Significant Tornado Events

[MNTornadoGuy]

I wonder if this event was mislabeled as a downburst in some official publications, perhaps that's why it's hard to find information on it? Not sure. I do know that downbursts are more common in Western states then tornadoes, again just speculating.

No that's unlikely as newspapers would usually call it a tornado and there are no mentions of strong downbursts in storm data either.

 

[Robinson lee]

The following is the damage of Tianjin tornado in 1969. Some cottages were almost completely flattened, concrete factories were flattened, big trees were seriously twisted and peeled, corn fields were seriously washed away, factory chimneys one kilometer away were thrown out by tornadoes, which completely destroyed an auditorium at the end of their lives

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

The following is the damage of Tianjin tornado in 1969. Some cottages were almost completely flattened, concrete factories were flattened, big trees were seriously twisted and peeled, corn fields were seriously washed away, factory chimneys one kilometer away were thrown out by tornadoes, which completely destroyed an auditorium at the end of their lives

That concrete rebar being snapped....good lord, never seen that with any other tornado, although given this is communist China, the construction may have been a bit subpar. Not sure. This is probably on par with San Justo in terms of most violent wind damage I've seen outside North America.

 

[Marshal79344]

The Tianjin Tornado was definitely one of the most violent Chinese Tornadoes ever recorded. I did some searching into Chinese Websites regarding this tornado and came up with this summary:

152 dead- One of the strongest tornadoes in China History manifested itself on the evening of August 29th, being born from an HP supercell, also producing walnut-sized hail and 1 foot deep of water. The tornado, which was completely rainwrapped for its whole lifespan. The tornado first appeared at 7:30 PM local time at the Chuhegang Brigade of Ba County and had already intensified into a violent tornado by that point. Several concrete-reinforced factories were completely leveled, with concrete pillars being twisted like noodles and the reinforcements inside the concrete itself being violently mangled. 98 people were killed in the vicinity. The tornado obliterated a factory along the Yellow River as it headed towards present-day Tianjin. The tornado scoured several fields outside the town, reducing mature corn crops to twisted hulks of what they used to be. The tornado then roared into Tianjin, where it devastated multiple factories. Several factories and homes were leveled to the ground. 200 kilograms worth of stones were reported to have been lofted over 200 meters away from where they originated, ending up in another building. The tornado then obliterated an auditorium at a school. where some of the mangled beams were found in a neighborhood over 300 meters away from the former site of the school before the tornado exited the area. 52 people died in Tianjin before the tornado impacted many other communities before it faded. Trees were completely debarked, and one car was completely mangled and reduced to its chassis, embedded in the ground with mud splattered on it. A 2-foot tree was uprooted and thrown.

 

[Marshal79344]

Some Higher-Quality Photos of the Tianjin Tornado devastation:

Remains of a concrete factory that was completely decimated:




Serious damage to crops in farm fields:



A scene in a rural area:

 

[buckeye05]

Wow! I was literally just going to ask if anyone had additional photos of the 1969 Tianjin tornado, and I have to say, these photos are very impressive, and some I haven't ever seen. The snapped rebar is especially impressive. I'd say Tianjin is definitely now on my short list of most violent tornadoes outside of North America.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

Wow! I was literally just going to ask if anyone had additional photos of the 1969 Tianjin tornado, and I have to say, these photos are very impressive, and some I haven't ever seen. The snapped rebar is especially impressive. I'd say Tianjin is definitely now on my short list of most violent tornadoes outside of North America.

I do wonder if the rebar might be slightly weaker than rebar elsewhere if it is made of steel from the Great Leap Forward.

 

[buckeye05]

Here's some Smithville damage pics that I don't think I've posted yet.

Before and after of the E.E. Pickle Funeral Home. It's usually a bit of an exaggeration when people report that buildings are "gone" or have "vanished", but it's an accurate description in this case:

E.E. Pickle Funeral home from above:

Alternate angles of the Cox residence, which had it's concrete foundation slab pulled up and badly damaged:

Severe grass scouring:

 

[buckeye05]

I do wonder if the rebar might be slightly weaker than rebar elsewhere if it is made of steel from the Great Leap Forward.

I mean it's possible, but speculative. The vehicle damage, lofting and carrying huge pieces of concrete, and reports of completely debarked trees suggests it was an extremely violent tornado none the less.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Here's some Smithville damage pics that I don't think I've posted yet.

Before and after of the E.E. Pickle Funeral Home. It's usually a bit of an exaggeration when people report that buildings are "gone" or have "vanished", but it's an accurate description in this case:

E.E. Pickle Funeral home from above:

Alternate angles of the Cox residence, which had it's concrete foundation slab pulled up and badly damaged:

Severe grass scouring:

I've been looking for a before photo of that funeral home. I'd love to find a before photo of the bed and breakfast that also vanished and had it's cinder blocks pulverized into chunks of concrete.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Here's some Smithville damage pics that I don't think I've posted yet.

Before and after of the E.E. Pickle Funeral Home. It's usually a bit of an exaggeration when people report that buildings are "gone" or have "vanished", but it's an accurate description in this case:

E.E. Pickle Funeral home from above:

Alternate angles of the Cox residence, which had it's concrete foundation slab pulled up and badly damaged:

Severe grass scouring:

The funeral home and other buildings more or less vanishing in Smithville make me wonder about how many past accounts of violent tornadoes, particularly Dixie events, with their accounts of plantations or large farms and villages either 'vanishing', 'obliterated' or 'blown to atoms' are exaggeration and how much are fact. I'm sure a photographer a century ago may not recognize these impressive feats as damage anyways or, if they were from a neighboring town over wouldn't have recognized the proper locations for these landmarks and thus didn't think to visit them. Who knows?

 

[pohnpei]

The funeral home and other buildings more or less vanishing in Smithville make me wonder about how many past accounts of violent tornadoes, particularly Dixie events, with their accounts of plantations or large farms and villages either 'vanishing', 'obliterated' or 'blown to atoms' are exaggeration and how much are fact. I'm sure a photographer a century ago may not recognize these impressive feats as damage anyways or, if they were from a neighboring town over wouldn't have recognized the proper locations for these landmarks and thus didn't think to visit them. Who knows?

Yes, for that reason, I think tornados only with descriptions available were impossible for us to judge their intensity. Words can also be ambiguous and uncertain.I've seen numerous time in recent years that people reported catastrophic damage like houses were vanished after tornado, but was later proved that houses destroyed were not well built or people made exaggeration for the damage.
For example, Suffolk VA tornado 2008 can also be described as many residences obliterated or vanished. Trees were complety debarked inside the town. It sounds like an EF5 tornado. But it was rated EF3 anyway.

 

[buckeye05]

Yes, for that reason, I think tornados only with descriptions available were impossible for us to judge their intensity. Words can also be ambiguous and uncertain.I've seen numerous time in recent years that people reported catastrophic damage like houses were vanished after tornado, but was later proved that houses destroyed were not well built or people made exaggeration for the damage.
For example, Suffolk VA tornado 2008 can also be described as many residences obliterated or vanished. Trees were complety debarked inside the town. It sounds like an EF5 tornado. But it was rated EF3 anyway.
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I guess I never realized how intense this one was. I’ve always felt a little skeptical about the EF3 rating it received, and this makes me question it even more. Debarking of that severity is not something that is typical of an EF3.

 

[TH2002]

We may never know if something tornadic really happened in Orange County on February 9, 1978. Another southern California tornado event with basically nonexistent information are the two tornadoes that hit Orange County in January 1993. According to the LA Times, the first tornado damaged 110 homes in Buena Park, with losses totaling $200,000. The second and more intense tornado touched down in Lake Forest four days later on January 17, tearing the roof from at least one house, tossing boats into the air, scattering lots of debris, uprooting trees and "the trees that were left standing were stripped of leaves and branches". A woman was also thrown 75 feet through the air though was not seriously injured. Neither of the tornadoes are listed in any official databases. Interestingly, on the same day as the Lake Forest tornado an F2 tornado touched down in Tucson, AZ, causing $5,000,000 in damages. The Tucson tornado is listed as a tornado in official databases.

Any thoughts?

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

We may never know if something tornadic really happened in Orange County on February 9, 1978. Another southern California tornado event with basically nonexistent information are the two tornadoes that hit Orange County in January 1993. According to the LA Times, the first tornado damaged 110 homes in Buena Park, with losses totaling $200,000. The second and more intense tornado touched down in Lake Forest four days later on January 17, tearing the roof from at least one house, tossing boats into the air, scattering lots of debris, uprooting trees and "the trees that were left standing were stripped of leaves and branches". A woman was also thrown 75 feet through the air though was not seriously injured. Neither of the tornadoes are listed in any official databases. Interestingly, on the same day as the Lake Forest tornado an F2 tornado touched down in Tucson, AZ, causing $5,000,000 in damages. The Tucson tornado is listed as a tornado in official databases.

Any thoughts?

Both tornadoes are listed in the Jan 1993 storm data publication. One is listed as an F1 (Buena Park) while the Lake Forest tornado is listed as an F0. Storm Data says only shingles were torn off so newspapers probably over-exaggerated it.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

There was no slab at 32:11. It was Dodge dealership that was destroyed along I-20 and was rated EF2 appropriately.
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I mean the house damage at 37:18 and 40:50. These were residence before and you check it on Google earth. It wasn't show on the NWS website or KML. Even they were poor anchored, the rating of 145mph was inacceptable.
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Also damage at 24:49 of the video:
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What street are these leveled homes located along?

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

Damage from the Westminister TX tornado.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Here's some Smithville damage pics that I don't think I've posted yet.

Before and after of the E.E. Pickle Funeral Home. It's usually a bit of an exaggeration when people report that buildings are "gone" or have "vanished", but it's an accurate description in this case:

E.E. Pickle Funeral home from above:

Alternate angles of the Cox residence, which had it's concrete foundation slab pulled up and badly damaged:

Severe grass scouring:

Serious question; what is it about Dixie Alley that makes these tornadoes so intense? Maybe I'm wrong, but lots of Dixie events seem to have just incredible ferocity that very few plains tornadoes seem to have (at least, not as much, and this is probably my incorrect perception) and in lots of the major outbreaks down there the tornadoes intensify almost immediately within touching down. Also, it seems like it's common for VLT 100+ mile events to occur down there and I don't think that ever happens with Plains tornadoes (the longest they ever seem to achieve is 70-75 miles). I understand that the storm systems down south typically move much faster due to higher upper-level winds being more prevalent during early spring but quite a few tornadoes down there have managed to last 2.5 to nearly 3 hours on the ground, which, even taking their rapid forward speeds into account is impressive. What is it exactly about Dixie Alley that makes it so conducive to violent tornadoes (aside from the factors I've already mentioned, assuming they're correct)? If you want to answer fine, if not it's fine, I'll just let whoever wants to chime in. Sorry if this comes across as rambling.

 

[Marshal79344]

Serious question; what is it about Dixie Alley that makes these tornadoes so intense? Maybe I'm wrong, but lots of Dixie events seem to have just incredible ferocity that very few plains tornadoes seem to have (at least, not as much, and this is probably my incorrect perception) and in lots of the major outbreaks down there the tornadoes intensify almost immediately within touching down. Also, it seems like it's common for VLT 100+ mile events to occur down there and I don't think that ever happens with Plains tornadoes (the longest they ever seem to achieve is 70-75 miles). I understand that the storm systems down south typically move much faster due to higher upper-level winds being more prevalent during early spring but quite a few tornadoes down there have managed to last 2.5 to nearly 3 hours on the ground, which, even taking their rapid forward speeds into account is impressive. What is it exactly about Dixie Alley that makes it so conducive to violent tornadoes (aside from the factors I've already mentioned, assuming they're correct)? If you want to answer fine, if not it's fine, I'll just let whoever wants to chime in. Sorry if this comes across as rambling.

Most major Dixie Alley Tornado events are associated with fast, intense northeastward moving surface lows. The intensity of the low, combined with the speed at which it is moving at creates a LOT of wind shear. If sufficient instability can develop ahead of the low, the environment will become supportive of intense tornadoes. Due to the intensity of the low, the upper-level support is strong, which favors a lower Critical Angle (around 50-60 usually). This favors faster-moving supercells as a result, and often long-tracked tornadoes. The problem, however, is that the surface low can be so strong that it triggers a lot of convection to form, which can result in a supercell with a tornado being choked off. This is the primary cause for tornado dissipation in Dixie Alley. It is extremely rare to see a tornadic supercell in Dixie Alley simply cycle by itself without influence from nearby mesoscale aspects. Hackleburg and Yazoo City were able to remain so strong for so long due to their parent supercells remaining relatively discrete for a long period of time. Most Plains Tornadoes, such as the 2007 Greensburg Tornado Family for example are not associated with such dynamic systems. They are often triggered by a weak surface low interacting with a very hot and unstable air mass, with the surface low influencing favorable wind profiles for tornadoes and providing the necessary lift for supercell development. In Dixie Alley, it's extremely rare to see an air mass anywhere near as unstable as in the Plains (with a few exceptions). If the two of these combine, you are likely to get a tornado outbreak with simply catastrophic results. Both the 1974 and 2011 Super Outbreaks had unusually high instability for Dixie Alley.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Most major Dixie Alley Tornado events are associated with fast, intense northeastward moving surface lows. The intensity of the low, combined with the speed at which it is moving at creates a LOT of wind shear. If sufficient instability can develop ahead of the low, the environment will become supportive of intense tornadoes. Due to the intensity of the low, the upper-level support is strong, which favors a lower Critical Angle (around 50-60 usually). This favors faster-moving supercells as a result, and often long-tracked tornadoes. The problem, however, is that the surface low can be so strong that it triggers a lot of convection to form, which can result in a supercell with a tornado being choked off. This is the primary cause for tornado dissipation in Dixie Alley. It is extremely rare to see a tornadic supercell in Dixie Alley simply cycle by itself without influence from nearby mesoscale aspects. Hackleburg and Yazoo City were able to remain so strong for so long due to their parent supercells remaining relatively discrete for a long period of time. Most Plains Tornadoes, such as the 2007 Greensburg Tornado Family for example are not associated with such dynamic systems. They are often triggered by a weak surface low interacting with a very hot and unstable air mass, with the surface low influencing favorable wind profiles for tornadoes and providing the necessary lift for supercell development. In Dixie Alley, it's extremely rare to see an air mass anywhere near as unstable as in the Plains (with a few exceptions). If the two of these combine, you are likely to get a tornado outbreak with simply catastrophic results. Both the 1974 and 2011 Super Outbreaks had unusually high instability for Dixie Alley.

So, Cordova, Raleigh/Uniontown had paths lengths both 120+ miles and Shoal Creek/Ohatchee had a path length of 98 miles; were their supercells discrete too or not? They seemed like they were on the ground and strong for quite a while too.
Also, sorry if this sounds like yet another silly question, why do so many of the tornadoes in Dixie Alley have such low-hanging cloud bases and why are they often rain-wrapped?