Ego. Whether they want to admit I’d or not. STEM professionals generally don’t take kindly to being proven wrong or corrected.
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Severe WX Severe Threat 25 March 2021
- Thread starter MattPetrulli
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- severe wx
Equus
Member
Actually, looks like the former radar site DID get hit by either the tornado or the RFD, with roof damage and trees down around it; plausibly violent tornadoes hitting the same radar site in 1973 and 2021
WhirlingWx
Member
I remember seeing this myself earlier, but I can't remember who it was from. I know it was from the NW of Greensboro - Columbiana long-tracker, and I think this was closer to the Greensboro area. Greet the analysis itself with healthy skepticism, because I don't know if I've ever heard of a case where a full tree has been thrown straight into the ground AND then snapped again at the base (of course, I could be wrong), but regardless that is some pretty intense damage IMO. At the very least, this fits the "tree snapped off at the base" description to a tee, I would imagine... Might be some debarking of the tree too, *but can't confirm.* Grass around it can be seen as pretty intact, take that however you will.
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CheeselandSkies
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I based it on a quote from the 1990s Weather Channel documentary Enemy Wind when the narrator was describing the ranges of tornado size, duration and intensity in layman's terms: "It can dip out of the sky to almost capriciously destroy one home while leaving its neighbor untouched. Or it can cut a gash a mile wide, turning all it contacts into matchsticks."
Interesting stuff.
According to some recent stuff I’ve viewed from the AMS, the tree damage portion of the EF-scale is about to get a major overhaul. Apparently, recent studies have shown that tree damage like this, where they are snapped off or pulled out of ground and carried away from where they were rooted, is indicative of a certain intensity. What degree of intensity that this is correlated to, is unknown to me (I think it’s an EF3+ indicator based on some clues from recent years). In any case a “trees lofted” DI will be added to the scale in the near future.
I also have reason to believe that they are going to up the wind speed estimates for when debarking starts to occur, as it currently starts in the EF2 range. More recent damage studies have shown that major debarking is more indicative of a violent tornado than previously thought. I think many of us have already caught onto this concept years ago.
Slabbed home in Greensboro
Probably the most intense damage I've seen from the entire outbreak. Trees snapped and appear to have been partially debarked. Also ground scouring? Not sure. I do believe the empty slab was most likely an outbuilding however.
- Messages
- 99
- Location
- Columbiana, AL
I can confirm that entire trees were in the sky. There were dozens of them falling from many hundreds if not thousands of feet high. It was at this point we realized the tornado was going to cut us off and we turned around. I'll try to post the video later today.
To me it appears a possible trailer there. Hence the stairs further up from the slab. Spot for trailer then concrete slab for back patio. Just maybe.
actually upon further review. Most definitely a trailer. See the center blocks to left.
WhirlingWx
Member
Definitely leaning toward that being an outbuilding or trailer, as the foundation looks pretty small and I see like zero anchoring (at least from this aerial perspective). I agree though about this tornado having caused the most extreme damage compared to anything else I've seen of this outbreak.
Equus
Member
Definitely looks like a slab for a trailer or outbuilding to me, pieces are in pretty big chunks too
- Messages
- 99
- Location
- Columbiana, AL
The top image was some kind of weak home/building under construction. I had to crawl over about 100 pines to get back in there to check the mobile home 100 feet away for victims. Very minimal damage to the mobile home.
Most definitely was shot into ground. The ground around it would not be mulched if not. Plus easy to see there is no signs of stump or roots. Also the grass would not be as full under the tree if it was there and size of the wood (stump) into the ground was the size of tree. If that makes sense.
Equus
Member
What level of tree damage did you see first-hand in that area? Seeing aerials showing fairly high end forest damage but on the ground confirmation is way better
- Messages
- 99
- Location
- Columbiana, AL
The image with the destroyed house, a mother and child or children were pulled out of the bathroom. I didn't get a great look at the entire area. There were other structures destroyed and massive tree damage. The tornado was massive at that point.
Equus
Member
Newnan area forest damage; certainly lends credence to a high end rating
WhirlingWx
Member
I can tell you with relative certainty that soil type/condition affects how easily it can be scoured, but I don't know if/how surveys operationally account for this.
Question about trees? Are trees more brittle right now as compared to later in April? Like winter they snap easier due to being dormant.
Thank you for your input and helping others.
Equus
Member
I'd say hardwoods are probably harder to snap right now given being barely leaved out, with heavy crowns of leaves allowing more surface for the wind, BUT in most instances those are pine forests which of course remain evergreen so it probably doesn't matter that much