• 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

Significant Tornado Events

While we’re on contextuals, how did the 2011 Houston-Okolona, MS EF3 (direct predecessor to Smithville) only get an EF3 rating? I’ve heard it’s done some extreme tree damage, I feel like the rating isn’t talked about enough because of how many tornadoes touched down that day and the fact that it seems trivial.
Very simply because they were rushed understandably and botched the survey and just missed stuff. That's the reason. The great Tornado Talk article about this got pay walled.
 
Very simply because they were rushed understandably and botched the survey and just missed stuff. That's the reason. The great Tornado Talk article about this got pay walled.
That's fair. I'm also sure they were probably focused more on Smithville to the northeast. Man, what a horrible day...
 
  • Like
Reactions: AJS
That's fair. I'm also sure they were probably focused more on Smithville to the northeast. Man, what a horrible day...
Yeah. The Tornado Talk article said something like, "What we found was unbelievable."

I forget how far it tossed - NOT rolled - that one poor guy's truck. Well over a mile. Maybe two or three? It was preposterously far
 
Yeah. The Tornado Talk article said something like, "What we found was unbelievable."

I forget how far it tossed - NOT rolled - that one poor guy's truck. Well over a mile. Maybe two or three? It was preposterously far
Yeah, no doubt that thing was an EF5. Lynn Davis' pickup was tossed 1.70 miles, which to the best of my knowledge is the furthest verified distance a vehicle has been tossed by a tornado. The back of the truck was more or less accordioned into the front of it.
 
Yeah, no doubt that thing was an EF5. Lynn Davis' pickup was tossed 1.70 miles, which to the best of my knowledge is the furthest verified distance a vehicle has been tossed by a tornado. The back of the truck was more or less accordioned into the front of it.
It’s pretty rare to see cars get thrown over a mile by tornadoes and I consider it to be a hallmark of a remarkably intense one. Rochelle if I recall threw one about a mile
 
I wonder if you still have the link to the videos from that event (Athens "downburst" of 2010)
I think this is the funnel video buckeye is referring to:


Here's another video, and yeah... this is definitely a tornado. No idea why it was classified as a downburst:


Nelsonville EF2 that preceded the Athens tornado:
 
Classic
Some of these could be from the EF4, they're kinda hard to differentiate, but I think these all should be the EF3, I know the vehicles and debarked trees are
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2144.jpg
    IMG_2144.jpg
    1.2 MB · Views: 0
  • IMG_2142.jpg
    IMG_2142.jpg
    38.5 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_2150.jpg
    IMG_2150.jpg
    46.2 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_0578.jpg
    IMG_0578.jpg
    107.9 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_0577.jpg
    IMG_0577.jpg
    152 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_2157-1.jpg
    IMG_2157-1.jpg
    135.5 KB · Views: 0
  • FB_IMG_1734943005946-1.jpg
    FB_IMG_1734943005946-1.jpg
    80.6 KB · Views: 0
  • FB_IMG_1734942999450-1.jpg
    FB_IMG_1734942999450-1.jpg
    112.5 KB · Views: 0
Classic

Some of these could be from the EF4, they're kinda hard to differentiate, but I think these all should be the EF3, I know the vehicles and debarked trees are
Definitely a forgotten mini outbreak. Pecos Hank had an incredible chase. He helped rescue a sweet, tough lady whose gun he later found in his car after he dropped her off at the hospital. Pure, unadulterated Texas!

This system deserves more treatment, including a damage analysis of both major twisters.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AJS
A couple of years ago someone edited the Wikipedia article on the March 21 1952 tornado outbreak to follow Grazulis' rather than the official data (and at the same time turning it into a dog's breakfast aesthetically). I haven't seen anyone make a map of the differing interpretations of the outbreak, so why not do it myself?

The official data as plotted by Tornado Archive, is, as you'd expect, a mess, having been a victim of whatever process was used to convert the original reports into coordinates when the SPC/NCEI database was constructed:
21mar52 official.jpg

Here I've more or less maintained the official paths, but tweaked them using descriptions in the March 1952 Climatological Data and (funnily enough) the older version of the Wikipedia article. I didn't try make everything tally - you can't fit a listed 12 mile path for stated endpoints only six miles apart. But everything is somewhat closer to where it probably should be, and pointing in the right direction:
21mar52 adjust.jpg

This is based on Grazulis' 1984 and 1990 works. He joins up a lot of short paths that originally reported locations without path lengths or had implausibly short lengths (e.g 200 yards). Downgrades a few as well. Not all of his lengths fit - e.g. the stated start, path and end of the Moscow tornado implies a length of about 26 miles, not his stated 35:21mar52 grazulis.jpg

One thing I've decided doing this is that the reports are so lacking in detail that many of the start and end locations, and the path lengths when those were not originally stated, in the official database must be little more than guesses, unless they had access to more detailed notes or other records when making it.
 
Last edited:
3 days from now will be the 60th anniversary of the Twin Cities tornado outbreak. The Anoka County government has a GIS viewer containing aerial photographs of the damage produced by the Fridley tornadoes and here are a few notable ones.
Screenshot 2025-05-03 at 18-51-56 N143024_1965.pdf.png
Screenshot 2025-05-03 at 18-53-02 S023024_1965.pdf.png
Screenshot 2025-05-03 at 18-54-13 S353123_1965.pdf.png
 
26 year anniversary of May 3, 1999 and I found some pretty incredible footage from that day uploaded to YouTube recently. The video is from Jeff Piotrowski’s DVD showing some never before seen video of the Bridge Creek-Moore tornado as it’s going through the OKC suburbs, as well as some footage of Mulhall. Some truly remarkable stuff in here.
 
Cardinal Road / Pritchett Road in the southwest area of Mayfield, homes here rated 180 despite looking pretty poorly constructed, possibly upgraded based on contextuals, rightfully so if true.

Large mature hardwood trees debranched and debarked, trucks were crushed and thrown, upwards of 1000ft (Red truck), smaller trees were completely mowed down, not the best documentation as it was a very small area, but the images and videos that exist are extreme.
 

Attachments

  • FB_IMG_1746295740783.jpg
    FB_IMG_1746295740783.jpg
    90.8 KB · Views: 1
  • FB_IMG_1734941491544-4-1.jpg
    FB_IMG_1734941491544-4-1.jpg
    102.1 KB · Views: 1
  • Untitled224_20250503211309.png
    Untitled224_20250503211309.png
    1.6 MB · Views: 1
  • FB_IMG_1734941488834-6-1.jpg
    FB_IMG_1734941488834-6-1.jpg
    115 KB · Views: 1
  • FB_IMG_1734942639696-5-1.jpg
    FB_IMG_1734942639696-5-1.jpg
    54.6 KB · Views: 1
  • FB_IMG_1746295781914.jpg
    FB_IMG_1746295781914.jpg
    169.6 KB · Views: 1
  • FB_IMG_1746295779942.jpg
    FB_IMG_1746295779942.jpg
    186.2 KB · Views: 1
  • FB_IMG_1746295755494.jpg
    FB_IMG_1746295755494.jpg
    66.8 KB · Views: 0
  • FB_IMG_1746295744058.jpg
    FB_IMG_1746295744058.jpg
    80.9 KB · Views: 0
  • Screenshot_20241221-163938-6-1.png
    Screenshot_20241221-163938-6-1.png
    1.4 MB · Views: 0
Cardinal Road / Pritchett Road in the southwest area of Mayfield, homes here rated 180 despite looking pretty poorly constructed, possibly upgraded based on contextuals, rightfully so if true.

Large mature hardwood trees debranched and debarked, trucks were crushed and thrown, upwards of 1000ft (Red truck), smaller trees were completely mowed down, not the best documentation as it was a very small area, but the images and videos that exist are extreme.
The SW side of Mayfield in general is where I consider the tornado to have maybe reached EF5 strength.
 
Today is the 18th anniversary of the 2007 Greensburg EF5, so I figured I’d share a few more of the things I’ve got from that day.

Here’s an area that was completely devastated south of US-54, multiple homes were completely leveled or swept cleanly away. Contextual damage was extraordinary, debris granulation, total tree debarking, extreme vehicle damage, etc. The home pictured at bottom had significant damage to its concrete block foundation and porch walkway.
2CBFA4B3-92FE-4D2C-B4F4-16DC234C626B.jpeg
FE5BEBA6-C7BC-4726-89E6-0276A31E5CC2.jpeg

Perhaps most impressive, this large brick and masonry constructed church that had been converted to a home was essentially flattened to the ground.
FB8C2C24-CCCC-4BED-8BBF-D11974701304.jpeg
AF9CAF11-A257-4D5D-A596-086121147714.jpeg

More aerial photographs from neighborhoods north of US-54.
5321E325-73F7-4920-8F51-13664FE13D3F.jpeg5A1B1811-1274-432F-ACAD-07051BDD6C7F.jpeg
1B750483-BBED-4A06-AA2A-A0ACE8655A0F.jpeg

Some stuff from the southern part of town. The first image shows wind-rowing of debris towards the center of the vortex which passed 1/4 mile to the north, made visible by the scouring at the top of the image from right to left.
3F3E2468-B48E-4304-B3FF-270671B81485.jpeg
DA21C82D-E610-42F9-9243-25705AFAE753.jpeg

A home that was essentially wiped out of existence in a residential area of town. Note the low-lying vegetation completely stripped nearby.
8C8A4F2E-ED7A-4636-8746-BB62BBB18D18.jpeg
 
Back
Top