Tornado strikes Atlanta Motor Speedway (with pics)

[Ryan McGinnis]

Yikes!

http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/media/...ive/482561.html

 

[Dick McGowan]

Saw that tonight also. Over 40 million dollars in damage from the tornado alone. May 4, 2003 KC metropolitan area tornado was within 200 yards or so from hitting the Kansas speedway.

 

[Matthew K. Hartman]

Let's just be glad there weren't 100,000 people in those grandstands when it happened.

This tornado was sighted no more than maybe 5 miles from the Indy track last year, as nearly 100,000+ people packed the grandstands for the Indy-500 running that day! Luckily the tornado turned eastward and dissipated, sparing the track and many, many lives.

Just a reminder how lucky we can all be![/img]

 

[Jeremy Lemanski]

Someone is clueless in regards to how tornadoes form: Quote from Article from yahoo sports: """""The bowl shape of the speedway helped the tornado form""""""

:?: :?: :?: :?:

 

[John Massura]

Someone is clueless in regards to how tornadoes form: Quote from Article from yahoo sports: """""The bowl shape of the speedway helped the tornado form""""""

:?: :?: :?: :?:

What's even worse is that the article on CNNSI:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/raci...y.ap/index.html seems to insinuate that the NWS were the ones that said that!

(edit) Surfed to the Yahoo story, seems it's the same one.

/boggle

 

[Matthew K. Hartman]

What's even worse is that the article on CNNSI:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/raci...y.ap/index.html seems to insinuate that the NWS were the ones that said that!

I'm hoping that's not the case, Massura! I mean, these are the people that are training our nationwide Skywarn spotters. Oh my... and we wonder why there are so many false reports each year!

 

[John Massura]

If I had to guess, I'm sure it was the journalist/story writer that butchered whatever the NWS said, or lumped the "NWS said the track was here" part into the bowl-shaped part.

In summation, I doubt the NWS actually said it.

 

[SteveCarter]

That was a horrible night. I was in Atlanta sitting at Turner field getting ready to watch the Braves/Cubs. (Cubs fan here) I knew all day the game would probably be cancelled, but the kids were SO excited, so we left South Carolina and went anyway. Turner field is about 30 miles or so north of the Speedway, and the storms were moving a little east of north. The game was suppose to start at 7:05, and at 7:01, the announcer said, "due to severe weather approaching the field, the game was cancelled". I had been watching the radar from my cellphone, and KNEW these storms meant business. We left immediately, but got stuck in the parking lot with traffic, and watched CG lightning getting closer and closer to our south. FiNALLY, we hit I-85 and booked it. Atlanta got 4.69 inches of rain from 8-10PM. So, we drove to Atlanta, paid $10 for parking, bought $60 worth of food, and wasted $160 in tickets, as we couldn't go back the next day for the rescheduled game, which the Cubs lost anyway - 8 losses in a row! One of the kids wanted to do a U-ey, and chase, the other one was petrified we were all going to die! Kinda of a memorable experience for them, even it it WASN'T because of the ballgame.

 

[Robert Dewey]

The NWS COULD have meant that the circular track/slope/etc. could have acted like a "wind tunnel" so to speak. If this was just straight line winds, they could get caught up within the track and create a small spinup, much like leaves and garbage do around buildings when it's windy outside. It really depends, did this tornado damage anything before/beyond the speedway?

Obviously a spinup shouldn't even be classified as a tornado, so either way, the report would be wrong.

 

[Jeremy Lemanski]

Tornado was a F-2 after a NWS survey.

 

[Sam Sagnella]

It really depends, did this tornado damage anything before/beyond the speedway?

Path length: 9 miles
Path width (max): 1/2 mile -- 880 yds
Fujita rating: F2
Estimated winds: 120 mph
Estimated damage: $40M

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ffc/html/pns7705.txt