Could a Tornado Destroy a Skyscraper? Tornadoes in Urban Cities

Could an EF5 tornado destroy a skyscraper in a downtown city district? Thanks for watching and be sure to subscribe for more tornado related content! Love y'all for real.
contents:
0:00 Intro -Oklahoma City OK, Wichita KS, Birmingham AL Tornado
2:11 The Tornado Fujita scale
5:11 Downtown Tornado Myth
6:04 History of Downtown Tornadoes in Waco, Dallas and Lubbock
9:50 Skyscrapers
13:06 My theory on what would happen
Sources:
The B1M KZbin Channel:
/ theb1mgoogle
The Tornado Archive (Great Website for real)
tornadoarchive.com/
Skyscraper Center:
www.skyscrapercenter.com/buil...
Baylor University - Texas Collection Fred Gildersleeve
Music:
C418
Abelard Seinwave
Goldeneye 007 N64 Music - Bunker I
Composers: Graeme Norgate, Grant Kirkhope and Robin Beanland
#tornado #skyscraper #destruction

[@SwegleStudios]

Hey Everyone! Quick correction! I used the vintage F-Scale wind-speeds on the video rather than the current EF-Scale: The actual metics are: EF0- 65-85 mph EF1: 86 - 110 mph EF2: 111 - 135 mph EF3: 136 - 165 mph EF4: 166 - 200 mph EF5: 200+ mph My b my b. Thanks for watching!

[@madisonham5384]

You have the most soothing voice I’ve ever heard.. You cured my insomnia :D

[@ericschultz4004]

Some Iowa references. Are you from Iowa? Would love to meet up for lunch.

[@MRAMX390]

I have seen the aftermath of EF5 tornadoes twice and an EF4 once. With the EF5s there were concrete slabs or foundations left and nothing else in many cases. McDonald's Chapel, Pratt City, Pleasant Grove, Concorde, Oak Grove all in Alabama experienced this which I live very close to all of these areas. Best description I can give is it looked like someone was planning on building a house and had just had the foundation poured but nothing else but I know there were homes in all these locations.

[@Crazyarnold12]

Yeah I noticed that

[@pavan5272]

you're just going with the legends mind don't worry about it

[@BenriBea]

Fun fact: The Waco tornado explained in this video was actually the first ever tornado to officially be deemed F5!

[@SwegleStudios]

Oh wow! I had no idea.

[@sukhastings4200]

Waco was in 1953. The F scale wasn't used until 1971. If Waco was first it was well after the storm itself. First time I heard an F5 being used was the May 1970 Lubbock Tx tornado

[@Minalkra]

@@sukhastings4200 It was probably a retro-active appellation. Not the real 'first' as indicated but maybe the first tornado from the pre-Fujitsu era to have the F5 label applied to it.

[@3ekaust]

@@Minalkra isn't it fujita? Fujitsu is the house appliances brand right?

[@Speedwars]

@@3ekaust yes it is fujita

[@systlin2596]

As a midwesterner I can tell you I sure wouldn't want to be in one of those glass high rises when a tornado turns all that glass into shrapnel.

[@overlordbrandon]

jeez, imagine all glass gone and a whole floor just become a wind tunnel

[@Blox117]

@@overlordbrandon free flight

[@infinityfoxlet]

@@overlordbrandon Better get ready to become a bird

[@Mr.b0nes]

@@infinityfoxlet spirit airlines

[@infinityfoxlet]

@@Mr.b0nes Then you become a free bird

[@billclinton984]

now do what happens when a skyscraper hits a tornado

[@Vhs-sans-and-neko-seek]

Lol

[@creech444]

Here in Atlanta we had a huge downtown tornade years ago, it almost took out the stadium (There was a game going on and there are videos of the roof bucking up and down). It hit the Peachtree Plaza hotel which is one of the larger buildings, knocking out a large number of windows and other skyscrapers to a lesser extent. It ook years for the Plaze to be repaired. Since so many of the windows in the plaza were knocked out, they just could't replace them. Zoning laws stated that if a certain percentage of windows are replaced it's not just a "repair" but a "renovation" and for a renovation yu had to bring everything up to code, which the remaining windows no longer were. To complicate things the round nature of the building meant each window had a slight curve to it. Windows that you couldn't make from shelf shock, so all the windows had to be custom made. For about two years we had to look at the Plaza with about half the windows half replaced with black painted plywood. If they had to rent out these rooms for large conventions, guest didn't get a window but had to look at a large black plywood wall from the inside. A good case study is NYC's Citibank building that a grad student doing a paper on it discovered it was in danger of collapse. A contractor thinking he was saving money switched connecting bolts (used for flexibility) to welded seams (making the building too ridgid and subject to fail). They finally reported to the city that during a Cat 5 hurricane the building would probably collapse. For those not familiar with the building, it's was built up on 3 tall stilts to spare a church site, but the odd construction caused these issues. The city sort of shrugged and said "A Cat 5? why should we worry, NYC never gets a Cat 5) and they had to remind them that yes, NYC gets's hit by a Cat 5 every 50 years or so, it just hadn't happened recently (Think Sandy). They had to go to extraordinary lenghts to do and hide the repairss. They did computer models that showed it it had collapsed as most models showed, the collapse would have domino-ed and taken out up to 22 blocks of NYC.

[@louisinese]

I was looking for this comment, theres actually a video on this one similar to this channel's videos.

[@Sashazur]

You got some stuff wrong, check Wikipedia or other sources. It was the design of the building that made it vulnerable - not construction errors. The repairs involved welding in more stiffening plates, not replacing welds with bolts. And it could have been knocked over by an F1 tornado (70mph, a minor hurricane) if the wind direction was just right. They didn’t have to try too hard to hide the repairs since a newspaper strike was happening at the same time.

[@creech444]

@@Sashazur You're right, I had it backwards, the design called for welding, and the contractor swapped out to bolts. I remember the first articles that came out really focused on that.. However, I think later deep dives showed how the angling winds and basic design considerations had been overlooked. Some of the articles on the ethics of the situation are really interesting.

[@vampirejoy1999x]

Buy second metal windows that are better.

[@Cammi_Rosalie]

My Dad knew some people who lived way out in the country in Kansas. Just open plains, wheat fields and a patch of trees where their house was. He said that one day they had friends over for a BBQ and a game of cards. The weather turned nasty and everyone went inside and began playing cards at the kitchen table to wait out the storm. They had their radio on and the news broke in with tornado warnings. So someone went outside to see if they could see it and it was barreling down on the property. Everyone rushed to the basement and sheltered there. They described the "freight train" sound and a loud BANG and the house shook. After a few minutes it was all over. When they came back upstairs everything seemed just fine. Nothing out of place. The power wasn't even out. The radio was still going on about the tornado. So they just went back to playing cards thankful of "dodging a bullet". A little while later, some spots appeared on the ceiling near the wall of the kitchen. The spots began to get darker and darker and soon began to ooze a black goo. The owner of the house got on a chair to check it out. It was engine oil. Dark, used engine oil. So he went to the little hatch to peek into the attic. When he shone his light toward the area above the kitchen, he saw his friends car, with the roof caved in, upside down in the attic. Oil was leaking out of the engine. There was no apparent hole in the roof where it could have burst through. The roof joists and wood slats beneath the shingles were intact. He came out and told his buddy to go up and have a look. He did and was justifiably upset. They all went outside and looked at the roof above the kitchen. It was intact. A few shingles blown off, but otherwise just fine. Looking around they saw that one tree was snapped off and the top half was scattered across the field. That was when someone noticed that the eave wasn't quite right. It was crooked and out of place by and inch or so. Closer inspection showed that nails were showing and that whole side of the roof was shifted by an inch or two. Their conclusion: The tornado had lifted the roof and simultaneously tossed the car into the air where it landed upside down in the attic, then the roof flopped back down over it. Lucky for the homeowner, his other friend had a crane. They had to tear the roof off and crane the car out of there. Part of the tree was discovered embedded into the top of the engine. It ripped open the valve cover, allowing the oil to leak out. The hood was nowhere to be found. A few of the ceiling joists below the car and the whole kitchen ceiling had to be replaced and that half of the roof was also rebuilt. The hood of the car was found 3 months later about a mile away in a field when the farmer went out to harvest the wheat. Damn near ran it over with the combine. I have also heard about someone finding a drinking straw driven into a tree like a nail. Not smashed and accordion-ed against the tree. Like 2 inches of it just punched into the tree. Tornadoes can do some weird shit.

[@someguydoingthings]

So a tornado made a house eat a car... That sounds kind of cool...

[@luiziferbehel3750]

A straw becoming as powerful as a bullet now imagine other harder materials becoming projectiles, if you live you are very lucky

[@eileenconway2966]

Tornadoes don’t care about feelings or physics. They do what they want and fvck everyone who gets in the way.

[@shilohoward6085]

The damn tornado basically opened the roof like the lid of s trash can, dumped the car in, and closed it. It sounds funny , but that's legit terrifying.

[@someguydoingthings]

@@shilohoward6085 It is funny, but it must have been absurdly destructive...

[@SadisticSenpai61]

The EF5 that hit Joplin moved the hospital about 4 inches off its foundation (or something like that, I might have the exact amount wrong - it was in a Nova documentary). So an EF5 possibly is capable of bringing a skyscraper down if it hits it at the right angle. It's definitely capable of destabilizing the building the point where it just needs to be demolished.

[@user-bl1il3cr9k]

A high end EF5 with winds of maybe 300mph probably would do that

[@samm8538]

It twisted the hospital on its foundation, they ended up building a new hospital on the other side of HWY44. I lived in Springfield MO when Joplin got hit, I drove there a week later and seeing the destruction with my own eyes was unreal. Gas station's I stopped at to fill up before were no longer there. My father in law had to drive to OK the following day but was turned around by the Highway Patrol because they had to remove the bodies off the road, that was by far the saddest part

[@inquisitivesoutherntara6997]

@@samm8538 that is so very sad. We recently had a tornado not too far from us, level a concrete and steel mall! Piles and piles of huge chunks of concrete and twisted steel as big as half a car.

[@Firemarioflower]

That was an F3 tornado. This new scale is wrong. F3's can reach 333kph, and the Joplin destroyer had 320 as a maximum, maybe a lil over it.

[@ARandomInternetUser08]

@@Firemarioflower nope. EF scale is used, not F anymore.

[@deisisase]

It's a shame that Dixie Alley isn't as well known as traditional Tornado Alley because more than half of tornadoes that occur there are nocturnal events, and a nighttime tornado is 2-3x more deadly than a daytime one.

[@dawson70]

Thank you for making this video. Prior to moving to Kansas I really didn't have any experience with tornadoes beyond what Hollywood had shown me. In 00' an F3 hit my small town of Parsons, KS causing a lot of damage, but luckily no lives were lost that I know of. A little over a decade later Moore, Ok was wiped off the map. So sad. The aftermath is still visible to this day. The storm that hit Joplin, Mo, which is about 50 miles east of my house, was devastating. I remember looking up at the sky that day and honestly being scared of mother nature. The clouds looked odd with the upper and lower ones going in opposite directions. There was even a mid level current going against both of them. I knew something was about to happen. It was an odd experience prior to finding out what happened about an hour later. When I saw the Weather Channel storm chasers reporting 2 miles from my house I knew that something big was about to happen. 158 people lost their lives not long afterwards... It still makes me sad to think about what happened in a handful of minutes that afternoon.

[@violetviolet888]

Dawson70: You may find this video of interest: *Is The EF Scale Outdated?*

[@debbkiato]

You should make a video of "the strangest damage from a tornado". Like forks in a tree or whole houses lifted and set back down. I'm guessing people have videos and pics of something. You typically only see them in movies but the weird does exist. I love your videos, keep on posting!!

[@eclipse369.]

More like pine needles stuck in trees.

[@Newt2799]

This is a great idea

[@KermitTheGamer21]

There's a picture of a record disc wedged into a house, I want to say from Joplin? That image has always stuck out to me of the ridiculous power of tornadoes. Also, I have never seen it but some people have told me that shards of wood from homes impacted by the 1990 Plainfield F5 tornado remain to this day buried in trees along the tornado's path.

[@TheDarkHorse73]

@@KermitTheGamer21 Or a sealed coke bottle that's half empty and otherwise undamaged.

[@tomemeornottomeme1864]

I'd honestly argue real damage is always way weirder. Movies are scared to be unbelievable or cheesy, but in reality, a lot of the shit that tornadoes have done is literally baffling.

[@MissRobbiOKC]

I worked for a company in a tall downtown building of OKC. They told us that in case if a tornado everyone should go to the bathrooms which were along the inside core of the building by the elevators. It wasn't put to the test but during the 1995 Murrah Building Bombing some people who were inside the bathrooms said they did not feel the building shake. It was about 4 blocks from the bombing. Those in the offices did feel it. So I think the bathrooms would be the best choice for survival in the event of an EF5.

[@loganbaileysfunwithtrains606]

Yes all new or newer skyscrapers have adopted the strengthened inner core, for that reason, not only is the building stronger but provides a safe zone for people within it to go to. I doubt a tornado could bring a skyscraper down with a reenforced core, nice to know the building management had plans in place before an accident or disaster happened

[@Blood-PawWerewolf]

As someone who has been living in Oklahoma since 98 i was always concerned for the all glass skyscrapers like the Devon Tower.

[@strawwagen]

@@loganbaileysfunwithtrains606 the reinforced core would become the facade!

[@loganbaileysfunwithtrains606]

@@strawwagen but everyone inside would be alive

[@judithjanes5738]

Bathrooms in office buildings almost always have no windows, which is always mentioned as safer in a tornado.

[@jereboy2005]

As somebody who lives in Wichita, I got a good chuckle seeing you describe our Epic Center as a skyscraper. I guess it counts as one technically, just have never heard anybody describe it that way. We've had plenty of tornados during my life here. Even some in the city area. Last year, in April 2022, there was one that went right by me, clear as day and tore up a nearby suburb town called Andover. That was pretty scary, but awesome to witness with the naked eye. That Tornado in particular has so many videos here on KZbin from like every angle.

[@Thatdude_Nik]

A tornado destroying a building and then replacing it with a parking lot is the most American sounding thing ever

[@bradleymosman8325]

The widest tornado ever recorded was apparently the 2.6 mile wide El Reno monster in 2013. Wind speeds were over 300 mph. It was headed directly for the hotel where my daughter worked in downtown OKC. She was going from room to room telling people to get to the basement.

[@Skarfar90]

It's kinda crazy how large these tornadoes can get. In metric, that would equate to 4.2 kilometers. I am glad that I live in a place where there are no risk of tornadoes (although they do occur in my country)

[@Firemarioflower]

@@Skarfar90 They do occur = there IS risk

[@jadapinkett1656]

@@Firemarioflower Not everywhere.

[@adamisadamplays]

@@Firemarioflower last time a tornado occurred in Egypt ( my country ) was in 1973 or 1971 I forgot

[@BRUtahn]

There was a 4 mile wide tornado on May 3, 1999 measured later on in the evening by Josh Werman using the same mobile Doppler radar that measured the 301 mph windspeed in the Moore F5. Carly WX mentioned it in her video on the most unsettling historical tornadoes. I don't know why it doesn't get more coverage. Maybe because it was nighttime and no one saw it or took pictures of it and it didn't hit a town. It apparently had similar windspeeds too. A true horror lurking in the darkness.

[@cac_deadlyrang]

I know it was a nuke, but Hiroshima’s Genbaku Dome is a good example of how concrete structures can survive tornado force winds (albeit not unscathed).

[@DefinitelyNotEmma]

To be fair, a Shockwave is much stronger but also less consistent. A tornado gives a constant wind speed compared to a Shockwave

[@waltonsimons9082]

To be fair, the Genbaku Dome surviving is more due to the bomb going off nearly overhead, resulting in mostly vertical pressures.

[@makelgrax]

@@waltonsimons9082 ah yes, the dome survived because it was hit the hardest, but _from above._ Domes are cool.

[@NarNarHD]

Dome buildings actually have a track record of surviving tornados well. Reed Timmer the storm chaser/ meteorologist has said it in an interview before

[@TemenosL]

When I theoretically designed a completely tornado proof domicile, it was a massive, mostly underground structure with a very shallow concrete dome rising above the ground. Windows were thin and not angled in a perpendicular line of travel either.

[@donovanelesief794]

Tulsa had a skyscraper hit by a tornado a few years ago. It had destroyed many windows and the interior of this empty office space. It is being rebuilt but it took a long time to make repairs.

[@TheScreamingFedora]

Yep those windows were boarded up for at least 2 years

[@plushman3685]

Dude, I was a history major too! Awesome insight. Horrible to think about cheap construction-cutting corners in a building then an EF-5 hits and blows it away

[@violetviolet888]

It doesn't take an EF5 to blow away a poorly constructed building. An F2 can do that.

[@rodmunch69]

Yeah, everyone should just pay 20x as much for their homes to make sure it's F5 survivable. Great idea, you can never be too safe.

[@talen9235]

First talks about meteorology, then talks about structural engineering, “I’m not an engineer, I’m a history major.” I love it, good job!

[@artemis8396]

Heh history majors know how to research!

[@enflamedpapaya8592]

I spent years in Lubbock for college and I never researched the tornado that happened there! It’s so weird seeing all those streets and buildings that I’ve been to so many times on your channel

[@Britspence381]

Interesting video, tornadoes have always fascinated - and scared the heck - out of me. Kudos on your major, recent events have made me realize that we need all of the history majors we can get.

[@c0rruptedhusky]

Fun Fact: While EF6 is impossible to attain, F6 is possible. The damage level of this is considered "inconceivable" and only one tornado has even managed to get this rating, only in preliminary damage results. The prelim for the 1974 Xenia OH tornado was F6 before being downgraded to F5. Also another thing i noticed. When you were naming the scales of the (E)F scale, you were saying EF2, EF3, and so on, but those wind speeds are actually for the original F scale. The F scale has higher wind requirements than the EF scale but the F scale is much easier to get F5 on than EF5, due to the F scale being weird and underdeveloped even compared to the EF scale. Hope this helps! love your vids :)

[@trashcompactorYT]

F6 was removed from the F scale almost immediately, this is not and was not true.

[@the-angel-of-light-gardevoir8]

F6 is usssaly in popular media as tornadoes stronger than the El Reno/Bridge creek tornadoes at somewhere above 319mph it’s likely that winds even smaller could be ef6 but as nothing of that scale has ever been done it’s up to speculation

[@c0rruptedhusky]

@@trashcompactorYT no it is definitely true. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_Super_Outbreak go to confirmed tornadoes and find Xenia OH. I know what I'm talking about. It didn't stay F6 post-prelim.

[@sukhastings4200]

Ted Fujita actually considered an F6 (in comprehensive ) rating for the 4/474 Xenia tornado. He never followed thru on an F6 rating tho.Btw EF 5 tornadoes can throw a tractor trailer several hundred feet, it can destroy a skyscraper

[@dmthieme76]

For publishing in 2022, please use the EF scale winds, not those from the original Fujita scale.

[@AneudiD78]

Speaking of New York City. In the summer of 1978, a phone call from student architect undergraduate Diane Hartley saved the Citigroup skyscaper from crashing onto midtown Manhattan from an architect flaw. As a hurricane threatened the Eastern Seaboard, the city secretly hired every welder they could find to weld every bolt after workers left the building.

[@stickynorth]

Bingo! This was the classic example I could think of when it comes to hidden building flaws and windstorms, in that case a hurricane... I'd be concerned of the quality of the towers put up in boom towns... Toronto, Vancouver, Miami!

[@rodmunch69]

Oh God, that embellished story is still around?

[@artemis8396]

That is one glowing resume. Don't need anything else 😂

[@andrewmarsman3294]

Amazing work brother. I’m a meteorologist by degree and this topic has fascinated me for years. I think you said it very accurately. I will subscribe

[@alien200049655]

Thank you for creating the insightful, and educational video, you helped me understand the nature of urban tornadoes a bit better, and since I live in tornado alley "Oklahoma" this info was very useful. Hope to see more educational content like this in the future. Oh! And I just hit the Subscribe, and Notification bell.

[@sbclaridge]

I grew up in Fort Worth, and I recall March 28, 2000 and its aftermath despite being a kid at the time. Portions of downtown Fort Worth were closed off for months afterwards, although the tornado was only doing F1-level damage by the time it hit downtown (the F3 damage was further west). That tornado passed about a mile away from my house, and it was the closest I had ever been to a tornado until this March (2022), when a non-tornado-warned EF-1 touched down even closer. It only takes one structure taking damage at the maximum rating for the entire tornado to get that rating. The North Dallas tornado of October 2019 is a great example of this, because only one house received EF-3 damage; most of the damage along the path was rated either EF-1 or EF-2. No tall buildings or skyscrapers took a direct hit, although some office buildings in the vicinity of the I-635/US-75 interchange were dangerously close to the tornado's path. Despite this, the October 2019 Dallas tornado remains one of the costliest tornadoes on record (in terms of dollar costs), although this is generally because the tornado damaged some of Dallas' most affluent neighborhoods, in addition to the damage it inflicted to commercial property.

[@765kvline]

I recall the Ft. Worth tornado. It truly was a direct hit on one of the downtown buildings which was later condemned and removed. The building was damaged but did not topple. Lubbock, Texas does have a skyscraper which has a distortion in its ascension to the top. You can go there today and witness it. The building was not damaged enough to require wrecking.

[@raemybae2711]

i remember that Dallas one when I was in church. It was scary lol

[@ryanspears2921]

Ft worth resident here

[@sbclaridge]

@@ryanspears2921 if there's anything I've learned about tornadoes in the DFW area, it's that some of our biggest tornado days were never moderate- or high-risk days (as forecast by the Storm Prediction Center). April 3, 2012, December 26, 2015, and October 20, 2019 all come to mind here. Each of these days was either a slight/borderline enhanced or an enhanced risk day. 4/3/12 was before SPC introduced the Enhanced risk category, but looking at the SPC archives there was a 10% tornado risk east of DFW that day (which would warrant the "enhanced" designation now). What this tells me is that many of DFW's significant tornadoes seem to occur on more "conditional" days rather than on "slam dunk" days, at least when compared with regions to the north (Oklahoma) and east (the South/Mid-South alley) of DFW. As I'm say this, I cannot help but think that SPC has tomorrow (11/4/2022) currently forecasted as an Enhanced risk day. Obviously there's no guarantee we'll get any tornadoes, but SPC does note the probability of a strong tornado in their outlook. ~~~~~~ The last time that DFW was in a high risk was all the way back in April 2007. April 24, 2007 had a high risk near DFW, and April 13, 2007 was centered over DFW itself; both days only produced EF0 and EF1 tornadoes in North Texas, although the Fort Worth-Haltom City EF1 on 4/13/07 did kill one person. DFW was in a moderate risk on April 26, 2011, with a high risk immediately to the east, and there were some tornadoes to the southeast of DFW that day. If I recall correctly, I believe these storms would evolve to produce the early-morning outbreak across Mississippi and Alabama on April 27th too (which preceded, by several hours, the afternoon supercells that were responsible for the worst of the 2011 Super Outbreak).

[@ryanspears2921]

@@sbclaridge seems like it might end up being a more eastern situation tomorrow

[@copescale9599]

It is only a matter of time before we find out what happens when a tornado hits one of THOSE buildings.

[@sonnig8583]

Hey dude glad I found your channel! Love all things tornadoes! I've been reading up why twisters usually occupy flat plains and are rarely seen in cities mainly because of the wind paths and power needed to form the twister and buildings get in the way of those speeds and wind paths. Interesting stuff

[@ItsSauIGoodman]

Always make sure I never skip the ads in your videos. Love ya man.

[@davparksoh]

Jake - you did a thorough job here - well done! As a meteorologist specializing in tornadoes and applied mechanical engineering, I tend to dismiss these 'hypothetical tornado strength' videos - most are based on opinions - your's was well presented & had a solid science framework. I will say that tornado intensities are quantified differently depending on one's background. There have been discussions in the engineering fields as to adding an F/EF6 rating for 'once in a lifetime storms' that have devastated urban/industrial areas with winds calculated in the regions of 380 - 400+mph. Two examples are: Joplin Mo, 2011 and Niles, Newton Falls Ohio, Wheatland Pa 1985. These tornadoes did damage that left structural & civil engineers in shock (Joplin torqued/twisted the upper floors of their main hospital tower about 4 - 6 inches out of vertical - Niles, Newton Falls, Wheatland destroyed a steel mill & removed a large section of a parking lot) - this caliber of damage to major commercial/ heavy industry is way beyond anything found in neighborhoods, forests, farms, or strip malls. When reinforced concrete gets obliterated (Joplin) and massive main steel girders & I beams get bent, twisted, sheared, & penetrated (Niles, Newton Falls, Wheatland) - this is on another order of magnitude of damage - one that no wind lab in the world can come close to in simulations - not even close. This is really out of the realm of meteorology, and more for advanced physics, material science, & quantum mechanics. A good way to see tornadoes in general: (using F scales for example) F0-F2 blows things down, F3-4 blows things away, F5-(6) blows things apart - like explosive power - leaving damage paths with debris that is unrecognizable. With regard to this vid's topic, the taller a building is, the worse the damage will be especially with major tornadoes - inflow volumes, flow rates, funnel geometries, time, and debris all make the scenario extremely complicated - one that can't be modeled/simulated accurately at the present time - so a direct hit with an F5(6) would most likely result in catastrophic steel frame warpage & concrete elevator core cracking/buckling - with a tower that is left leaning, twisted & in danger of collapse over time - no owner, insurer could justifying anything but demolishing any remaining structure.

[@DanCantSleep]

Can someone do a tl;dr version of this plz

[@alop3184]

While the two tornados mentioned above were extremely intense, I am surprised that you did not mention the Jarrel Tx tornado of 1997. That one had some of the most extreme instances of damage documented (a 0% above ground survival rate in the worst affected areas, and ground scoured out to a depth of over one foot).

[@finlandball1939]

@@alop3184 that’s only because it moved at 5mph. It sat over an area for long enough to dig holes and do inconceivable damage due to its slow movements.

[@davparksoh]

@@alop3184 With the Jarrel TX tornado of 1997, the differences of that event & location are: that region is mostly flat, rural, fields & prairies - Jarrel is small, with no heavy infrastructure - the soil is mainly dry, loose topsoil/clays typical in those regions making scouring very likely. Most homes have no basements/storm shelters - in these regions, tornadoes do extensive damage to homes/farms/business - fatalities are higher when there is no place to shelter. To engineers, devastation in cities/industrial regions is more indicative of storm strength due to much more stringent & robust building codes/standards used for massive & expensive developments found in those areas. Trees, homes & barns get destroyed much sooner than major commercial/ heavy industry - that's why structural/civil engineers are often brought to major damage sites to analyze debris paths not found in rural areas. The 1997 Jarrel tornado's max strength will never be known because of where it hit - a small prairie town. Engineers have proposed the F/EF6 ratings for wind/debris loads that can only be calculated/estimated and not simulated/demonstrated - there's a big difference between the two. Torquing a hospital tower complex - leveling a major steel mill/parking lot removal are why the storms in Joplin 2011 & Niles/Newton Falls/Wheatland 1985 stand out & deserve an F/EF6 rating.

[@alop3184]

@@davparksoh What about the El Reno, Oklahoma tornado of 2011 that toppled and rolled over a 1,900,000 pound drilling derrick?

[@jamesdowell5268]

Dude, THANK YOU! Have wondered about this for years and there are zero good answers online. Would love you to interview a structural engineer with specific expertise on Tornados for this. Tim Marshall would be the dream, but really anyone with expertise in both Tornados and structures. Otherwise I do think the honest answer remains "we don't know." The biggest question mark is how skyscrapers react to rotating and updrafting winds. As you show, skyscrapers are tested and rated against *straight line winds*. What happens when the wind is acting as an irregular, twisting, and lifting force against the structure? This makes a huge difference. Just look at the damage caused by a given straight line windspeed in a strong hurricane, and compare it to the completely different and exponentially more severe damage from a tornado of equivalent windspeed. Thanks again!

[@scythelord]

I guess realistically it's just a matter of time till we have the answer.

[@thornor85]

clicked to see if you covered the Downtown Fort Worth tornado I remember very clearly from childhood and wasn’t disappointed! great work!

[@whiterunguard1434]

Never heard of your channel, but your content is engaging and really interesting. Subbing

[@danmartin5201]

Interesting fact: Dr. Fujita developed the Fujita scale as a result of his study of the 1970 tornado that struck the Great Plains Life Building in Lubbock.

[@violetviolet888]

Dan Martin: Which is exactly why the EF Scale needs to be updated because we have so much more technology and information 50 years later. You may find this video of interest: *Is The EF Scale Outdated?*

[@alyssinwilliams4570]

@@violetviolet888 The *EF* scale was revamped and redesigned in 2007ish, using data going back to, I want to say 1997? The original F-scale hadn't factored in engineering and materials and such. I'm sure at some point the EF will be revamped as well, but probably not for awhile

[@violetviolet888]

@@alyssinwilliams4570Technology has improved exponentially sine 2007. Teh EF Scals is STILL outdated. as evidenced by the the Joplin tornado in 2011 and analysis of many others since. See the video titled " Is The EF Scale Outdated?".

[@DaniTheFemby99]

A bit of a correction: the rating scale you gave in the video is the now-defunct F scale. Since 2007, NOAA and the NWS have used the EF scale. EF0 - 65-85 mph - Light Damage EF1 - 86-110 mph - Moderate Damage EF2 - 111-135 mph - Considerable Damage EF3 - 136-165 mph - Severe Damage EF4 - 166-200 mph - Devastating Damage EF5 - 200+ mph - Incredible Damage

[@Sj430]

I knew that he was saying the wind speed from the old F scale. I didn't know if anyone else knew that.

[@SwegleStudios]

Thanks for the correction!

[@ashbvrn2664]

Yeah thats exactly what i was thinking lol

[@tenka__]

hmm based on this scale we theoretically can have: EF6 - 300+ mph - Catastrophic damage is it bad that I would like to see one?

[@DaniTheFemby99]

@@tenka__ Theoretically speaking, an EF6 is POSSIBLE, but it's occurance would be so rare there would be no point.

[@alm5992]

I got a good nostalgic snicker out of hearing 007 Goldeneye music! Good work explaining the different scales!

[@DariusLundberg]

As a Texan recently moved here from Santa Barbara, California, the fact that so many of the EF5's were in Texas including Fort Worth, where I live, is scary!

[@rodmunch69]

Oh God another woke California cupcake moving to Texas? Yeah, lots of tornadoes are going to happen this year as well, you're best move back to California while you still have time.

[@finlandball1939]

I’d be much more worried about the older, brick buildings that are around 10 to 20 stories tall. Even 30 stories in some cases. Not as well engineered and a lot less wind resistant. They’d crumble in an EF5

[@prolife.spiderman]

When I free climbed the Devon Tower in June there were panels toward the top that were shaking pretty violently from the wind. I don’t see the thing ever tipping over, but a tornado could cause an incredible amount of damage to the decor and the glass

[@stormdiverz1200]

Were you the dude on the news? I mean I can’t imagine that anyone else could’ve done it but I saw an article about someone who climbed it about a month ago

[@prolife.spiderman]

@@stormdiverz1200 yup

[@jsihavealotofplaylists]

​@@prolife.spidermanno way..

[@rodmunch69]

Stop bothering people with your desperate plea for attention.

[@Bespelled22]

Living in Oklahoma City for decades I worry about an urban center strike. I’ve seen schools and hospitals completely leveled. I’ve seen a power plant reduced to rubble and whole neighborhoods swept clean. However I have worked on some of these tall buildings from red iron to finish and they are extremely strong at their core. I remember the Murrah building bombing and how the core of it held together. There is no doubt an EF5 would absolutely gut one of these buildings but I don’t think there is much of a chance for a collapse.

[@slyhill2562]

Good watching! Your voice is smooth bro! You made a grade A presentation as far as me going to bed. Keep it up!

[@gametannerz1450]

8:58 this also shows how America has become more and more car dependent and how city are focusing more on cars than walkability

[@Objectified]

Ugh. You people just can't help yourself. There are plenty of places in America that are walkability friendly. Stop generalizing a country the size of a continent.

[@LostSwiftpaw]

​@Objectified Plently of places and its like, exclusively within the limits of large city's downtown lol. Having to walk around the average suburb, especially new ones, is a nightmare.

[@AGW99-df3yg]

@@LostSwiftpaw because that's the whole point of those areas. If they were walkable, had public transport, etc then they'd become just as dangerous as the urban areas everyone's fleeing from in the first place.

[@LostSwiftpaw]

@@AGW99-df3yg LMAO immediate mask off

[@LostSwiftpaw]

@AGW99-df3yg Nice Mask Off moment there, at least you're being honest about what it's /actually/ about for you people

[@geeky12ful]

I live in Lubbock and when the tornado struck the Great Plains Life Building no one was injured or died as the stairwells held and that is where most everyone went. Some even used the elevators and went to the basement. Afterwards there was also additional evidence of the building being twisted besides the outside loss of bricks as the interior walls of the stairwell had cracked sheet rock and cement. As you described what the damage would be from a tornado most of the windows/glass and the office rooms were completely destroyed.

[@bradleylemons6199]

I just want to take a second and express how much I appreciate you putting the bangers from GoldenEye as the BGM. Never stop, please.

[@duncanelms8792]

I liked this video, not because of the intriguing content, not because you explain things excellently which would normally get my like. I liked this video because I heard a song from the Nintendo 64 GoldenEye soundtrack. Wish KZbin had a love button! Keep up the awesome work!

[@MidnightAspec]

We drove through Joplin (11:30) last year on our way back from Arizona to Jersey. I noticed that the entire town looks fairly new…..then I recalled the Joplin tornado. 😮

[@ILoveOldTWC]

They have recovered. But it took years for them to fully recover.

[@rodmunch69]

Thats weird, because I was in New Orleans a few years after Katrina and it still looked like a dump.

[@Comradist]

Thank you for playing Goldeneye music randomly. I love it lol

[@Recklesschaos89]

I was also pleasantly surprised lol

[@DragonRebelRose]

Love the background music from Golden Eye you use!

[@peterbarrett5496]

Yes I noticed that one sound. Deep down in my mind in conjored that neuron holding that information

[@jeffymac271]

This is the kind of content that you can’t find on tv. This is good stuff.

[@rebeccashepherd3112]

So so fascinating! I’m from down in Australia so have never experienced a tornado but find them so intriguing. Love your content and am learning a lot from it !! :D

[@dickJohnsonpeter]

I'm wonder why you don't get tornados there. Edit: Nevermind you do but usually in the rural places where there's no one around.

[@SoCal780]

I have often wondered about this. Once again, thorough research on your part helped greatly to answer this question. Your videos are always very interesting, keep it up! 👍

[@maryc2562]

Love the music. Your videos are great learning experiences.

[@tavi9598]

A few years ago, before the pandemic, a tornado ripped through northern Dayton, Ohio. Among the things destroyed was a hotel tower block on the north side of Interstate 75. The winds completely gutted the building, and it was demolished within a month afterward. The empty concrete pad it once sat on is still there, vacant and overgrown. Each year that passes it gets harder to tell there had ever been anything there.

[@danieldoesdumbstuff]

The Tornado Archive resource in your description is so cool. Thanks for letting us know about that!

[@SwegleStudios]

I use it so much! I might do a video on it in the future!

[@scienceoutthere]

@@SwegleStudios Let me know if you want any insider information! I'd be happy to collab.

[@evilassaultweaponeer]

Engineer here. I wouldn’t doubt that major high rises could survive an EF5 given the track record of heavy steel and concrete framed buildings. That said, it really would depend on the high rise. Something built lightly to take advantage of an easy site from a foundation and seismic standpoint may fare poorly. Brand new designs like steel/concrete composite cores (see the Speedcore system in Seattle’s Rainier Square) would probably laugh at a tornado. Also, one minor critique: reinforced concrete contains rebar, not steel beams. The reason for this is that all the steel beams melted on 9/11 :P

[@violetviolet888]

evilassaultweaponeer: Exactly. It always depends.

[@Alf483]

Love the videos. Keep up the good work

[@TrollBot.]

I can answer that for you, just in Tulsa a couple years ago in midtown a small tornado hit the the biggest building in the area and it definitely left damage I can only imagine what a larger tornado would've done. I also believe it depends on the type of Building if it can take a hit or not.

[@Ithaca-vv5dy]

Large tornadoes generally start off as weak tornadoes. El Reno tornado has entered the chat

[@Nextraker]

Great video 💪

[@TxasRed]

How did no one find this yet?

[@leanneadams2549]

You have the best sounding voice ever !!! I think you should do audio books ! I would buy just to hear that interesting and smooth sounding voice of yours !! But thanks for the info ! Super interesting !! My biggest fear is tornado so I’m always interested on how and which building would be the safest bet !!!

[@JH-qy8no]

New subscriber here. I really appreciate your Goldeneye N64 music. That motivated me to subscribe. It fits in perfect. More of that please.

[@hollymccormack4081]

Interesting video and like you said, there aren't many downtown areas that have been hit by major tornadoes but certainly a few unlucky instances. My great-niece had a close call in December in Bowling Green, KY when an EF-3 went through. Her dorm is 27 stories tall and the tornado missed the building but was close enough to rearrange the cars in the adjacent parking lot. Very thankful for that miss.

[@SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand]

Great job! I like your style of research and presentation.

[@TheBigBenji890]

As a Wichitan, I'm honestly just ecstatic whenever we get mentioned!

[@CheekyMonkey1776]

Great channel. Newest subscriber

[@gruenenator]

Great video, always glad to see more tornado content!

[@selena184]

one of my hyper fixations since i was a kid is tornadoes, and seeing all of your content about tornadoes makes me so happy omg

[@dataredacted4915]

As someone who lives in Lubbock Texas, seeing that photograph at 1:49 gives me chills. It's crazy to see today the discoloration between the two types of brick used (1 in original construction, 1 in reconstruction) due to the damage this building suffered and survived. May 11th 1970, even if I wasn't born until 2006, will forever hold a place in my brain and heart.

[@chazen00]

Swegle, love the videos brother, just wanted to let you know skyline footage of Birmingham was Birmingham, England, not Birmingham AL. Keep the videos coming, we all enjoy them very much!

[@MJIZZEL]

Bruh I love the ideas for videos you coming up with. I've got a suggestion myself. What about other tall structures that have collapsed during tornadoes such as water towers and radio or cell phone towers. The mulhall tornado is also very interesting. It was possibly the largest tornado ever and knocked over the towns water tower and didn't even directly hit the town as the center of it was over mile and a half away, it was so large. Some sites say it was possibly 4 miles wide. It isn't talked about as much being overshadowed by the Moore f5 earlier that day in May 99.

[@alexjones3511]

In Michigan, we had an EF2 that hit Detroit in 1997. It went through the West Side, Hamtramck, and Grosse Pointe Farms. If it hit downtown Detroit, the older concrete skyscrapers like the Fisher and Penobscot would see minimal damage but the Renaissance Center (GM HQ) would suffer major window damage as it has a mostly glass exterior.

[@nigeltate7337]

There are other cities in Michigan have had some fairly nasty urban tornadoes. One that especially comes to mind is the 1953 Flint-Beecher tornado, which ran just north of Flint. It was an F5. It never hit the downtown area, but wasn’t too far north of it (about 6 miles). The stone-faced skyscrapers probably could have fared reasonably well (assuming the damage was similar to the 1953 Waco tornado), but the rest of downtown would have likely been in ruins.

[@chloewebb5526]

omg, I was just thinking about this one. until the day our house was torn down, the roof leaked no matter who we hired to repair it after an old tree that was pratically up against the house fell on it. I vaguely remember another one from when i was even younger at my grandmothers in Walled Lake

[@Nick-lx4fo]

Atlanta downtown also got hit by a strong ef2 in the 2008 tornado outbreak

[@daeone1514]

I was 6 when that happened. It lasted a while cause I went from the west side to the east side, even hitting chandler park

[@jimbeaux89]

Is it just me or did I hear music from 007 goldeneye? Nostalgia right there

[@willsell456]

I like your use of Storm Chasers to depict the Fujita scale. It is an amazing game.

[@HatsuneM1ku01]

I’d imagine a skyscraper would need a full foundation and beam inspect after being hit as it could bend, or move some beams and upset it’s stability and and structural integrity of the building from the suck high winds.

[@580mafiarecords4]

Gary England. Meteorologist for Oklahoma for years whole heartedly believes the F5 Tornado from May 3rd 1999 was Part F6 on the old Fajita scale. He said he wish he had the power to rate it that.

[@ILoveOldTWC]

Based on what? You couldn't differentiate F6 damage because it would be surrounded by F4 and F5 damage. That tornado was not an F6, it was an F5. On The Weather Channel's Storm Stories, Jim Cantore said that was didn't jump the scale and become an F6, it was F5, and Gary I'm afraid is wrong in that case, even as powerful that one was. Having said that, that was an exceptional tornado, and tornadoes of that strength are very, very rare.

[@karlthomas7885]

I enjoyed you videos and you have a cool way of speaking, KLT.

[@eyanchoate5238]

Excellent music choice for the intro! Super underrated album from this guy

[@jakobh6257]

Always informative and entertaining, thanks 🙏

[@SwegleStudios]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@smoshfan99999999]

technically the fujita scale was a wind speed estimation scale based on destruction sustained. Currently buildings that can withstand an F5 are too expensive to build and maintain so an F5 causes absolute destruction to any buildings currently available, which is why F6 tornadoes are theoretical only atm. In the future there may be buildings that can withstand it and once that happens a f6 could possibly exist.

[@jatdesign4495]

Some do say the Bridge Creek/Moore 1999 tornado maxed at the weak F6 but the anemometer broke before it could read the true wind speed. Much like 1999 Joplin in 2011 and radar based speeds in the El Reno 2013 were equally as strong as the 1999 tornado. Again it’s subjective to destruction vs radar indication of speeds inside. Similar to a hurricane strength. It’s impact can be that of a cat 5 but be a cat 3 at landfall, for example.

[@PhoenixRoseYT]

@@jatdesign4495 this is very true. A tropical storm in New York could be as deadly as a Cat 5 in Florida. If we go by damage alone it’s very subjective based on the local engineering and architecture.

[@ron.v]

For those unfamiliar with tornado damage, I'll share what I've seen. First, I lived in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama for over 30 years. I've seen damage from quite a number of tornadoes. In one home, you could see into the bedroom because the outer wall was gone. However, the bed was still made with undisturbed pillows and the nightstand with a lace doily was still in place. A tornado can slice like a knife. I saw what was once a forest of pines that looked like it had been hit with a huge mower 1/2 mile wide. I can confirm a statement from this video that an F-5 can suck up pavement off the street and leave nothing but mud in its place. I've seen it. What type structure do I trust most? The easy answer is concrete and steel. I've seen a concrete and steel hotel that was hit with a hurricane and survived with no problem. I've never seen a steel reinforced concrete building with structural damage after a storm of any type. I would choose the most interior room for shelter in case of a storm. The building I worked in was 6 stories and withstood 70mph winds with no problem at all. Thanks for being a history major. Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it!

[@DamageLLC]

Great job dude!

[@teenageapocalypseusa5368]

A tornado slammed right into the Hilton hotel tower in Branson MO in 2012. The structure held out against the EF2 (prob EF3 given its forward speed was 70mph) winds pretty well.

[@Firemarioflower]

Well off course, an EF-2 is an F1 tornado. So that should be okay.

[@violetviolet888]

TeenageApocalypse US: You may find this video of interest: *Is The EF Scale Outdated?*

[@ratjam5882]

Holy shit, I would never expect to hear The President is Dead in the background of a youtube video PLUS a Grant Kirkhope track, instant subscription! Fantastic taste

[@juhmickm4410]

As a structural engineer, this was pretty tough to watch

[@michaeldicarlo5540]

Amazing video good information, btw now I want to play Goldeneye lol

[@MaritimeFox]

By the way, the video you use at 1:07 is Birmingham in the UK. As an aside the white tower to the left of the video is the BT (British Telecommunications) tower. There's one in London and various towers up and down the UK and they've been designed to withstand a nearby nuclear blast.

[@meanderthal2635]

Thanks for pointing that out! I'm in Birmingham (AL) in the States. Good boating here, if you ever make it down this way. Just avoid tornado season.

[@debbiegaide6620]

8:17 🔔✝️🙏❤️🔔 8:39

[@rodmunch69]

Whatever, same thing.

[@FastCarsNoRules220]

I always wondered about this since I only see tornadoes destroying big cities in the movies but hardly ever in real life.

[@rodmunch69]

It's never happened in real life.

[@kelliethornton7986]

No joke I've wanted this video for years! Thank you! Also, Alabama/Dixie Alley has more tornados than midwest tornado alley. Like, a lot more if I'm not mistaken.

[@paulmcnally8150]

I'm glad you got to St. John's hospital in Joplin. It was like a mini skyscraper that took a direct hit from a strong EF-5. I think most skyscrapers would remain standing but wouldn't be salvageable.

[@Firemarioflower]

Remember, that's an F3. A proper F5 would smash it to bits.

[@qitupmaga3403]

Used to work on the 29th floor of a skyscraper in Jacksonville, about 430 feet up. We don’t get crazy tornados, but a tropical storm would have the whole top of the building swaying back and forth. Truly engineering genius to have that much give and take in a mammoth size building. Also, that’s data center space, which means no windows, so you can’t even tell what’s going on outside, just that you can’t stand still

[@AlexPerez-fc3ov]

Jax, FL?

[@qitupmaga3403]

@@AlexPerez-fc3ov DTWD

[@stormchaser5]

Wow I didn’t think you would include the Lubbock tornado at 7:40

[@shawntherapidlyaginghipster]

Good video. I learned a lot.

[@user-zc3lf2bj5r]

Love the Golden eye music. Respect!

[@LayllasLocker]

Imagine being in that lean super tall building in NYC, on some of the top floors and looking at tornado coming. XD

[@caroledwards3289]

That's a real eeuugh situation!

[@jasperbarnes4544]

That atrocious thing, the 432 Park Avenue skyscraper, deserves to be hit by the wind from hell. It is ungodly ugly, funded by a suspicious bank, and is a leech on the NYC Skyline. To see it demolished would be the happiest day ever.

[@allenmoore4569]

May 11,1970. I was 9 yrs old. I grew up in a town 65 miles from Lubbock. We spent the entire night in cellars. We were hit by a swarm. As soon as the all clear would sound within mites another alarm would sound.

[@NolenFelten]

Excellent production, shout out to the Goldeneye drop.

[@CAJUNGUY-zc5rq]

Bro you have the perfect voice for educational science videos.

[@sirblack1619]

I am surprised that Saint Louis was not included in this since the city and the downtown area have taken direct hits before.

[@carsonog333]

mfs always be hatin on st louis

[@brendalucian6219]

Connecticut's had some pretty strong tornadoes come through.There was an F-4 in Windsor Locks in 1979.In 1989,there were at least four that went through the state from the Litchfield Hills,down through Waterbury,Hamden,and New Haven.I think most of them were F-3,

[@mak27456]

Not had any in CT since I was born (98) but I do remember the 2011 string of tornadoes that took place up in MA. Last time I drove up through the path you could still see some of the damage, bare foundations and such

[@poonerboonerconsumer8725]

No way you used C418s old music I was in love with this exact song and the album it's in during middle school and the nostalgia hit me so hard

[@TonioBryant1]

Great breakdown 👌🏾