Reading list
Best tornado books
A curated reading list for tornado enthusiasts — from the essential field guides to the memoirs that changed how we think about severe weather.
The classics
Tornado Alley — Howard Bluestein
The definitive scientific storm-chasing memoir. Bluestein pioneered mobile Doppler radar. 1999.
Storm Kings — Lee Sandlin
History of American storm science, from Ben Franklin to Ted Fujita. 2013. Riveting narrative.
The Man Who Caught the Storm — Brantley Hargrove
Biography of Tim Samaras, the researcher killed in the 2013 El Reno tornado. 2018.
Warnings — Mike Smith
Career memoir from a founding private-sector meteorologist. 2010.
Field guides and reference
The AMS Weather Book — Jack Williams
Illustrated meteorology reference. Nice color plates.
Severe Local Storms — Kessler (ed.)
Textbook. Older but foundational.
Meteorology for Scientists and Engineers — Stull
Standard undergraduate textbook. Free PDF from author.
Practical Weather Forecasting — Boston
Applied field manual.
Historical events
Tri-State Tornado — Peter Felknor
The 1925 tornado, deadliest in US history.
F5: Devastation, Survival, and the Most Violent Tornado Outbreak of the Twentieth Century — Mark Levine
The 1974 Super Outbreak.
The Angry Sky — Bill Cornwell
1974 Xenia OH tornado narrative.
Isaac's Storm — Erik Larson
The 1900 Galveston Hurricane. Related to tornadoes only tangentially but foundational disaster reporting.
Storm-chasing memoirs
Chasing Storms — Warren Faidley
Career photographer's story.
Into the Storm — Reed Timmer
The famous chaser's memoir. Divisive but honest.
Storm Warning — Nancy Mathis
The 1999 Bridge Creek-Moore tornado.
Adventures in Tornado Alley — Willoughby
Photography and travelogue.
For kids
Twisters and Other Terrible Storms — Osborne (Magic Tree House)
Ages 6-9.
Tornadoes! — Gail Gibbons
Illustrated basics. Ages 5-9.
National Geographic Kids: Everything Weather
Colorful facts. Ages 7-12.
The Storm Runners series — Roland Smith
Middle grade fiction. Ages 9-13.
Novels that got it right
The Storm Chasers — Mark Sullivan
Thriller with mostly accurate meteorology.
Ashfall — Mike Mullin
YA volcanic disaster, but weather physics is careful.
Twister: The Novel — Anne Rivers Siddons
From the movie era.
The Rain Ascends — Joy Kogawa
Literary, weather as metaphor.
Historical fiction and children's classics
The Wizard of Oz — L. Frank Baum
The original.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (film)
The 1939 Kansas twister that defined the popular tornado image.
Sarah, Plain and Tall — Patricia MacLachlan
Kansas storm as backdrop.
Where the Red Fern Grows — Wilson Rawls
Storm scene.
Where to buy
- Author websites and small bookshops keep more of the sale for authors.
- Public libraries frequently stock these.
- ThriftBooks and AbeBooks for out-of-print.
- Kindle and Kobo for digital.