Tornado's

[Dean D.]

The south and southeast US has been ravaged recently. I hope all our members and their families have weathered the storm. I'll be keeping everyone down there in my thoughts and prayers. The damage videos are stunning and saddening.

[Buddy]

Tuscaloosa, Al had parts of town completely destroyed. What a tragedy. TWC reporting over 200 killed by the recent tornado outbreak.

[Ben]

I'm in Cleveland, AL about 35 miles N or Birmingham. My family and I are OK THANKS TO GOD !

I'm 61 yrs. old, I've never seen anything like this here in Alabama in my 61 yrs. Massive destruction ! ! Some of the places hit look like photos from Hiroshima. If you'd like to see what has happened here, this is a slide show what tells more than my words can tell.

Ben

http://www.alabamawx.com/?p=47087&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Weathertalk+%28ABC+33%2F40+We ather+Blog%29

[pdawg_shooter]

Wonder when the aid and money is going to start pouring in from all those countries we have helped in the past?

[1Shirt]

Glad to know that Ben is ok. In answer to pdogs question, relief from foreign countires will start for Alabama right after the next vergin birth! Came thru the St. Lewis area on I-70 on Mon, past the airport and the tornado area. Looked like a carpet bombed area. At least no one in that area was killed. Hope to hear that all our members in the south are ok.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[firefly1957]

Up here it is water and a lot less wind this area is losing roads to washouts. better than twisters still a few people hurt.

[Dean D.]

I'm glad to hear you weathered the storm Ben. I am praying ALL our members and their families did likewise. It seems like this year has been a non-stop parade of bad weather everywhere with floods, drought, blizzards and wind.

[GARCIA]

Just drove up to my oldest boys house here in Rome Georgia. Watching the grandsons while him and his wife are at work. Daycare closed due to damages. Son and DIL are both DR's. There helping out at the hospital.

Lots of trees down but no injuries on this side.

Got some huge trees down and none of our chainsaws are big enough. Going to be cutting all weekend. Hardware and big box stores sold out of chainsaws according to my son.

Tom

[TCFAN]

No tornados here but had a lot of warnings and watches. We did get 14.55 inches of rain in 6 days though. Really got the wet weather creek in front of our house rolling. We could not get in or out for a couple of days................Terry

[Fredx10sen]

The south and southeast US has been ravaged recently. I hope all our members and their families have weathered the storm. I'll be keeping everyone down there in my thoughts and prayers. The damage videos are stunning and saddening.

We will be keeping them in our prayers.

[Curly James]

OK in NE Georgia with the good Lord's grace. Kinda interesting when they give out warnings for your little (and I do mean little) town on the system and then some talking weather head starts sreaming you have 3 minutes to get to shelter. Duck an cover time ........:>)

[wiljen]

My office is right below all the damage in Glade Springs VA. Family and friends are all ok, just lots of hail and wind damage to repair.

[Daywalker]

I live a little ways from Glade Springs VA and Chilhowie... Hate to see all the devistation.... I do live next to Pulaski VA... We were spared.... The night Glade Springs VA got hit, the storm moved over us and was told to take cover as the conditions was right to have one on the ground. Lucky for us one did not touch down.... Glad to hear your family and friends are all ok as well as yourseld wiljen.....

[frankenfab]

The one that hit Vilonia, AR, is about 15 miles from me. I was driving home from Memphis at the time, talking to my 15 yr. old daughter on the phone, listening to the radio, and had the radar pulled up on my laptop. I drove 80 all the way as far as I could, knowing I would eventually hit rain and have to slow down. It happened as I just came through Liitle Rock.

When I got to the house at 8:45 there was 6" of water flowing over the culvert at my driveway, and 6" of water across all 4 lanes off US HWY 65 100 yds. before my road.

Looks like AL got hit alot worse. One of my co-workers down there had a page from a phone book and some prom pictures just fall from the sky in to his yard, when the sky there was still clear.

[twotoescharlie]

dodged the bullet at both of my residences in Eatonton and Snellville, GA. done a happy dance but really fee bad for those that lost everything.

TTC

[Ben]

As of 4/30/11, 8:45 a.m. the total of dead in Alabama is now 254 ( and unfortunately the # continues to grow as cadaver dogs and rescue personnel go through the ruble. )

April 27th in Alabama now ranks as the 2nd deadliest day of tornado deaths in United States History.

[klcarroll]

In a move that is long over-due, the National Weather Service needs to begin a program of public re-education: ……And a big part of that should be some plain, old ” ‘Fessing Up”!!

They need to admit to the Public that they DON’T have a solid “handle” on the mechanisms and timing of Tornado formation; ….And that the much discussed and dreamed of “20 Minute Warning” will NEVER become the norm! ……That “Severe Thunderstorm Warning” generally issued before the classic “Tornado Warning” may be the ONLY warning that many people get!

Over the past twenty years, research from the field has shown that there are SEVERAL scenarios that lead to the formation of Tornados, and many of them DO NOT feature nice, predictable, linear timelines. One scenario, which forms Tornados in a fashion similar to the way Waterspouts are formed, can take you from “No Tornadic Indications” to “Tornado On The Ground” in as little as ten minutes! …..That’s barely enough time to complete two Doppler Radar sweeps, ….making a warning for the first victims a virtual impossibility!

The other point the Public need to understand is that the majority of Tornado events are NOT singular occurrences! ….If the conditions are “right” ten miles from your house, they are probably “right” in your backyard too!! Tornado “Outbreaks”, where multiple Tornados occur in the same general area are quite common, …particularly in the early Spring.

……..So PLEASE!!! …..Put the same effort into your “Storm Readiness” as you would put into your armed self-protection: ……Learn what impending Severe Weather looks like, ….and take that “Severe Thunderstorm Warning” very seriously!!! ……The lives of you and your family may depend on your preparedness!

Kent

[ga41]

I have heard the toll may go to the 1000's...we were very blessed here in west central ga. Praying for all the others

[Ben]

Here is the " latest ".

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-alabama-death-toll-20110501,0,2720299.story

[MT Gianni]

No tornados here but had a lot of warnings and watches. We did get 14.55 inches of rain in 6 days though. Really got the wet weather creek in front of our house rolling. We could not get in or out for a couple of days................Terry

Living in a county that gets around 13" a year in a good year that amazes me. Glad our members are doing OK.

[frankenfab]

What bugged me about the media coverage during this last sever weather episode was that the TV stations are giving up to the minute updates on the locations of possible tornados within a mile, and then it would be interrupted by the standard old NWS alerts, which are on a county wide basis.

I appreciate the National Weather Service alerts, but I think they should be scaled back to only broadcast on Weather radios, AM etc. , and not interfere with more specific broadcasts.

It frustrated the He77 out of me as I was trying to get home and track the storms as I went.

[snowtigger]

I live in Alaska, where we don't have tornadoes. However, I just got back from Arkansas, where I was helping my BIL construct a tornado Shelter.
I've been gone from there for the last 54 years and I have become quite afraid of tornadoes. We had two severe weather warnings while we were there. We left right after the second one, just days ahead of the big one that hit Alabama so hard.
The shelter is not finished, but it is as stormproof as it is going to get. Where they live, you can only dig about 18-20 inches, so it is anchored to the rock and 8" of poured concrete. Roof, walls, and floor. Lots of steel. It has heat and a/c. If the weather gets too bad, they can spend the night in there.

[klcarroll]

Out of all the States, Alaska is #50 in order of Tornadic occurrences: ….But they do happen.

2005 was a particularly active year with events reported at Portage Lake and Sand Point (in the Peninsula).

All of the Alaskan Tornados reported to date have been weak, short-lived events in the F0 – F1 range, and in the case of the Sand Point event, it may well have been a Waterspout “come ashore”.

I have spent quite a lot of “field time” in Canada, and have intercepted Tornados in places as unlikely as Northern Alberta. It was interesting to note that many of the area residents were firmly convinced that Tornados did not occur in their area: ….Until we showed them the pictures!

Population density plays a critical role in Tornado documentation: …….If there is no one around to report it, …..For all practical purposes, it didn’t happen!

It’s like the old question; “If a tree falls in the forest, and there is no one there to hear it; ….Does it make a noise???)

Kent