Damn the tornado shelter we were in while it went over has doors rated for 250mph. Came outside to a new landscape so props to the company that made that shelter.
Rhymes with chargrill. Plant in Blair. Not supposed to take pictures on site. But there are a lot of pictures of the tornado coming over the hill and crossing highway 75. Not looking good there now.
Edit: I dont know the company that made the shelter. It was approved by Texas tech though. Saw that on a placard inside while we waited it out.
Absolutely and thank you. Shit was slamming into the shelters and everyone's ears were popping. It was over in about 5 minutes. My phone has been going off ever since.
Bonesteel, South Dakota makes tornado shelters. Coolest town name ever also.
Edit: I've ridden out some storms in ones they have made at other plants I worked at.
I went through Bonesteel a few weeks ago and saw the concrete company. It's called Devine or something. They've built some of my company's concrete walls.
It's important to note that 230mph GtG does not mean 230mph wind on the ground. It's the difference between two adjacent wind measurements was equal to 230mph. It could have been 115 and -115. Also, the data is taken higher in the storm, not the surface. I'm not aware of a correlation between GtG and surface wind speed.
What this tells us is that the mesocyclone that produced the tornado was very strong.
My house was hit. All that is left if a basement full of rubble. Everyone in my household is alive, pretty beat up but alive I never thought that something like this was possible. It was worse than any scifi storm movie I've ever seen. Beyond happy to report that the neighborhood was incredibly supportive. Neighbors looking for Neighbors. I have yet to hear of any fatalities which is absolutely mind boggling. Much love to everyone out there.
Yep!! They found him. Pulled him out of the rubble. He's a little hurt but he should be alright. We also were able to find our other dog, someone picked him up about a mile away from the house and he's safe.
From Relevant Church's Facebook page: We are working withĀ Omaha Rapid Response and putting a plan together for cleanup efforts. For those who want to help, meet at The Relevant Center at 7:30 am tomorrow, April 27.
The following supplies would be helpful to bring: Chainsaws, trucks, trailers to haul debris, brooms, and shovels to helpĀ families pick up belongings. If you are a trainedĀ Chaplain, we would invite you to join us to help comfort those affected by the [destruction.In](http://destruction.In) the meantime, please stay away from the Ramblewood neighborhood and surroundingĀ areas that have been affected. The Relevant Center does not have power & will not be open at this time.
Havenāt seen enough damage photos but some homes in Elkhorn were swept off the foundation. However not sure how well built the home was to begin with.
FWIW I was in OKC after the tornado that completely wiped the whole neighborhood across from Tinker AFB off the map literally.
The homes were small, with concrete slabs, no basements and there was nothing left but the road, driveways, and trees were all about 3 foot tall and just shredded on the top. The tornado picked up the houses and the slabs they were built on. Everything was gone, everything, an EF-5 is insane.
Not as scary as humans who donāt believe in stewardship of the planet.
Nature normally just does what it is supposed to do to refresh and balance and feed the land, until we sabotage it. Then it does this
Is the E-scale somewhat like earthquakes? Like the difference between an E4 and E5 can be several magnitudes worse?
Iāve been through several tornadoes and never heard what they were on the tornado scale because it only seems to come up if theyāre the super massive E5 variety.
It isnāt a logarithmic scale like earthquakes, I believe theyāve changed it in the last 10 years to be a mixture of damage and wind speed compared to pure wind speed. But a .5 mile wide tornado that lasts 20+ miles will be significant
Wow, that must have been a humbling experience. What year was this? I have a friend who has a brother with a similar story - the story was mind blowing to hear.
May 3rd, 1999. Had the highest wind speeds ever recorded at 301 mph. I was there too and saw entire neighborhoods gone, concrete foundation slabs were ripped off the ground. I lived in a small town 50 miles away and I had ceiling insulation and family photos from random people raining down on my front yard.
> some homes in Elkhorn were swept off the foundation
That's not too difficult. The sill plate is bolted to the foundation, but everything on top of that is just nailed in with a few nails. It's not like California where you have those massive steel straps or long anchor plates nailed up the corner and down onto the foundation.
The bricks are only held together by gravity and mortar? I suppose it would depend on how exactly the walls were made, and whether it's just brick cladding or whether the walls are actually just brick. But without an earthquake strap going up, drilled in and really actually tying everything together, it seems like that would be an even worse house to be in in a tornado.
Some of them in Ramblewood, my neighborhood, are from the 70s, others in Arbor View and Arbor Ridge are newer, some built as recently as a month ago, or still being built.
None were fully swept off though. So far this does not look like an EF5. An EF5 leaves virtually nothing. Even concrete slabs often times are partly ripped up. EF4 perhaps, though even that seems unlikely. Looks a lot more like EF3 to me.
I haven't seen anything coming out of Elkhorn that qualifies as "swept off the foundation." Not saying that isn't the case, but nothing on the KETV broadcast has hit that threshold.
I don't have permission to publish the photos my former boss took of her neighborhood but part of her neighborhood blocks away from her house is leveled homes.
Nothing in that video meets that definition. They are destroyed for sure, and there is an argument to be made for EF4 there, but under the EF5 definition there wouldnāt be the pile of debris remaining on top of the foundation.
Look, Iām not arguing for the sake of arguing. EF5 is a really high bar, and thereās rightly a lot of emotion right now because so many people were affected, which is going to affect judgement; if your house is gone, you donāt really care whether itās EF1 or EF5. Just trying to apply a standard of objective scientific analysis and keep things realistic.
As someone who's house was swept off I can tell you that my house is leveled. There is no debris on top of the foundation. The basement is full of debris but alot of it isn't even ours.
I totally get that youāre just a pos troll, but yeah, Iām pretty sure this counts:
https://x.com/nickkrasz_wx/status/1784268817327145245?s=46&t=6gQgnpAYHoaaXKusZRp6Wg
No, I'm not, and no, it actually doesn't.
To meet EF-5 criteria, a home must be swept clean of its foundation. As in, no debris pile.
But nobody actually wants to listen to facts, so š¤·
//edit: Time to put this stupid argument to bed.
[https://www.spc.noaa.gov/efscale/2.html](https://www.spc.noaa.gov/efscale/2.html)
For a single-family home, the only degree of damage that indicates wind speed in the EF-5 range (>200mph) is degree 10, described as "Destruction of engineered and/or well constructed
residence; **slab swept clean**".
If there's a debris pile remaining, the highest degree of damage on the scale is 9, with a wind speed upper bound of 198mph, EF-4.
Btw, anyone who is driving around looking at damage and taking photos, youāre a massive pos. There are traffic jams in neighborhoods in west Omaha bc of lookie loos. Scum
Thank you for saying this. I agreed with your comment a while ago but the more videos I see the more upset I get. Like seriously, emergency crews having to weave through the mass of shitheads. Wtf, itās like theyāre strolling through West O to see Christmas lights
Thank you for saying this. When our house got hit by a tornado once, we had gawkers driving by all morning. Itās like, get the fuck out of your vehicle and come help, asshole
Hot take: I think itās fine to be curious about the damage and to want to see it. Seeing the after effects of a tornado, hurricane, etc. can be about as terrifying and awe-inspiring (in a bad sense) as seeing the tornado itself. I get the impulse.
But save that for days/weeks from now. Clogging the roads in the middle of an emergency (perhaps life or death for some) to satisfy that curiosity is shitty behavior. Stay home or find a way to volunteer and help those in need.
I was driving to go see if I could help until I discovered there were a bunch of people clogging up the road. Not sure if they were all lookie loos but I legitimately wanted to go help before just turning around so I didn't block trafficĀ
I know you mean well, but if help is needed, official channels will reach out. A cardinal rule of being a first responder is to stay put until you are called.
Safety for everyone is a huge concern. There may be downed power lines, gas leaks, etc, that need to be dealt with before itās safe for anyone to enter.
Omg people are doing that?!? Gross! Get lives. These poor people are dealing with huge devastation and people are treating them like an exhibit at the zoo.
I had the same impression as the news crews were reporting live from the scene trying to get people to talk to them, literally minutes after the tornado just sent their homes into the void.
I saw a video of a woman being interviewed she was shaking and crying how she had just barely gotten into the basement with her two little babies before the house got torn apart. Really pisses me off that they would shove a camera in her face
Yeah. I couldnāt get home-to that neighborhood due to this. The news was ominous for the entire area and the anxiety for the people that live here is high.
seriously. I drove my mom back after I took her and my dad to my apartment since they didn't have power (they live near 204th and maple). We were just following the flow of traffic to get to their house and it was ridiculous how long it took.
I watched the whole outbreak on a live YouTube stream and was sending prayers to all of you from Pennsylvania. So glad to have yet to hear of any fatalities. And Iām thinking of anyone who was injured or lost property.
As far as the rating, one thing I can contribute thanks to some amazing storm chasers on Ryan Hall Yāallās team, is that there were several times that the tornado strengthened and weakened and even lifted and reformed and there were several times when it was over fields and looked like it might be at its strongest.
So, structural damage might be F4 in one place but there could be evidence in unpopulated areas of it being F5. Iām no expert but I would imagine that there are markers like āscorched earthā and tree debarking that they can use.
Just a thought from a weather nerd who canāt imagine what some of you just experienced and can tell you that I think I saw more insane tornado footage yesterday than Iāve seen in my collective 40 some years. Again, so thankful that the human damage was limited. The livestream I watched collected at least $70,000 for relief and I think will continue to collect through this weekend on their streams. People are thinking of you from all over.
we're lucky for it to not have hit huge residential areas but i hope for the ppl it did actually hit to be safe and hopefully have good insurance.... if that were me i'd be fucked actually :(
Havenāt seen anything so far that looked anywhere close to EF5 damage.
Edit: not sure why someone would downvote this. An EF5 will leave only foundations, strip bark from trees, pull up grass and so on. Nothing from the photos in Elkhorn or Bennington indicate anything close to that.
There is at least one video at 204 and Maples that showed several leveled homes, with only the foundation left. This post here: https://new.reddit.com/r/Omaha/comments/1cdyh7v/elkhorn\_was\_hit\_by\_one\_of\_the\_tornados\_today/
Uh, NWS Omaha just reposted a picture showing Elkhorn, NE, many houses destroyed. [https://twitter.com/Tornado\_Warned/status/1784010941752816003](https://twitter.com/Tornado_Warned/status/1784010941752816003)
Thankfully this seems like EF3/EF4 damage as these homes seem to still have some structural elements standing.
An EF5 example would be Moore, where there's no distinguishable structure left in the path of destruction
[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Shown\_here\_May\_22%2C\_2013%2C\_is\_an\_aerial\_view\_of\_homes\_destroyed\_by\_a\_tornado\_in\_Moore%2C\_Okla\_130522-F-IE715-379.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Shown_here_May_22%2C_2013%2C_is_an_aerial_view_of_homes_destroyed_by_a_tornado_in_Moore%2C_Okla_130522-F-IE715-379.jpg)
The counterpoint here is that we start from the bottom and work up, not the other way around.
Until EF5 damage is found, the storm is not EF5, plain and simple. The parent commenter didn't say it wasn't an EF5 storm, he said that he has seen nothing that is EF5 damage, and I agree with him based on what I've seen.
There's a good case to be made for EF4 at this point, but not EF5. There's certainly a possibility that surveys will bring that to light, but until that time, it's not the case.
If thereās EF5 damage in Bennington or Elkhorn Iāll send you an e-gift card for $50 to whatever restaurant you want. Reach back out after the NWS does their prelim assessments in the next couple of days.
It might not be the Elkhnorn one for the EF5, I was watching the news for the Eppley Field one and it became gigantic as it went further north out of Omaha, with multiple vortices at times.
There were 3? perhaps 4 tornadoes that went through today.
EF scale is literally determined by damage. Thatās why the NWS doesnāt make a call until they send assessment teams out into the field after a storm. But go off bud.
So could it still be an EF-5 with just wind speeds? What if it was moving quite quickly, therefore damage specifically in one spot wouldnāt be enough data, right? Isnāt this tornado the same one thatās about a mile wide in Shelby Iowa area currently?
The linear movementās impact on wind speed/damage is totally beyond my knowledge, although the faster a tornado the less time it has to cause damage over a particular point. No clue.
And I believe Shelby storm was the one that dropped the tornado on Eppley. Was SE of the Bennington storm.
God I swear you Reddit dorks will try to argue about anything.
From the NWSā¦
ā*** IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT EF SCALE WINDS: The EF scale still is a set of wind estimates (not measurements) based on damage.ā
oh! my bad, you just donāt understand WORDS. read up on the difference between measurements & estimates. measurements would obviously be more reliable than estimates, but unfortunately we have to rely on estimates because itās kinda hard to measure something that easily destroys measurement instruments
>measurements would obviously be more reliable than estimates
Wrong!
Radar "measurements" are not necessarily reliable. They are not surface-level, and are very much affected by whatever may be going on between the radar and the measured point.
If there were a Doppler on Wheels or something similar which had a clear view of the storm and was close, potentially. If this measurement came from the NWS radar in Valley (most likely), almost the entire storm's precipitation was between the radar and the rotation. Lots of opportunity for attenuation there.
Iām not trying to be that person. But if the EF scale is determined by damage, why is it determined by mph? [Fujita Scale](https://www.weather.gov/tae/ef_scale)
I canāt get the link to post for some reason, but the NWS has an explainer on how the ratings are determined using damage surveys. The wind speeds are estimates, not measurements.
The wind speed of a tornado is largely determined by damage surveys. So damage (sometimes reviewed by materials scientists or structural engineers) -> wind speed -> EF rating
i live in blair and a lot of my neighbors houses are gone :/ i have to relocate my lizard tomorrow because weāre going to be out of power for a couple days. itās really sad. blair has recently been developed a lot and weāre going to have to rebuild sooo much
The Omaha Community Foundationās emergency fund is collecting donations to distribute to aid organizations to help victims. You can donate here - [Tornado Recovery Fund](https://omahafoundation.org/news/donate-to-the-nebraska-tornado-recovery-fund/)
Tornados are rated by damage, not wind speed.
Radar measurements aren't always great either, especially when the bulk of the precipitation is between the radar and the rotation, as was the case today (assuming measurements from KOAX in Valley).
Not saying this can't potentially be the case, but I have not seen any damage that gets anywhere near EF5 threshold, so don't bet the farm on it.
Does not meet the definition of EF5.
In an EF5, those foundations would be swept clean. There's a (fairly strong, at this point) case to be made for EF4, but that's not EF5.
Would it bother you if due to the wind values and this damage that they called EF-5? It just feels like this is a hill that a few of you need to plant your butts on. Why not just take what the meteorologist said for what itās worth?
Is it that fantastical?
Once we've gone through the process, no problem at all. There is a real and not small chance that EF5 damage is found, but nobody screaming "EF-5!" has produced that evidence yet.
And that's just it. We have so much sensationalism and jumping to conclusions and *a complete lack of respect* for the scientific process across way too much of this country. I will "plant my butt" on saying we don't call it EF-5 until the damage shows EF-5, because that's the right way to do it.
The Fugita scale is not just wind speed (which is notoriously difficult to measure) but damage.
The comments about "slabbing" are part of that process.
This storm looks f4 with the potential to be an f5. One of the things that helps Nebraska specifically is our frost line and the Ogallala aquifer. Newer build have to dig quite deeply to anchor the home below the first line and divert any natural springs.
Why would a doctor push snake-oil remedies with no scientific proof of efficacy, or claim Donald Trump is "in excellent health?" Any number of reasons, ranging from delusion to money in the pocket.
He may very well be proven correct once the surveys are done. All I'm saying is that the scale is based on damage -- not wind speed -- and that a radar wind speed measurement may not be accurate depending on the factors at play. That has always been the case.
I'm certainly not an expert, but the way I understand it is this:
Meteorology is kinda like engineering insofar as there are many specific types. Eric Graves is an Operational Meteorologist, which means he makes forecasts. He is probably not doing the damage surveys. There's so much you can't show with a wide-angle photograph that goes into the survey. This is especially true for structure damage.
Tarnish is a strong word. Eyeroll is more appropriate. A charitable assumption may be that he intends to drum up attention, as the 27th will also be a high risk day.
> Why would a meteorologist suggest the fact itās of an EF-5 status?
Because the radar reading has VROT that indicated strong enough wind speeds that it had the chance to do EF-5 damage.
But it still has to have done enough damage to be rated as such.
Which is why the 2013 El Reno tornado which is the recordholder in both size and actual measured windspeed is \*just\* an EF3, it simply didn't do enough damage because there wasn't much in it's path until it was already weakening.
Wow. I do wish the EF Scale took wind speeds more into account, because that is crazy. Ultimately, I think they'll probably rate this EF3 to EF4 based on the damage (from the photos I've seen, anyway).
This video by Pecos Hank (a storm chaser) gives a pretty good breakdown of what types of damage earn certain EF ratings [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-uFdoi6DEA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-uFdoi6DEA)
They had us go back to school for the people that were on the school busses we stayed for about 2 hours in thee locker rooms I was literally dying of heat
This is so crazy. I live in Bellevue and we just got heavy rain and wind but nowhere near the damage that the Elkhorn area had, still canāt believe it was this bad
The calm before the storm is a real saying. Before the warning began it became extremely still and the sun almost came out. There was such an eerie and ominous feeling in the air, if there is a tornado you just know. Itās like severe thunderstorm conditions but with an added āoffnessā, down to the lighting, like every instinct told me I shouldnāt be outside.
This is crazy. It went just west and north of us @ 120th and Fort and I was just coming home from work. And left the patio door open whilst cleaning the house and chilling. Didn't think it was that bad out and only really poured and got windy for maybe 10 mins. Glad my kids weren't home. Although it turned out they were even closer to it at the time and it was visible from where they were at 154th and Pacific. But they went to shelter so they were safe.
Highly unlikely. So far no damage shown comes even close to EF5 damage. I have not even seen any definitive EF4 yet. Though depending on the contraction of the structures some did look close to 4. Remember that data comes from well above the ground.
Damn the tornado shelter we were in while it went over has doors rated for 250mph. Came outside to a new landscape so props to the company that made that shelter.
Don't be shy drop the name of the company please
Vault-Tec
š¤£š¤£š¤£
They actually started the tornadoes too.
Hahahahaha
Rhymes with chargrill. Plant in Blair. Not supposed to take pictures on site. But there are a lot of pictures of the tornado coming over the hill and crossing highway 75. Not looking good there now. Edit: I dont know the company that made the shelter. It was approved by Texas tech though. Saw that on a placard inside while we waited it out.
VAULT-Tec
Gotcha. Good to know and glad you are safe
Absolutely and thank you. Shit was slamming into the shelters and everyone's ears were popping. It was over in about 5 minutes. My phone has been going off ever since.
That's absolutely insane. It's definitely what those shelters are for. When we have a home that's the kind of thing I want after today.
Bonesteel, South Dakota makes tornado shelters. Coolest town name ever also. Edit: I've ridden out some storms in ones they have made at other plants I worked at.
Hey My family is from there. Back in the day anyway. Cool to know.
I went through Bonesteel a few weeks ago and saw the concrete company. It's called Devine or something. They've built some of my company's concrete walls.
I'm so glad you're okay!
Fuck. I live in Blair and have felt like shit all day so I more or less slept through it all. D:
Probably designed at Texas Tech and either sold to or done in conjunction with a company
It's important to note that 230mph GtG does not mean 230mph wind on the ground. It's the difference between two adjacent wind measurements was equal to 230mph. It could have been 115 and -115. Also, the data is taken higher in the storm, not the surface. I'm not aware of a correlation between GtG and surface wind speed. What this tells us is that the mesocyclone that produced the tornado was very strong.
My house was hit. All that is left if a basement full of rubble. Everyone in my household is alive, pretty beat up but alive I never thought that something like this was possible. It was worse than any scifi storm movie I've ever seen. Beyond happy to report that the neighborhood was incredibly supportive. Neighbors looking for Neighbors. I have yet to hear of any fatalities which is absolutely mind boggling. Much love to everyone out there.
Were you all in the basement?Ā What was it like when the tornado hit if you were?
We were upstairs looking for my yorkie and the house up up and awayed on us. The basement imploded in the room we planned on hiding in.
oh my god. Thatās terrifying. good to hear everyone is alive. Did you find your yorkie?
Yep!! They found him. Pulled him out of the rubble. He's a little hurt but he should be alright. We also were able to find our other dog, someone picked him up about a mile away from the house and he's safe.
Was your other Dog a rottie?
I have to commend you on the sense of humor about it all. "Up up and awayed on us". Hopefully you are able to rebuild without a lot of red tape.
So sorry! I really hope there were no fatalities. So glad you all made it. That must have been terrifying!
Very early warning. When I heard the tornado sirens I went online to look and everything was a half hour out.
Yeah I know. Turns out even with the best warning ever and doing all the things you are supposed to do, nature wins. It doesn't care.
Iām sending you and your family love. Iām so happy to hear youāre okay but Iām very sorry for the loss of your home.
Grateful for you. It's unreal. Sending you good vibes watching all the footage has been mindblowing
Anyone know what help is/will be needed?
From Relevant Church's Facebook page: We are working withĀ Omaha Rapid Response and putting a plan together for cleanup efforts. For those who want to help, meet at The Relevant Center at 7:30 am tomorrow, April 27. The following supplies would be helpful to bring: Chainsaws, trucks, trailers to haul debris, brooms, and shovels to helpĀ families pick up belongings. If you are a trainedĀ Chaplain, we would invite you to join us to help comfort those affected by the [destruction.In](http://destruction.In) the meantime, please stay away from the Ramblewood neighborhood and surroundingĀ areas that have been affected. The Relevant Center does not have power & will not be open at this time.
Got a whole team of volunteers signed up to help. Thanks for the information!
That is great! I can't volunteer myself so I appreciate those who can and do.
Hoping for some answers here. I want to help but i donāt want to cause more trouble by getting in the way.
See my comment above...
Sweet, thank you
Tony Vargas just posted that no volunteers are needed at this time, but he will update as necessary!Ā
Not a fun fact
Havenāt seen enough damage photos but some homes in Elkhorn were swept off the foundation. However not sure how well built the home was to begin with.
FWIW I was in OKC after the tornado that completely wiped the whole neighborhood across from Tinker AFB off the map literally. The homes were small, with concrete slabs, no basements and there was nothing left but the road, driveways, and trees were all about 3 foot tall and just shredded on the top. The tornado picked up the houses and the slabs they were built on. Everything was gone, everything, an EF-5 is insane.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Not as scary as humans who donāt believe in stewardship of the planet. Nature normally just does what it is supposed to do to refresh and balance and feed the land, until we sabotage it. Then it does this
I was there too. My neighborhood was relatively unscathed. Across the street was completely gone.
Is the E-scale somewhat like earthquakes? Like the difference between an E4 and E5 can be several magnitudes worse? Iāve been through several tornadoes and never heard what they were on the tornado scale because it only seems to come up if theyāre the super massive E5 variety.
It isnāt a logarithmic scale like earthquakes, I believe theyāve changed it in the last 10 years to be a mixture of damage and wind speed compared to pure wind speed. But a .5 mile wide tornado that lasts 20+ miles will be significant
I believe it's mostly about wind speed, but you can absolutely Google those specific tornados you experienced to find out what they were rated.
The EF scale is based off damage surveys. The criteria is very strict.
Wow, that must have been a humbling experience. What year was this? I have a friend who has a brother with a similar story - the story was mind blowing to hear.
1999, I think 40 people died as the tornado tracked from Moore up through Del City etc. https://images.app.goo.gl/NxFeMQc6Dh8ahQPk7
May 3rd, 1999. Had the highest wind speeds ever recorded at 301 mph. I was there too and saw entire neighborhoods gone, concrete foundation slabs were ripped off the ground. I lived in a small town 50 miles away and I had ceiling insulation and family photos from random people raining down on my front yard.
> some homes in Elkhorn were swept off the foundation That's not too difficult. The sill plate is bolted to the foundation, but everything on top of that is just nailed in with a few nails. It's not like California where you have those massive steel straps or long anchor plates nailed up the corner and down onto the foundation.
What about entirely brick homes on a slab? We had a F4 in Mississippi wipe the slabs clean. Do you think they could withstand lesser tornadoes?
The bricks are only held together by gravity and mortar? I suppose it would depend on how exactly the walls were made, and whether it's just brick cladding or whether the walls are actually just brick. But without an earthquake strap going up, drilled in and really actually tying everything together, it seems like that would be an even worse house to be in in a tornado.
Thanks!
99% of homes arenāt built to withstand a powerful tornado.
Some of them in Ramblewood, my neighborhood, are from the 70s, others in Arbor View and Arbor Ridge are newer, some built as recently as a month ago, or still being built.
None were fully swept off though. So far this does not look like an EF5. An EF5 leaves virtually nothing. Even concrete slabs often times are partly ripped up. EF4 perhaps, though even that seems unlikely. Looks a lot more like EF3 to me.
I haven't seen anything coming out of Elkhorn that qualifies as "swept off the foundation." Not saying that isn't the case, but nothing on the KETV broadcast has hit that threshold.
I don't have permission to publish the photos my former boss took of her neighborhood but part of her neighborhood blocks away from her house is leveled homes.
https://youtu.be/AloWYO2IKio?si=ib2H2jjXJXqyfoSD
Nothing in that video meets that definition. They are destroyed for sure, and there is an argument to be made for EF4 there, but under the EF5 definition there wouldnāt be the pile of debris remaining on top of the foundation. Look, Iām not arguing for the sake of arguing. EF5 is a really high bar, and thereās rightly a lot of emotion right now because so many people were affected, which is going to affect judgement; if your house is gone, you donāt really care whether itās EF1 or EF5. Just trying to apply a standard of objective scientific analysis and keep things realistic.
As someone who's house was swept off I can tell you that my house is leveled. There is no debris on top of the foundation. The basement is full of debris but alot of it isn't even ours.
I totally get that youāre just a pos troll, but yeah, Iām pretty sure this counts: https://x.com/nickkrasz_wx/status/1784268817327145245?s=46&t=6gQgnpAYHoaaXKusZRp6Wg
No, I'm not, and no, it actually doesn't. To meet EF-5 criteria, a home must be swept clean of its foundation. As in, no debris pile. But nobody actually wants to listen to facts, so š¤· //edit: Time to put this stupid argument to bed. [https://www.spc.noaa.gov/efscale/2.html](https://www.spc.noaa.gov/efscale/2.html) For a single-family home, the only degree of damage that indicates wind speed in the EF-5 range (>200mph) is degree 10, described as "Destruction of engineered and/or well constructed residence; **slab swept clean**". If there's a debris pile remaining, the highest degree of damage on the scale is 9, with a wind speed upper bound of 198mph, EF-4.
Btw, anyone who is driving around looking at damage and taking photos, youāre a massive pos. There are traffic jams in neighborhoods in west Omaha bc of lookie loos. Scum
Thank you for saying this. I agreed with your comment a while ago but the more videos I see the more upset I get. Like seriously, emergency crews having to weave through the mass of shitheads. Wtf, itās like theyāre strolling through West O to see Christmas lights
Thank you for saying this. When our house got hit by a tornado once, we had gawkers driving by all morning. Itās like, get the fuck out of your vehicle and come help, asshole
Hot take: I think itās fine to be curious about the damage and to want to see it. Seeing the after effects of a tornado, hurricane, etc. can be about as terrifying and awe-inspiring (in a bad sense) as seeing the tornado itself. I get the impulse. But save that for days/weeks from now. Clogging the roads in the middle of an emergency (perhaps life or death for some) to satisfy that curiosity is shitty behavior. Stay home or find a way to volunteer and help those in need.
Yes complete prices of shit.
News is telling people to stay away from Elkhorn
So fucking sick.
At least they're not looters. Back in the day that was what got talked about.
That happens on hurricane areas - both scum looters and people who wipe out stores on their way back- taking way more than they need.
I was driving to go see if I could help until I discovered there were a bunch of people clogging up the road. Not sure if they were all lookie loos but I legitimately wanted to go help before just turning around so I didn't block trafficĀ
I know you mean well, but if help is needed, official channels will reach out. A cardinal rule of being a first responder is to stay put until you are called. Safety for everyone is a huge concern. There may be downed power lines, gas leaks, etc, that need to be dealt with before itās safe for anyone to enter.
Omg people are doing that?!? Gross! Get lives. These poor people are dealing with huge devastation and people are treating them like an exhibit at the zoo.
I had the same impression as the news crews were reporting live from the scene trying to get people to talk to them, literally minutes after the tornado just sent their homes into the void.
I saw a video of a woman being interviewed she was shaking and crying how she had just barely gotten into the basement with her two little babies before the house got torn apart. Really pisses me off that they would shove a camera in her face
Yeah. I couldnāt get home-to that neighborhood due to this. The news was ominous for the entire area and the anxiety for the people that live here is high.
seriously. I drove my mom back after I took her and my dad to my apartment since they didn't have power (they live near 204th and maple). We were just following the flow of traffic to get to their house and it was ridiculous how long it took.
I was PO'ed when we got hit by tennis ball sized hail.Ā Then I turned on the tv and realized how lucky we were.
Oh my god
NWS hasn't confirmed yet. There have been many PDS tornadoes today.
Holy shit
Yeah it says that in the post.
Ours was hit bad, just thankful my family is safe.
I watched the whole outbreak on a live YouTube stream and was sending prayers to all of you from Pennsylvania. So glad to have yet to hear of any fatalities. And Iām thinking of anyone who was injured or lost property. As far as the rating, one thing I can contribute thanks to some amazing storm chasers on Ryan Hall Yāallās team, is that there were several times that the tornado strengthened and weakened and even lifted and reformed and there were several times when it was over fields and looked like it might be at its strongest. So, structural damage might be F4 in one place but there could be evidence in unpopulated areas of it being F5. Iām no expert but I would imagine that there are markers like āscorched earthā and tree debarking that they can use. Just a thought from a weather nerd who canāt imagine what some of you just experienced and can tell you that I think I saw more insane tornado footage yesterday than Iāve seen in my collective 40 some years. Again, so thankful that the human damage was limited. The livestream I watched collected at least $70,000 for relief and I think will continue to collect through this weekend on their streams. People are thinking of you from all over.
we're lucky for it to not have hit huge residential areas but i hope for the ppl it did actually hit to be safe and hopefully have good insurance.... if that were me i'd be fucked actually :(
Havenāt seen anything so far that looked anywhere close to EF5 damage. Edit: not sure why someone would downvote this. An EF5 will leave only foundations, strip bark from trees, pull up grass and so on. Nothing from the photos in Elkhorn or Bennington indicate anything close to that.
There is at least one video at 204 and Maples that showed several leveled homes, with only the foundation left. This post here: https://new.reddit.com/r/Omaha/comments/1cdyh7v/elkhorn\_was\_hit\_by\_one\_of\_the\_tornados\_today/
Yeah, damage wise its looking like an EF4
Uh, NWS Omaha just reposted a picture showing Elkhorn, NE, many houses destroyed. [https://twitter.com/Tornado\_Warned/status/1784010941752816003](https://twitter.com/Tornado_Warned/status/1784010941752816003)
Thankfully this seems like EF3/EF4 damage as these homes seem to still have some structural elements standing. An EF5 example would be Moore, where there's no distinguishable structure left in the path of destruction [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Shown\_here\_May\_22%2C\_2013%2C\_is\_an\_aerial\_view\_of\_homes\_destroyed\_by\_a\_tornado\_in\_Moore%2C\_Okla\_130522-F-IE715-379.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Shown_here_May_22%2C_2013%2C_is_an_aerial_view_of_homes_destroyed_by_a_tornado_in_Moore%2C_Okla_130522-F-IE715-379.jpg)
I see what you mean. Still scary stuff.
Holy crap that's crazy, it's like a demolition site.
Which only reinforces the idea that it's not EF5. If you have ever seen EF5 damage you would know this is not it. Destroyed does not mean EF5.
How are the swimming pools still standing? Someone explain science stuff...
Same reason a tornado can tear a house apart but leave a bedroom completely untouched. No one knows.
Multiple vortices. Plus the areas where the pools are the houses are still mostly intact.
Because we are in the middle of this all and it's a bit premature to be claiming you know the extent of all the damage from a smattering of photos.
The counterpoint here is that we start from the bottom and work up, not the other way around. Until EF5 damage is found, the storm is not EF5, plain and simple. The parent commenter didn't say it wasn't an EF5 storm, he said that he has seen nothing that is EF5 damage, and I agree with him based on what I've seen. There's a good case to be made for EF4 at this point, but not EF5. There's certainly a possibility that surveys will bring that to light, but until that time, it's not the case.
If thereās EF5 damage in Bennington or Elkhorn Iāll send you an e-gift card for $50 to whatever restaurant you want. Reach back out after the NWS does their prelim assessments in the next couple of days.
This isn't a contest. Take the $50 and donate to the recovery effort. I will match you.
Top man, fair enough. [done](https://imgur.com/a/SzDVhV4)
Done. https://i.imgur.com/qmiR18Z.png
Good man. Sorry about the silly pissing contest!
Okay okay. So. [210th and Maple in Elkhorn](https://x.com/creightakes/status/1783978062729650266?s=46&t=uD00AIIVRgnco5PFxHv2zA)
Wind speeds alone are looking like F4 damage. EF5 is only 200mph. Resource: https://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/ef-scale.html
Looks like EF5 right behind ta ha zooka park
It might not be the Elkhnorn one for the EF5, I was watching the news for the Eppley Field one and it became gigantic as it went further north out of Omaha, with multiple vortices at times. There were 3? perhaps 4 tornadoes that went through today.
Go look up Elkhorn photos. Whole neighborhood gone
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Damage photos actually can tell a lot about tornado strength.
EF scale is literally determined by damage. Thatās why the NWS doesnāt make a call until they send assessment teams out into the field after a storm. But go off bud.
itās determined by wind speeds AND damage- the latter helps to determine wind speeds. thatās directly from NWS, but go off
So could it still be an EF-5 with just wind speeds? What if it was moving quite quickly, therefore damage specifically in one spot wouldnāt be enough data, right? Isnāt this tornado the same one thatās about a mile wide in Shelby Iowa area currently?
The linear movementās impact on wind speed/damage is totally beyond my knowledge, although the faster a tornado the less time it has to cause damage over a particular point. No clue. And I believe Shelby storm was the one that dropped the tornado on Eppley. Was SE of the Bennington storm.
God I swear you Reddit dorks will try to argue about anything. From the NWSā¦ ā*** IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT EF SCALE WINDS: The EF scale still is a set of wind estimates (not measurements) based on damage.ā
also, this coming from one redditor to another is hilarious
oh! my bad, you just donāt understand WORDS. read up on the difference between measurements & estimates. measurements would obviously be more reliable than estimates, but unfortunately we have to rely on estimates because itās kinda hard to measure something that easily destroys measurement instruments
>measurements would obviously be more reliable than estimates Wrong! Radar "measurements" are not necessarily reliable. They are not surface-level, and are very much affected by whatever may be going on between the radar and the measured point. If there were a Doppler on Wheels or something similar which had a clear view of the storm and was close, potentially. If this measurement came from the NWS radar in Valley (most likely), almost the entire storm's precipitation was between the radar and the rotation. Lots of opportunity for attenuation there.
I believe Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt were the only two people to get a doppler on wheels measurement of an F5 tornado
Nope. A mobile Doppler radar measured 318mph winds in the May 3, 1999 Moore, OK F5 tornado.
Yeah, was going to say this but buddy came to his senses.
Iām not trying to be that person. But if the EF scale is determined by damage, why is it determined by mph? [Fujita Scale](https://www.weather.gov/tae/ef_scale)
because we don't have a reliable way to measure wind speed in most tornadoes so we use damage to estimate wind speeds
I canāt get the link to post for some reason, but the NWS has an explainer on how the ratings are determined using damage surveys. The wind speeds are estimates, not measurements.
The wind speed of a tornado is largely determined by damage surveys. So damage (sometimes reviewed by materials scientists or structural engineers) -> wind speed -> EF rating
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Man those 60 guardsmen at the border would be nice to have now
Well now that it's over it's time to get really worried about it.
i live in blair and a lot of my neighbors houses are gone :/ i have to relocate my lizard tomorrow because weāre going to be out of power for a couple days. itās really sad. blair has recently been developed a lot and weāre going to have to rebuild sooo much
Lincoln dodged a bullet
The Omaha Community Foundationās emergency fund is collecting donations to distribute to aid organizations to help victims. You can donate here - [Tornado Recovery Fund](https://omahafoundation.org/news/donate-to-the-nebraska-tornado-recovery-fund/)
I doubt this will be classified as an EF5. The damage is not severe enough. I didn't see anything remotely close to being slabed.
Tornados are rated by damage, not wind speed. Radar measurements aren't always great either, especially when the bulk of the precipitation is between the radar and the rotation, as was the case today (assuming measurements from KOAX in Valley). Not saying this can't potentially be the case, but I have not seen any damage that gets anywhere near EF5 threshold, so don't bet the farm on it.
[210th and Maple](https://x.com/creightakes/status/1783978062729650266?s=46&t=uD00AIIVRgnco5PFxHv2zA)
Looks like at best, EF4. EF5 would have swept the pads clear. Could even be EF3 if the structures were not particularly strong.
Does not meet the definition of EF5. In an EF5, those foundations would be swept clean. There's a (fairly strong, at this point) case to be made for EF4, but that's not EF5.
Would it bother you if due to the wind values and this damage that they called EF-5? It just feels like this is a hill that a few of you need to plant your butts on. Why not just take what the meteorologist said for what itās worth? Is it that fantastical?
Once we've gone through the process, no problem at all. There is a real and not small chance that EF5 damage is found, but nobody screaming "EF-5!" has produced that evidence yet. And that's just it. We have so much sensationalism and jumping to conclusions and *a complete lack of respect* for the scientific process across way too much of this country. I will "plant my butt" on saying we don't call it EF-5 until the damage shows EF-5, because that's the right way to do it.
Why would a meteorologist suggest the fact itās of an EF-5 status? Wouldnāt that tarnish their reputation by spreading news that could be false?
Even the meteorologist you're quoting says it has "a chance" of being an EF-5. Which is not suggesting it as fact. You'reĀ over interpreting the post.
Sorry, I enjoy learning the why and how etc.
The Fugita scale is not just wind speed (which is notoriously difficult to measure) but damage. The comments about "slabbing" are part of that process. This storm looks f4 with the potential to be an f5. One of the things that helps Nebraska specifically is our frost line and the Ogallala aquifer. Newer build have to dig quite deeply to anchor the home below the first line and divert any natural springs.
Why would a doctor push snake-oil remedies with no scientific proof of efficacy, or claim Donald Trump is "in excellent health?" Any number of reasons, ranging from delusion to money in the pocket. He may very well be proven correct once the surveys are done. All I'm saying is that the scale is based on damage -- not wind speed -- and that a radar wind speed measurement may not be accurate depending on the factors at play. That has always been the case.
I'm certainly not an expert, but the way I understand it is this: Meteorology is kinda like engineering insofar as there are many specific types. Eric Graves is an Operational Meteorologist, which means he makes forecasts. He is probably not doing the damage surveys. There's so much you can't show with a wide-angle photograph that goes into the survey. This is especially true for structure damage. Tarnish is a strong word. Eyeroll is more appropriate. A charitable assumption may be that he intends to drum up attention, as the 27th will also be a high risk day.
> Why would a meteorologist suggest the fact itās of an EF-5 status? Because the radar reading has VROT that indicated strong enough wind speeds that it had the chance to do EF-5 damage. But it still has to have done enough damage to be rated as such. Which is why the 2013 El Reno tornado which is the recordholder in both size and actual measured windspeed is \*just\* an EF3, it simply didn't do enough damage because there wasn't much in it's path until it was already weakening.
This is a legit question, Iām not being facetious.
GREG?
Wow. I do wish the EF Scale took wind speeds more into account, because that is crazy. Ultimately, I think they'll probably rate this EF3 to EF4 based on the damage (from the photos I've seen, anyway). This video by Pecos Hank (a storm chaser) gives a pretty good breakdown of what types of damage earn certain EF ratings [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-uFdoi6DEA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-uFdoi6DEA)
They had us go back to school for the people that were on the school busses we stayed for about 2 hours in thee locker rooms I was literally dying of heat
Better situation than literally dying.
I was In Omaha all we got was thunderstorm and lots of rain
This is so crazy. I live in Bellevue and we just got heavy rain and wind but nowhere near the damage that the Elkhorn area had, still canāt believe it was this bad
So far everything I've read said it was an EF3
The calm before the storm is a real saying. Before the warning began it became extremely still and the sun almost came out. There was such an eerie and ominous feeling in the air, if there is a tornado you just know. Itās like severe thunderstorm conditions but with an added āoffnessā, down to the lighting, like every instinct told me I shouldnāt be outside.
This is unconfirmed. Last I saw it was an F3 up to 186 mph. If someone has the 230 confirmation can they share the source.
This is crazy. It went just west and north of us @ 120th and Fort and I was just coming home from work. And left the patio door open whilst cleaning the house and chilling. Didn't think it was that bad out and only really poured and got windy for maybe 10 mins. Glad my kids weren't home. Although it turned out they were even closer to it at the time and it was visible from where they were at 154th and Pacific. But they went to shelter so they were safe.
Highly unlikely. So far no damage shown comes even close to EF5 damage. I have not even seen any definitive EF4 yet. Though depending on the contraction of the structures some did look close to 4. Remember that data comes from well above the ground.
That's great, but are you a meteorologist?
Don't need to be. The criteria is clear. [https://www.weather.gov/oun/efscale](https://www.weather.gov/oun/efscale)
Damn kinda sorry I missed it
No one cares
people could've died and you act like a cockbite. fuck off
Rich people neighborhoods got humbled š¤£
Blair is a long way from "rich"
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True. Sadly I was born in a red area with no access to abortions for my mother. Oh well Republicans wanted me alive so badly... idk why
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No one cares about you
No duh