Yeah, don't have a whole lot on them but here are some (admittedly poor) photos from the Bean Lake, MO F3:
Damage from the Sayler Park OH F5. I just wanted to share some photos I found from some of the lesser-known or more obscure violent tornadoes of the 1974 Super Outbreak. Also, I think I might have found photos showing the F5 damage.
That’s literally the one I’m looking into now, actually. Always wanted to find damage photos, as the descriptions sound like the damage was about as extreme as it gets, potentially Jarrell-like.
Your assessment is accurate. It would have been rated EF4 today, and probably should have been rated F4 back then. I do remember that someone on the old forum mentioned that the 1998 Bham tornado dislodged and swept away a segment of concrete walkway/sidewalk leading to the front door of one obliterated home (kind of like Rochelle/Fairdale 2015 did), though I haven’t heard any other mention of that, nor any photographic evidence, so I have to write it off as a rumor.
I don't think we've posted any damage photographs from this tornado on here before....all the photos I've seen suggest nothing more then mid-range F4, the damage is violent but not incredible or exceptional. NWS Birmingham is one of the better rating agencies but every so often they make mistakes.
I thought I had more photos, but here are a few for now. IIRC, the Decatur County Last Indian Raid Museum has a bunch more photos from that event - may be worth reaching out to them if you're looking for more. I know they've done presentations on it before and I believe maybe made a book at one point?
Grazulis mentions that this tornado swept away nearly all debris and several inches of topsoil from farmsteads that it obliterated, and an old newspaper clipping I found said that of the debris that was present, no pieces were larger than match sticks. Sounds like truly extreme damage. I wonder if this was a slow mover like Harper, Jarrell, or Leedey?I thought I had more photos, but here are a few for now. IIRC, the Decatur County Last Indian Raid Museum has a bunch more photos from that event - may be worth reaching out to them if you're looking for more. I know they've done presentations on it before and I believe maybe made a book at one point?
Yeah, it's been quite a while since I've done any research on it but some of the accounts are pretty striking. IIRC it wasn't especially wide either (1/4 mi?), so I'd imagine it must have been moving very slowly to cause such high-end destruction & debris granulation.
