Severe Weather Threat May 17-19, 2025

[eric11]

New video from some of the SW KS tors on May 18th, I'd say that's one of the more impressive damage I've seen from that cell, hardwoods debarked with one completely debarked, possible ground scouring, houses swept clean to slab, not sure which tor is but def that's some really high-end damage

 

[Lake Martin EF4]

Oh and…first news updates for Grinnel…
140mph EF3 for that one…according to a news site.
Uuuuhhhmmmm…
I’m gonna wait on that. But, the…prelim EF2 rating is starting to make more sense.
So…nws goodland may be hyper conservative as well…especially since they said they’re finishing surveys today.

Well, at least it's good for helping to fill my NWS sh0tlist.

What do you think @TH2002 and @buckeye05?

 

[eric11]

some pronounced scar left behind from the May 18th KS tor. Data are from the PLANEPT.
Grinnell


Plevna

Iuka

Any tor that left a scar on this kind of surface should be considered intense-violent

 

[buckeye05]

Well, at least it's good for helping to fill my NWS sh0tlist.

What do you think @TH2002 and @buckeye05?

Yeah that’s gonna be a new addition to WFOs I don’t trust with surveys.

 

[A Guy]

some pronounced scar left behind from the May 18th KS tor. Data are from the PLANEPT.
Grinnell


Plevna

Iuka

Any tor that left a scar on this kind of surface should be considered intense-violent

Bearing in mind it's already a very high resolution image, do you any closer view of the cycloidal markings at the top of the first image?

Or a linkable image source? (Though I know most of the super high res stuff has a fairly hefty price).

 

[AJS]

Some of the most intense damage I can get thru media from the Iuka-Pelvna monster, some high-end EF3ish hardwood tree damage. This case really reminds me the Trousdale/Hopewell KS EF3 on 5/4/2007.
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Is that first image scouring? Or just farmland.

 

[tornado examiner]

Another EF3 in Morganville, Kentucky uprooted corn crops and scoured the ground at the beginning and end of its path. In the middle it basically completely slabbed two homes. Both were once again classified as "all walls collapsed".

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In my opinion the contextual tree damage justifies an upgrade to EF4

Those homes were completely unanchored. They just slid off the foundation most likely.
More specifically the slabbed one.

 

[eric11]

Is that first image scouring? Or just farmland.

That's the actual ground scouring, close up ground photo can be found in earlier @Western_KS_Wx post

 

[AJS]

That's the actual ground scouring, close up ground photo can be found in earlier @Western_KS_Wx post

I thought that was from near the Plevna area. He took images of the ground scouring near Grinnell, KS.

 

[RizzenSojourner]

Perfect example of the inconsistency among different WFO’s and the application of the EF-scale.

Friday May 16–great use of contextual evidence to upgrade, and adequately captures the true violence of the tornado

Sunday May 18–complete ignorance of the contextual evidence, and thus a tornado that will go down as much weaker than it was

For those of us who aren't keeping up with every detail, which May 16 Tor are you referencing?

 

[Western_KS_Wx]

some pronounced scar left behind from the May 18th KS tor. Data are from the PLANEPT.
Grinnell
View attachment 42959
View attachment 42960

I also traveled along that road south of town, Gove CC, and took these photos. Not quite as impressive as what I saw to the south, but still very evident and significant damage to the vegetation.

These first two images are looking south. Cut corn stalks were flattened or removed from the soil, and much of the grass and low-lying vegetation was flattened, with partial scouring visible.



Corn lying on the side of the road.


These are facing north, where cycloidal ground scouring occurred. This is what that looked like at ground level.


One thing that really struck me about this area, was that the path was clearly visible 2 miles to the south. It’s visible just beyond the tree line on the left in the distance.


Edit: For those wondering, I will unfortunately not be able to travel out to Greensburg/Plevna this week, got some things going on and that’s a pretty good drive from where I’m at. Hoping more drone footage comes out to show the true strength of these monsters.

 

[Western_KS_Wx]

This is some of the more impressive ground scouring I’ve seen photographed.

Also, I must point out that much of the field on either side of the road was already cut/harvested and was mainly dirt and dead grass. However, the vegetation along the road and in the ditch was fully grown, healthy grass, and it was pretty much scoured down to the dirt. Just clearing up any misconceptions, either of those fields had no signs of growth whatsoever. Still, the fact that the tornado removed virtually every bit of vegetation remaining and even dug small trenches is extremely impressive.

 

[Kds86z]

I assume tornados from greensburg storm haven’t been rated yet?..

 

[OH-IOan]

I assume tornados from greensburg storm haven’t been rated yet?..

Plevna is 155/EF3+ (Plevna side of path hasn't been rated yet). Greensburg area hasn't been rated.

 

[Kds86z]

Plevna is 155/EF3+ (Plevna side of path hasn't been rated yet). Greensburg area hasn't been rated.

Thanks I see Sunday earlier tornadoes but

 

[andyhb]

This was a major event for W KS/SW NE (GLD and DDC's CWAs). Already 5 EF3+ tornadoes confirmed by my count and that's not an easy thing to do in such a sparsely populated area. We're lucky that Grinnell was the only town that took a hard hit.

 

[CheeselandSkies]

This was a major event for W KS/SW NE (GLD and DDC's CWAs). Already 5 EF3+ tornadoes confirmed by my count and that's not an easy thing to do in such a sparsely populated area. We're lucky that Grinnell was the only town that took a hard hit.

The tornado-driven moderate risk actually verified pretty well despite the cloud cover which lingered well into the afternoon.



...it's just that as chasers we are mostly looking for the pretty ones that happen in daylight, and for those you had to be elsewhere. In addition the 10 hatched surrounding the 15 was void of reports apart from the far western edge.

 

[jiharris0220]

13 significant tornadoes in the span of 7 hours is definitely nothing to sneeze at for a plains event. The kinematics/parameters that day were among the highest I’ve seen ever.

Very rarely do you get a highly veered environment with 4000-6000+ cape values and a 50-60knot+ LLJ overlaying each other.

This combined with a jet streak being almost perpendicular in orientation with the LLJ and sufficient mixing along the dryline allowed for a purely discrete mode.

The layer of fog/cumulus clouds didn’t matter because it only would’ve prevented OWS convection.

And the strong inversion layer, mid level dry air and nebulous forcing ahead of the dryline would’ve prevented any OWS supercells anyways.

March 14th this year is the most recent proof that you can have a substantial tornado outbreak purely from dryline convection alone, with May 24th 2011 being an extreme example.

 

[Kds86z]

13 significant tornadoes in the span of 7 hours is definitely nothing to sneeze at for a plains event. The kinematics/parameters that day are the highest I’ve seen ever.

Very rarely do you get a highly veered environment with 4000-6000+ cape values and a 50-60knot+ LLJ overlaying each other.

This combined with a jet streak being almost perpendicular in orientation with the LLJ and sufficient mixing along the dryline allowed for a purely discrete mode.

The layer of fog/cumulus clouds didn’t matter due to a strong inversion layer, mid level dry air and nebulous forcing ahead of the dryline would’ve prevented any OWS supercells anyways.

March 14th this year is the most recent proof that you can have a substantial tornado outbreak purely from dryline convection alone, with May 24th 2011 being an extreme example.

So thankful those kinematic and parameters didn’t work out in the next state below.

 

[jiharris0220]

So thankful those kinematic and parameters didn’t work out in the next state below.

Those parameters did “pan out” actually, the reason why there was only one struggling supercell was because of mid level dry air and nebulous forcing, which robbed that lone supercell of support from would be surrounding convection.

Which made it susceptible to constant dry air intrusions, which the strengthening LLJ only increasing dry air entrainment; the supercell simply was not allowed to mature and root after the couple of tornadoes it put down.