April 12 Severe Event

[buckeyefan1]

EF 3 confirmed in Barnwell to Orangeburg County. 140mph winds

NOUS42 KCAE 140306
PNSCAE
GAZ040-063>065-077-SCZ016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-115-116-
141515-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
1106 PM EDT MON APR 13 2020

...NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR APRIL 13, 2020 TORNADO EVENT...

...BARNWELL TO ORANGEBURG TO CALHOUN COUNTY EF-3 TORNADO...

START LOCATION...2 ENE ELKO IN BARNWELL COUNTY SC
END LOCATION...8 WSW ST. MATTHEWS IN CALHOUN COUNTY SC
DATE...04/13/2020
ESTIMATED TIME...05:46 AM EDT
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF3
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...140 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...770.0 YARDS
PATH LENGTH...31.55 MILES
BEGINNING LAT/LON...33.3814 / -81.3481
ENDING LAT/LON...33.624 / -80.9115
* FATALITIES...2
* INJURIES...7

...SUMMARY...
A STRONG, LONG-TRACK TORNADO BEGAN JUST EAST OF THE TOWN OF ELKO
IN BARNWELL COUNTY , THEN MOVED IN A GENERAL NORTHEAST DIRECTION
THROUGH ORANGEBURG COUNTY, BEFORE DISSIPATING SOUTHWEST OF ST.
MATTHEWS IN CALHOUN COUNTY BEFORE REACHING I-26. THE TORNADO PATH
LENGTH WAS OVER 31 MILES, AND AT ITS WIDEST POINT WAS JUST UNDER
0.5 MILES. THE TORNADO WAS RATED AN EF-3, WITH PEAK WIND SPEEDS
OF 140 MPH. THERE WERE 2 CONFIRMED FATALITIES WITH AT LEAST
7 INJURED. 

THE TORNADO BEGAN NEAR WILLIS POND RD. ALONG ITS ENTIRE PATH, 
THERE WAS WIDESPREAD TREE DAMAGE. THE TORNADO STRENGTHENED AS IT 
APPROACHED SC HIGHWAY 3 AND GARDENIA RD., WHERE IT DESTROYED AND 
TOSSED A WOOD FRAMED HOME ANCHORED TO THE GROUND, LIFTED A 
SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF A ROOF ON A BRICK HOME, DESTROYED A FIFTH 
WHEEL CAMPER, AND KNOCKED OVER A PIVOT IRRIGATION SYSTEM. THE 
TORNADO THEN CROSSED NORWAY RD. WHERE IT SNAPPED MULTIPLE POWER 
POLES. AS THE TORNADO REACHED FIRE TOWER RD. WEST OF NEESES, IT 
INTENSIFIED FURTHER, DESTROYING 3 ANCHORED MANUFACTURED HOMES ON 
PRESERVER RD. NEAR NINETY SIX RD. IT WAS IN THIS AREA THAT THE 2 
KNOWN FATALITIES OCCURRED TO RESIDENTS IN A DOUBLE-WIDE 
MANUFACTURED HOME. 

THE TORNADO THEN TURNED MORE EASTWARD, CROSSING SAVANNAH HIGHWAY 
AND DRAGSTRIP RD NORTH OF LIVINGSTON. THERE WERE SEVERAL HOMES OR 
MANUFACTURED HOMES THAT WERE HEAVILY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED IN THIS 
AREA. THE TORNADO GRADUALLY WEAKENED AS IT CROSSED NORTH RD. AND 
DISSIPATED AS IT CROSSED INTO CALHOUN COUNTY. 

EF SCALE: THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO THE
FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

EF0...WEAK......65 TO 85 MPH
EF1...WEAK......86 TO 110 MPH
EF2...STRONG....111 TO 135 MPH
EF3...STRONG....136 TO 165 MPH
EF4...VIOLENT...166 TO 200 MPH
EF5...VIOLENT...>200 MPH

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT AND PUBLICATION IN NWS
STORM DATA.

[joshwx2003]

Apparently the tornado that hit Bassfield might break a record that has stood since 2013.Damage swath is 4 miles wide on I-59 at Heidelberg, Miss. MM 115-119. Tornadic wind damage is extensive but there are numerous extreme damage paths about 100-200 yards wide that criss cross each other.  Mature pine forests chewed to the ground. 

[DanLarsen34]

14 minutes ago, joshwx2003 said:

Apparently the tornado that hit Bassfield might break a record that has stood since 2013.Damage swath is 4 miles wide on I-59 at Heidelberg, Miss. MM 115-119. Tornadic wind damage is extensive but there are numerous extreme damage paths about 100-200 yards wide that criss cross each other.  Mature pine forests chewed to the ground. 

Have a link to that? That’s insane!

[janetjanet998]

[jpeters3]

52 minutes ago, joshwx2003 said:

Apparently the tornado that hit Bassfield might break a record that has stood since 2013.Damage swath is 4 miles wide on I-59 at Heidelberg, Miss. MM 115-119. Tornadic wind damage is extensive but there are numerous extreme damage paths about 100-200 yards wide that criss cross each other.  Mature pine forests chewed to the ground. 

Where did you hear this? Please do share.

[boo radley]

The vegetation damage pics I’ve seen have been insane....just chewed through those forests.

[MUWX]

35 minutes ago, jpeters3 said:

Where did you hear this? Please do share.

There is a tweet about it. Not sure how legit it is though, kind of seems like some guy might have just drove down the highway and counted mile markers which have some sort of damage. 

[rnj79]

Thats some pretty big shoes to fill. The El Reno Tornado was 2.2 miles wide, which broke the record against the 2 mile wide Hallam Tornado.

Definitely anxious to see the final report! From the very few clear videos I've seen, it was a monster!

[DanLarsen34]

 

[jpeters3]

1 minute ago, DanLarsen34 said:

 

Would have verified as a High, but I think SPC forecasters did an excellent job leading up to this event and I agree with their calls the day of.  There was a lot of uncertainty, and it was unclear that a widespread outbreak would happen until pretty late in the day.

[Bob's Burgers]

11 hours ago, Buckeye05 said:

This is one of the cleanest sweeps I've ever seen, and the best candidate for EF5 I've seen in years. Notice how not only is the foundation is clean of debris, the whole area is clean of debris, and there is no recognizable directional debris pattern. That is indicative of a remarkably violent tornado. Also note that all plumbing fixtures are all completely sheared off and missing as well. Most importantly, there is a close up video of the foundation perimeter on youtube, and not only is the house well-anchored, but the anchor bolts are bent flat against the slab from the force of the walls being violently ripped away. The only thing keeping me from saying with certainty that this is EF5 damage, is that there is some vegetation on the property that is suspiciously untouched, with quite a few leaves remaining. However, I'm wondering if these non-defoliated limbs and trees blew around the back side of the circulation from an area that wasn't affected by as violent of winds. Also not seeing any crazy grass scouring, but in any case, this is a candidate. We'll just have to see.

This area has not been surveyed yet. Some close up shots reveal that the anchors were partially ripped from the foundation as well...

 

 

[DanLarsen34]

6 minutes ago, jpeters3 said:

Would have verified as a High, but I think SPC forecasters did an excellent job leading up to this event and I agree with their calls the day of.  There was a lot of uncertainty, and it was unclear that a widespread outbreak would happen until pretty late in the day.

Agreed. This will be a good case study for why you don’t need multiple discrete cells to get a major outbreak of strong/violent tornadoes over a large area. A high-end environment in Dixie Alley tends to find a way. 

[jpeters3]

1 minute ago, DanLarsen34 said:

Agreed. This will be a good case study for why you don’t need multiple discrete cells to get a major outbreak of strong/violent tornadoes over a large area. A high-end environment in Dixie Alley tends to find a way. 

I still find it fascinating how those two monster supercells emerged so quickly out of a cluster of grungevection that I had pretty much written off.  You don't see that every day.  Obviously the parameters supported such an evolution, but still...

[Bob's Burgers]

1 minute ago, jpeters3 said:

I still find it fascinating how those two monster supercells emerged so quickly out of a cluster of grungevection that I had pretty much written off.  You don't see that every day.  Obviously the parameters supported such an evolution, but still...

Yes. Went from a blob to extreme supercell in about 1 hour. Will post some GR grabs in a minute. 

[jpeters3]

First Bassfield tornado upgraded to EF-3.

 

https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&product=LSR&issuedby=LIX

[Calderon]

This area has not been surveyed yet. Some close up shots reveal that the anchors were partially ripped from the foundation as well...
 
 

My problem is the vegetation and grass immediately adjacent to the foundation. One would expect an EF5 to not only have the force to do that to a house, but also chew up the grass and trees around it.

The tree partially laying on the slab is appears to be either a Laurel Oak or Water Oak, but very easy tree to knock over and/or split. It happens frequently in summertime storms in the southeast. A majority in the background were pine, which are softwood and pliable, but there’s a substantial amount of surface bark left.

Unless there is more drastic damage out there we haven’t seen pics of yet, I see it staying at EF4.


.

[andyhb]

Just now, Calderon said:

My problem is the vegetation and grass immediately adjacent to the foundation. One would expect an EF5 to not only have the force to do that to a house, but also chew up the grass and trees around it.

The tree partially laying on the slab is appears to be either a Laurel Oak or Water Oak, but very easy tree to knock over and/or split. It happens frequently in summertime storms in the southeast. A majority in the background were pine, which are softwood and pliable, but there’s a substantial amount of surface bark left.

Unless there is more drastic damage out there we haven’t seen pics of yet, I see it staying at EF4.

LIX keeping it at EF3 as of now.

[Bob's Burgers]

[Bob's Burgers]

[Bob's Burgers]

[Calderon]

LIX keeping it at EF3 as of now.

I thought that pic was from the 2nd tornado in the Bassfield supercell?


.

[andyhb]

Just now, Calderon said:

I thought that pic was from the 2nd tornado in the Bassfield supercell?

Nope, I believe it is from the first tornado, which dissipated before hitting Bassfield.

[Chreeyiss]

What about the Monroe tornado? I remember seeing someone post in here that the couplet was near 200kts at peak. With the lack of attention it seems to be getting I’m guessing the ground truth doesn’t match. 

[Bob's Burgers]

1 minute ago, Chreeyiss said:

What about the Monroe tornado? I remember seeing someone post in here that the couplet was near 200kts at peak. With the lack of attention it seems to be getting I’m guessing the ground truth doesn’t match. 

Ef-3

[boo radley]

This just goes to show how rare and powerful an EF 5 tornado is. We have been since Moore 2013 without one.

[Bob's Burgers]

 

[Bob's Burgers]

 

[Calderon]

Nope, I believe it is from the first tornado, which dissipated before hitting Bassfield.

Ah, gotcha, there was a little confusion. I can respect that rating because clearly there was a flaw in construction.


.

[FLweather]

41 minutes ago, Calderon said:

My problem is the vegetation and grass immediately adjacent to the foundation. One would expect an EF5 to not only have the force to do that to a house, but also chew up the grass and trees around it.

The tree partially laying on the slab is appears to be either a Laurel Oak or Water Oak, but very easy tree to knock over and/or split. It happens frequently in summertime storms in the southeast. A majority in the background were pine, which are softwood and pliable, but there’s a substantial amount of surface bark left.

Unless there is more drastic damage out there we haven’t seen pics of yet, I see it staying at EF4.


.

Aren't F5s capable of ripping up asphalt?

If it can rip up asphalt clearly the foundation, topsoil would have been gone too.

So probably a high-end 3 to 4.

[Buckeye05]

Mid-range EF3 apparently at that house. Despite the anchor bolting, there must have been some type of structural flaw that isn’t apparent through pictures. The comparatively mild grass and tree damage does raise an eyebrow, but I was expecting EF4 at least.