Because they struck densely populated urban areas in the South on Wednesday afternoon, deadly tornadoes (more than 150 of them) that killed over 200 people also enabled amateur videographers to capture some of the most astonishing ground-level storm footage ever.
Not only have the videos been shocking, but the photos as well (see the best of the tornado photos right here) have offered the world a sense of the sweeping scope of this tragedy.
In the video clip above, captured right near the University of Alabama, YouTube viewers can hear the intrepid storm chaser’s urgent, heavy breathing in the background as he films the terrifying storm. Then there’s footage, of a funnel cloud forming overhead in Tuscaloosa:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjVW0Du2ZIo&w=450%5D
One driver’s close call in Mississippi:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XInx2RsPIz8&w=450%5D
Shot from the 3rd story of an Alabama apartment:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa7d629pD2k&w=450]
And finally, storm chasers on the trail in Mississippi earlier in the day:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhKjv9GuARQ&w=450%5D