Tag Archives: Tornado

Tornado Outbreak Causes 9 Deaths, Widespread Damage

At least nine people were killed when severe storms led to a tornado outbreak across the United States on Wednesday, reports indicate.

According to The Weather Channel, preliminary estimates indicate that roughly 15 tornadoes swept through the nation on Wednesday.

All of the reported deaths occurred in the southeastern United States, where the damage from the storms was said to be the greatest.

Mississippi television station WREG reported that at least six people were killed in the state, including a 7-year-old boy in the town of Holly Springs. The National Weather Service said one tornado touched down south of Clarksdale and left a trail of damage that stretched some 150 miles northeast to Hardeman County, Tennessee. If the storm was continuous, the National Weather Service said it would be the longest December tornado on record in the mid-South.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said tornado damage was reported in seven counties. The powerful storms injured more than 40 people statewide as they knocked down power lines, shut down multiple highways and damaged homes. The agency said there were also reports of some search-and-rescue operations.

On Thursday morning, the Mississippi governor declared a state of emergency in the affected areas.

WREG reported storms demolished an entire Clarksdale subdivision.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency declared a Level III State of Emergency after storms led to “isolated damage” in 11 counties. The agency said a man and a woman were killed in Perry County, one of the harder-hit areas, but had no further information. Another person died in Rhea County.

An 18-year-old woman was killed earlier Wednesday when heavy winds sent a tree crashing through a home near Atkins, Arkansas, according to the Pope County Sheriff’s Office. The death occurred in the morning, well before the tornado outbreak was at its height.

While the tornadoes and storms were most destructive in the south, there were reports of tornado damage as far north as central Indiana.

Local television station WTHR reported storms blew the roof off an animal hospital in Greenwood. No person or animal was injured.

The outbreak occurred on a day when many Americans were beginning to travel for the holidays. AAA projected a record 100.5 million Americans are expected to travel in the 12-day period that began Wednesday morning, more than 90 percent of them driving.

Tornado Outbreak Could Disrupt Holiday Travel for Many

Weather experts are warning there’s a chance for a tornado outbreak this week.

The Weather Channel forecasts potent thunderstorms with the ability to generate tornadoes, damaging hail and high winds are expected to develop in the southern United States over the next couple of days. Meteorologists say that tornadoes are most likely to occur on Wednesday.

The Weather Channel uses its own index called TOR:CON to calculate the risk of a tornado at any given time in a specified area. The channel’s severe weather experts predict that there’s a 50 percent chance of tornadoes occurring within a 50-mile radius of any location in Mississippi, Louisiana, western Tennessee, eastern Arkansas and eastern Texas on Wednesday. The experts also warned there’s a chance — albeit a lesser one — of a tornado outside those boundaries.

The National Weather Service had yet to issue any tornado warnings or advisories on Tuesday.

If the forecasts pan out, the thunderstorms and tornadoes could disrupt many Christmas travel plans. Fox News reported that Dec. 23 is traditionally one of the year’s busiest days for air travel, and previous AAA research has indicated the day is also one of the most perilous times to drive.

This year, AAA predicts that a record 100.5 million Americans will make a journey of at least 50 miles between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3. More than 90 percent of them are expected to drive.

Rare Tornado Brings Record Winds to Australia

A rare tornado ripped through Sydney on Wednesday morning, reportedly bringing the fastest winds ever recorded in that region of Australia and leaving a wake of destruction in its path.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported the storm featured wind gusts of 132 mph, which smashed the record for the state of New South Wales. The previous high of 106 mph was set back in 1974.

The tornado occurred as the Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued severe thunderstorm warnings for the region surrounding Sydney, Australia’s largest and perhaps most famous city.

Westpac Life Saver, a search and rescue helicopter service in New South Wales, shared photos on social media that showed the damage in Kurnell, a Sydney suburb. The pictures showed numerous downed trees, widespread debris and several homes that were missing roof shingles.

Other photographs shared on social media showed large hailstones, some the size of golf balls.

The Bureau of Meteorology reported the thunderstorms dumped more than three inches of rain in one hour in Nowra, about four hours south of Sydney. The precipitation in Sydney was significant enough to trigger some flash flooding, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The BBC reported no one was significantly injured in the tornado, though some properties were so severely damaged that authorities deemed them unlivable. Australian media outlet 9News reported officials are warning of the threat of asbestos in debris, particularly from older homes.

Crews were working to restore power to about 20,000 customers, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Area Near Charleston, South Carolina Reports Extensive Damage after Tornado

The South Carolina coast saw extensive damages in the early hours of Friday morning as a tornado came through the areas of West Ashley and Johns Island at approximately 12:40 a.m. ET.

The National Weather Service issued a warning for the area before the tornado hit after seeing debris from the tornado on the radar.

“The tornado was especially dangerous because it spun up quickly when it did,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said. “That can make the situation even more dangerous as people go to bed for the night and are not aware of the tornado warning that may be issued.”

A local resident, John Bercik, woke up to heavy rain and heard a howling noise similar to that of a train.

“When the roar started I was terrified. It was a very intense moment,” Bercik said.

When Bercik left his bedroom door, the rest of the house had been destroyed. The roof was missing, walls blown in, and his floor had been spun and moved. He used an umbrella to keep the rain off as he searched the wreckage for his cell phone.

While Bercik’s house was dealt the most damage, local fire officials stated that 10 homes suffered heavy damage. Other officials reported trees had fallen onto roads, bringing down powerlines. AccuWeather reported at least 9,000 SCE&G and Berkeley Electric Cooperative customers didn’t have power as a result of the storm.

The National Weather Service sent a team to asses the damage Friday morning.

Tornado Strikes Indianapolis Area

A severe storm dropped a tornado onto a town close to Indianapolis, Indiana Tuesday damaging homes and leaving thousands without power.

National Weather Service meteorologists say the tornado hit the town of Plainfield, about 17 miles west of Indianapolis. Hendricks County Emergency Management says three homes were destroyed including one that had the roof caved in when a camper picked up by the twister dropped on it.

The storm then struck the southwest part of Indianapolis.

The city’s public safety director, Troy Riggs, said that emergency officials received reports of downed trees and damage to houses. Power lines were knocked down leaving thousands without power into the evening.

Several roads were also flooded as a result of heavy rains.

Tornadoes Strike Colorado

A series of severe storms swept through Colorado Sunday spawning a series of tornadoes.

One person was injured when a tornado touched down at country club in Aurora, Colorado that was hosting a junior golf tournament.  Officials say the injured man is the father of a tournament competitor who suffered a broken wrist when winds from the storm blew over his golf cart.

Police say it was a miracle no one was seriously hurt because 97 young competitors and their parents were on the course when the tornado struck.

Park County spokeswoman Linda Balough told USA Today that a funnel cloud struck the community of Fairplay about 65 miles southwest of Denver damaging a home’s roof.

“This is amazingly unusual at 10,000 feet,” Balough said.  “Very unusual for it to happen up here.”

An RV park about 40 miles from Fairplay was heavily damaged by another twister but no one was injured.

Tornado Injures 9 At North Dakota Oil Camp

Nine people were injured, one critically, when an early morning tornado struck a North Dakota oil worker camp.

Authorities in McKenzie County, North Dakota say the tornado destroyed eight trailers where the workers lived as it roared through Watford City.  The worker who was critically injured was air evacuated to a hospital in Minot, N.D. for treatment while the others were treated at the scene.

McKenzie County Emergency Management Director Jerry Samuelson said the situation could have been significantly worse because the camp had quite a few more trailers and workers just days ago.

Witness William Bunkel said that he had just moved his truck inside because of large hail when he spotted the funnel cloud touch down in the distance.

“We saw it form,” he told Fox News, “Come out of the sky, hit the ground and go back int the clouds.”  He said the tornado was on the ground less than a minute.

Blizzards In Rockies; Tornadoes In Midwest

A surprisingly strong storm caused over 25 tornadoes to touch down in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Indiana according to local officials and the National Weather Service.

One twister that struck Sutton, Nebraska blew the roof off City Hall and completely destroyed at least one farm outside of the town.  Police Chief Tracey Landenberger said it was so dark that you couldn’t see anything.  Chief Landenberger suffered minor injuries by flying glass.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency after a tornado destroyed or damaged up to 300 homes in Orrick, Missouri, about 30 miles east of Kansas City.

The tornadoes had to share the weather news day with a freak winter storm in the Rocky Mountains.

The National Weather Service issued multiple Winter Storm Warnings and said at one point high winds and blowing snow forced the closure of 150 miles of Interstate 80 in Wyoming.

Meteorologists say the storm is so slow moving that parts of Denver could get an additional 9 inches of accumulation during the day Monday and that higher elevations could receive well over a foot of new precipitation.

Giant Wall Defense Against Tornadoes Proposed

A scientist from Temple University thinks taking an idea from China is the way to stop killer tornadoes across the Midwest.

Physicist Rongjia Tao says that building massive walls in multiple spots across the Great Plains would be an effective deterrent to tornado development.

“If we build three east-west great walls in the American Midwest …. one in North Dakota, one along the border between Kansas and Oklahoma to the east, and the third one in south Texas and Louisiana, we will diminish the tornado threats in the Tornado Alley forever,” Tao told the USA Today.

The structures would be 1000 feet high and at least 150 feet wide.

Tao attributed the major tornadoes to a lack of west-to-east mountains in the region that weakens airflow.

However, many severe weather experts are skeptical.

“It wouldn’t work,” Harold Broos of the National Severe Storms Laboratory told USA Today in an e-mail.  Brooks pointed out that China receives deadly tornadoes even with their mountain ranges.  He also said that Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas have ranges similar in size to the proposal and they have massive tornadoes.

Sunday Tornadoes Could Rank Among Illinois’ Strongest Ever

Meteorologists looking at preliminary data say the EF-4 tornadoes that Washington and New Minden, Illinois could be some of the strongest to ever strike the state.

An EF-4 tornado has wind gusts between 166 and 200 miles per hour.

Greg Carbin of the National Weather Service said that Illinois gets violent tornadoes in November about every 7 to 10 years so the storms Sunday cannot be called rare but the strength of the storms is rare.

Illnois has had only 27 EF-4 and 2 EF-5 tornadoes since 1950 and before Sunday none of the strong twisters struck during November.

The storm devastated the town of Washington, Illlnois, cutting an 1/8th mile wide path of destruction through the entire town. Residents Phil and Carmen Jones lost their family home of 40 years in the storm and say they’ll have to start all over at age 75.

Carmen tried to look at the positives.

“We don’t have to rip that wallpaper off now,” she said.