fall, trapping their vehicle directly in the path of the tornado.
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Back west, I race to stay ahead of the tornado, frantically looking for a north option.
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I try to stop and turn north on Ridge Road, but as I hit the brakes, I begin to hydroplane, missing the turn.
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The next option is Highway 100.
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As I'm stopped at the intersection, I grasp the danger of the situation I put myself in.
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The now massive tornado was half a mile to my southwest.
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I wasn't ready to give up, so I turned around in desperation to hopefully get on the backside of the tornado.
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We're going back!
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We're going back!
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We're going back!
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I keep fighting.
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The grain silos next to me begin to shred apart and a large piece of sheet metal jams into my wheel, stopping my car.
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In these brief helpless moments, I decide to brace myself up against the steering wheel.
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My windows blow out and pieces of debris whiz by my face at incredible speeds.
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My head is positioned right behind the vehicle's door pillar, shielding my head from the flying debris, likely saving my life.
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The grain bin is thrown into my vehicle and my car rolls.
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After rolling three times, the vehicle finally comes to a rest.
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The powerful core of the tornado then overtakes Tanner's group's vehicle.
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Somehow, the same grain bin that hit my vehicle rolls nearly half a mile directly over their vehicle.
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The tornado finally passes.
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I climb out of my car, completely disoriented and surrounded by mud.
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It didn't feel like real life.
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I couldn't comprehend what happened.
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I was hit.
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I made a serious, serious mistake.
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I am sorry.
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That's it.
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For a second time in 2023, and less than two weeks after the Rolling Fork incident, two different chase vehicles were hit by the same tornado.
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Admittedly, my own decisions resulted in me getting hit, but instead of just saying all storm chasers to be hit by tornadoes are stupid,
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like what all the comments have been saying for years on both YouTube and Reddit,
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I want to break down why it happened while also talking directly with the people who lived through those moments.
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The next one is the first time we have to go to the next one.
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After having more than two years to reflect on what happened in Lewistown, the biggest factor in my situation was my mentality.
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When I missed the prolific Iowa storm a few days earlier, I put on myself an unhealthy pressure to perform, leading me to make more dangerous decisions than I would have normally.
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I knew what I was doing was dangerous, but given my desperation, I didn't want my shot of the tornado to end,
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causing me to continue east instead of stopping where I was.
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It's also worth mentioning that the Lewistown tornado was much larger than it appeared.
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According to the National Weather Service survey, it may have been more than one mile wide and visually it was not that large,
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making it difficult to judge in the moment.
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The tornado was also extremely rain wrapped, dusty, and was moving at over 50 miles per hour which is a recipe for disaster.
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These are not excuses for my decisions.
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I should have taken this all into account at the time and backed off.
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For Tanner's situation, it's mostly just bad luck.
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The fact is, they were in front of the tornado
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and would have safely continued the chase had they not been blocked by the power lines.
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The Rolling Fork tornado had similarities to Lewistown.
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It was hard to see since it was at night, while also moving at an extremely fast forward speed.
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But the biggest issue was that Marcus and Chris were chasing in town, surrounded by trees and buildings blocking their view.
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Getting close to a tornado at night is just not worth it especially
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when you're in an area with tons of potential debris.
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Max Olsen also chased the tornado and got incredible shots without putting himself or others in danger.
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So when Rolling Fork initially touched down, we were south of town by a couple miles, and I had stopped well south of Rolling Fork
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because I didn't want to get north of the tornado's path in any way.
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When it's that late at night, even though we had decent visibility, storms moving that fast, things can happen quickly.
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So I wanted to make sure we were pretty far south.
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It was a relatively close intercept, but once we gauged the motion on it, we could tell that it was going to pass to our north.
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We just weren't sure if it was going to go directly through Rolling Fork at
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that point or if it would pass Rolling Fork or maybe just clip it a little to the north.
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It was still pouring down rain and, you know, windy, and it was really difficult to see outside until there was one flash of lightning
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that really illuminated the foreground and I realized
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that the reason I couldn't tell how bad the damage was around me is
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because all the houses that used to exist around me were now clumps of rubble and that's when you know, I just got the biggest pit in my stomach and was like,
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oh man These people need a lot of help and really fast.
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The tornado that impacted silver lining tours was also extremely hard to see because it was buried and rain, fast moving, and the chasers were in a dangerous position.
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The storms notch my main criticism is
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that the storm chasing tours should not be chasing aggressively
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Because a convoy of vans moves slowly Max has been a tour guide for a few seasons now
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And he can also verify that
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when I am guiding a tour I'm chasing completely different than when I'm out on my own when I'm on my own, you know, I'll be somewhat aggressive
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I'm still smart and calculated but aggressive when the situation presents itself
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when I'm on a tour or I'm not even thinking about getting close.
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I'm just thinking about getting these guests out of the van in a safe spot where they can enjoy the storm, which usually means we have to stay further back.
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The one tornado that really stands out is the El Reno incident, where two storm chasing vehicles and four different chasers died.
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This is still the only time storm chasers have been directly killed by a tornado, likely because it's the strongest,
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largest, fastest, and most erratic of the tornadoes covered in this video.
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However, the storm chasers are not totally blameless.
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I truly don't understand the decision-making process of the Weather Channel vehicle since they basically drove straight into the tornado.
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Even though Mike Bettis seemed to have good situational awareness at the time, they're extremely lucky nobody was killed in their vehicle.
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I recently visited the Twistex site, and the most eerie thing is just how close it is to other roads.
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All they had to do was turn north and they likely would have survived.
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And while El Reno remains the only tornado to ever kill storm chasers, given the increased number of storm chasers around tornadoes,
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it's no longer a question of if more storm chasers will be hit or even killed.
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It's a question of when.
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During a storm chase last year, my friend Kelton lost sight of a large and dangerous tornado.
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Fortunately, he evaded the tornado to the east, but had there been chaser traffic slowing down his progress, he would have been killed.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you’ll practice listening and speaking skills using a thrilling video about storm chasers facing a tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma. You’ll follow the tense narrative of chasers like Mike Bettis and Reed Timmer, learning to keep up with dynamic storytelling while improving your pronunciation and fluency. The video’s mix of live reports, descriptive details, and urgent dialogue makes it perfect for practicing the shadowing technique—a powerful way to mimic native speech patterns. By the end, you’ll feel more confident following fast-paced English and using expressive tone in your own speaking.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Convergence: The coming together of many people or things (e.g., "The storm chaser convergence created a crowded scene").
- Vortices: Swirling masses of air or water (plural of "vortex"; e.g., "The tornado had smaller vortices within it").
- Deploy: To put something into use (e.g., "The team planned to deploy a probe into the tornado").
- Foreshadows: To hint at something that will happen later (e.g., "His comment foreshadowed the danger ahead").
- Frantically: In a wild, hurried way (e.g., "Chasers drove frantically to escape the tornado").
Practice Tips
To master the shadowing technique with this video, start by watching it once to grasp the story. Then, play short clips (5–10 seconds) and repeat them immediately, matching the speed and urgency of the speakers. Notice how Mike Bettis’s tone shifts from calm reporting to panicked urgency—mimic that change to practice emotional expression. For tricky words like "vortices" or "convergence," pause and repeat until your pronunciation feels natural. The video’s mix of casual dialogue and technical terms (like "EF-5 tornado") helps you adapt to real-world English. Remember, shadowspeaks best when you focus on rhythm, not just words. Over time, this will boost your ability to improve English pronunciation and follow fast conversations. Keep practicing, and soon you’ll be shadowing like a pro!
Grammatica in deze video
De structuren die de spreker het meest gebruikt, met de exacte woorden uit de video:
| Structuur | In de video |
|---|---|
| Lijdende vorm be + voltooid deelwoord — het gaat om wat er gebeurt, niet om wie het doet | is made · is blown · being wrapped |
| Present perfect have/has + voltooid deelwoord — iets uit het verleden dat nu nog telt | has seen · has grown · has run |
| Betrekkelijke bijzinnen who / which + zin — extra informatie over een persoon of ding | Stormburst, which are · hour, which are · Illinois, which was |
Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?
Shadowing is een wetenschappelijk onderbouwde taalleermethode die oorspronkelijk is ontwikkeld voor professionele tolkentraining en gepopulariseerd door polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. De methode is eenvoudig maar krachtig: je luistert naar native Engelse audio en herhaalt het onmiddellijk hardop — als een schaduw die de spreker volgt met slechts 1–2 seconden vertraging. In tegenstelling tot passief luisteren of grammaticadrills, dwingt shadowing je hersenen en mondspieren om echte spraakpatronen tegelijkertijd te verwerken en te reproduceren. Onderzoek toont aan dat het de uitspraaknauwkeurigheid, intonatie, ritme, verbonden spraak, luisterbegrip en spreekvaardigheid aanzienlijk verbetert — waardoor het een van de meest effectieve methoden is voor IELTS Speaking-voorbereiding en echte Engelse communicatie.