• After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.

    I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.

    For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.

    From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.

    Sincerely, Jeff D.

construction practices

STurner

EF2
Joined
Nov 21, 2008
Messages
182
Location
Shawnee, KS 66217
Over the past several years NWS, scientists and engineers have been paying close attention to construction when determining the F-scale or EF-scale which was implemented on February 1, 2007. I know there have been a lot of discussions on this over the past few years and am wondering how they arrive at rating a tornado. I am no expert but I have seen damage photos of homes which were not attatched to the foundation, just straight nailed to the foundation, and homes that were anchor bolted to the foundation but with no lugs on the bolts. I actually saw a house that was a bare concrete slab but the bushes, trees, and mailbox actually seemed to take minimal or no damage. I also know there are other failures such as roof, wall, and other types etc. but maybe someone else could explain how these must be properly attached to receive a higher EF rating. Another thing I was wondering if its not always construction practices but somehow the house was flattened but some smaller objects nearby survived the direct impact of the tornado. I was wondering if this may be due to multiple vorticies or other unknown reasons. The Kansas City F4 tornado on May 4, 2003 I believe actually wiped a house completely off its foundation but left a table with dishes unscratched that was only about 20 feet away from the house. There have been a few instances where things like this had happened and I thought they may have been deserving of a higher rating. I hope to hear from some people who are more knowledgable than I am about this subject. I am considering on going to school so I will be able to rate tornadoes one of these days and know more about construction practices.
 
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