Significant Tornado Events

[speedbump305]

Here is the image of the Moore tree damage from 2013 that looks very similar to Smithville. Juliett and Buckeye what do you think? In my
opinion they both look similar

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Tornado Memory Project · Trumbull Memory Project

So this website has a pretty incredible college of damage photographs from the Niles/Wheatland tornado of 1985, but only of the Ohio portion of the path. I'm having difficulty finding photographs of the damage in Pennsylvania, where the tornado seems to have hit peak intensity. Anyways, a couple of photographs that stood out to me.

1. This is around Lordstown, Ohio. Impressive wind rowing.




2. From Niles Ohio. Wind rowing on par with Andover.



3. The massive propane tanks that were crushed and rolled in Niles.




4. The propane tank that was thrown onto Warren Road, blocking rescuers.

These next photos are aerials of the levelled Niles Park Plaza shopping center and the roller rink. While some construction clean up has occurred, the scale of devastation should be clear.









And finally, a spectacular view of the tornado approaching the Niles Park Plaza Shopping Center. You can see what looks like a horizontal vortex in front of the funnel:

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Photos from the Pennsylvania portion of the path. For whatever reason it's much more difficult to find good-quality color photographs from Wheatland, Hermitage and other areas in PA that were affected by this thing.

A good link to some PA damage photos: https://www.tornadotalk.com/may-31-1985-tornado-outbreak/

A photo of the tornado tearing through Wheatland's industrial district, around the time it did its most spectacular damage to the Yourga Trucking Company plant. You can actually see sheet metal being lifted off the roof of a building to the bottom left of the tornado (pretty sure this is Yourga, but don't quote me on that).



The absolutely decimated Yourga Trucking Company plant:




The destroyed WWIZ Radio Station in Greenfield Township, east of Hermitage.



And finally, spectacular footage of this tornado in the Hermitage area. According to Grazulis that this was the first F5 tornado to be caught on videotape (as opposed to just old film roll cameras). I'm pretty sure this is also the first audio of an F5 tornado as well. Even more impressive is that these two firsts are of an F5 in Pennsylvania (the only F5 in Pennsylvania state history, I might add) as opposed to being in a place like Kansas, Oklahoma, or the Deep South, where violent tornadoes like this are more commonly expected.

 

[locomusic01]

Always weird to see how some of these older F5s got their ratings. On May 19, 1960, a nasty supercell produced a bunch of strong-violent tornadoes in quick succession in northeastern Kansas, near Topeka. One of those tornadoes was rated F5, with Grazulis specifically tying the rating to two farms: one near Wamego and one near St. Marys. Could've sworn I had photos from the Wamego area, but I can't find them now. I do have some photos of the F5-rated farm near St. Marys, though. It's.. an interesting rating, considering some of the other tornadoes that haven't been rated F5.

The tornado itself looked naaaasty, though.

This event is also sort of unique because it's one of the first tornadic supercells for which we have really high-quality (relatively speaking) radar scans at close proximity. IIRC, the storm at one point passed within ~7 miles of the radar site. The strongest tornado - the Pottawatomie County F5 - was on the ground during (b) and (c). Possibly (d) as well as it occluded and cycled.

 

[locomusic01]

Tornado Memory Project · Trumbull Memory Project

So this website has a pretty incredible college of damage photographs from the Niles/Wheatland tornado of 1985, but only of the Ohio portion of the path. I'm having difficulty finding photographs of the damage in Pennsylvania, where the tornado seems to have hit peak intensity. Anyways, a couple of photographs that stood out to me.

1. This is around Lordstown, Ohio. Impressive wind rowing.

View attachment 7438


2. From Niles Ohio. Wind rowing on par with Andover.

View attachment 7439

3. The massive propane tanks that were crushed and rolled in Niles.

View attachment 7440


4. The propane tank that was thrown onto Warren Road, blocking rescuers.View attachment 7441

These next photos are aerials of the levelled Niles Park Plaza shopping center and the roller rink. While some construction clean up has occurred, the scale of devastation should be clear.

View attachment 7442

View attachment 7443
View attachment 7444
View attachment 7445

View attachment 7446

Finally, a spectacular photo of the tornado tearing through Niles, Ohio.

My aunt actually lived in Hermitage at the time and she said that her neighbor had photos + video of both the tornado itself and the aftermath. I've literally been begging her for years to see if she can track down that neighbor, or at least find the name so I can try to track them down, but she never has. Drives me crazy.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

My aunt actually lived in Hermitage at the time and she said that her neighbor had photos + video of both the tornado itself and the aftermath. I've literally been begging her for years to see if she can track down that neighbor, or at least find the name so I can try to track them down, but she never has. Drives me crazy.

FYI I had to edit the post as a photo wouldn't go through the first time (it's the last one of the tornado approaching the shopping center plaza). I'd love to find photos of the damage in the Hermitage area to the other trucking plant and the airport that Grazulis mentions.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

Photos from the Pennsylvania portion of the path. For whatever reason it's much more difficult to find good-quality color photographs from Wheatland, Hermitage and other areas in PA that were affected by this thing.

A good link to some PA damage photos: https://www.tornadotalk.com/may-31-1985-tornado-outbreak/

A photo of the tornado tearing through Wheatland's industrial district, around the time it did its most spectacular damage to the Yourga Trucking Company plant. You can actually see sheet metal being lifted off the roof of a building to the bottom left of the tornado (pretty sure this is Yourga, but don't quote me on that).

View attachment 7448

The absolutely decimated Yourga Trucking Company plant:

View attachment 7449


The Destroyed WWIZ Radio Station in Greenfeild Township, east of Hermitage.

View attachment 7450

And finally, spectacular footage of this tornado in the Hermitage area. According to Grazulis that this was the first F5 tornado to be caught on videotape (as opposed to just old film roll cameras). I'm pretty sure this is also the first audio of an F5 tornado as well. Even more impressive is that these two firsts are of an F5 in Pennsylvania (the only F5 in Pennsylvania state history, I might add) as opposed to being in a place like Kansas, Oklahoma, or the Deep South, where violent tornadoes like this are more commonly expected.

That tornado didn't really produce any extreme debarking or scouring as other F5s usually do but the structural damage was extremely impressive.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

Yeah, tornadoes in that region of the country (Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York) typically don't. It's likely a tree species thing.

The Parkers Dam tornado from the same day produced extreme and widespread tree damage.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

Yeah, I posted stuff on it previously:

Significant Tornado Events

source This link deserves some serious attention, some wonderful photos of big-time tornadoes there. Herbert Stein was one of the great chasers (and also was a member of several research teams). RIP.

talkweather.com

Many of the trees got completely stripped of crowns and branches, yes, but not sure about debarked. I do see some light-colored trees or limbs laying on the ground but not sure if that's debarking, the light of the camera or a certain species. Sorry if that sounds stupid or arrogant on my part. Also, this thing didn't do any ground scouring, did it?
But yeah, Niles-Wheatland is so fascinating for completely decimating multiple large, well-built steel-framed structures but no debarking of trees or scouring of topsoil.

Yes, it did debark numerous trees. Eyewitnesses and photography confirm it.

 

[Marshal79344]

Speaking of F5 tornadoes, what was probably one of the best candidates for an F5 from the 1870s struck the city of Richmond MO on June 1, 1878. This narrow but extremely violent tornado tore across the most thickly built part of Richmond completely devastating it. Homes were swept away or obliterated with debris being ground down into 1 foot wide fragments, large locust trees were completely debarked, grass was completely scoured from the ground, a large iron bridge was destroyed and gravestones were shattered.

There were PHOTOS of that event? WOAH. Damage descriptions completely hint at F5 intensity, although I found zero scouring evidence

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Always weird to see how some of these older F5s got their ratings. On May 19, 1960, a nasty supercell produced a bunch of strong-violent tornadoes in quick succession in northeastern Kansas, near Topeka. One of those tornadoes was rated F5, with Grazulis specifically tying the rating to two farms: one near Wamego and one near St. Marys. Could've sworn I had photos from the Wamego area, but I can't find them now. I do have some photos of the F5-rated farm near St. Marys, though. It's.. an interesting rating, considering some of the other tornadoes that haven't been rated F5.

The tornado itself looked naaaasty, though.

This event is also sort of unique because it's one of the first tornadic supercells for which we have really high-quality (relatively speaking) radar scans at close proximity. IIRC, the storm at one point passed within ~7 miles of the radar site. The strongest tornado - the Pottawatomie County F5 - was on the ground during (b) and (c). Possibly (d) as well as it occluded and cycled.

That real nasty photograph of it reminds me a lot of Andover and Tuscaloosa, with the way the mesocyclone is shaped above the funnel.

 

[Marshal79344]

That real nasty photograph of it reminds me a lot of Andover and Tuscaloosa, with the way the mesocyclone is shaped above the funnel.

Textbook Plains HCLS setup, what else can I say. No surprised that it resulted in an intense tornado.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

One event that probably should not be rated as an F5 is the 1953 Waco TX tornado. There is no reasonable evidence of any damage higher than F3 intensity.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

One event that probably should not be rated as an F5 is the 1953 Waco TX tornado. There is no reasonable evidence of any damage higher than F3 intensity.

Nothing in the city itself suggests F5, but the rating is possibly based on areas just outside of the city which were obliterated and where vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards. Not sure if I fully agree with that, but that's what I've read.
Another tornado that occurred the same day as Waco, the San Angelo, TX F4 to me demonstrates more hallmarks that are indicative of F5 intensity based on eyewitness accounts and damage photographs. It may have been more violent than Waco.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

Nothing in the city itself suggests F5, but the rating is possibly based on areas just outside of the city which were obliterated and where vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards. Not sure if I fully agree with that, but that's what I've read.
Another tornado that occurred the same day as Waco, the San Angelo, TX F4 to me demonstrates more hallmarks that are indicative of F5 intensity based on eyewitness accounts and damage photographs. It may have been more violent than Waco.

There are no known photographs that show intense damage outside of the city and I can’t find any detailed descriptions of the supposed area of intense damage.

 

[Marshal79344]

My take on all the official F5's


Waco: No (V)
Fort Rice: No (V)
Flint: Yes (E)
Adair: No (V)
Vicksburg: No
Blackwell: No (V)
Udall: Yes
Hudsonville: Yes
Ruskin Heights: Yes
Fargo: No (V)
Sunfield: No
Colfax: Yes
5/5/1960 Oklahoma Tornado: Yes
Wichita Falls 1964: No (V)
Bradshaw 1964: No (V)
Gregory SD: No (V)
Candlestick Park Tornado: Yes (E)
Topeka Tornado: Yes
Belmond: No
Wheelersburg: No (V)
Charles City: No (V)
Oelwein: No
Tracy: No (V)
Lubbock: Yes
Delhi - Inverness: Yes
Valley Mills: No
DePauw: No (V)
Xenia: Yes
Brandenburg: Yes
Sayler Park: No (V)
Tanner 1: Yes
Tanner 2: No
Guin: Yes (E)
Spiro: No
Brownwood: No
Jordan: Yes
1977 Birmingham Tornado: Yes
Broken Bow: No (V)
Barneveld: Yes
Ivanovo: No (V)
Niles: Yes
Hesston: Yes
Goessel: Yes
Plainfield: Yes (E)
Andover: Yes
Chandler: No (V)
Oakfield: Yes
Jarrell: Yes (E)
Birmingham Tornado 1998: No (V)
Lawrenceburg: Yes
May 3rd: Yes (E)
Greensburg: Yes
Parkersburg: Yes
Philadelphia: Yes (E)
Hackleburg: Yes (E)
Smithville: Yes (E)
Rainsville: Yes
Joplin: Yes
El Reno: Yes (E)
Moore: Yes (E)

(E) = Tornado of exceptional violence
(V) = Tornado was likely violent but not F5

 

[eric11]

What’s y’all’s opinion on the El Reno 2011 EF5? It seems to be the most underrated EF5 of that year, But after seeing what it really did, i kinda feel like it might have been the strongest of the year besides Phil Campbell and Smithville.

Hard to say which one was stronger when we talk about hackleburg and El Reno 11(Smithville was definitely something from a different level).But not much controversy when labeled it as one of the strongest tors in Great Plains if you considering its moving speed, conspicuous long duration of extreme intensity, severity of damage, cars's moving rate and of course, the radar couplet and oil rig damage(maybe the strongest of all time among all tors).
Pics below all photographed near Falcon Lake Subdivision.

 

[Marshal79344]

El Reno is undisputedly one of the most violent tornadoes ever recorded in history and is up there with Hackleburg, Philadelphia, and Smithville

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

There are no known photographs that show intense damage outside of the city and I can’t find any detailed descriptions of the supposed area of intense damage.

According to Grazulis homes were "leveled" both north and south of Waco, but detailed information is difficult to obtain. A home was leveled near Lorena, TX but I've yet to find any photographs of it. It's amazing how inconsistent the ratings prior to 1985 or so are.
I once came across a PDF file that I swear mentioned Waco throwing cars up to half a mile in areas outside the city limits, but I can't find it anymore. Probably lost it on my old laptop. Oh well, that's on me. If I ever come across the PDF again I'll be sure to upload it (and hopefully I'm quoting it correctly, maybe not). Again, that's all on me; I'm not claiming this to be entirely factual, if anyone can correct me on Waco I'll happily listen.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

According to Grazulis homes were "leveled" both north and south of Waco, but detailed information is difficult to obtain. A home was leveled near Lorena, TX but I've yet to find any photographs of it. It's amazing how inconsistent the ratings prior to 1985 or so are.
I once came across a PDF file that I swear mentioned Waco throwing cars up to half a mile in areas outside the city limits, but I can't find it anymore. Probably lost it on my old laptop. Oh well, that's on me. If I ever come across the PDF again I'll be sure to upload it (and hopefully I'm quoting it correctly, maybe not). Again, that's all on me; I'm not claiming this to be entirely factual, if anyone can correct me on Waco I'll happily listen.

The guy who wrote ExtremePlanet articles in one of them said why Waco wasn’t an F5. Also I’ve never heard of Waco throwing cars up to a half-mile?