Strong tornado hits Italy...

It fascinates me that your area so frequently gets strong tornadoes. What synoptic setup typically occurs that sets the stage for these mega-storms? It's almost like you live in a mini-tornado alley there..

Andrea Griffa said:
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.
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Stephen Levine said:
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.
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My first thought when I saw the initial videos was, That looks like Tuscaloosa. Same crazy hydra-like vortices, though not as many or as pronounced. It's interesting to see that a number of others here had that same reaction.
 
Guys, this is absolutely the most incredible video: if you are friend of mine in FB you can see it.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=301472576631870

Stephen, I'm full of damage photos and it's incredible but I cant't find DIs with DODs that can recall to a damage more than EF2...
Anyway we must admitt that house structures indicated in EF Damage Indicators are quite different from the Italian ones. Italy houses are built in a more solid way than Plains houses and it's not simple to make a rating referring to those DIs.
I try to find other DIs as Light poles, hard and soft woods, free standing towers, gas stations, industrial warehouses...


Yes, Italy gets at least 100 waterspout every year and some of those are mesocyclonic especialy in autumn. In summer we have some tornadoes, but not more than 10 every year. One time every 2-3 years we get a strong tornado.

Just look at the sounding and at the LLJ..Absolutely powerful.

http://www.cacciatoriditornado.it/T..._a_Taranto_files/2012112812.16320.skewt_1.jpg
 
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Wow. Risky business. Among the videos of this tornado, I noticed that several of the videographers were quite close, with a couple-three of them continuing to shoot as the tornado bore down straight at them. Do people not realize they can get killed?

The low levels on that sounding are just nuts. Rather meager instability evidently kept that thing from going extreme. I can't help but wonder what would have happened if CAPE had been higher, but it's just as well for Taranto that we didn't get to find out. It is interesting to note that the strongest low-level winds coincided with the fattest CAPE, where presumably parcel acceleration was most vigorous.
 
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Too bad you're right Bob...Among the most part of the italian population we have a stupid culture that tornadoes happen only in US and in Italy we have only small ones (that is: only in USA there are tornadoes. In Italy those are smaller and are called "trombe d'aria" LOL). That's the reason why they underestimate every time the hypotethical tornado coming right at them.

Coming back to the sounding, yes the low levels are amazingly nuts: 60 kts at 850.
Nice observation about the "fat cape": that could have represented the right source of low level localized buoyancy so as to face the strongest LLJ without breaking the towering cumulus.


Bob Hartig said:
Wow. Risky business. Among the videos of this tornado, I noticed that several of the videographers were quite close, with a couple-three of them continuing to shoot as the tornado bore down straight at them. Do people not realize they can get killed?

The low levels on that sounding are just nuts. Rather meager instability evidently kept that thing from going extreme. I can't help but wonder what would have happened if CAPE had been higher, but it's just as well for Taranto that we didn't get to find out. It is interesting to note that the strongest low-level winds coincided with the fattest CAPE, where presumably parcel acceleration was most vigorous.
Click to expand...
 
Bob Hartig said:
Wow. Risky business. Among the videos of this tornado, I noticed that several of the videographers were quite close, with a couple-three of them continuing to shoot as the tornado bore down straight at them. Do people not realize they can get killed?
Click to expand...

This is no different than how Americans act. If people who live in the regions where tornadoes are most common don't display some sort of intelligent judgment regarding their safety, why would you expect those who only see tornadoes on YouTube, or those living in regions where tornadoes are much less frequent, to act any differently?
 
I agree with you, Jeff. My statement--which isn't so much a question as a reaction--could just as easily apply to Americans. I think of a YouTube video I saw of the approaching Henryville tornado last March that documented an unfolding tragedy. A married couple stood at their picture window, the wife videotaping as the tornado drew closer, her husband commenting nervously. Had they used that time to get in their car and drive just half a mile south (which opens up another conversation that I won't get into here), the woman's husband would still be alive today and the woman could still probably have gotten some great video. It was a sad story, and I wonder how often it is repeated.
 
Andrea, every spring, the NWS, local, and national media launch a sort severe-weather-awareness season to raise public awareness (and ideally, public intelligence). While the concern may not be as great in your country, does Italy take any measures to educate the public about tornadoes and severe weather?
 
Bob Hartig said:
I agree with you, Jeff. My statement--which isn't so much a question as a reaction--could just as easily apply to Americans. I think of a YouTube video I saw of the approaching Henryville tornado last March that documented an unfolding tragedy. A married couple stood at their picture window, the wife videotaping as the tornado drew closer, her husband commenting nervously. Had they used that time to get in their car and drive just half a mile south (which opens up another conversation that I won't get into here), the woman's husband would still be alive today and the woman could still probably have gotten some great video. It was a sad story, and I wonder how often it is repeated.
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Sorry. I didn't mean to insult you or sound fiesty. I wrote this early in the morning and I haven't been feeling well lol. When it comes down to it, I have the same reaction as you do, asking myself rhetorically if people realize they could get killed. I frequently think the same thing while out on a chase and contemplating a risky move (like trying to cut in front of a rotating wall cloud to get to the better road option).
 
No, Bob, there's nothing about that in Italy. The only effort made in the past in order to educate people to severe weather dangers has been made by me and some friends of mine back from 2005 till today. I think this is a lack of our culture that doesn't keep in a right consideration tornadoes and storms.

Bob Hartig said:
Andrea, every spring, the NWS, local, and national media launch a sort severe-weather-awareness season to raise public awareness (and ideally, public intelligence). While the concern may not be as great in your country, does Italy take any measures to educate the public about tornadoes and severe weather?
Click to expand...
 
That doesn't surprise me. Tornadoes simply aren't very common in Europe. Why then spend the money on increased public awareness? There are probably many things more important than tornadoes for governments and private agencies to give effort.
 
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