Documentary backdrop image for StormLapse (2019)

Documentary backdrop image for StormLapse (2019)

2019111 minGdocumentary

StormLapse

2019111 minGdocumentary

Over six years, Chad Cowan shot and edited 111 minutes of stunning 4k UHD footage of supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes across America's Great Plains.

Genres

Director

Synopsis

Over six years, Chad Cowan shot and edited 111 minutes of stunning 4k UHD footage of supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes across America's Great Plains.

People

Chad Cowandirector

Synopsis

Chad Cowan spent six years capturing the dramatic weather of America's Great Plains, commonly known as Tornado Alley. His debut feature, StormLapse, runs for 111 minutes and presents supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes in 4K UHD. The film is non-narrative, allowing the visuals to speak for themselves. It draws inspiration from the works of filmmakers like Godfrey Reggio and Ron Fricke, providing an immersive experience of nature's most powerful storms.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Slow Motion & Time Lapse Footage (2010)

Slow Motion & Time Lapse Footage

Spectacular slow motion and time-lapse footage from the 1960s and 1970s captures raindrops, locusts, crash tests, explosions, and shattering glass.

Slow Motion & Time Lapse Footage

The Wildest Storms Ever! (2025)

The Wildest Storms Ever!

A couple in Little Rock, Arkansas, experienced a tornado that lifted one partner off the ground and into the arms of the other.

The Wildest Storms Ever!

Storm Chasers: Hunting for Tornados (2022)

Storm Chasers: Hunting for Tornados

More than 100 scientists deploy a state-of-the-art fleet of over 20 vehicles to study tornadoes during the peak season from March to June.

Storm Chasers: Hunting for Tornados

4 Hours Of The World's Most Extreme Storms (2024)

4 Hours Of The World's Most Extreme Storms

Ten to twenty minutes of lead time on a tornado is the current target for scientists studying these violent storms and their devastating impacts.

4 Hours Of The World's Most Extreme Storms

Deadly Tornado Strike - World's Wildest Weather (2023)

Deadly Tornado Strike - World's Wildest Weather

A tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, killed 24 people, injured 377, and caused over $2 billion in property damage.

Deadly Tornado Strike - World's Wildest Weather

The True Stories of the Tornado Rampage in 2011 (2020)

The True Stories of the Tornado Rampage in 2011

200 tornadoes struck the deep south in April 2011, resulting in 300 deaths and widespread destruction across towns and cities.

The True Stories of the Tornado Rampage in 2011

Footage From The Ground Of The Deadliest Tornadoes Earth Has Ever Seen (2025)

Footage From The Ground Of The Deadliest Tornadoes Earth Has Ever Seen

Tornadoes, the most violent storms on Earth, can produce winds over 300 mph, posing a significant threat across the US and globally.

Footage From The Ground Of The Deadliest Tornadoes Earth Has Ever Seen

Life in Tornado Alley: Last House Standing (Extreme Weather Documentary) (2023)

Life in Tornado Alley: Last House Standing (Extreme Weather Documentary)

In Tornado Alley, a construction industry veteran critiques building practices and highlights the urgent need for homes that can withstand extreme weather events.

Life in Tornado Alley: Last House Standing (Extreme Weather Documentary)

2+ Hours Of The World's Most Extreme Weather (2024)

2+ Hours Of The World's Most Extreme Weather

A storm surge of 10 meters above normal inundated Gulfport, Mississippi, during Hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest storms in U.S. history.

2+ Hours Of The World's Most Extreme Weather

Uncovering The World's Biggest And Most Violent Storms (2020)

Uncovering The World's Biggest And Most Violent Storms

Tornadoes can be up to 2 miles wide and reach speeds of 300 mph, posing a significant threat to communities in Tornado Alley.

Uncovering The World's Biggest And Most Violent Storms

Explore StormLapse

Browse more like this

The Wildest Storms Ever! (2025)

The Wildest Storms Ever!

A couple in Little Rock, Arkansas, experienced a tornado that lifted one partner off the ground and into the arms of the other.

The Wildest Storms Ever!

No digital watch option in your country

4 Hours Of The World's Most Extreme Storms (2024)

4 Hours Of The World's Most Extreme Storms

Ten to twenty minutes of lead time on a tornado is the current target for scientists studying these violent storms and their devastating impacts.

4 Hours Of The World's Most Extreme Storms

No digital watch option in your country

The True Stories of the Tornado Rampage in 2011 (2020)

The True Stories of the Tornado Rampage in 2011

200 tornadoes struck the deep south in April 2011, resulting in 300 deaths and widespread destruction across towns and cities.

The True Stories of the Tornado Rampage in 2011

No digital watch option in your country

Footage From The Ground Of The Deadliest Tornadoes Earth Has Ever Seen (2025)

Footage From The Ground Of The Deadliest Tornadoes Earth Has Ever Seen

Tornadoes, the most violent storms on Earth, can produce winds over 300 mph, posing a significant threat across the US and globally.

Footage From The Ground Of The Deadliest Tornadoes Earth Has Ever Seen

No digital watch option in your country

Tornado Alley (2011)

Tornado Alley

2011•40m•★6.4TMDB

Filmmaker Sean Casey collaborates with the VORTEX2 research team to document tornado formation and supercell storms across the United States using 70mm film.

TimeScapes (2012)

TimeScapes

2012•52m•★7.3TMDB

Canyons and wildlife of the American Southwest are depicted through slow-motion and timelapse cinematography, revealing the bond between nature and its inhabitants.

The Twister: Caught in the Storm (2025)

The Twister: Caught in the Storm

2025•1h29m•★6.7TMDB

An EF5 tornado struck Joplin, Missouri, on May 22, 2011, killing 158 people and damaging an estimated 8,000 homes.

The Twister: Caught in the Storm

Tornado Glory (2006)

Tornado Glory

2006•57m•★9.5TMDB

During the 2003 storm season, storm chasers Joel Taylor and Reed Timmer pursue tornadoes across Tornado Alley.

Storm Chasers (2007)

Storm Chasers

2007•30h49m•★7.3TMDB

Extreme filmmaker Sean Casey ventures into tornadoes for groundbreaking research.

Tornado Rampage (2011)

Tornado Rampage

2011•43m•★10.0TMDB

On April 27, 2011, devastating tornadoes struck Alabama and Mississippi, leaving behind chaos and destruction captured in dramatic video footage.

Tornado Rampage

Stormchasers (1995)

Stormchasers

1995•38m•★6.5TMDB

Meteorologists use a P-3 weather plane to gather critical data from the eye of hurricanes and track tornadoes across the United States.

Twisters: The Real Story (2024)

Twisters: The Real Story

2024•57m•★6.5TMDB

Fifty-seven minutes of never-before-seen footage features storm chasers who risk their lives to study tornadoes and gather critical data.

Twisters: The Real Story

Twister: Fury on the Plains (1995)

Twister: Fury on the Plains

1995•58m•★10.0TMDB

A news crew takes shelter under a highway overpass as a tornado passes overhead, capturing the extreme conditions faced by storm chasers in the Great Plains.

Twister: Fury on the Plains

Tornado Intercept (2005)

Tornado Intercept

2005•52m•★10.0TMDB

An 8,000-pound armored truck is used by a team chasing tornadoes in the United States to capture high-definition footage with an IMAX camera.

Tornado Intercept

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →