Raw footage of the development of the El Reno, Oklahoma, tornado - May 31st, 2013

This is the raw footage I filmed of the weather conditions leading up to the development of the El Reno tornado, the moment the 'main' tornado span-up under the potent low-level mesocyclone, and our (my partner Helen Rossington, and me) escape from the tornado as we headed eastwards. There are much better videos of the tornado - but this footage shows what it was like to race eastwards to remain ahead of the tornado.

The footage concludes with a view to the WNW at around 1825CDT, with the huge tornado just about visible in the murky sky. Further footage of the rest of the chase was taken, but not uploaded here, as this post is about the main tornado.

RIP to those who lost their lives on this tragic day.

Footage is Copyright Paul Knightley, and may not be copied, republished, broadcast, or in any other way passed on (other than via sharing the YouTube link to this video) without express permission from me.