Seconds from Disaster

SINOSSI

On 3 April, 1974, the United States' 'Tornado Alley' region experiences the full force of Mother Nature's raw power when a single storm system causes an astonishing 148 tornadoes to touch down in thirteen states in just one day. Several of these storms are F-5 strength, the strongest storms on Earth with winds up to 511 kilometres per hour. The tornadoes rip through quiet rural communities and bustling towns, leaving paths of destruction in their wake. When the weather finally clears, 330 people are dead and more than 5,400 people are injured, causing more than US $660 million in damage. Top meteorologists from around the country must work together to identify how all of these tornadoes could have developed in hopes of creating better warning systems. What they find revolutionizes understanding of a tornado's structure and modernizes tornado warning procedures.