What is stronger a bomb or a tornado?

Answer 1

Apples and Oranges.

The most destructive tornado on record is an F5. Several have hit locations in the central US over the past decades. One of the largest had a base of over a mile. That is it created a one mile swath of destruction.

There are generally two classes of bombs: conventional and nuclear. The largest conventional bomb was built by the US, the MOAB (GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast, commonly referred to as the Mother of all Bombs). MOAB is what we call a Fuel Air Explosive (FAE), that is it uses two explosive charges--one to disperse the fuel mixture and a second to detonate it. MOAB has an unclassified blast yield of 11 tons. Since MOAB's development in 2003, Russia has made claims of building and testing the Father of all Bombs (Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power (ATBIP)). FOAB has an estimated yield of 44 tones.

MOAB has a blast radius of 500 feet, ATBIP has a blast radius of 1,000 feet, both well under that one mile base of an F5.

The second type of bomb, nuclear is another matter. The smallest yield nuclear weapon developed is a toss up between the M-28 or M-29 Davy Crockett Weapon Systems, a vehicle or tripod mounted tactical nuclear recoilless gun with a yield of 10 to 20 tons, and similar sized artillery rounds. The blast radius of such a device would have been similar to that of the MOAB but less than that of the ATBIP.

The largest nuclear device alleged to have been built was a 100 megaton thermonuclear device for the Soviet (former Russian USSR) military. Although none are believed to have been tested, the blast radius of such a device is nearly unimaginable.

To put this into perspective, the most common strategic nuclear device was in the 5 megaton range. Such a device detonated above ground at about 200 feet would create a crater roughly 1.5 miles wide, and half a mile deep, essentially vaporizing everything within that diameter. Blast damage would radiate out from ground zero well past the speed of sound flattening and burning everything within about a 30 to 50 mile radius, diminishing the level of damage as it radiated outward. At about 60 to 70 miles, the blast wave would be experienced as a high wind. Additionally, everything down wind for roughly the width of the Western Hemisphere would be irradiated.

So, in short, one can run from a tornado, and find shelter in something as simple as a drainage culvert. One does not outrun MOAB, FOAB, or Grandpa Nuke.