Tornado Central

The Strangest Tornado Damage in the U.S.

An unusual mid-November tornado outbreak in the High Plains in 2015 also lead to some strange tornado damage.

An EF-3 tornado near Pampa, Texas, on November 16 drove a corn stalk into the radiator of a truck, according to a photo provided by Steve Kersh, chief meteorologist at KVII-TV in Amarillo, Texas.

If that isn't weird enough, some corn stalks lofted by the tornado became encased in ice, pelting the surrounding countryside with "cornhail", according to Pampa resident, Johnny Goodson.

The devastation from strong tornadoes is, unfortunately, a fact of life, particularly in the United States. Neighborhoods left unrecognizable with homes turned into a piles of rubble or an empty slabs are a sobering sight each year.

Considering typical severe thunderstorm wind gusts from 60-70 mph are capable of structural damage, it's not surprising wind speeds of 150 mph or higher in stronger tornadoes are capable of incredible, and incredibly strange damage.

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In strong tornadoes, it's not just the wind that is damaging, but also wind-lofted debris such as wall studs and tree branches, that can become projectiles, puncturing buildings, vehicles, basically anything that gets in their way.

Speaking of which, a typical 2-ton vehicle is little obstacle for a tornado's violent winds.

The April 27, 2011, Smithville, Mississippi, EF5 tornado carried a Ford Explorer roughly one-half mile before colliding it with the town's water tower. The vehicle then traveled another quarter mile before coming to rest. Vehicles in a violent tornado (EF4+) can resemble crushed soda cans, almost unrecognizable to the owner, should they ever find it.

The strongest tornadoes, and their debris fields, can also scour the ground, sometimes to a depth of a couple of feet, leaving a swath of bare soil behind.

(MORE: Strangest Tornado Locations | Where Tornadoes Occur Worldwide)

Severe weather expert Dr. Greg Forbes shared some more oddities of tornado damage:

A house was turned on its side in Michigan in 1976, but remained otherwise intact. The residents had to use a ladder to get in the front door.
A petroleum storage tank was rolled from its base, crushing buildings and coming to rest on a road in Sharon, Pennsylvania, during the May 31, 1985, tornado outbreak.
Thirty chickens were stripped of their feathers, but survived the Lansing, Michigan, tornado of June 1, 1943.

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