debris fallout

The basic mechanism of debris fallout is debris lofted by a tornado's updraft winds high into the atmosphere.{{cite web |url=https://weather.com/storms/severe/news/2024-03-20-tornado-severe-weather-radar-terms-debris-ball-hook-echo |title=Hook Echo, Debris Ball, Bow Echo: What Meteorologists Mean By These Radar Terms |first1=Chris |last1=Dolce |date=20 March 2024 |access-date=19 December 2024 |publisher=The Weather Channel }} Charles E. Anderson completed the first study focusing on debris fallout on the F5 1984 Barneveld tornado, which produced a large survey revealing a trail of paper debris as wide as {{cvt|23|mi|km}} at {{cvt|110|mi|km}} from Barneveld and a roughly {{cvt|85|mi|km}} long path of heavy debris (>{{cvt|1|lbs|kg}}). A later study focusing on debris fallout discovered that debris from an intense tornado was lofted potentially as high as {{cvt|12|km|mi}} into the atmosphere over the 15–20 minutes after the tornado striking a location, before debris was moved further into the tornado's forward-flank downdraft. A photograph had been traced and discovered to have an average speed of {{cvt|18|m/s|mph km/h}} over 30 minutes.{{cite journal |journal=Monthly Weather Review |doi=10.1175/1520-0493(1998)126<1430:LDDTBT>2.0.CO;2 |title=Long-Distance Debris Transport by Tornadic Thunderstorms.Part I: The 7 May 1995 Supercell Thunderstorm |publisher=American Meteorological Society |first1=Michael A. |last1=Magsig |first2=John T. |last2=Snow |date=1998 |volume=126 |issue=6 |page=1430 |bibcode=1998MWRv..126.1430M |doi-access=free }} A 1993 analysis by Thomas P. Grazulis of 12,651 tornadoes found only 86 had reports of debris being transported over {{cvt|5|mi|km}} from its origin.

The height of a tornado debris signature is positively and non-linearly correlated with the speed of updraft winds, which is likely compounded by fallout.{{cite journal |title=Exploring Tornadic Debris Signature Hypotheses Using Radar Simulations and Large-Eddy Simulations |first1=Rachael N. |last1=Cross |first2=David J. |last2=Bodine |first3=Robert D. |last3=Palmer |first4=Casey |last4=Griffin |first5=Boonleng |last5=Cheong |first6=Sebastian |last6=Torres |first7=Caleb |last7=Fulton |first8=Javier |last8=Lujan |first9=Takashi |last9=Maruyama |date=1 October 2023 |publisher=American Meteorological Society |journal=Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology|volume=40 |issue=10 |pages=1199–1219 |doi=10.1175/JTECH-D-22-0141.1 |url=https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/60241 }} Debris that falls directly over the vortex can result in an increase in the size of the tornado debris signature on radar.{{cite journal |title=Polarimetric Tornadic Debris Signature Variability and Debris Fallout Signatures |journal=Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology |first1=Matthew S. |last1=Van der Broeke |date=1 December 2015 |volume=54 |issue=12 |page=2389 |doi=10.1175/JAMC-D-15-0077.1 |bibcode=2015JApMC..54.2389V }}

• 1915 Great Bend tornado – A cancelled check discovered in Palmyra, Nebraska, was traced back to Great Bend, Kansas, a distance of {{cvt|210|mi|km}} and, at the time, the greatest distance any debris had been lofted by a tornado.
• 2011 Super Outbreak – A study identified a Facebook page listing over 1700 lost-and-found documents and other light debris from the entire outbreak. Debris was frequently lofted as high as {{cvt|5.5–6.5|km|mi}}, particularly from the violent (EF4/EF5) tornadoes.{{cite journal |journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society |title=Tornado Debris Characteristics And Trajectories During The 27 April 2011 Super Outbreak As Determined Using Social Media Data |date=1 September 2013 |publisher=American Meteorological Society |first1=John A. |last1=Knox |first2=Jared A. |last2=Rackley |first3=Alan W. |last3=Black |first4=Vittorio A. |last4=Gensini |first5=Michael |last5=Butler |first6=Corey |last6=Dunn |first7=Taylor |last7=Gallo |first8=Melyssa R. |last8=Hunter |first9=Lauren |last9=Lindsey |first10=Minh |last10=Phan |first11=Robert |last11=Scroggs |first12=Synne |last12=Brustad |volume=94 |issue=9 |pages=1371–1380 |doi=10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00036.1 |bibcode=2013BAMS...94.1371K |doi-access=free }}
• 2011 Smithville tornado – A {{cvt|5|ft|m}} metal sign found in Russellville, Alabama, was traced back to Smithville High School, around {{cvt|50|mi|km}} away.
• 2011 Hackleburg–Phil Campbell tornado – Over half of the debris in the study's database originated from this EF5 tornado in Alabama. A windbreaker weighing over {{cvt|1|lbs|kg}} was lofted {{cvt|107|km|mi}} from Hackleburg to Elkmont, and a photograph was lofted from Phil Campbell, Alabama, to Lenoir City, Tennessee, a distance of {{cvt|353|km|mi}} and the furthest any individual piece of debris is known to have been lofted.
• 2011 Joplin tornado – A receipt from a tire repair shop in Joplin, Missouri, which was struck by a violent EF5 tornado, was discovered several days later in Royal Center, Indiana, {{cvt|525|mi|km}} away. This account is disputed, as it was revealed that the receipt was likely left behind by visiting family members driving from Texas who had stopped in Joplin for repairs.{{cite web |url=https://www.stlpr.org/health-science-environment/2011-05-28/joplin-receipt-hitched-a-ride-in-a-car-not-a-tornado |publisher=St. Louis Public Radio |date=28 May 2011 |access-date=18 December 2024 |first1=Rob |last1=Koenig|title=Joplin receipt hitched a ride in a car, not a tornado }}
• 2015 Rochelle–Fairdale tornado – Debris from this tornado was discovered as far away as Racine, Wisconsin, {{cvt|80|mi|km}} away. Among the debris was a photo of Geraldine Schultz, alongside her husband Clem Schultz; Geraldine was one of the two people to die in the tornado.{{cite web |url=https://weather.com/storms/tornado/news/fairdale-rochelle-illinois-tornado-debris-found |title=Rochelle, Fairdale Tornado Debris Found Up to 80 Miles Away |date=15 April 2015 |access-date=31 March 2025 |first1=Jon |last1=Erdman }}
• 2019 Lawrence–Kansas City tornado – A 2020 study focusing on this tornado discovered that lofted debris became visible on radar following the tornado reaching violent intensity. Kansas City International Airport had been under a tornado warning, and 16 minutes after the all-clear was lifted, despite being {{cvt|75|km|mi}} from the tornado itself, a ground stop was issued as significant volumes of debris was reported on the runway. An airborne debris signature was evident over the airport up to an hour prior to the first reports of debris.
• 2021 Edwardsville tornado – After striking an Amazon warehouse, where six died, a significant amount of debris from the facility was noted by surveyors, being found across the parent supercell's "entire path", which extended through Shelby County, Illinois.{{cite web |url=https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/6c870871d11c4c009294bb1a840ea9ec |title=December 10, 2021 Tornado Outbreak |first1=Lydia |last1=Jaja |first2=Tyler |last2=Stanfield |publisher=National Weather Service St. Louis, Missouri |website=ArcGIS Storymaps }}
• 2024 Greenfield tornado – Volunteer maize crops began sprouting around Greenfield in July 2024. This was attributed to the EF4 tornado that hit the area months before, which also brought heavy rains that may have incited the growth of the crops.{{cite web |url=https://www.bigcountryhomepage.com/weather/twister-corn-a-result-of-the-greenfield-iowa-tornado/ |title=Twister Corn: A Result of the Greenfield, Iowa Tornado |first1=Carter |last1=Vandrasik |publisher=KTAB |date=16 July 2024 |access-date=11 February 2025}}

• Nuclear fallout
• Rain of animals

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