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Storms
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Floods in Tehran
Floods in Tehran
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An unusual spring storm in the Texas Panhandle Wednesday afternoon dumped two to four feet of hail near Dumas.
An unusual spring storm in the Texas Panhandle Wednesday afternoon dumped two to four feet of hail near Dumas.
Video | News | Weather | SportsThu Apr 12 06:10:35 PDT 2012
Photos: Spring hailstorm pelts Texas Panhandle
An unusual spring storm in the Texas Panhandle Wednesday afternoon dumped two to four feet of hail near Dumas. view full article
An unusual spring storm in the Texas Panhandle Wednesday afternoon dumped two to four feet of hail near Dumas.
Trucks were reported sliding off the road on Highway 287 as a result of the unexpected weather phenomenon. Snow plows were being used to clear the roads.
Some vehicles were trapped in the drifts of hailstones.
Chief Meteorologist Pete Delkus said a tornado watch was in effect for the Panhandle region through 10 p.m. Wednesday, and the storms were moving very slowly between Pampa and Dumas north of Amarillo and to the east of Dalhart.
Melting hail and heavy rain triggered flash flooding in the Panhandle.
- Twister hits northwest town of Woodward, Roscoe Hill, where sirens were 'not working'
- Two children are among the dead amid fears that death toll could rise
- More than 120 tornadoes reported
- Storm Prediction Center calls outbreak a potentially 'high-end, life-threatening event'
- Heavy winds have already destroyed 75 per cent of Thurman, Iowa
- Tornado ripped through hospital in Creston, Iowa
- Large hail damaged homes and vehicles in and around Petersburg, Nebraska
- Other tornados touched down in southwest Kansas, Oklahoma
- Tornadoes predicted to get worse as authorities issue 24-hour high-risk warning for the second time in history
© Reuters
Twister: Hundreds of tornadoes tore through the midwest including this one making its way over the 135 freeway near Moundridge, Kansas
Twister: Hundreds of tornadoes tore through the midwest including this one making its way over the 135 freeway near Moundridge, Kansas
© Gene Blevins/Reuters
A severe thunder storm supercell moves above the ground near the small town of Stratton, Nebraska April 12, 2012. Forecasters are warning of a possible major tornado outbreak in the Midwest this weekend.
A severe thunder storm supercell moves above the ground near the small town of Stratton, Nebraska April 12, 2012. Forecasters are warning of a possible major tornado outbreak in the Midwest this weekend.
While officials warned a large area spanning from Minnesota to Texas could be at risk during the weekend, emergency workers focused their attention overnight on central Oklahoma, where they said funnel clouds had been spotted though they couldn't immediately confirm if any had touched down. The area includes the small town of Piedmont, where a twister last May killed several people, including two young boys, authorities said.
"They're probably feeling like they're going through that all over again," Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said Saturday.
The worst conditions were projected for late Saturday afternoon between Oklahoma City and Salina, Kan., but other areas also could see severe storms with baseball-sized hail and winds of up to 70 mph, forecasters said. The warning issued Friday covers parts of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.
Oklahoma City - US weather forecasters issued an unusually strong tornado warning for Saturday, saying conditions are ripe for an outbreak in the heart of the country that could be a "high-end, life threatening event."
It was only the second time in U.S. history that the Storm Prediction Center issued a high-risk warning more than 24 hours in advance, said Russ Schneider, director of the center, which is part of the National Weather Service. The first time was in April 2006, when nearly 100 tornadoes tore across the southeastern U.S., killing a dozen people and damaging more than 1,000 homes.
Storms were already kicking off in Oklahoma, where a twister whizzed by the nation's tornado forecasting headquarters but caused little damage.
The strongly worded message came after the National Weather Service announced last month that it would start using terms like "mass devastation," ''unsurvivable" and "catastrophic" in warnings in an effort to get more people to pay attention. It said it would test the new warnings in Kansas and Missouri before deciding whether to expand them to other parts of the country.
Friday's warning, despite the strong language, was not part of that effort but just the most accurate way to describe what was expected, a weather service spokeswoman said.
It's possible to issue earlier warnings because improvements in storm modeling and technology are letting forecasters predict storms earlier and with greater confidence, said Chris Vaccaro, a spokesman for the National Weather Service.
In the past, people often have had only minutes of warning when a siren went off.
"We're quite sure tomorrow will be a very busy and dangerous day in terms of large tornadoes in parts of the central and southern plains," Vaccaro said. "The ingredients are coming together."
The worst weather is expected to develop late Saturday afternoon in Oklahoma and Kansas, but other areas also could see severe storms, forecasters said. The warning issued Friday covers parts of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.
The weather service confirmed a tornado touched down about 4 p.m. Friday near the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, where it is based. Non-essential personnel at the storm center and students were ordered to take shelter, officials said.
Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said there were no reports of serious injuries.
"This is just a fraction of what's to come tomorrow," Vaccaro warned.
Norman Regional Hospital and an affiliate treated 19 people for mainly "bumps and bruises," and one patient remained hospitalized in fair condition late Friday, hospital spokeswoman Kelly Wells said.
It was only the second time in U.S. history that the Storm Prediction Center issued a high-risk warning more than 24 hours in advance, said Russ Schneider, director of the center, which is part of the National Weather Service. The first time was in April 2006, when nearly 100 tornadoes tore across the southeastern U.S., killing a dozen people and damaging more than 1,000 homes.
Storms were already kicking off in Oklahoma, where a twister whizzed by the nation's tornado forecasting headquarters but caused little damage.
The strongly worded message came after the National Weather Service announced last month that it would start using terms like "mass devastation," ''unsurvivable" and "catastrophic" in warnings in an effort to get more people to pay attention. It said it would test the new warnings in Kansas and Missouri before deciding whether to expand them to other parts of the country.
Friday's warning, despite the strong language, was not part of that effort but just the most accurate way to describe what was expected, a weather service spokeswoman said.
It's possible to issue earlier warnings because improvements in storm modeling and technology are letting forecasters predict storms earlier and with greater confidence, said Chris Vaccaro, a spokesman for the National Weather Service.
In the past, people often have had only minutes of warning when a siren went off.
"We're quite sure tomorrow will be a very busy and dangerous day in terms of large tornadoes in parts of the central and southern plains," Vaccaro said. "The ingredients are coming together."
The worst weather is expected to develop late Saturday afternoon in Oklahoma and Kansas, but other areas also could see severe storms, forecasters said. The warning issued Friday covers parts of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.
The weather service confirmed a tornado touched down about 4 p.m. Friday near the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, where it is based. Non-essential personnel at the storm center and students were ordered to take shelter, officials said.
Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said there were no reports of serious injuries.
"This is just a fraction of what's to come tomorrow," Vaccaro warned.
Norman Regional Hospital and an affiliate treated 19 people for mainly "bumps and bruises," and one patient remained hospitalized in fair condition late Friday, hospital spokeswoman Kelly Wells said.
- Thunderstorms, lightning and hail predicted for parts of Britain
- Snow forecast across Midlands, North and Scotland this week
- Another two weeks of wet weather for the rest of the country
Unsettled: Forecasters say there is a chance of funnel clouds forming over the next few days which can turn into tornadoes when they touch the ground, like this one in Coventry in 2005
Much-needed rain is set to fall across the whole country today, but could develop into thunderstorms, lightning and hail in some parts.
Cold winds passing over hot air rising from the ground is causing the unsettled weather that is going to last until after the weekend.
Snow has returned to County Durham and forecasts predict many northern areas of the UK will have more from today
© Michael Raphael/FEMA
Tornado damage in Henryville, Ind., after a tornado swept through the small community on March 2, 2012.
Tornado damage in Henryville, Ind., after a tornado swept through the small community on March 2, 2012.
From March 2 through the early hours of March 3, 132 tornadoes were reported across nine states. Although those numbers are preliminary, and will undoubtedly decrease once overlapping reports are eliminated, their aftermath was devastating, causing more than $1.5 billion in damage and killing 40 people.
The storms killed four people in Ohio, but they took the greatest toll in Indiana, killing 13, and Kentucky, where 23 people died.
The costly disaster follows on the heels of a record-breaking year for devastation wrought by the vagaries of the weather and longer-term climate conditions. Last year, the United States experienced 14 separate events that caused $1 billion or more in damage. Five of those events were tornado outbreaks.
© Buenos Aires Herald
Estimates of the damage caused suggested a figure of several million pesos’ worth.
Estimates of the damage caused suggested a figure of several million pesos’ worth.
Intense rain and hail storms caused death and destruction throughout the country and mainly in the Buenos Aires province and Capital area. Over 500 people had to be evacuated. Estimates of the damage caused suggested a figure of several million pesos' worth.
According to officials, four people died in Buenos Aires City. One person was killed when a wall collapsed, while three others were perished after a roof collapsed in Villa 21 shantytown. The ten victims died in the province: four in Moreno, one in Quilmes, one in Florencio Varela, one in Isidro Casanova, one in Gonnet, one in Flores and another in Avellaneda.
Most of the victims were crushed by toppled walls, fallen roofs or blown trees.
Victim number fifteen was confirmed this morning at Villa Soldati neibourhood. Bertilio Alarcón worked for the gendarmerie when his station was hit and dragged by the strong winds.
"It wasn't like a freight train like everybody says it is," said Gilroy, who rounded up dozens to safety at Green Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. "It sounded like a bomb hit. And we hit the floor, and everybody was praying. It was shocking."
A destructive reminder of a young tornado season Wednesday left thousands without power and hundreds of homes pummeled or worse Wednesday, after the National Weather Service said as many as a dozen twisters touched down in a wrecking-ball swath of violent weather that stretched across Dallas and Fort Worth. Despite the intensity of the slow-moving storms, as of late Tuesday no fatalities or serious injuries had been reported, though there were several less serious injuries.
The exact number of tornadoes Tuesday wasn't expected to be known until surveyors fanned across North Texas, looking for clues among the debris that blanketed yards and rooftops peeled off slats.
The Red Cross put a preliminary estimate of damaged homes at 650. In the southern Dallas suburb of Lancaster, where damage was especially widespread, around 150 people remained in a shelter Tuesday night.
