Severe WX March 23-25th, 2023

[David in SW Blount]

That is just unreal.

 

[TH2002]

Awful. Reminds me of some of the towns hit by the Dec 10th 2021 tornado - that's really the only comparison I can make right now.

Yep - this was basically Mississippi's Mayfield, except the contextuals here might be more intense. I also saw at least one home in the video posted above that was slabbed.

 

[UK_EF4]

Yep - this was basically Mississippi's Mayfield, except the contextuals here might be more intense. I also saw at least one home in the video posted above that was slabbed.

Ground scouring, debarking, granulation, wind rowing, bordering on extreme vehicle damage. Zero doubt in mine (and I think everyone's!) minds this was an extremely violent tornado.

While awful, I think that comparison you make is unfortunately the perfect way to describe it as well. 'Mississippi's Mayfield' will likely go down in History, just like Dec 10th 2021.

 

[UncleJuJu98]

Ground scouring, debarking, granulation, wind rowing, bordering on extreme vehicle damage. Zero doubt in mine (and I think everyone's!) minds this was an extremely violent tornado.

There was ground scouring? That's almost a usual Ef5 sign; or very high end ef4

 

[TH2002]

Video of the Florence tornado.

 

[UK_EF4]

There was ground scouring? That's almost a usual Ef5 sign; or very high end ef4

Not really. Ground scouring has been seen in quite a few tornadoes below E/F5 strength, and even some below EF4 strength. But it is still a hallmark of a powerful tornado.

 

[buckeye05]

Parroting what others have already said, but the contextual damage here may be even worse than Mayfield. I don't recall completely debarked trees in Mayfield. Either way, it's kinda splitting hairs at this point, as this was clearly a comparable event.

 

[buckeye05]

There was ground scouring? That's almost a usual Ef5 sign; or very high end ef4

That's not necessarily true.

 

[UncleJuJu98]

That's not necessarily true.

Usually when I think of ground scouring I remember the Philadelphia Mississippi images, I usually associate it with high end ef4 or ef5 lol

 

[UK_EF4]

Parroting what others have already said, but the contextual damage here may be even worse than Mayfield. I don't recall completely debarked trees in Mayfield. Either way, it's kinda splitting hairs at this point, as this was clearly a comparable event.

Agreed. My tornado tracking experience is not that long - only really back in 2017 did I start checking SPC outlooks and checking radar, but the feeling of waking up this morning seeing that string of tornado reports, the violent radar signatures and the line of towns with reports of horrific damage is only comparable to Dec 10th 2021. Truly awful.

 

[ColdFront]

Another thing I notice from the video above is it has that muddy, stressed ground that you only see in violent tornados.

I’m not exactly familiar with Mississippi geography, but I remember everyone thinking the damage in Mayfield would be the worst but it was actually up around Bremen/Dawson Springs. I’ll be interested to see if it hit any small unincorporated communities between its trek from Rolling to Winona.

 

[ColdFront]

Usually when I think of ground scouring I remember the Philadelphia Mississippi images, I usually associate it with high end ef4 or ef5 lol

I actually would describe what that tornado did as trench digging.

 

[Casuarina Head]

Yep - this was basically Mississippi's Mayfield, except the contextuals here might be more intense. I also saw at least one home in the video posted above that was slabbed.

As in Mayfield, moreover, most of the structures impacted do not appear to have been particularly well built. In this case the quality of the larger structures might even be less than in Mayfield. Certainly the absence of large, well-built masonry in Rolling Fork attests to this, and I don’t see a candle-factory or Wrangler plant to compensate for this. While there were fewer debarked trees in Mayfield, most of the trees in this case were only partially debarked, based on initial footage. At 1:30 one can see that the water-tower does not appear to show indications of proper anchoring. Also, while the ground appears to be muddy, the contextual support for scouring does not appear to have been as clear-cut as in Mayfield. (Besides, in that case the deepest scouring actually occurred near Cayce and Bremen.) Structural damage alone actually does not appear to support much more than a low-end EF4 at this point, though contextual DIs arguably support a higher intensity than this. The tornado itself was probably capable of EF5 damage at some point, but perhaps not in Rolling Fork itself. The damage in Rolling Fork seems to mostly support a mid-range EF4 at this stage.

 

[UncleJuJu98]

 

[buckeye05]

Usually when I think of ground scouring I remember the Philadelphia Mississippi images, I usually associate it with high end ef4 or ef5 lol

That's not a good reference to use for ground scouring. The significance depends on they type and degree of scouring. Now when all surface vegetation is removed along an even swath, leaving essentially leaving only bare soil behind, then it's more indicative of an extremely high-end event (think Bridge Creek or Moore). The deep plowing up of the earth has been documented in tornadoes of lesser intensity since Philadelphia, including an EF1 in Georgia last year, and a low-end EF3 in Louisiana.

 

[UncleJuJu98]

That's not a good reference to use for ground scouring. The significance depends on they type and degree of scouring. Now when all surface vegetation is removed along an even swath, leaving essentially leaving only bare soil behind, then it's more indicative of an extremely high-end event (think Bridge Creek or Moore). The deep plowing up of the earth has been documented in tornadoes of lesser intensity since Philadelphia, including an EF1 in Georgia last year, and a low-end EF3 in Louisiana.

Good post didn't know that!

 

[buckeye05]

As in Mayfield, moreover, most of the structures impacted do not appear to have been particularly well built. In this case the quality of the larger structures might even be less than in Mayfield. Certainly the absence of large, well-built masonry in Rolling Fork attests to this, and I don’t see a candle-factory or Wrangler plant to compensate for this. While there were fewer debarked trees in Mayfield, most of the trees in this case were only partially debarked, based on initial footage. At 1:30 one can see that the water-tower does not appear to show indications of proper anchoring. Also, while the ground appears to be muddy, the contextual support for scouring does not appear to have been as clear-cut as in Mayfield. (Besides, in that case the deepest scouring actually occurred near Cayce and Bremen.) Structural damage alone actually does not appear to support much more than a low-end EF4 at this point, though contextual DIs arguably support a higher intensity than this. The tornado itself was probably capable of EF5 damage at some point, but perhaps not in Rolling Fork itself. The damage in Rolling Fork seems to mostly support a mid-range EF4 at this stage.

1.) You're drawing way too many conclusions without nearly enough information.

2.) Fun fact: the Wrangler plant damage was rated EF3, so stop using it as a benchmark for violent factory damage.

3.) Input on damage intensity is not wanted when it's coming from you because you can't keep your facts straight, and have a history of misinterpreting damage photos/video more than anyone on here.

 

[ColdFront]

As in Mayfield, moreover, most of the structures impacted do not appear to have been particularly well built. In this case the quality of the larger structures might even be less than in Mayfield. Certainly the absence of large, well-built masonry in Rolling Fork attests to this, and I don’t see a candle-factory or Wrangler plant to compensate for this. While there were fewer debarked trees in Mayfield, most of the trees in this case were only partially debarked, based on initial footage. At 1:30 one can see that the water-tower does not appear to show indications of proper anchoring. Also, while the ground appears to be muddy, the contextual support for scouring does not appear to have been as clear-cut as in Mayfield. (Besides, in that case the deepest scouring actually occurred near Cayce and Bremen.) Structural damage alone actually does not appear to support much more than a low-end EF4 at this point, though contextual DIs arguably support a higher intensity than this. The tornado itself was probably capable of EF5 damage at some point, but perhaps not in Rolling Fork itself. The damage in Rolling Fork seems to mostly support a mid-range EF4 at this stage.

I think it’s probably way too early for any speculation of this type.

 

[UncleJuJu98]

Has survey teams started to mobilize yet?

 

[TH2002]

Not sure if they were homes or not, but definitely multiple slabs in that video. Also, can't help but notice the flimsy wooden bridge still standing amidst violent damage.