Buckeye05

Just imagine if the 4/27/2011 surveys were done with the same degree of conservatism that is applied today. There’d be nothing higher than EF4….

Don’t expect any further upgrades. The days of EF5 ratings are over I’d say. For me, this one was the last nail in the coffin for that level of rating being ever being applied again. The part of the meteorological community that is responsible for rating application has pushed the concept of EF5 damage to unobtainable levels.

Yeah Rochelle is in the books as a “200 MPH EF4” as is Chapman, KS 2016.

NWS Paducah now has the Mayfield tornado wind estimate in the high-end EF4 range.

Myself and many other reallllly question that study. It was done by people with zero background or training in the hallmarks of the various intensity levels of tornado damage. Most importantly, the damage to St. John’s is easily the most intense damage to a high-rise building ever documented. It’s underpinning system was damaged beyond repair, and the building was structurally compromised to the point where it had to be demolished. That requires 200+ MPH winds to happen. Period. Any experienced damage surveyor would tell you the same. So even from a strictly engineering based POV, that study is highly questionable, and the notion that no EF5 level structure damage occurred in Joplin just isn’t true.

Not to derail the thread, we may go the rest of out lives without ever seeing a tornado as violent as Smithville ever again. That one was in a league of its own, to the point where you can't really compare it with the "average" EF5. That said, I'd say that Hackleburg-Phil Campbell is probably the closest match to this recent one when it comes to comparing previous EF5 events.

They're talking about the lower left photo. But i'm not totally convinced that photo shows any pavement scouring either.

This is a bunch of overly-dismissive ridiculousness. You aren't saying anything people aren't already aware of. People at this point know how rating damage based on structural integrity and the overall context works.

It isn't. Don't make irresponsible posts like this.

That's the Washburn, IL tornado of 2017 Edit: Whoops, actually the Tipton, OK EF4.

Got another one on the ground near Plumsted, NJ. Strong couplet and TDS.

Damn dude.. Glad you’re alive!

Major couplet and likely TOG coming right at Pella, IA. They were hit by an EF3 in July of 2018.

One of the scariest nights of my life. The only time I've ever actually bailed south in my car to get out of the path.

Seeing pictures of fairly substantial structural damage in Bowie, TX including roof and exterior wall loss. Also hearing reports of mobile homes completely destroyed in town. Not good.

The EF4 damage was confined to a single subdivision in the Bridgeton area where 2-3 homes were leveled at the end of a Cul-de-sac. 90% of the damage was EF1/EF2 with a few other pockets of EF3.

Oh man the sound is terrifying. That earth shaking roar.

While we are posting videos, let me share some crazy but little known Tuscaloosa videos. Crazy close.. Almost direct hit here, and contains some of the best tornado roar audio iv'e heard And this is the Hackleburg/ Phil Campbell tornado as it hit Harvest. This may be the scariest sky I have ever seen in a tornado video.

It's hard to find good video of the Rainsville tornado. This is the best I can find.

The multiple pieces issue actually occurred in Rainsville, Hackleburg, Ohatchee, and Tuscaloosa, I just didn't want to get too graphic. Smithville culvert: Also check out 7:50 in this video. Those big square concrete areas are where entire factory warehouses were swept away. This was taken near Pleasant Grove.

Yeah asphalt isn't all that reliable, I remember hearing about asphalt scouring during the Vilonia EF2 I think. I forgot about the mobile home. That, the cars, and (mostly) that insane ground troughing I think led them to that rating.

Yeah jeans from the plant were found in towns far across the state. The Philadelphia tornado was rated EF5 due to the asphalt and ground scouring, and the fact that cars were wrapped around trees. The structural damage from the tornado was rated low end EF4. The tornado was only upgraded when they found the scouring and vehicle damage.

I agree, each produced incredible phenomenon. Smithville: A steel culvert buried underneath a road was actually pulled up through the earth and asphalt and thrown, leaving a section of the road and ground missing. I heard that 3 people were killed when a concrete above ground safe room was torn away. Lots of foundation sweeping. Phil Campbell/Hackleburg/Tanner: A car was wrapped around a tree and pavement was scoured. Countless homes were swept away, some of which actually had their concrete slabs cracked and scoured. Don't read this next park if you are squeamish...the body count for this one was made difficult because a lot of the victims were found in multiple pieces. Rainsville: A pickup truck was thrown and obliterated into multiple pieces. An 800 pound steel safe anchored to a home foundation was torn away, thrown 600 feet, and found with it's door torn from it's hinges. A stone pillar was pulled from the ground and smashed to pieces, and some homes actually had their concrete porches torn from the ground, thrown, and broken into pieces. Philidelphia: I think that this was the most violent tornado of the outbreak. Think about this, the Philadelphia tornado produced the most insane ground scouring I have ever seen, worse than that at Jarrell and Bridge Creek. It actually dug a 2 foot trench in the ground, deeper than the grass and topsoil. Consider that the Jarrell tornado was an F5 and moving much slower, yet still didn't do this. Consider that the Bridge Creek tornado is the considered by some the most violent ever, and it STILL did nothing like this. The Philidelphia tornado was a very fast mover, and was rated EF5 for hitting an open field. Incredible.