The Most DANGEROUS Tornado Shapes Explained

Every scary tornado shape explained on one ladder of fear, from the thin rope to the one nobody in Joplin could see. Nine tornado shapes, ranked by how much they lie to you. The wedge that looks like a cloud on the road. The rope that isn't dying. The stovepipe that erased a town. The slow "dead man walking" that sat on one neighborhood. The multi-vortex that hit 321 mph. And at the top, the rain-wrapped tornado you only see from space. Watch every rung: there's one question at the end only you can answer. Chapters 0:00 The cloud on the road is a wedge 1:05 The rope that isn't dying 2:13 The funnel that never touches down 3:15 The elephant trunk is being dragged 4:15 The stovepipe that erased a town 5:28 Twins: two tornadoes at once 6:23 Dead man walking: slow is worse 7:28 Multi-vortex: 321 mph inside 8:33 Rain-wrapped: the shape you can't see 9:49 The question only you can answer Sources NWS Norman, El Reno tornado of 31 May 2013: https://www.weather.gov/oun/events-20... NWS, tornado life cycle (spotter guide): https://www.weather.gov/spotterguide/... NWS, Advanced Spotter's Field Guide: https://www.weather.gov/media/grr/bro... NWS Wichita, Andover tornado of 29 April 2022: https://www.weather.gov/ict/event_202... NWS Wichita, public information statement (Andover damage): https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/api... AccuWeather, drone video of the Andover touchdown: https://www.accuweather.com/en/severe... Fox Weather, Andover: https://www.foxweather.com/weather-ne... NWS Norman, Moore tornado of 20 May 2013: https://www.weather.gov/oun/events-20... WTVR, photos of the Moore tornado (2013): https://www.wtvr.com/2013/05/21/10-am... Smithsonian, Tim Samaras and the Manchester probe: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scienc... Wikipedia, Tim Samaras: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Sam... Wikipedia, Manchester, South Dakota: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manches... NPR, Pilger twin tornadoes (2014): https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w... KTIV, Pilger ten years later: https://www.ktiv.com/2024/06/20/town-... Wikipedia, tornado outbreak of June 16–18, 2014: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado... NWS Austin/San Antonio, Jarrell tornado of 27 May 1997: https://www.weather.gov/ewx/wxevent-1... Weather Underground, Jarrell twenty years on: https://wunderground.com/cat6/twenty-... Wikipedia, Jarrell tornado: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarrell... NWS Norman, Bridge Creek–Moore tornado of 3 May 1999: https://www.weather.gov/oun/events-19... Claims Journal (2013): https://amp.claimsjournal.com/news/mi... NWS Central Region service assessment, Joplin tornado of 22 May 2011: https://www.weather.gov/media/publica... Landsat 5 TM scenes LT05_L2SP_026034_20110429_02_T1 and LT05_L2SP_026034_20110702_02_T1 (USGS, public domain); scar length measured by World On Paper Landsat imagery courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey. #tornado #weather #severeweather