Anyone else fascinated by Tornadoes?

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Since I was a little kid weather has been a deep interest of mine. In our Elementary School Library was a good book on weather that I checked out over 40 times. The pictures of the tornadoes were what fascinated me the most. Since then the pictures and video’s of tornadoes are now a big business. You can take “storm chaser” vacations. People chase storms to get photos and videos of tornadoes to post on their websites. Weather shows on the weather channel have a lot of storm chaser videos. The glamorizing of storm chasing for the cable channels ended when one of their stars, Tim Samaras, was caught in an F-3 and he and two others were killed in their car they were chasing in when the storm surged in size and strength and overtook him. After that, the cable channels have really backed off the storm chasing shows.
Back to my fascination. It all started when I was 4 years old. On a Sunday in 1965, called the Palm Sunday outbreak. It didn’t do the damage around our place that it did up north. Elkhart Indiana was hit by 2 funnels that were EF-4. The picture attached to this is the first picture ever of tornadoes w/ two funnel clouds. Folks in the business of predicting storms had no idea that you could have multiple funnels from one storm. These two funnels eventually joined forces to make one very strong and big path of destruction. There was another on the ground tornado that followed a few minutes behind this giant. The many paths of touch downs are on the map in the second attachment to this post.
This storm was many hours away from where I grew up in east central Indiana, but I remember because a funnel cloud passed over our house and dropped a very large tree on top of our car. It was all very frightening for a 4 year old boy. Other trees were uprooted in the woods behind our house. This was the first time I saw first hand the destructive power of tornadoes. It is an interest that hasn’t waned all my life.
I will also put up some information about another outbreak that I witnessed in 1974. And I have done some research on the “tri-state outbreak” of 1925, that is particularly interestesting.
Feel free to post your tornado pictures and your stories. I would like to hear the storm stories from living witnesses.
I will keep posting if others find this interesting as well, if there is no interest, I can just let this one die.

[edge213]

Since I was a little kid weather has been a deep interest of mine. In our Elementary School Library was a good book on weather that I checked out over 40 times. The pictures of the tornadoes were what fascinated me the most. Since then the pictures and video’s of tornadoes are now a big business. You can take “storm chaser” vacations. People chase storms to get photos and videos of tornadoes to post on their websites. Weather shows on the weather channel have a lot of storm chaser videos. The glamorizing of storm chasing for the cable channels ended when one of their stars, Tim Samaras, was caught in an F-3 and he and two others were killed in their car they were chasing in when the storm surged in size and strength and overtook him. After that, the cable channels have really backed off the storm chasing shows.
Back to my fascination. It all started when I was 4 years old. On a Sunday in 1965, called the Palm Sunday outbreak. It didn’t do the damage around our place that it did up north. Elkhart Indiana was hit by 2 funnels that were EF-4. The picture attached to this is the first picture ever of tornadoes w/ two funnel clouds. Folks in the business of predicting storms had no idea that you could have multiple funnels from one storm. These two funnels eventually joined forces to make one very strong and big path of destruction. There was another on the ground tornado that followed a few minutes behind this giant. The many paths of touch downs are on the map in the second attachment to this post.
This storm was many hours away from where I grew up in east central Indiana, but I remember because a funnel cloud passed over our house and dropped a very large tree on top of our car. It was all very frightening for a 4 year old boy. Other trees were uprooted in the woods behind our house. This was the first time I saw first hand the destructive power of tornadoes. It is an interest that hasn’t waned all my life.
I will also put up some information about another outbreak that I witnessed in 1974. And I have done some research on the “tri-state outbreak” of 1925, that is particularly interestesting.
Feel free to post your tornado pictures and your stories. I would like to hear the storm stories from living witnesses.
I will keep posting if others find this interesting as well, if there is no interest, I can just let this one die.

Amazing picture

[Colonel26]

Wow! Wonderful picture! I love weather too, especially storms, I love watching them roll in. And then there’s the smell of rain coming in the summery, fantastic smell. There also no telling how many times I’ve watched the movie Twister!

I really got interested in college. I had to have a science with a lab, and I chose meteorology. I loved that class.

I’ve often said that when I retire I’m going to take one of those storm chaser trips.

[KleenCut61]

The Term Dead Man Walking is often Associated With Multi Vortex Tornado's , A rather Ominous Designation if there ever was one , Wicket cool Photo K.C. Besides knowing weather conditions is apart of having good survival instinct..

[kootenay joe]

Tornados are not common in Canada and don't occur at all in B.C. where i live. However i too find them interesting. I recently saw a video of a tornado lifting up a semi-trailer truck at least 100 feet up into the air and then flinging it into the distance.
When a person is caught in a tornado are they able to breathe ? Is there a pressure difference that might prevent chest expansion ? Or suck all the air out of your lungs or ?
"The Physiology of Respiration in a Tornado", likely there is such a book.
kj

[TwoFlowersLuggage]

I'm fascinated by them in the same way I am fascinated by volcanoes, hurricanes, great white sharks, diamondback rattlesnakes and crocodiles - meaning that I'm scared to death of them and I really don't even want to be in the same zip code they are.

[Railsplitter]

I don't have any pictures and I'm scared to death of tornadoes. My only experience with a tornado was in 2006 when we had two of them pass through our city. One right after the other. The strongest one was an F2 if I remember correctly.

We went down in the basement and we heard that "Locomotive Sound" that people often use to describe the sound of a tornado. We were terrified. We had no damage to our property but the F2 came within 5 blocks of our house.

Lots of damage throughout the city. Someone was watching over us.

[Kolvir]

I liked severe storms a lot more before I became a property owner. They are fascinating though. I was terrified by them through middle school or so and almost like flipping a switch, they didn't bother me anymore.

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Multi vortex tornadoes are the most dangerous. Here is a picture of a multi-vortex tornado that illustrates the “dead man walking” legend. You can see how the legend formed that if you see a dead man walking, know you are about to die. Where do you run to get out of it’s way when it’s this chaotic?
And to answer your question Roland, there are reports from people who have lived through a tornado passing directly over that they said exactly what you described, it felt like the air was being sucked out of my lungs. They also report their ears popping like on an airplane when the cabin pressure changes.
When I took physics in college, I understood better what is happening inside a tornado. We did whole sections on pressure, vacuums and lift. The pressure differential that a tornado creates in the atmosphere as it moves along the ground is one of the tornadoes secret weapons. That low pressure passing over or near an object like a house or a semi trailer can be destructive. That pressure can cause outward pressure that causes an object to expand. Then the pressure differential that causes “lift” adds to the destructive force that can blow roofs off of a house as the roof is turned into a wind foil. It’s the same pressure that makes airplanes fly. Air rushing over a curved surface causes low pressure on the curved surface which is countered by higher pressure, or lift, from the flat surface. If you have ever stuck your hand out of car window while traveling and hold the fingers tight together pointed just slightly down, then you can feel that “lift” pushing your hand up. Image that force multiplied thousands of times.
I have always wondered if there is some kind of pressure differential that affects trees in the same way? Trees just seem to effortlessly surrender to a tornadic forces. That’s a question that I haven’t seen research on.

[mrwatch]

I like the pictures and would like to photograph some. About like a Rattle Snake with a long lens. Around four years ago watching TV it sounded like a twin engine airplane landing on our road. No warnings, but one hit some four miles east of my house and traveled many miles. Lots of trees down. So how did they do the tornado in the movie Wizard of Oz? I do know.

[XX Case XX]

the F2 came within 5 blocks of our house.

That's 5 blocks too close for me...

___________
Mike

[TwoFlowersLuggage]

the F2 came within 5 blocks of our house.

That's 5 blocks too close for me...

___________
Mike

Mike - being California boys, we don't mind the Earth shaking under our feet, but we don't do tornadoes or hurricanes! Nope, nope, NOPE!

[KLJ77]

Everything I know about tornados I learned from Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton.

Seriously though...I've never been directly involved with a ground tornado, but during my Navy career, I've seen over 25 beautiful water spouts while cruising the mighty seas. Our ship came within 500 yards of one...while turning to get out of the way. The churning water made us pitch and roll for a bit. Unfortunately, the CO would not allow anyone out on deck to get photos. Some sailors were able to grab some from the bridge, but I was not able to get a 'shared' copy.

As a side note: I was on a wooden minesweeper back in 71, anchored to a buoy in Hong Kong harbor when a Cat 1 hurricane came through. It was not a direct hit, but it sure did cause that small 192 foot ship to toss about. Gave a whole new meaning to "batten down the hatches."

Didn't mean to highjack the OP...just wanted to throw out a different experience.

Here's the ship I was on at the time. USS Excel, MSO 439.

[KLJ77]

And Mark, thanks for showing the photo of the "walking dead man" tornado...I've never heard that term, and I grew up in mid Nebraska. Great topic!

[carrmillus]

........the 1936 tornado that hit tupelo and killed over 200 was at one time the 3rd worst in the u.s....I just missed it!!!!..................................... ................................

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Everything I know about tornados I learned from Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton.

Seriously though...I've never been directly involved with a ground tornado, but during my Navy career, I've seen over 25 beautiful water spouts while cruising the mighty seas. Our ship came within 500 yards of one...while turning to get out of the way. The churning water made us pitch and roll for a bit. Unfortunately, the CO would not allow anyone out on deck to get photos. Some sailors were able to grab some from the bridge, but I was not able to get a 'shared' copy.

As a side note: I was on a wooden minesweeper back in 71, anchored to a buoy in Hong Kong harbor when a Cat 1 hurricane came through. It was not a direct hit, but it sure did cause that small 192 foot ship to toss about. Gave a whole new meaning to "batten down the hatches."

Didn't mean to highjack the OP...just wanted to throw out a different experience.

Here's the ship I was on at the time. USS Excel, MSO 439.

Glad to read about your experience with the waterspouts and hurricanes. It’s the same physics and dynamic forces at work. Some yahoo has a video of him taking his pretty small craft right to the edge of a waterspout and getting in close, too close. They survived without damage, but that’s a foolish thing to do. A ship that size could have been tossed in the air hundreds of feet and no one would have lived to tell the tale. The ship you were on was probably safe enough to go through it but I wouldn’t chance it. Biggest danger for a big ship is being capsized by the wind. I think your captain was right in making everyone stay below deck. When it comes to tornadic activity, avoidance is your best bet.
Here is a picture of a waterspout. They usually have very defined structures because the water tends to highlight the vortex.

[Sharpnshinyknives]

I mentioned the Tri State tornado of 1925. It still remains the countries deadliest and most destructive tornado of all time. This tornado was on the ground for over 3 1/2 hours. Covered a distance of 219 miles, had a forward speed of between 60 and 70 miles per hour and was rated an F5 based on the damage that it caused. This tornado took the lives of 695 people in the states of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana and injured over 2000 others. In the town of Murphysboro Illinois 188 people were killed immediately and another 46 died of injuries later by this tornado and this once thriving coal mining town was practically scrubbed from the earth. Wikipedia has a very good synopsis from start to finish on this tornado. Here is the link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri-State_Tornado.
This tornado was a mile wide at times and was seen with multiple vortexes at times as well. Whether it was a single tornado or a family of tornadoes that sprang from this system is unimportant. The result was the same, 219 miles of destruction, towns wiped out and hundreds dead. Some schools that were hit lost dozens of children, one had 33 killed in one school alone. This all happened so long ago that many don’t even know about this. If you are interested in storms, this one was one for the record books.
If you search on the web, you can find some first hand accounts of this event that are still out there. One person documented the entire path of this tornado and even retraced it across three states and could still see damage from this event. I’m sure there are families that were devastated by this as well who have written accounts. Several people were never identified after this and some disappeared and have never been found. The sheriff in one town was sweep up in the vortex and he has never been found to this day.
Something like this today would be recorded and photographed but there are no photos of this tornado on record. All that you can find are pictures of the devastation like these.

[Sharpnshinyknives]

........the 1936 tornado that hit tupelo and killed over 200 was at one time the 3rd worst in the u.s....I just missed it!!!!..................................... ................................

I had forgotten about that one. It was a bad one. Similar destruction as the Tri State 1925 tornado. F5 with total destruction in many places. Many pictures of the aftermath. Here is one.

[carrmillus]

..where the pole is standing, to the left are some people, about 2 blocks left of them is where my folks house WAS!!!.............. ............

[carrmillus]

...btw, at the bottom center is a set of concrete steps, they are still there!!!...... .........

[TwoFlowersLuggage]

You guys that live in tornado alley have both my respect and my sympathy - I couldn't do it.

I was in Oklahoma City in 1999 about 2 weeks after the EF5 hit there. The damage was absolutely crazy. There was a big store (I think it was K-Mart or Walmart) where the tornado had just kissed the side of the building and stripped all the facade & paint completely off that side. I saw an extended cab pick-up truck that had a full-size motorcycle literally stuck cross-ways inside the cab, with the front end of the motorcycle on the driver's side of the cab and rear wheel on the passenger side of the cab. It looked like a big kid had decided to jam his toy motorcycle into his toy truck. Entire neighborhoods of big homes were literally just a pile of broken bricks and sticks.

The best way I can describe what I saw was that it looked like a giant eggbeater had touched down and run randomly around the city.

eggbeater.jpg (11.78 KiB) Viewed 2036 times

[Sharpnshinyknives]

So where those steps are use to be a complete house? It must have been a direct hit on that if it was. I’m surprised I pulled a picture that you would recognize so clearly.
What a tragic story of those people who lived near Gum Pond. Whole homes blown into the water with the inhabitants inside. Never cease to be amazed at the destructive power of these things.
Elvis Presley lived here at this time as well, he was only 15 months old.
One family of 13 was wiped out completely. Copy of the article included, very sad.

[carrmillus]

.........that picture of the high school is directly north of my folks house,just across the street, only thing left of it was the stone fireplace and part of the chimney!!!.......... ..................

[edge213]

So where those steps are use to be a complete house? It must have been a direct hit on that if it was. I’m surprised I pulled a picture that you would recognize so clearly.
What a tragic story of those people who lived near Gum Pond. Whole homes blown into the water with the inhabitants inside. Never cease to be amazed at the destructive power of these things.
Elvis Presley lived here at this time as well, he was only 15 months old.
One family of 13 was wiped out completely. Copy of the article included, very sad.

Interesting pictures and thread.

[Mumbleypeg]

I have kinfolk living in and near Joplin MO. I was there a few days after the EF5 class tornado in May 2011. It was shocking. Click pictures to enlarge for full effect. Fortunately no one in my immediate family was harmed or had property damage. An uncle (married to my mother’s sister) had a sister-in-law living in a nursing home which was demolished. They never found her.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Joplin_tornado

Ken