Significant Tornado Events

[pohnpei]

It didn't scour asphalt it scoured the surface of gravel roads which is not unusual in intense tornadoes and it doesn't take much.

Yes, you are right. It also rolled large tank very long distance like 3 miles or something similar to Bakersfield Valley, but not carried it over a hill like Bakersfield Valley once did. Overall, the limited DI of the tornado did curb us from knowing its true potential intensity.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

Yes, you are right. It also rolled large tank very long distance like 3 miles or something similar to Bakersfield Valley, but not carried it over a hill like Bakersfield Valley once did. Overall, the limited DI of the tornado did curb us from knowing its true potential intensity.

It did roll some oil tanks up to 2.48 miles (4 km.) Trees were uprooted or snapped with some debarking, metal fences were still standing and wheat was not scoured near the site where radar recorded the highest winds. It was probably EF4 at some point but I doubt it reached EF5 intensity especially the extreme EF5 intensity that some people claim happened due to the DOW winds.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

I also don't agree the saying of 13 El Reno was stronger than Moore and the house damage of 13 El Reno was at EF3 level for sure. But,always, the peak wind area of this tornado didn't hit any structure. It is always very hard to figure out how strong a tornado is if it only hit several trees or poles at its peak intensity.
The DOW winds at least prove one thing: it was an EF3 tornado in terms of damage, but not an EF3 level tornado certainly.
By the way, it stripped a long section of asphalt near its peak intensity.

Yeah, El Reno 2013 didn't do anymore than EF3 damage, but EF5 velocities were recorded on radar. It demonstrates issues with the scale, but the rating makes sense if the scale is used correctly (damage, not wind speed). Max from Extremeplanet did a survey of the damage and posted it on his blog a while back, really interesting stuff.

2013 El Reno Tornado Damage Survey

□ On May 31, 2013, a train of violent supercell thunderstorms erupted in the sky to the west of Oklahoma City. In the city suburb of Moore, rain began to fall over the tangled remains of homes and …

extremeplanet.wordpress.com

 

[pohnpei]

Yeah, El Reno 2013 didn't do anymore than EF3 damage, but EF5 velocities were recorded on radar. It demonstrates issues with the scale, but the rating makes sense if the scale is used correctly (damage, not wind speed). Max from Extremeplanet did a survey of the damage and posted it on his blog a while back, really interesting stuff.

2013 El Reno Tornado Damage Survey

□ On May 31, 2013, a train of violent supercell thunderstorms erupted in the sky to the west of Oklahoma City. In the city suburb of Moore, rain began to fall over the tangled remains of homes and …

extremeplanet.wordpress.com

Yes, I read his articles and it was very informative.
In my personal understanding, all types of DIs like house damage, tree damage, vehicle damage, ground scouring etc were implements that allow us to speculate or deduct wind speeds of the tornado.
The measurement of DOW was at least an important approach for us to figure out the wind speed of tornados, still far away from the acutal wind speed undoubtedly.
Statistically, there must be an extremely small propotion of most violent tornados hit a town or city or subvision given the proportion of urban land area in the total area of the state in tornado /Dixie alley. But more than half of the most violent tornados we talked about there hit a town or city or subvision at their peak. That just give us an idea of how many extremely violent tornados were ignored if we just look at their damage in open fields. For most of the tornados, what we know was just little.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Yes, I read his articles and it was very informative.
In my personal understanding, all types of DIs like house damage, tree damage, vehicle damage, ground scouring etc were implements that allow us to speculate or deduct wind speeds of the tornado.
The measurement of DOW was at least an important approach for us to figure out the wind speed of tornados, still far away from the acutal wind speed undoubtedly.
Statistically, there must be an extremely small propotion of most violent tornados hit a town or city or subvision given the proportion of urban land area in the total area of the state in tornado /Dixie alley. But more than half of the most violent tornados we talked about there hit a town or city or subvision at their peak. That just give us an idea of how many extremely violent tornados were ignored if we just look at their damage in open fields. For most of the tornados, what we know was just little.

I do think that EF5 winds occurred in this thing. But what happened is the intense wind speeds measured by the radar were located in the subvortices of this thing, not the main funnel. So the EF5 wind speeds were confined to a very small area and likely wouldn't hit much anyways.

 

[pohnpei]

Yes, the Maximum winds detected by radar was in subvortex with transitional speed of 79m/s and tangential winds of 60m/s.
The Maximum velocity in main funnel was still close to 120m/s based on this article.

Photogrammetric Analysis of the 2013 El Reno Tornado Combined with Mobile X-Band Polarimetric Radar Data

Abstract This study presents rapid-scanning X-band polarimetric radar data combined with photogrammetry of the El Reno tornado of 31 May 2013. The relationship between the hook echo, weak-echo hole (WEH), weak-echo column (WEC), and the rotational couplet with the visual characteristics of the...

journals.ametsoc.org

still in the range of EF5/F5 range but with lesser time lasted.

I do think that EF5 winds occurred in this thing. But what happened is the intense wind speeds measured by the radar were located in the subvortices of this thing, not the main funnel. So the EF5 wind speeds were confined to a very small area and likely wouldn't hit much anyways.

 

[pohnpei]

Yes, the Maximum winds detected by radar was in subvortex with transitional speed of 79m/s and tangential winds of 60m/s.
The Maximum velocity in main funnel was still close to 120m/s based on this article.

Photogrammetric Analysis of the 2013 El Reno Tornado Combined with Mobile X-Band Polarimetric Radar Data

Abstract This study presents rapid-scanning X-band polarimetric radar data combined with photogrammetry of the El Reno tornado of 31 May 2013. The relationship between the hook echo, weak-echo hole (WEH), weak-echo column (WEC), and the rotational couplet with the visual characteristics of the...

journals.ametsoc.org

still in the range of EF5/F5 range but with lesser time lasted.

The measurement data from another paper.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

the thing about the Trousdale EF3 is that the tornado did very little ground scouring, but the tree damage was more intense than greensburg

Never seen any damage photographs from Trousdale, I know it was 2+ miles wide and had a very intense radar signature (or so I've heard).

 

[pohnpei]

Never seen any damage photographs from Trousdale, I know it was 2+ miles wide and had a very intense radar signature (or so I've heard).

Some damage photos about it.
The radar apperance was even more monstrous than Greensburg tornado

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Some damage photos about it.
The radar apperance was even more monstrous than Greensburg tornado

Yeah, thankfully it didn't go through a populated area and achieve full damage potential. Several monstrous wedges that night that probably had EF5 potential, but thankfully only one achieved it.

 

[pohnpei]

Yeah, thankfully it didn't go through a populated area and achieve full damage potential. Several monstrous wedges that night that probably had EF5 potential, but thankfully only one achieved it.

Yes, Hopwell tornado thereafter was also a monster. It threw a blazer 0.75 miles away but no damage photo of this vehicle can be found.

 

[pohnpei]

Greensburg KS tornado 2008 had some of most ridiculous strong couplet I have ever seen except for El Reno 2013. Barely any damage photo of this one can be found as far as I know.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

The Colfax, WI, F5 tornado of 06/04/1958 produced some remarkable granulation of debris and debarking of trees:

In his Significant Tornadoes, Thomas P. Grazulis lists the Colfax event as F4, but non-structural indicators seem F5.

Colfax also wrapped a car around a collapsed steel bridge:



TornadoTalk on it: https://www.tornadotalk.com/colfax-wi-f5-tornado-june-4-1958/

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

It reminds me of the Tri-State tornado outbreak. I don't think most people are even aware that other tornadoes occurred that day, but the other tornadoes alone (two F4+ and several F3+) would have represented a pretty notable outbreak. Same deal with Tupelo - Gainesville. Take those two tornadoes away and you'd still have a pretty significant outbreak (in intensity if not in number).



This is my pet theory, yeah. I don't think we'll ever know for certain, but I was able to find a fairly contiguous path of damage points from Black Zion (SW of Tupelo) to south of Tuscumbia in Colbert County, AL. That's a path length of ~75 miles altogether. I think the biggest "break" between damage points was a little under 10 miles. It's entirely possible the storm cycled in that time before putting down another tornado, but this was also in a very rural area where it's pretty unlikely I'd have been able to find any damage reports regardless.

Otherwise, everything else - timing, direction, etc. - seems to line up pretty well.

The 3/18/25 outbreak seems to have been rather widespread, with significant tornadoes being reported as far south as Alabama and far west as Kansas and severe thunderstorms occurring as far east as Ohio, as far southwest as Louisiana, and as far southeast as Georgia. Strong thunderstorms were reported in a broad area that also included parts of Oklahoma, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ontario. Perhaps it was another "super outbreak" but due to being so poorly documented we'll never know the full scale. I wonder if there were multiple rain-wrapped, fast-moving VLT wedges that occurred that day and they simply weren't documented for whatever reason; perhaps there were a couple other tornadoes that lasted 100+ miles and got lost in the shadow of the Tri-State storm. We'll never know, unfortunately.

 

[Equus]

Just as an aside, at 107 pages, this now becomes the largest thread on TW. Very exciting to see that much content, and one of the best wx threads on the Internet for sure.

 

[Casuarina Head]

I'm not sure exactly, I've never sat down and put a list together. I would say Tri-State would be in my top five for sure though. You know what, now I want to make a list lol.

I'd say the the absolute worst of the worst, most violent tornadoes of all time were these, in no particular order:

-Camanche, IA 1860
-Rochester, MN 1883
-Pomeroy, IA 1893
-Sherman, TX 1896
-New Richmond, WI 1899
-Fergus Falls, MN 1919
-Tri-State, 1925
-Rocksprings, TX 1927
-Tupelo, MS 1936
-Oberlin, KS 1942
-Woodward, OK 1947
-Leedey, OK 1947
-Udall, KS 1955
-Dunlap, IN 1965
-Jackson, MS 1966
-Tianjin, China 1969
-San Justo, Argentina 1973
-Brandenburg, KY 1974
-Guin, AL 1974
-Niles, OH 1985
-Bakersfield Valley, TX 1990
-Stratton, NE 1990
-Andover, KS 1991
-Jarrell, TX 1997
-Bridge Creek, OK 1999
-Harper, KS 2004
-Parkersburg, IA 2008
-Smithville, MS 2011
-Philadelphia, MS 2011
-Hackleburg, AL 2011
-Joplin, MO 2011
-El Reno, OK 2011
-Chickasha, OK 2011
-Goldsby, OK 2011
-Moore, OK 2013
-Vilonia, AR 2014
-Chapman, KS 2016

My absolutely subjective top 10:
1.) Smithville, MS
2.) Jarrell, TX
3.) Tri-State Tornado
4.) Bakersfield Valley, TX
5.) Philadelphia, MS
6.) Bridge Creek, OK
7.) Moore, OK
8.) Joplin, MO
9.) Parkersburg, IA
10.) Hackleburg, AL

I would put the Tristate at #1 on my list because the uniformity and longevity of intense (F3+), 3/4-mile-wide damage for one-hundred-plus miles, coupled with numerous, hence well-substantiated, descriptions of extreme damage, i.e., deep ground scouring, debris granulation, heavy Model Ts stripped down to motors, etc., even if photographic evidence is lacking, all points to its likely being one of the most intense tornadoes on record, period. Towns from Annapolis, MO, to Princeton, IN, plus numerous farms in between settlements, all sustained damage consistent with F3+ impacts, with no clear indication of a reformation for most of this path, except the possible report of twin mergers near Biehle, MO, so the 157-to-174-mile-long segment from easternmost MO to southwestern IN was likely a single tornado per Thomas P. Grazulis’ The Tornado (2001) and the recently published reanalysis. So the Tristate event was basically Hackleburg “on steroids,” so to speak, and in fact may have been even a bit more intense along the way. On the other hand, the soils in northern AL were/are likely harder to dislodge than those along the alluvial confluence-delta regions of the Mississippi/Ohio River Valleys, so the lesser degree of ground scouring in Hackleburg relative to Tristate does not necessarily imply a significantly weaker tornado in the former. In fact, besides Tristate, only Hackleburg really comes close in terms of the amount of EF3+/4+ damage proportional to its total path length and average width, not to mention the extreme damage to the industrial Wrangler plant, concrete-roofed storm shelter, trees/shrubbery, vehicles, and so on. Both Hackleburg and Tristate had relatively low, comparable, above-ground survival rates as well. Considering both tornadoes’ rapid forward speed, owing to their parent storms’ motion within the synoptic-scale flow, I would say that both are fairly similar in terms of their extreme intensities, compensating for local factors such as soil etc.

Along with Tristate and Hackleburg, I would put three other events alongside them in terms of intensity. One is the Ortonville, MI, F5 tornado of 05/25/1896. Even official accounts in the Monthly Weather Review indicate that this tornado produced extreme damage to trees and shrubs, many having been completely debarked and reduced to stubs, with even small twigs having had their bark removed as if by skilled artisans. Also, photographs and descriptions elsewhere seemingly suggest that intense ground scouring occurred near empty foundations and that low-lying shrubs were blown away or uprooted. If I recall correctly, Ortonville is still MI’s second-deadliest tornado on record, behind only the Beecher F5 of 06/08/1953. Like Beecher, Ortonville also had a rather high above-ground fatality rate, with large numbers of fatalities in several different homes/families. It is interesting to note that all three of MI’s well-known F5s, Ortonville, Beecher, and Hudsonville, are competitive with the worst of Dixie and Plains events in terms of intensity, based on reported and verified effects in each. MI doesn’t often see violent tornadoes, but when it does, they tend to be extremely violent. (I might also add the first of the Coldwater Lake F4s on Palm Sunday 1965 to this consideration, though evidence is lesser in this case.) Alongside Ortonville I would also list the New Richmond, WI, F5 of 06/12/1899. That tornado probably produced more debarked, stubbed, mature trees than most violent tornadoes of the late nineteenth century, literally reduced multi-story brick-and-stone structures with interior walls to rubble, hurled a heavy safe a full block, turned an entire section of town into finely granulated debris, and produced an extremely high fatality rate despite its high visibility and advance warning. Finally, I would be hard pressed to find industrial damage more extreme than the snapping of numerous steel rebars in Tianjin on 08/29/1969. No other tornado produced industrial damage on the scale of the Tianjin event, to not mention the extreme vegetative and vehicular damage, along with debris granulation, reported during that event.

So, for me, Tristate would be tied with Hackleburg, Ortonville, New Richmond, and Tianjin for #1 all-time. #2 would go to Sherman, Pomeroy, Bakersfield Valley, Jarrell, and Harper. Sherman and Pomeroy are notable for their extremely high fatality rates despite being narrow and highly visible, diurnal events that were not moving particularly quickly, besides the extreme instances of damage they did to trees/shrubbery, the ground scouring and granulation they produced, and unconventional indicators such as railway tracks being ripped up and steel bridges being mangled and hurled. Harper produced damage on a scale unseen in most other events besides Bakersfield Valley and Jarrell. #3 would be Smithville, Camanche, Plainfield, Loyal Valley, and El Reno 2011. Loyal Valley’s damage to mature mesquite trees, several of which were literally torn up by their roots and tossed some distance, easily ranks as some of the most notable tree damage on record, given the strength and durability of deeply rooted mesquite trees, to not mention the gruesome impacts to vehicles and head of cattle. As for Plainfield, I still think its cycloidal ground scouring and obliteration of mature corn down to the rootstock count for something, given that similarly slow-moving violent tornadoes in the same general region did not produce destruction on its level, while El Reno ‘11’s damage to the Cactus 117 rig, plus its level of granulation, ground scouring, debarking/stubbing of trees and low-lying shrubs, illustrates one of the most impressive tornado-driven feats on record. #4 would go to Moore 2013, Guin, Niles/Wheatland, Stratton, and Vilonia. Guin’s ground scouring is perhaps the most impressive on record in AL, and stands out even more considering the tornado’s extremely compact core and fast forward speed, locally exceeding 70 knots (80 mph). Finally, the title of #5 would go to Parkersburg, Colfax, Brandenburg, Bridge Creek, and Joplin. I think Moore ‘13 produced more intense damage indicators over open country than Bridge Creek did, and may have had comparable or greater winds at or near ground level, but went unrecorded. Parkersburg, Brandenburg, and Joplin actually snapped or toppled poured concrete basement walk-in walls.

1. Tri-State: MO–IL–IN (18 March 1925)
   • Ortonville, MI (25 May 1896) tied with #1
   • New Richmond, WI (12 June 1899) tied with #1
   • Tianjin, Tianjin Municipality, China (29 August 1969) tied with #1
   • Hackleburg–Phil Campbell–Tanner, AL (27 April 2011) tied with #1
2. Sherman, TX (15 May 1896)
   • Pomeroy, IA (6 June 1893) tied with #2
   • Bakersfield Valley, TX (1 June 1990) tied with #2
   • Jarrell, TX (27 May 1997) tied with #2
   • Harper, KS (12 May 2004) tied with #2
3. Smithville, MS (27 April 2011)
   • Camanche, IA (3 June 1860) tied with #3
   • Plainfield, IL (28 August 1990) tied with #3
   • Loyal Valley, TX (11 May 1999) tied with #3
   • Calumet–El Reno–Piedmont, OK (24 May 2011) tied with #3
4. Moore, OK (20 May 2013)
   • Guin, AL (3 April 1974) tied with #4
   • Niles, OH/Wheatland, PA (31 May 1985) tied with #4
   • Stratton, NE (15 June 1990) tied with #4
   • Vilonia, AR (27 April 2014) tied with #4
5. Parkersburg–New Hartford, IA (25 May 2008)
   • Colfax, WI (4 June 1958) tied with #5
   • Brandenburg, KY (3 April 1974) tied with #5
   • Bridge Creek–Moore, OK (3 May 1999) tied with #5
   • Joplin, MO (22 May 2011) tied with #5

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

I would put the Tristate at #1 on my list because the uniformity and longevity of intense (F3+), 3/4-mile-wide damage for one-hundred-plus miles, coupled with numerous, hence well-substantiated, descriptions of extreme damage, i.e., deep ground scouring, debris granulation, heavy Model Ts stripped down to motors, etc., even if photographic evidence is lacking, all points to its likely being one of the most intense tornadoes on record, period. Towns from Annapolis, MO, to Princeton, IN, plus numerous farms in between settlements, all sustained damage consistent with F3+ impacts, with no clear indication of a reformation for most of this path, except the possible report of twin mergers near Biehle, MO, so the 157-to-174-mile-long segment from easternmost MO to southwestern IN was likely a single tornado per Thomas P. Grazulis’ The Tornado (2001) and the recently published reanalysis. So the Tristate event was basically Hackleburg “on steroids,” so to speak, and in fact may have been even a bit more intense along the way. On the other hand, the soils in northern AL were/are likely harder to dislodge than those along the alluvial confluence-delta regions of the Mississippi/Ohio River Valleys, so the lesser degree of ground scouring in Hackleburg relative to Tristate does not necessarily imply a significantly weaker tornado in the former. In fact, besides Tristate, only Hackleburg really comes close in terms of the amount of EF3+/4+ damage proportional to its total path length and average width, not to mention the extreme damage to the industrial Wrangler plant, concrete-roofed storm shelter, trees/shrubbery, vehicles, and so on. Both Hackleburg and Tristate had relatively low, comparable, above-ground survival rates as well. Considering both tornadoes’ rapid forward speed, owing to their parent storms’ motion within the synoptic-scale flow, I would say that both are fairly similar in terms of their extreme intensities, compensating for local factors such as soil etc.

Along with Tristate and Hackleburg, I would put three other events alongside them in terms of intensity. One is the Ortonville, MI, F5 tornado of 05/25/1896. Even official accounts in the Monthly Weather Review indicate that this tornado produced extreme damage to trees and shrubs, many having been completely debarked and reduced to stubs, with even small twigs having had their bark removed as if by skilled artisans. Also, photographs and descriptions elsewhere seemingly suggest that intense ground scouring occurred near empty foundations and that low-lying shrubs were blown away or uprooted. If I recall correctly, Ortonville is still MI’s second-deadliest tornado on record, behind only the Beecher F5 of 06/08/1953. Like Beecher, Ortonville also had a rather high above-ground fatality rate, with large numbers of fatalities in several different homes/families. It is interesting to note that all three of MI’s well-known F5s, Ortonville, Beecher, and Hudsonville, are competitive with the worst of Dixie and Plains events in terms of intensity, based on reported and verified effects in each. MI doesn’t often see violent tornadoes, but when it does, they tend to be extremely violent. (I might also add the first of the Coldwater Lake F4s on Palm Sunday 1965 to this consideration, though evidence is lesser in this case.) Alongside Ortonville I would also list the New Richmond, WI, F5 of 06/12/1899. That tornado probably produced more debarked, stubbed, mature trees than most violent tornadoes of the late nineteenth century, literally reduced multi-story brick-and-stone structures with interior walls to rubble, hurled a heavy safe a full block, turned an entire section of town into finely granulated debris, and produced an extremely high fatality rate despite its high visibility and advance warning. Finally, I would be hard pressed to find industrial damage more extreme than the snapping of numerous steel rebars in Tianjin on 08/29/1969. No other tornado produced industrial damage on the scale of the Tianjin event, to not mention the extreme vegetative and vehicular damage, along with debris granulation, reported during that event.

So, for me, Tristate would be tied with Hackleburg, Ortonville, New Richmond, and Tianjin for #1 all-time. #2 would go to Sherman, Pomeroy, Bakersfield Valley, Jarrell, and Harper. Sherman and Pomeroy are notable for their extremely high fatality rates despite being narrow and highly visible, diurnal events that were not moving particularly quickly, besides the extreme instances of damage they did to trees/shrubbery, the ground scouring and granulation they produced, and unconventional indicators such as railway tracks being ripped up and steel bridges being mangled and hurled. Harper produced damage on a scale unseen in most other events besides Bakersfield Valley and Jarrell. #3 would be Smithville, Camanche, Plainfield, Loyal Valley, and El Reno 2011. Loyal Valley’s damage to mature mesquite trees, several of which were literally torn up by their roots and tossed some distance, easily ranks as some of the most notable tree damage on record, given the strength and durability of deeply rooted mesquite trees, to not mention the gruesome impacts to vehicles and head of cattle. As for Plainfield, I still think its cycloidal ground scouring and obliteration of mature corn down to the rootstock count for something, given that similarly slow-moving violent tornadoes in the same general region did not produce destruction on its level, while El Reno ‘11’s damage to the Cactus 117 rig, plus its level of granulation, ground scouring, debarking/stubbing of trees and low-lying shrubs, illustrates one of the most impressive tornado-driven feats on record. #4 would go to Moore 2013, Guin, Niles/Wheatland, Stratton, and Vilonia. Guin’s ground scouring is perhaps the most impressive on record in AL, and stands out even more considering the tornado’s extremely compact core and fast forward speed, locally exceeding 70 knots (80 mph). Finally, the title of #5 would go to Parkersburg, Colfax, Brandenburg, Bridge Creek, and Joplin. I think Moore ‘13 produced more intense damage indicators over open country than Bridge Creek did, and may have had comparable or greater winds at or near ground level, but went unrecorded. Parkersburg, Brandenburg, and Joplin actually snapped or toppled poured concrete basement walk-in walls.

1. Tri-State: MO–IL–IN (18 March 1925)
   • Ortonville, MI (25 May 1896) tied with #1
   • New Richmond, WI (12 June 1899) tied with #1
   • Tianjin, Tianjin Municipality, China (29 August 1969) tied with #1
   • Hackleburg–Phil Campbell–Tanner, AL (27 April 2011) tied with #1
2. Sherman, TX (15 May 1896)
   • Pomeroy, IA (6 June 1893) tied with #2
   • Bakersfield Valley, TX (1 June 1990) tied with #2
   • Jarrell, TX (27 May 1997) tied with #2
   • Harper, KS (12 May 2004) tied with #2
3. Smithville, MS (27 April 2011)
   • Camanche, IA (3 June 1860) tied with #3
   • Plainfield, IL (28 August 1990) tied with #3
   • Loyal Valley, TX (11 May 1999) tied with #3
   • Calumet–El Reno–Piedmont, OK (24 May 2011) tied with #3
4. Moore, OK (20 May 2013)
   • Guin, AL (3 April 1974) tied with #4
   • Niles, OH/Wheatland, PA (31 May 1985) tied with #4
   • Stratton, NE (15 June 1990) tied with #4
   • Vilonia, AR (27 April 2014) tied with #4
5. Parkersburg–New Hartford, IA (25 May 2008)
   • Colfax, WI (4 June 1958) tied with #5
   • Brandenburg, KY (3 April 1974) tied with #5
   • Bridge Creek–Moore, OK (3 May 1999) tied with #5
   • Joplin, MO (22 May 2011) tied with #5

I'd be careful with making lists like this, as so many events have very little visual documentation or reliable scientific data on them. Plus, so many of your entries can easily be disputed; some of the 1884 Enigma Outbreak tornadoes certainly belong on this list as they were probably among the most violent ever recorded based on newspaper and eyewitness accounts but, like Ortonville 1896 the lack of photography makes the stories about them difficult to ascertain. So why include Ortonville but not any Enigma tornadoes? You mention the Tianjin, China tornado of 1969 which is probably some of the most violent tornado damage I've seen outside North America but you don't mention the 1973 San Justo, Argentina tornado which was definitely an F5 and there is a ton of photographs of extremely impressive damage, much more then Tianjin, in fact. I could go on and on. I suggest you tread cautiously about doing stuff like this as it could derail the thread into unnecessary and irrelevant debate.

 

[pohnpei]

I would put the Tristate at #1 on my list because the uniformity and longevity of intense (F3+), 3/4-mile-wide damage for one-hundred-plus miles, coupled with numerous, hence well-substantiated, descriptions of extreme damage, i.e., deep ground scouring, debris granulation, heavy Model Ts stripped down to motors, etc., even if photographic evidence is lacking, all points to its likely being one of the most intense tornadoes on record, period. Towns from Annapolis, MO, to Princeton, IN, plus numerous farms in between settlements, all sustained damage consistent with F3+ impacts, with no clear indication of a reformation for most of this path, except the possible report of twin mergers near Biehle, MO, so the 157-to-174-mile-long segment from easternmost MO to southwestern IN was likely a single tornado per Thomas P. Grazulis’ The Tornado (2001) and the recently published reanalysis. So the Tristate event was basically Hackleburg “on steroids,” so to speak, and in fact may have been even a bit more intense along the way. On the other hand, the soils in northern AL were/are likely harder to dislodge than those along the alluvial confluence-delta regions of the Mississippi/Ohio River Valleys, so the lesser degree of ground scouring in Hackleburg relative to Tristate does not necessarily imply a significantly weaker tornado in the former. In fact, besides Tristate, only Hackleburg really comes close in terms of the amount of EF3+/4+ damage proportional to its total path length and average width, not to mention the extreme damage to the industrial Wrangler plant, concrete-roofed storm shelter, trees/shrubbery, vehicles, and so on. Both Hackleburg and Tristate had relatively low, comparable, above-ground survival rates as well. Considering both tornadoes’ rapid forward speed, owing to their parent storms’ motion within the synoptic-scale flow, I would say that both are fairly similar in terms of their extreme intensities, compensating for local factors such as soil etc.

Along with Tristate and Hackleburg, I would put three other events alongside them in terms of intensity. One is the Ortonville, MI, F5 tornado of 05/25/1896. Even official accounts in the Monthly Weather Review indicate that this tornado produced extreme damage to trees and shrubs, many having been completely debarked and reduced to stubs, with even small twigs having had their bark removed as if by skilled artisans. Also, photographs and descriptions elsewhere seemingly suggest that intense ground scouring occurred near empty foundations and that low-lying shrubs were blown away or uprooted. If I recall correctly, Ortonville is still MI’s second-deadliest tornado on record, behind only the Beecher F5 of 06/08/1953. Like Beecher, Ortonville also had a rather high above-ground fatality rate, with large numbers of fatalities in several different homes/families. It is interesting to note that all three of MI’s well-known F5s, Ortonville, Beecher, and Hudsonville, are competitive with the worst of Dixie and Plains events in terms of intensity, based on reported and verified effects in each. MI doesn’t often see violent tornadoes, but when it does, they tend to be extremely violent. (I might also add the first of the Coldwater Lake F4s on Palm Sunday 1965 to this consideration, though evidence is lesser in this case.) Alongside Ortonville I would also list the New Richmond, WI, F5 of 06/12/1899. That tornado probably produced more debarked, stubbed, mature trees than most violent tornadoes of the late nineteenth century, literally reduced multi-story brick-and-stone structures with interior walls to rubble, hurled a heavy safe a full block, turned an entire section of town into finely granulated debris, and produced an extremely high fatality rate despite its high visibility and advance warning. Finally, I would be hard pressed to find industrial damage more extreme than the snapping of numerous steel rebars in Tianjin on 08/29/1969. No other tornado produced industrial damage on the scale of the Tianjin event, to not mention the extreme vegetative and vehicular damage, along with debris granulation, reported during that event.

So, for me, Tristate would be tied with Hackleburg, Ortonville, New Richmond, and Tianjin for #1 all-time. #2 would go to Sherman, Pomeroy, Bakersfield Valley, Jarrell, and Harper. Sherman and Pomeroy are notable for their extremely high fatality rates despite being narrow and highly visible, diurnal events that were not moving particularly quickly, besides the extreme instances of damage they did to trees/shrubbery, the ground scouring and granulation they produced, and unconventional indicators such as railway tracks being ripped up and steel bridges being mangled and hurled. Harper produced damage on a scale unseen in most other events besides Bakersfield Valley and Jarrell. #3 would be Smithville, Camanche, Plainfield, Loyal Valley, and El Reno 2011. Loyal Valley’s damage to mature mesquite trees, several of which were literally torn up by their roots and tossed some distance, easily ranks as some of the most notable tree damage on record, given the strength and durability of deeply rooted mesquite trees, to not mention the gruesome impacts to vehicles and head of cattle. As for Plainfield, I still think its cycloidal ground scouring and obliteration of mature corn down to the rootstock count for something, given that similarly slow-moving violent tornadoes in the same general region did not produce destruction on its level, while El Reno ‘11’s damage to the Cactus 117 rig, plus its level of granulation, ground scouring, debarking/stubbing of trees and low-lying shrubs, illustrates one of the most impressive tornado-driven feats on record. #4 would go to Moore 2013, Guin, Niles/Wheatland, Stratton, and Vilonia. Guin’s ground scouring is perhaps the most impressive on record in AL, and stands out even more considering the tornado’s extremely compact core and fast forward speed, locally exceeding 70 knots (80 mph). Finally, the title of #5 would go to Parkersburg, Colfax, Brandenburg, Bridge Creek, and Joplin. I think Moore ‘13 produced more intense damage indicators over open country than Bridge Creek did, and may have had comparable or greater winds at or near ground level, but went unrecorded. Parkersburg, Brandenburg, and Joplin actually snapped or toppled poured concrete basement walk-in walls.

1. Tri-State: MO–IL–IN (18 March 1925)
   • Ortonville, MI (25 May 1896) tied with #1
   • New Richmond, WI (12 June 1899) tied with #1
   • Tianjin, Tianjin Municipality, China (29 August 1969) tied with #1
   • Hackleburg–Phil Campbell–Tanner, AL (27 April 2011) tied with #1
2. Sherman, TX (15 May 1896)
   • Pomeroy, IA (6 June 1893) tied with #2
   • Bakersfield Valley, TX (1 June 1990) tied with #2
   • Jarrell, TX (27 May 1997) tied with #2
   • Harper, KS (12 May 2004) tied with #2
3. Smithville, MS (27 April 2011)
   • Camanche, IA (3 June 1860) tied with #3
   • Plainfield, IL (28 August 1990) tied with #3
   • Loyal Valley, TX (11 May 1999) tied with #3
   • Calumet–El Reno–Piedmont, OK (24 May 2011) tied with #3
4. Moore, OK (20 May 2013)
   • Guin, AL (3 April 1974) tied with #4
   • Niles, OH/Wheatland, PA (31 May 1985) tied with #4
   • Stratton, NE (15 June 1990) tied with #4
   • Vilonia, AR (27 April 2014) tied with #4
5. Parkersburg–New Hartford, IA (25 May 2008)
   • Colfax, WI (4 June 1958) tied with #5
   • Brandenburg, KY (3 April 1974) tied with #5
   • Bridge Creek–Moore, OK (3 May 1999) tied with #5
   • Joplin, MO (22 May 2011) tied with #5

I may not regard Planfiled IL tornado as strong as Smithville. The corn field damage was impressive, but that alone was not enough to earn EF5 rating. There were several tornados cut corn field that deep like Planfield did. This tornado went through several subvision during its life and the damage I see was mainly EF4 level when it hit these structures.

 

[buckeye05]

I would put the Tristate at #1 on my list because the uniformity and longevity of intense (F3+), 3/4-mile-wide damage for one-hundred-plus miles, coupled with numerous, hence well-substantiated, descriptions of extreme damage, i.e., deep ground scouring, debris granulation, heavy Model Ts stripped down to motors, etc., even if photographic evidence is lacking, all points to its likely being one of the most intense tornadoes on record, period. Towns from Annapolis, MO, to Princeton, IN, plus numerous farms in between settlements, all sustained damage consistent with F3+ impacts, with no clear indication of a reformation for most of this path, except the possible report of twin mergers near Biehle, MO, so the 157-to-174-mile-long segment from easternmost MO to southwestern IN was likely a single tornado per Thomas P. Grazulis’ The Tornado (2001) and the recently published reanalysis. So the Tristate event was basically Hackleburg “on steroids,” so to speak, and in fact may have been even a bit more intense along the way. On the other hand, the soils in northern AL were/are likely harder to dislodge than those along the alluvial confluence-delta regions of the Mississippi/Ohio River Valleys, so the lesser degree of ground scouring in Hackleburg relative to Tristate does not necessarily imply a significantly weaker tornado in the former. In fact, besides Tristate, only Hackleburg really comes close in terms of the amount of EF3+/4+ damage proportional to its total path length and average width, not to mention the extreme damage to the industrial Wrangler plant, concrete-roofed storm shelter, trees/shrubbery, vehicles, and so on. Both Hackleburg and Tristate had relatively low, comparable, above-ground survival rates as well. Considering both tornadoes’ rapid forward speed, owing to their parent storms’ motion within the synoptic-scale flow, I would say that both are fairly similar in terms of their extreme intensities, compensating for local factors such as soil etc.

Along with Tristate and Hackleburg, I would put three other events alongside them in terms of intensity. One is the Ortonville, MI, F5 tornado of 05/25/1896. Even official accounts in the Monthly Weather Review indicate that this tornado produced extreme damage to trees and shrubs, many having been completely debarked and reduced to stubs, with even small twigs having had their bark removed as if by skilled artisans. Also, photographs and descriptions elsewhere seemingly suggest that intense ground scouring occurred near empty foundations and that low-lying shrubs were blown away or uprooted. If I recall correctly, Ortonville is still MI’s second-deadliest tornado on record, behind only the Beecher F5 of 06/08/1953. Like Beecher, Ortonville also had a rather high above-ground fatality rate, with large numbers of fatalities in several different homes/families. It is interesting to note that all three of MI’s well-known F5s, Ortonville, Beecher, and Hudsonville, are competitive with the worst of Dixie and Plains events in terms of intensity, based on reported and verified effects in each. MI doesn’t often see violent tornadoes, but when it does, they tend to be extremely violent. (I might also add the first of the Coldwater Lake F4s on Palm Sunday 1965 to this consideration, though evidence is lesser in this case.) Alongside Ortonville I would also list the New Richmond, WI, F5 of 06/12/1899. That tornado probably produced more debarked, stubbed, mature trees than most violent tornadoes of the late nineteenth century, literally reduced multi-story brick-and-stone structures with interior walls to rubble, hurled a heavy safe a full block, turned an entire section of town into finely granulated debris, and produced an extremely high fatality rate despite its high visibility and advance warning. Finally, I would be hard pressed to find industrial damage more extreme than the snapping of numerous steel rebars in Tianjin on 08/29/1969. No other tornado produced industrial damage on the scale of the Tianjin event, to not mention the extreme vegetative and vehicular damage, along with debris granulation, reported during that event.

So, for me, Tristate would be tied with Hackleburg, Ortonville, New Richmond, and Tianjin for #1 all-time. #2 would go to Sherman, Pomeroy, Bakersfield Valley, Jarrell, and Harper. Sherman and Pomeroy are notable for their extremely high fatality rates despite being narrow and highly visible, diurnal events that were not moving particularly quickly, besides the extreme instances of damage they did to trees/shrubbery, the ground scouring and granulation they produced, and unconventional indicators such as railway tracks being ripped up and steel bridges being mangled and hurled. Harper produced damage on a scale unseen in most other events besides Bakersfield Valley and Jarrell. #3 would be Smithville, Camanche, Plainfield, Loyal Valley, and El Reno 2011. Loyal Valley’s damage to mature mesquite trees, several of which were literally torn up by their roots and tossed some distance, easily ranks as some of the most notable tree damage on record, given the strength and durability of deeply rooted mesquite trees, to not mention the gruesome impacts to vehicles and head of cattle. As for Plainfield, I still think its cycloidal ground scouring and obliteration of mature corn down to the rootstock count for something, given that similarly slow-moving violent tornadoes in the same general region did not produce destruction on its level, while El Reno ‘11’s damage to the Cactus 117 rig, plus its level of granulation, ground scouring, debarking/stubbing of trees and low-lying shrubs, illustrates one of the most impressive tornado-driven feats on record. #4 would go to Moore 2013, Guin, Niles/Wheatland, Stratton, and Vilonia. Guin’s ground scouring is perhaps the most impressive on record in AL, and stands out even more considering the tornado’s extremely compact core and fast forward speed, locally exceeding 70 knots (80 mph). Finally, the title of #5 would go to Parkersburg, Colfax, Brandenburg, Bridge Creek, and Joplin. I think Moore ‘13 produced more intense damage indicators over open country than Bridge Creek did, and may have had comparable or greater winds at or near ground level, but went unrecorded. Parkersburg, Brandenburg, and Joplin actually snapped or toppled poured concrete basement walk-in walls.

1. Tri-State: MO–IL–IN (18 March 1925)
   • Ortonville, MI (25 May 1896) tied with #1
   • New Richmond, WI (12 June 1899) tied with #1
   • Tianjin, Tianjin Municipality, China (29 August 1969) tied with #1
   • Hackleburg–Phil Campbell–Tanner, AL (27 April 2011) tied with #1
2. Sherman, TX (15 May 1896)
   • Pomeroy, IA (6 June 1893) tied with #2
   • Bakersfield Valley, TX (1 June 1990) tied with #2
   • Jarrell, TX (27 May 1997) tied with #2
   • Harper, KS (12 May 2004) tied with #2
3. Smithville, MS (27 April 2011)
   • Camanche, IA (3 June 1860) tied with #3
   • Plainfield, IL (28 August 1990) tied with #3
   • Loyal Valley, TX (11 May 1999) tied with #3
   • Calumet–El Reno–Piedmont, OK (24 May 2011) tied with #3
4. Moore, OK (20 May 2013)
   • Guin, AL (3 April 1974) tied with #4
   • Niles, OH/Wheatland, PA (31 May 1985) tied with #4
   • Stratton, NE (15 June 1990) tied with #4
   • Vilonia, AR (27 April 2014) tied with #4
5. Parkersburg–New Hartford, IA (25 May 2008)
   • Colfax, WI (4 June 1958) tied with #5
   • Brandenburg, KY (3 April 1974) tied with #5
   • Bridge Creek–Moore, OK (3 May 1999) tied with #5
   • Joplin, MO (22 May 2011) tied with #5

Theres not enough info on a lot of these older events to be making such detailed and certain conclusions, especially of cases where there are little to no high quality photographs available. Ortonville and New Richmond at #1, higher than Smithville or Jarrell? Because of eyewitness accounts of debarked shrubs? Also Tianjin that far up with minimal info? That’s...absurd.

Also Plainfield was based on corn scouring. I don’t buy it, no matter in what detail you’re about to explain it in. It’s corn. There’s no standard for what “F5 corn scouring” looks like. The only type of scouring that had any kind of consistent significance is grass scouring, and even that’s variable. There’s no way to definitively conclude extreme intensity from what happened in that field.

I hate to say it, but this is the somehow long and highly-detailed, yet highly flawed in reasoning and evidence posts I remember.

 

[Casuarina Head]

I'd be careful with making lists like this, as so many events have very little visual documentation or reliable scientific data on them. Plus, so many of your entries can easily be disputed; some of the 1884 Enigma Outbreak tornadoes certainly belong on this list as they were probably among the most violent ever recorded based on newspaper and eyewitness accounts but, like Ortonville 1896 the lack of photography makes the stories about them difficult to ascertain. So why include Ortonville but not any Enigma tornadoes? You mention the Tianjin, China tornado of 1969 which is probably some of the most violent tornado damage I've seen outside North America but you don't mention the 1973 San Justo, Argentina tornado which was definitely an F5 and there is a ton of photographs of extremely impressive damage, much more then Tianjin, in fact. I could go on and on. I suggest you tread cautiously about doing stuff like this as it could derail the thread into unnecessary and irrelevant debate.

1) You are correct in that I tend to place too much weight on singular pieces of evidence rather than a breadth of high-quality data. I should probably focus more on recent, well-documented events instead of older, more obscure ones. I’ll try to eliminate the dubious cases from my lists, posts, and musings from now on.

2) However, can you find a single instance of damage, contextually modulated or otherwise, that occurred in San Justo yet was more extreme than Tianjin? I don’t think San Justo snapped steel-and-concrete rebar, whereas Tianjin did so “in spades,” colloquially speaking.

Theres not enough info on a lot of these older events to be making such detailed and certain conclusions, especially of cases where there are little to no high quality photographs available. Ortonville and New Richmond at #1, higher than Smithville or Jarrell? Because of eyewitness accounts of debarked shrubs? Also Tianjin that far up with minimal info? That’s...absurd.

Also Plainfield was based on corn scouring. I don’t buy it, no matter in what detail you’re about to explain it in. It’s corn. There’s no standard for what “F5 corn scouring” looks like. The only type of scouring that had any kind of consistent significance is grass scouring, and even that’s variable. There’s no way to definitively conclude extreme intensity from what happened in that field.

I hate to say it, but this is the somehow long and highly-detailed, yet highly flawed in reasoning and evidence posts I remember.

1) I agree, but maybe we should define “minimal info.” People posted a number of images from Tianjin in this thread, several pages ago.

2) If I recall correctly, only the Plainfield event literally reduced mature corn to bare soil, even in spots. It even obliterated roots and stubble.