StormStock Glossary

A guide to terms we frequently use.

16K Video - 16K is a video image that measures approximately 16,000 pixels horizontally. Prairie Pictures’ StormStock became the first to produce and license 16K video footage in 2018.

Archive (footage) - a collection of film or video footage. A footage archive, like StormStock, is sometimes called a library.

Cinematic - having to do with movies, as either an industry or an art form.

Climate Change - a change in regional and global weather patterns. Climate change impacts life by altering weather from what was established over a long period of time as normal.

Cloud - a cloud is simply moisture in the air that has condensed and become visible.

Cyclone - air that rotates counterclockwise.

Film (motion picture) - a strip of film featuring sprocket holes along the edge that runs through a film camera and is exposed at a rate of (commonly) 24 frames per second. After processing, the film is prepared for transfer to video, or for projection onto a screen using a film projector. Since 2016, only 10 percent pf major movies have been shot on film.

Flood - a large amount of water that overflows an area of ground that is usually dry.

Hail - a type of frozen precipitation that falls from storms. The largest hail grows in size as it travels above and below the freeze line multiple times in a thuderstorm. We’ve seen hail as small as peas and as large as an American football.

HD Video - Video that typically measures 1920 pixels wide. “HD1080” was a common standard in the United States from about 2005 to 2025.

Hurricane - a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph or more occurring in the Atlantic or Eastern Pacific Oceans. The strongest hurricane, a Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale can produce sustained winds of 155 mph or greater and can cause catastrophic damage.

Hurricane Harvey - Harvey was a powerful hurricane that made landfall on the Texas Gulf coast in August 2017, first as a destructive wind event, and then as a record-breaking rain storm with as much as 50-inches falling near Houston. It is tied with Katrina as the costliest hurricane in US history. Estimated damage: $125 billion. The StormStock team was there to capture footage of Hurricane Harvey from land, boat and air on HD and Cinema 4K.

Hurricane Katrina - Katrina became one of the deadliest hurricanes in US history when it made landfall on the northern US Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. It is tied with Hurricane Harvey as the costliest US storm, causing $125 billion in damage. StormStock features the world’s only HD and 4K footage (from Super 35mm film) of Katrina in-progress, including storm surge, flooding and powerful winds.

Lightning - a visible electrical discharge produced by a thunderstorm from one cloud to another or from cloud to ground. Lightning kills more people in the US than do tornadoes.

Master Footage Clip - a high resolution short video clip or camera shot that we license and distribute to clients for finished video editing.

Preview Clip - a low resolution short video clip or camera shot that we watermark, archive, and distribute to clients for off-line video editing.

ProRes - a group of Apple video codecs designed for high-quality, high-performance video editing and post-production. Most StormStock content ends up as ProRes for distribution.

Rain - moisture condensed from the atmosphere that falls in drops.

Snow - water vapor frozen into ice crystals that falls as flakes.

Stock Footage - Film or video footage that is utilized in other works and usually licensed for distribution. Sometimes referred to as “stock video footage.”

Storm - an atmospheric disturbance involving wind, and sometimes rain, snow, or lightning.

StormStock - a registered trademark and brand of Prairie Pictures, Inc. that specializes in the production, archive, and licensing of weather and climate footage.

Tornado - a tornado is a rapidly rotating column of air beneath a storm that is in contact with the ground. We classify them as weak, strong and violent. Our team has tracked and filmed some of the largest and most intense tornadoes ever recorded.

Tornado Alley - a geographical region of high tornado frequency in the central United States. It is where StormStock is based. It is our home.

Typhoon - a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph or more occurring in the Western Pacific Ocean.

Wind - a natural current of air.