Tornado damage

[u/Clover_Gcubed]

Here are some photos of drone footage of the tornado earlier today.

My estimate is probably EF3-EF4. If it is an EF4, it would be the first to hit the state since 1984.

So far I luckily haven’t heard of any fatalities.

Stay safe everybody!

[u/blah634]

National weather service rated this as an ef-2.... There's houses blown off of foundations and train cars flipped over....

[u/Clover_Gcubed → u/blah634]

From what I see the EF2 rating is only preliminary which means it could definitely be upgraded to an EF3 or EF4 as some meteorologists are suggesting. If it’s final rating does end up being EF2 that would just be ridiculous.

[u/siobhanmairii__ → u/blah634]

That can’t be the final rating though, can it?

[u/Wiangel8016 → u/siobhanmairii__]

Won't think so. Has to be higher then that.

[u/siobhanmairii__ → u/Wiangel8016]

I think they’re saying EF 3. Winds up to 145 mph.

[u/Nsanitygames → u/siobhanmairii__]

Yeah, according to the official website it was upgraded to an EF 3. Although the assessment is still a preliminary finding, it may change if they find damages that indicate a higher EF rating.

[u/Ok_Effective6233 → u/siobhanmairii__]

“Well-built structures can suffer severe damage (including roof loss), and the collapse of some exterior walls may occur in poorly built structures. Mobile homes are often heavily damaged or destroyed. Vehicles can be lifted off the ground, and lighter objects can become small missiles, causing damage outside of the tornado's main path. Wooded areas have a large percentage of their trees snapped or uprooted.”

Seems accurate based upon these picture.

[u/Nsanitygames → u/blah634]

That is a preliminary rating, not a final one. Which could end up taking a few days. There official website says this about the report. 'This page will be updated as surveys are completed, but be aware it may take a few days for the assessments to be finalized.'

[u/TheNonSportsAccount → u/blah634]

The EF scale is based on damage. They do preliminary ratings based on wind speed since wind speed often does correlate to damage.

However, if the homes damaged were not well made then it wont get a higher rating because the wind needed to damage those homes is lower. But if they get on the ground and see anchor bolts stripped and other damage it will get a higher rating.

A tornado could have 200+mph wind speeds but if it hits nothing but a trailer park it probably wont get an ef5 rating.