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3/2-3/3 Damage Assessment Thread


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LMK has issued the survey from the first part of the track...note that it continued east of here.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY

300 PM EST MON MAR 05 2012

...PRELIMINARY TORNADO DAMAGE REPORT FOR WASHINGTON COUNTY, INDIANA ON MARCH 2, 2012...

DAMAGE TYPE: TORNADO

DATE: MARCH 02 2012

BEGIN TIME: 250 PM EST

END TIME: 308 PM EST

EF SCALE: EF4

WIND SPEED: 170 MPH MAXIMUM

BEGIN POINT: SOUTH SIDE OF FREDERICKSBURG

END POINT: WOODED AREA ALONG S. FLATWOOD ROAD (EXTREME SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON COUNTY)

PATH LENGTH: 18.5 MILES ACROSS WASHINGTON COUNTY

PATH WIDTH: ONE-THIRD TO ONE-HALF MILE MAXIMUM (DIAMETER OF DAMAGE)

INJURIES: UNKNOWN

FATALITIES: 5

NARRATIVE: THE TORNADO FIRST TOUCHED DOWN ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF FREDERICKSBURG JUST SOUTH OF U.S. 150 WHERE SEVERAL TREES WERE SNAPPED OFF. IN THIS AREA, WINDS WERE ESTIMATED TO BE 90 MPH (EF1) WITH A DAMAGE WIDTH OF 30 YARDS ALONG THE SOUTH FORK OF THE BLUE LICK RIVER.

ADDITIONAL TREE DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED AS THE TORNADO MOVED EAST- NORTHEAST ACROSS FARMLAND. NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF HORNERS CHAPEL ROAD AND FREDERICKSBURG ROAD, A HIGH TENSION METAL POWER STRUCTURE WAS TOPPLED ALONG WITH NUMEROUS TREES UPROOTED AND SNAPPED. HERE, DAMAGE WAS ESTIMATED AS EF2 WITH 130 MPH WINDS. ALONG PALMYRA ROAD NEAR STRICKLAND ROAD, SEVERAL TREES WERE SNAPPED WITH EF1 DAMAGE 50-100 YARDS WIDE AND ESTIMATED WINDS OF 100-110 MPH. HIGH TENSION WIRES WERE DOWN AND TREES SNAPPED ALONG WEST END ROAD JUST NORTH OF SHANKS HILL ROAD.

THE TORNADO THEN TRAVELED OVER A RIDGE AND INTENSIFIED AS IT HIT STATE ROUTE 135 AT DUTCH CREEK ROAD. HERE, LARGE CHUNKS OF 3-INCH THICK ASPHALT FROM AN APPROXIMATELY 4-BY-4-YARD SECTION OF ROADWAY WAS BLOWN 10 TO 30 YARDS INTO THE ADJACENT GRASS NEXT TO THE ROAD. JUST EAST OF ROUTE 135, TREMENDOUS TREE DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED. AT THIS LOCATION, THE TORNADO WAS ESTIMATED TO BE OF EF3 STRENGTH WITH 150 MPH WINDS. THE WIDTH OF THE DAMAGE PATH ALSO BEGAN TO WIDEN, INCREASING TO 200 YARDS.

TREE AND STRUCTURAL DAMAGE WAS WIDESPREAD NORTHEAST OF ROUTE 135 AS THE TORNADO CROSSED TRAINER LANE AND THEN STATE ROAD 335 TO ROBBS LANE. THE WIDTH OF OBSERVABLE DAMAGE INCREASED TO ONE-QUARTER TO ONE-THIRD OF A MILE. COUNTLESS TREES WERE SNAPPED AND UPROOTED. THE DEGREE OF DAMAGE SUGGESTED A MIX OF EF2 AND EF3 DAMAGE IN THIS AREA, WITH ESTIMATED WINDS OF 120-150 MPH.

THE TORNADO CROSSED U.S. 60 JUST SOUTH OF NEW PEKIN. IMMEDIATELY EAST OF THE HIGHWAY, TREMENDOUS STRUCTURAL DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED. A WELL-CONSTRUCTED AND LARGE FACTORY BUILDING (AIRGO INDUSTRIES) WAS CLEARED TO ITS FOUNDATION SLAB WITH NUMEROUS ANCHORING BOLTS BENT IN THE DIRECTION OF THE STORM. DEBRIS FROM THIS BUILDING WAS OBSERVED ONE-HALF TO THREE-QUARTERS OF A MILE DOWNWIND. LARGE POWER POLES WERE SNAPPED. ANOTHER METAL OUT BUILDING ON THE RIGHT PERIPHERY OF THE DAMAGE PATH HAD SHEETING PULLED OFF THE BACK OF THE BUILDING APPARENTLY FROM THE FORCE OF THE INBOUND WINDS INTO THE TORNADO. THIS WAS THE AREA WHERE 5 PEOPLE WERE TRAGICALLY KILLED IN A MOBILE HOME. IN THIS LOCATION JUST EAST OF U.S. 60, DAMAGE SUGGESTED AN EF4 TORNADO WITH 170 MPH ESTIMATED WINDS, AND A WIDTH OF OBSERVED DAMAGE FROM 0.3-0.4 MILE.

DAMAGE CONTINUED TO THE EAST ALONG AND SOUTH OF HURST ROAD IN EXTREME SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON COUNTY. THE TORNADO CROSSED INTO EXTREME NORTHWEST CLARK COUNTY ALONG AND NEAR DAISY HILL ROAD. IN THIS AREA, A WELL-CONSTRUCTED ONE-STORY BRICK HOUSE AT THE TOP OF A SMALL RIDGE WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED WITH NO WALLS STANDING. PEOPLE ONSITE REPORTED THAT COWS WERE MISSING AND COULD NOT BE LOCATED. THEY ALSO STATED THAT THE TORNADO LOOKED LIKE A BLACK WALL AS IT APPROACHED. A HEAVY TRAILER CAB WAS BLOWN FROM THIS HOUSE TO ANOTHER DEMOLISHED BRICK HOME ABOUT ONE-QUARTER MILE AWAY. DAMAGE HERE SUGGESTED EF4 DAMAGE WITH 170 MPH WINDS.

AS THE TORNADO RE-ENTERED WASHINGTON COUNTY NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF DAISY HILL ROAD AND WILLIAMS KNOB ROAD, WIDESPREAD DAMAGE OCCURRED. THIS INCLUDED A HOME WHICH WAS TOTALLY LEVELED AS WELL AS A COUPLE OF ANCHORED DOWN DOUBLE WIDE TRAILERS. A CAR WAS DESTROYED AND TOSSED ABOUT 100 YARDS IN THE DIRECTION OF STORM MOTION FROM ITS ORIGIN AT THE HOME. AT ONE OF THE DESTROYED TRAILERS, A DODGE RAM PICKUP TRUCK WAS TOSSED ONTO ITS SIDE AND DESTROYED IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION FROM THE CAR (I.E., ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE TORNADO TRACK). HERE, EF3-EF4 DAMAGE WAS ESTIMATED WITH WINDS OF 150-170 MPH. THERE WERE ALSO SNAPPED TREES AND STRUCTURAL DAMAGE ALONG WHISKEY RUN ROAD. THE WIDTH OF THE OBSERVED DAMAGE STRADDLING THE WASHINGTON-CLARK COUNTY LINE WAS ESTIMATED TO BE ONE-THIRD TO ONE-HALF MILE WIDE, ALTHOUGH THE WIDTH OF THE MOST CONCENTRATED DAMAGE WAS NARROWER. THE LAST OBSERVED DAMAGE IN WASHINGTON COUNTY WAS NEAR S. FLATWOOD ROAD IN A WOODED AREA BEFORE THE TORNADO ENTERED CLARK COUNTY.

ACROSS WASHINGTON COUNTY, PARTICULARLY EAST OF U.S. 135, THOUSANDS OF TREES WERE UPROOTED AND SNAPPED.

DETAILED INFORMATION AS THE TORNADO CONTINUED THROUGH CLARK COUNTY AND POINTS TO THE EAST WILL BE FORTHCOMING LATER THIS AFTERNOON.

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Updated breakdown...

March 2nd:

PAH: 1

LMK: 6

ILN: 9

JKL: 3

RLX: 2

OHX: 2

MRX: 7

JAN: 1

HUN: 4

BMX: 4

FFC: 2

-----------

IN: 3

KY: 11

OH: 5

WV: 2

TN: 8

MS: 1

AL: 7

GA: 2

VA: 1

NC: 1

-----------

EF-0: 5

EF-1: 10

EF-2: 14

EF-3: 9

EF-4: 1

-----------

Total: 39

March 3rd:

CAE: 1

GSP: 1

TAE: 1

-----------

GA: 1

NC: 2

-----------

EF-0: 1

EF-2: 1

EF-3: 1

-----------

Total: 3

Overall Total: 42

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Updated breakdown...

March 2nd:

PAH: 1

LMK: 6

ILN: 9

JKL: 3

RLX: 2

OHX: 2

MRX: 7

JAN: 1

HUN: 4

BMX: 4

FFC: 2

-----------

IN: 3

KY: 11

OH: 5

WV: 2

TN: 8

MS: 1

AL: 7

GA: 2

VA: 1

NC: 1

-----------

EF-0: 5

EF-1: 10

EF-2: 14

EF-3: 9

EF-4: 1

-----------

Total: 39

March 3rd:

CAE: 1

GSP: 1

TAE: 1

-----------

GA: 1

NC: 2

-----------

EF-0: 1

EF-2: 1

EF-3: 1

-----------

Total: 3

Overall Total: 42

Not sure if you counted them but it looks like LMK just added more from Trimble county.

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I agree, that really jumps out at you. Of course this tornado is already rated an EF4, and I don't see any really compelling evidence to make it higher than that. I do think that maximum winds were likely higher than 170 mph (which I believe is what the preliminary reports were).

Check the notes I made about this from the SPC workshop this week. If there is NOT debarked shrubs, slab with remains of homes pulverized, vehicles thrown large distances or scouring of ground. The survey will not yield an EF5 rating regardless of how clean the slab is or if the DOD scale is EF5. The SPC is using Jarrell Texas as the benchmark for EF5 damage.

During the presentation, they showed NUMEROUS pics of slab tornado strikes and each one was missing the 4 criteria I just mentioned so they left the rating at EF4 on all. In fact, he mentioned that some slab remaining strikes are vaulted lift events not scoured off the foundation which gives a false sense of strength.

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Check the notes I made about this from the SPC workshop this week. If there is NOT debarked shrubs, slab with remains of homes pulverized, vehicles thrown large distances or scouring of ground. The survey will not yield an EF5 rating regardless of how clean the slab is or if the DOD scale is EF5. The SPC is using Jarrell Texas as the benchmark for EF5 damage.

Exactly, doesn't pass the eye test for me.

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Check the notes I made about this from the SPC workshop this week. If there is NOT debarked shrubs, slab with remains of homes pulverized, vehicles thrown large distances or scouring of ground. The survey will not yield an EF5 rating regardless of how clean the slab is or if the DOD scale is EF5. The SPC is using Jarrell Texas as the benchmark for EF5 damage.

Which is debatable considering that tornado was moving at like 5 mph, I don't doubt it was an F5, but this did help it inflict a maximum amount of damage on virtually everything it touched (Double Creek Subdivision most notably).

And if tornadoes aren't rated EF5 (or any other rating for that matter) based on the DOD indicators, then I'm not exactly sure what the purpose of the DOD scale is in the first place.

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Which is debatable considering that tornado was moving at like 5 mph, I don't doubt it was an F5, but this did help it inflict a maximum amount of damage on virtually everything it touched (Double Creek Subdivision most notably).

And if tornadoes aren't rated EF5 (or any other rating for that matter) based on the DOD indicator, then I'm not exactly sure what the purpose of the DOD scale is in the first place.

I can see the scale being perfect for EF0-EF4 events. But at EF5, there does need to be hard criteria. Its kind of like the EF6 question. Why isnt there an EF6? Well because after EF5, there is nothing else left to survey. So if the damage with EF5 is total, it needs to be total every time and not just scouring of asphalt or slab remaining. Wasn't it Americus GA were asphalt was scoured and it was an EF3?

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I can see the scale being perfect for EF0-EF4 events. But at EF5, there does need to be hard criteria. Its kind of like the EF6 question. Why isnt there an EF6? Well because after EF5, there is nothing else left to survey. So if the damage with EF5 is total, it needs to be total every time and not just scouring of asphalt or slab remaining. Wasn't it Americus GA were asphalt was scoured and it was an EF3?

Yeah, but I wasn't talking about asphalt scouring, since I know that was indeed the case in the Americus tornado.

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Which is debatable considering that tornado was moving at like 5 mph, I don't doubt it was an F5, but this did help it inflict a maximum amount of damage on virtually everything it touched (Double Creek Subdivision most notably).

And if tornadoes aren't rated EF5 (or any other rating for that matter) based on the DOD indicator, then I'm not exactly sure what the purpose of the DOD scale is in the first place.

The problem is that of the 28 damage indicators, exactly four have expected wind speeds greater than 200 mph based off degrees of damage. And we're relatively lucky that these include mid-rise, high-rise, institutional (i.e. hospitals, universities, etc.) and large shopping malls that have rarely been hit by violent tornadoes.

So when you see damage in these small towns where a one family house is swept clean, all that means is that expected winds were at least 200 mph and we need more evidence to suggest speeds were higher.

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I think Joplin and Hackleburg/Phil Campbell are the two best examples of the utter destruction an EF5 can unleash in the EF scale era.

Also, I think the fact that the Tri-State tornado is so widely accepted as an F5 and that it was over 40 years before the rating system for tornadoes began, is remarkable. Keep in mind that monster was moving at 60-75 mph.

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The problem is that of the 28 damage indicators, exactly four have expected wind speeds greater than 200 mph based off degrees of damage. And we're relatively lucky that these include mid-rise, high-rise, institutional (i.e. hospitals, universities, etc.) and large shopping malls that have rarely been hit by violent tornadoes.

So when you see damage in these small towns where a one family house is swept clean, all that means is that expected winds were at least 200 mph and we need more evidence to suggest speeds were higher.

Agreed.

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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...UPDATED

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH

425 PM EST MON MAR 5 2012

...UPDATED INFORMATION ON CAMPBELL/PENDLETON COUNTY EF3 TORNADO IN

KENTUCKY WHICH ALSO MOVED THROUGH CLERMONT/BROWN COUNTIES IN OHIO...

LOCATION...NEAR PEACH GROVE KENTUCKY TO NEAR HAMERSVILLE OHIO

DATE...MARCH 2 2012

ESTIMATED TIME...440 PM EST

MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF3

ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...160 MPH

MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...1/4 MILE

PATH LENGTH...23 MILES

BEGINNING LAT/LON...38.84N / -84.35 W

ENDING LAT/LON...38.90N / -83.98 W

* FATALITIES...3

* INJURIES...UNKNOWN

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO

CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT(S) AND PUBLICATION IN NWS

STORM DATA.

..SUMMARY

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON OH HAS CONFIRMED AN EF3

TORNADO FROM NEAR PEACH GROVE KENTUCKY TO NEAR HAMERSVILLE OHIO ON

MARCH 2 2012.

** UPDATED INFORMATION BELOW **

AN ADDITIONAL STORM SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED ON MONDAY MARCH 5TH TO

DETERMINE IF THE EF3 TORNADO THAT AFFECTED CRITTENDEN/PINER/MORNING

VIEW KENTUCKY WAS THE SAME TORNADO THAT AFFECTED PEACH GROVE

KENTUCKY AND ACROSS THE RIVER INTO MOSCOW AND HAMERSVILLE OHIO.

THE SURVEY FOUND THAT THERE IS A DEFINITE BREAK IN THE DAMAGE PATH

ACROSS SOUTHWEST CAMPBELL COUNTY...WHICH IS CORROBORATED BY

EYEWITNESS REPORTS SOUTH OF CLARYVILLE THAT THE FUNNEL WAS NOT IN

CONTACT WITH THE GROUND AS IT CROSSED AREAS OF SOUTHWEST CAMPBELL

COUNTY. THEREFORE...THE TWO EF3 TORNADOES ARE COUNTED AS SEPARATE

TORNADOES...AND NOT ONE CONTINUOUS DAMAGE PATH.

THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN INITIALLY IN SOUTHCENTRAL CAMPBELL COUNTY

KENTUCKY NEAR PEACH GROVE ROAD /HIGHWAY 154/ AND CROSSED FISHER ROAD

NORTHWEST OF PEACH GROVE...KENTUCKY. THE TORNADO CROSSED INTO

PENDLETON COUNTY AFTER PRODUCING HIGH-END EF3 DAMAGE ON REIS RIDGE

ROAD NEAR THE CAMPBELL AND PENDLETON COUNTY LINE. IN PENDLETON

COUNTY...THE TORNADO MOVED ACROSS MAYS ROAD PRODUCING SIGNIFICANT

AND WIDESPREAD EF2 TO LOW-END EF3 DAMAGE. THE TORNADO THEN CROSSED

THE AA HIGHWAY IN PENDLETON COUNTY...AND EVENTUALLY THE OHIO RIVER

AFTER CROSSING KENTUCKY HIGHWAY 8 IN PENDLETON COUNTY. THIS TORNADO

HIT MOSCOW OHIO WHERE EF3 DAMAGE WAS NOTED...AND CONTINUED ON THE

GROUND ACROSS CLERMONT COUNTY AND LIFTED SOUTH OF HAMERSVILLE IN

WESTERN BROWN COUNTY.

THIS TORNADO CAUSED EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO STRUCTURES AND TREES ALONG

ITS ENTIRE PATH ON BOTH SIDES OF THE RIVER. NUMEROUS HOMES WERE

VERY HEAVILY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED...WITH MANY LOSING

ROOFS...HAVING COMPLETE EXTERIOR WALL FAILURE...AND EVEN SOME

MODULAR HOMES WERE COMPLETELY REMOVED FROM THEIR

FOUNDATIONS...LIFTED...AND THROWN IN EXCESS OF 100 YARDS WHERE THEY

WERE DESTROYED.

ALSO OF NOTE ON THE SURVEY...WAS THE PRESENCE OF A LARGE AREA OF

/NON-TORNADIC/ STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS ESTIMATED IN EXCESS OF 100 MPH ON

THE SOUTHERN FLANK OF THE TORNADIC DAMAGE. THIS WAS PARTICULARLY

NOTICEABLE IN PENDLETON COUNTY NEAR PEACH GROVE. THIS WIND

DAMAGE ALSO CONSISTED OF NUMEROUS BARNS AND OUTBUILDINGS

DESTROYED...AND CONSIDERABLE HOME AND TREE DAMAGE.

THE DEGREE OF DAMAGE WITHIN THE TORNADIC CIRCULATION SUPPORTS WIND

SPEED ESTIMATES UP TO 160 MPH...NEAR THE TOP OF THE EF3 CRITERIA.

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lol...now they just released the Jefferson county part of the survey which is northeast of Clark county.  It's like they're toying with us.   :D

Well I think that means we know where the worst of the damage occurred. I mean once we heard they called in the QRT I figured we wouldn't know anything concrete until today at the earliest anyway.

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lol...now they just released the Jefferson county part of the survey which is northeast of Clark county. It's like they're toying with us. :D

Which makes me think something substantial is on the way :yikes:

Either way, this was a long-tracked violent tornado and definitely one of the worst in Indiana since 4/11/65 I'd have to think.

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I think Joplin and Hackleburg/Phil Campbell are the two best examples of the utter destruction an EF5 can unleash in the EF scale era.

Also, I think the fact that the Tri-State tornado is so widely accepted as an F5 and that it was over 40 years before the rating system for tornadoes began, is remarkable. Keep in mind that monster was moving at 60-75 mph.

Agreed. I have yet to see anyone attempt to come close to realistically debunk the rating the Tri State tornado had. But you know, you bring up a good point about forward speed as well. If Jarrell was moving at 8MPH allowing concentrated damage. Couldn't the width of the tornado at Hackleburg and Joplin be considered the same way in that the damage was so total because the winds swept the area for so long?

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Here is the Jefferson county part:

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY

415 PM EST MON MAR 05 2012

...PRELIMINARY TORNADO DAMAGE REPORT FOR JEFFERSON COUNTY, INDIANA ON MARCH 2, 2012...

DAMAGE TYPE: TORNADO

DATE: MARCH 02 2012

BEGIN TIME: 326 PM EST

END TIME: 334 PM EST

EF SCALE: EF4

WIND SPEED: 175 MPH MAXIMUM

BEGIN POINT: IMMEDIATELY NORTH OF THE 3 COUNTY INTERSECTION OF CLARK, SCOTT, AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES

END POINT: OHIO RIVER NEAR LEE BOTTOM

PATH LENGTH: 7.3 MILES ACROSS JEFFERSON COUNTY

PATH WIDTH: ONE-THIRD MILE MAXIMUM (DIAMETER OF DAMAGE)

INJURIES: UNKNOWN

FATALITIES: 4

NARRATIVE: THE TORNADO TRAVELED FROM CLARK COUNTY, INDIANA ACROSS EXTREME SOUTHEAST SCOTT COUNTY AND INTO FAR SOUTHERN JEFFERSON COUNTY. DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED ALONG AND JUST NORTH OF STATE HIGHWAY 362 NEAR THE 3-COUNTY LINE. THIS INCLUDED SEVERAL MOBILE HOMES TOTALLY DESTROYED, SEVERAL FRAMED HOUSES HEAVILY DAMAGED, TREMENDOUS TREE DAMAGE, AND POWER POLES SNAPPED AND SHREDDED. THE OBSERVED DAMAGE WIDTH WAS ONE-THIRD OF A MILE WITH ESTIMATED WINDS OF 170 MPH (EF4).

THE TORNADO TRAVELED EAST-NORTHEAST SNAPPING TREES AND POWER POLES ON COUNTY ROAD 850, AND DID ITS MOST SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE AT THE INTERSECTION OF JACKSON ROAD, STATE HIGHWAY 62, AND SWAN ROAD ABOUT 2 MILES SOUTH OF THE TOWN OF CHELSEA.

IN THIS AREA, SEVERAL WELL-BUILD BRICK HOMES WERE DESTROYED. THE HOMES HAD ANCHOR BOLTS ATTACHED TO STEEL PLATES AND A CONCRETE FOUNDATION. ONE HOUSE WAS LIFTED AND SLID 65 YARDS OFF ITS FOUNDATION WHILE MOSTLY STILL INTACT. ANOTHER HOME WAS COMPLETELY DEMOLISHED AND THROWN DOWNWIND SEVERAL HUNDRED YARDS, WITHIN WHICH THERE WERE 3 FATALITIES. THE GARAGE OF THIS HOUSE WAS DESTROYED WITH ONE VEHICLE THROWN 30 YARDS AND ANOTHER TOSSED 75 YARDS. A PIECE OF FARM EQUIPMENT WAS THROWN 200 YARDS AS WELL. A THIRD WELL-BUILT BRICK HOME HAD ITS ROOF COMPLETELY LIFTED AND THROWN OVER 300 YARDS DOWNWIND. ALSO, AN ABOVE GROUND POOL HALF FILLED WITH WATER WAS MISSING. WIND SPEEDS IN THE AREA WERE ESTIMATED AT 170-175 MPH (EF4) WITH A DAMAGE WIDTH OF ONE-QUARTER MILE.

THE TORNADO TRACKED TO THE NORTH OF PAYNESVILLE AND SOUTH OF LEE BOTTOM EXTENSIVELY DAMAGING FORESTS IN SOUTHERN JEFFERSON COUNTY BEFORE CROSSING THE OHIO RIVER INTO TRIMBLE COUNTY, KENTUCKY. THE DAMAGE WIDTH NARROWED IN THIS AREA TO ONLY A COUPLE HUNDRED YARDS.

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Agreed. I have yet to see anyone attempt to come close to realistically debunk the rating the Tri State tornado had. But you know, you bring up a good point about forward speed as well. If Jarrell was moving at 8MPH allowing concentrated damage. Couldn't the width of the tornado at Hackleburg and Joplin be considered the same way in that the damage was so total because the winds swept the area for so long?

Perhaps, although even with the larger size of them, I'd have to think that the areas they affected did not see the length of highest wind speeds that the Jarrell tornado inflicted (considering Joplin was moving at 30-40 mph and Hackleburg was racing at over 55 mph). Jarrell was still 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile wide, keep in mind.

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Here is the Jefferson county part:

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY

415 PM EST MON MAR 05 2012

...PRELIMINARY TORNADO DAMAGE REPORT FOR JEFFERSON COUNTY, INDIANA ON MARCH 2, 2012...

DAMAGE TYPE: TORNADO

DATE: MARCH 02 2012

BEGIN TIME: 326 PM EST

END TIME: 334 PM EST

EF SCALE: EF4

WIND SPEED: 175 MPH MAXIMUM

BEGIN POINT: IMMEDIATELY NORTH OF THE 3 COUNTY INTERSECTION OF CLARK, SCOTT, AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES

END POINT: OHIO RIVER NEAR LEE BOTTOM

PATH LENGTH: 7.3 MILES ACROSS JEFFERSON COUNTY

PATH WIDTH: ONE-THIRD MILE MAXIMUM (DIAMETER OF DAMAGE)

INJURIES: UNKNOWN

FATALITIES: 4

This is mostly what I was expecting to see, an increase in the maximum wind speed.

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Which makes me think something substantial is on the way :yikes:

Either way, this was a long-tracked violent tornado and definitely one of the worst in Indiana since 4/11/65 I'd have to think.

Some of the tornadoes on 4/3/74 were pretty bad too. Other than Evansville which in some ways was a fluke/bad luck, this is probably about the worst one since 1974 when you factor in the human toll and extent of the damage.

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I'm not sure why they would "skip" over the Clark county portion unless there was some discussion about whether it was an EF5.  In the end there may not be enough evidence to upgrade but I wouldn't be surprised with another increase in estimated wind speed.

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I'm not sure why they would "skip" over the Clark county portion unless there was some discussion about whether it was an EF5.  In the end there may not be enough evidence to upgrade but I wouldn't be surprised with another increase in estimated wind speed.

It might also just be the larger workload to get the PNS written up. Could be a couple reasons for it, but I think an increase in wind speed is definitely on the table.

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Some of the tornadoes on 4/3/74 were pretty bad too. Other than Evansville which in some ways was a fluke/bad luck, this is probably about the worst one since 1974 when you factor in the human toll and extent of the damage.

Good point, I always tend to forget the IN portion of 4/3/74.

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It might also just be the larger workload to get the PNS written up. Could be a couple reasons for it, but I think an increase in wind speed is definitely on the table.

True, it seems like it went through some more populated areas in Clark county.

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