Talk:Bulahdelah tornado

Latest comment: 1 year ago by TornadoLGS in topic The F5 rating

The F5 rating edit

We might as well start this discussion and solve it once and for all.

For the present time, I went ahead and removed the rating information (about being an F5) and I have removed it from the List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes as it is from a self-published source (non BoM meteorologist). Speaking of the F5/EF5 tornado list article, the Discussion about the list had a comment from myself and ChessEric about this tornado and per ChessEric’s comment, “I really don't know if we can even keep the F5 designation in the article on this tornado”.

So now for the nitty gritty part of the discussion. The source that was being used for the F5 rating ([1]) is by T. Eric Brown, a degreed meteorologist (major) and degreed historian (minor). The source is self-published, however, we do have self-published material from meteorologists (Like Dr. Grazulis) as sources for information. So the question is more about what to do in this situation. From what I can tell, T. Eric Brown is not an expert (unlike Dr. Grazulis) in the field, however, since they are a degreed meteorologists and historian, they do get some extra “weight” to have a self-published source be allowed. Any ideas on what to do? TornadoLGS, United States Man, Drdpw. Elijahandskip (talk) 04:20, 15 October 2022 (UTC)Reply

I'm reminded of the now-disappeared ExtremePlanet blog that was discussed a few years ago on the F5/EF5 list. It was self-published, but they guy seemed to know what he was talking about. It was decided that it was not sufficiently reliable. That being said WP:SELFPUB allows for material from established experts, which would certainly qualify Grazulis and Fujita. But there is still a big difference between simply having a college degree and being a well-renowned expert. The page does mention "experts" as believing this tornado to be an F5. So it may be worthwhile to contact Brown to ask for the sources on that. I'm not optimistic on that front, though, because the website hasn't been updated since 2015. TornadoLGS (talk) 01:08, 16 October 2022 (UTC)Reply