Pilger, Nebraska Tornado 6/16/2014

Geico266

Geico266

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A rare "dual" tornado joined into one small F4 yesterday (4:30 CST) and ripped through the small town of Pilger, Nebraska. 2 dead, 16 critical, 6 hospitalized. Pilger is located 100 miles NW of Omaha, and 40 miles east of Norfolk.

A 5 year old little girl was killed in the center of the city.

************


I took pictures and this video in two passes and left due to helos and low ceilings in the area.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf--u9tDBHQ

Here is some info on the "duel" tornado.

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/scie...-birth-twin-tornadoes-pilger-nebraska-n133376


Those who would like to help out the Red Cross & Salvation Army can allocate your contribution directly to Pilger Relief Fund. Any donation is appreciated by the town of 400. Bottled water, food, and shelter is their first priority. It is that bad.
 
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Superb pictures! Always amazed at the destructive power of a tornado.

Gary
 
OK , all you people in tornado alley..... I have questions..


1- When a big nader like that cuts across farm fields I would expect to see a deeper ground scar as the suction scours up the earth... Does it really suck up feet of dirt.... Especially this one as the footage shows both naders and they look VERY dark... I assume that is the dirt in the air ???

Geico....

Can they go in with front loaders and save those piles of corn /wheat ???? laying on the ground next to where the silo's were ? >or do they just write it off as destroyed ??
 
Tornadoes are dark for the same reason clouds are dark, condensation. Very low pressure inside the tornado so it is cold, below dew point.

Grain can be salvaged. During harvest it is not uncommon to put grain on the ground when the silos are full.
 
N801BH said:
OK , all you people in tornado alley..... I have questions..


1- When a big nader like that cuts across farm fields I would expect to see a deeper ground scar as the suction scours up the earth... Does it really suck up feet of dirt.... Especially this one as the footage shows both naders and they look VERY dark... I assume that is the dirt in the air ???

Geico....

Can they go in with front loaders and save those piles of corn /wheat ???? laying on the ground next to where the silo's were ? >or do they just write it off as destroyed ??
Click to expand...

Good questions.

1. Yes, tornados can suck pavement off roads. No, I'm not kidding. The width of the tornado has a lot to do with it.

2. Yes, it is easy to save the corn. It will be gone in 3 days max, re-dried if needed and stored. They will re-measure the moisture content at the next elevator.
 
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The F scale, and more modern EF scale all go back to one incredible guy with an amazing imagination...

Most of the modern understanding of meso-scale thunderstorm activity came directly from his observations and brain, thirty years before he saw anything but storm *damage*. That's how he did his research, by going to storm damaged places and analyzing the debris patterns, etc.

He saw his first in-person tornado in Colorado in 1982, roughly right where Denver International sits today. It's probably overdue for a direct hit.

He lived long enough to see and utilize early Doppler weather radar, but he never quite trusted the computers.

He was also the very first person to formally predict the exact type of storm that hit Pilger yesterday. Multi-funnel underneath a larger meso-scale rotating storm.

An amazing brain.

RIP Dr. Fujita.

http://www.notablebiographies.com/supp/Supplement-Fl-Ka/Fujita-Tetsuya.html
 
I just can't wrap my head around how much strength such a thing has...
 
Geico266 said:
Good questions.



2. Yes, it is easy to save the corn. It will be gone in 3 days max, re-dried if needed and stored. They will re-measure the moisture content at the next elevator.
Click to expand...

Uhhhh....Maybe. You'd have to pay me handsomely to run that through my roller mills.
 
James_Dean said:
Uhhhh....Maybe. You'd have to pay me handsomely to run that through my roller mills.
Click to expand...

The question was can the corn be saved, answer is yes. We get prety good at cleaning debris out of grain. Whether you want it or not, is up to you. Feed is feed. :D
 
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Massive storms.

The day of the Pilger tornado I was flying above the Oklahoma-Kansas state line and my Stormscope was showing lightning strikes about 100 NM to my north, just beyond Wichita. Except there weren't any storms there. Judging from the XM radar, the nearest storms were the monsters in northern Nebraska, about 400 NM in the same direction. The Stormscope was showing the correct direction, but was completely fooled by the intensity into thinking the strikes were much nearer.
 
NoHeat said:
Massive storms.

The day of the Pilger tornado I was flying above the Oklahoma-Kansas state line and my Stormscope was showing lightning strikes about 100 NM to my north, just beyond Wichita. Except there weren't any storms there. Judging from the XM radar, the nearest storms were the monsters in northern Nebraska, about 400 NM in the same direction. The Stormscope was showing the correct direction, but was completely fooled by the intensity into thinking the strikes were much nearer.
Click to expand...

Interesting.

Another reason XM & ADSB weather is superior. :D
 
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