Witness: Tornado Swarm 2011

April 2011 was the most violent month of tornadoes on record, and the deadliest in modern times. From Texas to New York, more than 700 tornadoes caused widespread damage and loss of life. The “super outbreak” of April 26-28 alone involved over three hundred separate twisters, killing hundreds of people and cutting a swath of destruction across the south.

Using dozens of amateur and professional sources, Witness: Tornado Swarm 2011 tells the story of this once-in-a-century event, as captured by those who lived through it. The show takes viewers to Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina as a powerful tornado tears though the campus; inside St. Louis’ Lambert International Airport, where a large tornado slams into its busy concourses while unsuspecting travelers await their flights; and finally to Alabama, where a monstrous, half-mile wide twister barrels through the city of Tuscaloosa, killing 65 and causing an estimated $100 million in damage.

Constructed entirely out of raw footage, Witness: Tornado Swarm 2011 is a harrowing reminder of the awesome power of nature’s fury.