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Significant Tornado Events

Recently was given permission to use a photo of the Greensburg tornado on Wikipedia, and I'll just say this is one of the scariest tornado images ever:
1774286024292.png
Very surprised this image has never circulated.
 
Central Ohio Wx said:
Recently was given permission to use a photo of the Greensburg tornado on Wikipedia, and I'll just say this is one of the scariest tornado images ever:
View attachment 52199
Very surprised this image has never circulated.
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A few other creepy ones recently licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0:
1774286186813.png
Philadelphia 2011
1774286211519.png
Joplin 2011
1774286252597.png
Yazoo City 2010
 
Juliett Bravo Kilo said:
That's the first time I've seen asphalt scouring from 4/3/74. For some reason there's no mention of it with Guin, either Tanner or any other tornado from that day.
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The vehicle damage photo has me intrigued. Honestly, I can’t really make heads or tails of what I’m looking at in the photo, it mentions the transmission being ripped out, but it just looks like a heap of metal and other debris.
 
ColdFront said:
Speaking of 4/3/74, the Fentress Co. TN - Wayne Co. KY F4 tornado seemed to have been incredibly violent, but tends to fly under the radar. Same thing with the Mannsville, KY F4.

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I really wish that the 1974 outbreak was documented better. So many tornadoes like these ones just completely fly under the radar. While even the F5s that aren't Xenia are impossible to find damage for. Really frustrating for an event of that caliber.
 
eep said:
I really wish that the 1974 outbreak was documented better. So many tornadoes like these ones just completely fly under the radar. While even the F5s that aren't Xenia are impossible to find damage for. Really frustrating for an event of that caliber.
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Off the top of my head:

Mannsville, KY
Murphy, NC
Moodyville (Fentress County), TN
Hamburg, IN (Grazulis says this was nearly an F5 in New Point, IN while the local WFO explicitly claimed it did F5 damage in Hamburg)
Boone National Forest, KY
Frankfort, KY
Lincoln-Coffee Counties, TN

It's very difficult to find information on all of these!
 
Aaron Rider said:
Off the top of my head:

Mannsville, KY
Murphy, NC
Moodyville (Fentress County), TN
Hamburg, IN (Grazulis says this was nearly an F5 in New Point, IN while the local WFO explicitly claimed it did F5 damage in Hamburg)
Boone National Forest, KY
Frankfort, KY
Lincoln-Coffee Counties, TN

It's very difficult to find information on all of these!
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Mannsville was very violent.

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On another note, Per my research, Wayne Co. KY had 3 F4s in the county that day.

Another underrated tornado, was the Fentress TN-Mcreary KY tornado, officially rated F2. Shamburger from NWS Nashville argued it was likely stronger as the tree damage and forest scar it left was still visible 40+ years later.

Wayne County KY may have the record for most violent tornados in a single county in a single day, other than maybe Elkhart Indiana. That southeastern KY/Northeastern TN corridor that evening had some underreported monsters.
 
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Some very high quality photos here of the Tuscaloosa tornado from the parking lot at DCH Regional Medical Center (so on the other side of the tornado's path from University Mall).
 
Hope nobody minds me asking:

In April I'm doing a presentation in front of middle-school students about tornadoes and the human/aviation impact they leave behind. I need four photos of particularly extreme damage, each preferably unique, showing extreme damage to a home, a vehicle, a plane, and scouring. Does anybody have any good images that might be of use? My first thought is Matador for the vehicle damage, but I really can't decide.
 
Central Ohio Wx said:
Hope nobody minds me asking:

In April I'm doing a presentation in front of middle-school students about tornadoes and the human/aviation impact they leave behind. I need four photos of particularly extreme damage, each preferably unique, showing extreme damage to a home, a vehicle, a plane, and scouring. Does anybody have any good images that might be of use? My first thought is Matador for the vehicle damage, but I really can't decide.
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More than happy to contribute!

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The infamous 190 MPH DI home in Bremen, Kentucky.


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Automobile absolutely mangled and shredded and plastered with mud in Bridge Creek, Oklahoma.


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Before and after of a plane mangled and shredded from the 2025 Diaz, AR tornado.


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And finally, what I consider to be the textbook example of extreme ground scouring. Taken in Guin, AL from the 1974 Super Outbreak.
 

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speedbump305 said:
More than happy to contribute!

View attachment 52221
The infamous 190 MPH DI home in Bremen, Kentucky.


View attachment 52222
Automobile absolutely mangled and shredded and plastered with mud in Bridge Creek, Oklahoma.


View attachment 52223
Before and after of a plane mangled and shredded from the 2025 Diaz, AR tornado.


View attachment 52225
And finally, what I consider to be the textbook example of extreme ground scouring. Taken in Guin, AL from the 1974 Super Outbreak.
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For the vehicle one I was going to use this image:
1774374900199.png
But it's so unrecognizable that I don't think it would properly convey how dangerous it is to be in a car during a tornado.
 
speedbump305 said:
I don’t think it would be a bad idea to use more than one! It can give them more of a guidance to how severe vehicle damage can get.
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True. Maybe I could have a whole slide on why sheltering in a car is a stupid idea. So far I have:
  • Pre-presentation question (which place would you hide in during a tornado)
  • What tornadoes are
  • How they form
  • Best sheltering options
  • Tornado preparedness
  • Tornado season
  • Historical tornadoes in Ohio (Dayton, Xenia, Niles, Lorain, etc.)
  • Impact on aviation
  • EF scale
  • Tornado records
  • Extreme tornado damage images
  • SKYWARN/how you can get involved
  • Post-presentation question (same as the first bullet but utilizing what I talked about during the presentation)
I'm hoping to get 35-45 minutes out of it.
 
Central Ohio Wx said:
True. Maybe I could have a whole slide on why sheltering in a car is a stupid idea. So far I have:
  • Pre-presentation question (which place would you hide in during a tornado)
  • What tornadoes are
  • How they form
  • Best sheltering options
  • Tornado preparedness
  • Tornado season
  • Historical tornadoes in Ohio (Dayton, Xenia, Niles, Lorain, etc.)
  • Impact on aviation
  • EF scale
  • Tornado records
  • Extreme tornado damage images
  • SKYWARN/how you can get involved
  • Post-presentation question (same as the first bullet but utilizing what I talked about during the presentation)
I'm hoping to get 35-45 minutes out of it.
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I’d definitely also consider talking about some controversial ratings! That will help you get a debate out of the audience for sure!
 
Central Ohio Wx said:
Hope nobody minds me asking:

In April I'm doing a presentation in front of middle-school students about tornadoes and the human/aviation impact they leave behind. I need four photos of particularly extreme damage, each preferably unique, showing extreme damage to a home, a vehicle, a plane, and scouring. Does anybody have any good images that might be of use? My first thought is Matador for the vehicle damage, but I really can't decide.
Click to expand...
The-Last-F5-Weather-Special-Digital.00_16_21_04.Still006-e1653073529234.webp
jt-dc-1.png

Wanna know what would be a good tornado to discuss sheltering options and preparedness? This one.

(Also got the images for homes and ground scouring for ya)
 
speedbump305 said:
I’d definitely also consider talking about some controversial ratings! That will help you get a debate out of the audience for sure!
Click to expand...
As funny as getting middle schoolers hooked on why John Robinson is a terrible surveyor is (lmao), I'm aiming to pivot it more into the effects on aviation, as that's what the overarching class will be about. I will be bringing up Matador though because that one is very obviously higher than an EF3 just by looking at an image or two.
 
Central Ohio Wx said:
Hope nobody minds me asking:

In April I'm doing a presentation in front of middle-school students about tornadoes and the human/aviation impact they leave behind. I need four photos of particularly extreme damage, each preferably unique, showing extreme damage to a home, a vehicle, a plane, and scouring. Does anybody have any good images that might be of use? My first thought is Matador for the vehicle damage, but I really can't decide.
Click to expand...
Destroyed_bus_in_Rainsville.jpg

In terms of vehicle damage, Rainsville may be a good option.

Also Joplin is another good tornado to discuss preparedness with, given how most didnt even take shelter from it due to the thought it was another false alarm.
 
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