Significant Tornado Events

[pohnpei]

Combine was mangled and disintegrated. Tractor or something else(sorry, I really can't tell what it was before the tornado) disintegrated.
The debris pattern in this place. Sorry for filling this thread with so many pictures. But it was just so insane and there were tons and tons of pictures showing damage like these and these were only a small portion of it.

 

[Casuarina Head]

.View attachment 9247View attachment 9249View attachment 9246

These three images, especially the second and third, arguably show the most extreme debris granulation ever documented, on a par with Parkersburg IA (2008), given the rural and open nature of the terrain. This definitely exceeds anything observed in either of the two Moore OK (E)F5s. Given that these two tornadoes, like Joplin MO (2011), impacted heavily urbanised areas, the effects of the El Reno EF5 are even more remarkable. The effects shown above likely illustrate the effects of winds well in excess of the EF5-level threshold at ground level. I would certainly place El Reno (2011) on the same level as Guin AL (1974), Jarrell TX (1997), Harper KS (2004), and Smithville MS (2011). These tornadoes and Parkersburg IA (2008) likely produced winds well into the EF5 range at ground level. Guin is especially intense because it debarked/stubbed mature trees and completely scoured the soil in AL while moving in excess of 60 knots. The soil in NW AL is much more difficult to scour than the soil in NE MS. I also definitely believe that the Franklin–Girard KS (2003) F4 deserved an F5 rating instead, given that it produced more extreme damage than many “official” F5s.

 

[pohnpei]

Anchor-Okolona-Chapel Grove-Wren, MS EF3 Tornado – April 27, 2011 – Tornado Talk

www.tornadotalk.com

WOW! The article of Wren MS EF3 tornado by tornado talk was extremely detailed and eye-opening. They hold the opinion that an EF5 rating for this tornado can be argued based on damage in Chapel Grove. A large well-constructed house was swept clean from the foundation in this place and one vehicle nearby was thrown 1.7 miles away which makes it the farthest confirmed distance a vehicle has been thrown by a tornado!

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

June

Anchor-Okolona-Chapel Grove-Wren, MS EF3 Tornado – April 27, 2011 – Tornado Talk

www.tornadotalk.com

WOW! The article of Wren MS EF3 tornado by tornado talk was extremely detailed and eye-opening. They hold the opinion that an EF5 rating for this tornado can be argued based on damage in Chapel Grove. A large well-constructed house was swept clean from the foundation in this place and one vehicle was thrown 1.7 miles away which makes it the farthest confirmed distance a vehicle has been thrown by a tornado!

Woah that might be the most underrated tornado of the EF-scale era!

 

[andyhb]

Haven't seen anyone else mentioned this before even NWS Norman seemed to have missed this place during their damage survey.This is a completely leveled foster home close to I-40 near Calumet OK during the 2011 El Reno-Piedmont EF5.The house located only a quarter of a mile away to the Calumet Factory (which was applied an EF3 rating by NWS Norman) and not far from the Cactus-117 oil rig site. However, if the extreme damage near Cactus-117 oil rig site can be called "extreme", I'd like to call the damage around this house "uncomprehensible". The house itself was swept clean, that's common for an EF5, but, meanwhile, the stone storm cellar of the house was cracked, left a big hole and actually I think it was being pulled out by the unbelievable force of the wind.We've seen concrete or cement foundation being slightly cracked by extremely violent tornadoes like Chapman and Hackleburg. But a stone storm cellar? Oh man that's something else, I do not think I've ever seen this type of damage and have no idea how strong the wind can be to tear a stone storm cellar, and what's more ridiculous is that, El reno was still strengthening at this point! A few miles to the east, the DOW measured a 295.5mph wind speed.

The family owner of this house hid in the storm cellar and remained miraculously unhurt. However their white pickup were thrown more than 600 yards away and only a engine can be found caked in the mud, the body of the pickup just vanished.

Several Tractors and Combines at this site weren't able to survive either. A heavy combine left only four tires, the rest part vanished as well.

This tractor was only left with an mangled axle, the houseowner described he walked down several hundred feet only to recover one tire, the other part of the tractor was nowhere to find

Ground scouring near the house was also "uncomprehensible".Tons of debris from the house, the factory and even the Cactus-117 oil rig were mixed together, granulated into small pieces and scattered across the muddy fields.

This is incredible stuff.

 

[andyhb]

Anchor-Okolona-Chapel Grove-Wren, MS EF3 Tornado – April 27, 2011 – Tornado Talk

www.tornadotalk.com

WOW! The article of Wren MS EF3 tornado by tornado talk was extremely detailed and eye-opening. They hold the opinion that an EF5 rating for this tornado can be argued based on damage in Chapel Grove. A large well-constructed house was swept clean from the foundation in this place and one vehicle nearby was thrown 1.7 miles away which makes it the farthest confirmed distance a vehicle has been thrown by a tornado!

Ok seriously, what in the actual f*ck was NWS Memphis doing with this one?

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

The deadliest South African tornado in history struck the town of Albertynsville on Nov 30, 1952. This was a shantytown of poorly-built homes so when an F3 tornado went through it, the effects were devastating. Many homes were completely swept away and at least 20 people were killed.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

Anchor-Okolona-Chapel Grove-Wren, MS EF3 Tornado – April 27, 2011 – Tornado Talk

www.tornadotalk.com

WOW! The article of Wren MS EF3 tornado by tornado talk was extremely detailed and eye-opening. They hold the opinion that an EF5 rating for this tornado can be argued based on damage in Chapel Grove. A large well-constructed house was swept clean from the foundation in this place and one vehicle nearby was thrown 1.7 miles away which makes it the farthest confirmed distance a vehicle has been thrown by a tornado!

Did they mention the extreme ground scouring seen on satellite imagery too?

 

[Marshal79344]

I apologize for my comment about Tornado Talk, I didn't know that posting those images were within their guidelines. I'm sorry.

 

[buckeye05]

Ok seriously, what in the actual f*ck was NWS Memphis doing with this one?

Putting out half-a**ed and overly conservative damage surveys that ignore specific incidents of damage, like usual from them.

Looking back, their surveys of the 2015 Holly Springs EF4 and the 2014 Tupelo EF3 are garbage as well. Tons of structures were left out of both surveys, and the Holly Springs Motorsports Park, where some of the most intense damage occurred, is essentially skipped, and I only found out about it due to CAL’s personal survey of that area.

They just don’t care when it comes to to documenting/surveying damage in a detailed, comprehensive manner. I know that’s a bold statement, but I’ve observed MEGs lazy surveying for years, and the pattern of behavior is obvious by now. I always cringe a little any time a significant tornado event occurs in their WFO area of responsibility, knowing I can’t count on a good survey.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

Putting out half-a**ed and overly conservative damage surveys that ignore specific incidents of damage, like usual from them.

Looking back, their surveys of the 2015 Holly Springs EF4 and the 2014 Tupelo EF3 are garbage as well. Tons of structures were left out of both surveys, and the Holly Springs Motorsports Park, where some of the most intense damage occurred, is essentially skipped, and I only found out about it due to CAL’s personal survey of that area.

They just don’t care when it comes to to documenting/surveying damage in a detailed, comprehensive manner. I know that’s a bold statement, but I’ve observed MEGs lazy surveying for years, and the pattern of behavior is obvious by now. I always cringe a little any time a significant tornado event occurs in their WFO area of responsibility, knowing I can’t count on a good survey.

Missing potential EF4/EF5 damage is a pretty critical error on a surveying team's part. I don't have the premium subscription yet but it sounds like it wasn't even a "marginal" violent but a high-end violent.

 

[buckeye05]

At least they were able to scrape together enough competency to do a decent job with Smithville. Even then, they left a TON out, and people have filled in the blanks with eyewitness accounts, photo analysis, and write-ups from places like ExtremePlanet and Tornado Talk.

 

[Austin Dawg]

I think I spoke about this before on here. My brother lived in Smithville literally on the edge of the streets where a lot of the F5 damage occurred. He happened to be there at his home when they were surveying the damage and heard them say they thought that the houses were not well-made and were not giving the estimated winds as much intensity until he informed him that most of the houses had been built within the last 10-5 years. I don't know if it made any difference because they had not gotten to the damage at the cemetery or at the funeral home but he said they seemed to be trying to underestimate things, He just could have been still in shock and misremembering things but he did not appreciate their attitude at the time. It's been 10 years and on my last visit, it was easy to see they still had scars. I imagine every town during that event suffers from the same.

 

[buckeye05]

I think sites like ExtremePlanet and Tornado Talk, and researchers like Tom Grazulis are incredibly important and necessary. This is due to the fact that they provide a dissenting voice for questionable surveys. While met professionals may not like people who are essentially there to re-analyze and say “you missed a spot”, this presence of a dissenting voice holds them accountable, whether the rating is changed or not. The New Wren/Houston, MS tornado is a perfect example.

I also think the weather community becoming more educated about construction and the EF scale is huge. Overall, I think many have come along way from weenies who don’t even know what a sill plate is crying “EF5!” every time a bare slab is photographed. Weather hobbyists know a lot more about the rating process these days, and I think professionals in the field are more aware of this now. I honestly think NWS Little Rock severely underestimated the public’s knowledge when they made the Vilonia call. They addressed the difference between bolts and cut-nails and basically said “See? You dummies don’t understand anchoring.” But I don’t think they were prepared for the backlash, level of knowledge, and valid points made by the weather community. With a more educated community and abundance of detailed info/photos, real and evidence-based debate can now take place when a questionable survey is released, and the dumb stigma of “You weren’t there and don’t understand the nuances of damage surveying, be quiet, and leave it to the pros.” is much less prevalent.

Sorry for the rant, but I think it’s great that people questioning ratings are finally being seen as a valid second opinion, rather than armchair quarterbacking. Maintaining controversy and discussion over bad calls keeps them on the table for re-analysis later, and hell, people are still debating Vilonia, Chickasha, and others. We’ll just have to see what happens.

 

[andyhb]

I mean, reanalysis of historic weather events is a thing...

Why not tornadoes?

 

[buckeye05]

I think I spoke about this before on here. My brother lived in Smithville literally on the edge of the streets where a lot of the F5 damage occurred. He happened to be there at his home when they were surveying the damage and heard them say they thought that the houses were not well-made and were not giving the estimated winds as much intensity until he informed him that most of the houses had been built within the last 10-5 years. I don't know if it made any difference because they had not gotten to the damage at the cemetery or at the funeral home but he said they seemed to be trying to underestimate things, He just could have been still in shock and misremembering things but he did not appreciate their attitude at the time. It's been 10 years and on my last visit, it was easy to see they still had scars. I imagine every town during that event suffers from the same.

This doesn’t surprise me one bit knowing MEGs surveying practices, but it’s still pretty angering to read that it was this blatant. Being skeptical just for the sole purpose of being skeptical accomplishes nothing, besides skewing your survey results. That’s not a scientific approach. Going into it with a neutral, objective approach should be the standard, not this “play it conservative” crap. It’s an attitude that needs to change.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

I mean, reanalysis of historic weather events is a thing...

Why not tornadoes?

There need to be more "official" tornado reanalyses like what NWS Flagstaff did for the Oct 2010 tornado outbreak or what NWS Grand Rapids did for the 4/3/1956 Michigan outbreak.

 

[warneagle]

I mean, reanalysis of historic weather events is a thing...

Why not tornadoes?

I think there was a tendency for meteorologists and historians of a certain generation to treat Ted Fujita's ratings as gospel, which is understandable given his stature in the field, but he obviously wasn't infallible and re-evaluating and revising old conclusions based on new information is an essential part of good scientific and historical practice.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

This doesn’t surprise me one bit knowing MEGs surveying practices, but it’s still pretty angering to read that it was this blatant. Being skeptical just for the sole purpose of being skeptical accomplishes nothing, besides skewing your survey results. That’s not a scientific approach. Going into it with a neutral, objective approach should be the standard, not this “play it conservative” crap. It’s an attitude that needs to change.

There was a tornado from 4/13/2019 that MEG also screwed up when surveying, the Greenwood Springs tornado. They missed some very intense EF3-worthy tree damage.
https://ams.confex.com/ams/2020Annual/videogateway.cgi/id/520381?recordingid=520381

 

[buckeye05]

There was a tornado from 4/13/2019 that MEG also screwed up when surveying, the Greenwood Springs tornado. They missed some very intense EF3-worthy tree damage.
https://ams.confex.com/ams/2020Annual/videogateway.cgi/id/520381?recordingid=520381

Yeah, that was a significant tornado for sure. Had that occurred this year, an EF3 rating could have been applied based on the new definition of EF3 tree damage (though it is MEG so maybe not).

The EF1 Parrish, WI tornado of April 10, 2011 also needs an upgrade to EF3, as it completely flattened a huge area of dense forest, with over 1 million trees downed.

The Trout, LA EF2 of April 2, 2017 produced huge areas of total deforestation too, and would also meet the current definition of EF3 tree damage.