Significant Tornado Events

[locomusic01]

There were so many abnormal tornado events in the 80s: March 28, 1984 Carolinas outbreak, May 31, 1985 outbreak, July 10, 1989 Northeast outbreak, 1984 USSR outbreak, 1987 Northeast China outbreak, 1987 Edmonton F4, 1987 Yellowstone-Teton F4 and 1981 West Bend anticyclonic F4.

Yeah, it's a really fascinating period that often goes overlooked. I hadn't thought about it before, but there were three other events I was considering before I decided on 5/31/85 and all of them were from the 80s: the 1980 Grand Island "Night of the Twisters," the 1984 Carolinas outbreak and the 1987 Edmonton F4/mini-outbreak. Also briefly considered the 1989 Daulatpur–Saturia tornado but I wasn't sure how feasible it'd be.

Incidentally, it's insane to me how (relatively) poorly documented the Carolinas outbreak is considering the magnitude and unusual nature of it. A lot like 5/31/85 actually, except maybe worse. I've only ever done some preliminary digging around on it, so it's entirely possible an in-depth search would turn up lots more material, but it's.. not ideal.

 

[locomusic01]

One thing I noticed with Barrie is that it curved near its dissipation point on Lake Simcoe and came dangerously close to coming ashore for the nearby Shanty Bay community but thankfully that didn't happen.

There are obviously no damage reports on the water, but I talked to a couple of people who saw the storm moving over Kempenfelt Bay and read a few other accounts in newspapers and such. It admittedly involves a bit of interpretation, and it's complicated by the fact that the tornado was at least partially rain-wrapped, but they all said that they thought it dissipated somewhere in that general area. Many of the other tornadoes also started recurving toward the end of the path, so that makes some sense. That being said, it almost certainly weakened very rapidly over the colder water, so I doubt it would've caused much trouble even if it had managed to make landfall so to speak.

On the subject of lakenadoes, the Rice Lake F3 is pretty fascinating to me. It formed either right on the shore or directly over a little inlet called McGregor Bay and continued along the western edge of Rice Lake, staying just off the shore and almost perfectly paralleling it as it curved northeastward. I could only find a few people who experienced it + a few brief news reports, but there were some compelling anecdotes. One person described the tornado as a "wall of water" and another said it "washed ashore like a tsunami." Multiple people also emphasized the roar and described it as the loudest sound they'd ever heard in their lives, which I thought was a little unusual even for a tornado.

It tore through a whole string of upscale resorts and did quite a bit of damage, including tossing vehicles around and sweeping away (probably poorly built) cabins and barns and such. The damage path may have actually been pretty wide, especially once it got further onto land in the Birdsalls area, but there's conflicting info on that so that's still a WIP.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

There were so many abnormal tornado events in the 80s: March 28, 1984 Carolinas outbreak, May 31, 1985 outbreak, July 10, 1989 Northeast outbreak, 1984 USSR outbreak, 1987 Northeast China outbreak, 1987 Edmonton F4, 1987 Yellowstone-Teton F4 and 1981 West Bend anticyclonic F4.

It makes me wonder about upper-level atmospheric phenomena and its relation to cycles of extreme weather, perhaps every so many decades, abnormal events like this are much more likely to happen or whatever.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Yeah, it's a really fascinating period that often goes overlooked. I hadn't thought about it before, but there were three other events I was considering before I decided on 5/31/85 and all of them were from the 80s: the 1980 Grand Island "Night of the Twisters," the 1984 Carolinas outbreak and the 1987 Edmonton F4/mini-outbreak. Also briefly considered the 1989 Daulatpur–Saturia tornado but I wasn't sure how feasible it'd be.

Incidentally, it's insane to me how (relatively) poorly documented the Carolinas outbreak is considering the magnitude and unusual nature of it. A lot like 5/31/85 actually, except maybe worse. I've only ever done some preliminary digging around on it, so it's entirely possible an in-depth search would turn up lots more material, but it's.. not ideal.

I don't think the 1984 Carolinas outbreak has even been mentioned in this thread yet, or at least no damage pics from it (that I could find, anyway). I know one of the tornadoes was 2+ miles wide at times, I only know of 2 tornadoes that reached that milestone in the southern parts of the states (that one and Bassfield). 1984 seems to be the only other event that is on par with the 1884 Enigma outbreak in terms of violence in the Carolinas.

 

[locomusic01]

I don't think the 1984 Carolinas outbreak has even been mentioned in this thread yet, or at least no damage pics from it (that I could find, anyway). I know one of the tornadoes was 2+ miles wide at times, I only know of 2 tornadoes that reached that milestone in the southern parts of the states (that one and Bassfield). 1984 seems to be the only other event that is on par with the 1884 Enigma outbreak in terms of violence in the Carolinas.

It really deserves a lot more attention. One interesting resource I found in my brief search was this paper: http://nap.edu/19291

The photos are B&W and pretty poor quality but there's quite a bit of information on the SC tornadoes. IIRC it mostly focuses on the Newberry, Winnsboro and Bennettsville areas. Btw, this outbreak is responsible for one of the most delightfully weird damage photos I've ever seen. From the Faison, NC F4:

 

[TH2002]

I recently came across a lot of photos from 3/28/1984. Here are some of the photos I found:

Duplin County, NC:

Marlboro County, SC:

Newberry County, SC:

Location unknown:

 

[locomusic01]

Jonathan Finch also has a few dozen of Fujita's survey photos on his website (among other things):

March 28 1984 Carolinas Tornado Outbreak

A detailed meteorological discussion of the March 28 1984 Tornado outbreak in North and South Carolina is presented, including detailed surface chart loops, upper air analyses, approximate soundings, satellite and radar loops...etc. A detailed timeline, newspaper articles, pictures and personal...

bangladeshtornadoes.org

They aren't labeled or anything but most locations could probably be pinned down if someone had the patience for it. One of the reasons I was wary of taking on this event, but then I ended up having to do the same thing for a ton of 5/31/85 photos so.. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[locomusic01]

Might as well include the few damage photos I got around to sorting/labeling.

This is in Winnsboro but I'm not sure what the structure is:

Winnsboro officials standing in front of a demolished home:

An Exxon service station in Winnsboro:

Richard Winn Academy in Winnsboro:

Northwoods Shopping Center in Bennettsville:

Random picture a guy sent me of his grandfather's cabin in Lester (north of Bennettsville):

A few pages of photos from Red Springs (not surprisingly, focused entirely on the light/moderate damage rather than the violent damage elsewhere in the area):

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Might as well include the few damage photos I got around to sorting/labeling.

This is in Winnsboro but I'm not sure what the structure is:

Winnsboro officials standing in front of a demolished home:

An Exxon service station in Winnsboro:

Richard Winn Academy in Winnsboro:

Northwoods Shopping Center in Bennettsville:

Random picture a guy sent me of his grandfather's cabin in Lester (north of Bennettsville):

A few pages of photos from Red Springs (not surprisingly, focused entirely on the light/moderate damage rather than the violent damage elsewhere in the area):

Seem to be another outbreak where it's difficult to find photos of the hardest hit areas....that said, the shopping damage really stood out to me, although it's pretty clear some cleanup was already in progress when the photos were taken. Still, not often I find entire shopping malls/centers leveled.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

It really deserves a lot more attention. One interesting resource I found in my brief search was this paper: http://nap.edu/19291

The photos are B&W and pretty poor quality but there's quite a bit of information on the SC tornadoes. IIRC it mostly focuses on the Newberry, Winnsboro and Bennettsville areas. Btw, this outbreak is responsible for one of the most delightfully weird damage photos I've ever seen. From the Faison, NC F4:

Is it impaled on a tree? El Reno 2011 did something with a car, I believe.

 

[locomusic01]

Is it impaled on a tree? El Reno 2011 did something with a car, I believe.

Not sure, I think it might just be hung up on some trees behind it but it's hard to tell. I talked to a guy who lived in Bridge Creek on 5/3/99 and he said his truck was picked up, thrown a couple hundred yards and impaled on a huge limb several feet up. It apparently went clean through the engine bay. According to him, they never found the engine itself.

One of the things I most wanted to get some pictures of, but he said he couldn't find them.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Not sure, I think it might just be hung up on some trees behind it but it's hard to tell. I talked to a guy who lived in Bridge Creek on 5/3/99 and he said his truck was picked up, thrown a couple hundred yards and impaled on a huge limb several feet up. It apparently went clean through the engine bay. According to him, they never found the engine itself.

One of the things I most wanted to get some pictures of, but he said he couldn't find them.

I saw a similar pic of a car that happened during from Flint-Beecher that was in your article, crazy stuff.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

There are obviously no damage reports on the water, but I talked to a couple of people who saw the storm moving over Kempenfelt Bay and read a few other accounts in newspapers and such. It admittedly involves a bit of interpretation, and it's complicated by the fact that the tornado was at least partially rain-wrapped, but they all said that they thought it dissipated somewhere in that general area. Many of the other tornadoes also started recurving toward the end of the path, so that makes some sense. That being said, it almost certainly weakened very rapidly over the colder water, so I doubt it would've caused much trouble even if it had managed to make landfall so to speak.

On the subject of lakenadoes, the Rice Lake F3 is pretty fascinating to me. It formed either right on the shore or directly over a little inlet called McGregor Bay and continued along the western edge of Rice Lake, staying just off the shore and almost perfectly paralleling it as it curved northeastward. I could only find a few people who experienced it + a few brief news reports, but there were some compelling anecdotes. One person described the tornado as a "wall of water" and another said it "washed ashore like a tsunami." Multiple people also emphasized the roar and described it as the loudest sound they'd ever heard in their lives, which I thought was a little unusual even for a tornado.

It tore through a whole string of upscale resorts and did quite a bit of damage, including tossing vehicles around and sweeping away (probably poorly built) cabins and barns and such. The damage path may have actually been pretty wide, especially once it got further onto land in the Birdsalls area, but there's conflicting info on that so that's still a WIP.

The bit about Rice Lake being the loudest sound in their life probably has something to do with the sheer amount of water picked up and thrown/rowed by the tornado, it likely contributed to the overall roar and amplified it quite a bit.
I wonder what the Temperance, MI tornado sounded like when it was going across Lake Erie, I really am curious now as to violent tornadoes interact with large bodies of water and if any studies have been done on it.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

There are obviously no damage reports on the water, but I talked to a couple of people who saw the storm moving over Kempenfelt Bay and read a few other accounts in newspapers and such. It admittedly involves a bit of interpretation, and it's complicated by the fact that the tornado was at least partially rain-wrapped, but they all said that they thought it dissipated somewhere in that general area. Many of the other tornadoes also started recurving toward the end of the path, so that makes some sense. That being said, it almost certainly weakened very rapidly over the colder water, so I doubt it would've caused much trouble even if it had managed to make landfall so to speak.

On the subject of lakenadoes, the Rice Lake F3 is pretty fascinating to me. It formed either right on the shore or directly over a little inlet called McGregor Bay and continued along the western edge of Rice Lake, staying just off the shore and almost perfectly paralleling it as it curved northeastward. I could only find a few people who experienced it + a few brief news reports, but there were some compelling anecdotes. One person described the tornado as a "wall of water" and another said it "washed ashore like a tsunami." Multiple people also emphasized the roar and described it as the loudest sound they'd ever heard in their lives, which I thought was a little unusual even for a tornado.

It tore through a whole string of upscale resorts and did quite a bit of damage, including tossing vehicles around and sweeping away (probably poorly built) cabins and barns and such. The damage path may have actually been pretty wide, especially once it got further onto land in the Birdsalls area, but there's conflicting info on that so that's still a WIP.

Really interesting when tornadoes run directly parallel to major landforms; I know Great Natchez of 1840 was perfectly parallel to (or directly on) the Mississippi River for much of its path and there was at least one tornado in Alabama on 4/27/11 that perfectly "rode" a valley for much of its path. Interesting to speculate on how that may effect the tornado's intensity of duration and distribution of the winds.
Really impressive what you've uncovered with your research, several tornadoes from this day I've come away with even more amazement at how violent/intense they really were and how even more remarkable this event is for the region of the world it occurred in. Based on the photographs you've uncovered I'd say I have a lot more appreciation for how violent Barrie was and how vicious Niles-Wheatland really was; I knew NW was an F5 and did impressive damage but you've revealed just HOW ferocious it really was; I just can't get over those Wheatland photographs and how it absolutely decimated that town.

 

[locomusic01]

I saw a similar pic of a car that happened during from Flint-Beecher that was in your article, crazy stuff.

Speaking of Flint-Beecher, I don't think I've posted this before but it's probably some of the most violent vehicle damage I've ever seen. I have it labeled as a '49 Chevy so I guess that's what it is (sort of looks like it could be a 3100 pickup?). In any case, whatever it is, there ain't a whole lot of it left.

I'm fascinated by intense tornadoes interacting with water as well. The Alma, ON F3 also crossed a lake (a narrow, relatively shallow part of Lake Belwood) and a woman who lived on the opposite shore said that, while the tornado passed close enough to do moderate damage to her home, they also had a lot of water damage because "it was like the tornado dropped an Olympic swimming pool on us." Another person said something similar about the Wagner Lake F2, which crossed tiny little Wagner Lake near the beginning of its path. The Reaboro F2 also traveled probably a mile or so out over Chemong Lake before dissipating pretty close to a long bridge that crosses over it. Would love to know if there were any cars on it at the time - if so, I bet they had a rather interesting experience.

Several people also claimed that the Tionesta and Moshannon tornadoes "sucked the river dry" when they crossed over them. That kind of account is weirdly common with certain tornadoes and I've never really been sure what to make of it.

 

[TH2002]

I know some have mentioned how crazy of a decade the 1980's was for tornadoes and while I'm here I might as well mention some other unusual tornado events from the decade: the 1982 Honolulu twin F2's, 1983 Los Angeles F2 and 1988 Denver F2 and F3 landspouts.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Speaking of Flint-Beecher, I don't think I've posted this before but it's probably some of the most violent vehicle damage I've ever seen. I have it labeled as a '49 Chevy so I guess that's what it is (sort of looks like it could be a 3100 pickup?). In any case, whatever it is, there ain't a whole lot of it left.

I'm fascinated by intense tornadoes interacting with water as well. The Alma, ON F3 also crossed a lake (a narrow, relatively shallow part of Lake Belwood) and a woman who lived on the opposite shore said that, while the tornado passed close enough to do moderate damage to her home, they also had a lot of water damage because "it was like the tornado dropped an Olympic swimming pool on us." Another person said something similar about the Wagner Lake F2, which crossed tiny little Wagner Lake near the beginning of its path. The Reaboro F2 also traveled probably a mile or so out over Chemong Lake before dissipating pretty close to a long bridge that crosses over it. Would love to know if there were any cars on it at the time - if so, I bet they had a rather interesting experience.

Several people also claimed that the Tionesta and Moshannon tornadoes "sucked the river dry" when they crossed over them. That kind of account is weirdly common with certain tornadoes and I've never really been sure what to make of it.

I wonder if tornadic circulation extends all the way to the bottom in ponds, lakes, rivers or the ocean; it might explain some of those stories of animals falling from the sky. I wonder if there's ever been any instance of mud and silt from the bottom of a river being sucked up and thrown onto land. The bit about the swimming pool being dumped reminded me of a story concerning the Tri-State where it allegedly carried a massive wall of water from either the Mississippi River or a water tower and drenched a neighborhood and/or several city blocks with it, causing even more damage and some drowning deaths. I'll have to find the book that mentioned this but it's out there. Stuff about rivers being sucked dry I'm not as sure about; perhaps it was a narrow and shallow creek bed with very little water left so that the tornado was able to completely suck it dry. Perhaps small and shallow ponds and lakes could be sucked dry (I know of at least one tornado in Minnesota that wind-rowed water from a pond on farmland to another side of the field); of course, rain or other precipitation would likely fill them back in again in a short time. I wonder if Grazulis or anyone else has attempted to tackle stuff like this.

 

[Shakespeare 2016]

I wonder if tornadic circulation extends all the way to the bottom in ponds, lakes, rivers or the ocean; it might explain some of those stories of animals falling from the sky. I wonder if there's ever been any instance of mud and silt from the bottom of a river being sucked up and thrown onto land. The bit about the swimming pool being dumped reminded me of a story concerning the Tri-State where it allegedly carried a massive wall of water from either the Mississippi River or a water tower and drenched a neighborhood and/or several city blocks with it, causing even more damage and some drowning deaths. I'll have to find the book that mentioned this but it's out there. Stuff about rivers being sucked dry I'm not as sure about; perhaps it was a narrow and shallow creek bed with very little water left so that the tornado was able to completely suck it dry. Perhaps small and shallow ponds and lakes could be sucked dry (I know of at least one tornado in Minnesota that wind-rowed water from a pond on farmland to another side of the field); of course, rain or other precipitation would likely fill them back in again in a short time. I wonder if Grazulis or anyone else has attempted to tackle stuff like this.

The Culbertson 1990 tornado sucked several inches of water and several inches of mud from an area and caked the undamaged houses in the area with mud.

 

[pohnpei]

Just notice this, If I'm not mistaken, the ground underneath this debarked forest from Baochang was severely scoured and you can tell from these muddy steel strips nearby and undisturbed grass outside of the path. This was after tornado went through Jianguo village.
We've heard this tornado was rated EF3 by official which was hard to agree based on the damage.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

Just notice this, If I'm not mistaken, the ground underneath this debarked forest from Baochang was severely scoured and you can tell from these muddy steel strips nearby and undisturbed grass outside of the path. This was after tornado went through Jianguo village.
We've heard this tornado was rated EF3 by official which was hard to agree based on the damage.
View attachment 10671

Yeah EF3 is too low of a rating especially considering brick homes were completely leveled and the very violent contextual damage. Also do you have the approximate coordinates for this town as I could check Sentinel-2 imagery to see if there is any visible tornado scar.