Know which animals and disasters you need to look out for in your area with LETHAL for the iPhone!
Pretty fascinating.
VorTek LLC, a small research and engineering company in Huntsville, Alabama, developed software that assessed tornado threats from analyzed National Weather Service data from 1950 through 2007.
A map of the most tornado-prone spots for 26 states of interest was developed using the Site Assessment of Tornado Threat (SATT) software,
Earthquake felt in Chilton County
Published Tuesday, April 21, 2009
An earthquake that occurred north of Centreville early Tuesday morning had many Chilton County residents calling the United States Geological Survey to report they believed they experienced an earthquake.
By mid-morning Tuesday, 21 county residents had reported they felt what they thought was an earthquake.
The USGS released a statement Tuesday that a 3.8-magnitude earthquake had occurred approximately four miles north of Centreville in Bibb County at 5:25 a.m.
The earthquake occurred, according to the USGS, 3.1 miles below the earth’s surface.
There have been no reports of injuries, deaths or damage caused by the earthquake.
Though the epicenter was approximately 56 miles from Clanton, residents heard and felt the earthquake. Others as far away as Alexander City reported they felt the earthquake.
Tuesday’s earthquake was the second to be reported this year in Bibb County. On February 18, an earthquake that measured 2.2 occurred approximately 10 miles south of Centreville.
The National Weather Service now has an interactive Google map display of the Sunday night Alabama tornadoes available. Check out this link:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=110057528693910501597.000468128cf062f522312&ll=33.063924,-86.671143&spn=3.337261,4.921875&z=8
Tornado warning issued for northern Shelby County
Posted by Anne Ruisi — The Birmingham News April 19, 2009 6:31 PM
The National Weather Service in Birmingham has issued a tornado warning until 7 p.m. for northern Shelby County, including the cities of Pelham, Chelsea and Alabaster.
NWS Doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado near Alabama, moving northeast at 35 miles per hour.
The tornado will be near Oak Mountain State Park by 6:30 p.m.; Chelsea by 6:35 p.m.; Highland Lakes, Mount Laruel and Fowler Lake by 6:40 p.m.; Westover by 6:45 p.m.; Vincent, Vandiver and 6 miles northwest of Harpersville by 6:55 p.m.
Swimmers have been keeping the lifeguards very busy.
Report: Water related incidents above average
On April 14, Gulf Shores lifeguards reported 26 drowning calls in one month
Graphic courtesy of the city of Orange Beach
GULF SHORES, Ala. — While only two months of vacationers have visited the Gulf Coast, a high number of water-related incidents have already been reported.
On April 14, Gulf Shores lifeguards had recorded 26 drowning calls in one month, and senior lifeguard Scott Smothers said that’s above average.
He also said since the season opened on March 13 there have been three days with yellow flags flying, the rest being red flag days.
“It’s because of the storms we’ve had,” Smothers said of the red flags. “Any time you get a low pressure system you’re going to have rip currents and high surf.”
Last year Gulf Shores had 172 drowning rescues. Drowning is easily avoidable and following the warning signs can eliminate the danger posed by the water.
The flag system put in place by the city allows beachgoers to be aware of the water conditions. Obeying the system ensures a safe trip.
A green flag represents low hazard and declares conditions are calm. A yellow flag expresses medium hazard and is used when the Gulf has moderate surf and currents. A red flag warns of high surf and strong currents. Two red flags declares the water is closed to the public. When dangerous marine life like sharks or jellyfish are present, a purple flag will fly. Other dangerous marine life include barracudas, red tide and marine lice.
By city ordinance in Gulf Shores, it is illegal to enter the water when one or two red flags are flying.
A representative at the Gulf Shores Police Department did say usually they issue a warning to a swimmer on a red flag day, but failure to cooperate will lead to an arrest.
Orange Beach also fly flags to inform swimmers of water conditions. The city does not employ a lifeguard force, rather, the police and fire departments and the marine police are dispatched for a drowning. The Gulf Shores lifeguards will also lend a hand to Orange Beach and the Orange Beach Marine Police assist the lifeguards in Gulf Shores.
Orange Beach aquatics coordinator Melvin Shepard described the help as mutual aid. He also said Orange Beach has seen a lot of swimming distress calls recently.
Smothers said every rescue that’s been made in Gulf Shores has been a vacationer and said they have been for multiple victims.
“You’ll have one person in trouble and then two others go try to help them,” he said.
Smothers said the best thing to do if you witness a drowning is alert a lifeguard. If a lifeguard isn’t nearby carry a flotation device to the victim. Most rescues occur in the afternoon during low tide when there is a tidal range of two feet. Another large contributor is rip currents, which are caused when the tide funnels in water and it finds a weak spot in a sandbar to break through.
“All the water that comes in has to find a place to go out,” Smothers said. “It will gather, break the sandbar and rush back out to sea.”
To avoid rip currents, look for an area at the shoreline that is murky — where the sand has been disturbed. If caught in a rip current, allow it to carry you out, swim parallel to the beach and then swim back to shore.
A few other rules to follow include swimming with a partner and never swim while under the influence of alcohol.
To check the surf conditions and flying flag for Gulf Shores call 251-968-TIDE. The Orange Beach information line for weather and surf conditions and the flying flag is 251-981-SURF. Information about the flag system and beach safety tips can be found at the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Florida wins, hands down.
# 1 Florida: 337 # 2 Texas: 15 = 3 Georgia: 9 = 3 South Carolina: 9 # 5 Alabama: 5 # 6 Louisiana: 2 = 7 Arkansas: 1 = 7 North Carolina: 1
Tornadoes spotted in Fla. as storm line roars overTAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A strong line of storms spawned at least two tornadoes Tuesday as it tore across central Florida, scattering roof shingles, uprooting trees and forcing schools to evacuate children from trailer classrooms.
No injuries were immediately reported and the storms eventually moved offshore. It was the latest round of bad weather to hammer the South after heavy rain and strong winds Monday that hit Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and northern Florida, already reeling from storms and tornados last week.
The National Weather Service was still tallying damage information, but initial reports were that two tornadoes had touched down north of Tampa and two others may have struck in central and east Florida.
Twenty Florida counties were under a tornado watch for much of the day.
“To our knowledge, there’s been no true structure damage and no injuries,” said Jim Martin, Emergency Management Director for Pasco County north of Tampa, where at least one twister was spotted Tuesday morning,
Martin said about 25 homes suffered damage from high winds and one car was flipped over. Students were evacuated from trailer classrooms at some Tampa-area schools.
Emergency management officials in Marion County in north-central Florida received reports of possible tornado sightings, downed power lines and other damage, including one home under a fallen tree. No injuries were reported, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said.
Randi Cecil, 24, was on her porch in the town of Sparr, about 90 miles north of Orlando, when the wind turned gusty and trees started swaying. Then a tree cracked so loud that it sounded like a car crash and smashed into her neighbor’s bedroom.
“It was the most horrible feeling I ever went through,” Cecil said.
Progress Energy spokeswoman Suzanne Grant said 35,000 customers were without power as of noon, mostly in the Ocala area in central Florida and in southern Pasco County, just north of Tampa. The Tampa Electric Company said about 770 customers had lost power.
The storms also passed through the Orlando area, knocking down trees and blowing shingles off roofs, but no significant damage was immediately reported. Orlando International Airport reported delays of up to one hour.
A day after high winds were blamed for toppling trees that killed one person each in Tennessee and Georgia, more blustery conditions were reported across the region.
Atlanta-area crews were still clearing up fallen trees and working to restore power and traffic lights after squalls Monday pushed through Georgia. Thousands of utility customers in Georgia and Alabama were waiting for power to come back on.
Associated Press writers Mike Schneider in Orlando, Mitch Stacy in Tampa and Amanda Thomas in Montgomery, Ala., contributed to this report.
Largest project to study tornadoes to start in May
In what’s described as “the largest attempt in history to study tornadoes,” more than 50 scientists are preparing to hit the road next month to explore the origin, structure and evolution of the killer storms, the National Science Foundation says.
From May 10 to June 13, scientists will focus on the central Great Plains — southern South Dakota, western Iowa, eastern Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, the Texas panhandle and western Oklahoma.
The project, called VORTEX2 — Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment — involves 40 research vehicles, including 10 mobile radars.
This year’s tornado season has been punishing. Today, severe weather swept across much of the South, killing at least two people, toppling trees and cutting power to tens of thousands of homes. More than 92,400 customers still did not have power this afternoon after a strong thunderstorm blew across Alabama, spawning an apparent tornado and wrecking a yacht marina near the Mississippi line. Most of the Florida Panhandle and areas east and southeast of Tallahassee have been under tornado watches or warnings most of the day.
A twister Friday killed a woman and her infant daughter and damaged 500 buildings in Tennessee.
Late Thursday a tornado killed three people in Arkansas.
Eyewitness accounts of the disaster. Scary stuff.
Tornado survivor: ‘Sounded like 7 freight trains’MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — The worst sound Eric Funkhouser said he has ever heard was a 10-second “voom” followed by a man’s screams.
A tornado hit Funkhouser’s home in Murfreesboro, about 30 miles southeast of Nashville, on Friday, part of severe storms that spawned tornadoes across the Southeast that’s been blamed for three deaths and dozens of injuries.
“It sounded like seven freight trains and 22 vacuum cleaners all going at the same time,” Funkhouser said Saturday as he returned to what is left of his home and neighborhood.
Funkhouser ran outside and found his neighbor John Bryant laying in Funkhouser’s front yard, covered with blood and screaming.
“He kept saying that his wife and baby were out there with him and he had to find them,” Funkhouser said.
Twenty minutes later, Funkhouser and other survivors found Bryant’s wife, Kori, dead in the gravel driveway under debris and 9-week-old Olivia Bryant was found dead buckled into her car seat, beneath carpet and a tree.
Family friend Laura Lawrence said Bryant, a self-employed construction worker, had just gotten home on his lunch break. He, his wife and daughter were seeking shelter when the tornado rolled through.
National Weather Service officials say a preliminary report shows the EF3 tornado tore a 15-mile path through the university town of about 100,000 with winds as high as 165 mph. Hundreds of homes were destroyed or damaged and more than 40 people were injured.
John Bryant is in critical condition with a broken back, Lawrence said Saturday, as she gathered the family’s clothes and pictures from their neighbors’ yards.
During a tour of the damaged areas on Saturday, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen walked past a pile of pink baby clothes topped with the Bryants’ wedding album, paused before yellow and gray tarps marking where the mother and daughter were found and bowed his head.
“My thoughts and prayers are with them. It’s very sad,” Bredesen said.
He then walked through the neighborhood that was hardest hit, listening to survivors share stories of how they hid in bathrooms and pantries.
“I am astonished,” Bredesen said. “Where it hit is very very intense.”
Bredesen said he may request a presidential declaration of emergency after Tennessee Emergency Management Agency officials completely survey the area.
“I want to get all the assistance we possibly can for people,” Bredesen said. “For right now, the community is doing a great job.”
Church members and neighbors joined survivors in cleaning up debris, patching up roofs with blue tarps and sawing tree branches from cars and houses.
Murfreesboro Mayor Tommy Bragg said water is running on generator power but power and gas remain off in the areas worst hit. Code inspectors were going door to door to determine the amount of damage done and whether the homes are destroyed.
They condemned the Funkhousers’ home with a sticker that read “Unsafe. Do not enter or occupy.”
The Bryant’s home, the only wood house on the block, was destroyed and most of the siding was in Funkhouser’s yard.
Churches and utility companies passed out hot dogs, hamburgers, ham sandwiches, chips and water to families and volunteers.
“This is something we have to do because you can’t just look over this damage,” church volunteer Lacie Young said. “We were so blessed and have to share these blessings.”
Rescue teams concluded a 5-hour search Friday night for survivors who may have been trapped in the rubble, but no more victims were found, said Donnie Smith, a spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.
Reports of destruction were widespread across the region Friday, with funnel clouds spotted in Kentucky and Alabama and devastating winds, huge hail and heavy rain reported in several states.
In South Carolina, a driver trying to avoid storm debris in the eastern part of the state was killed Friday, state Emergency Management Division spokesman Derrec Becker said.
Several possible tornadoes were reported in north Georgia as heavy rain, hail and winds downed trees and power lines.
On Thursday night, a black funnel cloud packing winds of at least 136 mph descended on the western Arkansas hamlet of Mena, killing at least three, injuring 30 and destroying or damaging 600 homes.
There, emergency officials are trying to collect ice chests and tarps to prepare for another round of storms projected to hit the area Sunday. Crews have already used 1,000 tarps to cover damaged roofs, and workers are struggling to keep perishables refrigerated because power is still out in Mena.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Click on the link for dramatic photos of the aftermath.
