Enhanced Fujita Ratings Debate Thread

[tornado examiner]

is the nws done with the december 10 tornadoes on the dat? are they just gonna leave it incomplete or is more still coming?

 

[tornado examiner]

i wish the office responsible for surveying the cookeville tornado surveyed mayfield.

 

[tornado examiner]

because the damage surveys for the march 3 2020 tornado outbreak is the most complete and thorough set of surveys ive ever seen on the dat.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

I still wonder how did Bowling Green not get an EF4 rating.

 

[Shakespeare 2016]

because the damage surveys for the march 3 2020 tornado outbreak is the most complete and thorough set of surveys ive ever seen on the dat.

I would probably go a little stronger on the winds for the Cookeville tornado placing it at mid to high-end EF4.

 

[tornado examiner]

I still wonder how did Bowling Green not get an EF4 rating.

they didnt want to have 4 tornadoes rated ef4. both defiance and bowling green were pushing EF4

 

[TH2002]

they didnt want to have 4 tornadoes rated ef4. both defiance and bowling green were pushing EF4

Saloma 100% should have been rated EF4.

 

[tornado examiner]

Saloma 100% should have been rated EF4.

agreed

 

[tornado examiner]

still does anyone have a link to an aerial image map of the outbreak of december 10?

 

[TH2002]

It still works on the DAT. The overlay in the "Add Data" section is "gray_sky_2021_nadir" by jonathan.

 

[tornado examiner]

It still works on the DAT. The overlay in the "Add Data" section is "gray_sky_2021_nadir" by jonathan.

THANKS

 

[CheeselandSkies]

Didn't they add an EF4 DI to the DAT for Bowling Green and then remove it within a few hours?

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

Didn't they add an EF4 DI to the DAT for Bowling Green and then remove it within a few hours?

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

Yep they did for the industrial building that was flattened.

 

[andyhb]

Saloma 100% should have been rated EF4.

How in the hell is this EF3, 145 mph? No way, absolutely no way.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

An interesting case of damage NW of Earlington KY. These homes were swept away and were bolted to its foundation. However, the weak contextual damage and the fact the porch isn't even destroyed suggest that this was ~EF2-EF3 damage instead of EF4-EF5 damage. There were probably some other structural flaws with this home or critical failure modes.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

Tree damage in Bremen, likely close to the 190 mph DI.

 

[tornado examiner]

the survey for the mayfield tornado is so incomplete and inaccurate. theres a few EF4 damage points out in the middle of nowhere away from the damage core around mayfield. it had better not be left like that. the damage line is way off. its very bad....its probably one of the worst ever.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

The Mayfield Manor Apartments is one of the many DIs that are unlisted on DAT. One of these apartments was partially swept away. The roofing system apparently had a cold-formed steel frame. Another construction detail is that it apparently had 1/4 inch anchor bolts (with nuts and bolts) with 50.5" (4.2 ft) spacing on exterior walls and 33" (2.75 ft) spacing on interior walls in a concrete slab-on-grade foundation. This building was likely struck by a sub-vortex considering the lack of equally severe damage to nearby structures. While I don't think this structure could result in an EF5 rating, I do think it was likely an EF4 DI.

 

[tornado examiner]

The Mayfield Manor Apartments is one of the many DIs that are unlisted on DAT. One of these apartments was partially swept away. The roofing system apparently had a cold-formed steel frame. Another construction detail is that it apparently had 1/4 inch anchor bolts (with nuts and bolts) with 50.5" (4.2 ft) spacing on exterior walls and 33" (2.75 ft) spacing on interior walls in a concrete slab-on-grade foundation. This building was likely struck by a sub-vortex considering the lack of equally severe damage to nearby structures. While I don't think this structure could result in an EF5 rating, I do think it was likely an EF4 DI.

instresting. the damage in mayfield is incredibly weird. the tornado managed to completely level many structures in the downtown section but left so many residential structures standing. many with their roofs intact. either those commerical buildings werent nearly as strong. the homes are made of titanium, or the tornado was a very complex multi vortex that peaked over down town and weakened after leaving it....

 

[CheeselandSkies]

instresting. the damage in mayfield is incredibly weird. the tornado managed to completely level many structures in the downtown section but left so many residential structures standing. many with their roofs intact. either those commerical buildings werent nearly as strong. the homes are made of titanium, or the tornado was a very complex multi vortex that peaked over down town and weakened after leaving it....

Tornadoes in general, particularly violent ones, are weird. Quality surveys of extremely violent tornadoes (such as El Reno '11 and Smithville) prove that extreme variations in wind speed, direction, and vertical/horizontal components can happen in the course of a few seconds, over the span of a few yards. That's why IMO it's dumb that areal context can apparently be used to downgrade, but not upgrade. I don't want to get into conspiracy-mongering again, but that practice just smacks of some kind of agenda to keep ratings as low as possible.