Produced in 1981 by Goldberg-Werrenrath Productions and titled “Hurricane, Tornadoes, and other Weather,” this educational video was made as part of a series of films called The Natural Phenomena Series for the sake of educating the American public on extreme weather safety and preparedness. The video walks the viewer through the science behind these natural disasters and developments in the field of meteorology through footage as well as dioramas and animated diagrams. The film was written by Elizabeth Werrenrath and was a collaborative effort with an educational collaborator named Fred R. Wilking of the National College of Education in Evanston, Illinois. Most of the film’s materials were obtained from US Government sources including the US Department of Defense, the US Air Force, the US Geological Survey, The National Archives Film Library, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the US Office of Civil Defense.

Earth’s atmosphere with storms forming (0:07). Title page (0:41). Fighter jet flying amongst clouds (0:57). Montage of cloud footage from the sky (1:01). Driving along highway in rural America (1:10). Stormy weather in the sky (1:18). Satellite for weather forecasting (1:25). Doppler radar tracking storms as part of science called meteorology (1:34). Exterior and interior of US Air Force patrol aircraft (1:44). Footage of damage caused by hurricane in rural residential area (1:56). Footage of damage caused by tornado in rural residential area (2:44). Aerial footage of earth’s atmosphere with explanation of how these natural disasters occur (3:06). Footage of clouds and explanation on how tornadoes form (3:48). Various clips of tornadoes forming (4:03). Cars and surrounding area destroyed by tornado in Grand Island, Nebraska 1980 (4:34). Cloudy grey sky, early warnings by meteorologists (5:01). Tornado picking up debris in commercial area (5:18). Meteorologists in control room standing around monitors (5:28). Horse eating grass with weather surveillance radars (WSR) in the background (5:54). Doppler radar screen and explanation on function (5:57). Two meteorologists tracking a storm using radars and computers (6:08). Hand holding pen, illustrating how to avoid the path of a tornado and other safety guidance (6:28). Tornado and flying debris (6:52). Thrashing water on coastline (7:07). Hurricane, typhoon, or cyclone in earth’s atmosphere (7:22). View from plane window of plane wing over clouds, explanation of how hurricanes are formed (7:32). Hand holding pen illustrating the interaction between hot and cool winds that cause hurricanes (7:53). Storm forming in earth’s atmosphere (8:25). Big waves crashing into the coast and palm trees in high winds, when the storm reaches land (8:40). Damage done to seaport during storm (8:51). Footage from helicopter showing flooding to homes (9:03). Apollo 10 orbiting in space with moon in the background (9:17). Animation showing how satellites high above the atmosphere track stormy weather (9:20). Close-up of WSR (9:36). Interior of WSR (9:40). US Military patrol plane taking off to track storm (9:46). Cockpit of weather tracking plane with various military personnel (10:06). View from plane while flying over eye of storm (10:30). Choppy seas (10:44). Calm sky and sea (10:54). Doppler displaying world wide patterns of airflow (11:12). Hand holding globe demonstrating airflow patterns emanating from the equator and interacting with various jet streams known as “Trade Winds,” using Barbasol Shaving Cream to demonstrate these patterns (11:19). Hand holding pen and compass to demonstrate the area where this occurs in earth’s atmosphere (12:40). Rural flatlands with mountain peaks, a lake, a city-scape for explanation on how geographical elements affect wind patterns (14:12). Clouds in blue sky (15:03). Lightning in storm clouds (15:22). Various shots of lightning and thunder (15:28). Orange clouds of beautiful sunset after storm (15:41). Blue skies and perfect weather as backdrop to rural mountainous landscape (15:47). Palm trees blowing in intense wind and rain (15:58). Sign for National Severe Storm Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma (16:04). Doppler screen (16:07). Earth’s atmosphere with storms forming (16:09).