Tornado blamed for fatal train derailment in Shonai, Japan

[P.K.]

The date at the top of this says the 1st March so ignore that.

Investigators blame twister for derailment that killed 5

01/03/2006
The Asahi Shimbun

YAMAGATA--Tornadic winds likely caused the derailment of the Inaho No. 14 express train, killing five passengers and injuring 32 others Dec. 25 in Shonai, police said over the weekend.

The train derailed Christmas evening during a snowstorm, just after crossing over a bridge en route from Akita to Niigata.

Investigators have documented an 8-kilometer straight path of severe wind damage that includes the derailment site at the time of the accident. This indicates the possibility that a tornado had passed through the area, police said.

According to the police, a settlement of 11 households located about 500 meters east of the derailment site of East Japan Railway Co. (JR East)'s Uetsu Line was exposed to severe winds around 7:15 p.m. Dec. 25, about the same time the derailment took place.

Among the damage noted: The roofs of three of the houses had been blown away. A shed used to store agricultural machinery on the west side of the tracks was destroyed. Snow fences installed about 6 km southwest of the site in Sakata were blown away.

Trees planted as a windbreak about 2 km west of the snow fences were found broken.

A resident living nearby was quoted as saying, "I have never seen or experienced such winds or extraordinary lightning."

Because the circumstances surrounding the Dec. 25 derailment are similar to those surrounding the 1978 derailment of a Tozai Line subway train while crossing a bridge, investigators with the police and at the land ministry speculate that the express train was also toppled by localized wind gusts generated by a tornado, officials said.(IHT/Asahi: January 3,2006)

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200601030091.html

[WindRunner]

I've heard of thundersnow and cold-air funnels, but was this really a snow tornado? (Yeah, we'll probably never know ) If so, that would be rather astonishing. But I guess it would be some crazy strong storms to dump 13 feet of snow.



BTW - It doesn't say March first - it says January third, using American date format (MM/DD/YYYY).

[P.K.]

Doesn't surprise me to get a tornado during thundersnow. The last thundersnow event over here had one. I don't know what the frequeny of low topped or classic supercells in Japan is, but here it is low so most of our tornadoes are non-mesocyclonic. Given that it isn't surprising to see tornadoes all year round in other places.

(DD/MM/YYYY in the UK so it looked odd to me)