Most Impressive or Strongest Tornado of the Last 20 Years?

[Dick McGowan]

Back to the Topic.

I voted for the Andover as well, watching it over and over from Western KS, shortly after I moved to Kansas. It still gives me chills watching it.

 

[Glen Romine]

Originally posted by Andy Wehrle
and I believe this was considered as one of the deciding factors to rate it F3 instead of F4.

I doubt it - and would hope that you are wrong. The damage assessment should be based on the level of damage, not a guess as to the strength and duration of winds.

Glen

 

[Pat Lawrence]

Originally posted by Glen Romine

I doubt it - and would hope that you are wrong. The damage assessment should be based on the level of damage, not a guess as to the strength and duration of winds.

Glen

I agree..it's kind of like saying it did F3 damage for most of it's track with the exception of F5 damage in a few areas..the tornado must have loitered over the F5 damage areas for a while...so in conclusion we will give it an F3 rating and ignore tthe F5 damage, caused by loitering, altogether.

Pat

 

[Shane Adams]

Originally posted by Pat Lawrence+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pat Lawrence)</div>

<!--QuoteBegin-Shane Adams

I'm pretty sure Tim Marshall is one, but I can't be for certain. I just know I've been in conversations when Jarrell was brought up, only to have others downplay the tornado intensity due to little or no movement, and the "grinding down" of the same structures for several seconds.

Thanks, Shane.

I was mainly interested in what caused them to arrive at this conclusion...could it be tornado loitering? Would be interesting if this is so as the Jarrell tornado performed some amazing, albeit destructive, feats!

Guess most can thank their "lucky stars" most tornadoes move right along, regardless of strength

Pat[/b]

The knock on Jarrell is that it caused the extreme F5 damage because it sat over the same areas for a long time, just grinding things down, as opposed to containing true F5 windspeeds and just moving through the area. I understand the argument, but like someone else mentioned, this theory doesn't explain how all the debris was evacuated from the scene.

I don't believe an F1 tornado sitting over the same house for five minutes would cause F3 damage. By the same token, I'm convinced Jarrell was an F5 because it had F5 caliber winds, not because it sat and grinded. But I'm no wind engineer.

 

[Kevin Bowman]

has to be the Moore Tornado, it had OMG written all over it.

 

[Mike Kay]

I should note that the Edmonton tornado in 1987 is impressive not only for its severity (which was one of the few F4 tornadoes reported in Canada), but also that it was the farthest north that an F4 has ever been reported having occured. (about 53°34' N - as far north as the Aleutians in Alaska!) For those not familiar, that's the one in my avatar.

 

[Alex Lamers]

http://webserv.chatsystems.com/~doswell/Ou...ages/3may99.jpg
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/storms/1999050...ge/mb990118.jpg
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/storms/1999050...ge/mb990310.jpg
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/storms/1999050...ge/mb990316.jpg (yes believe it or not thats a railroad car)
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/storms/1999050...mage/kjdam3.jpg

and that my friends is why I picked the Moore OK tornado.

...Alex Lamers...