© National Weather Service Forecast OfficeThis image, courtesy of the National Weather Service Forecast Office in San Diego, Calif., shows tornado reports April 14-16, 2011 as of 12:00 p.m. EDT Sunday April 17, 2011.
From Thursday, April 14, 2011 to Saturday, April, 16, 2011, devastating tornadoes rampaged across communities of the southern United States. Cities and towns from Oklahoma to North Carolina were assaulted by the deadly twisters.
The tornado outbreak led to a total of 241 tornado reports in 14 states over the three-day period. This will likely rank this tornado outbreak among the largest in history.Tragically, the death toll has risen to 39 people so far with dozens of others injured. The number of fatalities could rise as investigations continue. This tornado outbreak already ranks as the most deadly outbreak since the 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak.
In North Carolina alone, close to two dozen people were killed on Saturday, while seven people were killed in Alabama on Friday.
One of the reasons for the deadly outcome of this tornado outbreak is likely due to the highly populated areas of the nation that were hit. The weather pattern can explain why these highly populates areas were struck.