At least one of the homes it swept away was well built and anchored. There were likely more, but we'll never know for sure, because MEG decided to half-@ss the survey.
For Rochelle:
Also ripped out plumbing from the Holly Springs Motor Park, mangled vehicles beyond recognition, etc.
At the very least it deserves EF5 on a contextual basis - the moved sidewalk is absolutely "incredible phenomena" and indicative of extreme surface winds. IIRC the homes themselves were also more well built than you'd think.
I actually want to hear this out and take an objective look at it and maybe learn something. While Vilonia just isn’t up for debate, Rochelle isn’t quite the same level of absurdity, therefore there’s room for discussion.
Something else that's unrelated is that for every single "YouTube documentary" on 4/27/2011 or even Garland Texas on 12/26/2015
Sidewalk scouring isn't a contextual indicator we have enough evidence for to definitively say whether it's an EF5-level feat or not (we've also seen it in objectively-EF4 tornadoes like Henryville). Plus, as with ground scouring, multiple variables likely play a part.
This but with New Wren. The missed homes are usually pointed as an indicator that the New Wren EF3 was of EF5 intensity (aside from the truck, which I don't think is as impressive as it's put out to be); yet we don't know the specific details of the homes besides that they were "well-built".
Not comparable. New Wren has specific details and photographs to back up the argument, while Holly Springs does not. The slabbed bolted homes, grass scouring, and other contextual support like the truck paints a clear picture. While I currently don’t have access to them, I have seen the photographic evidence to back up the claims in New Wren. Also you not being impressed by the truck isn’t an issue of the significance of that particular occurrence being debatable, it’s an issue of you failing to grasp its significance.
1.) It wasn’t scoured, it was dislodged from where it was set into the ground and shifted laterally intact. Given the sidewalk’s flat shape, wide dimensions, weight, and lack of surface area for the wind to “grab onto”, this kind of thing is strong evidence of extreme ground level flow, arguably even more so than the shifting concrete pole Tim Marshall photographed and discussed in Parkersburg.
What about extreme examples like the 1928 greensburg F2, where trenches were scoured to a depth of 6 feet?
www.tornadotalk.com
The more I read and learn about this tornado, the more I realize that this truly could’ve been the most violent tornado of 2015 up there with Rochelle.The Holly Springs article on Tornado Talk is free btw. Extremely impressive.
Holly Springs-Ashland, MS EF4 Tornado – December 23, 2015 – Tornado Talk
I still just don’t get it. High-end EF4 sure, but I don’t see anything here that equates to clear cut slam dunk EF5 damage. The damage to the Motorsports park is pretty impressive context wise, but I’ve seen much worse.The Holly Springs article on Tornado Talk is free btw. Extremely impressive.
Holly Springs-Ashland, MS EF4 Tornado – December 23, 2015 – Tornado Talk
I don’t know. I’d need photos and corroboration, especially given the prevalence of big time exaggeration in newspapers around that time period. Also generally, I’ve noticed a stronger correlation between extreme intensity and the type of scouring that results in a total removal of all surface vegetation across an even contour leaving a swath of bare soil, versus deep trench type scouring.
I know I've been one of this forum's most adamant proponents of an EF5 rating for Holly Springs (and still am) but honestly, that's a fair stance. Still, imo it speaks more to the awful quality of the survey than the intensity of the tornado itself.
