Lake Martin EF4
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A day late on that one chief
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A day late on that one chief
Unrelated to the current discussion but I strongly suspect the 7/26/2010 Reserve tornado was worthy of an EF4 rating and the actual strongest tornado in Montana's recorded history. The state's only official F4 (Glendive 1961) is not listed as a significant tornado by Grazulis and from what I've heard was literally a brief touchdown in an empty field. The Reserve tornado on the other hand completely destroyed the Smith Ranch at its peak intensity, sweeping away every building on the property with the exception of one quonset hut that was flattened regardless. A two-story ranch house was swept clean, and two people were killed there despite sheltering in the home's basement. In addition, a pickup truck was thrown a quarter mile, a combine was rolled "several times" per the NWS survey and left a mangled mess, and grain bins full of grain were obliterated, including one that had its foundation cracked. Though the ranch home was not well anchored, the damage seems pretty consistent with other tornadoes rated low-end EF4 including Pocahontas 2011 and Keota 2023 (the homes impacted in those cases were also not well constructed, but the contextual damage was still used to rate those tornadoes as violent including a combine wrecked in a very similar fashion by the Pocahontas County EF4).
Footage of the thing:
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For reference, the combine in Reserve:
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The combine in Pocahontas (unlike Reserve this is a plowed farm field):
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I think Reserve would have almost certainly gotten an F5 rating had it occurred before 1970 or so. I don't think it's an EF5 candidate though. Couldn't find any notable ground scouring or a scar on satellite imagery, nor did it debark trees (though it was more than likely capable of producing at least partial debarking to hardwoods, but I don't know how many trees it encountered considering that area of Montana is extremely remote). The similarly violent 2011 Almena, KS tornado also should have been rated EF4 since it not only managed to do both but actually picked up and threw heavy farm implements a considerable distance (a quarter mile if I'm not mistaken?)
7/26: the day of the Reserve, MT EF3 in 2010. A very good argument can be made for EF4 for this tornado, which was likely Montana's strongest. Sadly, there were 2 fatalities.
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Rare tornado sweeps through Montana's rural northeast corner, killing 2 and injuring 1 at farm
A tornado ripped a family's farmhouse from its foundation in Montana's remote northeastern corner, killing two people and leaving neighbors and authorities to dig through the rubble to rescue a ...www.foxnews.com
Tornado in Montana kills 2 at farm | ABC7 Chicago | abc7chicago.com
A rare tornado ripped a family's farmhouse from its foundation, throwing one of the victims some 200 feet away.abc7chicago.com![]()
Tornado Touches Down in Northeast Corner of Montana, Kills 2 - Flathead Beacon
A rare tornado tore through a farmhouse and killed two people inside, leaving nothing but the house’s foundation and a few twisted vehicles as it swept through Montana’s remote and sparsely populated northeastern corner. A teenage boy and a man in his 40s were killed on the farm when the tornado...flatheadbeacon.com![]()
Rare deadly tornado in Montana - 7/26/10
Killer tornadoes are rare in Montana due to the sparse population. Prior to 2010, only 2 deadly tornadoes had been recorded in the state, w...davieswx.blogspot.com
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Tornado in NE corner of Montana kills 2 at farm | HeraldNet.com
HELENA, Mont. — A rare tornado ripped a family’s farmhouse from its foundation in Montana’s remote northeastern corner, killing two people and leaving neighbors and authorities to dig through the rubble to rescue a 71-year-old woman who was found next to her grandson’s body. Her nephew’s body...www.heraldnet.com
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Robby Richardson Obituary (2010) - Billings, MT - Billings Gazette
View Robby Richardson's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.www.legacy.com
Further details: