Significant Tornado Events

[MNTornadoGuy]

Addendum: that VLT tornado's path in MS went through Monroe County, which is where Smithville is located. An eyewitness description of the tornado describes it as looking like a giant cloud moving along the ground and a "fire" in front of the wind, perhaps the "fire" was actually "smoke" that was the big black wedge of the tornado beneath a low-hanging mesocyclone and clouds base? So yeah this thing was a clone in appearance to Hackleburg 2011 as well.

I haven't seen any damage photographs from any of the 4/20/1920 tornadoes. Also one of the F4s struck down near Philadelphia MS too.

 

[J-Rab]

This is the only picture that I’ve seen of one of the tornadoes from the 1932 outbreak. It is the Columbiana, AL,tornado that killed 14. It was taken by a guy near Boothton AL.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

This is the only picture that I’ve seen of one of the tornadoes from the 1932 outbreak. It is the Columbiana, AL,tornado that killed 14. It was taken by a guy near Boothton AL.

View attachment 5561

That picture is actually from a tornado that occurred 5 days after the 3/21/1932 tornado outbreak.

 

[J-Rab]

That picture is actually from a tornado that occurred 5 days after the 3/21/1932 tornado outbreak.

Is it? The article it was in is about the March 21 outbreak. If it is from 5 days later, I apologize. I wasn’t trying to misrepresent anything. I appreciate you letting me know.

 

[Austin Dawg]

Addendum: that VLT tornado's path in MS went through Monroe County, which is where Smithville is located. An eyewitness description of the tornado describes it as looking like a giant cloud moving along the ground and a "fire" in front of the wind, perhaps the "fire" was actually "smoke" that was the big black wedge of the tornado beneath a low-hanging mesocyclone and clouds base? So yeah this thing was a clone in appearance to Hackleburg 2011 as well.

Fascinating. Sooner or later someone might find the reason that tornadoes seem to follow similar paths.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Fascinating. Sooner or later someone might find the reason that tornadoes seem to follow similar paths.

The thing I've noticed is that it's specifically the section of northwestern Alabama from Marion and Lamar Counties to Limestone and Madison Counties that seems to be a highway for long-tracked, rain-wrapped and fast moving F/EF4 to F/EF5 tornadoes. These tornadoes also have a tendency to cross into far southern Tennessee (Lincoln and Franklin County, specifically) before dissipating. It must be the perfect balance of geography, climate, local topography, dew points and atmospheric instability.

Also, Sand Mountain in NE Alabama is apparently one of those geographical features that can actually enhance tornado formation. Check out this study on the effects of terrain on the formation and intensity of tornadoes:

Abstract: An Observational Analysis of Potential Terrain Influences on Tornado Behavior (27th Conference on Severe Local Storms)

ams.confex.com

 

[CheeselandSkies]

Now that I think about it, video of Niles/Wheatland shows debris falling before the tornado arrives, and I'm pretty sure people in the path of the Tri-State Tornado described such phenomena. I wouldn't doubt it from a long-tracked storm like that.

Thanks to @Fred Gossage for digging up another version of that WBRC footage for me. It's chopped up and doesn't include the full sequence (such as the on-air meteorologist's stunned reaction to being told that debris was landing at the station, before it was handed to him), but shows some of what I was talking about:

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

I found some photographs from the August 11, 2017 Chifeng China tornadoes (a family of three violent wedge tornadoes.) It has been posted in here before that it swept away well-anchored brick homes which makes it wonder if one of the tornadoes reached EF5 intensity.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

I found some photographs from the August 11, 2017 Chifeng China tornadoes (a family of three violent wedge tornadoes.) It has been posted in here before that it swept away well-anchored brick homes which makes it wonder if one of the tornadoes reached EF5 intensity.
View attachment 5566View attachment 5567

More videos/images from the tornado:

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av43980255/

 

[andyhb]

Thanks to @Fred Gossage for digging up another version of that WBRC footage for me. It's chopped up and doesn't include the full sequence (such as the on-air meteorologist's stunned reaction to being told that debris was landing at the station, before it was handed to him), but shows some of what I was talking about:

I have the 33+ minute clip of them covering the TCL-BHM tornado when it was approaching the latter city (and also the extended clip of them covering it when it was going through Tuscaloosa).

 

[andyhb]

Put together another thread here of tornado outbreak in the 1950-1978 period plotted using ERA5 reanalysis that I didn't include in the original thread.

 

[Fred Gossage]

I have the 33+ minute clip of them covering the TCL-BHM tornado when it was approaching the latter city (and also the extended clip of them covering it when it was going through Tuscaloosa).

I'm begging you to please post. Even as someone who worked the coverage with them that day, I haven't been able to get anything from archives besides what they have uploaded over the years, and now they've taken most of that down too.

 

[CheeselandSkies]

I'm begging you to please post. Even as someone who worked the coverage with them that day, I haven't been able to get anything from archives besides what they have uploaded over the years, and now they've taken most of that down too.

Ah, that would explain why I couldn't for the life of me find it.

 

[andyhb]

Here's the Birmingham and Tuscaloosa coverage.

 

[CheeselandSkies]

Ah yes, that first one was the one I was looking for. Real shame they removed it from YouTube.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Here's the Birmingham and Tuscaloosa coverage.

Do you have any access of the 2011 Hackleburg/Phil Campbell/Tanner and Tuscalosoa/Birmingham damage aerials? Lots of those seem to have been taken down as well.

 

[rolltide_130]

Do you have any access of the 2011 Hackleburg/Phil Campbell/Tanner and Tuscalosoa/Birmingham damage aerials? Lots of those seem to have been taken down as well.

 

[Lori]

During the 2011 Outbreak, which tornado was the biggest in width?

I’d like to see an aerial of the rowing that took place when the Hackleburg/Phil Campbell got at it’s strongest in the rural town of Oak Grove...

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

During the 2011 Outbreak, which tornado was the biggest in width?

I’d like to see an aerial of the rowing that took place when the Hackleburg/Phil Campbell got at it’s strongest in the rural town of Oak Grove...

According to Storm Data, the Tuscaloosa-Birmingham tornado was the largest at a max width of 2600 yards.

 

[Austin Dawg]

Ah yes, that first one was the one I was looking for. Real shame they removed it from YouTube.

How much of an investment would it be to set up a way to host and archive video and photo footage? How much storage?

Opinions and ballpark estimates welcome here I am just wondering and trying to start the conversation of what it might cost and might be worth for folks smarter than I to research, reference, and study.