***Official 2024 Weather Thread***

[cowgirl836]

Really depends. I think I found out about the Greenfield tornado before KCCI or WHO picked up on it by watching Ryan Hall's stream. Storm spotters are integral to alerting the news whether a tornado has been sighted. "Radar indicated" warnings only help so much, but having eyes on a situation can be immensely valuable to first responders who need to know where help might be needed most.

Yeah it's a real mix of glory chasers and serious. Similarly, I've found the weather discord to be quite useful in that they also catch some of this "before" NWS (I don't think it's quite accurate to say) but they can give context I don't hear on broadcast. Like with yesterday, there was a lot of chatter that if that cell by Red Oak got organized, it was going to be on the ground and dangerous for a long time.

 

[Koala]

Preliminary reports officially list the Greenfield tornado as EF-3

The damage looks much worse than EF-3 IMO

It could bump up to EF4 but EF3 is still no joke and it wouldn't shock me if it stayed there. An EF3 may leave your house halfway standing, but it's still going to be damaged beyond repair and you've probably lost your roof.

 

[StClone]

To be fair, the tornado was a very narrow tornado. Which is good and bad. Think of a figure skater who is spinning. If their arms are extended, they spin slowly. Once they bring their arms in and are compact, they spin faster.

So if the tornado was wider, the wind speed likely would had been lower, but more buildings may had sustained damage. But since the tornado was compact, the winds were much stronger leading to catastrophic damages, but only in a narrow path.

That is a general physical aspect of increasing speed. Another view of large well-supported tornadic formations is that they can form very wide, large tornados developing individual powerful vortices within that are essentially part of but, though separate in actions. These don't "seem" to operate as an individual spinning focus like a skater.

 

[Gunnerclone]

Preliminary reports officially list the Greenfield tornado as EF-3

The damage looks much worse than EF-3 IMO

They’ve become like the professor that refuses to give anyone an A. Time to use technology to rate tornadoes and hurricanes.

 

[JM4CY]

I guess I'd missed the news that one of the deceased yesterday was a storm chaser.

Honest question, do real weather people and local authorities find these folks helpful, or is it just weather porn for gawkers on the internet? Or somewhere in between?

Through a serious of connections, I had a convo once with a legit chaser from OK/TX. The dude was as interesting as he was weird. Clearly a very very smart guy. But he definitely had a screw loose. I assume most of the legit ones are extremely intelligent and I respect that.

 

[Turn2]

I guess I'd missed the news that one of the deceased yesterday was a storm chaser.

Honest question, do real weather people and local authorities find these folks helpful, or is it just weather porn for gawkers on the internet? Or somewhere in between?

Wonder if that was this vehicle? Casualty from the Corning vicinity.

 

[Turn2]

Wonder if that was this vehicle? Casualty from the Corning vicinity.

View attachment 129350

I guess maybe? That seems to coincide with this.

 

[Trice]

I guess maybe? That seems to coincide with this.

I'd seen the close-up shot of the car but not the wider shot of it in the field. Sheesh.

 

[Turn2]

I'd seen the close-up shot of the car but not the wider shot of it in the field. Sheesh.

Yeah, that was a long harrowing trip, no doubt. Victim ID still pending, per WHO-TV. Lone passenger.

 

[wxman1]

 

[c.y.c.l.o.n.e.s]

Yeah it's a real mix of glory chasers and serious. Similarly, I've found the weather discord to be quite useful in that they also catch some of this "before" NWS (I don't think it's quite accurate to say) but they can give context I don't hear on broadcast. Like with yesterday, there was a lot of chatter that if that cell by Red Oak got organized, it was going to be on the ground and dangerous for a long time.

I agree. These recent storms have had as many as 50 verified chasers after them.

I've been following Brandon Copic lately. He probably makes good money through PayPal, Venmo and Youtube but he is not in it just for the clicks.
In Neb. He was chasing near Blair and an emergency call came over the radio but no EMS were available. He abandoned the chase and responded to help.
Yesterday he happened to pick just the right path and was within less than a mile of the tornado down by Corning. A house had been wiped out literally seconds before he got there and he stopped to check on the family. His chase partner picked up a child with a head injury. They raced him to Greenfield only to find that they couldn't get to the hospital. Took the child to EMS and then spent the next 2 hours helping with search and rescue.

 

[RLD4ISU]

If you were building new it really wouldn't be terrible expensive to do that at ground level would it? My biggest problem would be not filling it up with stuff. It would be a great place to store important stuff though.

We’ve talked about having one that’s dual purpose - like also a closet. Not sure about the cost of ICF, but if a person had the ability to build with it, it might be worth it. https://www.foxblocks.com/blog/home-construction-built-endure-hurricanes

 

[Al_4_State]

Preliminary reports officially list the Greenfield tornado as EF-3

The damage looks much worse than EF-3 IMO

I’ve been in an F3 and the Greenfield damage looks A LOT worse.

 

[Al_4_State]

I’m from McIntire. This is probably the most publicity the town has ever had.

 

[motorcy90]

 

[Gonzo]

I’ve been in an F3 and the Greenfield damage looks A LOT worse.

Wondering if it's because it wasn't all that wide of a tornado? I have no clue how they rate them, but watching the Weather Channel this morning they had a drone up following the very clear path through town and they said even though it had multiple vortices it wasn't more than 2 or 3 houses wide based on the path of destruction. Again, I don't know if that is a consideration in rating them or not.

 

[Al_4_State]

Wondering if it's because it wasn't all that wide of a tornado? I have no clue how they rate them, but watching the Weather Channel this morning they had a drone up following the very clear path through town and they said even though it had multiple vortices it wasn't more than 2 or 3 houses wide based on the path of destruction. Again, I don't know if that is a consideration in rating them or not.

The one I was in was very narrow. Maybe as wide as a football field? It actually went right through the middle of a long pole shed and left each end standing while gutting the middle completely.

 

[FDWxMan]

Guys, the survey isn't done. EF-3 is confirmed, but still subject to change.

More in-depth examination needed to confirm EF-4 or 5 damage indicators.

Doesn't make a difference if the final rating is today or tomorrow or the next day.

Gotta cross the t's and dot the i's if your work is going to be part of official record.

 

[NWICY]

I guess maybe? That seems to coincide with this.

Crumpled up like tin foil

 

[nfrine]

Guys, the survey isn't done. EF-3 is confirmed, but still subject to change.

More in-depth examination needed to confirm EF-4 or 5 damage indicators.

Doesn't make a difference if the final rating is today or tomorrow or the next day.

Gotta cross the t's and dot the i's if your work is going to be part of official record.

The 40,000 foot debris signature would indicate the EF-3 rating will probably change.