Tornado in pilgrims
The tornado in Pilger on June 16, 2014 was a strong tornado that hit the town of Pilger (Nebraska) on the afternoon of June 16, 2014, destroying almost three quarters of the town and killing at least two people. Since two tornadoes moved side by side during the event and thus spectacular images were taken, the event also became known in the international media.
course
On the afternoon of June 16, 2014, parts of the northern United States , particularly Nebraska and Iowa , were at increased risk of tornado. In the northeast of Nebraska, a so-called super cell developed , this is a strong and mostly long-lasting thunderstorm that rotates to the full extent and in which the updraft and downdraft are clearly separated from each other. At around 3:40 p.m., a tornado formed in the updraft area of the supercell and a second later. Both tornadoes moved with great intensity and relatively large dimensions in a northeasterly direction. One of the tornadoes reached Pilger, Nebraska at around 4:00 p.m. and destroyed around three quarters of the town within a few minutes, killing at least two people and injuring 19 people, some seriously. Other places were not affected. In addition to the two tornadoes, there were more than 30 other tornadoes, but these were weaker tornadoes with little or no damage.
Damage
In the Pilger area affected by the tornado, the lightweight structures were mostly completely damaged, while massive roofs were damaged, but mostly no structural damage. An important clue that could also contribute to the exact intensity specification is the occurrence of so-called "debarking" on trees. As with sandpaper, the bark of the trees is sanded off by the sandblasting effect. Often strong debarking, as it sometimes also took place in Pilger, is a sign that the tornado has at least reached F4 on the Fujita scale .
classification
As is usual in the USA, this tornado is also classified using the Fujita scale (F0 to F5) used internationally. However, since the event has not yet been fully verified, there is initially no exact intensity specification.