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Significant Tornado Events - Global Edition

Two interesting cases of tornadoes in southern Germany that traveled considerable height differences.

1. Calmbach, 23 Jul 1986 (F2)

The tornado originated over forested mountains (at an altitude of more than 700 meters / 2300 ft) and had already moved over steep inclines/declines (up to ~ 50% slope) without losing contact to the ground. It then moved through the valley in which the town of Calmbach is located (~ 380 m / 1250 ft altitude). The valley sides are very steep here (> 50% slope), but the tornado remained on the ground without interruption.

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The tornado also was relatively wide ( > 500 m/550 yrds), facing considerable height differences across its width: > 150 m (490 ft) height difference across ~ 500 m (550 yrds) width ≈ Ø 29% slope.
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Despite all this, the tornado caused total damage with no noticeable differences throughout the entire length and width of the track.
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One year after the tornado:
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2. Bonndorf, 13 May 2015 (F3)

This tornado was caused by an intense supercell in an area not typically prone to long lived tornadoes. It tracked almost 40 km, which is long at least by central European standards.

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The difference between the highest and deepest point of the entire track is ~ 700 m / 2300 ft. There are a lot of steep inclines and declines (> 40 % slope), though unlike the tornado in Calmbach, there is often greater damage at inclines, especially in the first half of the path. The path is also often interrupted in the first half.
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An example of this is a section on a mountaintop where there was total forest damage over a width of several hundred meters. There was no significant damage directly before or after the mountain peak
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Interestingly, after a several kilometers with relatively moderate in- and declines, where the path became continuous, the tornado’s intensity peaked in an area with the lowest altitudes and strongest in-/declines of the entire case (> 40 % slopes). Here, trees were completely mowed down, a transmission tower and a farm bulding destroyed.
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The tornado also ripped out parts of a canola field and low-growing vegetation here:
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Significant damage highlighted:
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The tornado died very abruptly while climbing a very steep incline (see overview above), while still causing significant tree damage. Unlike the Tornado in Calmbach, this one seemed much more affected by height differences.

There are many more such cases from the southern half of Germany, may be highlighting some more in the future.
 
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In terms of nearby corroborating damage, various farm equipment was flipped and thrown at that property. This includes a combine weighing almost 10,000 kg that was thrown at least 50 m, and then rolled for another 50-100 m after that. Wind tunnel studies of another combine that was hit by a previous Canadian tornado suggest a wind speed of 230 km/h for just flipping a combine. Tree stubbing / debarking and ground scouring are also consistent with a high-end tornado
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Apparently they used contexual damage very properly in rating rather than completely ignored it.
 
Shakespeare 2016 said:
Alonsa, MB 2018
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Thanks! I'm not as familiar with tornado history in Canada, aside from the very prominent events like Edmonton, Elie, the 1985 outbreak in Ontario, Windsor 1946, and the outbreak in and around Ottawa which included a high end EF3. I should probably research more on Canada, it'd be really interesting to know more about what my northern neighbors put up with.
 
On the afternoon of July 12th, a major meteorological event unfolded in the northwestern region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. A powerful wedge tornado, with a width greater than its height, tore through the region, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. The tornado was completely enveloped in rain, making it difficult to spot and adding to its destructive power.

The tornado was surprisingly large, with a diameter of at least 1.5 kilometers at some points, and there is speculation that it could have been even wider. This makes it one of the largest tornadoes ever recorded in South America. Preliminary assessments suggest that the tornado was at the high end of the EF-2 scale, with winds nearing 217 km/h.



The city of Sede Nova was directly hit by the tornado, which also passed just over a kilometer north of the center of Campo Novo. In Sede Nova, twenty-five people were injured, a surprisingly small number considering the scale of the tornado and the fact that there were no human fatalities. However, many animals, including birds, were found among the debris, indicating a significant loss of animal life.



The tornado was part of a larger weather event that included a powerful cyclone that hit the South and Southeast regions of Rio Grande do Sul, causing an intensification of synoptic winds. Weather stations recorded gusts ranging between 50 and 110 km/h in this area. The cyclone also drove a strong continental polar air mass, resulting in a sharp decline in temperatures across Central-South Brazil.



The storm chaser Maycon Zanata was in the region at the time of the tornado but had to move away due to the dangerous conditions. Upon returning, he confirmed the presence of typical and characteristic tornado damage. With the help of the environmental satellite, meteorologists from Prevots will be able to confirm the occurrence, intensity, and path of this event.



The accurate forecast made by Prevots, Conexão Geoclima, and VaiChovê highlights the importance of detailed meteorological work, which uses both technical and popular terms, with warnings and forecasts that highlighted the moments of greatest risks.

The area most affected by the tornado was in the level 3 risk area in Prevots' morning forecast on the day of the occurrence. Despite the damage caused by the event, the low rate of fatalities is due to the joint work of the agencies and pages that carry out serious meteorology work in Brazil, warning the population about the dangers.

As normality is restored, videos of the tornado may emerge, allowing a better understanding of its magnitude. This event underscores the power of nature and the importance of meteorological science in predicting and understanding such phenomena.
 
gregassagraf said:
On the afternoon of July 12th, a major meteorological event unfolded in the northwestern region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. A powerful wedge tornado, with a width greater than its height, tore through the region, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. The tornado was completely enveloped in rain, making it difficult to spot and adding to its destructive power.

The tornado was surprisingly large, with a diameter of at least 1.5 kilometers at some points, and there is speculation that it could have been even wider. This makes it one of the largest tornadoes ever recorded in South America. Preliminary assessments suggest that the tornado was at the high end of the EF-2 scale, with winds nearing 217 km/h.



The city of Sede Nova was directly hit by the tornado, which also passed just over a kilometer north of the center of Campo Novo. In Sede Nova, twenty-five people were injured, a surprisingly small number considering the scale of the tornado and the fact that there were no human fatalities. However, many animals, including birds, were found among the debris, indicating a significant loss of animal life.



The tornado was part of a larger weather event that included a powerful cyclone that hit the South and Southeast regions of Rio Grande do Sul, causing an intensification of synoptic winds. Weather stations recorded gusts ranging between 50 and 110 km/h in this area. The cyclone also drove a strong continental polar air mass, resulting in a sharp decline in temperatures across Central-South Brazil.



The storm chaser Maycon Zanata was in the region at the time of the tornado but had to move away due to the dangerous conditions. Upon returning, he confirmed the presence of typical and characteristic tornado damage. With the help of the environmental satellite, meteorologists from Prevots will be able to confirm the occurrence, intensity, and path of this event.



The accurate forecast made by Prevots, Conexão Geoclima, and VaiChovê highlights the importance of detailed meteorological work, which uses both technical and popular terms, with warnings and forecasts that highlighted the moments of greatest risks.

The area most affected by the tornado was in the level 3 risk area in Prevots' morning forecast on the day of the occurrence. Despite the damage caused by the event, the low rate of fatalities is due to the joint work of the agencies and pages that carry out serious meteorology work in Brazil, warning the population about the dangers.

As normality is restored, videos of the tornado may emerge, allowing a better understanding of its magnitude. This event underscores the power of nature and the importance of meteorological science in predicting and understanding such phenomena.
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Here is the hodograph associated with the supercell that produced the Nova Candelária/Humaitá/Sede Nova/Campo Novo/Coronel Bicaco/Palmeira das Missões tornado:

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Came across this footage of the 2005 Birmingham tornado. Upload date is 2007 so I thought this was the Cradley Heath/Dudley tornado at first, but the description of the video mentions this was filmed in Sparkbrook, an area further east that was hit by the 2005 tornado. Footage is obviously low quality due to this probably being filmed on an old cell phone, but it's remarkable stuff nonetheless:
 
On May 24, 2010 a severe weather and tornado outbreak took place in eastern Germany. Although a linear organization mode was initially expected within the low cape high shear environment, several isolated supercells formed over Germany, one of which was extremely well organized and caused downburst and tornado damage along a path at least 100 kilometers long.

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(c) eswd.eu

The supercell showed a very large hook echo on radar, including a vortex hole at times.

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The most notable tornado was a very wide, rain wrapped F3, that hit areas around the city of Großenhain. First, the villages of Colmnitz and Bauda were hit, leaving large parts of the communities damaged.

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Almost every building in the following village of Kleinthiemig was damaged or destroyed. Including a severely damaged forest area. Due to it being a national holiday, a lot of people were enjoying the nice weather in their gardens when the tornado hit. Some people got lifted into the air and were thrown or hit by debris, leaving many injured.

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The tornado then hit the northern parts of Großenhain. A video captured in an apartment building shows a dense and huge wall of rain hiding the tornado.

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The same apartment building was heavily damaged by the tornado shortly thereafter. Big parts of the concrete roof were thrown.
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In the northern part of the city, a large factory building was damaged, parts of the industrial chimney broken off and huge masonry walls destroyed. A construction crane collapsed, roofs were destroyed, and tiles thrown into thick brick walls. Sadly, a young girl was killed.
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It is one of only few fatal tornadoes in recent German history. People were struck without any warning although the cell being visibly tornadic on radar.
 
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