Strong tornado hits Italy...

[Andrea Griffa]

Hi all,
1 hour ago a strong tornado hit Taranto, Italy devastating the second largest steel mill in whole Europe: Ilva industry. There are many injuries and few people missing. My prayers go with those who are in this big problem now.

http://www.cacciatoriditornado.it/T...ers/Il_grande_tornado_dellIlva_a_Taranto.html

 

[STexan]

Great video. No doubt a very damaging tornado. Were there tornado's forecasted for the area?

 

[Stuart Wilson]

Estofex (European STOrm Forecast EXperiment) had this area under a Level 1 threat including tornadoes

http://www.estofex.org/

 

[Jason Harris]

How often do tornadoes of this intensity hit Italy and other Mediterranean areas? Any official damage ratings coming in?

 

[Bernard Hulshof]

Nearly two weeks ago the Portuguese south coast (Algarve) got hit by a strong tornado as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJcdNHg23iI

 

[Andrea Griffa]

Tornadoes and overall tornadic waterspouts quite often hit Italy and especially South Italy in November and December.

Two past exemples:

http://www.cacciatoriditornado.it/T...agusa,_uno_dei_tornado_piu_forti_deuropa.html

http://www.cacciatoriditornado.it/Tornado,_temporali,_stormchasers/IL_TORNADO_DI_CATANIA.html


I have to admitt we always have been lucky as strong tornadoes rarely hit big cities or populated area: a recent large tornado hit Venice in June but it didn't reach populated areas with many tourists.

Yesterday we were lycky as the Ilva industry is closing in these days and 5.000 workers were at home. We could have had hundreds of deaths if they were at work while the tornado was touching down with that violence.

Moreover, we don't have any official rating for tornadoes: in the past me and some friends of mine rated the major tornadoes.

How often do tornadoes of this intensity hit Italy and other Mediterranean areas? Any official damage ratings coming in?

 

[Stuart Wilson]

Hi Andrea.


Don't we use the TORRO scale in Europe? I guess it is much better known in the UK but I'm sure it's adopted at least in Western Europe.

Here is another view of that impressive tornado filmed from a nearby school. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KojGr2y9Ubw I am impressed by the videography and how the tone of the voices in the background changes over the 2 minutes.

By the way, I concur that due to the government shutting this facility only a few days before, a major disaster was probably dodged.

 

[Andrea Griffa]

Nice video!! That sounds fine in hd!

By the way, I've seen not many people using the Torro scale in our neck of the woods, don't ask me why.

Personally I find the work you can do with the new EF Scale with DIs and DODs very simple, that's the reason why I'm using it.

Hi Andrea.


Don't we use the TORRO scale in Europe? I guess it is much better known in the UK but I'm sure it's adopted at least in Western Europe.

Here is another view of that impressive tornado filmed from a nearby school. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KojGr2y9Ubw I am impressed by the videography and how the tone of the voices in the background changes over the 2 minutes.

By the way, I concur that due to the government shutting this facility only a few days before, a major disaster was probably dodged.

 

[Jeff Duda]

Estofex (European STOrm Forecast EXperiment) had this area under a Level 1 threat including tornadoes

http://www.estofex.org/

Here's another video I found linked from the reports on that site. Thanks for sharing that link, Stuart!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzb7CXokqFU

That tornado looked very intense. Looked a lot like the Tuscaloosa, AL tornado from April 27th 2011.

 

[Andrea Griffa]

Yes Jeff, the shape reminds me too the Tuscaloosa tornado, even if the US one was much more larger.

Here's another video I found linked from the reports on that site. Thanks for sharing that link, Stuart!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzb7CXokqFU

That tornado looked very intense. Looked a lot like the Tuscaloosa, AL tornado from April 27th 2011.

 

[Andrea Griffa]

Here's another video of the tornado:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=n6H8KGK-a8o

 

[Andrea Griffa]

Just for update....Too bad the missing man is dead.... :-(

Here's a new link with an incredible footage with the canopy of a building torn away.

http://video.repubblica.it/dossier/...-ilva-un-nuovo-video-del-crollo/112402/110799

 

[Jeff Duda]

Just for update....Too bad the missing man is dead.... :-(

Here's a new link with an incredible footage with the canopy of a building torn away.

http://video.repubblica.it/dossier/...-ilva-un-nuovo-video-del-crollo/112402/110799

Given the tornado is in the near background in that video, I'd guess it had just passed nearby so that the winds that did that damage were RFD winds.

 

[Dave Gallaher]

Given the tornado is in the near background in that video, I'd guess it had just passed nearby so that the winds that did that damage were RFD winds.

It looks like the trace materials from the roof are flowing straight toward the main vortex by the end of the clip.

 

[Stephen Levine]

It wouldn't surprise me if this were rated an EF4. While looking at the videos, I also had the immediate thought that this tornado had the shape and apparent movement of the Alabama tornadoes.