My Favorite Ride: Tornado picks up and relocates man's cars and trucks

Laura Lane, The Herald-Times
·2 min read

SPENCER — No happy, upbeat car story here this time. Because after seeing what the tornado in Owen County left behind last week, I was reminded of the destructive power of dangerously high winds.

Now I'm reminding you.

Winds measured at 138-mph obliterated the campground at McCormick's Creek State Park late the night of March 31, killing two people. The F3 tornado continued east four miles, destroying the house where Calvin Bowman lived with his mother and daughter.

Calvin Bowman's Toyota Echo was battered and moved during a tornado March 31 in Owen County.
Calvin Bowman's Toyota Echo was battered and moved during a tornado March 31 in Owen County.

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Those winds also picked up and moved multiple vehicles parked at their residence out into the middle of Concord Road. Bowman was surprised when he walked out of the rubble and saw them askew, not where they had been parked.

And he was saddened to learn that neither the insurance on the house nor his liability car insurance will cover the vehicle damage.

So if anyone out there has a decent car for sale, Bowman might be in the market. You'll find him working in the meat department at the Spencer Sav-A-Lot grocery.

Calvin Bowman's Jeep SUV after the March 31 tornado that destroyed his home
Calvin Bowman's Jeep SUV after the March 31 tornado that destroyed his home

My attempt to find out more about the numbers of cars and trucks tornadoes destroy went nowhere. But I did find an academic research paper of sorts in the Autumn 1998 edition of the Journal of Safety Research called "Behavior of Vehicles during Tornado Winds" that shed some light, although not much, on the phenomenon.

It cites a 1985 study that estimated a wind speed of 179 mph had been necessary to "aerodynamically lift" a 12,000-pound farm truck that was blown 100 yards during a June 1979 tornado in Iowa.

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The article refers to Chrysler Corp. data estimating a minimum wind speed of 118 mph, coming from the side, is required to tip over a 3,000-pound sedan.

The TORRO tornado intensity scale was created in Great Britain in 1972. Its testing showed that "motor cars levitated” in winds between 137 and 160 mph, a fact Bowman can attest to.

A truck owned by Calvin Bowman destroyed by the March 31 tornado in Owen County.
A truck owned by Calvin Bowman destroyed by the March 31 tornado in Owen County.

"At wind speeds of 161-186 mph, the TORRO scale states, 'heavy motor cars levitated,' and at 213 -240 mph, 'motor cars hurled great distances,'" according to the journal article.

The research indicated "vehicles are commonly blown great distances and demolished during violent F4 and F5 tornadoes," and said vehicles are not in direct danger from F0 tornado winds less than 73 mph.

One of Calvin Bowman's trucks was crushed by the March 31 tornado in Owen County.
One of Calvin Bowman's trucks was crushed by the March 31 tornado in Owen County.

The article states more research is necessary to learn about vehicle performance the during F1, F2, and F3 tornadoes, which carry winds of 73 to over 200 mph.

"Knowledge about the behavior of structures and vehicles in these tornadoes is important because they comprise 72% of all tornadoes," the article states. The researchers could begin now, out on Concord Road in rural Owen County.

Have a story to tell about a car or truck? Contact My Favorite Ride reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: My Favorite Ride: Tornado picks up, relocates man's cars and trucks