Storm Australian Severe Weather Forum
Severe Weather Discussion => Tornado Alley Outbreaks and Severe Weather Worldwide => Topic started by: Jimmy Deguara on 12 February 2009, 04:37:50 PM
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Tornado kills 8 people in Oklahoma
A tornado killed eight people when it struck a small town in Oklahoma in central United States, a local official says.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/11/2489085.htm
Regards,
Jimmy Deguara
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From the SMH news site just now:
At least 15 people were killed when a massive tornado ripped across the Midwestern state of Oklahoma, local media reported Wednesday.
The Oklahoman newspaper reported that the twister tore a half-mile swath through the town of Lone Grove shortly before 7:30 pm (0130 GMT Wednesday), citing state officials.
Actually (and this may be a topic for another thread) I am curious as to the formation of these twisters at this time of year. From our experience in Australia and from what I have seen of storm chasing in the USA twisters are usually associated with super cell storms. Now it is still winter in the USA. So I can only assume there is a weather mechanism there occurring that allows for Supercells to form without the heating we would normally associate with summer.
I haven't studied US weather conditions, are these formed from warn weather or fronts coming from the Caribbean? And without even speculating I know people here will be able to tell me the cause without having to guess!
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I was emailed that the tornado was a wedge EF3 and that the setups weather-wise were akin to May rather than February, something they have not seen in several years. Lone Grove Oklahoma was the target area and a trailer park got leveled. Here's the radar still (http://www.tornadovideos.net/UserFiles/Image/blog/2009/feb/10feb2009_radar.gif)
Short video credited to Reed Timmer who was out chasing near Lawton, Oklahoma. No tornado this time but structure is impressive.
http://www.youtube.com/v/3kryWqa9_1g&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs
Preliminary report on several tornadoes are here from the NWS public advisory ( Now 8 confirmed deaths) http://www.wunderground.com/US/OK/025.html#PUB
Radar from Lone Grove including couplet:
http://www.stormchaserco.com/20090210_Radar_809pm_Reflect.jpg
http://www.stormchaserco.com/20090210_Radar_809pm_Veloc.jpg
New video during the supercells formation - impressive lowering with wall cloud and some awesome structure shots..
http://www.youtube.com/v/-JHBWn3T1mE&hl=en&fs=1
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Hi all,
Mike: Thanks for posting that video! I couldn't agree more about that structure, amazing!
I initially thought I was hearing an old news story when I saw the news report? I thought surely no tornadic supercells would be active this time of year? That's just crazy!
I guess anything would be possible with the whole changing climate thing?
Very interesting.
Regards,
Shauno
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Short video credited to Reed Timmer who was out chasing near Lawton, Oklahoma. No tornado this time but structure is impressive.
If i didnt know better i could swear thats the same Reed Timmer from Storm Chasers on the documentry channel :-P
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This was the second deadly tornado event to occur in the month of February in Oklahoma since 1950. The other was SW Oklahoma, 1975. And it was the first February tornado since 2000.
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Indeed. Reed had chased two supercells in the region on that day. He had sent his other chase teams out there also and they got some footage of the tornado I think..I'll pester him for some info, but I think I do know where to find some images. Leave it with me.
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Just reading through world severe weather events and came accross this post for USA. (http://www.accuweather.com/news-summary.asp?)
Recent Large Hail and Tornado Incidents
Posted: 19-FEB-2009 4:13pm EST
Officials continue to sort through the damage and reports of severe weather in the South from Wednesday afternoon into early Thursday morning. In some cases it may take days for damage to be confirmed as being caused by a tornado.
Some of the suspected tornado incidents included here were from the same individual thunderstorm cells tracking eastward. This is not a complete list:
A confirmed tornado touched down in Valdosta, Ga., early Thursday morning.
A confirmed tornado touched down near Thomasville, Ga., early Thursday morning.
A confirmed tornado touched down in Boston, Ga., early Thursday morning.
A confirmed tornado touched down in Geneva County, Ala., and tracked into Grady County, Ga., early Thursday morning.
A confirmed tornado touched down near Reynolds, Ga., late Wednesday evening.
An unconfirmed tornado killed one person and injured two others in the Sparta, Ga., Wednesday evening.
An unconfirmed tornado damaged 15 homes south of Moreland, Ga., Wednesday evening.
An unconfirmed tornado injured one person and damaged dozens of homes near Eatonton, Ga., Wednesday evening. Large hail with a diameter of 1.75 inches also fell.
An unconfirmed tornado destroyed one home and damaged others in the Tyrone, Ga., area Wednesday evening. Hail the size of tennis balls also fell on the community.
Baseball-sized hail fell on Newnan and Fayetteville, Ga., Wednesday evening.
Tennis ball-sized hail fell on Jonesboro, Ga., late Wednesday afternoon.
Softball-sized hail fell just south of Palmetto, Ga., late Wednesday afternoon.
Story by AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski (End Post)
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This is the summary of the storms that hit from Canada down through the south of USA.
National Summary
As a storm system rolled northeastward into the Great Lakes and southern Canada Wednesday into early Thursday, up to 10 inches of snow fell on parts of upstate New York and Vermont, while up to 4 inches of a wintry mix of snow and ice fell in parts of northern Pennsylvania. A cold front associated with the storm rolled through the South as well. Warm air surging ahead of the front sparked damaging thunderstorms from near the Gulf of Mexico coast to Ohio. There were over 100 counts of large hail with the event, as well as at least five confirmed tornadoes and perhaps as many as a dozen or more as yet to be confirmed. The storm did succeed in bringing beneficial rain prior to the thunderstorms' arrival earlier Wednesday. Snow showers in the wake of the storm deposited up to a foot of snow to the lee of lakes Michigan and Superior through Thursday midday. Cold air was sweeping from the Midwest and into the Northeast on increasing west to northwest winds. Much of the area from the Plains to the Pacific coast was free of precipitation Thursday. Many areas, with the exception of central Montana and southern Texas, had sunshine.
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Some more information on the Tornadoes of Feb19 2009
February 18–19
Strong southwesterly winds transported a moist air mass northeastward across the Gulf Coast states and the Tennessee Valley. The moisture combined with daytime heating to support a moderately unstable air mass in advance of a cold front, which pushed southeastward across the Tennessee Valley and Gulf States during the afternoon and evening. The cold front combined with a strong jet stream aloft resulted in the development of severe thunderstorms along the cold front.[20] As a result, a moderate risk of severe weather was issued by the Storm Prediction Center for portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the Florida Panhandle.[21]
Several tornadoes touched down during the afternoon and evening hours into the early morning of February 19. The strongest tornado was rated as an EF3 tornado, which traveled 18.6 miles (29.9 km) through Wilkes and McDuffie counties in Georgia. It destroyed a cinder block home, damaged 15 homes and destroyed 19 outbuildings. One person was killed in Hancock County after an EF3 tornado destroyed a church and four mobile homes in the area. A mile-wide EF2 tornado that touched down in Meriwether County damaged several homes with one home completely losing it's roof. One person was injured by debris as an EF1 tornado traveled through Putnam County, destroying a restaurant on the southwest side of Eatonton. U.S. Highway 129 was shut down after high winds downed power lines. Two different tornadoes caused damage in Jasper County, each with winds of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). In Newton County, 20 to 30 homes in a heavily-wooded subdivision were damaged by trees blown down by an EF1 tornado that was on the ground for 2 miles (3.2 km). Other tornadoes, with winds ranging from 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) to 90 miles per hour (140 km/h), occurred in Taylor, Houston and Oconee counties.[22] There were also three tornadoes in Southwest Georgia,[23] and one in Alabama.[24]
US total tornadoes for 2009 - unofficial totals through February 19
Confirmed
Total Confirmed 33
EF0 Confirmed 9
EF1 Confirmed 18
EF2 Confirmed 3
EF3 Confirmed 2
EF4 Confirmed 1
EF5 Confirmed 0
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Looking like a quiet March for the US this year compared with recent years. And the GFS run out to the end of the month doesn't look good with a ridgy environment over TX. But severe thunderstorm season for the plains doesn't really kick in until mid April I guess. On a positive note there has been some rain in the drought ravaged parts of west central Texas. This has to be positive. I remember the droughty 06 season too well with the hot dry dusty conditions. There were surface based storms in the TX Panhandle with bases over 10,000ft! Not good at all for tornadoes. So I am hoping more rain occurs over the southern and western high plains between now and May.
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I thought I would add to this I drove down for both tornado events in tornado alley this year, I chased February 10th and also March 7th. Pictures are videos along with short re-cap chase logs are availible at my website www.findthetornado.com (http://) (not trying to spam just trying to add to the conversation)... Also on a side note that is the same Reed Timmer... if you were being serious 8)
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Fellow Tornadovideos.net streamline chaser, Craig Maire from Des Moine, Iowa chased March 28/30th, 2006 west central Iowa along Interstate 80 and encountered these supercells which dropped tornadoes. Here's some photos he has given me permission to show the forum.
(http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs028.snc1/2579_1094291004819_1452873130_254752_6540982_n.jpg)
(http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs028.snc1/2579_1094291164823_1452873130_254756_8143044_n.jpg)
(http://photos-h.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2424/190/10/1452873130/n1452873130_223591_4525.jpg)
(http://photos-g.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2424/190/10/1452873130/n1452873130_223590_4355.jpg)
(http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs028.snc1/2579_1094294444905_1452873130_254776_3823232_n.jpg)
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23 March:
SPC currently have a moderate risk out for the central plains tomorrow 23rd.
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It's like honey to bees! A lot have been waiting days for things to get right and most of the chasers I know of have planned their target areas. There's been sporadic cells popping up over the last couple of days but today is definitely game on - with a moderate risk and these winds why wait!
(http://tornadovideos.net/images/fbfiles/images/ecmwf_500.GIF)
(http://tornadovideos.net/images/fbfiles/images/gfsUS_850_spd_132.gif)
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Yes, looks a robust set up for Monday. My virtual target would be the early storm development in northern OK.
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For anyone watching NOW, there are some nice video streams at Severe Studios.
http://www.severestudios.com/livechase (http://www.severestudios.com/livechase)
Michael Mandell is heading towards the cell to the north of OKC. Tornado warning has just been dropped, but to my eye, radar still looks impressive so I would not rule out new tornado warnings >>
http://www.severestudios.com/cgi-bin/player.pl?username=michael.mandell&uid=266 (http://www.severestudios.com/cgi-bin/player.pl?username=michael.mandell&uid=266)
Mike Potter is on the same storm, from near Stillwater at the time of posting.
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Looking at the NOAA site, severe weather hitting parts of North East Oklahoma and South East Kansas 23/3/2009 at 8.19PM Eastern Australian Time including Severe Thunderstorm Watch 58. There have been 7 tornado reports (All need to be verified) however one report I found via CNN and KETV 7 Omaha is fairly clear:-
http://www.ketv.com/cnn-news/18993911/detail.html (http://www.ketv.com/cnn-news/18993911/detail.html)
"Winds toss car 4 people hurt". Includes a handful of photos. A tornado in South East Nebraska near the town of Eagle - CASS County (18 Miles east of Lincoln on Route 34). Includes cars being overturned on I 29. Major storm occurred near Lincoln and Omaha including wind damage in western Omaha itself.
Harley Pearman
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Thanks for the summary Harley.
GFS (http://www.nco.ncep.noaa.gov/pmb/nwprod/analysis/namer/gfs/12/index_500_mu_loop.shtml) is progging a very dynamic situation ~ 27/28 across the central US. One of those early season situations where moisture return might be the limiting factor to what could be a dangerous situation. In fact the overall pattern looks interesting with a southwest flow regime established, and sadly I'll be but a few thousand k's away in sunny SoCal !
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According to info I get from Accuweather.com, there are currently tornadoes flaring up throughout the mid-western USA - including one EF2 currently heading through the western edge of Dallas/Forthworth.
Big Pete
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Latest SPC guidance regarding 27th and overnight into 28th
A CATEGORICAL SLIGHT RISK WILL BE INTRODUCED ATTM DUE TO THE
ABOVE-MENTIONED UNCERTAINTIES. HOWEVER...SHOULD MODEL GUIDANCE
REMAIN CONSISTENT WITH THE CURRENTLY FORECAST
THERMODYNAMIC/KINEMATIC PARAMETERS...AN UPGRADE TO AT LEAST MODERATE
RISK WILL BE REQUIRED IN SUBSEQUENT OUTLOOKS.
..MEAD.. 03/25/2009
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I see there was an EF3 at Magee, Mississippi yesterday. That state may well get nailed tomorrow by the moderate risk set up.
Also worth a mention, blizzard/30+inches of snow forecast for SW Kansas, NW Oklahoma today.
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Yesterday there were 11 recorded tornadoes (25/03/09) then from the same sight they recorded 3 more during their evening 26/03/09.
Quote from http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/tornadoes/2009-03-26-severe-storms-alabama-mississippi_N.htm (http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/tornadoes/2009-03-26-severe-storms-alabama-mississippi_N.htm)
{MAGEE, Miss. — Tornadoes that raked across southern and central Mississippi in the early morning hours Thursday destroyed dozens of homes here and injured at least 17 people.
There were no immediate reports of fatalities, Magee Mayor Jimmy Clyde said. The most seriously injured were hospitalized, but most others had minor injuries.
the twister began around 1:30 a.m. on the southwestern edge of the city and cut across to the northeast corner, said Katherine Gunby of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
It swept through Mississippi's pine-covered hill country as severe thunderstorms rumbled across several Southeast states.
Power blackouts affected tens of thousands of Louisiana residents, and authorities reported damage to some Alabama homes. Georgia residents also braced for potentially heavy rains.
"This is like reliving Hurricane Katrina all over again and that's no fun," Clyde told The Associated Press.
He said homes in some areas of the city were "basically leveled" and there was extensive damage just outside the city limits.
Gunby said at least 60 homes were damaged and the Corinth Baptist Church was so shattered that "only the doors to its sanctuary were left standing.}
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I found several storeys concerning a powerful thunderstorm that hit a region around the Texas city of Austin Monday 30 March 2009 worth adding.
The region around the city of Austin - Texas took a direct hit by a thunderstorm that dropped golf ball to tennis ball size hail. As at 10 am Monday CDT - The Insurance Council of Texas estimates insured damage at $160 Million. Its quite possibly the costliest hail storm to hit Central Texas:-
22,000 vehicles and 15,000 homes impacted have insurance losses.
In addition, Marble Falls (North West of Austin) was impacted with golf ball size hail.
Travis and Williamson Counties (West and North West of Austin) were impacted with tennis ball size hail.
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/Hail_storm_dents_Central_Texas (http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/Hail_storm_dents_Central_Texas)
Storey is by Carla Castrano - 30/3/09
This site will take you to other storeys concerning this weather event including:-
Hit and run storm moves in, moves out.
Roof repairs in full force after storm.
Hail hits Northwest Hills neighbourhood.
Hail damages North Austin Homes.
Hail pummels parts of the Hill Country.
Including photographs. All the storeys are from KXAN - Austin Texas.
Harley Pearman
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The southern Plains and the South of USA are expecting 2 series of severe thunderstorms over the next few days, threatening to ruin the Easter holiday weekend.
The 1st of the storms for Thursday, 9 April 2009, is predicted to emerge from the Rockies and fuel the severe weather over the plains, resulting in thunderstorms from Springfield, Mo to just north of Houston Texas in the afternoon.
These storms are forecasted to race across the lower Mississippi Valley on Thursday night. Areas from the central Gulf Coast to the Tennessee Valley will have the effects of the severe weather on Friday. The cities of New Orleans, Montgomery and Nashville are included in Friday's threat zone.
More of the severe weather is likely to ruin the Easter weekend for many living across the nation's southern midsection. The dangerous thunderstorms could develope over West Texas on Saturday, then expand to the Arklatex and lower Mississippi Valley on Sunday.
Each of these intense thunderstorms has the potential to produce damaging winds, large hail and blinding downpours. They are also predicting the very high possibility of tornadoes to touch down and cause destruction
Threat map courtesy of Accu weather site
Col
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It appears from reports, the 1st rounds of storms forecasted have been quite violent in some areas, as at 11.00 am EST there has been 3 reported tornadoes, power poles toppled in 8 reported high wind or destructive wind storms and 45 hail storms officially reported. Still very early to get full reports but they should start to appear over the next few hours.
The tornadoes from early reports are
2330 8 SE WILBURTON LATIMER OK 3484 9521 TORNADO REPORTED ON GROUND WITH POWER LINES DOWN. (TSA)
2335 MIAMI OTTAWA OK 3687 9488 EM CONFIRMED TORNADO TOUCHDOWN ON SOUTH SIDE OF MIAMI. DAMAGE UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME. (TSA)
2349 6 W TALIHINA LATIMER OK 3475 9515 TORNADO SPOTTED AT INTERSECTION OF US 270 AND STATE HIGHWAY 2. (TSA)
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These storms have really built some momentum since the last post at 11.00am .
As at 3.35pm 10/04/09 there has been a reported 16 Tornadoes . I have posted NOAA latest storm report. It has been a very active afternoon/ night/early morning in the affected areas of US.
reports are starting to appear to the damage of these line of storms have caused.
As I am collecting data for these storms the count is rising, there is now 21 reports of tornadoes, so there will be plenty of things to talk about from these storms and the next round that is forecasted to hit with severity.
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this story has emerged from KATV7 site regarding one of the storm systems (http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0409/612030.html (http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0409/612030.html))
a direct post from their site
Mena Tornado Turns Fatal
posted 04/10/09 1:30 am
Mena, AR - A tornado that rocked downtown Mena has turned fatal.
Official numbers from Arkansas State Police place the death count from Thursday night's tornado at two with 23 injured, though police sources tell Channel 7 News that three have died.
The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management has sent 30 guardsman to help secure the downtown area where the courthouse was completely destroyed, and homes have been wiped off their foundation. ADEM says 25 block in downtown lost power, and the Mena Walmart is reported to have received moderate damage.
Bill Sadler with Arkansas State Police says troopers were in their cars near the Mena courthouse when it was hit. No troopers were hurt. However, some lost their homes though they still went to work helping protect other residents despite their own property losses.
Speaking with Channel 7 Meteorologist Todd Yakoubian, Mena resident Rick Bagwell says his home was directly hit by the tornado while he was taking shelter inside. After it passed, he looked up and saw stars and says it was like a bomb had gone off in his yard.
Renee Preslar with ADEM says the county requested utitlity companies to shut of all gas lines to Mena and the surrounding areas.
Two shelters have been opened in Mena including Dallas Avenue Baptist Church on Dallas Avenue.
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Storms in the southern central area of USA,(11.53 PM,10/04/09 USA time Zone) have been intense once again with a reported 24 tornadoes. More storms are forecasted for the region over Sat and Sun (11 & 12 of April 2009). They are not expected to be as severe as the last 2 days but still have issued severe weather alerts for storms and possible tornadoes. The photos, sat pics and reports of the storms are available on many sites. Over the next few days, EF ratings and tornado confirmations will be available.
I had read on 1 site that the Mena tornado was an EF3, but at this point I have not found an official confirmation.
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Tornadoes / Storms and hail reports for 10/4/2009
I was looking at some of the reports from the affected areas in Arkansas on some of the local networks including the impact on Mena itself. The town of Mena is located on Route 71 in Polk County approximately 16 miles from the Oklahoma State Border.
http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/news?cid=210191 (http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/news?cid=210191)
There are some good storeys and descriptions of the storms impact here including the 3 fatalities and 30 injured during the event.
Mena appears to have borne the brunt of the storms including wind gusts to 65 miles per hour (105 km/h).
In addition, tennis ball size hail was reported at Shaw in Saline County with golfball size hail being reported at Benton, Haskell and Sardis all in Saline County. The location is approximately 15 miles (24 km) south west of the city of Little Rock off Interstate 30.
The first look at the damage in Mena suggests an EF3 and initial surveys suggests wind gusts to 136 miles per hour (Approximately 220 km/h).
Other valuable news storeys can be found at the following sites:-
http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=83188&catid=260 (http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=83188&catid=260)
http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=83218&catid=260 (http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=83218&catid=260)
Storys are by Monika Rued.
Another site that documents the tornadoes in Tennessee is:-
WSMV Nashvile News
http://www.wsmv.com/weather/19146520/detail.html (http://www.wsmv.com/weather/19146520/detail.html)
Heading titled "Tornadoes hit Rutherford County".
In Tennessee places hit include Murfreesboro. The old Fort Parkway was hit. The city lies south east of Nashville on Interstate 24. Further, in southern Wilson County, baseball size hail occurred. A funnel cloud was spotted near Ashland City.
Looking at the National Weather Service Storm Reports site and in addition to the tornadoes, the following hail reports are worth a mention for 10/4/2009.
1600 - Linden in Wayne County (Near Flatwoods) - Hailstones are measured at 3.25 inches.
1600 - Linden in Perry County - Hailstones are measured at 3.25 inches.
1906 - Madison in Madison County Alabama - Baseball size hail is reported at the intersection of HWY 72 and County Line Road.
2005 - Morgan City in Morgan County Alabama - Baseball size hail is reported in Morgan City.
2005 - Grant in Marshall County Alabama - Baseball size hail is reported in Grant.
2017 - Langston in Jackson County Alabama - Baseball size hail is reported in Langston.
There were other reports of golfball size hail as well occurring over towns and rural areas.
There were 16 tornado reports, 135 hail reports and 33 wind reports up to 2132Z as shown in the plot below obtained from The National Weather Service http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/today.html (http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/today.html)
Harley Pearman
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The headlines from Accu weather as they appeared.
High Risk: 50 Tornado Warnings In One Hour!
UPDATE 11 PM: 38 tornado reports today, the biggest outbreak in nearly a year (I think - more stats tomorrow). Check the StormMatrix below for details. ( http://www.accuweather.com/mt-news-blogs.asp?blog=weathermatrix&partner=accuweather&pgUrl=/mtweb/content/weathermatrix/archives/2009/04/severe_weather_outbreak_stats_comparison.asp (http://www.accuweather.com/mt-news-blogs.asp?blog=weathermatrix&partner=accuweather&pgUrl=/mtweb/content/weathermatrix/archives/2009/04/severe_weather_outbreak_stats_comparison.asp))
AccuWeather has a reported 71 tornadoes for 09 & 10 of April storm system while NOAA has it reported at 72 (30 for 09/04/09 & 42for the 10/04/09)
5 people died in the tornadoes over the 2 days as Harley Pearman referred to in his posts.
The QLD Sunday Mail stated,
At least eight people died, dozens injured and hundreds of homes and business destroyed as storms, winds and wildfires raged from Texas to Tennessee.
As a family member and I were discussing regarding the storms, this is still the early part of the US storm season, what are they in for this storm season?
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South Central USA appears to have had a bit of a reprieve from the severe storms that have savaged them over the last few days. NOAA has only the one reported tornado for SAT/ SUN the 11th & 12 th of April 2009.
You can see from the posted NOAA sat image ( April 10th 2009 12.15 pm) the strong low pressure system over the Mississippi valley that caused the severe storms.
A list of the tornadoes and their EF ratings can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_tornadoes_in_2009 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_tornadoes_in_2009)
Col
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Of the many tornadoes over the easter weekend in the US, the Murfreesboro tornado has been recorded by the National Weather Service in Nashville, Tennessee, as the most powerful at an EF4.
The tornado itself travelled for 37.42 KM or 23.25 miles. It claimed the lives of 2 people.
According to the "Good Friday Tornado Outbreak- 04/10/09 Damage Surveys" report by the National Weather Service in Nashville,
It was the 28th tornado to hit Rutherford County since the National Weather Service began keeping records in 1950 and the first killer tornado to hit the county during that period.
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This photo of a tornado over water in Alabama a few days back looks cool.
Fwd: Picture Of Tornado April 10th. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/abc3340weather/3442850543/#)
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Tornadoes and severe thunderstorms hit western Texas 16/4/2009
Viewing the Storm Prediction Centre 16/4/2009, parts of Western Texas from Midland - Odessa region north to Lubbock and Plainview region have been hit by severe thunderstorms. There have been:-
- 11 Tornado reports.
- 57 Hail reports.
to date from the event. The plot below from the National Weather Service is provided from:-
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/today.html (http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/today.html)
There are several tornado reports from Crosby, Swisher, Howard, Hale, Kent, Lubbock, Dickens and King Counties (Texas). These areas are in close proximity to the city of Lubbock and Plainview. In particular:-
2045 - 2 North Kress in Swisher County Texas - A tornado was reported on the ground near the intersection of Z and 16.
2330 - 1 West Ralls in Crosby County Texas - A tornado was reported on Co Road 131 between Lorenzo and Ralls. This is approximately 24 miles east of Lubbock.
2345 - 2 west south west Ralls County Crosby Texas - A brief touchdown was reported. This is approximately 26 miles east of Lubbock.
0221 - 10 North Shallowater in Hale County Texas - A tornado of approximately 4 south of the community of County line was reported.
Of the hail reports, the most significant were Reports at 2345 and 0230 being:-
2345 - 5 Miles North Waco MCLennan County Texas in which golfball hail fell 5 miles north of Waco Airport.
0230 - Forestburg in Montague County Texas in which golf ball size hail was observed covering the ground.
The majority of hail reports range from penny size to quarter size hail.
Having a look at the Lubbock News "Lubbock on Line" following the thunderstorms, the following news storey is available "Severe storms spawn hail, tornado threats" 17/4/09 by Joshua Hall:-
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/041709/loc_430106586.shtml (http://lubbockonline.com/stories/041709/loc_430106586.shtml)
Some photos of the storms are also available. Included in this:-
- Lubbock was hit by a storm producing quarter size hail in some areas and in Tulia, snowploughs had to be called in to clear roads following a large hail fall on Interstate 27.
- Rotating storm clouds were observed across Lubbock during the event.
- A tornado was reported near Abernathy.
- A few people were struck by hailstones and required medical attention.
- The storm caused some flooding.
- There was flash flooding in Tulia following 3.66 inches of rain.
- The most serious storms occurred around Lubbock, Post, Plainview and east to Crosbyton.
Severe thunderstorms including rotating storms were also observed near Midland (Texas). A good summary of these plus the warnings issued is found in a local news article at "Severe Storms Return to West Texas 4/16/09" at:-
http://www.cbs7.com/news/details.asp?ID=11885 (http://www.cbs7.com/news/details.asp?ID=11885)
In particular, a tornado was observed near Fairview at 9.10 pm.
The National Weather Service issued Tornado Watch 157 to cover these storms which was valid from 445 PM to 1200 AM CDT. The alert was issued for:-
- Tornadoes.
- Hail to 3 inches in diameter.
- Thunderstorm wind gusts to 70 miles per hour.
- Dangerous lightning.
The Tornado Watch Box covered towns and cities including Plainview, San Angelo and Lubbock.
In addition "A Tornado Warning" was issued at 9.43 pm CDT for Dickens and Tent Counties Texas by the National Weather Service. Specific to a storm 4 miles south east of Spur, a thunderstorm was detected at the time that was capable of producing a tornado. A second storm was detected showing very strong rotation with a tornado likely 10 miles south east of Clairemont at the time. Affected towns by this one included Spur, Girrard, Afton and Dickens.
The latest Storm report plot for the event is provided below from the National Weather Service but it may change due to the number of storms that occurred.
Harley Pearman
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Tornadoes and storms across Kansas 18 April 2009
Viewing the Storm Prediction Centre (National Weather Service) and Accuweather, it is apparent that another round of severe weather and tornadoes have struck two USA states being Texas and Kansas. In particular there are:-
- 8 Tornado reports.
- 50 Hail reports.
- 14 wind reports.
This is shown in the plot below:-
However when viewing this, some of the tornado reports may in fact be from the one storm system or one or two tornadoes spawned by the same storm that have tracked across a reasonable distance of country across south west Kansas. Some of the reports are from an area from just north of a town called Ingalls to east of Kalvesta. The nearest large town to Ingalls is Garden City some 26 miles to the north west on Highway 50/400. The Counties referred to are Gray and Finney.
In particular:-
1758 - 5 Miles NE of Ingalls in Gray County Kansas, a tornado was observed on the ground.
1832 - 9 Miles north of Cimmaron in Gray County Kansas, a spotter reported a tornado on the ground.
1910 - 1 Mile SE of Kalvesta in Finney County Kansas - 2 tornadoes were observed close to town.
1915 - 2 miles east of Kalvesta in Finney County, a tornado was observed.
Damage has been reported mainly to rural properties. However when viewed on a map, reports were made across some 20 miles or 32 km of countryside in Gray and Finney Counties (Kansas) from a SW to NE direction. If it is one tornado, then it would have crossed Route 23 as well. It appears to be a significant storm that went through this area.
I have not been able to find anything about this storm in the local news from Garden City or Dodge City Kansas however I found this story on Accuweather "Damaging Thunderstorms Threatening Southern Plains" 4/18/2009 at http://www.accuweather.com/regional-news-story.asp?region=southusnews (http://www.accuweather.com/regional-news-story.asp?region=southusnews) concerning thunderstorms in this area.
The plot for 18/4/2009 is from the National Weather Service (Storm Prediction Centre) at:-
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/090418_rpts.html (http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/090418_rpts.html) JD Edited changing today link to permanent date link
Harley Pearman
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Tornadoes / Storms and Hail hit 3 US States 19/4/2009
The same weather system that brought tornadoes and hail storms over the past few days to Texas and Oklahoma entered the south east of the country 19/4/2009. A total of three US states were hit being Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. In particular there were:-
- 9 tornado reports.
- 26 hail reports.
- 19 wind reports.
However, there have been 2 fatalities and 1 known injury from the weather event. The most serious storms and tornadoes are:-
2255 - 5 miles west of Newbern in Hale County Alabama, a tornado was reported on the ground near Cedarville.
2300 - 2 miles NE of Newbern in Perry County Alabama, significant damage to 2 barns, 1 home damaged and hundreds of trees down north of County Road 16 along Highway 25 in Whitsitt.
2325 - 2 miles north of Marion in Perry County Alabama - numerous trees down along County Road 7, 48, 24 and Highway 5. Minor roof damage to 2 homes on Highway 5, 2 miles north of Marion.
This is possibly 3 reports of the same tornado at different times. It appears that this is one tornado that has tracked across at least 20 miles or 32 km of countryside narrowly missing towns and coming close to Newbern and Marion along the way.
0002 - At Alabaster in Shelby County Alabama, a tornado was observed near a shopping centre at Exit Number 238 off Interstate 65. Alabaster is located some 26 miles south of the city of Birmingham off Interstate 65.
0350 - Columbus in Muscogee County Georgia. Several buildings damaged near Macon Road and Preston Drive. Trees and powerlines are down. Columbus is a city of some 190,000 that straddles the states boundary with Alabama. This city has taken a hit but the tornado affected area appears to be east of 185.
Looking at the hail reports the most significant ones that stand out are:-
2213 at Red Bay in Franklin County Alabama - Golf ball to baseball hail occurred in downtown Red Bay. Red Bay is located in north west Alabama on Route 24 and Russellville is the nearest major town/city.
Large hail was also reported at Hamilton in Marion County and 2 inch size hail fell 3 miles east of Baldwyn in Lee County Mississippi. Golf ball size hail fell at Blair and Nettleton both in Lee county (Reports 2114 and 2130) Mississippi.
Golf ball size hail was also observed 8 Miles south of Holly Springs in Marshall County Mississippi (2018) off Highway 7 and Hartselle in Morgan County Alabama (2352).
There have been 2 fatalities with one in Priceville (Morgan County) Alabama from a possible tornado strike and the other, 4 miles north of Hustleville in Marshall County Alabama. This may also be from a tornado striking a mobile home. Another is critically injured.
The National Weather Service had issued Tornado Watch 176 for south central Calhoun, southern Cleburne, north eastern Talladega, northern Randolph and north east Clay Counties 1007 pm CDT Sun April 19 2009. At 1005 pm CDT Doppler radar indicated a tornado located near Mount Cheaha or 6 miles south west of Oxford moving east at 40 miles per hour (64 km/h). The tornado watch remained in effect until 100 AM CDT Monday morning for Eastern Alabama.
The SPC Storm plot for 19 April 2009 is provided below from the Storm Prediction Centre.
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/090419_rpts.html (http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/090419_rpts.html) JD Edited changing today link to permanent date link
A summary of the tornadoes and thunderstorms for 19/4/2009 can be found at Accuweather "Severe Weather Igniting Across the South" 19/4/09 at:-
http://www.accuweather.com/regional-news-story.asp?partner=accuweather&traveller=0®ion=southusnews&date=2009-04-19_20:05 (http://www.accuweather.com/regional-news-story.asp?partner=accuweather&traveller=0®ion=southusnews&date=2009-04-19_20:05)
Harley Pearman
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Looks like something shaping up for this coming weekend with fairly strong looking upper system and forecast GFS 850mb winds S 40kts+ over Oklahoma Saturday CDT.
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Yes GFS sure does look very interesting from Sat pm on, NZ.
NAM's current solution is less appealing in that it keep the upper trough and associated belt of strong mid-level flow too far west and also plunges the cold front to the OK border by early evening. The best thing is that both models, finally, have good deep moisture over the southern plains, which has until now thwarted what could have been some pretty intense weather in previous weeks. Let the season really begin :)
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Latest GFS looks very nice to me. 2000+ CAPE with 40knot S'ly winds at 850mb and 50 knots winds from the SW at 500mb. What happens after Saturday is questionable, GFS has been all over the place.
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If you were over there chasing you would have to be very happy with they way the latest 12Z GFS is looking for both Saturday/Sunday. And the GFS has been consistent with the same story for the past 5 days with a triple point over NW Oklahoma.
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Looking very nice for parts of OK and TX. As David mentioned before, the stronger mid- and upper level winds will be further west than the warm sector. 500mbar winds though still look to be a respectable 40 knots. The big stand out feature though is very strong low level flow contributing to large, curved hodographs, especially after sunset. There is mention of the possibility of significant tornadoes for tomorrow if things come together. With reasonable slow storm motions, due to excellent direction shear and moderate mid-level winds, storms may well be very chasable.
Should be worth watching the event unfold tomorrow morning.
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OK KS TX MO IA IL MI all in the firing line now. Iowa, Kansas and Missouri all reported tornadoes today. One chaser got caught in cricket ball sizes hail which destroyed his vehicle - all the windows were smashed and the interior damaged as well. He had caught the hail in Oklahoma during a chase. A line of storms swept through Iowa with all storms producing golf ball hail! Warnings are going through the roof with a 45% risk in Oklahoma (moderate) and slight risks covering most of the Alley. There are videos of damaged farm houses etc already...the system is producing so many tornado warned storms that even I can't keep up with what's happening. I looked at the radar this morning for the area over there and it was just covered with storms but they expect the more serious supercells to form late afternoon and into the night.
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Mid west tornado reports 25/4/09
Looking at the Storm Prediction Centre, up to 7 tornadoes were reported for 25/4/2009 as shown below for the affected states. The most significant tornado reports to note are:-
2358 - 4 Miles NNW of Linwood in Leavenworth County Kansas. A tornado was reported to have caused destruction to barns, cars were turned upside down, homes have been damaged with the location near 206th Street and I70.
Leavenworth County is just to the west of Kansas City with the town of Linwood located close to the Kansas River roughly halfway between I70 to the North and Route 10 to the south. This tornado approached the western suburbs of Kansas City.
0312 - Enid in Garfield County Oklahoma. A tornado was reported to have affected the north side of town. Damage to the Expo Centre and to trees and powerlines and other structures has occurred.
Enid is home to around 46,000 to 47,000 residents on Route 81 some 62 miles NNW of Oklahoma City. The tornado has hit a reasonable sized service centre.
0332 - 2 Miles SE of Kremlin in Garfield County Oklahoma. A second tornado was reported SE of town.
0638 - 1 Mile west of Kremlin in Garfield County Oklahoma. A large tornado was reported by KWTV-TV Storm Trackers.
Kremlin is just to the NE of Enid off Route 60/64. The 0312 report from Enid and the 0332 Report from near Kremlin could in fact be the same tornado tracking in a NE direction.
The plot from the National Weather Service - Storm Prediction Centre for 25/4/2009 is provided below.
There are a significant number of hail reports as well from the affected region.
Harley Pearman
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Newslink with videos of the day's tornado damage http://www.kmbc.com/video/19291684/index.html (http://www.kmbc.com/video/19291684/index.html)
(http://www.tornadovideos.net/images/fbfiles/images/ww0188_warnings.gif)
(http://www.tornadovideos.net/images/fbfiles/images/Picture_12-99bb95110204170a5f257258c910a166.png)
Insane rotation video! Credit to Brian Emfinger.
April 25, 2009 - Wall Cloud Crazy Rotation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgmZ9JEPM6w#lq-lq2-hq)
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Tornado Watch 195
This is part of a much larger broader Weather Statement updated 20090426/2316 from the National Weather Service. The radar image attached is from 2316 pm.
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTRE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTH EASTERN KANSAS
WESTERN AND CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
NORTHWEST TEXAS INCLUDING THE EASTERN PANHANDLE
EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING FROM 615 PM UNTIL 300 AM CDT.
...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...
DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES... LARGE HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...
THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH... AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 85 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF EMPORIA KANSAS TO 90 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WICHITA FALLS TEXAS. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5).
That was part of the Tornado Watch 195 issued by the National Weather Service - Storm Prediction Centre 26/4/09. The fact this it had a "Particularly Dangerous Situation" statement attached to it made it quite significant.
The radar image of the thunderstorms that triggered this type of alert is attached. This too is sourced from the National Weather Service - Storm Prediction Centre 26/4/2009.
Two narrow lines of thunderstorms are present in the image with the southern one just east of Childress and well to the east of Lubbock in Texas.
The second line is situated in western Oklahoma (just east of the Panhandle) and well into Kansas. The city of Wichita in Kansas is threatened by an intense storm at the time.
There were 11 tornado reports and some 124 hail reports from the events including 5 "Large hail reports" - Hail greater than 2 inches in diameter for 26/4/2009. Some tornado reports were not significant however some significant ones include:-
2159 - 1 Mile east of Coggan in Linn County Iowa. The Ryan Fire Department reported a tornado on the ground east of town.
Note:- Coggin is NE of Cedar Rapids on Route 13. It is a largely rural area.
2223 - 1 Mile SW of Buck Creek in Delaware County Iowa. A tornado was reported to be on the ground.
Note:- Located in eastern Iowa. Largely a rural area.
2249 - 4 Miles NW of Viola in Sedgwick County Kansas. A tornado was reported.
Note:- Viola is approximately 18 miles SW of Wichita on Route 42.
2259 - 5 Miles SW of Mid Continent Airport in Sedgwick County Kansas. An observer estimated the width of a tornado at 300 feet (90 metres).
Note:- Mid Continent Airport is on the western outskirts of Wichita off Route 42. This tornado was close to the western outskirts of Wichita at the time.
2258 - 2 Miles SW of Lake Afton in Sedgwick County Kansas. A KWCH Chaser reports home damage due to a tornado.
It is possible that the tornado reports from Sedgewick County is from the same tornado that has tracked NE from near Viola to near the airport which is a distance of at least 15 miles (Nearly 24 km). This is quite possibly a significant tornado that has occurred very close to Wichita.
(Reports sourced from the Storm Prediction Centre 26/4/2009).
Harley Pearman
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There were some nice tornadoes from the storm that tracked across NW Oklahoma, Harley. Tim Marshall has some nice pictures of an elephant trunk / beautiful wall cloud near Roll, OK.
The further outlook suggests some decent H5 flow will remain in place until the end of the month, which may yield a few relaxing chase days, some hint of upper level system around the typical May 4 period and then NW flow regime through to mid-May prior to the next strong upper level system. We'll see.
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This could be a wild day...
The GFS is showing the highest CAPE. a whopping 5000 in areas. And the NAM showing 4500.
LIs are also forecast to be -10 by the GFS and NAM.
Not to mention some fairly strong shear present it seems, according to both the NAM and GFS (though this I may be wrong about since latest SPC says only 30-35kt).
NAM is currently showing absolutely amazing EHI (0-1km) of 4 as well.
(http://i40.tinypic.com/fmi91z.jpg)
[Edit JD: Unfortunately non permanent link to SPC 4-8 day outlook removed. Please save the outlooks or use date oriented links or they simply become irrelevant]
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Any storm structure freaks have got to check out the Garden City region Kansas supercell today (Wed 29th CDT) on storm track. Beautiful inverted wedding cake structure!! Also a spectacular dusty tornado.
http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/showthread.php?p=224615#post224615 (http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/showthread.php?p=224615#post224615)
The T-warned Childress storm was a beast on radar and ditto for the one down in the sw desert region of Texas near the Mexico border -- I'dsay there is now swine flu in the stratosphere. Enormous slow moving storms - what a chaser's delight!!
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Yes, amazing structure on the Garden City storm. That region is a great spot for storm structure.
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Summary of the storms - Texas to Kansas 29 April 2009:
The pictures of the storms are amazing.
I managed to obtain a radar image of the affected area 29 April 2009 at approximately 1.15 pm Eastern Australian Time for the affected area from the National Weather Service / Storm Prediction Centre. It was part of Tornado Watch 213 valid from 3.45 pm to 11 pm CDT 29/4/09.
The image shows interesting thunderstorm activity SW of Garden City (3 cells), a significant cell north of Childress and a line of storms south east of Childress but NW of Dallas - Fort Worth area. The isolated cell north of Childress appears intense and is close to a town called Wellington in Collingsworth County (Texas).
Looking at the Storm Prediction Centre 29/4/2009, there were 12 tornado reports for the day with the bulk coming from:-
Finney County Kansas - 5 in total.
Floyd County Texas - 4 in Total.
Garden City is situated in Finney County and Tornado reports include:-
002 - 5 miles SW of Garden City - Tornado is reported by KAKE News.
0045 - 5 miles SSE Plymell (Finney County) KSN TV Reporter indicated a tornado on east side of Highway 83.
Floyd County - Texas:
The reports are around the small town of Cedar Hill on Route 97 NE of Floydada. In particular:-
2240 - 8 Miles NE of Cedar Hill.
2313 - 2 Miles east of Cedar Hill.
2318 - 3 Miles east of Cedar Hill.
2350 - 7 Miles ESE of Cedar Hill.
The 2313 report indicates 2 tornadoes at the same time as stated by spotters and chasers close to the intersection of Route 97 and County Road 241. This appears to be the same storm but two tornadoes in the same rural area just east of town.
Of the hail reports, the most outstanding one goes to a place 40 miles south of Sheffield in which softball sized hail occurred at the Terrell Gas Plant in Terrell County Texas (Report Number 2219). Terrell County is in far south west Texas bordering the Rio Grande River.
Kansas storms and severe weather 27/4/09:
I have been reading the Wichita Eagle (Kansas) of late and noted thunderstorms and severe weather have caused 5 fatalities over recent days including a motorcyclist struck by lightning. There has also been flooding in Wichita as well.
In particular Wichita had a narrow escape from tornadoes 26/4/09 when tornado sirens sounded after 3.30 pm after rotating clouds were spotted and again after 6 pm following a tornado at Lake Afton just 15 miles (24 km) west of the city. (Wichita Eagle 27/4/2009 - "Storms Generate Flooding, Tornadoes".
Harley Pearman
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Severe weather / storms / tornado event of 3 / 4 May 2009
On 3 and 4 May 2009, a weather event from eastern Texas stretching into North Carolina unfolded. Affecting the states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina the event triggered the following:-
- 12 known tornado reports.
- 129 wind reports with a significant proportion of these relating to wind and powerline damage.
- 24 Hail reports. Hail was not a serious issue from this event.
- Tornado Watch Number 237 from 2.35 am to 8 am for 4/5/09. The tornado watch was issued for the early hours of the morning when most people would have been sleeping.
The tornado Watch covered the following:-
- Tornadoes.
- Hail to 2 inches in diameter.
- Wind gusts to 70 miles per hour.
- Dangerous lightning.
The Tornado Watch 237 covered Southern Alabama, Western Florida Panhandle and south east Mississippi.
The area impacted from eastern Texas to the border of North Carolina with Virginia appears to exceed 1,000 kilometres and 7 states were affected in one way by the thunderstorms and damaging winds.
Tornadoes were reported in the following counties:-
Jefferson County in Alabama.
Shelby County in Alabama.
St Clair County in Alabama.
Talladega County in Alabama.
Calhoun County in Alabama.
Marshall County in Alabama.
Morgan County in Alabama.
Madison County in Alabama.
Rockingham County in North Carolina.
Cumberland County in Tennessee.
Report 2300 - A tornado track was surveyed 2 miles NE of Owens Crossroads in Madison County Alabama after the event with a peak wind gust of 100 miles per hour, a path length of 1.6 miles and a maximum path width of 75 yards. (Location is off Route 431 SE of Huntsville).
Report 1927 - 5 miles NW of Coosa Island in St Clair County Alabama, a tornado touched down near Camp Creek Road and County Road 27. The tornado lifted on the west side of Pell City near Interstate 20 and US Highway 78. (Pell City is located some 34 miles NE of Birmingham).
It appears numerous trees were brought down in affected areas blocking roads.
Additionally, winds from the thunderstorms appears to have caused havoc across 7 states. Trees, powerlines were brought down across a wide swathe. Additionally, there were tornadoes not reported by the public but identified by Doppler radar. Some significant reports worthy of mention include:-
1205. A 62 mph wind gust reported 5 miles SW of Lufkin in Angelina County Texas measured at the airport.
1210. San Augustine in San Augustine County Texas - Trees and powerlines down right across the county.
1220. Centre in Shelby County Texas - Trees and powerlines down and probable damage to buildings.
1245. Mansfield in De Soto County Louisiana - Mansfield and Loganport without power.
1245. Ringold in Bienville County Louisiana -Several trees down along the path of a Doppler radar indicated a tornado between Ringold and Bienville (That appears to be a tornado not reported in a rural area in NW Louisiana)
1300. A boat was upturned then sank on Sam Rayburn Dam in Jasper County Texas. The person on the boat was stranded.
1325. Quitman in Jackson County Louisiana - Doppler radar indicates a tornado. (On Route 167 Northern Louisiana).
1345. Colfax in Grant County Louisiana - Trees and powerlines down across the county.
1425. 7 miles WSW of Monroe in Ouahita County Louisiana - Doppler radar indicates a path of a tornado.
(Very close to the city of Monroe on Interstate 20).
1625. Mize in Smith County Mississippi - Tree tops snapped along HWY 28 between Mize and Taylorsville.
1640. A fatality 2 miles east of Laurel in Jones County Mississippi occurred when a tree fell onto a mobile home.
1743. 3 miles NW of Butler in Choctaw County Alabama - Emergency Manager reported damaging straight line winds estimated between 50 and 70 miles per hour associated with a thunderstorm.
1845. 3 miles north of Grove Hill in Clarke County Alabama - Trees and powerlines down right across the county.
1855. Marion in Perry County Alabama - Thousands of trees down across the county.
2001. Maplesville in Chilton County Alabama - Cattle and deer lifted off the ground in the Jemison Thorsby area. One inch hail.
2121. Opelika in Lee County Alabama. Peak wind measured at 61 mph.
2302. 3 miles SSW Indian Valley in Floyd County Virginia - Possible tornado.
1135. Evergreen in Conecuh County Alabama - 59 mph peak thunderstorm wind gust observed.
Looking at the wind reports, the damage to trees, powerlines and buildings appear to be consistent across a large area through 7 states. There appears to have been at least 9 more tornadoes than that observed by the public but this needs to be confirmed.
The plot from the National Weather Service - Storm Prediction Centre from 12 UTC-1159 UTC for 5/3/09 is provided below which clearly shows the path of the weather event discussed. The map is an update for 05/04/09 and updated at 2103Z.
Harley Pearman
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Is this May tornado season in a spot of trouble? Models dont look to encouraging.
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One of the 15 tornadoes that developed and have been reported on the 8th of may 2009, has claimed a life. It was reported from NOAAS storm prediction centre as *** 1 FATAL, 1 INJ *** NWS SURVEY HAS DETERMINED AN EF 2 TORNADO WITH A WIDTH OF 400 YARDS AND AN ESTIMATED WIND SPEED OF 130 MPH OCCURRED ALONG A 4 MILE INTERMITTENT P (SGF)
That is pretty wide tornado to be comming at you.
I have posted this article regarding an inland hurricane also known as a Derecho that is currently effecting South USA. Story courtesy of ACCU Weather.http://www.accuweather.com/regional-news-story.asp?region=southusnews (http://www.accuweather.com/regional-news-story.asp?region=southusnews)
A nasty, fast-moving thunderstorm complex, known as a Derecho or Inland Hurricane, ripped through Kansas Thursday night and southern Missouri Friday morning with wind gusts of 100 mph and rainfall in excess of 3 inches in some areas. The Inland Hurricane continues to race to the east and is now ripping through the Ohio Valley states with wind gusts to 100 mph.
As the system blasts in, it may seem like a rain-wrapped tornado or a wall of water with high winds to some. People should be on guard for the rapidly approaching storms that can down trees and power lines, damage homes, overflow streams, and flood streets and rural roads in a matter of minutes. The storms also have potential to produce large, destructive hail and could spawn a couple of tornadoes.
Travelers and residents in a swath from Missouri and Arkansas through Kentucky, Tennessee, the Virginias and North Carolina should expect delays on the ground and in the air into tonight as a result. Motorists are urged not to drive through flooded areas, as roadways may be washed out and concealed by high water. Pull well of the road, in a safe area until the storms pass. Only a few inches of run-off can push your vehicle into deep water. The AccuWeather.com Severe Weather Center has the latest on thunderstorm- and flood-related watches and warnings for your area.
Related Links
* South Central Radar
* Southeast Regional Video
* South Central Warnings
* Severe Weather Center
Additional storms are expected to plague the South, as well as part of the mid-Atlantic Saturday. Thunderstorms capable of producing damaging winds, large hail and flash flooding will stretch from central Texas to Long Island during into the evening Saturday. The storms on Mother's Day may stretch from northeastern Texas to the Carolinas. Some locations in the South may be hit by multiple storms each day through Sunday. Story by AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski
Ist attachment is the inland hurricane
2nd NOAA storm report.
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Thunderstorms, Severe weather and tornadoes affect 13 USA States 8/5/2009
Further to Coltan's post above, Friday 8 May 2009 saw 13 US states affected by severe weather. Looking at the Storm Prediction Centre - National Weather Service (NOAA), it is identified that:-
- 29 reported tornadoes across 7 states.
- 8 Very large hail reports larger than 5 cm (2 inches).
- 95 Hail reports.
- 186 wind reports (Some very significant).
- Severe weather causes 4 known fatalities and 3 known injuries across the affected area.
- The states of Missouri, far southern Illinois and northern Arkansas is worst affected.
- A wind gust of 106 miles per hour (170.5 km/h) recorded at Carbondale in Illinois (Accuweather 8/5/09)
As Coltan indicates, a derecho seems to have caused much of the damage.
The damaging thunderstorm complex according to Accuweather covered 350 miles (563 km) over a 9 hour period.
The complex started in far south eastern Kansas and travelled east into Kentucky and towards the Appalachian Mountains before weakening.
The plot below shows 4 areas where severe weather occurred being Central and Northern Texas into Oklahoma, SE Iowa, Missouri, far southern Illinois, northern Arkansas, Kentucky and eastern Tennessee. To show what occurred a sample of the storm reports are reproduced.
Tornadoes:
1306 - 4 miles SE Willard in Green County Missouri - A National Weather Service storm survey identified an EF1 tornado touched down near the intersection of Farm Road 115 and Willard Road. A house sustained heavy damage.
1327 - 3 Miles SW of Charity in Webster County Missouri - A NWS survey determined an EF2 tornado with a width of 400 yards and an estimated wind speed of 130 mph (209 km/h) occurred covering 4 miles causing 1 fatality and 1 injury. (Note- Webster County is just east of Springfield in SW Missouri. The tornado occurred at the NW corner of the county and then travelled into Dallas County closer to town).
1500 - 1 Mile NW of Pomona in Howell County Missouri. A NWS survey has determined than en EF3 tornado with a width of 400 to 800 yards and estimated wind speeds of 165 mph (265.5 km/h) occurred covering 1.8 miles (2.89 km). Note:- Pomona is on Route 63 in central Howell County.
2104 - 3 miles ENE Kirksville in Madison County Kentucky. A tornado with 1 fatality in which a tornado lifted a pick up truck and dropped it into a pond. This occurred near the intersection of Highway 52 and 1295. (Note:- The county is located SSE of Lexington).
2158 - 5 miles SE of Huntsville in Scott County Tennessee - Several homes destroyed in the Fairview community. (Note:- Fairview is a town with around 6,600 residents and it appears that the town has suffered a direct hit from a tornado. Fairview is NE of Knoxville on Route 63).
Hail reports
In addition to the tornadoes, some substantial hail events occurred from this system. The five most significant are:-
1223 - Carthage in Jasper County - Missouri - Golf ball size hail in eastern Joplin and in Carthage. (SW Missouri).
1318 - Greenfield in Dade County Missouri - Hail 2 to 3 inches deep covering the ground.
1434 - Potosi in Washington County Missouri - A spotter reports baseball size hail.
2303 - 16 miles ESE of Breckenridge in Stephens County Texas - Baseball size hail 5 miles south of Caddo (On Route 180, eastern side of the county).
0510 - Whitewright in Grayson County Texas - Golfball hail reported in town.
Wind reports
Substantial wind damage occurred in the affected areas. There are 186 wind reports and at least 4 reports may be possible tornado damage but requiring damage surveys to verify this. Damage is consistent across a wide area. A sample of five is provided here to show what happened.
1210 - 2 miles ENE of Liberal in Barton County Missouri - Pieces of steel wrapped around trees. Trees snapped off 10 feet (3 metres) above the ground.
1249 - Carterville in Jasper County Missouri - Wind gusts to 65 mph as well as golf ball size hail. (Note:- NE suburb of Joplin).
1253 - Altamont in Labette County Kansas - Widespread wind damage across the county. Trees and powerlines down. Tree fell onto house. Oswego and Bartlett without power. (SE Kansas).
1335 - 3 miles east of Garrison in Christian County Missouri - A possible tornado. Several trees uprooted and pointing different directions and roof damage to a dwelling house. (Note:- SE of Springfield in the SE of the county. This is a rural area).
1340 - 1 mile south of Willard in Greene County Missouri - Wind estimated at 80 mph (128.7 km/h) causing significant tree damage, powerline damage and damage to roofs of buildings (Just NW of Springfield close to the city limits. Its likely that damage has occurred in Springfield itself).
The updated plot from the National Weather Service - Storm Prediction Centre (NOAA) for the day is provided. This is an update of the one posted by Colton in his post. The plot indicates 26 tornadoes but as information becomes available this has recently increased to 29 reported for the day.
Harley Pearman
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Damage Assessment Surveys of weekends storms and tornadoes in Missouri USA
The National Weather Service is publishing "Damage Surveys" from some of the storms of May 8 2009 that afflicted Missouri, southern Illinois, northern Arkansas and Tennessee.
To find them go to http://www.nws.noaa.gov/ (http://www.nws.noaa.gov/)
Then click on the USA Map under the heading "Click below to Zoom in" in any region desired.
It offers more details of the latest weather events occurring in the various regions. In the case of the storms in Missouri 8/5/2009, the National Weather Service Teams have been conducting aerial surveys and ground surveys and have identified that at least 13 tornadoes afflicted southern Missouri broken into:-
1 x EF3 tornado.
4 x EF2 tornadoes.
7 x EF1 tornadoes.
1 x EF0 tornado.
This is further broken down into:-
3 tornadoes in Green County all of which were rated EF1.
1 tornado in Christian County rated EF1.
1 tornado in Webster County rated EF1.
1 tornado in Dallas County rated EF2.
1 tornado in Laclede County rated rated EF2.
3 tornadoes in Douglas County with one rated EF1 and two rated EF2.
2 tornadoes in in Howell County with one rated EF3 and one rated EF1.
1 tornado in Texas County rated EF0.
Hence, 8 counties in a relatively small area experienced tornadoes.
Additionally, the event is being called the May 8 Derecho. Aerial photos have been provided for each tornado track plus damage assessment. For example, damage surveys already conducted include:-
1) Charity tornado:- Rated EF2 and travelled 4 miles and 800 yards wide at the widest point and caused 1 fatality.
2) Willard tornado:- Rated EF1 and travelled 1.1 miles and was 50 yards wide. A single house was assessed as suffering heavy damage. Winds estimated at 95 miles per hour.
3) Ebenezer tornado:- Rated EF0 with winds estimated at 80 mph. The damage path is 100 yards wide and tornado travelled 2.3 miles.
4) Pomona tornado:- Rated EF3 and survey team has estimated damage path being 400 to 800 yards wide. Winds estimated at 165 mph and damage path is 1.8 miles long. Damage assessment includes 2 school buses overturned, trees uprooted, 1 house, 1 travel trailer, 2 outbuildings suffering heavy damage and an auto repair shop destroyed.
5) Western Douglas County:- One tornado rated EF2 with winds estimated at 130 mph that touched down north of Merritt. At its widest point, it was three quarters of a mile wide (1.2 km). It travelled 3 miles before lifting and 2 homes suffered damage.
The second tornado is rated EF2 with winds estimated at 120 mph. It travelled 2 miles and was half a mile wide at its widest point.
The other 7 tornadoes affecting southern Missouri is covered in a similar fashion.
The attached map shows the number of tornadoes that occurred in southern Missouri marked as red lines.
Survey teams from the National Weather Service are conducting surveys in Jasper and Cherokee Counties and have determined that:-
- The storm that occurred is a Derecho.
- Straight line wind speeds of between 75 and 90 mph occurred.
- Towns affected include Columbus, Crestline, Asbury and Carl Junction.
- A 300 metre high (Although stated as a 1,000 foot high) transmission line was brought down.
- Microburst damage observed 3 miles east of Crestline and a residence suffered significant wind damage.
Similar surveys are being undertaken in other areas of Kentucky and Tennessee and the National Weather Survey advises that the survey assessments are continuing.
(All information as well as the plot below is from NOAA / National Weather Service May 10 2009 from survey teams).
Harley Pearman
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Here's an amazing radar capture of a 'land hurricane' or Mesoscale Convective Low. It was tornado warned in the area of the hook, but actually these create Derecho events. Winds were recorded at 80mph. What's fascinating is the structure of storm lines to the RHS - almost lightning like appearance. It was from 8/5/2009 in Tennessee.
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May 8 2009 Derecho
More information is becoming available on this weather event via the National Weather Service - Storm Prediction Centre (NOAA) as damage surveys continue.
The National Weather Service has published some radar images of the Derecho early in its life cycle and it looks evident and clear at 7.05 am and 8.05 am (Reproduced Below) taken from "Severe Storms Slam the Ozarks May 8 2009". In brief and in summary, the following is identified:-
- It started Friday morning.
- While it is stated that a number of tornadoes were spawned, it appears the count has topped 37.
Significant winds were observed along the leading edge of the system and behind it as well. The complex created its own low pressure system. The pressure was so low behind the thunderstorms that air had to rush in from behind to equalise the pressure difference. The persistent rush of air primarily from the North West was so strong that winds were estimated to reach as high as 90 mph and winds of 60 mph lasted as long as 30 minutes. Hence the strong winds at both ends caused much damage. Trees were uprooted, snapped or damaged. Damage occurred to barns, outbuildings, moving mobile homes from their foundations and causing structural damage to well built homes. (National Weather Service 10/5/2009).
The National Weather Service has released IEM composite radar images of the system. The first image at 7.05 am has the system over far NE Oklahoma / SE Kansas and SW Missouri. For example, it is over Joplin in Newton County, Missouri. In the state of Missouri, it is affecting Newton, Jasper and Barton Counties plus others.
At 8.05 am, the system has progressed east and is affecting places further east such as Springfield in Green County Missouri. The worst of it has cleared from SE Kansas. The worst of it is affecting several counties including Barry, Stoney Greene, Webster, Christian and Dallas Counties in Missouri.
The distance from the centre of Joplin to the centre of Springfield via Route 44 is 72 miles or 115 km (Approximately 66 miles or 106 km in a straight line) which provides some idea on how fast the storm system was moving across this part of the state.
Harley Pearman
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Storm prediction centre - Storm reports for 13 May 2009
Further thunderstorms across Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas and far north eastern Texas occurred just days after the May 8 Derecho. The worst hit states by far are Oklahoma, Missouri and Illinois. In particular:-
- 23 Tornado reports.
- 130 Hail reports.
- 151 wind reports.
Staff from the National Weather Service are busy undertaking damage assessment surveys from this event while still conducting surveys from the Derecho of May 8. All the details of the tornadoes below are summaries prepared by the National Weather Service Damage Assessment Teams (May 14 2009).
Several of the tornado reports are from Kirksville and surrounds and it has been found that 3 tornadoes occurred across Sullivan and Adair Counties in north east Missouri. In particular:-
- One tornado rated EF1 touched down just north of Milan causing a fatality. It continued east for a few miles before lifting. Damage assessment shows EF1 damage.
- One tornado touched down 5 miles west of Novingar near Highway 149 destroying a house, an outbuilding, a mobile home and minor damage to buildings on the south side of town. It paralleled Highway 6 east of Novingar damaging powerlines. It is rated EF1.
One tornado touched down 2 miles west north west of Kirksville, then moved east through the city. The tornado produced 2 fatalities and produced EF1 damage to several structures. The tornado continued east through the rural area and intensified causing EF2 damage.
Note:- The towns of Novingar and Milan are west of Kirksville. Kirksville is home to around 17,200 residents on Route 63. It is clear that the tornado has passed through a portion of this small city and photos of this do show extensive damage to homes in affected areas.
Up to 9 of the 23 tornado reports are from this small area of Missouri and reports indicate substantial damage to buildings, injuries as well as cars flipped. These are by far the most significant of the tornadoes and the times of the various reports are 2210, 2228, 2235, 2235, 2243, 2248, 2311, 2316 and 2318.
Another tornado in nearby Knox County Missouri further east being 2 miles north of Edina (2340) also has caused extensive damage including powerlines brought down and trees scattered across the road. Note:- Edina is located 23 miles east of Kirksville.
Hail reports
The majority are not significant although the following are noteworthy enough:-
2334 - Nardin in Kay County Oklahoma - Hail up to golf ball size observed.
0045 - 2 miles south of Greenfield in Blaine County Oklahoma - Hail up to tennis ball size observed.
0105 - Hydro in Caddo County Oklahoma - Golf ball size hail on the ground.
0105 - Geary in Blaine County Oklahoma - Golf ball hail observed and winds to 50 and 60 mph around town.
0135 - Mulhall in in Logan County Oklahoma - Golf ball size hail observed.
0531 - Lawton in Comanche County Oklahoma - Baseball hail observed over NW of the city. Note:- Reading the local weather news on the internet, this occurred over the NW portion of the city only.
The large hail reports are scattered across the state being north of Oklahoma City, north west of Oklahoma City and south west of Oklahoma City.
Additionally, a thunderstorm passed over Oklahoma City late in the day that was warned for hail and tornadoes as well. There were reports of hail occurring within the metropolitan area as well.
Wind reports
The most significant are reproduced to give a sample of what happened.
2230 - 2 miles north of Linneus in Linn County Missouri - A trailer destroyed and Doppler radar indicates a possible tornado. Note:- It indicates a possible tornado not reported requiring verification. The location is 23 miles south of Milan in northern Missouri.
0040 - At Greenfield in Hancock County Indiana - Trees split by wind and powerlines down.
0056 - Indianapolis International Airport in Marion County Indiana - Winds to 70 mph measured.
0300 - 3 Miles north west of Cement in Caddo County Oklahoma - A trailer roof blown off and a trailer moved 8 feet by the winds (Note:- Cement is located SE of the County near the HE Bailey Turnpike).
0454 - Litchfield in Montgomery County Illinois - Thunderstorm wind damage causes a tractor trailer to be flipped on Interstate 55.
0550 - Rankin in Vermillion County Illinois - A tree was blown into a house and winds estimated at 70 mph.
The remainder relate to typical damage from wind gusts being trees down, powerlines brought down, some damage to homes and or trees snapped and roads blocked.
The plot below (Produced by the National Weather Service - NOAA 14/5/2009) shows how and where severe weather affected the mid west 13/5/2009.
A full account of the severe weather event, storms, tornado counts can be found at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/ (http://www.nws.noaa.gov/)
National Weather Service - Then under the heading "Click Below to Zoom in" on the USA Map, click on any region desired. It is here where information is being posted on the severe events including damage assessment surveys, photographs, maps, plots and even tornado analysis where appropriate.
Harley Pearman
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One thunderstorm near Pampa and Miami in Texas Panhandle spawns 5 tornadoes 15/5/2009
A single supercell thunderstorm in North East Texas has spawned 5 tornadoes in which the National Weather Service Damage Assessment Team has been busy analysing damage paths.
The area around Pampa at the time was under "Tornado Watch 307". The thunderstorm in question was warned for:-
- Dangerous lightning.
- Tornadoes.
- Destructive winds to 80 mph (128.7 km/h).
- Baseball size hailstones.
The towns in the affected area are Pampa, Miami and Lefors. The affected counties were Gray and Roberts. Lefors is situated SE of Pampa on Route 273 and Miami is located NE of Pampa. The affected area is relatively small.
The National Weather Service has determined that 5 tornadoes occurred in this area with 3 being EF0, 1 being EF1 and one being EF2. There were 2 tornadoes in Roberts County and 3 tornadoes in Gray County as summarised below:-
Tornado 1 - Rated EF0 located 13 miles west of Miami. It had a path length of 1/4 of 1 mile (400 metres) and a maximum width of 100 yards. No damage was reported because it occurred in open country. Time 4.45 pm to 4.46 pm.
Tornado 2 - Rated EF0 located 14 miles west south west of Miami. It had a path length of 1/2 mile (800 metres) and had a maximum width of 100 yards. Time 4.47 pm - 5 pm.
Tornado 3 - Rated EF0 located 5 miles NE of Pampa. It had a path length of 1 mile (1.6 km) and had a maximum width of 1/4 mile (400 metres). It remained in open county causing no damage. It lasted 4 minutes. Time 5.02 pm to 5.06 pm.
Tornado 4 - Rated EF2 located 4 miles ENE of Pampa. It had a path length of 3 miles (4.8 km) and had a maximum width of 1/2 mile (800 metres). The National Weather Service determined that this was a multi vortex and one home sustained significant damage 4 miles east of Pampa. At least 4 other homes sustained other damage from downburst winds in close proximity to the tornado 1 to 3 miles east of Pampa. Other structures and vehicles were damaged including a semi truck that was overturned and a motor home. One injury occurred. Trees and powerpoles sustained damage. Time 5.09 pm to 5.17 pm.
Tornado 5 - Rated EF1 located 2 miles north west of Lefors. It had a path length of 6 miles (9.65 km) and had a maximum width of 1/4 mile (400 metres). Classified as a multi vortex. Several homes and structures received minor to moderate damage due to the tornado and downburst winds. Widespread tree damage occurred. Time 5.25 pm to 5.45 pm.
No other thunderstorm producing tornadoes have been identified to date except for the ones occurring in Gray and Roberts Counties in Texas (Specifically North east Texas).
It is noted that the 5 tornadoes occurred in a space of 1 hour from 4.45 pm to 5.45 pm 15/5/2009.
The surveys and data were conducted by the National Weather Service from Amarillo Texas and plotted at 4.05 pm CDT Saturday May 16 2009. Full details including photographs can be found at the same website http://www.nws.noaa.gov/ (http://www.nws.noaa.gov/) as described in my previous Post.
Harley Pearman
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Arizona Tornadoes 22/5/2009
While not in tornado alley, on 22/5/2009 three tornado reports came from the state of Arizona with two of those close to Flagstaff. The reports are:-
1922 - 8 Miles NE of Flagstaff in Coconino County - Public report of a tornado.
2000 - 9 Miles NE of Flagstaff in Coconino County - Public report of a tornado.
2130 - Petrified Forest National Park in Apache County - Public report of a tornado.
It appears that the tornadoes have done little damage. I have been to flagstaff and the city and surrounds is at an elevation of 7,000 feet or some 2,135 metres above sea level. If Reports 1922 and 2000 are confirmed then it would mean that a tornado has occurred not too far from the Grand Canyon.
It seems unusual to get tornadoes in such an area of high elevation and climate.
I have been unable to find further details on the tornado reports at the National Weather Service - Storm Prediction Centre to date.
Tornado Reports 24/5/2009
Some severe weather occurred across portions of the American Midwest but certainly not significant. Severe Weather affected portions of Colorado, western Tennessee and the Deep South of Texas.
Colorado:
A tornado Watch Box was issued by the National Weather Service for areas of Denver and a tornado was observed near Commerce City (Close to Denver city centre) - Eastern suburbs of the city and NE of Route 270.
Report 2012 - 2 Miles NE of Commerce City in Adams County.
Report 2147 - Chatfield Reservoir in Jefferson County.
Report 2200 - 1 Mile south west of Parker in Douglas County.
Chatfield Reservoir is just south of Route 470 on the south west outskirts of Denver.
Parker is an outer south eastern suburb of Denver on Route 83.
Hence the Denver city region experienced 3 reported tornadoes close to or within the city limits.
Texas
Report 2145 - 4 Miles north of Ben Bolt County in Texas (Deep south) - Location is 54 miles west of Corpus Christi. A tornado damaged a trailer, power lines brought down and trees uprooted in Green Acres Subdivision.
A thunderstorm occurring in the area was warned for intense rainfall and constant cloud to ground lightning.
Tennessee
There were 3 reports of a tornado in Dyer County being:-
2214 - 1 Mile South of Heloise.
2225 - 7 Miles South of Heloise.
2325 - 7 Miles South of Heloise.
It appears that the tornado has done no significant damage. This appears to be one tornado that appears to have traversed some 6 miles or 10 km of countryside close to the Arkansas River in far west Tennessee.
The other tornado in the state occurred at Friendship - Report 0107 in Crockett County (Route 20 SE of Dyersburg) where a tornado destroyed a barn and some trees.
Generally the whole region that would normally expect severe weather events this time of year has been relatively quiet over recent days except for the occasional event such as the ones stated above.
(Source of the Reports - National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Centre 22 and 24 May 2009).
Harley Pearman