Parkersburg, Iowa tornado rated EF5!

[Cyclenall]

That is astounding, another EF5 tornado this year after nothing for a long time before 2007. I knew this year would achieve that rating again (there might have been more Friday night that were not seen). I agree with this rating for Parkersburg.

[RL3AO]

What was astounding was the 8 year gap between the Moore tornado and Greensburg.

[Gorky]

I think that pic posted earlier was from New Hartford. In another pic of the smae home, there is a cemetary in the background and I remember a news article about the tornado hitting New Hartford near the cemetary. Someone earllier said that it shouldn't be rated F5 at the location in the pic as the walls are still standing to a certain height. Those walls are actually at Ground level, and that is the basement of the house. Other damage survey pictures show this better. I didn't see any proof of anchoring on that house because the pictures were not taken close enough. Given that EF5 damage was reported in New Hartford though, I assume this is the location. As for the Ef5 damage in Parkersburg, I am unsure which location that was assigned at looking at the survey pictures. There was a house where only the basement was left with reinforced steel rods anchoring the house snapped, but the basement extended above the level of the ground leaving a breeze wall standing around where the basement was. Despite these standing walls which might not idnicate EF5 damage I think these walls were reinforced with concrete and steel bars all around and that would probably survive EF5 winds. Again, hard to tell from these pictures. As for the school, it's lost much of the second floor at the front of the building, but only a few 1st floor walls are gone, with most external walls standing. This would put the damage at high EF3 low EF4 at the school I think. That would make sense as it was towards the edge of the tornadic circulation looking at the damage path.

It's interesting to note that EF5 damage was noted in 2 areas some distance apart. A lot of Ef5 tornadoes only get rated that level because of one small area of catastrophic damage.

[Weatherfreak14]

Wow, never would of thought it would be an EF5. But yes the damage pics do look like an EF5. Also it seems like all towns with ..burg in it watch out.

2007... GreensBURG
2008... ParkersBURG

[Gorky]

Some of the more notable survey images I've found

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/cases/ ... G_2024.JPG

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/cases/ ... G_2031.JPG

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/cases/ ... G_2060.JPG

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/cases/ ... G_2001.JPG

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/cases/ ... G_2009.JPG




More here:

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/cases/ ... rg_damage/


(Credit NWS Des Moines)

[Tstormwatcher]

Wow, thanks for the links Gorky, incredible damage.

[Cyclenall]

Wow, never would of thought it would be an EF5. But yes the damage pics do look like an EF5. Also it seems like all towns with ..burg in it watch out.

2007... GreensBURG
2008... ParkersBURG

The same with BlacksBURG Virginia with that school incident last year in April.

[RL3AO]

Wow, never would of thought it would be an EF5. But yes the damage pics do look like an EF5. Also it seems like all towns with ..burg in it watch out.

2007... GreensBURG
2008... ParkersBURG

The same with BlacksBURG Virginia with that school incident last year in April.

Not to nitpick, but it was more than an "incident".

[Cyclenall]

Not to nitpick, but it was more than an "incident".

Of course, "incident" can refer to any magnitude of an event in my vocabulary.

[Opal storm]

Some of the more notable survey images I've found

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/cases/ ... G_2024.JPG

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/cases/ ... G_2031.JPG

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/cases/ ... G_2060.JPG

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/cases/ ... G_2001.JPG

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/cases/ ... G_2009.JPG




More here:

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/cases/ ... rg_damage/


(Credit NWS Des Moines)

I can't even imagine something like that happening in my community, just to lose EVERYTHING around you in a matter of minutes. Wow. Thoughts and prayers to those affected by this.

[Sanibel]

I don't want to challenge the rating but an overhead picture today in the newspaper shows an unsual number of structures in the mid-track still standing or only partially damaged for an F-5.

[CrazyC83]

What was astounding was the 8 year gap between the Moore tornado and Greensburg.

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the 2003-04 tornadoes were underrated and should have been F5 but weren't, but the rest of the gap is real.

As for the EF5 versus standing structures, only ONE building needs to be blown away from a solid foundation for the EF5 rating, even if it is surrounded by much less damage.

[CrazyC83]

My ratings of each scene from what I see:

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/cases/ ... G_2024.JPG -- EF4

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/cases/ ... G_2031.JPG -- EF3

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/cases/ ... G_2060.JPG -- EF4/5 (depending on what that was behind that flattened house)

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/cases/ ... G_2001.JPG -- EF5

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/cases/ ... G_2009.JPG -- EF4

[Opal storm]

I don't want to challenge the rating but an overhead picture today in the newspaper shows an unsual number of structures in the mid-track still standing or only partially damaged for an F-5.

I don't know, those pictures Gorky posted are pretty convincing of an EF-5. And there's this picture, foundations wiped clean of any debris.

[CrazyC83]

I don't want to challenge the rating but an overhead picture today in the newspaper shows an unsual number of structures in the mid-track still standing or only partially damaged for an F-5.

I don't know, those pictures Gorky posted are pretty convincing of an EF-5. And there's this picture, foundations wiped clean of any debris.

Definitely EF5 damage there (in the two houses in the upper left - the upper right and bottom houses are EF4 damage) if those houses were structurally sound - they were large too...

[Category 5]

I don't want to challenge the rating but an overhead picture today in the newspaper shows an unsual number of structures in the mid-track still standing or only partially damaged for an F-5.

I don't know, those pictures Gorky posted are pretty convincing of an EF-5. And there's this picture, foundations wiped clean of any debris.

Note alot of the trees next to those foundations appear untouched. Amazing.

Certainly EF-5 damage to those homes though.

[KWT]

Yeah that plus another image on one of those links does show EF-5 damage for sure, the house is just totally gone on those upper lefthand side houses, easily EF-5 damage there, makes the rating seem a good judgement now I've seen that.

Amazing photos.

[SamSagnella]

Are those even houses in the top left? I don't see any driveway/roadway except the one leading to the main building in the center of the frame. That's amazing, though, that there is NO evidence/remnant of the buildings that once stood on those foundations -- they're just completely swept clean. yowza.

[HawkeyeGold]

I have seen much of the damage first hand. I'm no damage expert, I believe the F5 assessment but I leave that to the experts.

To the point, I have not seen the location of the last photo here in person but I do not believe it shows F5 damage, based on the fact that I believe the structures missing from the two stripped foundations in the upper left of the photo to have been pole barns or tool sheds of some variety. If you look around the edges you can see staining along the edges of the foundation which indicates to me it was not a sealed structure.

[CajunMama]

Hi hawkeyegold. Welcome to s2k. Hopefully you didn't sustain any damage and all your family and friends are ok.