Favorite/most memorable tornado you have personally seen in each EF rating

James Wilson

James Wilson

EF5
Joined
Jan 16, 2009
Messages
762
Location
Kansas City
Let’s see your favorite/most memorable tornado you have personally seen in each EF rating possible. In my case it is 5-0.

Mine (top to bottom / left to right)
EF-5 = Moore Oklahoma 2013
EF-4 = Wayne Nebraska 2013
EF-3 = Dodge City 2016 (Three on ground at one time)
EF-2 = Wray Colorado 2016
EF-1 = Linwood KS 2009 (First solo chase)
EF-0 = Eads Colorado 2015

EF Rating.jpg

I wanted to say El Reno for EF-3 as it was memorable but Dodge City was my choice.
 
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Here I go... I have a few memorable twisters here... I never saw most of them to be honest but they did come close to me (I lived in East Tennessee most of my life).
EF-0- Went through a popular fishing spot right near the apartment where I lived in 2011. I didn’t see it, but I saw the track mentioned in report and recognized the location a few years later.
EF-2- Greenback, happened at around 2:30 am one morning in April 2010. Woke up several people I knew in the area, and my classmates talked about being woken up by the tornado.
EF-3- Greenback again, middle of a night in March 2011. Back to back tornado.
EF-4?/EF-5?- Great Smoky Mountains, closest violent tornado to my home, about 15 miles from apartment I lived at that time. (It’s official rating by NWS was EF-4 but remain uncertain if it was actually EF-5 as suggested by researchers involved in study because it only hit trees and one truss tower)

I didn’t have EF-1 on my list as most memorable at this moment
 
The ones I can think of off the top of my head real quick-

EF0- Bushland, Texas April 20, 2010
EF1- Randall County, Texas October 17, 2007 (my first tor)
EF2- Texline, Texas/rural NM May 23, 2010
EF3- El Reno, Oklahoma May 31, 2013
EF4- Haven't seen one.
EF5- Moore, Oklahoma May 20, 2013
 
I don’t have a great recollection of details, but three stand out for different reasons. The first tornado I saw for sure, I watched from the roof while I was at work. It was around 1990 and I was stunned as it dropped down and looked just as I had always imagined it would. I stood there on the roof staring at the beautiful twister under a rain free base for about ten minutes. I came down and told my coworkers about it, but they just laughed at me until they saw it on the news. Date? EF?
The second most memorable one for me was around ten years ago on my first trip to the Southern plains. We were somewhere around Wichita following a storm when we came upon several vehicles parked along side the road. My brother was driving and I had my face stuck to a map looking for an Easr running road. When we turned onto that road we finally saw what the people parked along the road were looking at. A tornado was roping out not more than 200 yards from us! Somehow we had failed to see it until then. It was my first Southern plains tornado. Date around 2007. EF?
The third one that stands out was Dodge City last year. I had been battling a serious illness and wasn’t sure at that point if I was going to have any more storm chasing trips left in me. Watching that slow moving storm drop one after another and three at a time really made it a special time for me. Date 5-2016. EF3.
Sorry for the lack of EF ratings and dates, but I’ve never documented things. Those three are all special to me though for different reasons though.
 
James, thanks for kicking this one off.

Most memorable to me:

EF-0 = Moscow/Grady, Arkansas — 13 March 2016
Never thought I'd catch one in Arkansas, much less one that was as clear and spectacular as it was.

EF-1 = Bowdle, South Dakota — 22 May 2010
My first tornado and with the menace of that storm, it will always be vivid. We got behind after that first touchdown and didn't catch the EF-4 wedge just after.

EF-2 = Dodge City, Kansas — 24 May 2016
This was the second major tornado that day and like getting to shoot Rozel over again after learning from a bunch of shooting limitations in 2013.

EF-3 = Dodge City, Kansas — 24 May 2016
The first tornado of the day and fantastic view from storm formation to wall cloud to touchdown and several minutes watching its turbulent life cycle.

EF-4 = Solomon-Abilene-Chapman, Kansas — 25 May 2016
Best chase ever, winding up with a perfect vantage as it tracked north of Abilene.

EF-5 = None.

img20160525-IMG_7973-Edit_1280px.jpg
 
@Jeremy Perez you are welcome! I have to believe that the Chapman tornado was EF-5 at some point ... just too much open area out there.

Nice list guys ... I have a feeling El Reno will be a popular selection too as that was memorable for many reasons though it was not my favorite to watch.
 
@John Farley What was the elevation of that Chama NM tornado? I know where are a lot of mountains in that area.


Good choice on the DDC one ... was awesome to see. I was a bit too far back to really see the dancing vortices well however.
3.jpg
 
F0: Dwyer, WY - May 16, 2000
[Broken External Image]:http://www.passiontwist.com/51600tornado2.JPG


F1: Minco, OK - May 3, 1999
[Broken External Image]:http://www.passiontwist.com/5399tornado8m.jpg


F2: Rice, TX - October 24, 2010
[Broken External Image]:http://www.passiontwist.com/102410b.jpg


F3: Mulvane, KS - June 12, 2004
[Broken External Image]:http://www.passiontwist.com/61204tornado2.JPG


EF4: Rozel, KS - May 18, 2013
[Broken External Image]:http://www.passiontwist.com/51813tornado.jpg


F5: Bridge Creek, OK - May 3, 1999
[Broken External Image]:http://www.passiontwist.com/5399tornado1.JPG
 
Last edited by a moderator:
EF-0: South Haven, KS - 5/19/13
EF-1: Curran/Springfield, IL - 3/15/16
EF-2: Bradshaw, NE - 6/20/11 & Litchfield, IL 4/19/11
EF-3: NA
EF-4: Wayne, NE - 10/4/13 & Rochelle, IL - 4/9/15
EF-5: Moore, OK - 5/20/13
 
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