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Where was, and what was the diameter of the largest tornado ever recorded?

Question #50949. Asked by miiii1795.
Last updated Sep 15 2016.

Brainyblonde
Answer has 3 votes
Brainyblonde
24 year member
1455 replies

Answer has 3 votes.
The Hallam, Nebraska F4 tornado of 22 May 2004 is the newest record-holder for peak width, at nearly two and a half miles, as surveyed by Brian Smith of NWS Omaha. This is probably close to the maximum size for tornadoes; but it is possible that larger, unrecorded ones have occurred.
link http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/

Sep 12 2004, 1:58 PM
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CapainNemo
Answer has 7 votes
Currently Best Answer
CapainNemo
16 year member
105 replies avatar

Answer has 7 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
The widest tornado (defined as damage path, not condensation/debris cloud or radar measurements) on record is the Wilber - Hallam, Nebraska tornado during the outbreak of May 22, 2004, with a width of 2.5 miles (4 km) at its peak.

The widest tornado as measured by actual radar wind measurements was the Mulhall (1999) tornado in northern Oklahoma which occurred during the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak. The distance between the maximum winds on each side of the tornado (over 110 m/s) was over 1600 m

link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_records#Widest_damage_width

2013 UPDATE
On May 31, 2013 an EF5 with one main and many satellite vortexes ran through El Reno, Oklahoma. The main funnel was measured by radar to be 2.6 miles wide. The toroidal debris ring surrounding the base of the main funnel was measured to be 3 miles wide. There were at least 14 deaths associated with it, though many seem to have been drownings from poorly sheltered victims caught in flash flooding and not directly from the wind event. Three storm chasers were killed in their vehicle when it was caught by winds estimated at around 300 mph in a satellite vortex. Another vehicle, this one from "The Weather Channel" was caught by one of the vortexes and tossed 200 yards sending the three occupants to the hospital for various injuries. Their car was flattened like a pancake.

link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_26%E2%80%9331,_2013_tornado_outbreak



Response last updated by Terry on Sep 15 2016.
May 18 2009, 9:09 AM
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raidersruleall star
Answer has 3 votes
raidersruleall star
16 year member
114 replies avatar

Answer has 3 votes.
The widest tornado ever recorded occurred between Wilber and Hallam, Nebraska. The tornado was 2.5 miles wide.

link http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_widest_tornado_ever_recorded

May 18 2009, 2:10 PM
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themonarch star
Answer has 3 votes
themonarch star
17 year member
115 replies avatar

Answer has 3 votes.
The longest track single tornado is the Tri-State Tornado, which traversed greater than 219 miles (352 km) across southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois, and southwestern Indiana in about 3.5 hours. Though there has been some discussion as to whether this was a single tornado or a tornado family, recent and ongoing detailed reanalysis has found no break in the path and in fact that the tornado began 15 miles (24 km) before previously thought.

link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_records

May 29 2013, 8:46 AM
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mehaul star
Answer has 4 votes
mehaul star
15 year member
477 replies avatar

Answer has 4 votes.
Is longest lived the same as largest or is widest? (And then width is also not meant to mean highest on the EF scale) Copied from wiki for tornado with widest damage path:
"The widest tornado (defined as damage path, not condensation/debris cloud or radar measurements) on record is the Wilber - Hallam, Nebraska tornado during the outbreak of May 22, 2004, with a width of 2.5 miles (4.0 km) at its peak. It was an F4."

link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_records#Largest_and_most_powerful_tornadoes

Response last updated by Terry on Sep 15 2016.
May 29 2013, 11:19 AM
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