Significant Tornado Events

[A Guy]

For example, a few years or so ago the Nashville office did a reanalysis of the 4/16/1998 Lawrenceburg, TN, F5 tornado, and their findings suggested that it might likely have been a family of three tornadoes (two F4s and an F5).

Supposedly this was actually known at the time as well. I thought I had at least one contemporaneous publication which separated the Wayne and Lawrence tornadoes, but I can't find it at the moment.

Although correcting historical data is obviously and not unreasonably a very low priority, it is frustrating how they retain wrong data when the correct has been known for years.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Supposedly this was actually known at the time as well. I thought I had at least one contemporaneous publication which separated the Wayne and Lawrence tornadoes, but I can't find it at the moment.

Although correcting historical data is obviously and not unreasonably a very low priority, it is frustrating how they retain wrong data when the correct has been known for years.

Yes, it was reconfirmed as a tornado family back in 2018. Interestingly, the 3 fatalities were from one of the F4s of the family, not the F5 of the outbreak.

April 16, 1998 Tornado Outbreak

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

One of the most severe tornado outbreaks to affect the southern Midwest was the April 18-19, 1880 Marshfield tornado outbreak. Over 27 tornadoes touched down, 23 of which were significant and 5 were violent. 166 people were killed by this tornado outbreak. I will describe the 3 violent Missouri tornadoes from this outbreak.

1. The Finley Creek F4
This 93-mile long and 1200-yard wide tornado tore across rural areas of south-central Missouri. This tornado killed 31 people in rural areas as it destroyed over 35 farms in a very intense swath. Little information is available about this event as it was overshadowed by the next F4 though Grazulis says it might have been even more intense than the Marshfield tornado.

2. The Marshfield F4
Moving parallel to the previous event, this half-mile wide and extremely violent tornado struck the town of Marshfield devastating it. All but 15 buildings in the town were destroyed, many of which were completely swept away. Numerous trees were completely debarked, large stones were reportedly ripped out of the ground, an iron hydraulic press was carried across a field, a large 800 lb ice chest was carried away and never found, the ground was "torn up" in places, debris was reportedly granulated and letters were found 70 miles away. 68 people died within a few minutes but the death total would rise to 99 within the following months.

3. Barnettsville F4
This large and extremely violent tornado tore across 65 miles of central Missouri. It was a mile-wide as it annihilated the village of Barnettsville. Reportedly the whole village was swept away and newspapers reported: "scarcely one board remains upon another." The village never recovered from the tornado and a new settlement called Barnett was formed a couple of miles south of the original location. The tornado also produced intense damage in Cole and Callaway counties where homes were destroyed and a church was swept away. A considerable amount of earth was reportedly scooped out of a grave by the tornado at the church.

 

[buckeye05]

Does anyone still have that photo of the grassy field scoured down to bare soil outside of Picher, OK from back in 2008? It was one of the best examples of violent ground scouring I’ve ever seen, and now I can’t seem to find it. It seems like NWS Springfield took it down.

 

[locomusic01]

Does anyone still have that photo of the grassy field scoured down to bare soil outside of Picher, OK from back in 2008? It was one of the best examples of violent ground scouring I’ve ever seen, and now I can’t seem to find it. It seems like NWS Springfield took it down.

This one?

 

[buckeye05]

Yes! Thank you. This photo has always made me wonder about Picher's intensity. The scouring happened in a rural area, and was very impressive. I feel that it was easily capable of producing EF5 damage along this portion of its path.

 

[Nightking2021]

This one.

That is some high-end ground scouring. Wasn't this tornado rated like high-end EF4?

 

[buckeye05]

I recall a 175 MPH rating but I could be wrong. In any case, scouring of that strength is consistent with a higher wind speed than what was assigned.

 

[Nightking2021]

An EF4 has winds of 166-200 MPH. So 175 mph would be lower end EF4 intensity. That kind of ground scouring reminds me of at least a high-end EF4 with winds around 190 MPH. It could have reached EF5 intensity along its path.

 

[eric11]

This one?

Wow! Definitely something you won't see everyday, not only the severely scoured field, just notice how these tiny stubs were bent to the ground and suffered from some extent of debarking, really high end contextual damage.

 

[TH2002]

I recall a 175 MPH rating but I could be wrong. In any case, scouring of that strength is consistent with a higher wind speed than what was assigned.

Would you side with a high EF4 or low EF5 rating for Picher?

 

[speedbump305]

Wow! Definitely something you won't see everyday, not only the severely scoured field, just notice how these tiny stubs were bent to the ground and suffered from some extent of debarking, really high end contextual damage.

That scouring is for sure of EF5 intensity

 

[Nightking2021]

Would you side with a high EF4 or low EF5 rating for Picher?

I would say a high-end EF4 rating. However, it is certainly possible it reached EF5 intensity.

 

[speedbump305]

I would say a high-end EF4 rating. However, it is certainly possible it reached EF5 intensity.

Again, kinda like westminster, produced very high end scouring and tree damage, yet got slapped with a f**king F3, the difference with this tornado is that it didn’t hit anything when it for sure hit EF5 intensity, westminster probably hit buildings at F5 intensity

 

[Nightking2021]

Again, kinda like westminster, produced very high end scouring and tree damage, yet got slapped with a f**king F3, the difference with this tornado is that it didn’t hit anything when it for sure hit EF5 intensity, westminster probably hit buildings at F5 intensity

As I looked closer at the ground scouring along with the debarking I am definitely confident it reached EF5 intensity. Westminster is another story in itself. The reason for the F3 rating was pure BS.

 

[eric11]

Picher was interesting, moving slightly SSE, its average forward speed (～55mph) is one of the fastest tornado ever recorded in Great Plains (even faster than some Dixie violents) , other fast-movers like Andover, Salina, and El Reno 11 were not even close to Picher.Rarely can you get a big wedge moving SSE in Great Plains in May as well.
Accompanied by such forward speed, most tornadoes even some high-end violents tend to have some extent of defect in some DIs (Tuscaloosa and Ringgold behaved really poor in car damage) , but not for Picher

 

[Marshal79344]

Picher was likely an EF5 at one point to be honest. Vegetation damage was very high-end.

 

[pohnpei]

Picher was likely an EF5 at one point to be honest. Vegetation damage was very high-end.

Yes, tree damage was very intense. Don't know where the left mid pic located.

 

[buckeye05]

Would you side with a high EF4 or low EF5 rating for Picher?

That's a tough call, because each home that Picher swept away was nailed to its foundation, with no bolts. However, the scouring it produced, combined with the fact that it cracked and dislodged part of a home's (albeit way too thin) concrete slab foundation paints a pretty clear picture. All in all, I'm pretty certain that Picher contained EF5 winds.

 

[speedbump305]

That's a tough call, because each home that Picher swept away was nailed to its foundation, with no bolts. However, the scouring it produced, combined with the fact that it cracked and dislodged part of a home's (albeit way too thin) concrete slab foundation. All in all though, I'm pretty certain that Picher contained EF5 winds.

it did?