Significant Tornado Events

[TH2002]

According to Grazulis it was the first F5 recorded on video (as opposed to film). Also, I'm pretty sure it's the first audio of an F5 recorded, pretty incredible as opposed to audio of an F5 where you'd expect (Great Plains or Deep South).

Aside from the film footage there is an audio-only recording of the Xenia tornado.

 

[TH2002]

For a bit of context, the video was taken here (where the little webcam icon is):

They lived in Texas but they'd brought their son Ryan (the one who posted the videos) up to meet family near the intersection of PA 518 & Brian Lane because he'd just been born 3 months earlier. Ron was just shooting some video of the area because the family used to live there and then it started hailing. And then it started, well.. tornadoing. Pretty incredible luck to get one of the most unusual F5s on record on video entirely by accident lol

As far as I know, both videos of the Niles-Wheatland tornado (first near Lordstown OH and then near Hermitage PA) were taken before and after the tornado peaked af F5 intensity. Of course it doesn't take away from the value of the footage at all (if anything I consider Ron Alfredo's video to be some of the best F5 tornado footage ever recorded), but I do wish there was footage of the tornado at its peak intensity.

 

[MNTornadoGuy]

Remember the Suffolk VA tornado from the 2020 Isaias tornado outbreak? It was only given a LE EF1 rating but it was likely EF2+ in rural areas. An old farmhouse was completely destroyed and a large blowdown of trees occurred in a swamp.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Aside from the film footage there is an audio-only recording of the Xenia tornado.

Now that I think about it there might be audio of Guin, too. Not sure. Yeah that's my mistake.

As far as I know, both videos of the Niles-Wheatland tornado (first near Lordstown OH and then near Hermitage PA) were taken before and after the tornado peaked af F5 intensity. Of course it doesn't take away from the value of the footage at all (if anything I consider Ron Alfredo's video to be some of the best F5 tornado footage ever recorded), but I do wish there was footage of the tornado at its peak intensity.

I know it had weakened slightly by the time it reached Hermitage but was it only F4 in the Hermitage area or more like low-end F5? Hermitage is right next to Wheatland (more or less) and while I've been having a hard time finding pics from that area the damage seems to have been still rather severe. I have a feeling surface from Niles or Wheatland of the tornado hitting its peak will surface eventually but for now it's only a pipe dream....

 

[buckeye05]

That was without a doubt a significant tornado. I think we’ll see less underrated tree damage moving forward, considering the recently changed definition for what constitutes as EF2+ tree damage.

As a matter of fact, considering that the Suffolk tornado flattened large areas of forest, a rating of EF3 could have been applied.

Parrish, WI 2011, Alabaster AL, 2020 Trout, LA 2017, and Woodworth, LA 2017 all could use an upgrade based on this.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Hopefully this hasn't already been posted, terrifying footage of the South Moravia tornado at close range; the only video that comes close to this is that one from China a user posted a while back where the tornado made a direct hit on someone's apartment.

2:30 or so is when you can see some incredible debris velocity

DISCLAIMER: this video is filmed vertically, easily the most frightening thing about it:

 

[locomusic01]

As far as I know, both videos of the Niles-Wheatland tornado (first near Lordstown OH and then near Hermitage PA) were taken before and after the tornado peaked af F5 intensity. Of course it doesn't take away from the value of the footage at all (if anything I consider Ron Alfredo's video to be some of the best F5 tornado footage ever recorded), but I do wish there was footage of the tornado at its peak intensity.

Yeah, it peaked once on the northeast side of Niles (between OH-46 and US-422, broadly speaking) and then again around the Wheatland Flats industrial area. The second maybe a bit more intense than the first, but pretty comparable. I've had people report some very interesting stuff from the Lordstown area (including "trenches/ditches" that sound suspiciously Philadelphia-esque based on the descriptions), but no one has come up with photos of it yet. There was some intense damage and very pronounced scouring documented in that area, though.

The series of photos I posted a while back is probably the closest we'll come to seeing video of the tornado at its absolute peak intensity, unfortunately. The combination of insufficient warning, fast storm motion and no smartphones makes it unlikely that very many people would've been in position to capture it.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Yeah, it peaked once on the northeast side of Niles (between OH-46 and US-422, broadly speaking) and then again around the Wheatland Flats industrial area. The second maybe a bit more intense than the first, but pretty comparable. I've had people report some very interesting stuff from the Lordstown area (including "trenches/ditches" that sound suspiciously Philadelphia-esque based on the descriptions), but no one has come up with photos of it yet. There was some intense damage and very pronounced scouring documented in that area, though.

The series of photos I posted a while back is probably the closest we'll come to seeing video of the tornado at its absolute peak intensity, unfortunately. The combination of insufficient warning, fast storm motion and no smartphones makes it unlikely that very many people would've been in position to capture it.

Were a lot of the storm systems and tornadoes that day fast movers? If so that's impressive given the time of year and region of the country.
I've never been able to find a whole lot of damage photos from the Lordstown area so what you've said about it is interesting.
Have you been able to find any damage photos from Hubbard or Coalburg and surrounding areas? Curious as to the scale of damage there (of course you'll likely reveal more in your article).

 

[locomusic01]

I know it had weakened slightly by the time it reached Hermitage but was it only F4 in the Hermitage area or more like low-end F5? Hermitage is right next to Wheatland (more or less) and while I've been having a hard time finding pics from that area the damage seems to have been still rather severe. I have a feeling surface from Niles or Wheatland of the tornado hitting its peak will surface eventually but for now it's only a pipe dream....

The tornado was (mostly) pretty narrow and that area was pretty sparsely built up at the time (and still is tbh), so it just didn't hit a ton of stuff. Still some sporadic F4 damage to structures and some fairly impressive contextual stuff, but nothing that'd really suggest F5. Obviously, it may have been a very different story if there'd been more structures in the way and/or the tornado's core wasn't so narrow. Same story in places like Lordstown and (to a lesser extent) Hubbard, for that matter.

Edit: I should add that the tornado did cause "massive damage" to another steel processing plant and another trucking company south of Hermitage, but I haven't been able to find any photos of them. Or even that much information, really.

 

[locomusic01]

Were a lot of the storm systems and tornadoes that day fast movers? If so that's impressive given the time of year and region of the country.
I've never been able to find a whole lot of damage photos from the Lordstown area so what you've said about it is interesting.
Have you been able to find any damage photos from Hubbard or Coalburg and surrounding areas? Curious as to the scale of damage there (of course you'll likely reveal more in your article).

Yes, generally 35-45 mph with a few moving 50+. For example, I used the reported times on stopped clocks to work out the speed of the Wheatland tornado between various points (with some margin of error for incorrect time settings, etc):

Newton Falls -> Lordstown: ~39 mph
Lordstown -> Niles: ~38 mph
Niles -> Wheatland: ~43 mph

Using the official times for touchdown and dissipation (7:30-8:35) + the total path length (47 miles), the average speed is ~43 mph. That might be slightly fast, though. My own total path length is closer to 44 miles, which would be ~41 mph. The start and end times are a little bit fuzzy, but somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 mph is probably about right.

The Hubbard/Masury area was hit very hard, particularly in the short stretch where two people were killed. Most of the homes there weren't built well enough to justify a really high-end rating, but given some of the context, I suspect it was probably still capable of F5 damage. A row of homes on the south side of one road were totally obliterated with vehicles thrown hundreds of yards, etc. Kermont Heights got a lot of attention after the tornado, and it definitely suffered a lot of damage, but from what I've seen a lot of the homes in that neighborhood were sliders and probably wouldn't support a strong/violent rating today.

This photo was taken at about the time the tornado was doing its most intense damage in the Hubbard area - interesting to see what appears to be some horizontal vortices. Kinda reminds me of Henryville:

 

[locomusic01]

I guess I can add a damage photo. This is the wreckage of a home on Hubbard Masury Rd where a woman named Rose Marie Leone was killed:

The tornado seems to have been even more violent just west of here, where the destruction (including significant vegetation damage) was pretty much complete. Another person was killed three-quarters of a mile to the west and their home was utterly demolished. There was also a trailer that was destroyed in this area (thankfully no one was home) and the concrete steps leading up to it were reportedly ripped up and thrown/rolled across a field. The exact details of how that happened, whether the steps were anchored in any way, etc. aren't clear though.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

The tornado was (mostly) pretty narrow and that area was pretty sparsely built up at the time (and still is tbh), so it just didn't hit a ton of stuff. Still some sporadic F4 damage to structures and some fairly impressive contextual stuff, but nothing that'd really suggest F5. Obviously, it may have been a very different story if there'd been more structures in the way and/or the tornado's core wasn't so narrow. Same story in places like Lordstown and (to a lesser extent) Hubbard, for that matter.

Edit: I should add that the tornado did cause "massive damage" to another steel processing plant and another trucking company south of Hermitage, but I haven't been able to find any photos of them. Or even that much information, really.

That bit about massive damage south of Hermitage I've always thought to be a typo on Grazulis' part, because what are the odds of another industrial area exactly like that in Wheatland being demolished in a place right next door?

Yes, generally 35-45 mph with a few moving 50+. For example, I used the reported times on stopped clocks to work out the speed of the Wheatland tornado between various points (with some margin of error for incorrect time settings, etc):

Newton Falls -> Lordstown: ~39 mph
Lordstown -> Niles: ~38 mph
Niles -> Wheatland: ~43 mph

Using the official times for touchdown and dissipation (7:30-8:35) + the total path length (47 miles), the average speed is ~43 mph. That might be slightly fast, though. My own total path length is closer to 44 miles, which would be ~41 mph. The start and end times are a little bit fuzzy, but somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 mph is probably about right.

The Hubbard/Masury area was hit very hard, particularly in the short stretch where two people were killed. Most of the homes there weren't built well enough to justify a really high-end rating, but given some of the context, I suspect it was probably still capable of F5 damage. A row of homes on the south side of one road were totally obliterated with vehicles thrown hundreds of yards, etc. Kermont Heights got a lot of attention after the tornado, and it definitely suffered a lot of damage, but from what I've seen a lot of the homes in that neighborhood were sliders and probably wouldn't support a strong/violent rating today.

This photo was taken at about the time the tornado was doing its most intense damage in the Hubbard area - interesting to see what appears to be some horizontal vortices. Kinda reminds me of Henryville:

Wondering if this is what eyewitnesses may have seen instead of suction vortices, although I'm sure the tornado had a multivortex structure. This photo reminds me a bit of Hudsonville, MI but slightly wider. Hudsonville was pretty narrow and had a tiny core as well.

 

[TH2002]

Hopefully this hasn't already been posted, terrifying footage of the South Moravia tornado at close range; the only video that comes close to this is that one from China a user posted a while back where the tornado made a direct hit on someone's apartment.

2:30 or so is when you can see some incredible debris velocity

DISCLAIMER: this video is filmed vertically, easily the most frightening thing about it:

The fact that phones even allow people to record vertical video is a complete and utter shame. If "vertical video is the future" then things are sure looking bleak.

Anways, here's some great footage of the tornado that was filmed properly:





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qrpgi561F8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdhwkWET1Jw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omw157XohK8

 

[locomusic01]

That bit about massive damage south of Hermitage I've always thought to be a typo on Grazulis' part, because what are the odds of another industrial area exactly like that in Wheatland being demolished in a place right next door?

Not sure what Grazulis wrote, but it was definitely a real and distinct damage area. It's a heavily industrial region, being part of the general Pittsburgh-Youngstown corridor, so there are lots of little industrial parks scattered around. Or.. there were. Not sure how many are still around today considering how much industry has died out.

 

[TH2002]

I know it had weakened slightly by the time it reached Hermitage but was it only F4 in the Hermitage area or more like low-end F5? Hermitage is right next to Wheatland (more or less) and while I've been having a hard time finding pics from that area the damage seems to have been still rather severe. I have a feeling surface from Niles or Wheatland of the tornado hitting its peak will surface eventually but for now it's only a pipe dream....

I wish I could tell you but I have honestly been wondering the same thing myself. I'm pretty confident the tornado was still a violent F4 in the Hermitage area as an airplane wing was carried a full 10 miles from the Hermitage airport, but like you said I wish there was footage of the tornado at its F5 peak.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Not sure what Grazulis wrote, but it was definitely a real and distinct damage area. It's a heavily industrial region, being part of the general Pittsburgh-Youngstown corridor, so there are lots of little industrial parks scattered around. Or.. there were. Not sure how many are still around today considering how much industry has died out.

I have a PDF of the 1880-1989 edition that you provided via Google Books a while back, I took a snapshot of the PA portion of the tornado's path:



I'd love to get information on "another trucking company", "steel-processing plant" and the "construction-maintenance garage" but haven't had any luck. Grazulis likely has access to photographs few others do involving tornado damage, and lucky him.
Given that this outbreak occurred in the region of the country where manufacturing was once heavily prevalent before experiencing its gradual decline from the 1970s onward, I wonder much this outbreak contributed to the economic decline of the "Rust Belt" area of the country (Niles-Wheatland in particular, given it struck many manufacturing communities, I wonder if it was the death knell for some places it hit, economically speaking). Just speculating out loud here.

 

[locomusic01]

I have a PDF of the 1880-1989 edition that you provided via Google Books a while back, I took a snapshot of the PA portion of the tornado's path:

View attachment 10072

I'd love to get information on "another trucking company", "steel-processing plant" and the "construction-maintenance garage" but haven't had any luck. Grazulis likely has access to photographs few others do involving tornado damage, and lucky him.
Given that this outbreak occurred in the region of the country where manufacturing was once heavily prevalent before experiencing its gradual decline from the 1970s onward, I wonder much this outbreak contributed to the economic decline of the "Rust Belt" area of the country (Niles-Wheatland in particular, given it struck many manufacturing communities, I wonder if it was the death knell for some places it hit, economically speaking). Just speculating out loud here.

I suspect the maintenance garage refers to the garage where Bell telephone kept its trucks. It was apparently destroyed and many of the trucks were thrown all about. I actually just tracked down someone who worked there at the time so now I'm waiting to hear back from them. I'm hoping maybe they can fill in some info on the other businesses as well.

And yeah, the tornado definitely took a permanent toll in some places, especially Wheatland. Around 95% of the industry base was dsstroyed; most vowed to build back but only some of them did. It was made even worse because zoning regulations prevented them from building the same kind of residential/industrial mix they had in the "Flats" before. They lost a lot of industry and the population never really recovered either.

 

[locomusic01]

So, new entry in the category of "nitpicky things that are probably only interesting to me" lol. I spoke to a guy a while back whose home (~2 mi SE of Darlington) was generally considered to be the first impacted by the Beaver Falls tornado. As it turns out, the tornado actually first touched down near Cannelton, roughly 5 miles to the WNW. My (obviously unofficial) path length had previously been ~37 mi, slightly shorter than the official length of 39 mi, but with the revised start point it's a shade under 42 mi.

On a side note, trying to track down names, addresses, contact info, etc. for tons of people from 1985 almost makes me glad that tech companies track every last detail of our lives today lol

Edit: Here's the new path.

 

[TH2002]

Can someone post Grazulis' entry for the 5/3/1912 Larned, KS tornado? Practically no information on it but based on damage pics, looks like it could have been an F3.

 

[Juliett Bravo Kilo]

Can someone post Grazulis' entry for the 5/3/1912 Larned, KS tornado? Practically no information on it but based on damage pics, looks like it could have been an F3.

Looks like there was 2 tornadoes that struck the town that day, or it was a multivortex event, not sure: