MNTornadoGuy
Member
Some historical tornadoes that have damaged the foundation of a home:
6/7/1936 Nez Perce ID F3
4/24/1929 Buffalo OK F4
7/7/1969 Buffalo SD F4
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Significant Tornado Events
- Thread starter locomusic01
- Start date
6/7/1936 Nez Perce ID F3
4/24/1929 Buffalo OK F4
7/7/1969 Buffalo SD F4
MNTornadoGuy
Member
The motion was impressiveI wish I'd had time to finish an article on Topeka - I think people often forget what a beast it really was. Another view from the same area:
And of course one of the most spectacular historical tornado photos ever taken:
Dunno why, but the photo crossing Burnett's Mound has always struck me as well:
The videos remind me of sort of a cross between Andover and Tuscaloosa. The violent motion is pretty unmistakable. The damage wasn't necessarily among the most intense you'll ever see, but it was still pretty impressive for such a populated area.
In terms of actual poured slabs, Picher, Jarrell, Smithville, and Hackleburg are the only ones I can confirm. It should be noted that it was a shed foundation in Jarrell, and that the slab in Picher was poured way too thin.
speedbump305
Member
That’s why i’m starting to think Hackleburg and Smithville are up there on the most violent of the violent, they did damage to poured concrete slabs that were very thick and well poured
Oh also the Wilkin, MN tornado of 2010 tore up a barn foundation pretty good and scattered chunks of concrete across a beet field, but all photos of that seem to have disappeared from the internet.
A lot of the NWS website updates were done very sloppily, and flushed a lot of historic damage images down the toilet. It’s a shame.
A lot of the NWS website updates were done very sloppily, and flushed a lot of historic damage images down the toilet. It’s a shame.
MNTornadoGuy
Member
Other photos from the 1966 Topeka tornado:
MNTornadoGuy
Member
speedbump305
Member
MN Tornado guy and Locomusic01 thank y’all so much for always finding new tornado images and posting them here! it’s always so cool to see vintage tornadoes and the damage they produced! thank y’all so much and thank y’all for always spreading daily tornado damage daily
speedbump305
Member
Here’s another cool tornado debate, Smithfield 1977 vs Brandenburg Kentucky
Similar to Beauregard, without very significant debarking and scouring, it's hard to say contextual damage was classic EF5 level. But these vehicle damages were impressive for a fast moving tornado. I even don't remember Rochelle had vehicle damage like these.
Brandenburg, without a doubt.
speedbump305
Member
I would say Brandenburg for sure, but Smithfield was also extremely violent for sure
Smithfield was indeed violent imo, based on the tree and vehicle damage, but the homes in the Smithfield subdivision were supported by CMU basement walls that were only built partially into the ground. Once those CMU foundation walls went, the homes went too.
Wind engineering studies suggest that unreinforced CMU (which this likely was) fails at around 90 MPH.
Wind engineering studies suggest that unreinforced CMU (which this likely was) fails at around 90 MPH.
OHWX97
Member
On April 10th, 1979, Robert Molet took these horrifying photos of the approaching F4 tornado that devastated much of Wichita Falls, TX. Incredibly, Robert lived, only sustaining minor injuries. Unfortunately, others weren't so lucky at the apartment complex across the street.
Aftermath of the apartment complex:
Aftermath of the apartment complex:
I remember seeing this photo sequence as a kid and being amazed and a little horrified. Crazy stuff.
What’s odd to me is how the roof decking of those apartments is already exposed in the first photo, even though the outer edge of the tornado is still behind the building. Maybe there was a wide radius of damaging winds extending way out from the visible funnel. Only explanation I can think of.
OHWX97
Member
Here's other photos of the '79 Wichita Falls tornado. Visually, it's about as scary as a tornado gets.
OMG! That first one is part of an incredible photo sequence that I’ve been trying to find again for almost two decades. I haven’t seen it since the late 90s and maybe early 2000s. Where on earth did you find it!?
Also, like the apartment photo sequence, the visible funnel is behind the buildings in the foreground, but you can still see roof damage taking place.
OHWX97
Member
I find that intriguing as well. Perhaps the apartments were still being constructed at the time? Or like you said, the area of destructive winds stretched well beyond the visible funnel, which is a good possibility given the multiple vortex structure of the tornado.
I think I've seen another one from that sequence. I'll try and dig it up.
OHWX97
Member
@buckeye05
Here's the only other one I could find. I'm still trying to figure out who took these pictures. You'd be surprised about the stuff you can find
on Pinterest.
Here's the only other one I could find. I'm still trying to figure out who took these pictures. You'd be surprised about the stuff you can find
on Pinterest.
Yup! This brings back memories of searching for tornado pics as a young kid. That photo sequence is one of the first I found. In total, I think it was about 8 photos, starting with the first multiple vortices forming under the wall cloud, consolidating into a huge wedge, and passing right by the photographer.
The guy who took these photos actually had a little website where he had each photo in order, with annotations about each pic in the sequence. I think it was called “Supersite USA - Tornado Photos” or something like that.
Update: I found a good portion of the sequence on the NWS page on this event. For some reason the close up views you posted are missing though. Photographer was Winston Wells.
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