tornado midwestWhat's scarier than a tornado ripping through your town? How about 121 tornadoes. Millions of Americans in the Midwest awoke to disaster this morning after hundreds of tornadoes tore through the Midwest. A state of emergency has been declared for Wichita, Kansas, and the news in Oklahoma isn't much better -- as of now, five people are dead and 29 are injured. Thankfully, the National Weather Service saw on the weather radar the potential for deadly weather and was able to warn residents about the danger. The only people excited by the terrifying news were likely storm chasers -- daredevil groups of tornado junkies went head first into the twisters with video cameras and a prayer. While I think they're absolutely insane for seeking that kind of thrill, I have to say, I'm sort of thankful for them -- the photos and videos they captured are pretty amazing.

There are amateur storm chasers -- those who grab their iPhones and head out into their yard to see if they can't get some mind-blowing footage of a storm cloud rolling in -- then there are the professionals. I think we've all seen the Helen Hunt classic, Twister, and have a sense of what it's like to drive in teched-out vans across tornado alley, hoping to find the storm of the century. The weather in the Midwest yesterday was probably their idea of a dream come true. With hundreds of twisters swirling through the plains, there was hardly a dull moment. Check out some of their videos!

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We're all thinking of those in the Midwest who were touched by the tornadoes yesterday ... as these videos prove, it was certainly scary stuff.

Have you ever experienced a tornado?

 

Photo via ellusion4u/YouTube