Tornado Talk is a MUST read for Piedmont. They have extremely insightful pictures that you cannot find anywhere else. Here are some other vehicle damage pics.
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Significant Tornado Events
- Thread starter locomusic01
- Start date
Tornado Talk is a MUST read for Piedmont. They have extremely insightful pictures that you cannot find anywhere else. Here are some other vehicle damage pics.
NewFoundWeatherNerd
Member
I adore TornadoTalk! Ive been meaning to read the entire article lol. But ive collected a couple examples of damage here and there from this tornado; heres just a few of my finds for you!!
Truly just a perplexing, if not unsettling day; one of the ones that get you thinking. Im doing all this research for a huge Twitter thread, so condensing all the info down is CHALLENGING!
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slenker
Member
I don’t want to derail what everyone’s been discussing too much, but I found a great video (quite short though) on YouTube of the Elie MB 2007 tornado videos synced with each other, and it’s quite well made. More specifically, the very beginning of the F5 stage of the tornado.
At the very beginning you can see a very clear and rapid consolidation of the vortex from the base upwards, which to me is super interesting! I haven’t seen that sort of motion in a tornadic vortex before and it coincides with the F5 damage it inflicted remarkably well. I don’t know if it’s the result of particle motion in the funnel (if it is, the velocity of said particles would be astoundingly high) or if it’s the result of condensation becoming better defined - whatever it is, it’s wicked looking and I would love to understand how it works.
Elie may have been what I would call a “low-end” F5 (if you can call any F5 that) but the tornado itself is so remarkable. It’s extremely strange that it managed to intensify the way it did - I understand how vortex constriction and angular momentum conservation leads to extreme winds when tornadoes shrink in width, but I’ve never heard anything remotely remarkable about the atmosphere in this location at this date in the vicinity of this tornado either.
Edit: @joshoctober16 Did you make this video? If so, it’s really well done!
At the very beginning you can see a very clear and rapid consolidation of the vortex from the base upwards, which to me is super interesting! I haven’t seen that sort of motion in a tornadic vortex before and it coincides with the F5 damage it inflicted remarkably well. I don’t know if it’s the result of particle motion in the funnel (if it is, the velocity of said particles would be astoundingly high) or if it’s the result of condensation becoming better defined - whatever it is, it’s wicked looking and I would love to understand how it works.
Elie may have been what I would call a “low-end” F5 (if you can call any F5 that) but the tornado itself is so remarkable. It’s extremely strange that it managed to intensify the way it did - I understand how vortex constriction and angular momentum conservation leads to extreme winds when tornadoes shrink in width, but I’ve never heard anything remotely remarkable about the atmosphere in this location at this date in the vicinity of this tornado either.
Edit: @joshoctober16 Did you make this video? If so, it’s really well done!
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AJS
Member
That 8th image shows some of the most utterly debarked trees I have ever seen.
AJS
Member
Man and that vehicle damage too. That is by far some of the most violent vehicle damage I have ever seen.
AJS
Member
Does anyone happen to know if the 2013 El Reno Tornado produced any damage higher than EF3, I have looked for a while for damage pictures that could suggest it could’ve gotten an EF4 rating but have found nothing so far.
joshoctober16
Member
vehicle and tree/vegetation damage seem to support a possible low end EF4 rating base on what I've seen
base on the new EF scale Tim samaras vehicle would be rated EF3+ 165+ mph and possibly low end EF4.
SpotlightForRareTornadoes
Member
I've seen that video before! If you look closely, you can also see the house in Hobson's footage shortly after the reaction in cousin deadly's footage takes place!
Juliett Bravo Kilo
Member
El Reno also did this to a car:
Genuinely can't think of any other tornado that managed to skewer a car to a tree with a 2x4.
SpotlightForRareTornadoes
Member
Elie tornado go whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
AJS
Member
I swear, the more I learn and see damage photos from this monster, the more amazed I become at the sheer violence of this monster. This tornado really was like a more rural Smithville.
NewFoundWeatherNerd
Member
Well, as Im doing my work on this tornado (Piedmont); Ive come across rare views of the damage a day after, and RIGHT AFTER the tornado! You're absolutely on the money with the rural Smithville comparison; extreme debris granulation, constant and consistent hardwood debarking, lasted 105 mins on the ground, and its extremely fascinating behavior as a tornado. A little discussed fact (that I will be covering in my eventual thread) is that this tornado actually MERGED with a separate, preexisting tornado before intensifying into the total monster it was on HWY 81; so it literally cannibalized another tornado before rapidly strengthening. Tornado mergers are VERY rare; with only 2-3 documented mergers (one of which is Piedmont).
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Juliett Bravo Kilo
Member
I wonder if the merger is what made it so violent, as maybe that circulation was added to El Reno and doubled its wind speeds? Maybe?
Yeah, mergers are rare; another one was Bridge Creek-Moore 1999 when it absorbed it's satellite.
NewFoundWeatherNerd
Member
Hopefully the file works but here is the paper describing the merger; btw, it does go over the Midway tornado, which I personally feel is NOT a true tornado merger. Rather just subvortex action as the tornado goes through internal processes
AJS
Member
As of right now, as I see more and more Piedmont images, I am honestly convinced that Piedmont and Bridge Creek 1999 are about the same strength. That vehicle damage really speaks for itself. On some days, I honestly might wake up and say Piedmont was more violent than Bridge Creek, but it is really splitting hairs at this point.
I believe that damage-wise, Piedmont Bridge Creek and Moore 2013 are all fairly equal. Though I think Bridge Creek is a slightly worse version of Moore 2013, and Piedmont has feats on par with May 3rd. The only tornado that did worse damage in my humble opinion is Jarrell.
AJS
Member
There literally is not a single damage photo from this tornado that never ceases to stun me.
AJS
Member
Piedmont and Bridge Creek are in my opinion the two most violent tornadoes in Oklahoma history. I feel like when comparing them, the one thing each tornado did more impressively was the scouring and debarking each tornado did. Bridge Creek had ground scouring that was a bit more intense, but Piedmont takes the cake when it comes to utterly debarking every tree it touched. Every tree that twister struck was reduced to nothing but a lifeless, debarked tree.