Deadly tornadoes rip Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri
A powerful storm system that brought heavy snow, flooding, high winds, ice storms, and deadly tornadoes yesterday continues to sweep across the Eastern U.S today. Tornado warnings have already been issued for coastal North Carolina this morning, and tornado watches are up for much of eastern Virginia, North Carolina, and Maryland. However, the front that brought dozens of tornadoes to the Southeast yesterday has lost much of its punch, and only weak tornadoes are likely today.
Hardest hit yesterday was Enterprise, Alabama, where a strong tornado 200 yards wide hit the high school, killing at least eight teenagers, according to preliminary reports. According to the Tornado Project, this is one of the ten most deadly tornadoes to hit a U.S. school. The last tornado to kill so many school children occurred in 1967 when an F-4 tornado hit Belvidere High School in Illinois. The storm hit while high school students were boarding sixteen buses already containing elementary school students. Twelve of the buses were overturned or thrown. One bus driver and 12 students were killed after being "tossed like leaves" into adjacent fields. Students and teachers used school doors and plywood from nearby houses as stretchers for the injured students, of which there were 300. In nearby Harvard, a school bus was ripped in half and thrown into power lines as the driver and 20 students hid in a ditch.
The Enterprise tornado was an EF-3--Enhanced Fujita Scale 3--with winds of 136-165 mph. Radar imagery of the Enterprise storm (Figure 1) shows a classic hook echo characteristic of a strong or violent tornado. The Doppler radar winds (Figure 2) shows the classic signature of a strong tornado--blue colors right next to red colors, indicating winds moving towards and away from the radar in a tightly rotating storm. I've also saved a radar animation of the tornado as it passed over Enterprise.
Figure 1. Radar reflectivity image of the Enterprise, AL tornado ten minutes before it hit.
Figure 2. Doppler winds image of the Enterprise, AL tornado ten minutes before it hit.
A confirmed EF-3 tornado hit Howell County, Missouri, killing 7-year old girl and injuring four people at 6:33am Thursday. This tornado had a 15 mile long path up to 1/4 mile wide.
Preliminary reports indicate that at least 15 tornadoes hit Georgia last night, killing eight and injuring many more. Americus, Georgia, where two people died, was particularly hard hit. The twister struck a hospital, destroying its fleet of ambulances and forcing closure of the hospital. I've also saved a radar animation of this storm.
Here is a sampling of all the NWS damage reports from suspected tornadoes for Georgia as of 8am EST today (Friday):
03/01/2007 0922 PM
Americus, Sumter County.
*** 2 fatal *** possible tornado. Significant damage to
homes and the hospital. Numerous trees and power lines
down. Gema confirmed two fatalities.
03/01/2007 0810 PM
4 miles ENE of Warrenton, Warren County.
*** 3 inj *** possible tornado. Numerous homes damaged
with a few injuries. Significant damage to Briarwood
Academy on Highway 278.
03/01/2007 0820 PM
Thomson, McDuffie County.
Possible tornado. Houses damaged...along with trees and
power lines down near the intersection of GA 150 and
Dallas drive. Structural damage near the intersection of
GA 150 and Old Washington Road. Numerous trees down near
the National Guard Armory.
6 miles S of Gray, Jones County.
Possible tornado. Numberous trees and power lines down
along Highway 49.
03/01/2007 0535 PM
Potterville, Taylor County.
*** 1 fatal *** possible tornado damaged unkn number of
homes and buildings and downed numerous trees and power
lines on bear Road. Rolled a Mobile home. One fatality.
03/01/2007 0550 PM
4 miles NW of Macon, Bibb County.
Possible tornado has knocked over traffic lights...power
poles and business signs. A gas station was damaged near
Zebulon Road near Interstate 475.
03/01/2007 1045 PM
12 miles SE of Irwinton, Wilkinson County.
Tornado reported by the public. Law enforcement has
confirmed at least one home damaged near Nickelsville.
03/01/2007 0630 PM
2 miles N of Columbus, Muscogee County.
Several commercial buildings with structural damage in
2400 block of Brookstone Parkway. Windows blown out...
large AC units tossed aside...porch poles missing...
power poles twisted and down...and trees down across
parked cars.
03/01/2007 0855 PM
Weston, Webster County.
Possible tornado. Tractor trailer was overturned on
Highway 520.
03/01/2007 0230 PM
5 miles N of Fort Gaines, Clay County.
Apparent tornado approximately 5 miles north of Fort
Gaines, GA. Numerous trees down and homes damaged.
03/02/2007 1218 am
3 miles S of Isabella, Worth County.
Numerous trees down. Just north of Bridgeboro 2 houses
were destroyed. Significant damage has been reported off
Sumner Lakes Road. Only minor injuries reported but
information remains in the preliminary stages. One 18
wheeler jackknifed in the median of U.S. Hwy 19.
03/02/2007 0100 am
3 miles NNE of Tempy, Worth County.
*** 1 inj *** home leveled.
03/01/2007 1150 PM
11 miles N of Mitchell Co A, Baker County.
Mobile homes damaged just north of Newton in Baker
County. Estimated time of tornado touchdown is 1150 PM
EST. Report of 6 fatalities at the Mobile Home Park is
now confirmed from GEMA as of 730 am EST...March 2.
03/02/2007 1204 am
2 miles NE of Baconton, Mitchell County.
Tornado on the ground in Baker County moved into Mitchell
County at 1204 am EST. This tornado stayed on the ground
across the northern portion of the county for 7 miles
until crossing into Worth County. 13 structures were
damaged in the Baconton and Pleasant Grove communities.
No injuries or fatalities reported.
Thursday's wild weather made it the second busiest day ever for the wunderground.com web site. The 17 million web pages we served from our public site was second only to the 18 million served during Hurricane Rita on September 23, 2005.
Jeff Masters
Reader Comments
Page: 1 | 2 | 3 — Blog Index
La Nina is coming into effect earlier than forecasted.
TC George is forecast to move in to very hot waters (32C +) one it clears a part of Australia. For more info on the storm and the warning associated with the TC come to my blog or HadesGodWyverns.
Caffinehog, always glad when you share your informed viewpoint.
There's only one point in your comments I take issue with. (BTW I took college Chemistry and Physics as an engineering major.)
When water warms up, it holds less of ANY gas.
Well, when water warms up, it holds less of ANY gas when saturated. I don't believe the oceans are saturated with CO2 now. I believe the oceans continue take up CO2 from the atmosphere and are becoming increasingly acidic.
However if/when the time comes when the oceans are saturated the nasty positive feedback you describe will kick in. There may even be positive feedback before then due to the loss of sea life from increased acidity.
Yes, you're right about the saturation point, but there's also an equalibrium to take into account. When a gas in the atmosphere is at equalibrium with a gas dissolved in water, warming the water shifts the equalibrium so more goes into the air. Therefore, the warmer the water, the more CO2 is in the air, even if the oceans are NOT saturated.
I should have been more precise.
This should scare the crap out of you if you truly believe in human-induced global warming.
If you're not sure about it, then it should definately make you think.
This, among other positive feedback loops, such as the thawing of frozen carbon deposits and the albedo effect of northern ice, makes me think. Basically, I believe that if we truly ARE seeing the signs of global warming, that means it's probably already too late.
A little bit of what it says, TROPICAL CYCLONE GEORGE has reformed close to the north Kimberley coast and is
expected to move into the Indian Ocean during this morning.
That was from the BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY, DARWIN
Come to my blog to read the full warning
Thanks also for the additional info on carbonic acid and the exponential release curve on CO2.
Yeah I definitely have an uneasy feeling about the gathering momentum of the positive feedbacks working against us. I'm hoping (in a cross my fingers way) some currently unforseen negative feedbacks might buy us a little more time.
In the meantime however I'm taking all the reasonable positive steps I can. Energy efficient appliances, thrifty use of petroleum fueled transport, etc. and saving money doing it.
The choice of animals & plants for moving CO2 -fast.. Working & Lurking HI
CB, carbonic anhydrase will NOT shift the equalibrium towards carbonic acid. Enzymes only speed up reactions, they do NOT shift equalibriums!
Two easy, affordable, money saving, environmentally things anyone can do is:
Install compact fluorescent bulbs. They cost 3-4X as much as a normal lightbulb, but last at least that many times as long, and us 1/4 of the electricity.
Another thing, get rechargeable batteries. Use them twice, and you've put less waste materials and carbon into the environment. Use them 4-5 times, and you've saved money. And some modern rechargeable batteries, specifically Hybrio and Eneloop brand batteries, don't go dead on their own like the old rechargeables used to. Plus, they'll last WAY longer than alkalines in anything that would use up their power in less than a day.
Additionally, modern batteries don't contain cadmium or have memory effect like the old nicads, so they're much more environmentally safe.
Just make sure you get a smart charger to maximize the life of the rechargeables.
True, that.
I'll check out the Hybrio and Eneloop. They'd be suitable for emergency kit batteries and with luck powerful enough for the remaining 5% of my devices too.
You can slow the drain of unused NiMH batteries by storing them in the fridge.
Also, be aware that leaving NiMH batteries uncharged for several months can kill them, as can leaving them in a flashlight that's left on long after they are drained. Eneloop and hybrio are more immune to the former, though.
And again, I emphasize a SMART charger, otherwise you'll take years off the life of your batteries, and could kill them during a single overcharge.
===================================
Tropical Cyclone George [CAT 1]
14.5šS 125.7šE - 45 knots 982 hPa
wind gusts up to 65 knots
Tropical Cyclone George [Category 1] is located 115 km north of Kuri Bay and 210 km west of Kalumburu, and moving west at 8 knots.
Tropical Cyclone George [Category 1] is moving off the Kimberley coast out into the Indian Ocean. The system is expected to intensify overnight as it moves westwards away from the Kimberley coast.
Gales with gusts up to 60 knots are being experienced on the coast between Kalumburu and Kuri Bay however they are expected to ease as system moves further away from the coast this evening. Gales may extend southwest to Beagle Bay for a period overnight if the cyclone gale radius increases or the cyclone takes a more southwesterly track.
Heavy rain is being experienced in the north Kimberley and may cause flooding of low lying areas..
Tropical Cyclone Watches and Warnings
=========================================
A CYCLONE WARNING continues for coastal areas from Beagle Bay to Kalumburu.
buy a $10 folding clothes rack instead of using the dryer.
In the summer, a dryer pumps air-conditioned air outside and adds waste heat to the house. In the winter, a dryer pumps hot air outside while a rack re-hydrates the house.
A rack is simple, quick and eliminates the need for ironing time on everything except church/ office quality clothes. Plus it folds away beside the dryer easily.
Viewing: 101 - 117
Page: 1 | 2 | 3 — Blog Index