disaster starts right now. >> evening everyone pup i'm anderson cooper. when a massive tornado touch down in moore oklahoma, some of the earliest warnings came from storm chasers. tonight in the eye of the storm on the ground and unclose look at the storm chasers who filmed the moore oklahoma tornadoes in real time getting incredible footage risking their lives to warn those in the path of the furry. reporting live is 360's randy kay. >> there it is. that is a tornado definite cone on the ground. >> moore than a mile wide. >> just north.

>> with hurricane force winds. >> this is not good. it is raining pieces of houses. >> a monster tornado cutting a swath of destruction for 20 years. >> this is a tornado emergency. >> tens of thousands diving for cover. >> people need to be under grown right now if they are not already. >> kevin, get the pictures, get the video. >> and a handful of storm hunters. >> we chase one of the world's most dangerous forces on earth. >> let's go. >> lots of rotation in there. >> running straight into the path of disaster. >> we try to get as close to it as we can and know that if you're in its path it will take your life.

>> there's thunderstorms happening in the panhandle of texas today. i'm kevin ross. i chase storms all over the country. >> we're check to make sure we have a way to get out. my name is lauren heel. i frequently drive and sometimes do data. >> filming the storms is my role when we're out chasing. >> as children growing up in tornado alley, kevin, lauren and colt saw severe weather every spring. now as adults chasing tornadoes is their passion. >> sit it down right here. our group mission is to document and see all of the tornadoes. >> wow, that is a long rope that goes way back. >> right alongside that is getting early warning out to the weather service as quick as possible. >> but the 2013 tornado season was starting out slowly.

>> this here was interesting in that we've had kind of a later spring so we're like maybe 2013 is going to be mild. >> it's been a benign and quiet april, may. >> we're in a tornado draught. well over the past couple of days and the weekend the jet change. >> finally all of the ingredients coming together. >> the cold weather on one side, the warm air on the other. when the kps are right the super cells will spin. when one storm gets to use all of the heat it becomes the big dog. >> the conditions were right. look at these pictures. simply extraordinary. >> on saturday may 18, the base hunters chased down a twister in kansas. >> looking right at the side of the funnel. it's almost too close. i can't zoom out to get the whole thing in the shot. >> did you ever feel like you were too close that you, in the danger zone. >> not flarly this tornado. i was a slow moving storm. we had plenty of time to get out

of its path. >> the way the inclusion is getting bigger, it's right here. >> then own monday may 20th, they plan their next moves. >> we look at the weather models, predicting where the strongest ones aloft are going to be service barriers that will initiate storms. >> we actually started out going south of the norman and moore area. we're looking at the radar and it had what we like to say just the look of a strong thunderstorm and that's when we made the decision to go north on i-35. >> in you're anywhere from north of newcastle right into moore, this your storm. >> just before 3:00 p.m. central time cnn meteorologist chad myers spotted the telltale signs of a tornado. >> you look down it was a ball. the next time i looked at that doppler radar there was a hook echo on the bottom. and i looked at it, i looked at

it again. there's the spin, there's the hook echo. i said, did i just see this? did this just happen in six minutes? because this wasn't here. >> you could feel it all coming. you're knowing as a storm chaser that it's going strong, in fact it's going to intensify. there you see it. now it's on the ground. >> moments later. >> look at it, on the ground. >> a tornado was born. >> we are in moore and we have a tornado to our west. >> i widened up to a skin in tornado and then as it moved into the moore area it widen. >> not ten minutes ago this was not in contact with the ground. it's a fast developing storm, we knew it, saw it and then the tornado dropped straight to the ground. >> as thousands scrambled to safety, kevin, colt and lauren raced toward the storm. >> we should go west if we want to get closer, guys. >> at that time i'm focused on driving because a lot of people are stunned watching the

tornado. they've just kind of stopped. >> i setons of police cars headed in every direction trying to get people off the road. >> people were pulling over, they were panicking, they were blocking the interstate. >> school is about to be let out, it's the middle of a monday afternoon. people are busy going every direction of their lives. >> the tornado was heading right toward them. >> put the has zards on. >> hat this point, the first stop here the tornado was very large, the roar was intense. >> near the high school the storm hunters caught it all on camera. >> this is where we were sitting at south moore high school when the tornado was moving into the rest side of moore. >> very large tornado moving into moore, oklahoma. this is not good. >> you could feel it. i mean this is going to be bad. this is going to be terrible. >> it's coming about right at us. >> oh my gosh, that's violent. i know. >> listen it to. you can hear it.

listen! >> you knew people were going to die. you knew it was going to destroy houses and there's nothing you could do but watch it. debris, lots of debris. dear god, please keep these people safe. look at the debris. >> complete and utter fear and you're feeling people's panic, you know, in the city and you're knowing the path that it's likely to take. it's awful. >> big -- there's a whole roof that just came off! >> this storm was wrapped in debris. so much debris wrapping around this tornado you really couldn't see the funnel its. >> if you live in the creeks of women berly or rock creek you need to be in your tornado shelter immediately. >> at local station koco they were also tracking the tornado's path. >> you can see right here with the high resolution mapping we have paren plenty of neighborhood develops here, lots of high density neighborhoods, this is moving into a dense part of moore.

>> tens of thousands of people directly in the path of disaster. >> kevin be, get the pictures man, get the video. >> colt and i, he was getting video, i was taking photos, just running around everywhere. lauren was waiting in the car so we would have an immediate exit. >> i've never heard roar like that before. >> it's going just tu north. >> there's a certain point in the chase where you know you have to stop the chase. >> this thing is violent. >> coming up, the race to safety. >> no! >> get in the car. >> we need to go! we need to go! my god. [ ice freezing ]

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about to be swept away. >> yeah, we need to go! we need to go! >> you could feel the vibrati s vibrations. it almost felt like an earthquake. you could feel the rubble, hear the roar, clanking of debris. . >> we so saw the debris ball, it's the pieces of people's homes and lives getting spun around by this tornado. >> we've heard roar before but never this intense. maybe up on top of niagara falls, just that deafening roar. it sounded just like that. upward motion of violence at the base and then just the sky filled with debris. >> we went from nothing to 166 miles an hour in 10 to 15 minutes then i stayed that speed for at least another 20 minutes. >> moore, oklahoma was under attack and there was nothing

anyone could do about it. >> this thing is not letting up. >> it's probably the worst most helpless feeling you can feel knowing that people's lives an properties are being torn up directly in front of you. you know you're looking at total destruction. it's like watching a bomb fall and you see all of the damage and the debris that explodes out of it. >> it moves so slow that it kept spin in the same spot and that's why there's no much damage in that one area where there's nothing left. the storm churnd over those houses probably a minute or two over each house. >> my god. >> then 40 minutes after the tornado touched down, its relentless assault finally ended. >> this is terrible. this is war zone terrible. this school is completely gone. >> we are entering the damage

path on the northwest side of moore. >> the storm chasers began surveying the damage. >> oh my good. this is the damage, the damage path right now. houses are kplaetly leveled. >> it's unrecognizable. >> houses are leveled. >> we looked up the google street immans that are around that area. the first thing we did is go and look at the day care. we thought it was a stand alone building all by itself but we looked at the street view and it's a three or four business strip mall that was completely efld. it was unrecognizable at all. behind that where we thought was mostly open field because where we were was on the edge of moore was actually a subdivision of new houses. all you could see was the piping, the patter piping and the sewage piping sticking up out of the ground. that was the real identifier that would have been a clue as to what those structures were before they were wiped off the

map. >> trees debarked. wow. complete devastation. >> they couldn't be just observers. they knew they had to help. >> when we first got there were, from the day care from what we heard, there were several kids sitting out by the side. >> crying. >> and we. >> l -- >> we just ran into the rubble where the day care was and started assisting any way we could, pulling people out, helping people out. that's terrifying in itself. >> 15 people they all made it out alive, cut up and bruised. >> in shock. >> luckily every child was accounted for and all of the adults were accounted for as well. >> you're trying to keep your composure. one of the most amazing things i've ever seen in my life, even though those people were in shock and covered in debris, they were carrying kids, they were just helping each other. >> in the aftermath there was great sadness with 24 lives

lost, ten of them children. >> but also great joy and emotional reunions. and grateful survivors. >> it's just terrible. it's so bad i can't even believe i'm still alive. >> but even storm chasers are not immune to the emotional toll. >> it's not the happy-go-lucky storm chase out in the middle of a field in western oklahoma where the tornado isn't really destroying anything or isn't impacting lives. the human impact here was devastating. >> you close your eyes and you could see it. you can see what happened. if you could see the damage. like some moments you're okay and then it just hits you in a wave. >> it makes you do a little soul

serging because you say how can i still want to see these after i know what they've done. >> but it isn't over. >> right there's a lot of rotation right there by the way. >> coming up, more storms are on the way. >> let's go! let's go! >> that's where your info and your best chance for tornadoes is going to be. are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers. [ slap! ] [ slap! slap! slap! slap! ] ow! ow! [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium-rich tums starts working so fast

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oh my good. >> it's unrecognizable. >> storm chasers scott peak and jimmy story also witnessed firsthand the devastating tornado ripped through moore, oklahoma. >> it was making this roar.

i've never experienced anything like it before. >> the ground was vibrating. >> we started seeing some houses flying up in the air and we knew it wasn't good at all. >> in less than 24 hours later, as colleagues colt, kevin and lauren decide to stay in moore, scott and jimmy head back out on the road. >> we're just north. >> heading south from oklahoma into texas they are chasing a storm they think may spawn another tornado. >> the storm is right here. >> they have taught themselves to read weather patterns. >> as it's coming up from the south we'll try to intercept it. they are both supercells now. >> a collision course that may put them smack in the path of another tornado. >> we pick an area where we

think the best conditions will be and then we'll drive out there where the atmosphere is prime and the conditions are ripe for tornado or severe storms to occur. >> racing to intercept the brewing storm in scott's honda, the pair will drive more than 600 miles. >> with weather it changes, changes very quickly. >> right there, beautiful notch. >> as they get closer, the chasers stop to observe the storm. >> the best chance for the torn is right in that notch wherever it's hooking in, right there. there's a lot of rotation right there by the way. what is that? is that a funnel? >> yeah. >> that looks like a funnel. we're going to have to go, guys, let's go, go, go! get in. we need to go. >> scott and jimmy quickly decide it would be safer to follow the storm further east. >> hours and hours of being on

the road and maybe a couple of hours of sleep just to see about maybe five seconds of a good tornado, just the anticipation is an adrenaline rush and that's what drives us. >> scott has been chasing storms for ten years. >> quick them up high. >> by day he teaches gymnastics. >> and drop. >> jimmy is an ultrasound technician. >> let me show you what we have inside our vehicle. >> but in the spare time they're on the road chasing storms. >> our ultimate goal is to get great footage and warn the public of impending danger. >> just destroyed that barn. i hope they're okay. we're going to have to stop and make sure nobody is hurt. >> scott has chris crossed the country gathering braet taking video of storms and tornado calling in alerts to the national weather service. >> tornado! right there, tornado! >> it's past us.

it's past us. >> back in 2008 i was chasing a tornado -- >> we just got hit by a tornado. we just got hit by a tornado. >> it broke in my back windshield of my suv. >> son of a -- we're fine now. we're fine. >> that window is broken out. >> a little shaken up and a little in shock that that just happened but very lucky. >> the danger is not knowing what you're doing. we know where the tornado is going to form. we look at our raiders, daiderd. we try to be close to the area that the tornado is going to form. we're also smart and we're not going to get in its way. >> there is rotation right here. >> back in the thick of their chase in east texas, jimmy and scott close in on their pursuit of an intense thunderstorm. >> boom. boom. there's the dominator right there. there's the other dominator.

there's the other one. >> this storm has also caught the attention of other storm chaser. >> they're going the same place we are. >> who, like jimmy and scott make money selling images of violent storms. scott and jimmy continue on. driving directly into the storm looking for forming funnel clouds. they encounter heavy rains. >> there's hail, a little hail. >> some of the hail stones can go right through your windshield and break all of the windows out in your car. that's what scarce me the most. >> yeah that might be something. >> lots of rotation. look at that. >> they spot a small funnel cloed. >> funnel. funnel. funnel right there. >> but on this day no tornadoes. >> we're probably going to call it an evening. that's a wrap, man.

>> this is the most violent time. >> look at that. >> for those storm chasers, it has been an emotional week. >> this is the first time -- >> yeah. >> those feelings are being conjured right back up of the hopelessness. >> that was my first violent tornado that i'd ever seen in my life and to watch it unfold and to know that it was causing death and destruction. >> jimmy remembers arriving in moore shortly after the tornado touched down and finding an injured boy wandering the streets. >> he was alive but caked in mud and had a head wound. and when i went to sleep last night, you know, every time i closed my eyes i saw that little boy, you know. man, i still kind of do.

>> witnessing the tragic toll of nature's furry this week has given scott and the other storm chasers a new perspective of their work. >> i've always been passionate about storm chasing and i don't think i could ever stop. but seeing images like this makes you step back and appreciate what you have. you know we can at least help people in some way.

there there any injuries? yeah there's a whole bunch of kids. dianne shul