Tornado Glory is an American documentary film that was released in 2006 by PBS. Produced by Angry Sky Entertainment, the program follows storm chasers Reed Timmer and Joel Taylor through Tornado Alley during the 2003 storm season. The film was produced and directed by Ken Cole.
As opposed to many documentaries focusing strictly on the science and destructive nature of tornadoes, Tornado Glory examines the determination, excitement, and struggles of storm chasing from the personal experiences of two University of Oklahoma meteorology students, Reed Timmer and Joel Taylor. Timmer in particular has emerged as a controversial figure in the storm chasing world,[ citation needed ] favoring high-risk chase tactics such as speeding and driving in reverse to get out of a tornado's path. Taylor and Timmer's critics, including notable meteorology professors,[ who? ] take issue with such tactics, as well as Timmer's high-profile television appearances.
The documentary blends the personal stories and backgrounds of the two main chasers with chase sequences from their 2003 chase season. Events covered in the movie include October 9, 2001, in Elk City, Oklahoma, April 5, 2003, in Stonewall County, Texas, the May 15, 2003, outbreak and June 24, 2003, in Manchester, South Dakota, in which Timmer was almost hit by a mile-wide tornado.
According to the DVD commentaries, Taylor, Timmer, and Cole studied meteorology together at the University of Oklahoma, graduating in 2002. Taylor graduated with a bachelor's degree, while Timmer is currently[ when? ] pursuing a doctorate in meteorology. Cole, who was also cinematographer and editor, graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in meteorology in 2002. He then studied filmmaking as part of his master's degree.
Storm chasing is broadly defined as the deliberate pursuit of any severe weather phenomenon, regardless of motive, but most commonly for curiosity, adventure, scientific investigation, or for news or media coverage. A person who chases storms is known as a storm chaser or simply a chaser.
Michael Bettes is an American television meteorologist and storm chaser who works for The Weather Channel in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a co-host of AMHQ: America's Morning Headquarters. He hosts Weather Underground TV. Bettes has been an on-camera meteorologist for TWC since 2003, and is also an occasional fill-in weather anchor on The Today Show.
Timothy Patrick Marshall is an American structural and forensic engineer as well as meteorologist, concentrating on damage analysis, particularly that from wind and other weather phenomena. He is also a pioneering storm chaser and was editor of Storm Track magazine.
Thomas P. Grazulis is an American meteorologist who has written extensively about tornadoes and is head of The Tornado Project.
The Tornado Intercept Vehicle 1 and Tornado Intercept Vehicle 2 are vehicles used to film with an IMAX camera from very close to or within a tornado. They were designed by film director Sean Casey. Both TIVs have intercepted numerous tornadoes, including the June 12, 2005 Jayton, TX tornado, the June 5, 2009 La Grange WY tornado, and the strongest intercept, made by TIV 2, May 27, 2013 Lebanon, KS tornado.
Storm Chasers is an American documentary reality television series that premiered on October 17, 2007, on the Discovery Channel. Produced by Original Media, the program follows several teams of storm chasers as they attempt to intercept tornadoes in Tornado Alley in the United States. The show was canceled at the end of its 5th season by Discovery Communications on January 21, 2012.
Tony Laubach is an American storm chaser and meteorologist. He has participated in several field research projects and is one of the surviving members of TWISTEX. He has been contracted as a severe weather photojournalist for various major television networks, and has starred in several television shows, including Seasons 3 through 5 of Storm Chasers on the Discovery Channel.
TWISTEX was a tornado research experiment that was founded and led by Tim Samaras of Bennett, Colorado, US, that ended in the deaths of three researchers in the 2013 El Reno tornado. The experiment announced in 2015 that there were some plans for future operations, but no additional information has been announced since.
Reed Timmer is an American meteorologist and storm chaser. He is known for starring in the Discovery Channel reality television series Storm Chasers, as well as in the documentary film Tornado Glory and in the series Tornado Chasers. He also worked with Mike Theiss in the reality television series Storms Rising on Disney+.
Eric Michael Nguyen was an American professional storm chaser, meteorologist, and photographer from Keller, Texas, United States. In 2008, Nguyen released his first book of photography titled Adventures in Tornado Alley: The Storm Chasers with co-author Mike Hollingshead.
David Payne is an American television meteorologist and storm chaser. He currently serves as the chief meteorologist for CBS affiliate KWTV-DT in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The SRV Dominator is the name given to a series of vehicles used for Reed Timmer, as featured on the Discovery Channel series Storm Chasers. In April 2013, Reed Timmer, designer and operator of all three Dominator vehicles joined KFOR-TV's 4WARN Storm Team, all three vehicles collectively referred to by the station as "Dominator 4".
David K. Hoadley is an American pioneer of storm chasing and the first widely recognized storm chaser, as well as the founder and former editor of Storm Track magazine. He is also a sketch artist and photographer.
Timothy Michael Samaras was an American engineer and storm chaser best known for his field research on tornadoes and time on the Discovery Channel show, Storm Chasers. He died in the 2013 El Reno tornado.
During the early evening of Friday, May 31, 2013, a very large and powerful tornado occurred over rural areas of Central Oklahoma. This rain-wrapped, multiple-vortex tornado was the widest tornado ever recorded and was part of a larger weather system that produced dozens of tornadoes over the preceding days. The tornado initially touched down at 6:03 p.m. Central Daylight Time (2303 UTC) about 8.3 miles (13.4 km) west-southwest of El Reno, rapidly growing in size and becoming more violent as it tracked through central portions of Canadian County. Remaining over mostly open terrain, the tornado did not impact many structures; however, measurements from mobile weather radars revealed extreme winds up to 135.0 m/s within the vortex. These are among the highest observed wind speeds on Earth, just slightly lower than the wind speeds of the 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado. As it crossed U.S. 81, it had grown to a record-breaking width of 2.6 miles (4.2 km), beating the previous width record set in 2004. Turning northeastward, the tornado soon weakened. Upon crossing Interstate 40, the tornado dissipated around 6:43 p.m. CDT (2343 UTC), after tracking for 16.2 miles (26.1 km), it avoided affecting the more densely populated areas near and within the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.
Tornado Chasers is an American documentary series that premiered on September 19, 2012 on TVNweather.com. The program follows Reed Timmer and his team of storm chasers as they attempt to intercept tornadoes in Tornado Alley in the United States and Canada. Season 2, funded largely through a successful Kickstarter campaign, commenced on September 30, 2013. The series is a two-time Webby Award Honoree, once for Best Documentary Series in 2013, and again for Best Editing in 2014.
Alan Roger Moller was an American meteorologist, storm chaser, nature and landscape photographer known for advancing spotter training and bridging operational meteorology with research.
James M. Leonard, also known as "Cyclone Jim", was an American professional storm chaser, photographer, and videographer. Intercepting severe weather including thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes and typhoons, he was among the earliest storm chasers. He was the first to photograph an anticyclonic tornado.
Roger Edwards is an American meteorologist and expert on severe convective storms (thunderstorms). He is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Electronic Journal of Severe Storms Meteorology (EJSSM).