Severe Weather

[Thomkal]

well thought we might have escaped the tornado "fun" here in Myrtle Beach area-we've been under a watch all day, but the storm line has stayed just far enough to the west that we haven't even had any rain today. The watch was supposed to be over at 4 pm, they just extended it to 8 pm.

:::shakes fist at the sky::: No damn tornado better knock out power here so I miss the draft!

Seriously though the debris item stuff is amazing and very sad at the same time.

[tucking fypo]

The Tuscaloosa videos, especially the one with the guy in Coleman Coliseum, were pretty unbelievable. What are they saying, F4 or 5? Surely an F5.

Smithville, about 50 miles southeast of here, was flattened. Some gruesome stuff from a friend of mine over there. He said his neighbors were looking at the damage in their backyard and noticed a woman lying face down that lived about a mile down that had been deposited there by the tornado.

I've never seen anything like this in my life.

[stevew]

So I travelled to south west Virginia this weekend for a wedding. Interstate 81 was blocked up at roughly the Abingdon area(nice place btw). We then attempted to take a bunch of back roads to avoid the congestion....holy shit the tornado carnage was insane. Telephone poles sheared in half. Trees down everywhere. I'm pretty sure the interstate was compromised at some point, as the traffic backup was so signficant.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by tucking fypo

The Tuscaloosa videos, especially the one with the guy in Coleman Coliseum, were pretty unbelievable. What are they saying, F4 or 5? Surely an F5.

Preliminary was F4, could change though. So far, the Smithville twister and the one that hit Hackleburg, AL are the only two F5's.

Smithville, about 50 miles southeast of here, was flattened.

That would be the area that caused Roy Oswalt to leave the team for personal reasons (he's from/has family in that area if I understood things correctly). I'm sure you knew that, I just didn't recall seeing it mentioned in this thread & figured I'd throw it out there.

[JonInMiddleGA]

FWIW, a stormchaser friend of mine linked the updated NWS stats on the outbreak today. Current count is still two F5, eleven F4 and 21 F3 from a total of 362 confirmed tornadoes between 4/25 and 4/28. Between 8a 4/27 and 8a 4/28 there were 312. Death toll for the three days is at 350, with all but 10 of those on the last day. It dwarfs the 1974 Super Outbreak in terms of total twisters and has now surpassed one-day and two-day death tolls back to 1936 and 1925 respectively.

More at
April 2011 tornado information

[Wolfpack]

Given the razed nature of sizeable chunks of Tuscaloosa, I'm rather surprised that the Tuscaloosa twister didn't measure out as an EF5, and if that's not EF5-level destruction, I'm not sure I want to see what EF5-level destruction looks like.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

Given the razed nature of sizeable chunks of Tuscaloosa, I'm rather surprised that the Tuscaloosa twister didn't measure out as an EF5, and if that's not EF5-level destruction, I'm not sure I want to see what EF5-level destruction looks like.

Pretty surprised as well, since the radar was clocking it at above 200 mph at the time. But I guess the extent of the damage must have been because of the size, and not wind-speed when they inspected the damage.

[DeToxRox]

This will be fascinating:

THE SOUND AND THE FURY: BEHIND THE KILLER TORNADOS OF 2011
Discovery’s Storm Chasers Explain the Why and How in an all-new world premiere special,
TORNADO RAMPAGE 2011 on Sunday, May 22, 9 PM (ET/PT) on Discovery Channel
(Silver Spring, Md.) –With nearly 200 tornados recorded and over 300 lives lost in just a single day, weather history was made on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 in the worst tornado outbreak since 1974. Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers were filming that day in the center of the action and now present never-before-seen footage, recount their harrowing stories and put into both scientific and human context the overwhelming tragedy in the all new special TORNADO RAMPAGE 2011 airing Sunday, May 22 at 9PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel.Storm Chasers’ Reed Timmer, Sean Casey and Tim Samaras were all filming with their chase teams on Wednesday, April 27th for the new season of their series when they become caught up in unprecedented multiple tornados. Their exclusive, never-before-seen footage combined with meteorological expertise and years of chasing experience helps piece together a day that saw so much destruction and loss of life.

Tornados are one of Mother Nature’s most mystifying, deadly forces. When conditions are just right what starts as a breeze can becomes a mass of spinning energy as loud as a jet engine and as strong as a freight train. All three chase teams witnessed the storms from different locations across the South allowing Discovery to offer a comprehensive, 360° look at this unimaginable tragedy.

“In all my years of chasing tornados, this was hands down the most unforgettable day. The intensity of the storm activity and the sheer number of tornados that touched down is overwhelming and heartbreaking. By studying this historic day we hope to learn more information for our research and help better predict tornados and save lives,” said Storm Chasers’ meteorologist Reed Timmer

TORNADO RAMPAGE 2011 is produced for Discovery Channel by Darlow Smithson. Tom Brisley and Guy Davies are executive producers. For Discovery Channel, Stephen Reverend is executive producer.

[GrantDawg]

For those that were interested, here is the difference in vivid detail between an EF-4 and an EF-5. The EF-5 that hit in North Alabama didn't hit a major population center, but stayed on the ground for 90 miles and killed at least 70. The destruction was amazing.

132 Miles of Devastation: EF-5 tornado deadliest in United States in last 56 years | al.com

It is the difference between destroying houses and building, and actually sucking asphalt and concrete from the ground. Wow.

[Ksyrup]

For a unique look at the monster tornado that ripped apart Tuscaloosa, Ala., last month, NASA called on one of its special satellites to track the aftermath of a tornado outbreak for the first time.

The image traces the damage of an EF-4 tornado, the second-highest rating on the tornado damage scale, which tore through the college town on April 27.

In the picture, captured just days after the storm, pink represents vegetation and aqua is the absence of vegetation. The tornado ripped up everything in its path, scouring the Earth's surface with its winds of up to 200 mph (322 kph). The "tearing up" of vegetation makes the tornado's track stand out as a wide swath of aqua.

"This image and others like it are helping us study the torn landscape to determine just how huge and powerful these twisters were and to assess the damage they inflicted," said NASA meteorologist Gary Jedlovec of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

To detect the scars left by the twisters, the NASA ASTER satellite, short for Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, senses the visible and infrared energy reflected from the planet's surface. Destruction that shows crushed houses, torn and snapped trees and uprooted crops are evident in the multi-wavelength images.

"A demolished house, debris and soil scattered on vegetated surfaces, and damaged trees and crops all change the pattern of reflected radiation measured by the satellite," Jedlovec said. "We can analyze these patterns to help storm survey teams evaluate the damage."

Ground teams conducting field surveys of tornado damage must try to pinpoint where the twisters touched down, how long they stayed on the ground, and the force of their winds. But some places are nearly impossible to reach by foot or car. Also, in remote areas, damage often goes unreported, so survey teams don't know to look there. This is where satellites can help.

The satellite's sensors can detect damage in rural areas, wilderness areas and other unpopulated areas, which allows surveyors to determine the true track of a tornado, Tracing a tornado's path could also help scientists learn how these storms form and move so that meteorologists can improve warnings.

Jedlovec and colleagues are working to produce satellite images of other areas ravaged by the historic outbreak of tornadoes.

Alabama Tornado Satellite Image | Tuscaloosa Al Tornado Outbreak, Tornado Pictures & Facts | OurAmazingPlanet | Our Amazing Planet

[Ksyrup]

Today is looking pretty ominous in west-central KY. Sould be fun. We're expecting a strong possibility of multiple tornado warnings all afternoon/evening.

[Ksyrup]

I hope this is going to be a big letdown (in a good way) from the way this is being built up. It's definitely important to have people on high alert and nothing happen then the opposite, but when I see stuff like this...yikes.

Reed Timmer ‏ @reedtimmerTVN
Looking at the low-level jet here in western KY it reminds me of the shear we saw the morning of April 15, 2012 last year along the MS River

[sterlingice]

"High" bubbles from the SPL are always scary

Should we start a "Spring 2012 Weather" thread for this because it's probably going to be bad?

SI

[Ksyrup]

I hope it won't need one, but I think we will.

TOR:CON for central KY and central TN is now up to a 9, and all of the schools around here are getting out around 12:30-1pm. I'll be heading home from work in the next 2-3 hours.

[DeToxRox]

Reading some crazy reports so far.

There are reports of a direct hit on Limestone Correctional Facility in Alabama. Also reports of massive hail in Indianapolis. One report said that the University of Indianapolis parking lot has so much big hail it looks like there was a snow storm.

[Ksyrup]

Huntsville apparently took a direct hit from a damaging tornado. Is that where the correction facility is?

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Huntsville apparently took a direct hit from a damaging tornado. Is that where the correction facility is?

It is the area, yep.

So far I have only seen this blurb from an official outlet about it

LIMESTONE COUNTY, Alabama - Madison County Commissioner Dale Strong said Limestone Correctional Facility took a "direct hit" from the storm. He said there are injuries and more than 1,000 feet of fence down around the prison.

"They called me and said they've got a bunch of injuries over there" at the prison. He also said at least one home was damaged north of the Sparkman Ninth Grade Academy and an 18-wheeler overturned on Jeff Road near the Highway 53 intersection.

[Ksyrup]

Just created a thread. I think this is going to be a bad day/night.

[PilotMan]

Well we were in the basement for an hour today. Before we got home, the Mrs and I were out shopping so we raced home but didn't make it before the boys got home. We were on the highway and it's the first time that I've seen falling debris ahead of a storm. It's nice to be able to pull straight into the driveway and head right to the basement.

We had a lot of rain, but not the severity that we were expecting since our house was right in the path of a cell that had created tornado's throughout the day.

All's well from Northern Kentucky.

[Ksyrup]

Heard they evacuated the airport to the basement.

[Buccaneer]

This photo is absolutely stunning to me



That is chest-high hail piled up near Amarillo.

[sterlingice]

Wow- holy crap. With the intensity and ferocity of air required for hail, I didn't think it could sustain for nearly that long.

In future news, tomorrow's going to be bad for Oklahoma and Kansas. SPC already has a "high" bubble out a day ahead of time:
Storm Prediction Center Apr 13, 2012 0600 UTC Day 2 Convective Outlook

Originally Posted by SPC

TORNADO OUTBREAK LIKELY ACROSS THE SRN AND CNTRL PLAINS NWD INTO THE
MID-MO VALLEY FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT

...SRN AND CNTRL PLAINS...
AN IMPRESSIVE UPPER-LEVEL LOW WILL MOVE EWD ACROSS FOUR CORNERS
REGION SATURDAY AS A POWERFUL 90 TO 110 KT MID-LEVEL JET EJECTS NEWD
INTO THE SRN AND CNTRL PLAINS. AHEAD OF THE SYSTEM...A CORRIDOR OF
MODERATE TO STRONG INSTABILITY IS FORECAST ACROSS ECNTRL KS...CNTRL
OK INTO NW TX. THIS COMBINED WITH STEEP MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES AND
STRONG LOW-LEVEL SHEAR WILL BE VERY FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE STORMS AND
A TORNADO OUTBREAK WILL BE LIKELY ACROSS THE SRN AND CNTRL PLAINS
FROM LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON LASTING THROUGH THE EVENING AND INTO
THE OVERNIGHT PERIOD.

NAM AND NAMKF FORECAST SOUNDINGS AT 00Z SATURDAY EVENING FROM SALINA
KS SWD TO AROUND OKLAHOMA CITY SHOW MLCAPE VALUES FROM 2000 TO 3000
J/KG WITH 0-6 KM SHEAR IN THE 60 TO 75 KT RANGE. IN
ADDITION...HODOGRAPHS ARE LARGE AND LOOPED WITH 0-1 KM SHEAR VALUES
IN THE 30 TO 40 KT RANGE. THIS ENVIRONMENT SHOULD BE VERY FAVORABLE
FOR SUPERCELLS AND TORNADOES. 0-3 KM STORM RELATIVE HELICITIES ARE
FORECAST TO BE AROUND 400 M2/S2 WHICH IS IDEAL FOR STRONG TORNADOES
AND A TORNADO OUTBREAK APPEARS LIKELY. THE GREATEST THREAT FOR
SIGNIFICANT TORNADOES SHOULD EXIST SATURDAY EVENING FROM SALINA SWD
TO OKLAHOMA CITY. 700 TO 500 MB LAPSE RATES AROUND 7.5 C/KM WILL
ALSO BE FAVORABLE FOR LARGE HAIL AND HAIL GREATER THAN 2 INCHES WILL
BE POSSIBLE THE MORE INTENSE SUPERCELLS. A WIND DAMAGE THREAT WILL
ALSO EXIST DUE TO THE EXPECTED INTENSE NATURE OF THE STORMS.

SI

[Scoobz0202]

Stay safe anybody in the major zones.

[Scoobz0202]

Dola-

Aaron Tuttle. Works for the FAA. I don't know how reliable this guy is other then the fact that he is a meteorologist and works for the FAA. But, holy shit is he preparing folks. I guess better to scare people than to let them be unprepared.

This is his facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/ATsFans

URGENT UPDATE: I just finished looking over the morning computer models and things have gone from bad to worse. The trend continues to show grave concern. We are in store for a 2 day outbreak of deadly tornadoes beginning this afternoon. There is a High Risk from the SPC tomorrow but there should be one today as well, if at least not a Moderate. Doesn't matter, don't let that affect you either way.... The point is we have two unique atmospheric conditions setting up which will give us the same result each day. Storms should start to fire by 4pm across W/SW/S/C OK and continue to develop during the overnight. The tornado threat increases exponentially after dark, but that's not to say there won't be short lived quick ones before dusk. I do expect them. The long track long lived ones may hold off until after dusk when we are all most vulnerable. The storms will continue through much of the night over the state before ending by day break.

The next round for Saturday still appears to hold off until late in the day, near dusk for another evening event. As the 1st round will work over the atmosphere to help stabilize it. This is the kind of situation where unfortunately people die. There's only so much you can do to take responsibility for yourself and loved ones. For one, find a sturdy shelter, two get a NOAA weather radio and pay attention, and three pray. I have a very bad feeling about this. I hope I am wrong though. Too many things are pointing to one of the nastiest events we've seen over this region in a long time.

Also, OK is not alone in this. N TX up to NE and points East will be affected also. This will be a storm system for the record books folks. I don't often get worked up over events until I see a setup that looks to take lives from strong tornadoes such as EF4s and EF5s, especially at night. This is one of those. Don't panic, just prepare. Be safe!

[MrBug708]

Got almost a half inch of rain here today. Craziness!

[kcchief19]

There is a very nasty weather pattern setting up for Saturday that seems guaranteed to produce some tornadoes. But for someone who has lived in tornado alley all his life, the advanced hype may be a bit uncalled for.

KC newscasts tonight were leading with the weather warnings for tomorrow and tomorrow night, which is very rare for thunderstorms and tornados. We get much more worked up over snow.

I think some of the hype and activity is due to the new language the NWS is using for tornadoes in Kansas and Missouri. They are testing new language that is more descriptive and aggressive regarding potential tornado activity and damage to see if it will make people take warnings more seriously without scaring people or going over the top. So far, I think they may be failing. Everybody seems to be either worried or thinking it's a TV ratings ploy.

That aside, it definitely looks like a dangerous setup for Saturday and I hope everyone watches the skies here. There was already a tornado in Norman, OK -- hope everyone there is well and checks in.

[Scoobz0202]

Yea, that message was on his personal facebook, so it's not even official.

But yea, they are definitely building this up. Better safe than sorry, though.

[Lathum]

ugh, flying from Florida to Seattle tomorrow with a layover in Houston. May be in for some delays.

[Qrusher14242]

dang, its been crazy in the CA. I'm in the valley, hour south of fresno in Visalia and its been pouring most of the day. Last night had some of the loudest thunder i've ever heard, shook the house! There were a few funnel clouds up in merced i think, they actually had a tornado warning here 2 days ago(!!)

[Apathetic Lurker]

My wife is flying from Buffalo to Chicago to Dallas and then on to Midland Saturday morning....She is shitting the proverbial bricks right now......

I find it sort of exiting unlike my wife but then i've been through two plane crashes so i'm just plain weird......

[sterlingice]

Midland is towards the edge of the low area and Dallas should be mostly ok. She's going to be in the air so unless she has huge problems with turbulence, she'll be fine

SI

[kcchief19]

Interesting note, the is only the second time the Storm Prediction Center has issued a high-risk warning for tornados more than 24 hours in advance. The last time was in April 2006 when nearly 100 tornadoes broke out across the southeast and killed 12 people.

Worth keeping an eye on tomorrow. I'm a bit worried since a friend and I are planning to head over to Columbia for Mizzou's spring game tomorrow.

[Apathetic Lurker]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Midland is towards the edge of the low area and Dallas should be mostly ok. She's going to be in the air so unless she has huge problems with turbulence, she'll be fine

SI

Try explaining that to her...lol

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Apathetic Lurker

I find it sort of exiting unlike my wife but then i've been through two plane crashes so i'm just plain weird......

Jack, Hurley, or Sawyer?

[Apathetic Lurker]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Jack, Hurley, or Sawyer?

????

Had to wiki the three names together.

Something to do with Lost? Never watched it so im not catching your drift...

[sterlingice]

45% chance of a tornado within 25 miles for most of eastern Nebraska

SI

[Senator]

I hate tornado season. Better go get the basement ready.

[sterlingice]

Things are starting to fire up. Last reload of the map went from 22 to 30 tornado reports. Unfortunately, I think that will be over 100 by the end of the night.

SI

[sterlingice]

We've been very fortunate tonight as the tornadoes have been away from population centers, for the most part. When it went over Salina, the funnel clouds stayed in the sky. The tornadic storm appear to be going south of Hutchinson and the one in Iowa weakened a little bit ago as it's just a Severe T-Storm warning over Des Moines now.

Wichita and Manhattan are probably up in the next hour or two

SI

[Scoobz0202]

I don't know if we have any Wichita folks. I hope you are okay if we do. They might have gotten hit pretty bad.

e: might have gone south of Wichita.

[Ragone]

Still just high winds here.. i told my wife i'd stay up till the 5-6 am window passes.. gonna be a long night.

[Scoobz0202]

Any fellow Ohioans without power? 80K without power in the Dayton viewing area and im sure other parts of Ohio are the same.

I went and bought some beer and made it my job to post up in the garage to protect the house from scavengers. Night is coming.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Any fellow Ohioans without power? 80K without power in the Dayton viewing area and im sure other parts of Ohio are the same.

I went and bought some beer and made it my job to post up in the garage to protect the house from scavengers. Night is coming.

Somehow we manged to get through this with power. Went out to dinner and everything around us without power. Ended up 5 miles from home but ended up taking a scenic route stopping by three other places, all without power. Manged to go around two downed trees as well.

Crazy winds they were. I would guess it was at least 65.

[Scoobz0202]

Dayton Airport recorded 82 mph i think

[Grover]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Any fellow Ohioans without power? 80K without power in the Dayton viewing area and im sure other parts of Ohio are the same.

I went and bought some beer and made it my job to post up in the garage to protect the house from scavengers. Night is coming.

"They mostly come at night. Mostly."

[EagleFan]

No power since Friday. Swear it sounded like a tornado came through before the thunderstorm actually hit. We were extremely lucky with no damage to the house or cars. Huge tree near the house was snapped like a twig about 15 feet up. The top fell parallel to the house (was 5 feet from the house. It destroyed a gate to the back yard but that was about the extent of it. If it falls one was it crushes into the house. Another way it proably gets our propane tank. The other way and it take out our power lines. A lot of our yard still isn't safe with parts of trees hanging on.

Now for the fun part, cleanup and dealing with the insurance company.

No idea when we will get power back on.

[EagleFan]

The electric company just pissed me off. Got a call at 3 AM (one of those automated ones) to tell me that my power had been restored. That made my day and I ended up not getting back to sleep. Stayed with my wife and girls at my sister's house last night. Let my wife know about the call and that I was going to leave early to go back to the house to start getting things back online.

An hour and 15 minute drive later (thanks to about a half hour extra in detours)..... no power on. SOB!!!

I understand that it could take a while but don't wake me up at 3 AM to tell me that my power is on when it's not...

[Butter]

Lost power for about 2 hours on Friday. We went out to eat for dinner, get to Five Guys in Centerville... literally as we approach the counter, their power goes out. My wife said that MORE traffic lights in Kettering were out yesterday than were out the day before, which seems odd. But luckily, I avoided any long-term outage, unlike during the hurricane a couple of years back.

[tarcone]

Sorry to here about your yard EF. Glad it didnt find your house.

We havent seen rain, in what seems like, a decade. And its blistering hot. Anouther plus 100 temp day. 20% chance of an isolated shower.

My yard and flowers are getting baked.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Lost power for about 2 hours on Friday. We went out to eat for dinner, get to Five Guys in Centerville... literally as we approach the counter, their power goes out. My wife said that MORE traffic lights in Kettering were out yesterday than were out the day before, which seems odd. But luckily, I avoided any long-term outage, unlike during the hurricane a couple of years back.

I livenaboutnfive minutes from there and our power went out at about 1 for no reason. Will be out for three days. DP and L jacked up rates after Ike to prevent this from happening again and it's been worse.