Significant Tornado Events

[TH2002]

Some more stuff from Yazoo City

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

I think that, while of course there isn't a 1:1 correlation between tornado longevity and intensity, it's a fair assumption that conditions that favor particularly long-lived tornadoes also favor particularly intense ones.

Yeah, I can't think of any VLT EF0-EF2 tornadoes off the top of my head. Also, I think Yazoo City probably hit EF5 intensity at some point but just didn't hit any DIs capable of registering it, as most of its path was through unpopulated forestland.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

I'm still suprised that Newnan got an EF4 rating. Most, if not all of these homes appear to have been sliders. There was no violent contextual damage and cars weren't shifted or moved like Buckeye said. The actual strongest tornado from this outbreak was Centreville.

 

[TH2002]

The only possible point of true EF4 damage from Newnan is this home, which at the very least doesn't appear to be a slider. However, if the lack of anchoring on other homes and unmoved vehicles is any indication, it's probably not EF4 damage either.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

The only possible point of true EF4 damage from Newnan is this home, which at the very least doesn't appear to be a slider. However, if the lack of anchoring on other homes and unmoved vehicles is any indication, it's probably not EF4 damage either.View attachment 12293

I don't think that is EF4 damage. It looks like it was a poorly-built home that collapsed with debris sliding downhill.

 

[TH2002]

I don't think that is EF4 damage. It looks like it was a poorly-built home that collapsed with debris sliding downhill.

I just wish there was a way to know for 100% sure. I did contact NWS FFC and asked them if they found anchoring on that house, but never got a response back.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

Severe debarking from the 2008 Parkersburg EF5. I believe this tornado was likely the strongest tornado of the EF-scale era outside of 2011.

 

[tornado examiner]

newnan was probably given the rating because of how large the homes were and the fact that they were pretty much brand new.

 

[TH2002]

newnan was probably given the rating because of how large the homes were and the fact that they were pretty much brand new.

I guess an argument could be (and clearly was by the surveyors) made for this one home that despite being poorly anchored, it was a two story home partially swept clean so a marginal or low EF4 rating would be fair.

 

[pohnpei]

Extreme damage of Tuscaloosa near Concord. Grass was severely scoured in this area with concrete proch also scoured away.

 

[buckeye05]

I guess an argument could be (and clearly was by the surveyors) made for this one home that despite being poorly anchored, it was a two story home partially swept clean so a marginal or low EF4 rating would be fair.
View attachment 12318

No way. It was clearly a slider, as portions of the roof structure and walls are still intact. That doesn’t qualify as DOD 9 or DOD 10. Plus, regardless of construction, there was absolutely zero contextual support of a violent tornado in Newnan. It’s hardly debatable.

newnan was probably given the rating because of how large the homes were and the fact that they were pretty much brand new.

The size and year a house was built has zero bearing on the rating, as big and new doesn’t always equate to well-built. If a house is unanchored, it doesn’t matter if it was built in 1920 or 2020.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

Extreme damage of Tuscaloosa near Concord. Grass was severely scoured in this area with concrete proch also scoured away. View attachment 12319View attachment 12320View attachment 12321View attachment 12322View attachment 12323View attachment 12324View attachment 12325

Aerial imagery of Concord:

 

[TH2002]

No way. It was clearly a slider, as portions of the roof structure and walls are still intact. That doesn’t qualify as DOD 9 or DOD 10. Plus, regardless of construction, there was absolutely zero contextual support of a violent tornado in Newnan. It’s hardly debatable.

I didn't say they were right in their decision to rate Newnan EF4, I was just trying to illustrate what the surveyors were probably thinking when they came to the conclusions they did.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

More damage photos from Concord. Trees were heavily debarked and many homes were leveled.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

I find the 5/7/2002 Ford County-Pratt County KS tornadoes to be one of the most impressive Plains events of the 2000s. A long-lived supercell produced ~9 tornadoes, some of which were very large and intense.

Windhorst F3 #1:
This large tornado scoured topsoil from one field and debarked trees. Several dozen cattle were killed with several 1500 lb heifers carried 3/4 of a mile. Two other tornadoes occurred near the field and might have contributed to the severe scouring.


Windhorst F3 #2:
This massive tornado was up to a mile-wide and produced "extreme damage" to trees and irrigation pipes.


Windhorst F3 #3:
A smaller but still intense tornado struck two farms north of Mullinville. One of these farms had the home leveled with a person being thrown into a field.

Cullison F2:
Not much is known about this tornado.


Pratt F2:
The last massive tornado to be produced by this supercell passed right through the town of Pratt. 14 homes were destroyed and 245 were damaged. It was rated as a HE F2. There were no injuries or fatalities.

 

[TH2002]

I believe the 2010 tornado season in Kansas was likely much more intense than the official numbers let on, with two rounds in particular of massive tornadoes striking the state on April 22 and May 10. Rough analysis of video footage (especially the Hunnewell clip) indicates some of these tornadoes possibly had violent potential, but all of them reached peak intensity in extremely sparsely populated areas.

April 22
A massive tornado that occurred near Friend, Kansas. It only damaged power poles and as a result was rated EF1:



Perhaps most interesting to me is the tornado that occurred near Kendall, Kansas. Sources conflict with this tornado. Some list it as an EF2 with a path length of 16.2 miles but in the official NOAA database it's listed as an EF1 with a path length of 9.4 miles. Damage reports range from "limited to debarked trees" to "minimal damage to pivot sprinklers and barns". However, sources agree that it was a mile wide at its peak.

May 10
This tornado is actually the (in)famous Wakita, OK multiple vortex EF3 and grew into this by the time it reached the Oklahoma-Kansas border:



Possibly the only significant structural damage (in Kansas) during this outbreak occurred when a tornado passed near Belmont. A home had its roof and two exterior walls completely torn off and two garages were completely destroyed. A lawnmower was also thrown 100 yards from one of the destroyed garages. This tornado was rated EF2.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

137 years ago on this date, a very violent tornado ripped a devastating swath from Pee Dee to near Johnstown. It moved rapidly NE after touchdown, blowing down large swaths of trees with many of the trees left standing being debarked. "Light timbers and sand were piled up against the southwest side of trees that had fallen across the track toward the northwest. The soil in many places looked much as though it had been washed over by running water," millstones reportedly weighing 1 ton were rolled 50 yards, and multiple homes were completely swept away in rural areas. The tornado also passed through the small town of Philadelphia which was destroyed. Only "the fragments remained of homes and cabins" in that town. At least 23 people were killed and 100 injured. This tornado was one of many in the 1884 Enigma outbreak.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Aerial imagery and ground views of the Eiland Plaza apartment complex and surrounding area. I have been unable to find close ground views of the apartment unit that was slabbed.

View attachment 12257

Is this it?

Significant Tornado Events

He more or less said Chickasha was an EF5 too towards the end, yes. Around 1 hour and 29 minutes in for those who want to skip to it.

talkweather.com

 

[eric11]

A less known but likely violent candidate on 3/8/2010 near Hammon OK, this tornado was rated EF2 official

 

[buckeye05]

A less known but likely violent candidate on 3/8/2010 near Hammon OK, this tornado was rated EF2 official
View attachment 12339

View attachment 12340

Geez! I remember this one. It formed in a really marginal environment. I remember it destroying some barns, but I had no idea it produced such insane vegetation damage.