Tornado Compilation

[Barton Ostby]

Thefirst clip showed a large tornado near a beach. We found the same video posted on TikTok in January, with claims the footage was from Florida. The TikTok footage looks as if it could be generated by artificial intelligence, and it differs from footage of the tornado from a local news outlet. More importantly, the TikTok footage was posted online Jan. 5, and the Florida tornadoes occurred Jan. 8 and 9.

The next clip shows heavy clouds covering tall buildings. The same clip was also posted on YouTube on Nov. 3, 2023, saying it showed weather in Bahrain. Other TikTok and YouTube posts claim the footage came from Dubai in November. The United Arab Emirates did have heavy rain that led to flights being canceled in November 2023, but we could not confirm whether this footage shows that.

Above: A resident makes her way down Underwood Street in Nashville, Tennessee, amidst downed trees and heavy debris in the early morning hours of March 3, 2020. A tornado passed through Nashville just after midnight. (Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

A long-track tornadic supercell ripped across central parts of Tennessee in the overnight hours early Tuesday. Major damage occurred in the Nashville area, where a tornado tracked just north of downtown between 12:30 and 1:00 am. Parts of Putnam County, just to the east, were also hit hard.

Update: At least 24 fatalities and more than 200 injuries had been reported by early Wednesday, according to weather.com. The toll includes 18 people in Putnam County, 3 in Wilson County, 2 in Davidson County (which includes Nashville) and 1 in Benton County. (The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said Tuesday afternoon that 25 people had been killed statewide, but that number was later revised to 24 after one of the fatalities was determined to be not storm-related.)

The area around Cookeville, the county seat of Putnam County, saw severe damage. The Tennessean reported that hundreds of rescuers had fanned out across a two-mile swath just west of Cookeville that left homes and businesses unrecognizable.

The long-tracked supercell that spawned the deadly tornadoes developed well west of Nashville and raced eastward, close to a boundary separating rain-cooled air from the nose of warmer, more-unstable air. With no strong storms to its south, the supercell had unimpeded access to the unstable air pushing in from the gulf.

The overnight tornadoes checked off several climatological boxes. When the U.S. gets tornadoes in March, they are most likely to occur across the South, albeit usually south of Middle Tennessee. Moreover, according to one analysis, a larger fraction of tornadoes occur at night in Tennessee (46%) than in any other state.

Another odd happenstance: Tennessee also dealt with a deadly tornado outbreak on Super Tuesday 2008. That disaster, which occurred on the evening rather than the early morning of Super Tuesday, took 31 lives in Tennessee, plus dozens more elsewhere.

Does a video show authentic footage of a tornado hitting a Florida beach, or Miami, on July 7, 2024? No, that's not true: National Weather Service records did not document any such extreme weather in the entire state of Florida on July 7, 2024. The footage is a combination of digitally created clips and recycled clips from unrelated true events. Dramatic audio was added to amplify its shock effect.

A reverse image search reveals that the first clip, shown in the above screenshot, has been reused in many such video compilations attributing it as happening in Dubai and Japan, for example, and as part of a New York City earthquake, with some versions horizontally flipped. The part where people are rushing out of a store is also not new. A reverse image search reveals that the clip has been circulating since at least June 18, 2024, appearing in multiple similar tornado compilations, said to be in California, Texas and other places. The footage is sometimes flipped horizontally (archived here), and in some cases sped up (archived here).

Dramatic audio with sirens, lightning and screams was added to ramp up the shock effect. This can be observed by the uninterrupted identical sounds transferred from clip to clip displaying completely different footage, such as from a city to a rural area. Lightning strike sounds are heard even though there is no thunderstorm. Identical audio clips of cars honking, people screaming and thunder play repeatedly.

This type of video compilation uses previous extreme weather, panic-inducing or crisis events, sometimes accompanied by computer-generated images and added layers of audio for increased dramatic effect passed off as current and authentic to provoke strong reactions and user engagement. Individuals who create or simply reshare these deceptive video compilations often horizontally flip, modify play speed and even play them backwards to deliberately make their origins more difficult to trace while simultaneously making them look more severe than reality.

Ophlie Dnomme-Marchand is a freelance journalist and editor based in Canada. She graduated from Universit de Montral with a B.A. degree in French literature. At Lead Stories, Ophlie started as a fact checker of viral TikTok videos, then worked in the team that searches for stories to fact check, and is now also a writer.

Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, misleading, deceptive or inaccurate stories, videos or images going viral on the internet.

Spotted something? Let us know!.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

LinkedIn and 3rd parties use essential and non-essential cookies to provide, secure, analyze and improve our Services, and to show you relevant ads (including professional and job ads) on and off LinkedIn. Learn more in our Cookie Policy.

I am going to presume that you are currently existing as a puddle as I am right now, assuming you live anywhere near the Houston city line, that is. That gentle Spring we had has given way to a sultry, sweltering, blistering heat and I'd like the Gods of Weather to take it back. Please, and thank you.

I've been thinking a lot lately about giving myself what I need, in a world where it feels like everyone needs something from me (hence, the letter a month back about my mental crash and burn). The business, the kiddos, the hubby, the house chores - it's hard to remember to take care of you when you're caught up in everyone else's tornados.

Doesn't that sound cute? Adorable even? Mini self-care brings to mind an intentional little burst of joy in my routine and who doesn't want more of that? In fact, I am of the mindset that a "mini-" anything is a worthwhile investment (a big hellloooo to Mags' miniature dachshund, Atticus) .

Mini self-care is small, so I tend to savor it more. It's short, so I pay really close attention. It leaves me wanting more, so I cherish the memory of it. Below, is a list of miniature doses joy, crafted by me, to bring a little more you-time back into your day.

Colorful mini portable pencils for when inspiration strikes on the go. For all the times your mom said, I'm just resting my eyes. The micro-nap is the perfect mini escape in the workday (psst - Sesh has a room for that!) Time and time again, you find yourself staring at a lackluster cheeseboard asking yourself, what else does it neeeeed? Been there, sister. This mini deck can help. I can't believe I'm linking miniature dried salami here, but sometimes you need a hit of protein, so here we are folks. A mini jar of f*cks! Now in new sizes, medium, large and nano! You didn't think I'd create a lists devoted to small things and leave out microdosing psychedelics, did you? Whenever I want a quick hit of happy (and I've left my psychedelics at home), I always watch a video or two from this compilation. Tiny zen garden to rake away the stress. Bite-sized food made in a bite-sized kitchen! With a candle for an oven! What a wacky world! Petite spatula means your foundation IS good to the last drop. Pocket-sized notebook with refillable pages (Mother Earth thanks you). Leadership with micro-courage - because being brave doesn't mean playing hero every day.

Our first Leaders Who Lunch event was a HUGE success! The sold-out luncheon included open discussions about the meaning of community, the role of it plays in our leadership positions, a few Would You Rather questions and loads of laughs.

3a8082e126