nature

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ONE PAGE SYNOPSIS

The wind is a powerful, invisible force. It reshapes landscapes, destroys buildings, and wrecks lives. But what is the fastest wind ever experienced? And can anything be done to reduce the damage winds cause. To find out, Naked Science investigates the United States' most powerful storms to answer the question – can we tame the wind? What makes a wind dangerous?

Hurricane Charley is the latest episode in America's endless battle with the wind. We meet Mike Theiss a storm chaser, he gets his highs from high winds. As the category four hurricane hit the coast, Mike was in the middle of the action, filming the immense winds.The winds in Hurricane Charley reached 145 mph. But is this the worst they can be? To find out how fast the wind can get up to, we visit Mount Washington in New Hampshire, officially the world’s windiest place.

How fast a wind can a human being survive?

To answer this question, we conduct an unusual experiment at the University of Washington’s Wind Tunnel in Seattle. The tunnel can produce winds of 200 miles per hour. We put a stuntman in the wind tunnel and take the speed up. How fast a wind can he stand?

How fast are tornado winds?

To find out, we travel to Norman, in Oklahoma. Here we catch up with one of the United States’ leading tornado researchers, Professor Josh Wurman. We join Josh and his Doppler radar trucks on a dramatic chase through Southern Kansas.

We want to know what can be done to keep people out of harm's way? The damage tornadoes can do is horrific, especially when a tornado hits a major city. We revisit the giant storm which descended on Oklahoma City in May 1999. We talk with Jeff Piotrowski a highly regarded storm chaser. Jeff saw the first tornado touch down. And what can you do in the face of the storm? We tell the dramatic story of a woman who came face to face with the thrath of the May 1999 tornado and meet one of the surgeons that treated her.

Hurricanes are vast – often 1000 miles across but they are not as fast as tornadoes. We want to know, when the next hurricane like Charley strikes, is there anything we can do to reduce its power and prevent it causing so much damage?

This film explores the history of attempts to reduce the speed of the wind and meets a business man in Florida who is developing a powder which he hopes one day will reduce the power of hurricanes.

So which is the most deadly wind?

Hurricanes and tornadoes may not be the most devastating winds, but they are the most deadly. But which is the bigger killer? The tornado with its high-speed winds, or the hurricane with its enormous size?

ASPECT RATIO 4.3
MAIN SOUNDTRACK English Stereo
DISC FORMAT DVD 5
REGION 1 NTSC
CLASSIFICATION Exempt
NOTE Not available for shipment outside the USA

Runtime: 54 minutes