Attica, KS Tornado Video...

I just released a 10 minute video of the Attica, KS tornado... This was the first large tornado I had ever chased in my life... May 12th 2004 is also the first day I ever saw a tornado in my mind... I probably had seen a few before at night or from a good distance away but again I consider May 12th 2004 as my first successful tornado chase... If you have to go back and re-watch your video to say you saw a tornado, DON'T COUNT THAT!!! Or if you have to use binoculars to say you saw a tornado, PLEASE DON'T COUNT THAT EITHER!!! That's just weak in my personal opinion... Anyways it was an amazing day I'll never forget for a long as I live... One of the happiest I have ever been... Sorry about the laughing and excitement but honestly I couldn't contain myself... Justyn Jackson always told me that I would just laugh when I saw my first significant tornado just like he did a year earlier with the Hamilton, KS tornado... The funny thing is he was exactly right!

The best part of this day was the fact that we got to storm chase with two of the very best! Jon Davies and Jim Reed... Both are unbelievable people and I feel very blessed that I got to see my first tornadoes with these two great men! It really was such a great learning experience that I'll always thank both of them for... They easily could have told us to get lost which I think a lot of high profile chasers would have done! Jon Davies actually told TWC about this particular chase and it was featured on storm stories in December of 2004... We actually saw 2 smaller tornadoes and the Attica, KS tornado with Jon Davies and Jim Reed... Later that night Justyn Jackson, Derek Cody, and myself saw a nice tornado about 45 minutes after Attica, KS near a town called Anthony, KS... I'll show some video on that one later... It was light up perfectly many times by constant intense lightning... Cool stuff!!!

This particular tornado unfortunately hit a house and basically destroyed it... I believe it was ranked as a high end F-2... I'm sure many people have seen famous video of the house just lifting into the tornado... At the time we had no idea that the insulation raining on us was from that particular house... Thank God both the husband and wife were ok! They went into the basement which saved them! I'll post links to that video and links to both Jon Davies and Jim Reeds websites below...

House getting sucked up into Attica, KS tornado
NWS post tornado damage video of the house
Jon Davies Website
Jim Reed Website


*WARNING* There are plenty of cuss words in this video!!! Most actually not by me this time but I still thought I would warn everyone... I apologize again but if you are sensitive to cuss words then don't watch the video... Again with a tornado less than a half mile from you, it's tough sometimes!!!

© Greg Nordstrom 2004

ANY USE OF THIS VIDEO WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM GREG NORDSTROM IS PROHIBITED AND WILL BE PROSECUTED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW...