Severe Weather Season 2011/Severe Wx thread

[Lightning]

I haven't been on here to post about the Tuscaloosa and Birmingham tornadoes, because yesterday morning, we had bad straight-line winds that knocked out our power at about 5:30 yesterday morning and it didn't come on again until 10:15 this morning. I am very sad that these tornadoes have claimed so many lives.  they have hit places where I have a lot of childhood memories.  It's awful! My uncle's house is damaged. More than 230 people in my state alone have been killed and the death toll keeps going up.

[TWCmatthew]

Well, at least Alabama is eligible for federal help/funds.

[toxictwister00]

Well, at least Alabama is eligible for federal help/funds.

On the local news, I heard Gov. Deal is expected to declare a Federal Disaster claim to President Obama for federal aid. He took a helicopter tour of the tornado damage in all the counties affected today. Also the death toll has risen to 14 and unfortunately is still expected to rise because there are people reported to still be missing atm.

[Localonthe8s]

Death toll has risen to 305: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110428-727967.html

TUSCALOOSA, Al. (AFP)--The death toll from a series of storms and tornadoes across the southern United States soared to 305 on Thursday, with 204 confirmed fatalities in the state of Alabama alone.

"We have 204 for the state of Alabama, including 36 in Tuscaloosa," an emergency management spokeswoman said, referring to one of the worst-hit counties.

Officials warned that the definitive toll of what was already the worst tornado disaster to hit the United States in decades would probably not be known for days.

The overall toll includes 34 deaths in Tennessee, 33 in Mississippi, 14 in Georgia, 12 in Arkansas, five in Virginia, two in Missouri, and one in Kentucky, according to state officials.

[phw115wvwx]

The death toll from this horrific tornado outbreak is more than likely going to pass the Super Outbreak from April 3-4, 1974.  A total of 315 people died in the Super Outbreak, and the fact we've just witnessed an outbreak that may be on par with the worst outbreak on record in many categories is mind-boggling.

[toxictwister00]

The death toll from this horrific tornado outbreak is more than likely going to pass the Super Outbreak from April 3-4, 1974.  A total of 315 people died in the Super Outbreak, and the fact we've just witnessed an outbreak that may be on par with the worst outbreak on record in many categories is mind-boggling.

What's ironic is that when I rewatched the episode of When Weather Changed History on the Super Outbreak of '74 they mentioned that something like that would probably never occur again because of how well advanced our technology in radars has gotten and earlier Tornado Warnings. Well, that belief for sure has been blown out of the water. What a tragic event this was, I expected there to be deaths from that tornado in Tuscaloosa, but never to this extreme magnitude or for it to travel hundreds of miles to cause more death and destruction. It's been hard not to cry at some of the stories you hear. At another weather forum I was at, they had been watching this storm on the models for over a week and it looked aggressive that far out! It's almost like thinking about how we were able to forecast the Superstorm of '93 a week ahead of time.

[Lightning]

The death toll from this horrific tornado outbreak is more than likely going to pass the Super Outbreak from April 3-4, 1974.  A total of 315 people died in the Super Outbreak, and the fact we've just witnessed an outbreak that may be on par with the worst outbreak on record in many categories is mind-boggling.

Well it now has. I read a tweet on twitter from Severe Studios that said the death toll has reached 318. 

[WeatherWitness]

As stated above, an NBC article states that the death count from these (160!?! ) tornadoes is now at 318, surpassing the Superstorm of 1974. According to the article,

"The deadliest outbreak prior to this week's was in March 1932, when 332 people died."

"[This has been] the worst U.S. natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which killed up to 1,800 people."

[Pop Light Brown]

Alabamians are well aware of tornadoes. They know what to do. They got more than enough advanced warning because Birmingham and Huntsville TV stations were doing weather coverage pretty much all day. The lead time on warnings from NWS Huntsville and NWS Birmingham was 20-25 minutes, well above the average of 11-14 minutes. What you have here - some touched on it a little - is that:

1. Many folks down south do not have basements and storm cellars.
2. The tornadoes were very powerful, therefore homes and business had no chance of withstanding the storms.

This was a situation where if you wasn't underground, there was a 50-50 shot of being killed. Unfortunately, many were killed even though they followed proper procedures.


On another note, here is the statement from NWS Memphis on the Smithfield, Miss. tornado that was upgraded to an EF5:

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
1150 AM CDT FRI APR 29 2011

...PRELIMINARY RARE EF-5 TORNADO IN MONROE COUNTY MISSISSIPPI...

AFTER A REVIEW OF THE DAMAGE PHOTOS TAKEN DURING THURSDAY/S GROUND
SURVEY AND CONSULTATION WITH NATIONAL EXPERTS...THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS UPGRADED THE SMITHVILLE TORNADO
RATING TO EF-5 DAMAGE. THIS IS THE HIGHEST RATING FOR TORNADO
DAMAGE AND THE FIRST EF-5 OR F-5 IN MISSISSIPPI SINCE THE
CANDLESTICK PARK TORNADO NEAR JACKSON ON MARCH 3RD 1966.

* COUNTY/COUNTIES: MONROE

* LOCATION/TIME OF EVENT: SMITHVILLE AT 344 PM EDT ON APRIL 27
2011

* BEGINNING POINT: 34.0517, -88.4236

* ENDING POINT: 34.0731, -88.3814

* RATING: EF-5

* ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 205 MPH

* PATH LENGTH: 2.82 MILES

* MAXIMUM WIDTH: 1/2 MILE

* FATALITIES: 14

* INJURIES: 40

* SUMMARY OF DAMAGES: 18 HOMES DESTROYED...2 BUSINESSES /POST
  OFFICE AND POLICE STATION/ DESTROYED...8 HOMES WITH MAJOR
  DAMAGE...7 BUSINESSES WITH MAJOR DAMAGE...44 HOMES WITH MINOR
  DAMAGE...AND WATER SYSTEM DESTROYED. MOST TREES EITHER SNAPPED
  OR TWISTED AND DEBARKED. MOST THE HOMES DESTROYED WERE WELL
  BUILT...TWO STORIES...LESS THAN TEN YEARS OLD AND BOLTED DOWN TO
  THEIR FOUNDATIONS. AN 1965 CHEVY PICKUP TRUCK PARKED IN FRONT
  ONE OF THE DESTROYED HOMES HAS NOT BEEN FOUND. ALL APPLIANCES
  AND PLUMBING FIXTURES IN THE MOST EXTREME DAMAGE PATH SHREDDED
  OR MISSING.

$$

OKULSKI/INGRAM

[toxictwister00]

The basement theory is the most likely reason for a lot of people behind the massive deaths, even met James Spann believes so.

"The truth is, even if you did everything you were supposed to do, unless you were in an underground bunker, you weren't going to survive," James Spann of the ABC affiliate in Birmingham, Ala., told the New York Times.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20110429/sc_livescience/whywerethesoutherntornadoessodeadly

I'm thankful we have a basement, but we would have to take shelter in the exterior part of the basement (which is still inside the house) The only problem with that is that there's windows in that area. I rather take a chance of being in there than in the other part of our basement our house is nearly 90 years old and there is a spaghetti string of pipes that run about 8 feet off the ground in there. If it wasn't for that it would be perfect because it's nothing but soundproof cement.

[TWCmatthew]

It's unbelieveable that this breaks some of the records from the 1974 Super-outbreak, and the Palm Sunday outbreak of 1965 as well. This is the deadliest tornado outbreak in nearly 80 years.

And to think we're only about 1/3 of the way through tornado season...

[Lightning]

It's unbelieveable that this breaks some of the records from the 1974 Super-outbreak, and the Palm Sunday outbreak of 1965 as well. This is the deadliest tornado outbreak in nearly 80 years.

Well, there's another outbreak to go: The Tri-State tornado of 1925, which is the deadliest single tornado in U.S. history, with nearly 700 fatalities and about 100 other fatalities in other tornadoes that occurred on that same day.

[TWCmatthew]

It seems that Dixie Alley is getting much of the action this season. Tornado Alley has mainly seen hail, and a few smaller tornadoes, but nothing as destructive as what we have seen in the southern/southeastern states.

[Pop Light Brown]

Actually, early spring and the fall/early winter are prime time for tornadoes down here in Dixie Alley. It's just we've never seen an outbreak of this magnitude before.

[Pop Light Brown]

Now we turn our eyes toward another severe weather event: the historic flooding on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. I'm sure yall heard about the Army Corps blowing up the levees at Birds Point, Mo. to save Cairo, Ill. (a ghost town IMO). They're forecasting all-time record crests on the Mississippi at Vicksburg (57.5 feet; flood stage 43 feet) and Natchez, Miss. (65 feet, 48 feet). The Army Corps is also considering opening the Morganza Spillway above Baton Rouge, which hasn't been used since the '73 flood.

Here's a civil emergency message from Memphis officials:

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
CIVIL EMERGENCY MESSAGE
MEMPHIS SHELBY COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
RELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
1013 AM CDT TUE MAY 3 2011

THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE
MEMPHIS SHELBY COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY.

FLOOD WARNING

ALL SHELBY RESIDENTS SHOULD WRAP UP PRECAUTIONARY ACTIONS OVER THE
NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AND BE PREPARED TO EVACUATE...ESPECIALLY IF YOU
LIVE WITHIN THE 100 YEAR FLOOD PLAIN OF RIVERS AND STREAMS. BE
PREPARED TO EVACUATE HOMES AND BUSINESSES WHEN FLOODING OCCURS.

RECORD FLOODING IS FORECAST ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AS IT
BORDERS SHELBY COUNTY. DESPITE THE END OF RAINFALL...STREAMS AND
TRIBUTARIES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WOLF RIVER THE THE
LOOSAHATCHIE RIVER WILL CONTINUE TO RISE DUE TO BACKWATER FROM THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

A MESSAGE FROM THE SHELBY COUNTY MAYOR MARK H. LUTTRELL...THIS IS
THE TIME TO GATHER ALL IMPORTANT ITEMS AND BE READY TO LEAVE YOUR
PROPERTY. THERE IS A VERY REAL POSSIBILITY PORTIONS OF SHELBY
COUNTY COULD BE AFFECTED BY THE RISING WATERS.

A C WHARTON...THE MAYOR OF MEMPHIS ADDED...WE WANT TO REASSURE OUR
CITIZENS THAT DISASTER TEAMS ARE IN PLACE AND WILL BE DOING
EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO KEEP EVERYONE SAFE.

RIVERS AND CREEKS ARE QUICKLY RISING IN THE WESTERN AREA OF SHELBY
COUNTY AND WILL PROGRESSIVELY IMPACT AREAS FARTHER EAST AS WATER
BACKS UP INTO NEIGHBORHOODS NEAR CREEKS AND STREAMS. FLOOD WATERS
MAY ALSO RISE INTO NEIGHBORHOODS THROUGH STORM DRAINS. CONDITIONS
WILL WORSEN EACH DAY WITH THE CONTINUAL RISE OF THE MISSISSIPPI
RIVER.

GO IMMEDIATELY TO HIGHER GROUND IF WATER STARTS TO RISE. AVOID
FLOOD WATERS.