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re: This is why the tornado grading scale needs to be changed…

Posted on 5/1/24 at 7:03 pm to
Posted by Cuz413
Member since Nov 2007
8208 posts
Posted on 5/1/24 at 7:03 pm to
TIL there's a city of Chattanooga in Oklahoma
Posted by gizmothepug
Louisiana
Member since Apr 2015
7525 posts
Posted on 5/1/24 at 7:04 pm to
quote:

Playing devil's advocate, if the science community is in agreement with the ranking based on strength and destruction, then why change it just because there was a massive tornado that didn't damage anything?


I’ll continue to trust our OT Meteorologists when it comes to severe weather.
Posted by I20goon
about 7mi down a dirt road
Member since Aug 2013
16103 posts
Posted on 5/1/24 at 7:31 pm to
quote:

This is why the tornado grading scale needs to be changed…
cuz equity... no tornado left behind. The "F" in EF is racist. Ranking them by numbers is also racist because the higher the number, the darker the cloud.
Posted by WWII Collector
Member since Oct 2018
7598 posts
Posted on 5/1/24 at 10:01 pm to
It was a beast... and slow moving. Marietta and Sulphar got it the day before.. These things are terrible...
Posted by FLTech
the A
Member since Sep 2017
17628 posts
Posted on 5/1/24 at 10:05 pm to
If they would stop fricking around with the weather then we would not be having this conversation. Oh, I must be crazy to think they frick with the weather on purpose - Dubai says “hold my beer”
Posted by Corinthians420
Iowa
Member since Jun 2022
9625 posts
Posted on 5/1/24 at 10:09 pm to
quote:

if the science community is in agreement

Does this ever happen? Haha there is often a prevailing majority, the entire community is pretty much never in agreement.
Posted by kciDAtaE
Member since Apr 2017
16556 posts
Posted on 5/1/24 at 10:19 pm to
You know what they say, if a tree doesn’t fall in the woods during a tornado, is it even a tornado?
Posted by OU Guy
Member since Feb 2022
13873 posts
Posted on 5/1/24 at 10:25 pm to
quote:

I get why he's saying it.

Playing devil's advocate, if the science community is in agreement with the ranking based on strength and destruction, then why change it just because there was a massive tornado that didn't damage anything?

It would seem to reason that giving the higher ranking due to devastation makes sense.

Why should a strong hurricane that stayed out in open water get the same ranking as a Labor Day, Camille, etc., that actually wrecked shite?


Its not a big deal to me personally. But let’s look at another angle. When looking backwards at data its important for current weather people to have data. You never know what or when that data is important but having it available can show trends.

So if you are researching how many tornadoes at F-3 and above happened in zone X, under current methods you would be missing possibly important info. Because those F3 and above in middle of nowhere were rated less and won’t show up.

With modern equipment they can determine much better the strength. With hurricanes even if one never hits land they can study the strength of each years and where/when since they rate by strength not destruction.
Posted by Pedro
Geaux Hawks
Member since Jul 2008
34783 posts
Posted on 5/1/24 at 10:36 pm to
The difference with hurricanes is they’re able to fly planes and use dropsondes to accurately measure the storms intensity. Tornados are too small and happen too quickly to be able to do that. You can’t expect an Air Force plane to be up and ready to go for every tornado that happens like what happens with mesoscale features (like hurricanes). And, as was mentioned earlier, there’s too many radar gaps to count on radar alone. You have to have something that can be consistent from tornado to tornado. Hence damage. Is it perfect for every storm? No. But what does it matter if a tornado that hits nothing is rated Ef-1 instead of ef-0 or ef-5? The nerds like the boat, rummy, and rdsdc that really want to know and study it will anyway.
Posted by Turnblad85
Member since Sep 2022
2240 posts
Posted on 5/1/24 at 10:43 pm to
I would've sucked to have been in the lone trailerhouse in the path of this beast. If you lived and when people ask you what size tornado you survived, all you could say is lame-arse EF1 and not "the most powerful tornado on record".

shite I'd say the latter
Posted by LegendInMyMind
Member since Apr 2019
59619 posts
Posted on 5/1/24 at 11:22 pm to
quote:

The tornado had a gate-to-gate velocity reading of 260 MPH. Strong circulation could be detected up to 18,000 feet above ground level. Had this thing hit civilization it would have destroyed everything in its path. Thankfully it only damaged farmland. However, due to the way tornadoes are rated, this will only be an EF0/EF1.

There was nothing on the ground to get anywhere near a sigtor, much less a violent tornado.

This......

......is a problem and a huge red flag. The Velocity data on that storm has issues.

While true that this tornado did not hit a town, thankfully, there were plenty of DIs in the damage area to survey. None of them came close.

Brett Adair's damage video.


I've watched too many tornadoes on radar that I just "knew" were violent tornadoes only to see them produce no damage near violent limits. Radar is not the end all when it comes to tornadoes (or any storm). Wind may be the aspect that is lagging farthest behind in radar understanding as it relates to ground truth.

This wasn't a violent tornado, no matter what pixels anyone picks off of a frame.

ETA:
We can look at this another way, using another controversial tornado, the 2013 El Reno tornado. It didn't get an EF5 rating because when it was at its strongest it was in an actual open field. Yet, there were still enough DIs to give it an EF3 rating. This tornado seems to have had more opportunity to create damage than the 2013 El Reno tornado, but only managed EF1 damage.
This post was edited on 5/1/24 at 11:41 pm
Posted by LegendInMyMind
Member since Apr 2019
59619 posts
Posted on 5/1/24 at 11:25 pm to
quote:

Not everything needs an official ranking or a scale, it was a catastrophic storm and it’s very sad what happened

That storm/tornado wasn't catastrophic.
Posted by DVinBR
Member since Jan 2013
13914 posts
Posted on 5/1/24 at 11:28 pm to
the ef5 tornadoes that touched down in 2011 dug trenches 2 feet deep and ripped pavement from roads

that's how you can tell if a tornado was an ef5
Posted by LegendInMyMind
Member since Apr 2019
59619 posts
Posted on 5/1/24 at 11:29 pm to
quote:

They really need 2 scales. Damage scale and strength scale.

I don't think they necessarily do at this point in time. Until we get more radar coverage, or more DOWs in the mix, a strength scale is only going to muddy the waters for the majority of tornadoes. We just don't have perfect radar coverage for every tornado-prducing storm (we never will), so for many tornadoes a "strength scale" would be at best extrapolation, and at worst outright guesswork.

And as far as the screen grab you posted, it awesome. Some of the coolest radar clips I have seen and saved have been from "low-end" tornadoes.
Posted by LegendInMyMind
Member since Apr 2019
59619 posts
Posted on 5/1/24 at 11:33 pm to
quote:

But yeah, since they can now measure the tornado then it would make sense to change the scale.

What if I told you that we can't accurately measure the majority of tornadoes using radar?
Posted by LegendInMyMind
Member since Apr 2019
59619 posts
Posted on 5/1/24 at 11:59 pm to
quote:

the ef5 tornadoes that touched down in 2011 dug trenches 2 feet deep and ripped pavement from roads

Jarrell did that, too. It ripped up yards of asphalt. This tornado was moving at a very similar speed as the Jarrell tornado.
Posted by tilco
Spanish Fort, AL
Member since Nov 2013
13762 posts
Posted on 5/2/24 at 5:18 am to
They have gone too far with the “radar indicated” and “debris fields”. I watched the news one night tell me a “radar confirmed” tornado was passing right over my buddies shop. Didn’t even blow the lid off the trash can.

They are crying wolf too much.
Posted by kook
Berrytown
Member since Sep 2013
1941 posts
Posted on 5/2/24 at 5:40 am to
It passed through my back yard and wrecked shite
Posted by SmelvinRat
Slumwoody
Member since Oct 2015
1582 posts
Posted on 5/2/24 at 5:52 am to
quote:

TIL there's a city of Chattanooga in Oklahoma



There's also a city of Miami in Oklahoma, BUT it is pronounced My-am-uh.
Posted by LSUballs
RayVegas LA
Member since Feb 2008
38304 posts
Posted on 5/2/24 at 5:58 am to
quote:

by dukke v

Mother Nature at her worst



Uh, that was the day you were conceived
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