Tornado Count Up 750%

February 19, 2008
Holly Deyo

Normally we see about 1000 tornadoes a year. During 2007, 1,300 twisters ripped through the U.S. This barrage of unrelenting windstorms plagued the Midwest and rampaged eastward. Then something new happened: an unheard of twister barreled across Brooklyn, NY.

This year, in a single February night, 68 tornadoes roared through Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. At least 58 people died: 32 in Tennessee, 13 in Arkansas, 7 in Kentucky and 6 in Alabama. This tornado outbreak was the nation's worst in more than two decades when 76 people were killed in Pennsylvania and Ohio on May 31, 1985. May, not February. The death toll ranks among the top 15 from tornado outbreaks since 1950. Again, this is tornado off-season.

This very out-of-character wild weather has prompted scientists to ask if January is the new March.

January 2008 - when it's supposed to be snowing - an unbelievable 136 tornadoes wrecked terrible damage. January usually sees about 34 twisters.

So far, 212 have hit the U.S. this month which is about 750% more than the ENTIRE month of February should see. February is typically the quietest month for tornado activity. You've got to admit something very different and very dangerous is going on here. At this vastly accelerated rate, well, who knows how rough this year will be...

That's 348 tornadoes in the first 7 weeks show 2008 is not off to a good start.

The bottom graph starkly illustrates 2008's sharp start to twister events.

What were the deadliest U.S. tornadoes? The "Tri-state" tornado of 18 March 1925 killed 695 people as it raced along at 60-73 mph in a 219 mile long track across parts of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, producing F5 damage. The death toll is an estimate based on the work of Grazulis (1993); older references have different counts. This event also holds the known record for most tornado fatalities in a single city or town: at least 234 at Murphysboro IL. The 25 deadliest tornadoes on record are listed here. We also have web links related to this and other major tornado events.

What were the deadliest U.S. tornado days? On 3 April 1974, the main day of the two-day "Super Outbreak," tornadoes killed 308 people. We have two lists of the top 15 deadliest tornado days since 1950, one from midnight to midnight CST (by calendar day, Central Standard Time), then from 12 UTC to 12 UTC (the "convective day" for SPC outlooks). Because some tornado outbreaks persist well into the night and following morning, one can slice and dice the time sampling in many ways, and come up with different numbers. These are the two most common measures of a "day" that SPC has used, historically.

What was the biggest outbreak of tornadoes? 147 tornadoes touched down in 13 U.S. states on 3 and 4 April, 1974. Here is a map of them , with F-scale damage plotted beside each. [One more tornado touched down in Canada at Windsor ON, then lifted as it entered MI, for a total of 148. Since it did no damage in the U.S., it is not counted in the U.S. tornado database used to plot our map.] The outbreak killed 310 in the U.S., 8 in Canada, with 5454 U.S. injuries and 23 hurt in Canada. 48 of the tornadoes were killers. Seven produced damage rated F5 -- the maximum possible -- and 23 more were rated F4. This was one of only two outbreaks with over 100 confirmed tornadoes, the other being with Hurricane Beulah in 1967 (115 tornadoes). In 1999, NOAA Public Affairs created a large website on the 1974 super-outbreak in commemoration of its 25th anniversary. SPC also has a list of web links devoted to this and other major tornado events.

What was the biggest known tornado? The Hallam, Nebraska F4 tornado of 22 May 2004 is the newest record-holder for peak width, at nearly two and a half miles, as surveyed by Brian Smith of NWS Omaha. This is probably close to the maximum size for tornadoes; but it is possible that larger, unrecorded ones have occurred.

5-11-08

Over 20 dead in Missouri., Oklahoma, Georgia. after new round of storms

Steve and Amanda Garner sift through the remains of their home north of Racine, Mo, on Sunday morning, May 11, 2008. The Garner's home, and several others were leveled by a tornado late Saturday afternoon. The Garners were not home when the tornado struck. (AP Photo/Mike Gullett)

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry surveys the tornado damage in Picher, Okla., Sunday, May 11, 2008. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

By ROXANA HEGEMAN

SENECA, Mo. (AP) — Stunned tornado survivors picked the little that was left of their communities Sunday after storms smashed through the Plains and South, killing at least 22 people in three states and leaving behind a trail of destruction and stories of loss.

At least 15 people died in southwestern Missouri. In the fading mining town of Picher, Okla., at least six people were killed, and at least one person died in storms in Georgia.

Susan Roberts, 61, stared at the smashed remains of her classic 1985 Cadillac sitting on her living room floor — the only thing left of her Seneca home. A woman who had apparently sought shelter in the car died there, she said.

"That is what is tearing me up," Roberts said. She had warned the woman — who stopped to change a tire as Roberts and her 13-year-old grandson drove away from the rental house — to escape. The tornado hit just minutes later.

"I'm from Kansas. I grew up watching storms," she said as she walked through the debris. "If I didn't have my grandson with me, I probably wouldn't have left."

The same storm system earlier hit Oklahoma, where at least six people died and 150 people were injured in Picher.

The town, once a bustling mining center of 20,000 that dwindled to about 800 people as families fled lead pollution there, was a surreal scene of overturned cars, smashed homes and mattresses, and twisted metal high stuck in the canopy of trees.

"I swear I could see cars floating," said Herman Hernandez, 68. "And there was a roar, louder and louder."

Ed Keheley was headed to town to help out Saturday night when he heard a woman screaming. He looked over to see her hand reaching out of debris.

"She was sitting in the bathtub, she had curlers in her hair and she wanted out of there," said Keheley, who along with several others pulled her out.

The area is part of a Superfund site, and residents have been asked to take part in state and federal buyouts in recent years.

"From what I've been able to determine, that wouldn't have any bearing on whether a disaster declaration would come forth," said Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman Earl Armstrong.

One storm victim's child was initially reported dead, but state emergency management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten later said the infant was actually alive at a Tulsa hospital.

As the system moved east on Sunday, storms in Georgia killed at least one person in Dublin, about 120 miles southeast of Atlanta, authorities said. Weather officials had not yet confirmed whether the storms produced any tornadoes there.

The body was found in the rubble of a mobile home, said Bryan Rogers, the Laurens County administrator.

A second person found in the home, who state and local authorities initially reported had died, was hospitalized in critical condition, said Lisa Janak of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.

The small town of Kite was destroyed by the storm, said Caroline Pope, a spokeswoman for the Johnson County Sheriff's Department. Close to 1,000 people live in the community, she said.

"From what they're telling me, it's gone," she said from the dispatch center in the jail, which was operating on a generator because the power was out.

President Bush has talked with governors to express his condolences for the lives lost and to discuss the state's needs for recovery, according to the White House.

"The federal government will be moving hard to help," Bush said.

In Missouri, the tornado hit the rural area about eight miles north of Seneca and continued east, said Keith Stammer, director of emergency management in Jasper County.

Next door to Roberts, Jane Lant climbed over splintered wood to go through the mud-caked remains of her bridal shop.

"I just feel so awful, going through this rubble when they are out looking for bodies," she said as she motioned to the search dogs wandering the field behind her. An unidentified body lay under a blue tarp nearby.

Among the dead were five family members of her neighbor who had been going to a wedding when the tornado caught their vehicle in front of her store, she said.

Next door, her husband's feed store also lay in shambles. But one bright moment came Sunday when rescuers heard chirping from the mound and found a half-dozen chicks. They had rescued about 100 the night before.

Susie Stonner, spokeswoman for the state Emergency Management Agency, said it was unclear how many homes had been damaged. But she said officials in Newton County, which includes Seneca, had initial estimates of 50 homes damaged or destroyed there.

Nearly 20 people were hospitalized in Newton County, said Keith Stammer, acting spokesman for the county emergency operations. He did not know the extent of their injuries.

In storm-weary Arkansas, a tornado caused significant damage in Stuttgart, but no one was seriously injured, said Weather Service meteorologist Joe Goudsward.

Tornadoes killed 13 people in Arkansas on Feb. 5, and another seven were killed in an outbreak May 2. In between was freezing weather, persistent rain and river flooding that damaged homes and has slowed farmers in their planting.

Gov. Mike Beebe planned to tour storm damage in Stuttgart on Monday.

"In this seemingly endless season of severe weather, another Arkansas community now faces the challenge of rebuilding, and others are again picking up after damaging storms," Beebe said in a statement Sunday. "It appears everyone in Arkansas survived this latest outbreak, and for that we are grateful. Our thoughts and prayers go out to our sister states that saw a much steeper toll of human life from Saturday's tornadoes."

Associated Press writers Murray Evans in Picher, Roxana Hegeman in Seneca, Mo., Dorie Turner in Atlanta, and Chuck Bartels in Little Rock, Ark., contributed to this report.

PICHER, Oklahoma (CNN) -- Residents in three Midwestern states spent Mother's Day sifting through the wreckage of their homes, trying to recover from powerful storms that left at least 21 people dead.

Residents examine a home Sunday that was ripped apart by a tornado the day before in Picher, Oklahoma.

The storm system killed at least 20 people in the Midwest and then continued into the South, killing one person in Georgia, officials said.

Sherri Mills was in the small Oklahoma town of Picher trying to find family pictures among wreckage that was a friend's home. Mills said her friend was elsewhere when the tornado struck.

"Thank God she wasn't here," said Mills, standing in front of the piles of brick and wood. "[She] lost everything. This was a two-story big brick home."

Another man in Picher said he was home with his family when the storm hit. He was blown around inside his house, and was lucky to be alive, he said.

"We got down on the floor and huddled up together, and we weren't in there 30 seconds when it hit the house," the man told CNN. "We ended up right there under that door. At least I was under the door. My wife, two granddaughters and my daughter was all there, just bunched up against each other."

President Bush pledged federal support. "Mother's Day is a sad day for those who lost their lives in Oklahoma, Missouri and Georgia because of the tornadoes," he told reporters in Waco, Texas.

"We send our prayers for those who lost their lives. The federal government will be moving hard to help," he added.

Later, aboard Air Force One, Bush contacted Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt. And after arriving at the White House, he spoke with Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and FEMA boss David Paulison also were in touch with the governors. Bush didn't specify what support the federal government would give.

Lisa Janak, spokeswoman for Georgia Emergency Management Agency, said one person was killed in Dublin, just south of Macon.

The nearby town of Kite, with about 200 residents, was "significantly damaged," she said.

Janak said initial reports that the town was "gone," were exaggerated.

Authorities fear there may be additional casualties in Missouri, said Susie Stonner, a spokeswoman with the State Emergency Management Agency in Jefferson City.

"It's dark, and it was over a wide area. Some of the houses have been completely destroyed," she said.

A twister touched down in the northeastern corner of Oklahoma shortly before 6 p.m. and killed six people in Ottawa County, according to emergency officials. And a 20-mile area in Picher was destroyed, said Michelann Ooten, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.

Another 150 were injured, and an unknown number of people were missing.

Ooten said the town enlisted the help of firefighters from surrounding areas, who went house-to-house in a 20-block area, sifting through the rubble and searching for survivors.

"It looks like a war zone," she said. "Some homes have fallen in, some homes have lost roofs, and some are now just slabs."

Freelance journalist Mike Priest went to a heavy-hit neighborhood in Picher on Sunday, surveying an area where almost all the houses were were obliterated.

All the residents had left, abandoning their cars, clothes and even their pets, Priest said.

"As you can see, some people's pets have been left behind, and they are fighting over some food," Priest told CNN as he shot footage of the neighborhood. "Just total devastation.

"Houses wiped all the way down to the foundation. You can see what used to be a house in the driveway. The storm was incredibly, incredibly strong right through here."

By early Sunday, emergency management agencies in the two states reported deaths in the following areas: Six in Ottawa County, Oklahoma; 12 in Newton County, Missouri; one in a small community just east of Carthage in Jasper County, Missouri; and one in an area of Purdy in Barry County, Missouri

Arkansas was swept by at least 10 tornadoes

May 5, 2008

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Meteorologists were planning an aerial survey Monday of the destruction caused by at least 10 tornadoes late last week.

Friday's tornadoes killed seven people, damaged or destroyed about 400 homes and knocked out electrical and telephone service in nearly 20 counties.

The National Weather Service was planning to survey the region by air, meteorologist Brian Smith said. Ten tornadoes were confirmed, officials said, and one may have traveled 45 miles.

The severe weather followed tornadoes that killed 13 Arkansans on Feb. 5, as well as a foot of snow and flooding that killed at least five people.

Kaine Calls Va. Tornado Aftermath 'Serious Devastation'

Storms Destroy 145 Homes, Injure 200 People

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2008 (Reuters) - Three tornadoes swept through central and southeastern Virginia on Monday, injuring about 200 people and damaging dozens of homes and businesses, officials said.

The city of Suffolk in the southeastern part of the state was hardest hit by the late afternoon storms, said Virginia Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Laura Southard. She said earlier reports of a fatality in linked to the severe weather were incorrect.

Injuries and damage were also reported in Colonial Heights in central Virginia, Southard said.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said three confirmed tornadoes plowed through the region.

"One of the tornadoes hit the Lawrenceville area in Brunswick County," said NWS meteorologist Brian Hurley. "The second tornado developed to the north of Colonial Heights ... The other more significant tornado occurred in the city of Suffolk."

Television pictures showed extensive property damage -- flattened homes, and lawns and streets covered in piles of debris and toppled trees.

"There are trees down everywhere and I've seen a half-dozen vehicles flipped over," Richard Hicks of Suffolk told the Virginian-Pilot newspaper.

Another witness in Suffolk, Robert Brinkley, told the newspaper: "There are tops blown off the roofs of many, many houses."

More than 3,000 Dominion Virginia Power customers were without service, most in scattered outages throughout the southeastern part of the state, the newspaper said.

Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine declared a statewide emergency to coordinate the state's response to what his office said was widespread damage in the wake of storms.

~~~~~~~

Emergency crews and rescue workers began cleaning up wreckage Tuesday in southern Virginia, a day after three tornados devastated homes and property in a wide area around the city of Suffolk.

More than 200 people were hurt in the storms but only six of the injuries were serious, officials said. There are no reports of deaths, despite the intensity of the winds and the damage caused.

"We have no reports of anybody missing," said Bob Spieldenner of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, "Looking at some of that damage, if we get out of this without any fatalities, we'll be very lucky.

The state governor, Timothy Kaine, declared a state of emergency and is visiting the worst-affected areas Tuesday. The declaration frees up state and federal government funding to help with the cleanup and to compensate business owners and municipalities for losses.

Roads were closed around Suffolk because of downed trees and power lines. Some areas were still without power by mid-morning Tuesday.

The area is not normally prone to tornadoes and officials told reporters that there were no early warning systems or evacuation plans as are common in states such as Kansas, Tennessee and Arkansas.

With files from the Associated Press

~~~~~~~~~

While rain-cooled air created an atmosphere too stable for severe thunderstorms in the D.C. metro area, a bit of morning sunshine helped raise temperatures above 70 in Norfolk, Va. And it wasn't just warm, but it was also humid with dewpoints in the sticky upper 60s. The warm, sticky air and its interaction with the strong approaching cold front fueled the development of storms in southeast Virginia.

But the clash of the warm and cool air alone didn't cause the tornadoes.

Keep reading for more on the Suffolk tornado. See our full forecast for the outlook through the weekend, and NatCast for tonight's game at Nationals Park.

The other key ingredient was wind shear; that is, winds changing in direction as you go up in the atmosphere. A lot of wind shear was present yesterday due to fast winds 15,000 feet up blowing in a different direction than winds closer to the surface. And this wind shear served to turn the winds inside developing thunderstorms. National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Jackson, on-duty in southeast Va. during yesterday's storms, told me "the Suffolk tornado was from a classic supercell -- a thunderstorm with a rotating updraft [upward movement of air]."

Velocity radar image from ~4:20 p.m. yesterday near Suffolk, Va. Courtesy Brandon Orr.

The rotation within the tornado-producing thunderstorm is evident from radar. Radar can measure the velocity of wind blowing towards and away from it. When wind blowing away from the radar is adjacent to wind blowing towards the radar, that's an indicator of spin and, in many instances, a funnel cloud or tornado. The image to the right shows such a velocity couplet. The tornado, denoted by the "x," is located at the intersection of green and red shading, which shows wind blowing towards and away from the radar, respectively. (Note: the green triangle is where the radar algorithm detected the tornado, but I suspect it was slightly south of that based on the radar presentation; hence where I drew in the "x").

The tornado-producing storm also produced what's called a "hook echo" on radar, which is the classic indicator of a rotating supercell thunderstorm. On the right, you can see the radar image (this time displaying precipitation, as opposed to wind velocity in the above example) of the thunderstorm and its hook-like signature. I've noted where the tornado was likely located with an 'x' at the tip or point of the hook.

In addition to its definitive representation on radar, the Suffolk tornado was notable for its size. Initial indications from video suggest it was at least several hundred yards wide. It may have been wide enough to be considered a "wedge" tornado -- or one which appears wider than it is tall. NWS's Jackson suspects there may have been multiple vortices (columns of whirling air) within this large tornado:

Tornadoes this large typically have vortices an order of magnitude smaller that rotate about the main funnel. The nature of these multi-vortices as they revolve and move with the storm leads to the sporadic nature of tornado damage. I cannot confirm for sure that there were multi-vortices, but it did appear [there were]...

The intensity of the Suffolk tornado has not been confirmed. But judging from some of the video of the tornado and its damage, I'd guess it was an EF-3 or EF-4. EF stands for "Enhanced Fujita Scale," and the scale spans from 0 (least intense, 65-85 mph) to 5 (most intense, over 200 mph). Tornadoes of this intensity (EF-3 or EF-4) are pretty rare in Virginia.

The Suffolk tornado and the others that impacted southeast Virginia occurred on the six-year anniversary of the devastating La Plata, Md. tornado. Like the La Plata tornado, the Suffolk tornado will be remembered for years to come.

By Jason Samenow | April 29, 2008; 10:00 AM ET Thunderstorms

$550,000 In Damage From Friday's Tornado

Associated Press

PORTAGE - The Columbia County emergency management director puts at $550,000 the estimate of the damage caused by the tornado which touched down Friday south of Wyocena.

But Pat Beghin says that may increase as officials continue their review of what took place.

The tornado move along a path several miles long and 50 to 75 yards wide. It caused severe damage at a few locations, ripping apart barns, shattering windows and obliterating an RV trailer. But no one was injured.

Beghin says it was lucky that the tornado took a pretty rural path rather than going through the village of Wyocena itself.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.

Six homes damaged by a tornado in Halifax County

At least six homes were damaged by a tornado in Halifax County on Monday.

The National Weather Service confirms an EF-1 tornado hit the community of Virgilina in southern Halifax County Monday. The storm lasted five minutes and carried winds between 86 and 109 mph. We're told the tornado was on the ground for approximately one mile.

The homes along Route 96 near Virgilina had roof damage and trees blown onto them Monday. No one was injured by the storm, but the county emergency management coordinator believes the damage is around a half-million dollars.

Aimee Norton
WSLS10 Reporter
Published: April 29, 2008

“No warning, no warning at all,” said Cheryl Wilkins. “When I raised the blinds to shut the window I just saw all this swirling and debris and tremendous noise and I just slammed the window shut and yelled ‘to the basement, to the basement.’”

The National Weather Service says a tornado was on the ground in Halifax County for five minutes, with winds near 100 miles per hour. The twister left a path of destruction 240 yards wide. Cheryl Wilkins’ house is still standing, but her trees were snapped in half. And next door at Mary Helen Gravittt’s house, the roof was blown off. In Gravitt’s backyard, the garage is gone. Only the foundation is left. Pieces of the siding and splinters of wood are scattered across the yard.

“There was so much noise. I was really just surprised when we opened the basement door and had a house left,” said Gravitt.

Gravitt’s neighbor, Kit Hooper, was running errands when the storm hit. She came home to find a 100-year-old tree on her house.

“I saw the orange emergency flags and all that kind of thing and I knew… I just started crying you know, but just thankful it wasn’t worse than it was.”

Now Hooper and her neighbors are left picking up the pieces, after a tornado that took the them by surprise.

Witnesses: Tornado hits Cleveland Co.
Updated: 04/29/2008 07:30 AM

Shannon Peluso

Storm Damage

Storms tore through many parts of the Charlotte viewing area on Monday afternoon, with tornado warnings issued for several counties. CLEVELAND COUNTY -- Storms tore through many parts of the Charlotte viewing area on Monday afternoon, with tornado warnings issued for several counties.

In Cleveland Co., many mobile homes were damaged and some residents say they say a tornado touch down.

"One guy said this was a wind storm. This wasn't no wind storm,” said witness William Sanders. “I saw a cloud coming up the road twisting. And the lady in the trailer park said she saw metal up in the air flying 20 feet in the air."

In Cleveland Co., many mobile homes were damaged and some residents say they say a tornado touch down. Some roofs were torn off and trees knocked down in the weather event that damaged some homes and left others untouched.

"I was in the house sleeping and I heard a big bang,” described witness Melissa Eaton. “I look out the window and I see a bunch of wind and I was like "whoa" and I came out and looked and I looked at my roommate’s car and as you can see there's a big tree on it along with three other ones."

Witnesses say the storm came upon them quickly, and left just as fast. Residents say they’re thankful that the only things damaged were a few homes and a few vehicles.

The National Weather Service has confirmed that a small tornado touched down in Cleveland Co.

Homes south of Fort Worth suffered tornado damage
05:43 AM CDT on Friday, April 25, 2008

By HOLLY YAN / The Dallas Morning News
hyan@dallasnews.com

A tornado is what damaged or destroyed homes near Crowley on Wednesday night, officials confirmed Thursday. The tornado was about 100 yards wide and traveled about one-quarter of a mile, wreaking havoc on houses along Sharondale Drive in unincorporated southern Tarrant County.

At least 20 houses were damaged, and four or five were destroyed, Tarrant County sheriff's spokesman Terry Grisham said. The Red Cross is assisting the displaced.

Mr. Grisham said the department was to enforce a dusk-to-dawn curfew overnight Thursday to help protect the properties.

"We'll have deputies on both ends of the street, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until the neighborhood is secure," he said. "Several houses are walk-throughs now."

In Dallas, a man and woman who were camping along White Rock Creek were trapped by high water and had to be rescued by emergency workers Thursday morning.

"We walked around and couldn't find any way out, so we called the emergency services," said Jeff Spears, one of the campers.

Winds also remained strong Thursday. At 11 a.m., Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport had winds sustaining at 26 mph and gusting up to 33 mph, said Joe Harris, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.

WFAA-TV (Channel 8) contributed to this report.

February 5-6, 2008	As many as 50 tornadoes struck this day, and as many as 15 separate killer tornadoes caused 50 or more deaths in 4 states. Tennessee was the hardest hit with 28 deaths; 13 died in Arkansas, 7 in Kentucky, and 4 in Alabama. Three fork lift operators were killed as a tornado cut a swath through warehouses, factories, 120 homes and a mall in southeast Memphis. Two died in Madison County homes. The tornado then destroyed 17 buildings on the Union University campus, injuring more than 50 students, many of them trapped in dormitories. Ten died in Macon County, seven in Sumner County, three in Hardin County, two in Trousdale County and one in Fayette County. Four people were killed in Alabama. A home was leveled in Lawrence County, killing a couple and their teenage son. In Jackson County, one woman was killed as her home in Pisgah was destroyed. Seven died in Kentucky. Four deaths were in Allen County and the storm may have been a continuation of a Tennessee tornado. In Muhlenberg County, a couple and their daughter were killed in a mobile home. There were thirteen deaths in six different Arkansas counties. A couple and their 11-year-old daughter died in Pope County. Other fatalities were in Conway, Izard, Baxter, Stone and Van Buren Counties
January 29, 2008	An 83-year-old woman and her 57-year-old daughter were in their hilltop mobile home north of Poseyville, Indiana when it was destroyed by an EF-2 tornado. Both women died.
January 8, 2008	A 61-year-old man was killed and his wife injured as an EF-2 tornado blew apart their mobile homes near Appleton, in Pike County, Arkansas.
January 7, 2008	An EF-3 tornado passed through Greene and Webster Counties in southwest Missouri, passing north of Strafford and Marshfield. Near Strafford, an 85-year-old woman was killed when her frame home collapsed around her. Near Marshfield, two people died as a result of two mobile homes being destroyed. The first person was a 53-year-old woman. The second death occurred in a hospital, 3 weeks after the tornado, as a man died from severe injuries on his 100th birthday

Jan. 8, 2008, 10:37AM
Rare winter tornado reported in Ark.

By PEGGY HARRIS Associated Press Writer
© 2008 The Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK. Arkansas — A tornado was reported blowing across eastern Arkansas Tuesday, a day after a freak cluster of January twisters sprung up in the unseasonably warm Midwest and demolished houses, knocked a railroad locomotive off its tracks and shuttered a courthouse.

The twister swept through Pope County, the National Weather Service said. One person was killed, said Tommy Jackson, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management. Others were injured, said Jim Campbell, Assistant Director for Pope County 911.

"We've got some homes damaged, trees and roads and stuff like that," he said.

The tornadoes came as record high winter temperatures were reported across wide areas of the country. Tornadoes were reported or suspected Monday in southwest Missouri, southeastern Wisconsin, Arkansas, Illinois and Oklahoma. Two people were killed in Missouri.

Bill Lischka was drinking coffee at a restaurant in Caledonia, Ill., when he heard something he didn't expect in January: a tornado siren.

"Next thing you know ... a tornado just popped right out of the clouds," Lischka said.

Al Ost said he "prayed like a sissy" as he fled to the basement of his house in Boone County, Ill. The storm damaged a barn on his property, he told the Rockford Register Star.

Hardest hit was a subdivision in Wheatland, about 50 miles southwest of Milwaukee, where at least 55 homes were damaged, Kenosha County sheriff's Lt. Paul Falduto said Tuesday morning.

"With the light of day it always looks worse than at night," Falduto said.

Thirteen people were injured in the county, none seriously.damage like this in the summertime when we have potential for tornadoes," Sheriff David Beth said. "To see something like this in January is weather service records.

Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce E. Schroeder, presiding over opening testimony in a murder trial, said he couldn't believe it when a deputy said the courtroom had to be evacuated because of a tornado warning.

"It's a first," he said while waiting with 300 people in the basement. "I've actually had ... warnings occur during jury trials before and frankly I just ignored them. But not in January."

About six homes were destroyed in the small town of Poplar Grove, Ill., where three people suffered minor injuries, Boone County Sheriff's Lt. Perry Gay said.

About 15 miles away in Harvard, Ill., a suspected tornado derailed one locomotive and 12 freight cars. A tank car containing shock absorber fluid leaked for hours before it was contained, and another derailed car contained ethylene oxide, a flammable material used to sterilize medical supplies, but did not leak, Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said.

Meteorologists said the unusual weather was the result of warm, moist air moving from the south. It brought temperatures near 70 degrees on Sunday and Monday. Temperatures hit record highs at 138 cities across the Plains and Midwest, the weather service said.

"It's very unseasonable for this time of year," said meteorologist Benjamin Sipprell. "The atmosphere is just right."

As far north as Buffalo, N.Y., thermometers hit 62 degrees Monday, 8 degrees above the old record, and in the first hours of Tuesday the reading was already 61, besting the previous 59-degree record. The temperature dipped, then returned to 61 by midmorning.

Other records Monday, according to the National Climatic Data Center, included 64 at Chicago; 72 at Hot Springs, Ark.; and 82 at Bakersfield, Texas.

___

Associated Press writers Todd Richmond in Madison, Wis.; Karen Hawkins in Chicago; and Dinesh Ramde, Emily Fredrix and James Carlson in Milwaukee, Wis., contributed to this report.

Another Winter Tornado Pops Up in Ark.

By PEGGY HARRIS – 1-8-08

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A tornado was reported in central Arkansas Tuesday, a day after a freak cluster of January twisters sprung up in the unseasonably warm Midwest and demolished houses, knocked a railroad locomotive off its tracks and briefly shuttered a courthouse.

One person was killed as the twister damaged a residence, said Tommy Jackson, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management. Others were injured, said Jim Campbell, Assistant Director for Pope County 911.

"We've got some homes damaged, trees and roads and stuff like that," he said.

Bill Lischka was drinking coffee at a restaurant in Caledonia, Ill., when he heard something he didn't expect in January: a tornado siren.

"Next thing you know ... a tornado just popped right out of the clouds," Lischka said.

Al Ost said he "prayed like a sissy" as he fled to the basement of his house in Boone County, Ill. The storm damaged a barn on his property, he told the Rockford Register Star.

Hardest hit was a subdivision in Wheatland, about 50 miles southwest of Milwaukee, where at least 60 homes were damaged, Kenosha County sheriff's Lt. Paul Falduto said Tuesday morning.

"With the light of day it always looks worse than at night," Falduto said.

Fifteen people were injured in the county, none seriously.

"I have never seen damage like this in the summertime when we have potential for tornadoes," Sheriff David Beth said. "To see something like this in January is mind-boggling to me."

The only other recorded January tornado in Wisconsin was in 1967 and it was Illinois' first since 1950, the National Weather Service said. However, tornadoes are not unknown elsewhere, with 141 twisters in January 1999 in Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee, according to weather service records.

"It's a first," he said while waiting with 300 people in the basement. "I've actually had ... warnings occur during jury trials before and frankly I just ignored them. But not in January."

"It's very unseasonable for this time of year," said meteorologist Benjamin Sipprell. "The atmosphere is just right."

Other records Monday, according to the National Climatic Data Center, included 64 at Chicago; 72 at Hot Springs, Ark.; and 82 at Bakersfield, Texas.

Severe weather persisted in other places Tuesday. More than 5 inches of rain fell in north-central Indiana and threatened to overwhelm a dam on the Tippecanoe River. Residents who lived south of the dam were asked to evacuate by emergency officials, authorities said.

Associated Press writers Todd Richmond in Madison, Wis.; Marcus Kabel in Marshfield, Mo., Karen Hawkins in Chicago; and Dinesh Ramde, Emily Fredrix and James Carlson in Milwaukee, Wis., contributed to this report.

Tornado Destroys Homes in Northwest Tennessee

<

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WHBQ FOX13 myfoxmemphis.com) – -- A tornado was spotted in northwest Tennessee and hail and thunderstorm damage was reported as a line of storms moved east across the Mississippi Valley.

The National Weather Service said the tornado was spotted Tuesday afternoon east of Dyersburg moving northeast.

The Dyersburg State Gazette reported a string of homes north of Halls were destroyed or heavily damaged shortly before 3 p.m.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol reported the tornado touched down along Bruceville Slab Road, near the Dyer-Lauderdale county line but has dissipated.

Dyer County Sheriff's Department reported no injuries associated with the storm.

Judy Adams was in the rear of her home north of Halls when she heard "things starting to get noisy" and walked to the front of the house.

Seconds later, she said the tornado tore the back from the house and scattered shingles, lumber and furniture. The front door was ripped from the frame, leaving a large hole in the front of the house.

"It was the loudest boom I think I've heard," Adams told the newspaper. "Just look at this. Terrible."

A Forked Deer Electric Cooperative team started assessing the damage after the storm passed.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A line of thunderstorms fed by warm weather continued spinning off unusual January tornadoes Tuesday, killing a man in Arkansas and carrying a cow close to a mile.

At least three people died and hundreds evacuated because of flooding in Indiana, where more than 5 inches of rain in some areas and melting snow pushed rivers and streams over their banks. Two of the victims were young children trapped in a submerged car.

A tornado that hit Appleton, Ark., rolled a double-wide mobile home off its cinder block supports, killing a man and injuring his wife. The trailer appeared to have rolled for 50 yards before smashing against a stand of trees.

The tornado hit and just it looked like his house pretty much exploded. It was taken completely off the blocks and just tore to pieces. They were both in the wreckage," said Pope County Sheriff Jay Winters.

The twister hit about 8:40 a.m., damaging or destroying homes, chicken houses and other farm outbuildings. Damage wasn't widespread because there are few homes in the rural area, about 60 miles northwest of Little Rock in the Ozark foothills.

Kirk Killins, his girlfriend and his father were heading toward his parents' house and their storm cellar when his truck was stalled against the tornado's winds.

"I had it floored and it wasn't doing nothing. I looked to my right and the hay barn and shop just disappeared," Killins said.

"I don't know how we kept from getting killed," he said. "When the truck started spinning and I saw tin flying by, I thought this was it."

Killins said the tornado picked up one of his family's cows. It survived, even though the storm "probably carried her about three-quarters of a mile," he said.

Another tornado was spotted Tuesday afternoon in northwest Tennessee. The Dyer County Sheriff's Department reported no injuries, and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said that although a barn was destroyed and some power lines were down, there was no widespread damage.

The National Weather Service declared tornado watches or warnings Tuesday afternoon in states including Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky. Several tornadoes were confirmed or reported Monday in Missouri, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Illinois, Oklahoma and Missouri, where two people were killed.

In northern Indiana, a sport utility vehicle carrying a woman and her five young children stalled on a flooded road in a rural area near Rochester before floating into deeper water, the Fulton County Sheriff's Department said. Shay Leininger, 5, and Ashley Pruitt, 2, died.

Mentone Fire Chief Mike Yazel said that the SUV's roof rack was the only thing visible when the first officer arrived, but that the driver, Megihann K. Leininger, was able to get to the surface and put three of her children on the roof: Mariah Leininger, 4, Michael McDaniel, 1, and Canari Trigg, 3 months.

It took several minutes and a front-end loader for crews to rescue the four, but there was nothing they could do for Shay and Ashley, who were trapped underwater.

"The water was too deep, too cold, too fast," Yazel said. Their 29-year-old mother "had to sit there on the roof, knowing that would be the worst part of the story," he said.

To the southwest in Jasper County, a 56-year-old man drowned in Remington when his truck was swept into Carpenter Creek floodwaters, said Shawn Brown, a conservation officer with the Department of Natural Resources.

Ronnie D. Napier, of Goodland, might have been on his way to his job at a nearby factory, Brown said.

"Witnesses in the area heard some yelling, and they saw him in the creek and they saw him go underneath the bridge and never saw him again," Brown said.

As many as 150 people evacuated areas around Remington, where power was cut off and water reached waist-high in some places, said Karen Wilson, Jasper County's emergency management director.

In nearby White County, boats were called out to help move out hundreds of people in Monticello, Blue Water Beach and Diamond Point, county emergency management director Gordon Cochran said.

Other parts of the country were able to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather. Temperatures hit record highs Monday in scores of cities from the Plains to the Northeast, and more records were set in many areas Tuesday.

Boston reached a record 67, and Atlantic City, N.J., hit 68; Syracuse, N.Y., hit 70 — tying a record for the month of January.

The reason for the balmy breezes was a high-pressure system near Bermuda, with warm air circulating clockwise around it and flowing from the Gulf Coast states north, said John Quinlan, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Albany, N.Y., which set a record of 58 degrees by noon.

More usual this time of year is a high-pressure system tracking across eastern Canada and bringing Arctic air south.

Monday's storms brought Wisconsin's first January tornado since 1967 and Illinois' first since 1950, the National Weather Service said. Twisters are less rare this time of year in states such as Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee

ORIGINAL CAPTION: Lisa Helton breaks down after retrieving a pillow from her home in Lake City, Fla. Saturday Helton, her husband and her visiting parents were in the home the afternoon before when a tornado swept through the town and turned the house on its side. (Brandon Kruse / AP)

Atlanta Braces for Another Severe Storm

Debris lies in the seats of the upper section of the Georgia Dome after a severe storm blew in several sections of the wall above, dropping debris into the seats and damaging the facility and surrounding buildings. The storm caused a delay in the Alabama-Mississippi State basketball game during the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta Friday, March 14, 2008.
12:37 a.m. ET, 3/15/08

Mar 15, 6:37 AM (ET)

By DORIE TURNER

ATLANTA (AP) - Crews hadn't even had time to assess the damage from a possible tornado that ripped through downtown, smashing skyscraper windows, sucking furniture out of hotel rooms, crumbling part of an apartment building and rattling a packed sports arena, before they braced for another storm on Saturday.
An even larger system than the one that hit Friday night was forecast to move through northern Georgia starting at daybreak, bringing heavy rains and high winds to the area, said Vaughn Smith, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Peachtree City. Crews were expected to be in downtown Atlanta then to determine whether Friday's damage was caused by a tornado, he said.

At an early morning news conference, Mayor Shirley Franklin called the storm "what we now know was a tornado." But weather service officials continued to say only that a "possible tornado" hit around 9:40 p.m., accompanied by a storm packing 60 mph winds.

At least 27 people were hurt, though no injuries were believed to be life- threatening. Streets around the Georgia Dome, Phillips Arena, the CNN Center and Centennial Olympic Park were littered with broken glass, downed power lines, crumbled bricks, insulation and even the occasional office chair. Billboards collapsed onto parked cars. Stunned fans from the arenas and hotel guests wandered through the debris in disbelief.

(AP) Water pours down the steps at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta Friday, March 14, 2008. ...
Full Image

"It was crazy. There was a lot of windows breaking and stuff falling," said Terrence Evans, a valet who was about to park a car at the Omni Hotel when the apparent twister hit.
A tornado warning had been issued for downtown a few minutes before.

There was no announcement of the approaching storm for the 18,000 fans inside the Georgia Dome for the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament. The first sign was a rumbling from above and the rippling of the Fiberglas fabric roof. Catwalks swayed and insulation rained down on players during overtime of the Mississippi State-Alabama game, sending fans fleeing toward the exits and the teams to their locker rooms.

"I thought it was a tornado or a terrorist attack," said Mississippi State guard Ben Hansbrough, whose team won 69-67 after an hourlong delay under a roof with at least two visible tears. A later game between Georgia and Kentucky was postponed. SEC officials said the tournament's remaining games would be played at Georgia Tech.

"Ironically, the guy behind me got a phone call saying there was a tornado warning," fan Lisa Lynn said. "And in two seconds, we heard the noise and things started to shake. It was creepy."

(AP) A man carries his girlfriend on his back as they walk through the debris outside the CNN Center in...
Full Image

A half-mile away, the sign of the Phillips Arena parking garage was left mangled by the storm, but basketball fans inside the arena noticed little disruption during a game between the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Clippers.
Most of the damage from the storm was concentrated in downtown Atlanta. Power was knocked out to about 19,000 customers. Authorities blocked off roads around the CNN Center, where heavy debris filled the streets. A chair from the building's lobby sat in the middle of the street, flanked by cars crushed by fallen debris.

Atlanta Fire Department Capt. Bill May said the department was working "multiple incidents" and that part of a loft apartment building collapsed, but he did not know if there were any injuries.

The loft apartment building, built in an old cotton mill - had severe damage to one corner, and appeared to have major roof damage. Fire officials said it "pancaked," and they were uncertain whether all the occupants had escaped.

Darlys Walker, property manager for the lofts, told WSB-TV there was one minor injury.

(AP) Power poles lean in a precarious position across Auburn Avenue of downtown early Saturday morning...

US Killer Tornadoes of 2008

Over 20 dead in Missouri., Oklahoma, Georgia. after new round of storms

Arkansas was swept by at least 10 tornadoes

Kaine Calls Va. Tornado Aftermath 'Serious Devastation'

Storms Destroy 145 Homes, Injure 200 People

$550,000 In Damage From Friday's Tornado

Associated Press

05:43 AM CDT on Friday, April 25, 2008

Another Winter Tornado Pops Up in Ark.