https://www.youtube.com/live/55VDGa0R_cs?is=Ixbri7qlYcRUTJT3

SIMEPAR—essentially the NWS of Paraná—has just classified this wedge tornado, according to the report: "Simepar (Paraná’s Environmental Technology and Monitoring System) has concluded its analysis of the phenomenon that struck the rural area of ​​Piraí do Sul, in the Campos Gerais region of Paraná, on August 8 of this year. It was a severe tornado classified as F3 on the Fujita Scale, associated with wind gusts estimated between 253 km/h and 332 km/h. An integrated analysis—combining field inspections, radar imagery, and drone-based aerial photogrammetry—confirmed a continuous path of destruction spanning at least 17.3 km.

The supercell that spawned the tornado was fueled by the presence of warm, moist air flowing from northern Brazil, driven by a low-pressure system over Paraguay. The movement of a cold front across the country's south intensified the moisture levels. Additionally, wind shear—defined as an increase in wind speed and/or a change in wind direction with altitude—occurring between the afternoon and early evening of August 8, fostered the development of organized storms across the West, South-Central, and Campos Gerais regions, creating conditions conducive to the tornado's formation.

The reconstruction of the tornado's path and the estimation of wind intensity were achieved through an integrated analysis of field surveys, weather radar imagery, and drone-based assessments, in a joint effort between Simepar and the Paraná State Civil Defense. Images submitted by the public—captured while the phenomenon was occurring—helped elucidate the tornado's formation, intensification, movement, surface interaction, and dissipation. Videos and field visits were also crucial for understanding debris movement, vegetation deformation, and the displacement of objects.

Wind intensity was estimated using the Fujita Scale criteria, taking into account the characteristics and severity of the damage observed in the field—such as the severe structural collapse of masonry and wooden buildings, and even a power transmission tower. Analyses revealed that pieces of wood, ceramic roof tile fragments, and *Araucaria* branches were hurled with enough force to penetrate the ground and become embedded in tree trunks.

*Araucaria* and other large trees had their trunks snapped at mid-height; pasture areas showed gouges; and there was localized removal of vegetation cover and topsoil caused by the intense winds. This classification represents an estimate of the tornado's peak intensity based on observed damage, rather than a direct measurement of wind speed.

The tornado's path extended for at least 17.3 km across the rural area of ​​Piraí do Sul, passing through localities such as Jararaca, Fundão, and Boa Vista, where photographic data, damage coordinates, and aerial orthomosaics were collected. Processing and georeferencing this evidence, in partnership with Simepar’s Infrastructure and Geointelligence teams, made it possible to precisely map the tornado's continuous path."

source: https://www.simepar.br/simepar/timeline/noticias

First photo of the tornado: https://x.com/TempoOeste/status/2086255509171056868

second photo of the tornado: https://agroemcampo.ig.com.br/2026/noticias/video-produtor-rural-filma-passagem-de-tornado-no-parana/

some footage of the tornado: https://youtu.be/v95WOpZ_drI

complete footage: https://youtu.be/T-fu5GJxvTQ?is=cntv8pa2cxJZKZD8

Source: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1598262524995218&vanity=meteorologistapiterscheuer

This post includes a few other photos of debris that was hurled, as well as a photo of the tornado itself: https://x.com/lucaschaser/status/2082933374696702071

In addition to producing a photogenic tornado, the supercell itself was incredibly photogenic, featuring a relatively small, low-precipitation mesocyclone that looked like a pillar; here is a distant video showing the cell's entire structure—it's insane!: https://www.facebook.com/tornadosnobrasil/videos/superc%C3%A9lula-que-gerou-o-tornado-em-giru%C3%A1-rs-28072026-/1550271089922816/

The first appearance of this photo was shared by: https://x.com/leo_str03

The most severe damage occurred to three houses that were directly hit; two collapsed completely, and one was partially swept off its foundation. Century-old trees were toppled, and others were severely damaged. Fortunately, there were no reports of fatalities; the occupants of these three houses survived but sustained injuries. Information and interviews with survivors are included in this video: https://youtu.be/vJR7zCc8mo8?is=Mye687wMm44uF0bS

From what we know so far, more than 10 houses have been affected in some way, and 7 people were injured.

This is one of the most terrifying photos of the tornado, taken by Sara Jensen; however, what many people don't know is that this photo wasn't taken in the town of Parkersburg itself but rather near Cedar Falls, and it might not even be of the same tornado.

To provide some context, YouTuber "Daily Dose of DAT" recently made an observation about this tornado in this video: https://youtu.be/3DewcUnD--8 A particular detail stood out: there were two gaps in the path where no damage was observed. Houses and trees within these gaps remained untouched, and these gaps are located exactly where a rapid cycle appears on the radar. In short, there is a possibility that the Parkersburg tornado was actually a family of three tornadoes. It's a really good video, and it's short too; I recommend checking it out.

The tornado photographed by Sara is believed to be the second in the family. Surprisingly, despite how terrifying it looked in that photo, no extreme damage was documented in that specific area—fortunately for the local residents. A house, a farm, and a line of trees lay directly in the tornado's path; fortunately, there was only minor damage to the farm's detailing, while the other structures appeared untouched. Immediately after this section, there was another gap before the damage resumed.

This alleged second tornado is quite curious; despite its frightening appearance, it wasn't as intense as one might have imagined. It dissipated as abruptly as it had formed, leaving behind a very short damage path.

This interesting observation was made by "Daily Dose of DAT" in this video: https://youtu.be/3DewcUnD--8

He decided to conduct a brief analysis of the tornado to see if he could find anything of interest. He noticed that the tornado might have undergone three cycles—meaning the Parkersburg event was actually composed of three separate tornadoes. He first mapped all DIs and Tim Marshall's observations along the path. He noted that the damage ceased at a certain point; simultaneously, radar imagery showed what appeared to be a rapid cycle where the primary circulation dissipated while another circulation intensified.

Another very interesting detail is that this infamous tornado photo taken by Sara Jensen was NOT taken in Parkersburg: https://www.reddit.com/r/tornado/s/TPYXc5wk0Y was actually taken near Cedar Falls. The tornado pictured is supposedly the supercell's second tornado following the cycle, and a curious feature is that, despite its frightening appearance, there is no extensive damage in the area. This alleged second tornado spent most of its existence crossing a field; however, a house and a animals farm—as well as a line of trees—lay directly in its path, yet these structures sustained virtually no damage. Tim King also photographed the tornado from that location (in 11:49 on the video), observing it in the direction of those structures—which is surprising, given how powerful the tornado appeared in the photo—yet, fortunately for the local residents, practically no damage was observed. This raises questions regarding the actual intensity of this alleged second tornado and whether it might have been weaker than previously believed.

Daily Dose of DAT theorizes that what is seen in these photos is loose soil or RFD.

This was one of the tornadoes produced during an outbreak that spawned ten tornadoes, including another F-4; this specific one was the most devastating of the day, striking the town of the same name directly and resulting in 7 deaths and 835 injuries. The tornado formed at 5:30 PM (UTC-3), and while I haven't found information on exactly when it dissipated, it traveled 47 miles and moved quite rapidly, so I imagine it would be possible to estimate its duration.

This video is part of a National Weather Service documentary about the 1974 Super Outbreak: https://youtu.be/9JjF-SlqfOg?is=AOg_I4PMuwrpNxBF At the 16:30 mark, there are short clips of what is supposedly the Guin tornado; however, I am confused as to whether this footage might actually be of different tornadoes, this is the most striking segment, because if they had wanted to illustrate the tornado, they would have used a clearer footage; instead, we have these few blurred seconds where nothing is visible other than flashes of light in the darkness.

This is a matter of great importance because there is only one known recording of this historic tornado—the audio that begins at the 2:25 mark here:

https://youtu.be/n7EZYl31iwU?is=TCZ4bIu4Pt2LJ8zh

This observation was made by user MathematicianOnly698

2011 was one of the worst years for tornadoes in history—if not the worst—featuring hundreds of extreme events and a insane number of major outbreaks, including the 04/27 Super Outbreak. Yet, despite all that, an unprecedented number of violent tornadoes occurred in just a few hours on April 3, 1974—which is truly remarkable.

edit: It is very interesting how this community's opinion regarding 1974 has changed, because in this old post, the consensus was that the standings wouldn't change much: https://www.reddit.com/r/tornado/s/skAXhPD3wt

now, the general opinion has shifted.

Even though it’s in Russian, I watched it with subtitles, and wow—what a well-crafted documentary. It compiles everything known about this tornado into a single video, including all the known footage. It’s expertly edited, and the animations are excellent, showing the tornado's path with precision and detail; it explains the tornado's behavior and other meteorological nuances I had no idea about. As for the content, the video goes to great lengths to provide as much information as possible about the victims and survivors, featuring various interviews and firsthand accounts from the time.

Despite the fact that 10 people died and an uncertain number were injured, the media at the time reported that no lives were lost—a complete disrespect to the tragedy that unfolded that day.

The video: https://youtu.be/v3e0BFozw3k?is=-itduEFB8N_ND8UJ

This is one of the best-documented tornadoes in Brazilian history and contributed significantly to the understanding of these phenomena in the country; it was a tragic event that claimed three lives and injured more than 15 people.

Fábio Alexandre was in the area photographing damage caused by an earlier tornado (if you look closely, you can see broken tree branches on the right and some debris in the vegetation on the left) when he suddenly spotted the massive wedge on the horizon. He was on high ground, placing him at the perfect angle to photograph the tornado. The photo is incredible; despite the low quality, the storm's structure remains impressive, and the tornado was fully visible with virtually no rain nearby.

This is likely the only known footage showing the rig seconds before its destruction and its subsequent disappearance into the darkness; the tornado is right behind it, completely wrapped in precipitation, the chaser was located on Interstate 40 at the exact moment of impact; the prominent metal tower is almost certainly The 177. The original footage was captured by Stormhunt and posted to YouTube in 2013: https://youtu.be/yNMnnMOHRrc?is=nbpKKFgPsd9MQk5M. The clip was also posted to YouTube yesterday by IndonesianGuyWx: https://youtu.be/zPx0idQrGHo?is=LXDwt0fu3jyCoRR6 and was shared here a few hours ago by user u/puppypoet: https://www.reddit.com/r/tornado/s/c03vSg9yar

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Here is a brief summary of this tornado, in case you aren't familiar with it: The Chickasha tornado is one of only three "high-end" EF-4s—with estimated winds of 200 mph—and it formed on the same day as the El Reno-Piedmont EF-5. It wasn't classified as an EF-5 due to technical details regarding the quality of the homes that were struck. With that summary out of the way...

I was watching this video: https://youtu.be/Z086EhEEwT0?is=QsynhuLGQlpcYbcf dedicated to this tornado when I came across a piece of information I had never heard before. I decided to explore the damage path records in search of this specific description. Initially, I thought it might be an EF-4 DI, so I checked all of them but found nothing; then, I began exploring all the EF-3 DIs until I finally found it. I also noticed that for other DIs, the phrase "possible EF-5 candidate" appeared a few times. It is truly interesting just how close this tornado came to receiving the maximum rating.