• 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
Messages
2,157
Reaction score
2,712
Location
Missouri
This one might be one of my favorite tornado videos just because of the fascinating evolution. Pretty impressive roar, too.



Couple other videos of it:

1. Some brief damage aerials at the end of this one:


2. A horizontal vortex is visible in this one:


3. The rapid evolution, forward speed & rotation are easily seen on this vid:
 
Messages
2,157
Reaction score
2,712
Location
Missouri
What's interesting is that in its stovepipe phase it got crooked for a bit (like it was about to rope out) then it straightened itself out and blew up into multivortex mode while going through the airport. I think while in stovepipe phase it encountered a downward draft of air just before it entered the base and that more or less forced it to become an intense wedge. Perhaps the tornado would have dissipated if not for that air draft.
Other interesting thing of note regarding Andover; it was in its stovepipe phase for quite a while, over a half hour until it hit the AFB. Most violent tornadoes intensify extremely quickly and rapidly (especially if they are multivortex), typically within seconds to minutes of touchdown. Andover was on the ground for at least 15-20 minutes before it exploded into a wedge at McConnell AFB, again if not for that downward draft of air it probably would have dissipated by the time it hit the base.
 
Last edited:

eric11

Member
Messages
309
Reaction score
711
Location
Shanghai,China
Special Affiliations
  1. SKYWARN® Volunteer
  2. ARRL Member
This is another an unconspicuous tornado dropped down minutes before the Red Rock one from the same supercell which was labeled A1 by NWS.It touched down near Breckenridge OK and lasted for about 10 minutes. Not that violent wedge shape but its graceful, white cone appearance reminds me of DDC and Alpena
IMG_20210427_100833.jpgIMG_20210427_100841.jpg-2e6236493326d2a327330ad29567ed7f.jpg
The tornado also had a rare fantastic chase footage
 
Messages
491
Reaction score
405
Location
Northern Europe
Just found an image of damage from the 1899 New Richmond Cyclone, and just woah....
One thing about New Richmond is that its fatality-to-injury ratio (117:200) was very high. It was even higher than those for the Pomeroy (71:200) and Sherman (73:200) events. According to various accounts the New Richmond tornado was quite visible to onlookers and therefore, per Thomas P. Grazulis (Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991, p. 688), many residents were able to seek shelter in time and thus reduce the potential death toll somewhat. So the fact that New Richmond still produced so many fatalities, along with a high fatality-to-injury ratio, despite being well anticipated is certainly suggestive of an extremely violent tornado.
 
Messages
2,157
Reaction score
2,712
Location
Missouri
This is another an unconspicuous tornado dropped down minutes before the Red Rock one from the same supercell which was labeled A1 by NWS.It touched down near Breckenridge OK and lasted for about 10 minutes. Not that violent wedge shape but its graceful, white cone appearance reminds me of DDC and Alpena
View attachment 9332View attachment 9333View attachment 9334
The tornado also had a rare fantastic chase footage


Red Rock seems to have been accompanied and preceded by a handful of tornadoes, based on this picture:

19910426-redrock-800.png

The description of it on this link is interesting for a couple reasons. Apparently asphalt was removed from several county roads and a large oil rig was toppled by this thing. There's gotta be a photograph of the oil rig somewhere.

 

speedbump305

Member
Messages
495
Reaction score
140
Location
Cypress Texas
Today is the 10th anniversary of the April 27 Tornado outbreak. Rest in peace to all the wonderful lives lost on that day. April 27 will always be remembered as a once in a generation tornado outbreak and will never be forgotten
 
Messages
2,752
Reaction score
4,288
Location
Madison, WI
Today is the 10th anniversary of the April 27 Tornado outbreak. Rest in peace to all the wonderful lives lost on that day. April 27 will always be remembered as a once in a generation tornado outbreak and will never be forgotten

Discussion is here:

 
Messages
491
Reaction score
405
Location
Northern Europe
Rare, in-depth footage from the Wheelersburg OH F5 tornado on 23 April 1968:



Some rather intense damage is visible at 3:50, 6:30, 12:15, and 15:00.

Here is a substantial collection of original material related to this tornado.
 
Last edited:

MNTornadoGuy

Member
Messages
1,612
Reaction score
2,568
Location
Apple Valley, MN
One of the most underrated Oklahoma tornadoes is the 1920 Peggs tornado. This large but short-tracked tornado touched down SE of the town where it destroyed farmhouses, severely scoured wheat fields with the fields being nearly barren of soil, mangled and embedded an automobile into the soil of a farm field, and snapped telephone poles. The tornado then moved into and devastated the town of Peggs. All but seven of the buildings in town were destroyed and 1/3 of the town's population were killed. Many homes were obliterated and completely swept away, trees were completely stripped of all but the largest branches, and bodies were coated in mud and reportedly wind-rowed. The tornado then dissipated somewhere NE of town, ending its 3-mile path of devastation. 71 people were killed and 100 were injured. It probably reached F5 intensity.
The_Arrow_Democrat_Fri__May_7__1920_.jpg
Muskogee_Daily_Phoenix_Tue__May_4__1920_.jpg
 

TH2002

Member
Sustaining Member
Messages
3,116
Reaction score
4,677
Location
California, United States
Special Affiliations
  1. SKYWARN® Volunteer
So here's a pretty crazy story from the Parkersburg, Iowa EF5. A Dell Latitude D820 laptop belonging to Josh Crain was caught in the tornado and only found three days later, caked in mud and clearly sustained debris impacts. The screen ended up partially shattered but after a quick cleanup, the laptop booted right up and otherwise worked perfectly.


2990089500_dc8b9f605b_n.jpg

2989230609_60a05a2598_n.jpg

2990087662_3199a0d16e_n.jpg



Just another reason why I love Dell computers.
 

MNTornadoGuy

Member
Messages
1,612
Reaction score
2,568
Location
Apple Valley, MN
One of the most mysterious and significant tornadoes in USA history is the 1840 Natchez tornado. There is considerable uncertainty about the environment on the day of the tornado but there is some meteorological data available. Temperatures in Natchez that day were in the low 80s with a brisk southeasterly wind. There was dense overcast the morning which was likely a sign of a warm front lifting through the area. Sometime after 1:00 pm, the tornado touched down at least 20 miles SW of Natchez MS and moved NE. Not much detailed information is available about this section of the path in rural Louisiana but the devastation was reportedly immense. Homes on plantations were "swept like chaff from their foundations," trees were uprooted and crops were destroyed. Hundreds of slaves were reportedly killed on these plantations. When the tornado reached the Mississippi River, it turned and started traveling along the river. Thousands of trees were snapped, uprooted, or splintered with "not a particle of bark left upon the remaining stumps" along the river. Homes were also reportedly leveled in this area.

The at least mile-wide tornado maintained its intensity as it roared into the city of Natchez. Numerous steamboats and flatboats were sunk on the river resulting in >269 fatalities. In a part of the town known as "Under-the-Hill" homes/buildings were "razed to the ground" with some of these being reportedly swept away. On the other side of the river in the town of Vidalia, the courthouse was reportedly leveled to the ground. 48 people were killed on land in the town of Natchez with at least one fatality in Vidalia. A piece of a steamboat window was carried 30 miles. It's unknown what damage the tornado did after it left Natchez. At least 317 people were killed by the tornado but it is likely the death total was higher due to possible uncounted deaths in rural areas and bodies might have been carried downstream or sunk to the bottom of the river.
Plat_78491_1-1.png
Land survey map showing a portion of the tornado's track in Louisiana
 
Messages
2,157
Reaction score
2,712
Location
Missouri
One of the most mysterious and significant tornadoes in USA history is the 1840 Natchez tornado. There is considerable uncertainty about the environment on the day of the tornado but there is some meteorological data available. Temperatures in Natchez that day were in the low 80s with a brisk southeasterly wind. There was dense overcast the morning which was likely a sign of a warm front lifting through the area. Sometime after 1:00 pm, the tornado touched down at least 20 miles SW of Natchez MS and moved NE. Not much detailed information is available about this section of the path in rural Louisiana but the devastation was reportedly immense. Homes on plantations were "swept like chaff from their foundations," trees were uprooted and crops were destroyed. Hundreds of slaves were reportedly killed on these plantations. When the tornado reached the Mississippi River, it turned and started traveling along the river. Thousands of trees were snapped, uprooted, or splintered with "not a particle of bark left upon the remaining stumps" along the river. Homes were also reportedly leveled in this area.

The at least mile-wide tornado maintained its intensity as it roared into the city of Natchez. Numerous steamboats and flatboats were sunk on the river resulting in >269 fatalities. In a part of the town known as "Under-the-Hill" homes/buildings were "razed to the ground" with some of these being reportedly swept away. On the other side of the river in the town of Vidalia, the courthouse was reportedly leveled to the ground. 48 people were killed on land in the town of Natchez with at least one fatality in Vidalia. A piece of a steamboat window was carried 30 miles. It's unknown what damage the tornado did after it left Natchez. At least 317 people were killed by the tornado but it is likely the death total was higher due to possible uncounted deaths in rural areas and bodies might have been carried downstream or sunk to the bottom of the river.
View attachment 9370
Land survey map showing a portion of the tornado's track in Louisiana
The death toll from this is certainly way higher as slaves would not have been included among the fatalities.
This tornado is an example of a worst-case scenario, a tornado moving along a major mode of transport (Mississippi River) and encountering heavy traffic (steamboats); the modern-day equivalent would be a rain-wrapped EF5 following a freeway corridor in Dallas or Chicago during rush hour.
Interesting detail is that a tornado in the 1908 Dixie Outbreak took a path not that far off from this one.
This is perhaps the earliest significant Dixie event that we have on record

2 gendisasters articles on it:


Another article on it: https://www.ustornadoes.com/2017/05/07/natchez-ms-tornado-1840/

I've always found it interesting that this thing appears to have followed the river directly and was right on it for much of its path, I can't think of another instance of a tornado following a large body of water for a significant time; it'd be interesting to study what happens underneath large bodies of water when violent tornadoes go over it or follow it for long periods of time.
 

Marshal79344

Member
Messages
361
Reaction score
1,064
Location
Chicago, IL
The death toll from this is certainly way higher as slaves would not have been included among the fatalities.
This tornado is an example of a worst-case scenario, a tornado moving along a major mode of transport (Mississippi River) and encountering heavy traffic (steamboats); the modern-day equivalent would be a rain-wrapped EF5 following a freeway corridor in Dallas or Chicago during rush hour.
Interesting detail is that a tornado in the 1908 Dixie Outbreak took a path not that far off from this one.
This is perhaps the earliest significant Dixie event that we have on record

2 gendisasters articles on it:


Another article on it: https://www.ustornadoes.com/2017/05/07/natchez-ms-tornado-1840/

I've always found it interesting that this thing appears to have followed the river directly and was right on it for much of its path, I can't think of another instance of a tornado following a large body of water for a significant time; it'd be interesting to study what happens underneath large bodies of water when violent tornadoes go over it or follow it for long periods of time.
I have noticed that there have been instances of tornadoes riding valleys, such as with the Shoal Creek - Ohatchee Valley EF4 Tornado on April 27, 2011 (the second EF4 that was spawned from the Tuscaloosa supercell after the Tuscaloosa Tornado dissipated). Some of these valleys may hold rivers within them. However, I'm not sure if it's just me but the tornado, given that map, didn't appear to track along with the river for a long time, and just happened to pass over the worst possible spot and the worst possible time.
 

andyhb

Member
Messages
1,033
Reaction score
2,689
Location
Norman, OK

NWS Tulsa put together a wonderful GIS page covering the 4/12/1945 outbreak in OK, which included the devastating Antlers tornado.
 
Last edited:
Messages
2,157
Reaction score
2,712
Location
Missouri
I have noticed that there have been instances of tornadoes riding valleys, such as with the Shoal Creek - Ohatchee Valley EF4 Tornado on April 27, 2011 (the second EF4 that was spawned from the Tuscaloosa supercell after the Tuscaloosa Tornado dissipated). Some of these valleys may hold rivers within them. However, I'm not sure if it's just me but the tornado, given that map, didn't appear to track along with the river for a long time, and just happened to pass over the worst possible spot and the worst possible time.
Come to think there was a tornado (F4) in the 1953 Flint-Worcester outbreak that spent most of its life traveling over Lake Michigan which makes it impossible to ascertain its exact path length; it'd be interesting if such a thing occurred today and were documented, if a massive tornado traveling over a body of water has any unusual effects underneath, if the vortex extends to the bottom of the lake or not, etc.
 
Logo 468x120
Back
Top