Hallam Storm path Pics

[Kurt Silvey]

While returning home from my recent SE NE bust, I suddenly came across a path of twisted and shredded trees, both to my left and right. As the trees disappeared into my rearview mirror, it suddenly dawned on me where I was at, HWY 15 NE of Dayken, NE. (See map below for location). I hit the brakes, made a U-turn and went back to take a closer look. This was the spot where the Hallam tornado crossed HWY 15 approximately 8 mi from its origination point. On the map they have the tornado listed as an F0 at this point, but it sure did a lot of damage. The first pic below is looking NE the next two are to the SW. There was a brick farm house less than 2 tenths of a mile to the north. Nobody was around, so I could not talk to anyone, but it appeared the house and out building were unscathed. Other than the trees you could not tell the tornado had passed through. I don’t know if they replanted the fields or not, but there was no sign of damage to the crops. It was still a bust day, but this took the edge off and made the ride home a little better.
[Broken External Image]:http://members.cox.net/ksilvey/hallammap.jpg
[Broken External Image]:http://members.cox.net/ksilvey/Damage_NE1.JPG
[Broken External Image]:http://members.cox.net/ksilvey/Damage_SW1.JPG
[Broken External Image]:http://members.cox.net/ksilvey/Damage_SW2.JPG

 

[Bob Schafer]

There is a tendency for us chasers, IMO, to get blase about "weak" tornadoes, but even an F0 can cause pretty good damage.

Furthermore, my understanding is that tornadoes don't get much of a rating unless they affect man-made structures, generally.

That damage looks like more than F0 to me (had it struck a farmhouse), but that doesn't make the rating wrong. It's the interpreter's job to understand what the rating means, not the survey team's job to compensate. (Nor should they.)

It's yet another reminder to respect the wind.

Bob