Monster From the Sky: Brady Taylor reflects on the year long process

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - KWTX Chief Meteorologist Brady Taylor is reflecting on the process of working a full year to put together a one-hour documentary marking the 70th anniversary of the deadly Waco Tornado on May 11, 1953.

“Monster from the Sky,” which details the powerful F-5 tornado that struck the heart of downtown Waco around 4:40 p.m. on May 11, 1953, killing 114 and leaving another 600 injured, will air for the first time on KWTX on the 70th anniversary Thursday.

“This is the 70th anniversary and we take a look back on what happened that day, but the big thing is focusing on some of the first-hand stories of people who lived through that tornado,” Brady said.

Brady got the idea to look into a project after realizing there were many stories from survivors that had never been told and the number of survivors was dwindling every year.

Brady took a trip to The Texas Collections on the Baylor campus and unearthed a treasure trove of never before seen photos and videos.

He knew a documentary was in the future.

“You know, I’ve always known about the Waco tornado. I knew it was the deadliest in Texas history, the first F5 tornado in the record books, but I didn’t know a lot of the stories and diving into this I’ve got to meet people and hear stories that are just unbelievable.  How scary that storm was and then how much it changed downtown Waco,” Brady said.

The survivors are spread out across the United States.

Brady visited one in San Antonio and took a road trip to Arkansas to talk to another.

For Brady, getting those accounts on film was important.

“Now that 70 years have passed , we’re starting to get where there are less and less people who are alive from back then,” Brady said.

Brady was also able to use recorded interviews from people who survived the tornado but have since died.

“The Texas Collection has archived a ton of great pictures,” he said.  “The oral history department at Baylor, they also let us use some of their interviews from back in the 1980′s, so we’re able to hear from people now but also from people who have already passed.”

Brady was assisted in the project from KWTX Creative Services Director Daniel Hamilton and KWTX Director of Photography James Warde.

Hamilton served as an editor and producer and James worked as the director of cinematography.

You can watch “Monster from the Sky” on Thursday commercial-free thanks to Texas Farm Bureau from 6-7 p.m. on KWTX.

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