Historic Tornados
- Thread starter MbergCat
- Start date
The 1974 & 2011 outbreaks are the top 2 ever.
2021 was not as widespread but is remembered for 2 really long track tornadoes.
I was talking about in the state of Kentucky.
https://www.weather.gov/lmk/tornado_climatology_april31974#:~:text=At Brandenburg 128 homes were,deaths in the Brandenburg area.
I was not talking about Alabama or Missouri or Ohio.
March 18th, 1925 is basically one tornado and worse than all those outbreaks.
There's a difference between a tornado and a tornado outbreak. 1925 was a tornado...not large outbreak. Outbreak has to do with a number of confirmed tornadoes.
2021 had the longest track Kentucky tornado ever but it was NOT Kentucky's largest outbreak. 1974 is still Kentucky's largest outbreak.
In an article I read, the Commonwealth Journal, says it was a F5. But every weather website rates it an F3, including the NWS. It's a damn miracle it only killed 6 since it literally went all the way across the county and lifted in Woodstock. One of the four also killed two in Alpine.
You literally live in one of the 4 tornado alleys, it's called Hoosier Alley. There's also traditional Tornado Alley, Carolina Alley and Dixie Alley, which has more strong tornadoes and more tornado deaths than traditional Tornado Alley.
Many people who've studied this outbreak rank Brandenburg as the strongest tornado of that day.
I read the same. Xenia tornado seems more talked about but I read the Brandenburg tornado was the worst. Can't remember where I read it, but I did.
Yeah they act like Xenia was some super tornado when in reality it mostly did high end F3, low end F4 damage. Which is horrific, don't get me wrong, but only a few small areas had F5 damage. It went directly through town which is why it's so talked about. Another thing is it was captured on camera and confirmed what Ted Fujita had theorized years earlier, there were multiple vortexes rotating around the main funnel. Finally there's an idiotic rumor Fujita considered giving it an F6 rating which persists to this day. Jim Cantore of the weather channel was with him during the entire study and claimed that rumor as preposterous.
I'm telling you, the pics I've ever seen from the Piney Grove tornado looks like it would be greater than F3, but I'm no expert lol
Another guy to watch is Reed Timmer. He's a storm chaser with a PHD in meteorology. He's really informative, funny and kinda querky. He has a YouTube and Facebook presence and broadcasts while he chases storms.
I've seen the same pics as we live in the same county. F3 tornadoes almost never, and I've never read an account, suck people out of basements. That's what EF5s do. Considering they gave all four tornadoes that hit Pulaski county an F3 rating makes me think they half-assed those surveys possibly. And that tornado would be rated an EF4 today with the changes from the F scale to the EF scale.
The mayfield tornado was officially rated as an ''ef4'' but thats ********. That's an EF5 if I have ever seen one. Concrete foundations cleanly swept away in mayfield.
I drove the path one weekend and it’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen. As ugly of damage anyone can imagine. The debris ball was sent north of 30,000 feet. Unreal.
Agree. That tornado that hit Cookeville , TN a couple years ago or so was violent also.
That absolutely was an EF5. Literally the first thing they use to give it a rating is houses. There were multiple instances of houses swept clean away. The crazy thing about that tornado is it maintained EF4 strength for such a long distance. High-end EF4 damage. If there is even one indicator of EF5 damage, it gets ranked an EF5. CLEARLY there were dozens of examples of EF5 damage.
The one in Alabama, Tanner was the small town. Get this, they got slammed by an F5 tornado. As paramedics, cops ect were trying to find survivors only then another F5 tornado touched down and took almost the exact same path. It was dark during both. People that survived the first one were killed in the second. Unreal story.
That must be in Limestone County. I'd never heard the name of the town just heard about 2 F5s hitting there that night. That's unbelievable.
The F5 that hit Brandenburg April 3, 1974 was stronger. It still remains the only F5 in the history of Kentucky.
I have talked with survivors from that tornado and there is a weather station near where it went through.
This is the one that hit Hackleburg AL in 2011, 14 miles north of me. The Guin tornado in 74 was 14 miles south of me. Tornado ally for surely
I live in Brandenburg, my father was in it, I've heard all the horror stories, seen all the pictures. Stripping grass from the ground and lodging objects deep into trees is insane to think about.
Holy hell, that tornado was on the ground forever and was the deadliest tornado of that outbreak. Crazy it killed 72. That thing was more than a mile wide and and was moving 70mph at one point. You literally live right in the middle of Dixie Alley, where there are both more tornado deaths and EF5 tornadoes than tornado alley. James Spann is the man for weather forecasting.
I've never seen this picture of Xenia. Did you guys take it?
This is the most well know picture of Xenia. Id never seen the pic you posted and you said it went over your house and it's at a distance so I thought maybe it could've been. Not sure why you're making fun of me though. I have a lot of respect for you as a poster. But I guess it's my fault.
Not making fun of you. And it didn't go over my house. I've only ever been to the midwest twice in my life. I found the pic online. The laughing emoji was just good natured ribbing.
You're right, I knew that. Why I put 12th I'll never know. We played Auburn at Rupp that night.
Bro I know, it's why I put a laughing emoji on you asking me if I took that picture lol. Wasn't serious at all.
The NWS service survey team in charge of surveying that one are really, really good. EF-4 190 winds...just 10 mph below EF-5.
But remember that using the F scale in 1974 that's an F-5. The EF-5 scale is higher than the F-5 scale.
F5s were thought to have wind speeds of up to 300mph winds. Two have had that happen. The 1999 Moore Oklahoma tornado in which a dopler radar on wheels measured over 300 mph winds. The other was El Reno. It was dropping 318 mph vortices but was still only gave an EF3 cause the EF scale is based on only damage. That's why I'm saying that Mayfield tornado was an EF5 as it swept houses away leaving nothing but a slab of concrete. I've also read these ratings are very political.