Comparing the Texas City explosion with the Halifax explosion may be controversial.
The total amount of fertilizer on-board the Grandcamp had more explosive power than the Halifax explosion.
In one entry Wiki estimates the total potential explosive force of the Grandcamp as 3.2 kilotons of TNT, but the entire cargo did not explode.
There are reports of bags of fertilizer being blown skyward in the Grandcamp explosion.
Further in the same entry, Wiki estimates the Grandcamp explosion as equivalent to 2.7 - 3.2 kilotons of TNT.
The Halifax explosion was estimated as equivalent to 2.9 kilotons of TNT
Comparing the force of the Halifax explosion with the estimated force of the Grandcamp explosion;
Too close to call.
"I was watching a video just last night that mentioned the Grandcamp explosion in Texas City to be the largest non-nuclear explosion."
When reporting events as the "Largest", Biggest", "Best", etc. American news often omit the disclaimer; "In the United States."
As for the biggest non-nuclear explosions:
1. Minor scale;
[URL unfurl="true" said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_Scale[/URL]]
Minor Scale was a test conducted..............involving the detonation of several thousand tons of conventional explosives to simulate the explosion of a small nuclear bomb.
Minor Scale was reported as "the largest planned conventional explosion in the history of the free world"
.........equivalent to 4 kilotons of TNT
2. Misty Picture; A similar test to Minor Scale, equivalent to 3.9 kilotons of TNT
3. Heligoland/British Bang test, equivalent to 3.2 kilotons of TNT
Note: The previous three explosions were after the development of nuclear weapons.
4. Halfax Harbour, equivalent to 2.9 kilotons of TNT.
5. Grandcamp Texas City, equivalent to 2.7+ kilotons of TNT.
[URL unfurl="true" said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largest_artificial_non-nuclear_explosions[/URL]]Comparison with large conventional military ordnance:
The most powerful non-nuclear weapons ever designed are the United States' MOAB (standing for Massive Ordnance Air Blast, also nicknamed Mother Of All Bombs, tested in 2003 and used on April 13, 2017, In Achen Province, Afghanistan) and the Russian Father of All Bombs (tested in 2007).
The Halifax or Grandcamp explosions were each about
66 times more powerful than the Russian Father of All Bombs and 260 times more powerful than the US Mother of All Bombs.
Bill
--------------------
"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter