Significant Tornado Events

[CheeselandSkies]

Damage from the 2004 Markesan WI F3.
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Nice, Wisconsin's forgotten outbreak. Occurring just 14 months before the record-setting August 18, 2005 outbreak, it produced 17 tornadoes (vs. 28 in the 2005 event) but actually had four F2+ (vs. three) and was likewise "capped off" by a singular, killer F3. It also produced what I recall to be the only daylight tornado in the city of Madison proper until a total surprise (general thunder risk from SPC) on October 7, 2017.

 

[TH2002]

Came across an undated tornado damage RPPC on eBay. I figured it was worth the 7 bucks to scan it in and share it with TalkWeather, and I did some research on which tornadoes it could possibly be.

I narrowed it down to two probable suspects and I'll post the SigTor entries for them:

KS MAY 27, 1908 2200 1k 19inj 150y 10m F3
JEWELL–Moved NE from 5m SE of Ionia, passing 3m NW of Jewell. Buildings were destroyed on 15 farms. Homes were "crushed, smashed and scattered." The ground was swept clean at the site of one farm.

KS-NE JUN 5, 1908 1830 2k 5inj 400y 20m F4
JEWELL, KS-WEBSTER, NE–Moved NNE from 5 SW of Burr Oak to SE Guide Rock. Five or more farms were leveled across Jewell County, and two children were killed. A third death attributed to the tornado was actually from local flooding. Farms were also destroyed in Nebraska. Multiple suction vortices were apparent, as witnesses reported that "four tubes chased one another around in a game of tag."

 

[pohnpei]

Some pictures of Louisville 2014 tornado
tree damage in Winston County


factory damage on the edge of Louisville

church damage in Louisville
before and after

debris buried deep into ground neae cemetery

hardwood debark

before and after of house in Louisville. Tornado already weakened here

 

[OHWX97]

Never before seen video of the Crittenden - Piner, KY EF4 on March 2, 2012.



Some additional video/images of the tornado and its destruction.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

On this day in 2012, the infamous Henryville tornado occurred. This large and very violent tornado was the deadliest and likely the strongest of the March 2nd, 2012 outbreak.

8-12 (or 3 according to the NWS) inch thick asphalt that was scoured from a highway:

Large well-built factory building that was swept clean south of New Pekin with anchor bolts being bent/stripped:

Damage in/near Henryville itself. Multiple homes were leveled and swept away with one high school being severely damaged:

In rural Jefferson & Scott Counties, and in Marysville, the tornado was still violent. Multiple homes were swept away, farm machinery and vehicles were thrown long distances, and trees were debarked.

 

[OHWX97]

In addition to the Henryville and Piner EF4's, the parent supercell produced a third significant tornado that touched down near Peach Grove, KY, crossed the Ohio River, directly impacting the village of Moscow, OH. The tornado was rated EF3.

 

[buckeye05]

In addition to the Henryville and Piner EF4's, the parent supercell produced a third significant tornado that touched down near Peach Grove, KY, crossed the Ohio River, directly impacting the village of Moscow, OH. The tornado was rated EF3.
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Had that supercell track shifted a bit to the north, it would have brought the path right through densely populated areas of the Cincinnati metro area. March 2-3 was a bad outbreak, but it could have been so much worse.

 

[OHWX97]

Had that supercell track shifted a bit to the north, it would have brought the path right through densely populated areas of the Cincinnati metro area. March 2-3 was a bad outbreak, but it could have been so much worse.

Yep. Cincinnati got very lucky. I remember that supercell and the one that produced the Holton, IN EF3 really had me on edge that day.

 

[buckeye05]

Yep. Cincinnati got very lucky. I remember that supercell and the one that produced the Holton, IN EF3 really had me on edge that day.

Yeah I remember the surge of fear I felt when the Holton couplet popped up. The environment over Dayton that day was ridiculous, and I was pretty convinced we we’re gonna get hit bad. We really lucked out.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

The 1952 Buck Grove IA tornado is probably one of the most underrated tornadoes. One farmhouse was swept away, trees were debarked, and a Chrevolet car was thrown a quarter mile with the engine block being ripped out and tossed 100 yards. Strangely Grazulis and the SPC only lists this as an F2.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

Damage photos from the 1966 Candlestick Park tornado in Scott County. At least 8 homes were "wiped out" or " blown out of existence."

"

 

[buckeye05]

Damage photos from the 1966 Candlestick Park tornado in Scott County. At least 8 homes were "wiped out" or " blown out of existence."

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This is the area where the tornado reached peak intensity from what I understand, and these are the only damage photos I’ve seen from Scott County. Nice find!

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Damage photos from the 1966 Candlestick Park tornado in Scott County. At least 8 homes were "wiped out" or " blown out of existence."

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The one with the car being towed out of the ditch I've seen on TornadoTalk but none of these others; where'd you find them?
Also, shame about the quality, but at least we've got something. I've love to find some photographs of the alleged ground or pavement scouring that supposedly occurred in Scott County.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

The one with the car being towed out of the ditch I've seen on TornadoTalk but none of these others; where'd you find them?
Also, shame about the quality, but at least we've got something. I've love to find some photographs of the alleged ground or pavement scouring that supposedly occurred in Scott County.

The Scott County newspaper archive. That's all the interesting photos I could find on it.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

One very violent tornado that is basically forgotten is the 5/30/1954 Newman Grove NE tornado. This long-tracked and killer tornado tore through Platte, Madison, Stanton, and Wayne Counties killing 6 people along the path. At least two farms were leveled or swept away. At one of these farms, the two-story 512 sq ft farmhouse was completely swept away with the new car reportedly being “blown to pieces” and scattered throughout a nearby field. Grass was scoured from the yard, trees were debarked, and other vehicles were thrown and mangled beyond recognition.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

Photos from the 1956 Berlin WI F4. This was from the same outbreak as the Hudsonville F5.

 

[buckeye05]

Photos from the 1956 Berlin WI F4. This was from the same outbreak as the Hudsonville F5.

Never knew there was a photo of the Berlin tornado itself. Much narrower than I expected. Looks like it was a violent drill bit type situation there.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Never knew there was a photo of the Berlin tornado itself. Much narrower than I expected. Looks like it was a violent drill bit type situation there.

It was the same appearance and type as Hudsonville, really.
The April 2-3, 1956 outbreak was an impressive and widespread event that doesn't get a lot of recognition as such; Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wisconsin were affected.
I'd love to get more information on the long-tracked tornado family that traveled from Newkirk, OK to Toronto, KS

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Live coverage of aftermath of the Hudsonville, MI tornado. At 5:51 film footage of it appears; looks like it got a bit wider than I thought; reminds me of the Dimmitt, TX tornado of 1995:

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

This is interesting, a blog dedicated to tornadoes that have scoured pavement:

Tornadoes That Have Scoured The Road Pavement

Natchitoches, La. weather data from National Weather Service cooperative weather observer

natchitocheslaweatherclimate.blogspot.com

This is an old StormTrack where Greg Stumpf mentions having a sample of the peeled from Dimmitt, TX and Bridge Creek-Moore in his office; pretty cool.

Scouring concrete in a tornado

What are the processes involved in the scouring of concrete from a tornado? I was thinking about it after I watched the famous video from the TX nader. I was just wondering how it happens? Is it simply a vortex lifting the pavement like debris? Or is it more complex where as air pockets are...

stormtrack.org