A clip of a group of storm chasers getting trapped inside a tornado has gone viral, attracting 1.5 million views on X, formerly Twitter, as of 5:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, after being uploaded to the social media platform the previous evening.
The footage, captured by Minneapolis resident Tanner Charles and his crew, shows the heart-rending moment a twister knocks over a power line beside a road, pinning their car in the path of the oncoming storm.
Captioning the original video on YouTube, Charles said that the incident occurred while chasing down the Enhanced Fujita 3-force storm—which can carry winds of between 136 and 165 miles an hour—on April 4 this year near Lewistown, Illinois.
He noted the chase had been undertaken by professionals with 14 years or more experience, and urged viewers not to attempt something similar.
"This is the most intense experience of my life; it was also quite traumatic, which is why I haven't released it in, like, months," Charles said in the introduction to the full video. "I'm just incredibly grateful that we made it out alive, and this has to be some of the most intense footage I have ever shot in my entire chasing career."
The video begins with the team being pelted by hail in their car while approaching the tornado in a southerly direction. As they drive towards it, a massive circulating cloud hoves into view. "It is coming right at us; we are immediately downstream of it," one of the crew can be heard saying.
They stop and get out of the car to capture shots of the cyclone as it touches down on the ground and produces a debris cloud, before continuing to track it as lightning can be seen striking the road ahead of them.
"Our escape route's north right now, it's okay," one member assures another as the rain intensifies. "These winds don't make it seem like it's okay right now," another replies.
A matter of seconds later, several power lines along the road tip over, those immediately ahead of the car emitting bright flashes as they touch the ground. "Oh my gosh!" a person exclaims.
The crew stop the car and jump as the power line continues to spark, before being hit by a strong gust of wind ahead of the tornado making impact. "Oh no," one of the crew can be heard repeating as the twister appears beside them.
The team can then be heard praying as the tornado passes over them, rattling the car and smashing the back window with debris. After about a minute, the winds recede. When one member exits the car, it can be seen severely damaged and pushed off the road into a nearby ditch.
According to a National Weather Service report on the tornado, it had estimated peak winds of 160 miles per hour and had a width of 600 yards. The agency said it had caused four injuries, damaging a number of houses and farm buildings as it traveled from south of Ipava across the northwest side of Lewistown and over Bryant.
Charles told Newsweek that none of the crew he was with sustained injuries during the incident.
Asked about whether he had been put off storm chasing, he said: "The month or so was a bit hard but I did indeed start chasing again. [I] took a few weeks to gather myself and process everything, but I've been doing better than expected which I'm grateful for."
Update 10/06/23, 3:00 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from Tanner Charles.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aleks Phillips is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter based in London. His focus is on U.S. politics and the environment. ... Read more
