Author Topic: Tornadoes HIGH RISK! Violent Tornado outbreak 26-27 April 2011  (Read 8841 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Guest

  • Guest
HIGH RISK! Tornado outbreak expected to continue today into tomorrow!
         


A large portion of the central and northeastern U.S. is under the threat of  severe weather today, as the powerful storm system responsible for this  multi-day outbreak continues to migrate east.  Areas of central Texas and  western Oklahoma all the way to the Hudson River Valley in New York are under  the threat of severe weather, with the key area of interest today being across  portions of northeast Texas into the Mid-South, where an outbreak of severe  storms capable of strong, long-tracked tornadoes, extremely large hail  and destructive winds is expected later this afternoon into the evening. The  threat will intensify and shift east into the Tennessee and Ohio Valley  tomorrow. Very strong directional wind shear and strong instability are expected  to be in place across the Arklatex later this afternoon, providing an  environment very favorable for intense supercell thunderstorm development.  Unfortunately, this next wave of thunderstorm activity will likely be developing  over areas that were ravaged yesterday, namely southern and central Arkansas,  where several highly destructive tornadoes occurred last evening. (Click here for the latest details on the April 25, 2011 Arkansas tornadoes.) This is a very  serious weather situation, and as always, residents in the risk areas are  strongly encouraged to closely monitor local media for watches and warnings.   Despite the less than ideal terrain, a number of chasers will be streaming this  event live as well, providing much needed help with ground-truth for local  television and the NWS.
         

http://www.tornadovideos.net/component/content/article/36-tornadoes/1354-high-risk-tornado-outbreak-expected-to-continue-today-into-tomorrow
         
« Last Edit: 28 April 2011, 05:14:10 AM by Michael Bath »

Guest

  • Guest
Re: Tornadoes HIGH RISK! Violent Tornado outbreak 26-27 April 2011
« Reply #1 on: 29 April 2011, 01:00:11 AM »
Major tornado outbreak expected today!
         


A very special set of meteorological parameters are coming together over  the Mid-South, setting the stage for what is expected to be a very  rough afternoon across Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and surrounding states to  the north and east; the threat for tornadic storms will extend literally from  the Gulf of Mexico all the way into northern New York and Canada by late  evening. Extreme wind shear--the result of intense winds intersecting at various  levels of the atmosphere, which today is especially pronounced in the lower  levels--and moderate to high instability will be in place over the same areas,  providing what can only be described as an ideal environment for the development  of thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes. This combination of shear and  instability can be presented as the Energy Helicity Index, or EHI, also at  left. (Click here for more on the significance of EHI.)  As such, the Storm  Prediction Center has issued another HIGH RISK for severe weather across this  area, including a rare 45% hatched area for tornadoes (see graphic at left). Of  particular concern is the potential for long-tracked, strong to violent  tornadoes (hence the current PDS Tornado Watches found here).  There will be a  number of chasers covering this extremely dangerous weather event today,  providing live video streams for local media and NWS to monitor so they can see  conditions on the ground in real time. As always, those in the risk areas are  urged to keep themselves safe by being prepared and aware of this serious  weather situation, and have a plan in place in case of warnings.

         

http://www.tornadovideos.net/component/content/article/36-tornadoes/1355-major-tornado-outbreak-expected-today
         
« Last Edit: 29 April 2011, 01:27:02 AM by Michael Bath »

Offline Michael Bath

  • storm chaser
  • Administrator
  • Wedge tornado F5
  • *
  • Posts: 1,602
  • Gender: Male
    • Australian Severe Weather
Re: Tornadoes HIGH RISK! Violent Tornado outbreak 26-27 April 2011
« Reply #2 on: 29 April 2011, 08:37:20 AM »
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 27 April

4/27/11 - Tuscaloosa Tornado

Tornado Tuscaloosa AL

Empire, Alabama 27 April

MOV00043.MPG
« Last Edit: 29 April 2011, 08:45:39 AM by Michael Bath »
Location: Mcleans Ridges, NSW Northern Rivers
Australian Severe Weather:   http://australiasevereweather.com/
Lightning Photography:   http://www.lightningphotography.com/
Early Warning Network: http://www.ewn.com.au
Contact: Michael Bath

Offline Michael Bath

  • storm chaser
  • Administrator
  • Wedge tornado F5
  • *
  • Posts: 1,602
  • Gender: Male
    • Australian Severe Weather
Re: Tornadoes HIGH RISK! Violent Tornado outbreak 26-27 April 2011
« Reply #3 on: 29 April 2011, 09:08:34 AM »
north side of Philadelphia, Mississippi 27 April

April 27, 2011 Close Range Mississippi Tornado!
Location: Mcleans Ridges, NSW Northern Rivers
Australian Severe Weather:   http://australiasevereweather.com/
Lightning Photography:   http://www.lightningphotography.com/
Early Warning Network: http://www.ewn.com.au
Contact: Michael Bath

Offline Michael Bath

  • storm chaser
  • Administrator
  • Wedge tornado F5
  • *
  • Posts: 1,602
  • Gender: Male
    • Australian Severe Weather
Re: Tornadoes HIGH RISK! Violent Tornado outbreak 26-27 April 2011
« Reply #4 on: 29 April 2011, 09:32:30 AM »
Tripod footage of the Tuscaloosa Tornado

Tuscaloosa Tornado - Unedited Raw Version - 4/27/11
Location: Mcleans Ridges, NSW Northern Rivers
Australian Severe Weather:   http://australiasevereweather.com/
Lightning Photography:   http://www.lightningphotography.com/
Early Warning Network: http://www.ewn.com.au
Contact: Michael Bath

Guest

  • Guest
Re: Tornadoes HIGH RISK! Violent Tornado outbreak 26-27 April 2011
« Reply #5 on: 29 April 2011, 11:00:11 PM »
Unbelievable tornado outbreak overwhelms southern U.S.







Wednesday, April 27, 2011, was that once in a generation tornado outbreak that's been looming since Super Outbreak April 1974.  With the death toll climbing over 200 as of this morning, it is easily the deadliest outbreak in the modern Doppler era. Seemingly every thunderstorm that formed after the noon hour spawned a violent tornado. Dozens of communities in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia took direct hits. The damage is staggering. Seasoned, veteran storm chasers and meteorologists agree that they have never seen anything like this.

Above are high resolution radar images from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, captured as the almost otherworldly tornado was tearing through the city. Reed, Joel and Chris observed this tornado just after its birth, but were unable to keep up with the storm due to an unfavorable road network and the high speed at which the storm was traveling. Based on the videos from various angles, I am willing to call the most incredible tornado I have ever seen.

4/27/11 - Tuscaloosa Tornado

Something very fascinating which stood out about yesterday's event is that, aside from their very violent nature, so many of the tornadoes had numbers of horizontal vortices coming from the sides of the tornadoes themselves, as well as satellites from above. This is not something commonly seen, with maybe one or two tornadoes per year displaying these characteristics, and usually more subtly than the examples from yesterday. Obviously, the environment over northern and central Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia was perfect for these kinds of freak tornadoes. At one point yesterday afternoon, Storm Relative Helicity for the north-central Alabama area was coming in at >1,000 m2/s2. That index in itself is rather extravagant, but when you add in CAPE at > 3000+ j/Kg, the results can be horrifying, as we are now seeing. Below is Reed, Chris and Joel's video.

April 27, 2011 Tornado Outbreak - Mississippi and Alabama

Beyond all of the destruction and loss of life, tornado outbreaks like this are also invaluable learning tools. People naturally want to dissect any given event to determine what worked, what could have been done differently, and to use what they learn to devise ways of doing better in the future. As it applies to yesterday, it is easy to say that National Weather Service personnel, members of the media, and storm chasers and spotters all worked in unison to provide and disseminate information that resulted in the best-possible warnings to those in harm's way, given the tools at their disposal. Thousands of people would have likely succumbed to the wrath of yesterday's storms without their efforts. Developing better warning systems is always something people like to talk about, but the real challenge, obviously, is how? It seems that we may have reached the limit of what's possible with Doppler radar and human-based warnings. One new method that is being explored right now involves infrasound technology. Tupelo, MS-based Hyperion Technology Group  (who you may recognize as the team who builds the radar and cannon array for the Dominator) was in the field yesterday, in partnership with TVN, in an effort to collect some initial data in support of a tornado infrasound research mission. One of the primary goals of this research is to find and sample a detectable infrasound signal produced by a tornado and received at various ranges away from the tornado (i.e., essentially a warnable signal that a tornado has formed or is imminent). They intercepted two tornadoes, including the Houston/Okolona, MS tornado, which was large and strong. (This same storm eventually produced the Smithville, MS tornado, which, evidently, was violent based on Hyperion's assessment of damage afterward.)  They successfully deployed sensors on a subsequent supercell, around the time of the Tuscaloosa tornado (but not in the immediate vicinity of that storm). So, in the middle of yesterday's catastrophic outbreak, some very cutting-edge science was being was being put to use, with hopes that something can be gained to allow the meteorology and engineering community to build on finding that "something better" for devising warnings. We'd consider Hyperion's efforts a very successful trial run for this new research project, and are looking forward to being able to perform multiple data collects as the heart of the tornado season is upon us. Below are some radar images from the initial storm Hyperion was sampling.




         

http://www.tornadovideos.net/component/content/article/36-tornadoes/1356-unbelievable-tornado-outbreak-overwhelms-southern-us
         
« Last Edit: 30 April 2011, 01:14:25 AM by Michael Bath »

Offline Michael Bath

  • storm chaser
  • Administrator
  • Wedge tornado F5
  • *
  • Posts: 1,602
  • Gender: Male
    • Australian Severe Weather
Location: Mcleans Ridges, NSW Northern Rivers
Australian Severe Weather:   http://australiasevereweather.com/
Lightning Photography:   http://www.lightningphotography.com/
Early Warning Network: http://www.ewn.com.au
Contact: Michael Bath

Guest

  • Guest
Re: Tornadoes HIGH RISK! Violent Tornado outbreak 26-27 April 2011
« Reply #7 on: 02 May 2011, 02:00:20 AM »
Smithville, MS tornado rated as EF-5
         


Damage surveys continue across the south today as engineers and meteorologists labor to assess the magnitude of the destruction left in the wake of Wednesday's tornadoes. So far, at least one of those tornadoes has been assigned the highest ranking on the Enhanced Fujita scale. Officials determined early yesterday that EF-5 damage occurred in the town of Smithville, Mississippi (pop. ~ 800). This storm also claimed 14 lives and injured at least 40. This is the same storm noted in the last blog post, which the team from Hyperion Tech Group was targeting for their infrasound project. See their video, below.


Elsewhere, an EF-4 rating has been assigned to the very damaging Catoosa County/Ringgold, GA tornado, while two separate EF-4 designations have been made on tornadoes that occurred in Tennessee. Assessments are still ongoing across Alabama (a process that will likely take several days or even weeks to complete) and other states; for the latest on damage assessments across the southern and eastern U.S., visit the National Weather Service website. We will continue to update as new information becomes available on this unbelievable event.

         

http://www.tornadovideos.net/component/content/article/36-tornadoes/1357-smithville-ms-tornado-rated-as-ef-5
         
« Last Edit: 03 May 2011, 03:19:10 AM by Michael Bath »

Offline Michael Bath

  • storm chaser
  • Administrator
  • Wedge tornado F5
  • *
  • Posts: 1,602
  • Gender: Male
    • Australian Severe Weather
Location: Mcleans Ridges, NSW Northern Rivers
Australian Severe Weather:   http://australiasevereweather.com/
Lightning Photography:   http://www.lightningphotography.com/
Early Warning Network: http://www.ewn.com.au
Contact: Michael Bath

Offline nzstorm

  • Elephant Trunk F2
  • *
  • Posts: 115
  • Gender: Male
Re: Tornadoes HIGH RISK! Violent Tornado outbreak 26-27 April 2011
« Reply #9 on: 06 May 2011, 05:09:48 AM »
I wonder whether more chasers will opt to chase Dixie Tornado Alley in the future as the plains in May are getting so crowded.
That Tuscaloosa tornado looked amazing.  I understand it got an EF4 rating.
Steven Williams
Storm Chaser

Offline Paul D

  • Multi-vortex F1
  • *
  • Posts: 90
  • Gender: Male
Re: Tornadoes HIGH RISK! Violent Tornado outbreak 26-27 April 2011
« Reply #10 on: 08 May 2011, 05:54:32 AM »
So far it looks like at least 3 EF5 tornados

Smithville, Mississippi,
Philadelphia, Mississippi,
and the Hamilton-Hackleburg(Alabama)-Huntland (Tennessee). Path length (edit: actualy 212km when the marion county end is added in), max width 2km - see the Noaa track
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/hun/stormsurveys/2011-04-27/tracks/marion-madison_track_1500.png
see http://www.srh.noaa.gov/bmx/?n=event_04272011hackleburg for the Marion county end (25.2 miles)
and http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hun/?n=franklin-al_lawrence_limestone_madison_franklin-tn_counties for the Franklin AB - Franklin TN end (106.9 miles)
« Last Edit: 08 May 2011, 06:50:38 AM by Paul D »

Offline nmoir

  • Elephant Trunk F2
  • *
  • Posts: 200
  • Gender: Male
  • "busting chases since 1999"
    • Oculi.com.au
Re: Tornadoes HIGH RISK! Violent Tornado outbreak 26-27 April 2011
« Reply #11 on: 19 May 2011, 12:24:29 PM »
this new video has emerged from tuscaloosa , very close

LiveLeak.com - New Footage of Tuscaloosa Tornado
Nick Moir
Photographer
The Sydney Morning Herald
and www.oculi.com.au

Offline Jimmy Deguara

  • Australian and Tornado Alley storm chaser
  • Administrator
  • Wedge tornado F5
  • *
  • Posts: 2,218
  • Gender: Male
  • Storm Chaser since 1993, Tornado Alley 2001
    • Australia Severe Weather
Re: Tornadoes HIGH RISK! Violent Tornado outbreak 26-27 April 2011
« Reply #12 on: 19 May 2011, 02:00:37 PM »
These are insane videos - that last one is up-close and personal! WOW!

Regards,

Jimmy Deguara
-------------------------------------
Australian Severe Weather
www.australiasevereweather.com

Australian Thunderbolt Tours
www.thunderbolttours.com

Phone  0408 020468  (International :  61  2  408 020468)