The fire station at Spencer, SD, was anchored to its slab foundation with 1/4-inch bolts, before the tornado‘s southeast side popped the entire building bodily off the bolts and disintegrated it somewhere in midair. I came to this conclusion because the sill plate was cleanly slipped up past the bolt heads (no washers) all around the foundation, and because large, mostly intact and partially connected sections of the building landed to the ENE near the water tower. The south-facing, sheet-metal bay doors (one of which is seen on the ground at lower left) compromised easily, letting in a sudden and tremendous wind force that shoved upward and outward against ceiling, roof and walls. This scene was eventually rated marginal F4, consistent with debris-laden winds detected by Doppler on Wheels a few tens of meters above the surface. Still, something is very odd here. The red fire trucks were not moved—indeed, were barely damaged except for lost windows—and the firemen’s gloves remained almost precisely placed in their neatly organized rows, on the floor of what had been a closet.
Spencer SD (31 May 98) Looking NW
43.7255, -97.5928