Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated by tornadoes. I remember watching “Twister” and being totally captivated by it, like so many others who grew up in the ’90s. But truthfully, I think I was even more into hurricanes. Growing up in Florida, hurricanes were part of life, and that constant exposure is what really pulled me into meteorology. Tornadoes, though. Those were mysterious, rare, and thrilling in a different way.
Fast-forward to now, and with the release of “Twisters”—plus revisiting the OG “Twister” for nostalgia’s sake—my tornado obsession has come roaring back. I’ve spent the past year diving deep into documentaries, reading articles, and absorbing everything I could find about tornadoes and their genesis. It’s been an amazing journey, but I quickly realized something annoying: there’s no single go-to spot for detailed tornado information.
When researching a specific tornado, I’d find myself bouncing between multiple sites, historical records, radar data, and videos, often piecing the story together myself. It felt fragmented and unnecessarily complicated. Why wasn’t there a centralized, accessible place to explore detailed tornado data, historical radar loops, and community-contributed insights?
So, being the software engineer (and stubbornly curious person) I am, I decided to build it myself. And that’s how Tornadic was born.
Tornadic is a community-driven platform that aims to be the definitive resource for tornado information. Think of it like Wikipedia meets radar archives, but specifically tailored for tornado enthusiasts, storm chasers, researchers, or anyone curious about these incredible phenomena. It pulls in roughly 80,000 tornado records from authoritative sources like the NCEI Storm Events Database, providing comprehensive historical data at your fingertips.
One of the coolest features I built is the ability to generate historical radar loops. Curious what the radar looked like during the infamous 2013 Moore EF5 tornado? Tornadic lets you dive right into it, visualize storm progression, and understand tornado development in real-time loops.
But Tornadic isn’t just about viewing data—it’s about building a community around shared interests. Users can contribute their own insights, images, articles, and first-hand accounts, making it a richer, continually evolving resource.
If you’ve ever found yourself endlessly scrolling for scattered tornado data or if you’re just tornado-curious like me, check out Tornadic. It’s built by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts, and I’m genuinely excited to see how it grows.
Explore it yourself at tornadic.net. And hey, if you have feedback or ideas to make it even better, I’d love to hear from you.
Happy tornado hunting!