Significant Tornado Events

[Kds86z]

Here's my top 10 strongest ef4s list:
1- goldsby
reason- slabbed many well built homes, mangled and mudblasted vehicles, caused significant ground scouring and cycloidal markings.
2- mayfield
reason- obliterated an extremely well built church, cycloidal markings estimated by Saltical_WX showed evidence of at least 203 MPH
3- vilonia
reason- hurled a 15 ton steel fertilizer tanks 0.7 miles, swept multiple homes from their foundations, knocked concrete barriers over, and flattened forests
4- chapman
reason- bent around 265 (could be wrong on that) feet of railroad, next to a demolished home with a cracked rebar-enforced foundation. Trees were severely debarked
5- Bassfield
reason- swept a well-built cabin off its foundation, debarked large swaths of hardwood trees, threw a truck around 300 yards
6- chickasha
reason- debarked and splintered swaths of hardwood trees. multiple well built homes were slabbed, including a concrete dome that was heavily damaged. inches of topsoil was scoured and vehicles were mangled and launched hundreds of yards
7-tuscaloosa
reason- treefall analysis suggested winds of 221 MPH, probably instantaneous. swept clean apartment buildings
8- picher
reason- caused extreme ground scouring and tree debarking
9- washington
reason- extreme cycloidals calculated by Saltical_WX suggested winds of 212 MPH
10- Ringgold
reason- Windrowed debris hundreds of yards, flattened forests


keep in mind... this was made back in december/january. im sure my mind has changed on the rankings of strength but im too lazy to make a new list. if you wanna debate, go easy on me, im not the best at it.

does this belong in another thread? apologies if so.

Nice list and summary!

 

[csx1985]

Very interesting. The Bartow, Cherokee, Pickens, Dawson (Georgia) tornado from that outbreak was assuredly an F-5 and likely killed a dozen more than is currently attributed by historians.

Very interesting. The Bartow, Cherokee, Pickens, Dawson (Georgia) tornado from that outbreak was assuredly an F-5 and likely killed a dozen more than is currently attributed by historians. Agreed. Interestingly, there is still no official F/EF5 torna

Very interesting. The Bartow, Cherokee, Pickens, Dawson (Georgia) tornado from that outbreak was assuredly an F-5 and likely killed a dozen more than is currently attributed by historians.

Interestingly, there still has not been a F/EF 5 tornado officially recorded in the state of Georgia. I’d say your example and Ringgold are the closest that we’ve seen.

 

[SweptSlab5]

Interestingly, there still has not been a F/EF 5 tornado officially recorded in the state of Georgia. I’d say your example and Ringgold are the closest that we’ve seen.

Technically, the Rainsville tornado made it into Georgia before roping out.

 

[csx1985]

Technically, the Rainsville tornado made it into Georgia before roping out.

True. I was more leaning towards EF5 DI’s within the state.

 

[SweptSlab5]

True. I was more leaning towards EF5 DI’s within the state.

Fair point. I think that Ringgold is probably the best shot the state has for now.

 

[iujkiaweatherman]

does anyone have any info on oakfield's canning company? its construction quality, how well built it was, anything like that? thank you!

 

[iujkiaweatherman]

also.. are these cycloidals? i feel like i see a slight discoloration in the ground and small spirals but im unsure. this is at the canning company

 

[speedbump305]

Terrifying new image of the Western Kentucky (Mayfield) tornado as it was at peak intensity in Bremen.

 

[iujkiaweatherman]

View attachment 51511Terrifying new image of the Western Kentucky (Mayfield) tornado as it was at peak intensity in Bremen.

mayfield was terrifying man, still don't know why the first presbyterian church went unrated. for sure EF5 damage

 

[speedbump305]

mayfield was terrifying man, still don't know why the first presbyterian church went unrated. for sure EF5 damage

Mayfield is genuinely one of the most terrifying tornadoes i’ve personally ever researched about. And seeing it happen live was genuinely one of the most horrifying and tragic disasters i’ve ever seen live.

 

[NorthGaWeather]

Interestingly, there still has not been a F/EF 5 tornado officially recorded in the state of Georgia. I’d say your example and Ringgold are the closest that we’ve seen.

I would agree that those two are the most straightforward cases.

I will also submit that there are a few others that likely were close. Both 4/3/74 F-4s (particularly the Pickens and Dawson County damage) and the Sparta F-4 from the March 1875 outbreak.

 

[Aaron Rider]

I would agree that those two are the most straightforward cases.

I will also submit that there are a few others that likely were close. Both 4/3/74 F-4s (particularly the Pickens and Dawson County damage) and the Sparta F-4 from the March 1875 outbreak.

Barnesville wasn't far off. Grand Poo Bah had some interesting posts about that one in the EF Scale debate thread.

 

[Kds86z]

does anyone have any info on oakfield's canning company? its construction quality, how well built it was, anything like that? thank you!

Not sure but this is interesting video on that event.

 

[iujkiaweatherman]

Not sure but this is interesting video on that event.

dont think ive seen that, ill be sure to check it out some day

 

[buckeye05]

Barnesville wasn't far off. Grand Poo Bah had some interesting posts about that one in the EF Scale debate thread.

I need to do a little more digging, but what I’ve seen and heard, Barnesville has a solid case for EF4. However, the EF5 thing is a stretch though and centers around a single house. A lot of the dramatic info surrounding Barnesville comes from Tornado Talk, which can be a good source in a lot of ways, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that they do write their articles in a biased manner. What I mean by that is that they present the information in a way that seems to aim to make each event sound as impressive as possible, while shying away from mentioning any caveats or mitigating factors that become apparent once you really look. It’s like they try to “make a case” for each tornado, rather than a neutral analysis of all the details and damage information.

 

[Ivanthetornadoenthusiast]

I wonder if there are any damage photos from the Chatsworth, Georgia F4 and Juno, Georgia F4 tornadoes from the April 3rd, 1974 outbreak

 

[speedbump305]

Wow. Just wow.

After lots of time thinking, I truly have come to the conclusion that this was without a doubt one of if not the strongest tornado of all time. The intensity this tornado reached was mind boggling.

 

[CheeselandSkies]

Wow. Just wow.

After lots of time thinking, I truly have come to the conclusion that this was without a doubt one of if not the strongest tornado of all time. The intensity this tornado reached was mind boggling.

Was about to pop off until I realized you were talking about the 2011 El Reno and not 2013.

 

[speedbump305]

Was about to pop off until I realized you were talking about the 2011 El Reno and not 2013.

Trust me, if i’m talking about El Reno it’s always the 2011 one lol. To be honest, I actually find the 2011 one a bit more fascinating to study and discuss about. Not taking anything away from the 2013 one at all though. It was insane in its own right.

 

[NorthGaWeather]

I wonder if there are any damage photos from the Chatsworth, Georgia F4 and Juno, Georgia F4 tornadoes from the April 3rd, 1974 outbreak

There are. Even video from local news stations. The video is archived through UGA/local stations, while most of the photos were obtained by residents and newspapers.

If one is willing to put in the time with research, you can usually find a lot of information on older tornadoes. Especially post 1950.