3-hour Canadian Tornado?

[John Farley]

If this tornado in Manitoba was one continuous tornado, it was likely one of the longest ever in terms of time - almost as long as the Tri-State tornado, though the Tri-State track was likely quite a bit longer because it was moving quite fast.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/weath...ornado-longest-lasting-world-record/30831633/

 

[Robert Forry]

That thing had to be a beast based on Reed's and Justin's videos, and seeing the asphalt torn up like thing is a pretty good indicator of a strong tornado. It's a blessing it didn't strike any towns along its path.

 

[rdale]

Has anyone seen a formal report from their weather service? The only comments I saw from them was pre-survey and I'd like to see a formal verification of the 3 hour tour...

 

[John Farley]

It has been rated high-end EF-2, but the survey appears to be ongoing, so no word yet on whether it was one continuous path.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manit...-manitoba-gets-high-end-ef-2-rating-1.3172207

 

[joel ewing]

That thing had to be a beast based on Reed's and Justin's videos, and seeing the asphalt torn up like thing is a pretty good indicator of a strong tornado. It's a blessing it didn't strike any towns along its path.

I would assume that a myriad of variables come into play when tornadoes tear up asphalt surfaces, but in a general sense I never thought an EF-2 could tear up the road in multiple huge chunks such as in The Tornado Hunter's photograph that's attached to this article. Perhaps erroneously, I always associated that type of action from only the most extreme tornadoes.

 

[Derek E Lee]

I would assume that a myriad of variables come into play when tornadoes tear up asphalt surfaces, but in a general sense I never thought an EF-2 could tear up the road in multiple huge chunks such as in The Tornado Hunter's photograph that's attached to this article. Perhaps erroneously, I always associated that type of action from only the most extreme tornadoes.

I had read not too long ago that the asphalt wasn't attached the greatest to the bridge, however it wasn't the official survey.

The tornado did appear to be very violent though. I personally think the farms that were hit were (luckily) on the outer edges of the circulation.

 

[Robert Forry]

but in a general sense I never thought an EF-2 could tear up the road in multiple huge chunks such as in The Tornado Hunter's photograph that's attached to this article.

Yeah, Joel, I completely agree with you man. When I had commented I don’t believe the survey was completed yet by Environment Canada. Maybe this was one of those roads like we have here in Michigan that wear away on the edge from bad foundation and the constant beating by traffic, that was already giving way by the time that tornado passed. I’d be curious to see if the entire surface was scoured for a whole section of roadway like that what I’ve seen in Dixie Alley.

 

[Greg McLaughlin]

Incredible this tornado lasted so long. It takes a constant balance between buoyant RFD and a continue unabated warm inflow to maintain a tornado, and to have that balance for nearly three hours is incredible. The Tri-State Tornado was able to remain in the "sweet spot" right in front of the surface cyclone with a warm front lifting in perfect concert with the advancing parent supercell.

Here is a great paper on the Tri-State Tornado:
http://www.ejssm.org/ojs/index.php/ejssm/article/viewfile/114/88

 

[rdale]

Do we still not have confirmation of the path length/time?

 

[Matt Ziebell]

I chased the Tilston wedge and while impressive, it was at most a 26-minute tornado from my exif photo data. I saw two ominous rain-wrapped occlusions after 02z in the fading light, but none that I'd call tornadic.

Environment Canada (EC) issued a summary late that week stating it was NOT a single long-lived tornado, but as usual the media were reluctant to report this "less sensational" news. The tornado roped out while wrapping in rain, but EC never got this information. Unfortunately, someone at EC equated a 2.5 to 3-hour velocity couplet as being a tornado and the media ran wild with it, but this couplet was only the meso considering the storm's distance from the Foxwarren radar. FWIW, EC didn't find any damage beyond the Tilston area which cemented the shorter duration of the tornado.

Also, the scoured asphalt damage was not impressive when I viewed it the next morning (the chunks were displaced less than 20 feet). This occurred on a small, dilapidated bridge which already had heavy wear and tear (like many rural Canadian Prairie roads). EC did a solid job with the storm survey and the EF2 rating is legit.

 

[Matt Ziebell]

Here's an excerpt from Environment Canada's storm survey that nullifies the 3-hour tornado. They issued this July 30.

 

[rdale]

Thanks. Is the storm survey available? I wonder why EC even started off their story with the "record setting" comment...