• Welcome to TalkWeather!
    We see you lurking around TalkWeather! Take the extra step and join us today to view attachments, see less ads and maybe even join the discussion.
    CLICK TO JOIN TALKWEATHER
Logo 468x120

AngelAndHisWx

Member
Messages
79
Reaction score
229
Location
New Britain, CT
Select contrast enhance frame grabs of the Jarrell tornado from the Texas A&M video. The last panorama is from 3:43pm, as the tornado was either approaching or already on Double Creek. I chose the first two since on my copy they’re a frame apart, so 28 seconds are missing. But it shows just how quick and abrupt the transition happened.
 

Attachments

  • E2119DE1-DC1A-4EAE-8005-A69DC8FEC273.jpeg
    E2119DE1-DC1A-4EAE-8005-A69DC8FEC273.jpeg
    372.5 KB · Views: 0
  • CC56A523-5709-455A-9C88-912CE77BCC28.jpeg
    CC56A523-5709-455A-9C88-912CE77BCC28.jpeg
    334.6 KB · Views: 0
  • 917B63AB-ED0F-4B35-931B-0D5614B91373.jpeg
    917B63AB-ED0F-4B35-931B-0D5614B91373.jpeg
    1.4 MB · Views: 0

MNTornadoGuy

Member
Messages
1,615
Reaction score
2,570
Location
Apple Valley, MN
I was reading newspaper reports from the April 1912 tornado outbreak sequence and a few tornadoes sound like they were extremely violent and F5 candidates. I will list these tornadoes below.

Waldron KS F3+ 4/20/1912:
Grazulis only lists this tornado as an F3 (though he mentions possible F4 damage) but local newspapers give descriptions that are more aligned with an F4-F5 rating. Several farms were destroyed by this large and violent tornado as it moved through rural areas near Waldron. At one of these farms, the house was swept away with "not one board left where the building stood and only a few feet of the cement foundation being left in its original position." Two other farms would be swept away by this tornado, one of which had "simply nothing left of either house or barn. The timber was carried away, windmill torn down, and wagons and farm machinery ruined." Newspapers also mentioned intense contextual damage: animals and debris on one farm were covered in an inch of mud (scouring?), and machinery was mangled beyond recognition and thrown significant distances.

Hennessy OK F4+ 4/20/1912:
This massive and extremely violent tornado devastated farms near Hennessy and leveled/swept away multiple homes in the town itself. Everything on multiple farms NE of the town was completely swept away and annihilated. "Hardly a trace" was left on one of the farms. The top of a storm cellar in Hennessy was blown away, numerous trees were uprooted or "splintered," a wagon was destroyed and scattered for the surrounding country, and a county bridge was "carried away." Some sources list this tornado as an F5 but Grazulis lists it as an F4.
1912-hennessey-cyclone-011.jpg


Bison KS F4 4/20/1912
This tornado passed through the town of Bison. In the town of Bison, several buildings were leveled and swept away as half of the town was damaged or destroyed. Some only had empty foundations left. People were reportedly blown hundreds of yards in Bison and debris was carried 8 miles from the town.
KSbison-cyclone1912r.jpg

unknown.png

unknown.png
unknown.png

On the same day as the tornadoes listed above, there were two violent tornadoes in Texas. Both of these swept away farms/homes but not much information is available about them. There were also violent tornadoes in IN/IL the next day which swept away numerous homes but I can't find much info about them either.

Lugert OK F4 - 4/27/1912
This huge tornado devastated the town of Lugert and nearby farms. Two entire farms were swept clean NE of Lugert with "nothing but land" left on one of them. The small town of Lugert itself was pretty much leveled. Only 2 buildings were left standing with the others being destroyed, leveled, or swept away. Some of these buildings were made of brick.
canvas.png
2.png

4/27/1912 Sentinel OK F4:
This large and violent tornado moved through Sentinel and NW Cordell. Something to note is that some of this reported damage might be due to an F3 that struck Rocky, they were only separated by ~4 miles. Like many of the tornadoes from this event, rural areas were devastated: a 2-story house with 18 inch thick stone walls was leveled, a 1000 lb piano was "thrown out in the section line" and destroyed, and multiple farms/rural homes were completely swept away. Along a creek, large pecan trees were "twisted down," the tops of elm trees were torn off, and 3-ft cottonwood trees were snapped. Either this tornado or another F4 that struck the Kolony area ripped up and mangled a large steel bridge across the Washita River.
Screenshot 2022-01-26 at 19-42-48 The Cordell Beacon (Cordell, Okla ), Vol 15, No 41, Ed 1 Thu...png
 

Attachments

  • 1912-tornado-cyclone-devastation_1_ae3c1ed9ee12681beb298b4eca31b567.jpg
    1912-tornado-cyclone-devastation_1_ae3c1ed9ee12681beb298b4eca31b567.jpg
    160 KB · Views: 0
Last edited:
Messages
2,165
Reaction score
2,718
Location
Missouri
I was reading newspaper reports from the April 1912 tornado outbreak sequence and a few tornadoes sound like they were extremely violent and F5 candidates. I will list these tornadoes below.

Waldron KS F3+ 4/20/1912:
Grazulis only lists this tornado as an F3 (though he mentions possible F4 damage) but local newspapers give descriptions that are more aligned with an F4-F5 rating. Several farms were destroyed by this large and violent tornado as it moved through rural areas near Waldron. At one of these farms, the house was swept away with "not one board left where the building stood and only a few feet of the cement foundation being left in its original position." Two other farms would be swept away by this tornado, one of which had "simply nothing left of either house or barn. The timber was carried away, windmill torn down, and wagons and farm machinery ruined." Newspapers also mentioned intense contextual damage: animals and debris on one farm were covered in an inch of mud (scouring?), and machinery was mangled beyond recognition and thrown significant distances.

Hennessy OK F4+ 4/20/1912:
This massive and extremely violent tornado devastated farms near Hennessy and leveled/swept away multiple homes in the town itself. Everything on multiple farms NE of the town was completely swept away and annihilated. "Hardly a trace" was left on one of the farms. The top of a storm cellar in Hennessy was blown away, numerous trees were uprooted or "splintered," a wagon was destroyed and scattered for the surrounding country, and a county bridge was "carried away." Some sources list this tornado as an F5 but Grazulis lists it as an F4.
1912-hennessey-cyclone-011.jpg


Bison KS F4 4/20/1912
This tornado passed through the town of Bison. In the town of Bison, several buildings were leveled and swept away as half of the town was damaged or destroyed. Some only had empty foundations left. People were reportedly blown hundreds of yards in Bison and debris was carried 8 miles from the town.
View attachment 12022
View attachment 12023
unknown.png

unknown.png
unknown.png

On the same day as the tornadoes listed above, there were two violent tornadoes in Texas. Both of these swept away farms/homes but not much information is available about them. There were also violent tornadoes in IN/IL the next day which swept away numerous homes but I can't find much info about them either.

Lugert OK F4 - 4/27/1912
This huge tornado devastated the town of Lugert and nearby farms. Two entire farms were swept clean NE of Lugert with "nothing but land" left on one of them. The small town of Lugert itself was pretty much leveled. Only 2 buildings were left standing with the others being destroyed, leveled, or swept away. Some of these buildings were made of brick.
View attachment 12027
View attachment 12028

4/27/1912 Sentinel OK F4:
This large and violent tornado moved through Sentinel and NW Cordell. Something to note is that some of this reported damage might be due to an F3 that struck Rocky, they were only separated by ~4 miles. Like many of the tornadoes from this event, rural areas were devastated: a 2-story house with 18 inch thick stone walls was leveled, a 1000 lb piano was "thrown out in the section line" and destroyed, and multiple farms/rural homes were completely swept away. Along a creek, large pecan trees were "twisted down," the tops of elm trees were torn off, and 3-ft cottonwood trees were snapped. Either this tornado or another F4 that struck the Kolony area ripped up and mangled a large steel bridge across the Washita River.
View attachment 12029
The 1910s had quite a bit of crazy tornado events, particularly June 1916 and May-June 1917, which was absolutely ridiculous. Trying to find more info on both of these outbreaks.
 

TH2002

Member
Sustaining Member
Messages
3,118
Reaction score
4,680
Location
California, United States
Special Affiliations
  1. SKYWARN® Volunteer
I was reading newspaper reports from the April 1912 tornado outbreak sequence and a few tornadoes sound like they were extremely violent and F5 candidates. I will list these tornadoes below.

Waldron KS F3+ 4/20/1912:
Grazulis only lists this tornado as an F3 (though he mentions possible F4 damage) but local newspapers give descriptions that are more aligned with an F4-F5 rating. Several farms were destroyed by this large and violent tornado as it moved through rural areas near Waldron. At one of these farms, the house was swept away with "not one board left where the building stood and only a few feet of the cement foundation being left in its original position." Two other farms would be swept away by this tornado, one of which had "simply nothing left of either house or barn. The timber was carried away, windmill torn down, and wagons and farm machinery ruined." Newspapers also mentioned intense contextual damage: animals and debris on one farm were covered in an inch of mud (scouring?), and machinery was mangled beyond recognition and thrown significant distances.

Hennessy OK F4+ 4/20/1912:
This massive and extremely violent tornado devastated farms near Hennessy and leveled/swept away multiple homes in the town itself. Everything on multiple farms NE of the town was completely swept away and annihilated. "Hardly a trace" was left on one of the farms. The top of a storm cellar in Hennessy was blown away, numerous trees were uprooted or "splintered," a wagon was destroyed and scattered for the surrounding country, and a county bridge was "carried away." Some sources list this tornado as an F5 but Grazulis lists it as an F4.
1912-hennessey-cyclone-011.jpg


Bison KS F4 4/20/1912
This tornado passed through the town of Bison. In the town of Bison, several buildings were leveled and swept away as half of the town was damaged or destroyed. Some only had empty foundations left. People were reportedly blown hundreds of yards in Bison and debris was carried 8 miles from the town.
View attachment 12022
View attachment 12023
unknown.png

unknown.png
unknown.png

On the same day as the tornadoes listed above, there were two violent tornadoes in Texas. Both of these swept away farms/homes but not much information is available about them. There were also violent tornadoes in IN/IL the next day which swept away numerous homes but I can't find much info about them either.

Lugert OK F4 - 4/27/1912
This huge tornado devastated the town of Lugert and nearby farms. Two entire farms were swept clean NE of Lugert with "nothing but land" left on one of them. The small town of Lugert itself was pretty much leveled. Only 2 buildings were left standing with the others being destroyed, leveled, or swept away. Some of these buildings were made of brick.
View attachment 12027
View attachment 12028

4/27/1912 Sentinel OK F4:
This large and violent tornado moved through Sentinel and NW Cordell. Something to note is that some of this reported damage might be due to an F3 that struck Rocky, they were only separated by ~4 miles. Like many of the tornadoes from this event, rural areas were devastated: a 2-story house with 18 inch thick stone walls was leveled, a 1000 lb piano was "thrown out in the section line" and destroyed, and multiple farms/rural homes were completely swept away. Along a creek, large pecan trees were "twisted down," the tops of elm trees were torn off, and 3-ft cottonwood trees were snapped. Either this tornado or another F4 that struck the Kolony area ripped up and mangled a large steel bridge across the Washita River.
View attachment 12029
Informative post. The only thing I noticed is that the postcard that says "Cyclone. Offerle, Kans. May 3rd 1912" is indeed from a later tornado that Grazulis rated F2.
 
Last edited:

eric11

Member
Messages
309
Reaction score
711
Location
Shanghai,China
Special Affiliations
  1. SKYWARN® Volunteer
  2. ARRL Member
Found some rare damage photos of the 1995 Allison TX F4.
IMG_20220127_224007.jpg
The whole family survived in the basement when the tornado came directly at them, their house was completely leveled. Note the hay and some dirt wind-rowed against the foundation. The low lying shrubbs back of this residence suffered intense debarking.
mmexport1643304223322.jpg
Two cars parked next to the house was damaged but not severely, while hays in the nearby field were thrown and sprayed all over the place.
IMG_20220127_225408.jpg
A red truck was thrown 100 yards
IMG_20220127_225508.jpg
 

eric11

Member
Messages
309
Reaction score
711
Location
Shanghai,China
Special Affiliations
  1. SKYWARN® Volunteer
  2. ARRL Member
TX panhandle might have experienced one of the craziest week in June 1995 with a bunch of violent(or candidate) touched down in this small, rural region.Spawning by a different supercell immediate after the Dimmitt tornado, the Friona TX F4 often gets overlooked.Though the tornado had little information to find, we had at least one Vortex I team including storm chasers Bill Gargan followed this mile-wide wedge and documented some excellent footage, the full version was published not long before.

The tornado turned into a massive wedge just after it crossed the Interstate and narrowly missed the small town Friona.
mmexport1643305091661.jpg
On the other side, Robert Prentice also documented how the tornado touched down and evolved into a massive wedge.

Not much information could be recovered from the tornado, but you must have remembered the clean slab with a pinao standing still, that's one F4 damage point given by the Vortex I crew.
ad57f614b4a5b3be.jpg
The Hi Pro Feeds Mill to the south of Friona took a direct hit at the very beginning of its path, where at least one fatality occurred. You can find the Mill in Bill Gargan's chase video around 3:00
IMG_20220127_220901.jpg
The facility suffered intense damage, neither do I know how much wind does it take to destroy the upper part of this kind of facility nor I could find similar tornado damage(only one example I can remember is the El Reno EF5 at Cactus 117 Oil rig but definitely Friona was far from that extent)
here's the before-after photos
55737e28dde70684.jpga3ed9fa4e20cdcdd.jpgc31a840cf71204c4.jpg
Besides that some other damage photos I manage to get, including a local airport got hit.
553caf5123a21dd8.jpgIMG_20220127_223044.jpg
 

MNTornadoGuy

Member
Messages
1,615
Reaction score
2,570
Location
Apple Valley, MN
TX panhandle might have experienced one of the craziest week in June 1995 with a bunch of violent(or candidate) touched down in this small, rural region.Spawning by a different supercell immediate after the Dimmitt tornado, the Friona TX F4 often gets overlooked.Though the tornado had little information to find, we had at least one Vortex I team including storm chasers Bill Gargan followed this mile-wide wedge and documented some excellent footage, the full version was published not long before.

The tornado turned into a massive wedge just after it crossed the Interstate and narrowly missed the small town Friona.
View attachment 12034
On the other side, Robert Prentice also documented how the tornado touched down and evolved into a massive wedge.

Not much information could be recovered from the tornado, but you must have remembered the clean slab with a pinao standing still, that's one F4 damage point given by the Vortex I crew.
View attachment 12035
The Hi Pro Feeds Mill to the south of Friona took a direct hit at the very beginning of its path, where at least one fatality occurred. You can find the Mill in Bill Gargan's chase video around 3:00
View attachment 12036
The facility suffered intense damage, neither do I know how much wind does it take to destroy the upper part of this kind of facility nor I could find similar tornado damage(only one example I can remember is the El Reno EF5 at Cactus 117 Oil rig but definitely Friona was far from that extent)
here's the before-after photos
View attachment 12037View attachment 12038View attachment 12039
Besides that some other damage photos I manage to get, including a local airport got hit.
View attachment 12040View attachment 12041

Those TX panhandle tornadoes in June 1995 were poorly-documented by the NWS. In the Storm Data Publication, the descriptions are either very short or non-existent.
 

eric11

Member
Messages
309
Reaction score
711
Location
Shanghai,China
Special Affiliations
  1. SKYWARN® Volunteer
  2. ARRL Member
Those TX panhandle tornadoes in June 1995 were poorly-documented by the NWS. In the Storm Data Publication, the descriptions are either very short or non-existent.
I have always been keen on those monsters since the first day I saw them on old tornado documentary when I was 6 or 7. I can assume there're maybe at least 10 violent tornado in TX panhandle alone in that crazy week including some wedge almost had zero damage information
like this one, Dougherty TX on 6/5
9e56bfc4380d6b4e-1.png
And the super landspoutfest on 6/4 near Lazbuddie TX

2aaed483421972f1.png2c27ed60bf72ab0d.png
 
Last edited:
Messages
2,755
Reaction score
4,294
Location
Madison, WI
Those TX panhandle tornadoes in June 1995 were poorly-documented by the NWS. In the Storm Data Publication, the descriptions are either very short or non-existent.
Yeah, survey information is maddeningly scant for those outbreaks especially given how locally significant they were. The area is so rural, even huge wedges rarely strike anything substantial. Has there been even one violent-rated tornado in the Texas Panhandle in the 27 years since?

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
 

MNTornadoGuy

Member
Messages
1,615
Reaction score
2,570
Location
Apple Valley, MN
One of the most forgotten major tornadoes of the 1950s is the 5/15/1957 Silverton TX F4 tornado. This deadly night-time tornado tore a 250-yard wide path through the town of Silverton, killing 20-21 people and injuring 80. Numerous homes (many of which were newly constructed) were completely swept away or leveled. One of these homes reportedly had its brick foundation destroyed. Large tanker trucks were thrown 75 yards, a 2.5-ton gasoline tank was reportedly carried 1.5 miles, cars were thrown up to or over 200 yards, and some vehicles were mangled beyond recognition. A cotton gin was reportedly ripped out of the ground and destroyed and "portions of farm fields look like they were plowed with a big plow."
s-l400.jpg

1957-Tornado-Damaged-Lumsden-Perkins-Cotton-Gin-Lubbock.jpg

92818310_10221041733540673_4952936640566788096_n.jpg

10155271_1467118593522450_3249285756200875441_n.jpg

img

unknown.png

unknown.png
 
Messages
2,165
Reaction score
2,718
Location
Missouri
Some semi-truck or tractor-trailer frame wrapped around trees.
View attachment 11517
Vehicle thrown into the woods in downtown Mountain view AR
View attachment 11526
Contextual damage around the dentist's office mentioned above.
View attachment 11518
Completely leveled houses and debarked trees in Zion AR.
View attachment 11519
View attachment 11524
An anchored garage next to a leveled FR12 only left the clean bare slab when the tornado passed, some brick were thrown and wind rowed with grassed near the foundation of the garage.A mattress tangled around a debarked tree nearby.
View attachment 11520
Severe damage in Mountain view AR
View attachment 11525
A license plate was driven into a tree
View attachment 11521
The last EF4-level damage I can find is the famous 5-ton Jeep which was bent vertically and driven into a tree in NE of Zion AR
View attachment 11523


Another view of the boating plant:

20080205CLINTONAERIAL1.jpg


The tornado's scar visible by satellite imagery:

20080205CLINTON.PNG


In this photo of the tornado you can see a horizontal vortex:

20080205CLINTONTORNADOUPSCALE.PNG
 

pohnpei

Member
Messages
958
Reaction score
1,949
Location
shanghai
Another community hit by Vilonia tornado that get completely overlooked was the one near Clinton Road. It was still quite far away from Vilonia.
{6RUUS[KMHOD~)5AL}60T49.png
Little Rock labeled It as EF2 damage but I just recent found that damage there looked like this.
resized_30160-btornado069_19-18289_t1000.jpegresized_30160-btornado108_81-18289_t1000.jpeg
I think pics speak for themselves and It wasn't EF2 damage.
Additional EF2 rating area near Lake ConwayIMG_20220129_223631.jpg
resized_30160-btornado082_1-18289_t1000.jpegresized_30160-btornado043_34-18289_t1000.jpegresized_30160-btornado064_20-18289_t1000.jpeg
resized_30160-btornado096_33-18289_t1000.jpeg
 
Last edited:

MNTornadoGuy

Member
Messages
1,615
Reaction score
2,570
Location
Apple Valley, MN
Another community hit by Vilonia tornado that get completely overlooked was the one near Clinton Road. It was still quite far away from Vilonia.
View attachment 12065
Little Rock labeled It as EF2 damage but I just recent found that damage there looked like this.
View attachment 12070View attachment 12068
I think pics speak for themselves and It wasn't EF2 damage.
Additional EF2 rating area near Lake ConwayView attachment 12072
View attachment 12069View attachment 12066View attachment 12067
View attachment 12071
I don't think those photos are from that road as there is nothing like that on aerial imagery:
unknown.png
 

pohnpei

Member
Messages
958
Reaction score
1,949
Location
shanghai
I don't think those photos are from that road as there is nothing like that on aerial imagery:
unknown.png
source was here.
One thing I can sure is It wasn't from downtown Vilonia or other places that I have seen before.
 

MNTornadoGuy

Member
Messages
1,615
Reaction score
2,570
Location
Apple Valley, MN
source was here.
One thing I can sure is It wasn't from downtown Vilonia or other places that I have seen before.
it's most likely from this area:
p.jpg
 

MNTornadoGuy

Member
Messages
1,615
Reaction score
2,570
Location
Apple Valley, MN
The deadliest tornado of the May 1917 tornado outbreak sequence was the infamous Mattoon-Charleston F4. This large and violent tornado likely began either in Shelby County or near Modesto. The tornado would then plow through the town of Mattoon. Numerous homes in the northern half of the town were completely leveled, trees were debarked, and 53 people were killed. Charleston was the second town to be hit by this monster tornado and was almost as equally devastated as Mattoon was. Here a farmhouse just outside of town was "splintered" with the people inside it being blown away and killed, multiple industrial plants were destroyed, and many homes were leveled. Not as many people were killed in Charleston as in Mattoon but it was still an enormous loss with 38 dead. The small town of Westervelt was also hit by this tornado or a previous one from the same family. A 150-ft wide swath was reportedly "swept clear of homes" with 4-6 deaths. Many of the homes in that town were reportedly new and well-built.




unknown.png

unknown.png

unknown.png

Screenshot 2022-01-29 at 15-27-17 The Central Illinois Tornado of May 26, 1917 on JSTOR.png
Screenshot 2022-01-29 at 15-26-50 The Central Illinois Tornado of May 26, 1917 on JSTOR.png
Screenshot 2022-01-29 at 15-26-42 The Central Illinois Tornado of May 26, 1917 on JSTOR.png
 

andyhb

Member
Messages
1,035
Reaction score
2,698
Location
Norman, OK
Whoa, that's the first picture of a tornado from that storm that I've ever seen. Almost looks more like a landspout.
 
Back
Top