Seeing the funnel cloud barreling toward the small town of Mentor in northwestern Minnesota on Thursday, Wes Michaels yelled to his daughter working in the family-owned gas station.

“It's coming straight for us,” he shouted. “Get in the cooler.”

“In seconds, everything was on top of us,” said Michaels' daughter Heidi. She survived the storm, her father's body shielding her from the debris that killed him.

The tornadoes that ripped through northwestern and southern Minnesota on Thursday killed at least one other person, leveled a broad swath of Wadena and damaged numerous houses and farm buildings across the state.

An elderly woman from the small community of Almora in Otter Tail County died during the storm and her husband was taken to the hospital, said David Hauser, Otter Tail County attorney and spokesman. Brittney Schulke of Almora told the Daily Journal that her grandmother, Margie Schulke, was killed and that her grandfather, Norman Schulke, suffered two broken shoulders.

“We know that there are several other people who were injured,” Hauser said.

Heidi Michaels said her father had owned the Cenex gas and convenience store in Mentor for four years and wasn't supposed to have been working Thursday, his 58th birthday. He had come in only to check on her after hearing the storm warnings. When he saw the twister headed for the station, he ordered her and several customers into the cooler just before the store and four vehicles were destroyed.

“He saved me,” Heidi Michaels said.

The tornadoes that struck Mentor and Almora were the state's first fatal twisters in two years.

The storm that crashed into Almora also spawned a tornado that tore up about a 10-block residential area in nearby Wadena, ripping up old oak and elm trees, tearing off roofs and damaging buildings.

“It's a whole different horizon now,” said Randy Mohs, who drove through town after the storm.

The hours-long march of ferocious weather across the state also knocked out power in many locations, keeping utility and emergency crews busy as night fell.

The metro area was largely spared, with scattered reports of tornadoes and funnel clouds in the western suburbs, but no reports of serious damage. About 6,000 homes, mostly in the west metro area, lost power for a portion of the evening.

In Wright County, a tornado was on the ground north of Buffalo in a fairly rural area, but no injuries were reported, said Sgt. Peter Walker of the Sheriff’s Office. Damage was limited to downed trees and power lines, along with minor property damage, he said. A tornado was confirmed in McLeod County about 5:25 p.m., emergency management director Kevin Mathews said. “It was on the ground for a quarter to a half-mile, but it touched down in a field,” he said, adding that damage was limited to downed trees and grain wagons.

Multiple tornadoes and funnel clouds also raked Freeborn and Faribault counties in southern Minnesota. Buildings and other property near Kiester and Walters in Faribault County, along the Iowa border, were badly damaged. County Commissioner Tom Warmka said Kiester had been closed to traffic because live power lines were down in the streets. An 8-mile stretch of Hwy. 22 was also closed and many farms in the area were damaged, he said.

In Freeborn County, in the southern part of the state, multiple tornadoes hit, including one a half-mile wide, emergency management director Mark Roche said. Roche, who was out assessing the damage Thursday night, knew of multiple people taken to hospitals, but he didn’t have accounts of the seriousness of the injuries.

A shelter was opened at the National Guard Armory in Albert Lea for those in Freeborn County who lost housing in the storm, Roche said.

Travis Henderson, mayor of Conger, about 10 miles west of Albert Lea, said everyone had been accounted for “one way or another.” “Several farms are lost and houses are gone,” he said.

Fire departments from around the county were in Conger helping to round up pigs and cattle set loose in the storm, Henderson said, including one farm that had up to 3,000 pigs.

Wadena reeling

Wadena Mayor Wayne Wolden said the storm wiped out about a quarter of his town and left about 20 people injured. “Dozens and dozens of homes are flattened,” he said. “Part of the roof on the high school was ripped off and thrown across the street. The high school is damaged. The community center is gone.”

Luckily, the sirens in town alerted residents before the storm hit; otherwise there might have been more injuries. He and his daughter stayed in the basement as the sirens blared and the storm passed overhead. It took just three minutes, he said. “I heard a train just like they say,” Wolden said.

When the storm passed, he noticed his home lost only a few shingles. “But my neighbors lost their homes.”

The building that housed Leaf River Ag Service was leveled and an old two-story house that boarded students who attend the nearby vocational community college was destroyed, Mohs said.

“It’s cork-screwed across the street. It’s twisted like a candy wrapper,” Mohs said. “There are a lot of sirens, ambulances, police. There are helicopters flying. … It’s a mess.”

Joanne Ostlund, who works in the Wadena city offices, waited out the storm with co-workers. “There was a lot of damage,” she said. “My garage and shed are gone and one of our neighbors lost an entire farm site.”

Gov. Tim Pawlenty plans to inspect the damaged sections of the Wadena and other areas Friday.

In the nearby Deer Creek area, several farms were heavily damaged, said Deer Creek resident Kathy Hill.

“My brother’s farm is pretty much gone,” she said. “The barns are gone. The house is damaged.”

Hill and her husband tried to reach her brother’s farm, but roads were blocked. Then she tried to check on her sister in Wadena, but entrances to the town were blocked.

“The roads are filled with debris — 2-by-4s, metal from buildings, power lines,” she said. “We have no electricity. No telephone service. It was bad. It will be awhile before recovery happens.”

Hail up to 4 inches in diameter was reported elsewhere in Douglas County. Hail also dominated reports across southern Minnesota, with a report of 2 1/2-inch stones near Fairfax, about 100 miles southwest of the Twin Cities.

via 2 dead as tornadoes sweep across Minnesota.

With the storms over, benign weather is forecast to return to Minnesota on Friday and Saturday, with the Twin Cities expecting sun and highs of 86 Friday and 79 Saturday.

A tornado unleashed a “war zone” of destruction in northwest Ohio, destroying dozens of homes and an emergency services building as a line of storms killed at least seven people and briefly threatened the Northeast on Sunday.

Storms collapsed a movie-theater roof in Illinois and ripped siding off a building at a Michigan nuclear plant, forcing a shutdown. But most of the worst was reserved for a 100-yard-wide, 7-mile-long strip southeast of Toledo now littered with wrecked vehicles, splintered wood and family possessions.

Tornadoes Sweep Through Midwest

The tornado ripped the roof and back wall off Lake High School's gymnasium at about 11 p.m. Saturday, several hours before the graduation ceremony was supposed to begin. The school board president said one of the victims was the father of the class valedictorian.

Two buses were tossed on their sides and another was thrown about 50 yards, landing on its top near the high school's football field. More than 10 hours later, its right turn signal was still blinking.

Lake Township Police Chief Mark Hummer flew over the damaged area and said at least 50 homes were destroyed and another 50 severely damaged, as well as six commercial buildings. The storm fell over an area of farm fields and light industry, narrowly missing the heavily populated suburbs on the southern edge of Toledo.

“It’s a war zone,” Hummer said. “It’s pretty disheartening.”

Hummer said Sunday afternoon all buildings had been searched and everyone was accounted for. Rescuers were searching a wooded area and a field near the worst-hit portion of town as a precaution.

The tornado turned a township police and emergency medical services building into a mishmash of 2-by-4 framing and pink insulation. Hummer was talking to a police dispatcher by phone when the storm hit.

“She started saying, ‘The building is shaking,’ and then another dispatcher came on and said, ‘The roof just blew off,” he said.

The storm ripped off most of the building’s back half and wrapped part of the metal roof around a tree. At least six police vehicles – half the township’s fleet – were destroyed, and one car was tossed into the spot where the building once stood.

The storm knocked out emergency services for a short time, and all the emergency dispatchers and 911 operators had to be moved to a nearby town.

“When the people who are supposed to help you are victims of the storm, it does take you a minute to catch your breath,” Hummer said.

Those killed included a person outside the police department and a motorist, Hummer said. He said a young child and two other victims were from nearby Millbury, a bedroom community of roughly 1,200 about 10 miles southeast of Toledo. Hummer said two other people died at hospitals but he did not have details.

One of the victims was the father of Lake High School’s valedictorian, said Tim Krugh, president of the school district’s board. Krugh said the school has rescheduled graduation for Tuesday evening at a Toledo community college.

Neighbors said the house of the valedictorian’s family was destroyed, and all that was left was a basement filled with water.

More than 30 people in the Toledo area were hospitalized. Two adults and two children were in critical condition, said Mercy hospital system spokeswoman Gloria Enk.

In southeastern Michigan, severe storms and high winds ripped siding off a building at the Fermi 2 nuclear plant, causing it to shut down automatically, said Dan Smith, the public information officer for Monroe County. Investigators were inspecting the nuclear plant on the shore of Lake Erie on Sunday morning, and the plant was expected to go back into operation, Smith said.

About 35,000 people were without power but it wasn’t clear whether that was directly related to the nuclear plant’s shutdown or because of damage to power lines in the area, Smith said.

In Dundee, Mich., 11 people were injured after high winds blew off part of a roof at a waterpark, reports CBS News correspondent Elaine Quijano.

Tornadoes also were reported in Illinois. More than a dozen people were injured in Dwight, where about 40 mobile homes and 10 other homes were destroyed, Illinois Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Patti Thompson said.

The roof of a movie theater collapsed in Elmwood, Ill., about 30 miles west of Peoria. State Trooper Dustin Pierce said 150 to 200 people had been inside, but they had been evacuated to the basement and no one was hurt.

The storms left a trail of damaged homes in northern Indiana and two tornadoes were reported, but no one was injured. In eastern Iowa, buildings were damaged and one person was hurt when a tornado touched down in Maquoketa.

A cold front colliding with warm unstable air produced the storms that struck Saturday night, meteorologist Marty Mullen of the National Weather Service said, and that front was draped from New England south through the mid-Atlantic region later Sunday. The storm weakened as it headed east and a tornado watch for much of New England was canceled.

The day after the Toledo-area tornado hit, residents were searching fields looking for anything salvageable.

The storm destroyed Ronald Johns’ house and barn and flung his cast-iron bath tub into a wheat field, but his wife managed to find a wristwatch, still working, amid the scattered bits of their rural home near Millbury.

On Saturday night, Johns looked out the window and couldn’t even see the barn directly across the road. The chimney fell through the first floor as soon as the retired couple made it to the basement, pinning Johns with bricks until his wife, Jan, managed to free him.

Ronald Johns, 74, said they were lucky. “We didn’t get down there five seconds too fast,” he said.

Truck driver Carl Gooden, 54, said he, his wife and his adult son were sitting on the porch when they heard a roar and ran for the bathroom.

Wind tore off most of the home’s roof and ripped open the north side of house, exposing a bedroom and a closet where sweat shirts and dresses were still on their hangers. In the front yard, a sliver of aluminum siding from a neighbor’s barn was wrapped around a teetering telephone pole.

Gooden said his family lost two garages and five vehicles. The front yard was littered with decades of memories: a Loretta Lynn album, a porcelain lamp and a green golf bag were among the recognizable items.

“My heart sinks,” Gooden said. “I worked a lifetime for all this.”

But he wasn’t about to go in to retrieve items such as his wife’s jewelry or his NASCAR collectibles. His home was knocked 5 feet off its foundation and basement washer and dryer were all that was holding it up.

“It’s not worth dying for,” he said.

via 7 Killed as Storms Sweep Through Midwest – CBS News.

A tornado has killed at least five people in Ohio after touching down in Wood County overnight.

Among the dead is a 4-year-old child in Millbury, Ohio, as well as a man who was found dead in the street there, CNN reports. Two adults in a van were also killed in Lake Township.

The deaths were caused by a severe storm system that also injured at least 11 people in Michigan, where storms also shut down a nuclear power plant, according to CNN. The storm also ripped through Illinois and other parts of the Midwest.

Tornadoes have already killed several people across the country this year. This past spring, tornadoes tore through Mississippi and Louisiana, killing at least 10 people. Read more here on Indyposted.

via Ohio Tornado Death Toll Reaches 5 – IndyPosted.

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CLINTON, Ark. – Tornadoes ripping through central Arkansas killed at least one person and injured about two dozen others Friday, and more bad weather was possible Saturday, authorities said.

The death was reported in Van Buren County — about 75 miles north of Little Rock — where at least three mobile homes were destroyed, state Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Renee Preslar said.

About two dozen people were hurt during the storms, but local officials who reported the deaths and injuries to the state agency did not immediately release the severity of the injuries or details about how the individuals were hurt, Preslar said.

Another round of storms, including tornadoes, could come Saturday, said John Robinson, warning coordinator meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Little Rock.

“Certainly, there will be the threat of severe weather (Saturday) and the threat of at least isolated tornadoes,” he said. “I do think we will have more severe weather.”

Search teams located a person believed missing in the wreckage of a home in Center Ridge, while extensive property damage was reported across several counties in central Arkansas, Preslar said.

Tornado sightings were reported just a few miles north in Culpepper, according to Arkansas State Police. A sheriff’s dispatcher said a sighting also was reported in the Oakland area, near the Missouri border.

Trees and power lines were blocking major roadways in both areas.

Robinson said a slow-moving cold front that moved into Arkansas from the west touched off the severe weather Friday.

“We had spotty thunderstorms here and there, and those are the ones — the ones that sit out there by themselves — that end up being tornado producers,” he said, noting tornado season generally peaks in April in Arkansas.

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The tornado fatality that occurred in Washington County on Friday, October 9th was the first death from a tornado in Mississippi in 4 years or since 2005.

Sixty year-old Sarah Smith was killed when a EF-1 tornado with winds near 110 mph flipped her mobile home on its roof.

Smith died after suffering severe head trauma.

According to the National Climatic Data Center, the last tornado fatality during the month of October in Mississippi -was over 40 years ago in 1967. (Harrison County 1967)

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This was also the first tornado death since May of this year across the country.

A total 22 tornado fatalities have occurred in the United States in 8 states, this year.

(Mississippi, Georgia, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky)

This is well below the 126 fatalities that occurred across the country in 2008 and the 3 year average of 91 tornado fatalities.

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ONTARIO, Canada -

Judy Brown admitted she was still in shock and mourning as she remembered her good friend, Bernie Jackson, a retired Neosho Junior High School principal who was one of two men killed by a tornado that hit their campsite in Ontario, Canada, Thursday night.

Brown said Jackson was “Mr. Education. Mr. Wonderful. Mr. People Person.”

Bernie Jackson, 65, who served as Neosho Junior High School principal for nine years, retired in the summer of 2006. Jackson, of Ponca City, Okla., and Stan Hollis, 79, were killed by a tornado that hit about 9 p.m. Thursday and destroyed two cabins in the camp area. The tornado was rated an EF2, with wind speeds between 113 and 157 miles per hour, according to Environment Canada, the Canadian equivalent to the National Weather Service.

Dennis Kinkaid, 66, was still missing as of Friday evening, the Associated Press reports. The incident happened at a fishing resort next to Lac Seul in northwestern Ontario.

According to the Tulsa World, this is the 23rd year for the men to go on a summer camping trip.
Jackson retired from the Ponca City School District in Ponca City, Okla., before coming to the Neosho School District in 1997.

It was then that Brown, long-time junior high school secretary, found herself working for Jackson. It was that year that Jackson and Brown became friends, as well as colleagues.

“I just can’t imagine this world without Bernie Jackson,” said Brown, who has worked for the Neosho R-5 School District for 27 years with the junior high school. “Bernie loves people, and I am saying that in the present tense because it is still hard for me to grasp. He loved his faculty. He was always taking good care of people. You could go to him as a sounding board for your thoughts. You could go to him for advice, and he would help you think things through. He loved the kids, and always had wonderful stories to tell.”

Brown said Jackson was a family man, as well as a man of education. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn, two children, and four grandchildren.

“He would always talk about his grandchildren, because they were always so special to him,” Brown said. “Bernie was always doing things for other people. He would be working late in the evening to make a big, huge pot of soup for the entire faculty. He was so fun. He very seldom got angry, and when he did, he controlled it very well.”

Brown said everyone was excited for Jackson when he retired in 2006, because they knew he would be able to do the things he enjoyed like hunt, fish and golf.

“He was also a wonderful cook, and he had a big garden every year,” Brown said. “He would bring food in the office and share them. He was just always thinking of other people. I have never worked for anybody who was more giving and gracious, and compassionate. We were a part of his family, and he loved us. I didn’t know anyone who didn’t respect him. I can’t say enough about how much I respected him, and loved him.”

Shirley Cummins, a current member of the Neosho R-5 School Board and a retired R-5 administrator who worked alongside Jackson, said he was one of the most “positive and compassionate educators I think I have ever worked with. He always had a smile on his face, and he always had something good to say about people. He has been a counselor, an educator, in human resources and he was excellent in dealing with people. He had many strong suits, but I think those positive people skills were his best.”

Cummins said she and her husband, Sonny, and Jackson and his wife, Marilyn, went on a cruise together the summer Jackson retired.

“We just had the best time,” Cummins said.

Cummins said Jackson was good for Neosho and the district, and Darren Cook, current principal at Neosho High School, echoed that statement.

“Bernie was a kind man, and he had a big heart,” Cook said. “He was always thinking of others. Why he came back after retiring in Oklahoma to be principal in Neosho is because he loved working with kids. He had a great love for students.”

Dr. Richard Page, superintendent of Neosho R-5 Schools, said he was shocked to hear of the news of Jackson’s death.

“Bernie was a good person and a good friend, and he always remembered us here in Neosho,” Page said. “We are sure sad to hear of the loss. He was a great educator and a great person, and this is a sad loss to all of us.”

* * *
The Associated Press and the Tulsa World contributed to this report.

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Tornado cuts 3-mile-long path in Eagle Lake   By Julia Bayly Special to the NEWS PHOTO COURTESY OF SUSAN TARDIE A tornado that touched down in Eagle Lake on Sunday brought hail and toppled trees, including these that spared statuary in the Catholic cemetery. EAGLE LAKE, Maine — It’s official. The storm that blew through this northern Maine town Sunday has been declared an EF-1 tornado by the National Weather Service office in Caribou. “We marry up a bunch of data to determine a tornado,” Hendricus Lulofs, meteorologist in charge at the Caribou NWS, said Thursday afternoon. “The survey team reviewed the radar data, the recorded wind flow and talked with eyewitnesses.” When the NWS survey team visited the Eagle Lake area on Tuesday, it found a path of destruction roughly 3.2 miles long and averaging 100 yards wide. “It’s that length versus width that indicated tornado rather than straight-line winds,” Lulofs said. “It snapped trees, uprooted trees, and the way the trees were laying down in different directions [also] indicated a tornado.” Lulofs said the tornado had maximum winds of 110 mph. While not common in Maine, an average of two or three such events occur each year, mostly in the southern and western parts of the state, Lulofs said. In the Eagle Lake event, the survey team determined the tornado first touched down near the Pinette Brook Crossing around 2:15 p.m. Sunday, and was on the ground intermittently as it followed a southeast track, crossing Convent Road, Duprey Road and Route 11. No injuries were reported but along its path the storm destroyed hundreds of trees, an outbuilding, a transport trailer and a boat. At the town’s Catholic cemetery, large trees were uprooted and toppled onto several pieces of statuary, which miraculously escaped serious damage. Susan Tardie, a native of Winterville, was at her family’s camp on St. Froid Lake when the storm came through Sunday. “It was sunny and all of a sudden it started hailing,” Tardie said Thursday. “At first I thought it was someone outside trying to get my attention and then I saw the hail.” Soon afterward, a relative came to alert the family of the storm’s passing. Tardie said she feels very fortunate after seeing firsthand the damage at the cemetery as she and several family members had spent the previous day that Memorial Day weekend attending to relatives’ graves. “Thank goodness we were not there when that storm hit,” Tardie said. “But it was very emotional standing there the next day with other people and looking at the damage.” The last official tornado in northern Maine was on July 24, 2001, in Oakfield.

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There’s a great chart below, too.

Just one year ago, Mississippi was in the midst of a record year for tornadoes.

Sixty-eight tornadoes were confirmed from January to mid May 2008.

2008 went on to produce over 40 more tornadoes, for a record total of 109.

 This year,  only 35 tornadoes have been confirmed across the state through mid May 2009, which is significantly down from last year.

 2008 Monthly Tornado Count

JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC
12	19	11	12	14	0	0	0	24	1	0	16

 

 March and May have been the most active months so far this year,  with 14 confirmed tornadoes in both months.

 

 Despite a less active severe weather season, Mississippi is above average for tornadoes.  (35 confirmed)

The state averages 28 tornadoes annually.

The state has been above average in tornadoes over the last several years.

(This continuous trend of above average tornadoes has caused the overall average for tornadoes to increase from 24 in the late 1990′s to early 2000′s to 27 in 2004 to now 28.)

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Mississippi is transitioning into more of a summer like pattern, which is not conducive for severe weather in the Southeast.

In 2008, no tornadoes were recorded from June thru August, which is typical.

Severe weather becomes more confined to the Midwest and Central Plains. (tornado alley)

Church destroyed from a EF 3 tornado on March 25, 2009 (Magee, MS)

 

 

 

 Tornado activity begins to increase once again with the threat of land falling tropical systems along the Gulf Coast and during what is called the ‘Second Severe Weather Season in the late Fall’ across the South. (Fall Severe Weather Mississippi) (Tropical systems produce tornadoes)

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Fla. tornado damages 11 mobile homes

A tornado caused damage to 11 mobile homes and a vehicle but no injuries when it touched down in the city of Casselberry, just north of Orlando. The National Weather Service says the F-0 tornado, the lowest possible severity, touched down late Tuesday. Casselberry Fire Chief Don Harkins said that damage was “relatively minor,” and that total damage was estimated at $51,000. The most severely damaged mobile home had its roof buckle and side walls damaged. Two others had roof damage, and the remaining eight homes had siding or window damage. One vehicle was hit by a tree limb. Heavy rains over the past three days also caused flooding in some coastal communities in Brevard and Volusia counties.

 

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Tornado strikes in Madison County

By – STAFF REPORT

Observer-Dispatch

Posted May 17, 2009 @ 08:46 PM

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MADISON COUNTY —

A tornado touched down 1 mile south of the village of Georgetown late Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

The tornado, which touched down between 4:34 and 4:47 p.m., stretched 6 and one-half miles and carried winds of at least 110 miles per hour, said Brian Lovejoy, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service’s Binghamton office.

Those winds classified the tornado as a two on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which measures the severity of tornados, Lovejoy said. The scale ranges from zero to five. 

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Five tornadoes hit Roberts, Gray counties

Storm spawns tornadic activity, knocks out power

At least five tornadoes touched down Friday in Roberts and Gray counties, the National Weather Service in Amarillo said.

One motorist was injured and scores of people in Pampa and Lefors had their power knocked out.

“Based on what we saw on radar, we were not surprised we had five tornadoes,” said meteorologist John Cockrell.

One tractor-trailer driver caught in a E2 tornado – winds between 111 and 135 mph – southeast of Pampa – suffered a broken shoulder and damage to his truck. Cockrell said the trucker may have been traveling on Highway 60 when the tornado passed right over him. The tornado was estimated to have been a half-mile wide.

The NWS found one tornado was on the ground for up to 20 minutes, officials said. The tornado was a quarter-mile wide with winds ranging from 86 to 110 mph. It carved a path of about six miles stretching from two miles northwest of Lefors to about four miles southeast of the city, officials said.

Robert Hines of Lefors said he was driving toward Lefors on Spur 398 near the path of the tornado Friday when he watched wind push a pickup traveling ahead of him around the roadway. The wind was fierce.

“It was freaky,” he said. “Just sucking everything off the ground. All I hear was bang, bang.”

Something cracked his windshield, but he said otherwise he was unharmed.

Three other tornadoes touched down nearby. The first hit about 4:45 p.m. 13 miles west of Miami in Roberts County and was on the ground for about a minute.

The second landed about a minute after the first about 14 miles west-southwest of the city. It was on the ground for more than 10 minutes.

The third landed about four or five miles northeast of Pampa, stayed on the ground about eight minutes and covered about three miles.

Xcel Energy spokesman Wes Reeves said crews spent most of Saturday working to restore power to residents. By midday Saturday, about 500 customers were without power and Xcel reported about 50 poles east and south of Pampa were lost during the storm.

He said the company had called in more than 70 employees from Pampa, Borger, Amarillo, Hereford, Plainview and Lubbock to rebuild the damaged lines.

He said the infrastructure damage appeared to be caused by straight-line winds.

By the end of day, outages in Lefors and Pampa were estimated to be less than 50 and local crews were expected to work overnight to fix the rest of the outages.

Another sub-par review because someone thinks we are wrong about the information in LETHAL. When actually, we are right.

Earthquakes are a real threat in Washington State, the most recent occurrence being in 1996. The potential for more happening in the future is there, because of existing, known fault lines.

Tornadoes are often also real threat in Washington State.  In 1972, Washington lead the country in tornado deaths. And in 1997, 6 tornadoes touched down in Washington state in a single day.

 April 5, 1972 – Washington’s Deadliest Tornado Outbreak

* An F3 tornado touched down in Vancouver

* 6 deaths and 300 injured, Washington led nation in tornado deaths that year

* Tornado swept through a grocery store, bowling alley, and grade school near where Vancouver Mall is today

* 50 million dollars in damage

* Later that day, another F3 tornado touched down west of Spokane

* And an F2 tornado struck rural Stevens county

* Numerous severe thunderstorms with large hail and damaging winds were reported over other areas of eastern Washington 

As for the Great White Shark in the woods, it’s likely the user is in a coastal forest, and when in a coastal area, we list the dangers that the oceans represent, as a general rule.

It’s frustrating that our app consistently gets bad reviews for having information that is accurate, but unexpected or against “common wisdom.” Oh well.

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Tornadoes kill 3 people in Missouri

By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER – 1 day ago

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. (AP) — Violent storms tore through four Midwestern states, killing three people in northern Missouri, damaging dozens of homes and leaving thousands without power.

Kirksville apparently took the hardest hit Wednesday night. Police Detective Sgt. Ron Celian said about 30 to 40 homes were damaged, one was destroyed and an auto dealership sustained significant damage.

Lynne Sanders told the Kirksville Daily Express she took shelter in a bathtub while a tornado flipped one of her sheds, destroyed another and sucked up a barn while leaving the horses inside.

“It was just awful, simply awful,” she said. “The whole house was just rocking.”

Sullivan County Emergency Management director Rick Gardner said a woman was killed Wednesday night when what appeared to be a tornado struck a mobile home east of Milan in Sullivan County.

Two other people died in neighboring Adair County, said communications operator Tammy Babcock of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. She called all three deaths are tornado-related.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Brent Bernhardt said the Adair County sheriff flew over the area to inspect the damage and said in some places the tornado was only 500 feet wide.

“It was not wide,” Bernhardt said. “It would be on the ground and then come back up and be on the ground again.”

In Caddo County in southwest Oklahoma, a possible tornado damaged homes and businesses in Gracemont and Anadarko, authorities said.

Dozens of inmates were evacuated from the Caddo County jail because of a gas line break, said Caddo County Emergency Management Director Larry McDuffey.

In northeast Oklahoma, a 100 mph wind gust was recorded west of the Bartlesville airport in Washington County, authorities said. The high winds downed trees and power lines, with 8,000 power outages reported at one point.

Central Indiana saw wind gusts of up to 60 mph and street flooding was reported in Vincennes, Linton and Rockville, authorities said. Utilities reported 8,000 were without power in and around Indianapolis early Thursday.

In Illinois, a range of windy storms dumped as much as 3 inches of rain within 50 minutes. National Weather Service meteorologist Ed Shimon called the accumulation “unbelievable,” comparing it to heavy rainfall in the tropics.

The storm was continuing in southern Illinois early Thursday, with lightning, heavy rain and strong wind gusts, Shimon said.

The latest storms come less than a week after another batch of severe weather, including at least a dozen confirmed tornadoes, ravaged parts of southern Missouri. Those storms killed four people and damaged or destroyed several hundred homes.

Associated Press writers Heather Hollingsworth and Andale Gross in Kansas City and Rochelle Hines in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.

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Storms leave many in the dark in city, suburbs

 

May 13, 2009 

FROM STNG WIRE REPORTS

Storms that moved through Cook County and most of northeastern Illinois Wednesday night left about 7,500 people without power in Chicago and suburbs.

As of 11 p.m., 4,900 Chicago Commonwealth Edison customers were without power, ComEd spokesman Peter Pedraza said. The South Side of the city was most affected by the outages, he said.

“Crews are working to insure safe restoration of power for our customers,” Pedraza said. “We apologize for the inconvenience.”

Customers in west suburban Elmhurst were also hit hard by the storms. Pedraza said 2,600 customers were without power in the suburb.

A storm system that developed across eastern Iowa Wednesday afternoon moved into the area about 10 p.m. Wednesday evening, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a tornado watch.

The watch, which was issued for Cook, DuPage, Will, Lake, McHenry, Kane and more than two dozen other Illinois counties Wednesday afternoon, expired at 11 p.m., but the NWS said a severe thunderstorm watch remains in effect until 4 a.m. Thursday.

“These thunderstorms may become severe as they move across northern Illinois and northwest Indiana,” the weather service said.

The storms moving through the area brought strong winds, hail, heavy down pours, lightning and thunder.

Flooding could also occur in some areas and one to two inches of precipitation is predicted.

Most of the storms will occur before 1 a.m., according to the weather service.

Thursday is expected to by dry and sunny, with a high near 67 degrees.

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Woman, 83, dies in mobile home as tornado strikes northeast Missouri

By MEREDITH RODRIGUEZ

The Kansas City Star

Missouri officials say one person was killed this evening in the northeastern part of the state as violent weather, including a tornado, struck the area.

The victim was an 83-year-old woman. She was killed in her mobile home near Milan in Sullivan County.

More severe damage happened near and in the northern part of Kirksville. Three people were moderately injured when a gust of wind overturned their car, pinning them inside. Other people were trapped in their basements, according to Susie Stonner of the State Emergency Management Agency. Flash-flooding and various minor injuries were also reported.

Thirty to 40 homes were damaged in the Bob White area of Kirksville, city police said. At a car dealership, windows shattered, vehicles were damaged and a gas leak was reported.

No damage or injuries were reported at Truman State University.

U.S. 63 reopened before 10 p.m. after a gas-line leak and downed power lines caused it to close.

More minor damage was reported elsewhere. To the east in Knox County, two miles north of Edina, trees and power poles snapped across Missouri 15. Damage to structures also was reported in that area.

One shelter opened at a church in Kirksville. A Highway Patrol Command center was also opened in Knox County south of the Kirksville-Edina area, Stonner said.

Storms had mostly cleared from the Kansas City area by 8 p.m. A watch over Cass County is expected to expire by 11 p.m.

Continued severe storms were expected all night, according to Andy Bailey of the National Weather Service. The cold front causing them is expected to move from the northeast to the southeast part of the state.

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Expert advice on how to survive dangerous encounters with nature can be so inconsistent. Should we run or face a mountain lion? Apparently it’s a crapshoot! And now, we’re being told – by the Red Cross – that you should stay in the car during a tornado. Before we were being advised to find a ditch and lie in it. And actually, the National Weather Service still stands by that older recommendation.

Stay in the car or get out when near a tornado

(5/10/09) By Jeniffer Berry – Tornado rules usually tell us when we are in a car and near a tornado we should leave our vehicle and lie flat in a ditch.

The American Red Cross is now changing that recommendation.

Red Cross officials said it is actually safer to stay in your vehicle during a tornado.

The National Weather Service is not so sure that is the best thing to do.

They are still recommending people leave their cars and find a ditch if they are out in the open during a tornado.

“The reason why we tell people to go to a ditch and lay flat down is that it offers some protection against the flying debris. When a home is damaged when a car becomes air born all those things leave the ground and are flying. If you are standing or in a vehicle you are more apt to be struck by debris than if you are lying flat,” said Brian Hirsch, National Weather Service.

Hirsch said the National Weather Service and the Red Cross both agree the best case scenario is for people to be aware of approaching severe weather.

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Fairly rare.

Tornado confirmed in Vermont Associated Press  WASHINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A tornado touched down in central Vermont Saturday afternoon, ripping the roof off an apartment building, according to National Weather Service investigators. The storm tore a half-mile path through Washington, Vt., tearing the roof off the two-story building, knocking over a metal barn and snapping trees. There were no reports of injuries. The building’s owner told the Rutland Herald that all but one family had found temporary housing with family or friends by Saturday night. According to Weather Services investigators, multiple eyewitnesses observed the tornado. Their descriptions and observations of the debris pattern support the conclusion that a tornado touched down. The Weather Service estimated winds ranged from 90 to 100 miles an hour. Tornadoes are relatively rare in Vermont. On average 1 tornado is reported every two years. A tornado in May is an even rarer event. According to the Weather Service, a quick search of tornado records for the state reveals that this is the 2nd earliest confirmed tornado there since 1950.

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I am amazed at how common tornadoes actually are.

UPDATE 13 tornadoes confirmed in the Ozarks from Friday’s storms

SPRINGFIELD — The National Weather Service confirms 13 tornadoes swept through the Ozarks as of Saturday evening.

EF0 (2):

Ebenezer, southeast of Mountain Grove in Texas County

EF1 (7):

Willard, Republic, Fordland, Garrison, north of Peace Valley in Howell County, north of Ava, near Mount Zion.

EF2 (3):

Lebanon, Good Hope and Charity

EF3 (1):

Pamona

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NWS confirms 2 tornado touchdowns in E. Tenn.

MORRISTOWN (WATE) — The National Weather Service in Morristown has confirmed that two tornadoes touched down in East Tennessee during severe storms on Friday, May 8. 

The first was in Scott County, five miles south of Huntsville near the Fairview community. 

The EF-2 tornado produced 135 mph winds, uprooting trees and causing a cell phone tower to collapse.

The second confirmed EF-2 tornado was in Claiborne County, near 192 Cole Road in New Tazewell.

That tornado produced 110 mph winds and touched down at the top of a hill and hit one home, taking off its roof and one side of the house. It also destroyed two barns across the street. 

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Gov. declares emergency after tornado kills 2

RICHMOND, Ky. — Gov. Steve Beshear declared a state of emergency Saturday after a tornado killed two people in central Kentucky and flooding sent hundreds scrambling for dry land in the eastern part of the state.

On Friday, an EF2 tornado with winds of 120 mph struck the Kirksville community of Richmond, about 20 miles south-southeast of Lexington, National Weather Service Meteorologist Nathan Foster said.

Glenda Charbonnel, 42, and Shawn Yarber, 35, were found dead in a pond near a mobile home community, Madison County emergency management spokeswoman Roma Pedeau said. Witnesses told authorities they were leaving a trailer when it “exploded.”

Michael Bryant, assistant deputy emergency management director for Madison County, said at least eight other people were injured. About 150 homes are damaged and destroyed, he said.

Madison County, the city of Richmond and some 13 other counties have declared states of emergency, said Buddy Rogers, spokesman for the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management. Such declarations allow local governments to spend money on storm-related expenses and ask the state for help.

More than 40 Kentucky National Guard troops were deployed to Madison County to assist with traffic control and security. Sixty troops are conducting door-to-door wellness checks and evacuation missions after floods in Breathitt, Knott, Foyd, Pike and Owsley counties. The guardsmen, many of whom returned from Afghanistan in March, will be on duty for disaster relief until Monday, according to a news release.

“We are prepared to use every available resource to help our officials and our people make it through these rough conditions, whatever may come,” Beshear said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family who lost their loved one and to those who were injured.”

Many counties also reported trees down, hail and high winds throughout the late afternoon and evening as the storms swept across the state. Heavy rainfall during the night caused streams to overflow their embankments. Mudslides and downed trees have roads blocked in several counties.

Pike County Emergency Manager Bud Tackett told The Herald-Leader there is extensive flooding that has damaged homes, roads and water lines.

Pikeville had about 30 mudslides overnight, and Ky. 1460 was impassable, City Manager Donovan Blackburn said.

The state transportation department has sent engineers to Floyd, Breathitt, Owsley and Pike counties to assess road damage caused by flooding, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife has sent boats to Pike County and a few other areas to assist with evacuating residents stranded by high water, Rogers said.

“In a lot of these areas they don’t have time to do damage assessment because they are still in response mode and trying to get people from high water,” he said.

In Louisville, Churchill Downs suspended the last five races of the day due to heavy showers and thunderstorms, saying in a news release it was just the third cancellation of its kind in the last 19 years. The last time the track canceled races was May 30, 2004, due to tornado warnings, said track spokesman John Asher.

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4 dead as heavy storms push through Midwest

By JIM SALTER – 9 hours ago

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Thunderstorms packing winds gusting to 120 mph pounded parts of the Midwest on Friday, leaving four people dead, collapsing a church and knocking out power to thousands, authorities said.

Two people were killed near Poplar Bluff, Mo., when wind knocked a tree onto their car. In Dallas County, a man in his 70s had a fatal heart attack after he and his wife were sucked from their home and thrown into a field 75 to 100 feet away, said county emergency management director Larry Highfill.

The wife was taken to a Springfield hospital. Her condition wasn’t immediately known.

A 54-year-old woman was killed in southeast Kansas when the mobile home she was in was blown off its foundation. Wilson County emergency management spokeswoman Cassandra Edson said it appears the mobile home was “wrapped around a tree.”

Wind in the area reached 120 mph, destroying the New Albany United Methodist Church, the town’s post office and at least one home, authorities said. Major damage also was reported to a high school in Cherokee, Kan.

National Weather Service offices in Springfield, Mo., and St. Louis received multiple reports of tornadoes from one end of Missouri to the other, mostly south of Interstate 44. The weather service sent out teams to determine if tornadoes had touched down.

Many counties reported wind of 80 mph and higher. Several people were hurt, mostly when wind damaged their homes or businesses, but a few from flash floods.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency.

“My primary concern is the safety of Missourians and this executive order makes state agency resources available to help communities respond to the storms,” Nixon said.

The storm system ransacked southern Illinois as well, peeling siding and roofs off homes and other buildings, blowing out car windows and tearing up trailer parks. About 52,000 Ameren customers were without power around 3:30 p.m., according to the utility company’s Web site.

A truck driver who had to be extricated from an overturned semitrailer was in serious condition after a “major trauma,” said Rosslynd Rice, a spokeswoman for Southern Illinois Healthcare.

About six other patients with minor injuries were being treated at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, she said.

“It tore the hell out of things,” said Calvin Brown at the Cherry Street Pub in Herrin, a town of about 11,000 residents east of Carbondale. “It was wicked. I haven’t seen that in a long time.”

Carbondale Township Fire Capt. Mark Black said he wasn’t sure if a tornado touched down in his area but the “winds were just amazing. They were howling and the siding on the trailers was flying through the air and there was a pretty hard rain.”

Law enforcement agencies reported tornado touchdowns in the Jackson County community of Raddle and just south of Pinckneyville in Perry County, National Weather Service meteorologist Amy Seeley said.

Seeley said the strong line of thunderstorms began moving through the region Friday morning. Wind gusts in the Carbondale area reached 100 mph around 1:30 p.m., and sustained winds were as high as 90 mph.

Carbondale resident Eric Fidler said he rode out the storm in a basement room with his wife, 22-month-old daughter and their dog.

When they emerged, dozens of large, old trees had been snapped throughout his neighborhood — including an old oak blocking his front door — but there was little damage to homes. Even the cushions on his patio furniture were undisturbed.

“I was talking to a neighbor and saying, ‘This is just incredible. Everywhere I look, there are enormous trees down, but it missed everybody’s house,’” said Fidler, who walked a mile to the hardware store for a chain saw.

David Gugerty, 28, a graduate student at Southern Illinois University, said a tree crushed his car and a branch tore through the roof of his trailer, coming to rest atop his refrigerator.

“I’m sitting in the trailer park trying to decide which way to run,” Gugerty said.

In sparsely populated Dallas County, Mo., seven other people were also hurt as wind destroyed 50 homes. Highfill said all the damaged homes were in the same path, a strong hint that a tornado was to blame.

The storm system left tens of thousands without power, including — at the peak — 60,000 customers in the Joplin area. Hundreds of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed.

In St. Francois County, 911 director Alan Wells said several people suffered moderate injuries from wind damage at their homes. Roofs were torn off of many homes and businesses. A tractor-trailer overturned on U.S. 67 near Park Hills.

Wind wasn’t the only problem. Many parts of Missouri received 3 inches of rain or more. Flash flooding forced authorities to rescue several people from cars and homes in St. Francois County. Flash flooding also closed roads from Springfield through Cape Girardeau.

In Joplin, strong winds toppled a big section of KSNF-TV’s tower shortly after 7 a.m., crushing a vehicle and damaging two homes. It appeared no one was hurt.

Keith Johnston told The Joplin Globe he was not at home when the tower collapsed, but his wife and two kids were.

“My wife said she heard the wind come up and got the kids into the closet,” he said. “They heard a booming noise and thought the tower fell.”

About a dozen homes in Laclede County were destroyed or had major damage, emergency director Jonathan Ayres said.

“It does look tornadic from the surveys we have done,” Ayres said. “Right now, we’re just trying to help these people salvage what they can before dark.”

Flooding caused widespread problems in Laclede County, shutting down several roads and washing away part of a railroad track.

Dan Wadlington, a spokesman for Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said roofs were damaged at two high schools near Springfield, at the towns of Ash Grove and Fair Grove. He said Blunt was prepared to seek federal aid if the damage was significant.

Storm spotters said a house in the Springfield area was flattened. An air-conditioning unit was blown off the roof of a Wal-Mart Superstore near Kimberling City, damaging the roof.

Fredericktown, about 85 miles southwest of St. Louis, reported damage to several businesses. Another eastern Missouri town, Potosi, reported baseball-sized hail.

Several communities — Joplin, Buffalo, Willard, Elkland among them — opened shelters for those left homeless by the storms.

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This is not usual.

Rare tornado damages ranch in Umatilla County

by Casey Parks, The Oregonian

Thursday May 07, 2009, 7:40 PM

A rare tornado badly damaged a ranch just north of Pendleton, the National Weather Service said today.

The tornado, which touched down Wednesday night and had winds up to 90 mph, was the first confirmed tornado in Oregon this year. It traveled 1.6 miles and had a 40-yard-wide path. 

The unusual event occurred amid a forecast of unstable conditions including thunderstorms through today in parts of northeast Oregon and southeast Washington. The cause is colder air moving in above relatively warmer air at the surface.

Conditions are expected to improve Friday, although temperatures will remain cooler than usual, the Weather Service said.

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Storms hit Ala. for 2nd day; tornado traps family

By BOB JOHNSON – 9 hours ago

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A day after heavy wind, rain and hail damaged homes across the South, torrential rains and possible tornadoes hit central Alabama on Thursday, flooding roads and briefly trapping a family when a tree fell on their mobile home.

No one was hurt, but authorities were forced to close a main road between Montgomery and nearby Wetumpka that was covered by floodwaters. Other roads were deep in water as heavy rains and thunderstorms pounded the area. Street flooding was so bad at one point at the Statehouse that legislators halted work to check on their cars, some submerged in window-high water.

“It is unusual to see cars floating in the parking lot. But it’s just a car. Thankfully no one was hurt,” said state Sen. Harri Anne Smith, R-Slocomb, whose new Hyundai Genesis was flooded.

Derek Hamilton, chief sergeant of arms at the Statehouse, said four feet of water was standing in the statehouse basement. Power was turned off as a precaution.

The legislators were preparing to reconvene across the street at the historic old Capitol, which sits on a hill and was unaffected. It will be the first time lawmakers have met there since 1986, when the House and Senate moved into the new statehouse.

Tuskegee police said a family had to be rescued after a tree fell into their mobile home about 7 a.m. CDT.

The National Weather Service said hazardous weather could threaten central and southern Alabama counties through the day as the storms pushed into southern Georgia.

Weather officials also confirmed that a Wednesday tornado caused damage across two counties in north Alabama. Michael Coyne of the weather service office in Huntsville said the tornado left a path of destruction nearly 11 miles long that was up to 75 yards wide in places.

More than 100 homes and businesses were damaged in the South on Wednesday by strong winds, heavy rains and golf ball-sized hail. Strong winds damaged homes in Arkansas and North Carolina, and debris blocked roads and damaged houses in north Mississippi. No serious injuries were reported.

Officials also increased the flow of water through dams to ease swollen rivers, including the Mississippi.

Associated Press writers Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Phillip Rawls in Montgomery and Garry Mitchell in Mobile contributed to this report.

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National Weather Service Confirms Tornado Touchdown Near Mayodan

Mayodan, NC — The National Weather Service out of Blacksburg, VA has confirmed storm damage in Rockingham County was due to a tornado.

NWS says the EF-0 tornado touched down two miles north of Mayodan between 8:38 and 8:40 pm on Sunday evening.

The EF-0 had estimated wind speeds of up to 75mph with a path width of about 20 yards. The tornado was estimated to have been on the ground for about 1.3 miles.

NWS confirms earlier reports that the tornado was on the ground near Manuel Road at the intersection of Brewer Road and Ledbetter Road.

The storm downed numerous trees, caused significant damage to one barn, and some spotty roof damage to homes in the area. 

“It was like a loud stick of dynamite,” explained Frank Miller, describing the sounds outside his home Sunday night. The severe weather destroyed his barn. “That’s a whole lot of

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Three hurt in La. twister as more storms batter Southeast

Last Update: 5/04 9:16 pm

(IDM) NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Three people are recovering from injuries from a tornado that plowed throw southern Louisiana, damaging nearly two dozen homes. Police say one woman was treated for a broken leg after she was struck by flying debris as she ran from her mobile home to her mother’s home. The two others have minor injuries. The National Weather Service says the tornado was up to 100 yards wide when it hit the area about 140 miles northwest of New Orleans. The storms unleashed heavy rain, which caused flooding in areas including West Virginia. Every road except for one was closed in Roane County. The rains have flooded an ambulance parking lot and knocked out power to thousands. Sunday’s storms are blamed for at least one death and possible tornadoes from Mississippi to Georgia. Emergency officials say at least 100 homes were damaged.

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Tornado Touches Down in Willard

WILLARD, Utah – The National Weather Service has confirmed a tornado touched down Sunday night in Willard. The magnitude EF0 tornado happened at about 7:50 p.m. Sunday. The one mile path started at 75 East 300 South and ended at 300 East 200 South. The tornado caused damage to the aluminum siding on some Willard homes. It also uprooted several trees, broke two others and tossed an empty snowmobile trailer.

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Tornado sweeps across Triad-area towns

By: Stephanie Stilwell

MAYODAN, N.C. – The National Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado touched down during a severe storm in the Triad Sunday evening.

The Mayodan and Stoneville areas of Rockingham County appear to have been hit the hardest, leaving behind some structural damage and downed trees.

Frank Miller sought cover at about 9 p.m. after he said he heard a “freight train coming through the house.” After he emerged Sunday night, he found some of his property had been damaged by the tornado.

“I have a total loss to my barn down here, tore a bunch of stuff off into my house over here, tore the top off of this old house and threw limbs into it,” Miller said. “All these trees is broke all to pieces.”

Miller said he thinks he’s looking at about $100,000 worth of damage.

Northwest Rockingham Fire Chief Jimmy Lawrence said his crews worked to clear the debris and downed trees from the roads during the night.

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Woman Killed in Mississippi Tornado

Reported by: RNS Newsroom Solutions

Monday, May 4, 2009 @08:40am CST

A tornado that tore through Laurel, Mississippi claimed one life there Sunday. 

The National Weather Service says a woman died when an uprooted tree slammed onto her mobile home. 

Laurel is in Jones County, Mississippi, in the southeast part of the state. 

Severe thunderstorms and twisters swept through the Deep South from southern Arkansas and Louisiana up and across into the Carolinas.

Heavy rain caused flash flooding in Tennessee and through much of the Tennessee River Valley.

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STORMS: Tornadoes sighted, power knocked out

A line of storms that spawned at least four tornadoes in northwest Georgia on Sunday left roughly 10,000 Georgia Power customers in the dark.

The outages were concentrated in Tucker and Decatur, said Georgia Power spokesman Mark Williams. “We have customers without service all through the metro area.”

Tornadoes were sighted in Bartow, Polk, Floyd and Cobb counties between 5:30 and 7 p.m., but there were no apparent touchdowns and no reports of any significant damage.

In Atlanta, two large trees were reported down off Clifton Road near the Fernbank Science Center. No injuries were reported.

Today’s forecast calls for a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms. After a respite on Tuesday, thunderstorms are likely on Wednesday. As of 6 p.m. Sunday, Atlanta had received 19.45 inches for the year, a half-inch above normal.

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Tornado Season Safety Tips

Written by Rosemary Piser

Sunday, 03 May 2009 18:25

A tornado ripped through the Richton Square Apartments last June. (Photo: Wendy Heise) Park Forest, IL—(ENEWSPF)— Tornado season is upon us. Although tornados can occur at any time of the year, they are most predominant in the Midwest from March through June. One of the most important things to know about tornados is the difference between a watch and a warning. A tornado watch means conditions are right for a tornado to occur. A tornado warning indicates a tornado has been sighted in the area and you should seek shelter immediately. If you are in a car, exit the vehicle and seek shelter in a ditch or low area away from the car. You should never try to out run a tornado in your car. The National Weather Service advises the following in the event of a tornado: In a house with a basement: Avoid windows. Get in the basement and under some kind of sturdy protection (heavy table or work bench), or cover yourself with a mattress or sleeping bag. Know where very heavy objects rest on the floor above (pianos, refrigerators, waterbeds, etc.) and do not go under them. They may fall down through a weakened floor and crush you. In a house with no basement, a dorm, or an apartment: Avoid windows. Go to the lowest floor, small center room (like a bathroom or closet), under a stairwell, or in an interior hallway with no windows. Crouch as low as possible to the floor, facing down; and cover your head with your hands. A bath tub may offer a shell of partial protection. Even in an interior room, you should cover yourself with some sort of thick padding (mattress, blankets, etc.), to protect against falling debris in case the roof and ceiling fail. In an office building, hospital, nursing home or skyscraper:Go directly to an enclosed, windowless area in the center of the building — away from glass. Then, crouch down and cover your head. Interior stairwells are usually good places to take shelter, and if not crowded, allow you to get to a lower level quickly. Stay off the elevators; you could be trapped in them if the power is lost. In a mobile home:Get out! Even if your home is tied down, you are probably safer outside, even if the only alternative is to seek shelter out in the open. Most tornadoes can destroy even tied-down mobile homes; and it is best not to play the low odds that yours will make it. If your community has a tornado shelter, go there fast. If there is a sturdy permanent building within easy running distance, seek shelter there. Otherwise, lie flat on low ground away from your home, protecting your head. If possible, use open ground away from trees and cars, which can be blown onto you. At school:Follow the drill! Go to the interior hall or room in an orderly way as you are told. Crouch low, head down, and protect the back of your head with your arms. Stay away from windows and large open rooms like gyms and auditoriums. In a car or truck: Vehicles are extremely dangerous in a tornado. If the tornado is visible, far away, and the traffic is light, you may be able to drive out of its path by moving at right angles to the tornado. Otherwise, park the car as quickly and safely as possible — out of the traffic lanes. [It is safer to get the car out of mud later if necessary than to cause a crash.] Get out and seek shelter in a sturdy building. If in the open country, run to low ground away from any cars (which may roll over on you). Lie flat and face-down, protecting the back of your head with your arms. Avoid seeking shelter under bridges, which can create deadly traffic hazards while offering little protection against flying debris. In the open outdoors: If possible, seek shelter in a sturdy building. If not, lie flat and face-down on low ground, protecting the back of your head with your arms. Get as far away from trees and cars as you can; they may be blown onto you in a tornado. In a shopping mall or large store: Do not panic. Watch for others. Move as quickly as possible to an interior bathroom, storage room or other small enclosed area, away from windows. In a church or theater: Do not panic. If possible, move quickly but orderly to an interior bathroom or hallway, away from windows. Crouch face-down and protect your head with your arms. If there is no time to do that, get under the seats or pews, protecting your head with your arms or hands.

 

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A quick response to tornado is crucial

By Lisa O’Donnell | Journal Columnist and Reporter

Published: May 3, 2009

Remember how quickly that tornado struck in the Wizard of Oz?

That was one instance where Hollywood was not exaggerating. Tornadoes are that unpredictable.

People in the path of a tornado are warned, on average, about 13 minutes before a tornado hits, according to the Center for Severe Weather Research, a nonprofit research organization.

That makes preparation crucial.

Amber Parker said that having a tornado plan saved her and her sons’ lives last May.

The Parkers had just a few minutes to get to their family’s designated safe place, an interior closet. Had she wasted even a few seconds pondering where to go, the house likely would have collapsed on top of her young sons and her.

Michelle Brock, the emergency-management coordinator for the Forsyth County Office of Emergency Management, said that the most critical mistake people make is not having a way to receive a warning.

Because so many tornadoes in North Carolina can hit at night, Brock recommends people buy a weather-alert radio that will sound when watches and warnings are issued by the National Weather Service.

While a tornado watch could last all day, a warning can come quickly. People should find shelter once a warning is issued, Brock said.

“You should stay sheltered until the warning is lifted,” Brock said. “The National Weather Service is good about issuing warnings and making sure you are alerted when the warning is over.”

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Coach among injured in Cowboys’ roof collapse

By DAVID JIMENEZ and JAIME ARON Associated Press Writers © 2009 The Associated Press

IRVING, Texas — Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis was among 12 people injured when winds just shy of tornado strength ripped through the roof of the team’s indoor practice facility during a rookie minicamp Saturday.

The storm hit while 27 players were going through workouts. There were about 70 people in the facility, counting coaches, other team personnel and media, officials said.

Ten of the injured were taken by emergency vehicles. Two others went to hospitals on their own.

“This worked out very, very well from a medical point of view,” said Dr. Paul Pepe, head of emergency medical services for Dallas County. “Right now, I think we don’t have anybody who is in a life-threatening situation.”

The white, tent-like building is large enough to be seen from miles away. It was built in 2003, for Bill Parcells’ first season as coach.

Storms often make loud noises inside the so-called bubble, but this time overhead lights swayed violently. One of the team’s video staff was the first out the door, followed by Nick Eatman of DallasCowboys.com. Eatman was hit by something and went down a few feet away, then heard someone screaming for help. He recognized it was Todd Archer of The Dallas Morning News.

Eatman and colleague Josh Ellis tried freeing Archer but the structure wouldn’t budge. “It was like a car,” Eatman said. Then safety DeAngelo Smith and linebacker Brandon Williams were able to get it up just enough for Archer to squirm out.

“All I saw was blue jerseys,” said Archer, whose right elbow and legs were scraped. “I was trapped, I couldn’t move. Then those guys lifted it up — not very far, but I was able to move from my side to my back. … Once I got out of there, I looked back and the whole thing was down.”

Archer said that as he fled for shelter, other players appeared to be stepping through the debris looking for others in need of help.

Eatman said one of the swaying lights wound up more than two football fields away. The giant blue star atop the building lay crumpled on the ground. The storm knocked out power at team headquarters and splintered trees across the property.

Larry Rodriguez, a local television cameraman who was in the news several years ago after he was attacked by Kenny Rogers while filming the former Texas Rangers pitcher, was treated with six stitches for a cut on a hand.

“We checked and we can’t find any other damage than this particular location,” said David Tull, an Irving police spokesman. “The nearby area didn’t have any reports of structural damage.”

Names and details of their injuries were not released due to privacy issues. DeCamillis was seen being removed on a stretcher wearing a neck brace.

“I saw it coming down and didn’t have time to react,” secondary coach Dave Campo said. “I hit the ground and was able to get back up.”

The storm was producing winds measured at 64 mph just before it struck the Cowboys facility, said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Harris in Fort Worth. A weak tornado is in the range of 65-110 mph, according to NWS guidelines. Power was knocked out for less than an hour.

“We’re lucky no one got electrocuted with all the water in the building,” head coach Wade Phillips said. “A couple of players had minor injuries, but they were all right.”

This was the second of three scheduled days of practices, but Sunday’s session has been canceled.

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Heavy rainfall causes creek flooding in Tenn. county, tornado watches issued for northern Ala.

By Associated Press

6:15 PM CDT, May 2, 2009

AETNA, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities say a dozen residents in a central Tennessee county have been evacuated from their homes because of flooding caused by heavy rain while tornado watches and warnings have been issued for northern Alabama.

Janet Kelley of the Hickman County Emergency Management Agency in Tennessee says flat-bottomed rescue boats were used Saturday morning to retrieve residents in Aetna, located about 80 miles southwest of Nashville.

Kelley says the flooding later receded and many of the residents were able to return to their homes. She says some county bridges remained closed because of the weather on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for Fayette and Lamar counties in western Alabama.

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Mini-tornado’ dumps caravan in lagoon

Posted Sat May 2, 2009 10:32pm AEST

Police say three women have been injured when a water funnel or mini-tornado lifted a caravan on the New South Wales central coast on Saturday afternoon.

Officers say the mini-tornado tore through a caravan park at The Entrance about 3:00pm and dumped one of the caravans in a nearby lagoon.

Three women staying at the park have been taken to Gosford Hospital, one with a broken arm and the others with cuts and bruises.

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1 Month Of Rain Falls In 24 Hours

Possible Tornado Tears Through Campground

 

POSTED: 3:18 pm CDT May 1, 2009

UPDATED: 1:22 pm CDT May 2, 2009

 

HOHENWALD, Tenn. – A possible tornado hit Lewis County on Friday afternoon, shredding tents and flipping campers at a park located along the Natchez Trace Parkway. 

Related: Severe Weather Pictures – May 1, 2009 | Upload Your Pictures | Video: Lewis Co. Tractor-Trailer Flips In Storm | Video: Lewis Co. Sustains Damage In Friday Storm

 

Travel trailers at the Thousand Trails Campground were damaged by trees that were blown down at 2:23 p.m. Some campers who lost their camping equipment in the storm said they were thankful to have survived the strong storm. The park is located just south of Hohenwald. 

The National Weather Service said that three homes were destroyed on Highway 241, near the Lewis and Lawrence County border. 

A tractor-trailer that was parked at a home along Napier Road in Lewis County was flipped over by the storm. Resident Tracy Hodges said the storm damaged part of her home, including ripping shingles from the roof. 

In Giles County, Sheriff Kyle Helton said the Union Valley Church was blown off its foundation along Shuler Branch Road. Four to five homes were also damaged on the same street. No injuries were reported. 

Heavy rains Friday affected most of middle Tennessee, causing area flooding. Meteorologist Dan Thomas said some areas received a month’s worth of rain within 24 hours. Three inches fell in Davidson County, 4 inches fell in Dickson County and 6 inches fell in parts of Hickman, Wayne and Lawrence counties. 

Some wind gusts registered as high as 80 mph in part of Middle Tennessee. Lightning and hail also were reported.

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Second Possible Tornado Hits Area

POSTED: 5:51 pm CDT April 30, 2009
UPDATED: 10:56 pm CDT April 30, 2009

WITTER, Ark. – A second possible tornado hit the area Wednesday night, 40/29 News has learned.

 

An unconfirmed tornado was reported around 5 p.m. Thursday a few miles south of Witter, in Madison County. 

Mother Nature blew through a trailer home and left it in pieces. 

“I’m guessing something hit the front of the house because there are two giant holes,” said Amanda Bayley. 

Bayley believes her mother’s home was destroyed by something stronger than a thunderstorm. 

The side of the trailer is torn apart, and just next door, the roof has completely blown off. 

“They’re going to have to tear it all apart and wall it in,” said Bayley. 

She said her mom and her mom’s boyfriend were inside when the storm hit. 

“She told me that she could feel it shifting and they were afraid it was going to come off the blocks. She said it was over in like two minutes. It came and left really quick,” said Bayley. “I’m just thankful no one got hurt.” 

Pieces of metal were found in trees, insulation was caught on the fencing and a satellite dish was found in pieces at a nearby field. 

“I kept my kids home from school. I stayed home from work, and we’re out here just trying to get this place cleaned up. It’s a big mess,” said Bayley. 

“We came out here, and we started helping,” said Michael Huey, Bayley’s son. 

The family said it’ll have to rebuild. 

For now, it is helping to clear debris and tear down what’s damaged. 

“Hopefully we can fix this up,” said Huey. 

The people who live there will be staying at a nearby house until their home is rebuilt. 

Madison County’s Department of Emergency Management is currently working with the National Weather Service to determine if, in fact, a tornado touched down.

Link

Tornadoes reported in southwest Kansas

 

Associated Press – April 29, 2009 11:04 PM ET

GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) – Snapped power lines and overturned irrigation systems are being reported after several tornadoes touched down in southwest Kansas.

The National Weather Service has received reports of at least three brief tornado touchdowns in Finney County and one in neighboring Haskell County.

Finney County emergency management coordinator Cathy Hernandez says U.S. 83 has been closed from south of Garden City to Sublette in Haskell County because of the snapped power poles.

Two buildings were damaged at a dairy, but Hernandez didn’t know if any livestock were injured.

Ruthi said the tornado threat diminished around 8:30 p.m. as the storm cell crossed into Haskell County and merged with another cell. No damage had been reported from the twister that touched down about two miles south of the Haskell-Finney county line.

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A tiny tornado, but a tornado nonetheless

 Eyewitness reports, swath of damage prove small twister

 

BY CASSANDRA DRUDI, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN

 

Path of the tornado.

Photograph by: Dennis Leung, The Ottawa Citizen

OTTAWA — For residents on the city’s west side, that was indeed a tornado — albeit a low-level one — that swept through Saturday night, uprooting trees and lifting the roofs off a house and an apartment building, Environment Canada said Tuesday.

“With eyewitness reports and with a fairly narrow damage swath, we’ll call that a confirmed tornado,” said Peter Kimbell, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada.

The tornado, part of a set of fierce storms that struck several Ottawa neighbourhoods, followed a path about five kilometres long from Britannia Park to the Carlington neighbourhood and had maximum winds of about 115 km/h. The swath of damage was about 50 metres wide over the western part and 150 metres wide at the eastern part.

Environment Canada has rated the tornado as an upper-end Fujita scale zero, or F-0, the lowest level of the five-level scale.

A man who lives near the Britannia Yacht Club reported seeing three water spouts over the Ottawa River at Lac des Chênes, said Kimbell.

The man saw one of the water spouts move inland toward Britannia Park, Kimbell said.

From the park, where about a dozen trees were lost during the storm, Environment Canada tracked the narrow path of damage from the tornado to a house on Britannia Road that lost its roof, and then further east, to an apartment building on Morisset Avenue that lost its roof during the storm, Kimbell said. Residents on Morisset Avenue also reported seeing funnel clouds and swirling debris.

From there, the tornado weakened further when it got to the area of the Central Experimental Farm, Kimbell said.

The national weather agency had previously dismissed the idea that the storm’s high winds ever turned into a tornado, describing the event as a series of microbursts, or violent downdrafts of air that occurred in small areas.

But on Monday evening, the agency posted a statement on its website confirming that a tornado briefly occurred in Windsor as part of the line of thunderstorms that tracked across the province Saturday, and said it would look into whether one happened in Ottawa.

The Windsor tornado was the first of the year in the province.

Damage elsewhere in Ottawa was mostly the result of gusts of wind, Kimbell said.

In places where the storm caused particularly intense damage, including in the east end at Beechwood Cemetery and toward Rockcliffe, microbursts were likely involved, he said.

Saturday’s tornado should not be seen as a harbinger of severe weather to come, Kimbell said, stressing weather’s variability.

Still, a tornado in Ottawa at this time of year is not typical.

“It’s unusual weather for Ottawa in April,” he said.

“But weather is always unusual … so there’s nothing alarmist in this at all.”

Saturday’s tornado was not the first to strike the capital region.

In August 1994, a tornado ripped through an Aylmer subdivision with 280-kilometre-an-hour winds, causing $10 million in damage in the Pilon neighbourhood.

More recently, residents in Orléans credited a “mini-tornado” for ripping out fences and toppling patio tables in September 2007.

The most destructive tornado to strike Ontario hit Barrie in May 1985. It annihilated 1,000 buildings, killed eight people, and caused confused horses from the Barrie Race Track to run on the multi-lane Highway 400

Link

Tornado hit eastern Williamson County

By Claire Osborn | Monday, April 27, 2009, 05:40 PM

The National Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado hit eastern Williamson County early this morning, damaging more than 20 structures near Jonah.

There were no injuries reported. The tornado had winds of 85 to 95 mph, said Steve Smart, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

It formed three miles west-southwest of Jonah and moved northeast, dissipating about one mile west of Jonah along Texas 29, Smart said. The tornado had a two-mile path and was 50 yards wide, he said.

It was classified as an F1 tornado, which is the weakest category.

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No injuries after tornado hits Iowa campground

1:33 PM

Posted: Monday, April 27, 2009

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities said Monday that no injuries were reported after a tornado slammed into a campground and destroyed five camping trailers at a park in Linn County.

The tornado hit Pinicon Park in northern Linn County shortly before 5 p.m. on Sunday.

“We’ve lost a lot of trees and that kind of thing, but fortunately there was no loss of life. Everybody had gotten to a safe place,” said Dennis Goematt, deputy director of Linn County Conservation.

Goematt said the campground had been full Saturday night. On Sunday, about 10 trailers remained.

“It had been a rainy day so some of them had decided to go somewhere to eat and had left the campground just coincidentally anyway. We do have a block building there that’s a shower house and some of them went to that to escape,” he said.

Goematt said the tornado cut a path right down the middle of the campground.

“Either side, things were largely undamaged, but right in that path, it was pretty devastating,” he said.

The tornado also damaged homes and outbuildings north of Cedar Rapids. No injuries were reported, said Mike Goldberg, the county’s emergency coordinator.

He said damage was reported at 31 locations, ranging from siding and roof damage on homes to outbuildings damaged by falling trees.

“It was on the ground for a while, but I don’t have a length yet. It definitely popped down,” Goldberg said.

Two other possible tornadoes were spotted in Delaware and Dubuque counties, but no one was hurt.

The storm system also dumped heavy rain in western and central Iowa.

From Sunday into early Monday, 5-7 inches of rain fell in Cass and Guthrie counties, with 3-6 inches in Marshall, Tama and Black Hawk counties.

Flood warnings continued on Monday across Iowa as the heavy rain caused flash flooding and sent rivers and creeks rising.

In Waterloo, 2 feet of water poured into an intersection, while manhole covers popped off on another street.

In Chariton, strong winds knocked over a 30-foot section of a trailer at the city’s airport

Mindy Albrecht of the National Weather Service in Johnston said the storms kept dumping heavy rain over the same area, saturating the ground.

“We haven’t had any heavy rains recently, but you get that much amount of rain and it’s hard to soak it all in at one time because it came down so fast,” she said.

Showers and thunderstorms were expected to move out of Iowa by later on Monday, with cooler and drier weather settling in on Tuesday. More rain is in the forecast on Wednesday and Thursday.