Significant Tornado Events

[MNTornadoGuy]

https://www.tornadotalk.com/barnesville-ga-ef3-tornado-april-28-2011-2/
Another underrated tornado from the 2011 Super Outbreak that TornadoTalk uncovered.

 

[OHWX97]

Here are some damage photos of an F4 tornado that struck extreme southern Illinois on May 6, 2003.


Home swept away. Roof can be seen in the distance.


Frame of a mobile home wrapped around two trees.



Intense tree damage.


More intense tree damage. Derailed train at the top of the picture.



Aerial shots of intense structural damage.

It was part of the infamous May 2003 tornado outbreak sequence. The day spawned 75 tornadoes (mostly weak), including the mentioned F4, an F3, and five F2's.


Addition photos and information on the event can be found here:
https://www.weather.gov/media/pah/Top10Events/2003/May6.pdf

 

[pohnpei]

https://www.tornadotalk.com/barnesville-ga-ef3-tornado-april-28-2011-2/
Another underrated tornado from the 2011 Super Outbreak that TornadoTalk uncovered.

It is hard to fathom that damage like this can be rated EF3. The tree damage was just insane.

 

[OHWX97]

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the 2016 Coleridge, NE tornado, which reminded me of another intense tornado near Coleridge on June 23, 2003.



Additional damage photos:
https://www.weather.gov/oax/coleridge-pics

https://www.tornadotalk.com/barnesville-ga-ef3-tornado-april-28-2011-2/
Another underrated tornado from the 2011 Super Outbreak that TornadoTalk uncovered.

Underrated indeed. That's some of the most intense tree damage I've ever seen; clearly a high end tornado.

 

[Marshal79344]

I mean, it's hard for me to believe that a tornado with that type of velocity presentation was only EF3. So many of the Super Outbreak tornadoes were poorly rated.

 

[CheeselandSkies]

I mean, it's hard for me to believe that a tornado with that type of velocity presentation was only EF3. So many of the Super Outbreak tornadoes were poorly rated.

View attachment 9854

BMX, HUN and JAN did well, but it seems some other offices particularly FFC and MEG were questionable. Surprising that FFC rated the Newnan tornado this year EF4.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

BMX, HUN and JAN did well, but it seems some other offices particularly FFC and MEG were questionable. Surprising that FFC rated the Newnan this year tornado EF4.

I wonder why Newnan got an EF4 rating yet Barnesville got a low-end EF3 despite the damage being much more intense than Newnan.

 

[TH2002]

I wonder why Newnan got an EF4 rating yet Barnesville got a low-end EF3 despite the damage being much more intense than Newnan.

Because NWS FFC is just like DDC. They have a problem for both overrating AND underrating tornadoes.

 

[buckeye05]

I remember calling BS on the EF3 Barnesville rating as soon as the photos were released. I think there must have been a change of staff, and or policy within the FFC surveying team. The change from overly-conservative to overly-liberal is abrupt and very unusual.

Same thing with IZK. They went from ignoring EF5 structural damage, to rating a tornado EF2 based on non-established DIs (vehicles) this year now that Robinson has retired.

 

[TH2002]

When I confronted Tim Marshall with the pictures of Wicker Avenue, Dollar General and Fish Hooks restaurant in Vilonia... cricket noises.

 

[buckeye05]

When I confronted Tim Marshall with the pictures of Wicker Avenue, Dollar General and Fish Hooks restaurant in Vilonia... cricket noises.

He’s in kind of a tough spot though. According to at least one person who corresponded with him, Tim wasn’t made aware of the EF5 damage along Wicker St and other areas during his survey, and this seems like it was done intentionally by LZK. If he addresses these discrepancies, he’d not only have to address that he didn’t survey what were likely the most intense points of damage, but would also have to address evidence of inexcusably bad conduct and decision making from an otherwise well-respected NWS employee and tornado expert, and one that he personally knows none the less. That could put strain on any kind of professional relationship or friendship between them as well.

Talking about these issues would definitely “rock the boat” in the professional met world, and that’s an understatement, even if us tornado damage geeks have a pretty clear idea of how much of a joke that survey was.

If anyone is going to publicly address the Vilonia controversy and set the record straight, it’s gonna be Grazulis.

 

[TH2002]

A collection of damage photos from the May 30, 1998 Spencer, SD tornado:

Complete and utter devastation as nearly every home in Spencer was leveled or swept away. Six people were killed and 150 others (over a third of the town's entire population) were injured.


The Spencer water tower collapsed after a vehicle was thrown into it.


This infamous photo of an unanchored slider home is from Spencer. Damage point was rated EF1.


A well-bolted home swept away in Spencer.

And another:



Apartment complex where five of the six fatalities occurred. More than half of the building was completely leveled to the ground.

Aerial view of the same apartment complex:



Trees with severe debarking.


Denuded tree and a van mangled almost beyond recognition.

Finally, a view of Spencer months after the tornado:


To think this damage was rated "marginal F4"... unbelievable

 

[TH2002]

I know this may be a stupid question but what is the strongest tornado ever documented from a cold core setup?

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

A collection of damage photos from the May 30, 1998 Spencer, SD tornado:
View attachment 9855
Complete and utter devastation as nearly every home in Spencer was leveled or swept away. Six people were killed and 150 others (over a third of the town's entire population) were injured.

View attachment 9856
The Spencer water tower collapsed after a vehicle was thrown into it.

View attachment 9858
This infamous photo of an unanchored slider home is from Spencer. Damage point was rated EF1.

View attachment 9857
A well-bolted home swept away in Spencer.

And another:
View attachment 9859

View attachment 9860
Apartment complex where five of the six fatalities occurred. More than half of the building was completely leveled to the ground.

Aerial view of the same apartment complex:
View attachment 9861

View attachment 9862
Trees with severe debarking.

View attachment 9864
Denuded tree and a van mangled almost beyond recognition.

Finally, a view of Spencer months after the tornado:
View attachment 9863

To think this damage was rated "marginal F4"... unbelievable

I've seen that unanchored slide home being attributed to Niles-Wheatland in some publications.
Also, that apartment being leveled, wow, not often you see an entire apartment complex destroyed like that (come to think, I'm not sure of an intense of a multi-story apartment complex being slabbed, but that's another discussion). I think this event had wind speeds of 264 mph documented from stormchasers nearby, the fastest until Bridge Creek-Moore a year later.
Also, this tornado was part of a family, the 3rd of 6 total, I believe, the rest of which stayed over open farmland and did little to no damage.

 

[Marshal79344]

I know this may be a stupid question but what is the strongest tornado ever documented from a cold core setup?

Warren 1949 definitely has my vote on this one

 

[TH2002]

I've seen that unanchored slide home being attributed to Niles-Wheatland in some publications.
Also, that apartment being leveled, wow, not often you see an entire apartment complex destroyed like that (come to think, I'm not sure of an intense of a multi-story apartment complex being slabbed, but that's another discussion). I think this event had wind speeds of 264 mph documented from stormchasers nearby, the fastest until Bridge Creek-Moore a year later.
Also, this tornado was part of a family, the 3rd of 6 total, I believe, the rest of which stayed over open farmland and did little to no damage.

SPC attributes the photo to Spencer: https://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/f1.htm

Also where I found out the tornado was rated a "marginal F4". Lowballing much?

 

[Marshal79344]

SPC attributes the photo to Spencer: https://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/f1.htm

Also where I found out the tornado was rated a "marginal F4". Lowballing much?

Definitely. I don't understand the reason behind some of those ratings in the 1990s and 2000s, especially those egregiously done ones in the late 2000s before the EF scale was introduced

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

SPC attributes the photo to Spencer: https://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/f1.htm

Also where I found out the tornado was rated a "marginal F4". Lowballing much?

Not as bad as Bridge Creek-Moore being labeled by NWS as "minimal F5" lol.
Really, I think Spencer should have been rated F5 or at least high-end F4 based on its damage, especially to the apartment.

 

[TH2002]

Not as bad as Bridge Creek-Moore being labeled by NWS as "minimal F5" lol.
Really, I think Spencer should have been rated F5 or at least high-end F4 based on its damage, especially to the apartment.

Only comparable damage to an apartment building I can think of are these three-story apartment blocks that were devastated in Joplin, Missouri:

 

[locomusic01]

come to think, I'm not sure of an intense of a multi-story apartment complex being slabbed, but that's another discussion

Bridge Creek-Moore totally destroyed a couple of the multi-story apartments in the Emerald Springs complex and partially swept one away, which earned an F5 rating.

It's strange that Spencer rarely gets mentioned among high-end violent tornadoes, which it most certainly was. I guess I can see why it's often overshadowed though, considering the number of extremely violent tornadoes in the few years surrounding it. The 2/22/98 Kissimmee outbreak probably deserves more attention than it gets, too.