andyhb
Member
He more or less said Chickasha was an EF5 too towards the end, yes. Around 1 hour and 29 minutes in for those who want to skip to it.
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I hope so. Especially when you mention things such as trees being completely debarked and in some rare cases even the smallest twigs are debarked. Another thing would probably be ground scouring.Maybe I'm being overly hopeful and optimistic, but the upgrade of the 2010 Bellemont, AZ EF2 to EF3 years later sets a really great precedent for post analysis upgrades, and it could be the first of many. This kind of thing combined with other anecdotal evidence, such as Marshall's recent statements, a noticeable change in the way surveys are being conducted this year, and increasing talk about alterations and improvement of the EF scale makes me think some big changes are underway.
That thing should have been rated EF4 based on tree damage alone.Everybody talks about the big three, Goldsby, Chickasha, and the mighty El Reno Tornado. However, the first big tornado of the day has a very strong case for it being quite similar in intensity to the big three. Touching down at a camp lake near Canton Lake, the tornado rapidly intensified and severely damaged the camp as it moved offshore. The tornado passed near Longdale. One of the subvortexes within the tornado produced significant ground scouring and scoured a concrete road along a very narrow swath in this part of the path, something that I am sure was not accomplished by any of the other tornadoes that day.
View of the scouring from the subvortex. You can see the scoured concrete road in the background
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Another view of the scoured concrete road
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Severe tree debarking on the other side of Canton Lake. Tree debarking is usually done by debris. The tornado had been over the lake for a good 5-10 minutes before coming ashore. These trees were the first thing it came into contact with upon making landfall.
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Easily could have been rated EF4. How far into the EF4 range would you go?That thing should have been rated EF4 based on tree damage alone.
Tree damage can't be rated higher than 170 MPH on the current version of the scale, so low-end EF4. That's not to say the Canton Lake tornado wasn't stronger than that, and it almost certainly was.Easily could have been rated EF4. How far into the EF4 range would you go?
The damage looks on par with Bassfield. It is almost certain that it reached EF5 intensity along its path. I would have rated the Louisville, MS tornado at least a high-end EF4.I wouldn't doubt that the Louisville Tornado also reached EF5 intensity along its path. This tornado was produced by a completely discrete supercell without any interference from convection around it, unlike all the other major tornadoes on that day. I have a feeling that the discrete aspect of the parent supercell contributed somewhat to its violent intensity. There were several obvious violent tornado damage indicators all along the path, unlike any other tornado that day.
The Louisville Tornado as filmed from a home video when it was at its peak intensity southeast of the town.
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The Louisville Tornado as it was striking the suburbs. Note how it's shrouded in debris.
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Some of the instances of debarking that the Louisville Tornado produced were absolutely extraordinary
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Damage Photos I have in my archives
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It got overshadowed due to all the (justified) bickering over the Vilonia rating, but yes, Louisville was definitely a high-end event. One specific thing that really, really interests me is what happened at the Eiland Plaza Apartments in town. Multiple large, two-story, well built and brick construction apartment buildings were absolutely flattened in that complex, and judging by some photos and aerial videos I have seen, at least one was reduced to a bare slab. If there wasn't some kind of glaring structural flaw, that would make it by far, the most intense damage ever done to an apartment building that I know of. Tuscaloosa/Birmingham and Joplin 2011 completely destroyed many apartment buildings, but even those two monster tornadoes didn't manage to sweep any of them away.Here is another tornado in Louisville, MS that happened the day after Vilonia and is often overlooked. https://www.weather.gov/jan/2014_04_27_28_29_winston_tor
For reference, the text says "tornado observed from the Pererva station on the Moscow-Kursk railway, 13 versts [8.6 miles] from Moscow"View attachment 8402
1904 Moscow tornado
Do you have the link of the home video of the first pic you posted?I wouldn't doubt that the Louisville Tornado also reached EF5 intensity along its path. This tornado was produced by a completely discrete supercell without any interference from convection around it, unlike all the other major tornadoes on that day. I have a feeling that the discrete aspect of the parent supercell contributed somewhat to its violent intensity. There were several obvious violent tornado damage indicators all along the path, unlike any other tornado that day.
The Louisville Tornado as filmed from a home video when it was at its peak intensity southeast of the town.
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The Louisville Tornado as it was striking the suburbs. Note how it's shrouded in debris.
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Some of the instances of debarking that the Louisville Tornado produced were absolutely extraordinary
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Damage Photos I have in my archives
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It seems that there was even no corresponding wind can be given to total destruction of the entire apartment building(even not swept away) in EF scale. Maybe it was considered impossible for tornados to do that damage? The total destruction of top two floors of very well built apartment building was already EF5 level. The Louisville's apartment building damage was rated 175mph. Some other cases like Washington IL's apartment building was rated 180mph, Tuscaloosa's apartment building was rated 190mph, Cookeville's apartment building was rated 170mph.(swept away?) There was several apartment building hit by Joplin but it seems like none of them was given EF4 rating in Tim Marshall's article.It got overshadowed due to all the (justified) bickering over the Vilonia rating, but yes, Louisville was definitely a high-end event. One specific thing that really, really interests me is what happened at the Eiland Plaza Apartments in town. Multiple large, two-story, well built and brick construction apartment buildings were absolutely flattened in that complex, and judging by some photos and aerial videos I have seen, at least one was reduced to a bare slab. If there wasn't some kind of glaring structural flaw, that would make it by far, the most intense damage ever done to an apartment building that I know of. Tuscaloosa/Birmingham and Joplin 2011 completely destroyed many apartment buildings, but even those two monster tornadoes didn't manage to sweep any of them away.
Do you happen to know what's the big slab right side of the first pic used to be? I checked on damage viewer and it appears to me that the whole area had been given a general rating, not for each specific house, which is quite confusing.Right there in that photo you posted, I circled the area of interest. That's Eiland Plaza, and that to me looks like a completely slabbed brick apartment building.
A fact check using the DAT confirms my suspicions. This thing slabbed an entire two story apartment building. Geez.
I forgot about Cookeville. That one kinda swept away an apartment building too, but just sort of threw the debris into a heap, and the lower story which was built into a hillside stayed intact, with vehicles in the parking lot pushed together, but not thrown. They rated it 170 MPH. IDK exactly what to make of it.It seems that there was even no corresponding wind can be given to total destruction of the entire apartment building(even not swept away) in EF scale. Maybe it was considered impossible for tornados to do that damage? The total destruction of top two floors of very well built apartment building was already EF5 level. The Louisville's apartment building damage was rated 175mph. Some other cases like Washington IL's apartment building was rated 180mph, Tuscaloosa's apartment building was rated 190mph, Cookeville's apartment building was rated 170mph.(swept away?) There was several apartment building hit by Joplin but it seems like none of them was been given EF4 rating in Tim Marshall's article.
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