Storms
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Cloud Lightning

US: Storms kill at least 77 in South, head to East Coast

William M. Welch & Doyle Rice
USA Today
Thu, 28 Apr 2011 01:50 UTC
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© Dusty Compton, The Tuscaloosa News, via APA car is overturned and buildings are destroyed Wednesday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
A vicious series of tornadoes and powerful storms lashed the South on Wednesday, killing at least 77 people in the region and leaving behind a trail of massive damage.

At least 61 people were killed in Alabama alone. At least 16 more died in neighboring states - 11 in Mississippi, four in Georgia and one in Tennessee.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox said 15 died in his city, home to the main campus of the University of Alabama. He said sections of Tuscaloosa were destroyed and its infrastructure decimated. An additional 11 people were killed in Jefferson County surrounding Birmingham.

One twister battered the university campus in Tuscaloosa, severely damaging buildings nearby. The university turned a student center into an emergency shelter for students displaced from off-campus housing, and at least 100 people were treated at a hospital emergency room.

The university canceled classes for today and suspended normal operations on campus. TV news video showed flattened homes in the city.
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Nuke

US: Storms knock out TVA nuclear units and power lines

Eileen O'Grady
Reuters
Wed, 27 Apr 2011 22:38 UTC
tornado
© AP
Houston - Severe storms and tornadoes moving through the U.S. Southeast dealt a severe blow to the Tennessee Valley Authority on Wednesday, causing three nuclear reactors in Alabama to shut and knocking out 11 high-voltage power lines, the utility and regulators said.

Governors in Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee each declared a state of emergency as more than 20 deaths were blamed on a recurring round of severe storms this week moving eastward across the southern United States.

All three units at TVA's 3,274-megawatt Browns Ferry nuclear plant in Alabama tripped about 5:30 EDT (2230 GMT) after losing outside power to the plant, a spokesman for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.
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Bizarro Earth

US: Tornadoes Rock Alabama and Georgia, One of the Largest Tornado Outbreaks In History


The Intel Hub
Wed, 27 Apr 2011 22:04 UTC
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A FOX 5 viewer posted this photo of a tornado over Tuscaloosa on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 on our Facebook page
Devastating tornadoes have rocked the south

Update: 7:52pm pst: Associated Press report moves death toll to at least 64.

Photos from Fox Atlanta document the devastation. Search and Rescue taking place in Ringgold after tornado strikes.

Update: 7:41pm pst: 130 tornadoes and counting!

Update: 7:31pm pacific: A new Associated Press report has confirmed that at least 54 people are dead. My Fox Atlanta is also reporting that a government building is gone.
Tuscaloosa, Ala. - The mayor of an Alabama city hit hard by a tornado says at least 15 people have died there, bringing the death toll from severe weather to 54 around the South.

In all, 40 people died in Wednesday's storms in Alabama.
Update: Cullman County Alabama has been devastated. This now being labeled one of the largest tornado outbreaks in American history. At 31 people have died.

The Weather Channel is reporting that mass fatality trailers are being brought to Alabama. Massive devastation with debris falling up to a 100 miles away.

Mass Causalities units have been requested in Catoosa County Georgia where a State of Emergency has been declared. A report on the Weather Channel indicates that a 3 story building has been destroyed in Georgia.
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Cloud Lightning

US: Massive Mile Wide Tornado Tuscaloosa, Alabama 4-27-11

Crimson Tide Productions
Vimeo
Wed, 27 Apr 2011 21:39 UTC
tuscaloosa tornado
© Don Kausler Jr./Tuscaloosa BureauThe enormous tornado that hit Tuscaloosa Wednesday afternoon.
A massive tornado judged to be almost a mile wide struck Tuscaloosa late Wednesday afternoon. ABC 33/40 meteorologist James Spann says the storm has caused "major, major damage" in some areas of the city and Mayor Walt Maddox told The Weather Channel that parts of the city were "obliterated."

A Tuscaloosa resident going by Clay Hasenfuss on Twitter posted this dramatic video of the tornado dwarfing Bryant-Denny Stadium.

"I'm in my car at corner on McFarland. Milo's Hamburgers isn't there anymore," said Tuscaloosa resident Phil Owen. "Hobby Lobby only thing still standing at Woods Square Shopping Center. Big Lots, Full Moon Barbecue. Piles of garbage where those places were. Shell gas station across the street, all that's standing is the frame of the store."
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Cloud Lightning

US: Mile Wide Wedge Tornado Going Through Downtown Birmingham Alabama

TeaParty2012
YouTube
Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:55 UTC
Spotters reporting EF4-EF5 type damage, so you may be looking at entire neighborhoods completely destroyed and some lives lost. If people took their precautions, they should survive but will have injuries. A tornado of this size and strength will destroy everything in its path.

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Cloud Lightning

US: More severe storms to hit North Georgia Wednesday night

Mike Morris
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:35 UTC
storm damage
© John Spink, jspink@ajc.comPower crews were out dealing with numerous outages caused by downed trees and power lines like this one at Marietta Road and Spring Avenue in Atlanta that hampered truck traffic trying to make deliveries to nearby businesses.
A new round of severe weather is expected to hit north Georgia Wednesday night after storms left a trail of widespread damage in northwest Georgia and killed five people in Alabama.

The National Weather Service says the next storm system should begin to approach the northwest Georgia border around 6 p.m.

Extensive wind damage was reported in Floyd, Gordon, Haralson and Dade counties, including damage on the campuses of Berry College and Shorter University near Rome.
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No Entry

US: Rain-swollen rivers threaten Midwest, force evacuation in Missouri town


The Boston Globe
Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:00 UTC
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© Richard Rasmussen/The Sentinel-Record/Associated PressA resident of Garland County, Ark., looked for his cellphone yesterday in the remains of his home after a tornado hit the area.
A powerful storm system that spawned a deadly tornado in Arkansas caused rivers to swell yesterday across the Midwest, straining levees that protect thousands of homes and forcing panicked residents of one town to flee for higher ground.

Six inches of rain fell Monday in the southeastern Missouri community of Poplar Bluff, bringing the four-day total to 15 inches. The deluge caused the Black River to pour over a levee in 30 places and to break through in one spot, and about 1,000 homes were evacuated. Deputy Police Chief Jeff Rolland said it was a "miracle'' that the levee held until late morning.

The levee extends from Poplar Bluff to the town of Qulan downstream, in a sparsely populated area. Butler County Sheriff Mark Dodd said water pouring through a breach between the two towns was unlikely to make it far enough upstream to threaten Poplar Bluff, a town of 17,000 residents south of St. Louis.

Flooding in 2008 damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes in Poplar Bluff, raising questions about whether the levee was capable of protecting the town during times of heavy rainfall.
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Cloud Lightning

US: 2 Dead in Arkansas, Missouri. Residents Flee Flooding

Jeremy Hubbard
ABC News
Tue, 26 Apr 2011 19:51 UTC
Tornado Dallas
© ABC NewsDark storm and funnel clouds form over Dallas, Texas on April 25, 2011
At least two people have been killed in Arkansas during the recent round of heavy storms and tornadoes that ripped through the midwest while Missouri residents flee from flooding, authorities said.

Arkansas authorities told the Associated Press the two people were killed following the severe storms that passed through the state.

In Missouri's Poplar Bluff, residents evacuated amid fears of the flooding, the Associated Press reported.

Water began to leak and overflow the levee holding back the Black River, officials said.

Tornadoes were forming over Dallas late Monday afternoon, as the weather there turned ominous, threatened by a storm system that has brought 200 reports of severe weather across the country over the last 24 hours.
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Cloud Lightning

U.S.: Extremely Dangerous Tornado Situation Today

Kristina Pydynowski
AccuWeather
Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:03 UTC
An extremely dangerous outbreak of tornadoes will endanger many lives and property from northeastern Texas into Arkansas, northern Louisiana, northwestern Mississippi and western Tennessee this afternoon into tonight.

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These are the same areas that were just hit by tornadoes Monday afternoon and night, and today's outbreak is expected to be worse than Monday's. Large, long-track tornadoes are a major concern through tonight.

"It's a very dangerous day," said AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Henry Margusity. "It's the kind of day where tornadoes could cause massive destruction."

The Little Rock, Ark., area is at risk again after multiple tornadoes, including one large twister, just tore through Monday night.

Thunderstorms were starting to initiate over northeastern Texas and southwestern Arkansas around mid-afternoon and will continue developing and becoming more widespread and powerful into this evening.

The thunderstorms and tornado danger will reach the western Tennessee Valley by tonight, before shifting farther east through the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys Wednesday into Wednesday night.
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Attention

'The town's gone': Seven dead as storm slams Arkansas


msnbc.com
Tue, 26 Apr 2011 10:06 UTC
50 to 60 still unaccounted for in Vilonia; trail of destruction 15 miles long, three miles wide


The National Weather Service says first light has revealed the track of a deadly tornado that flattened trees and power lines, tore the roofs from homes and left a debris-strewn path through a small central Arkansas town.

The tornado that swiped Vilonia late Monday killed at least four residents, while the severe storms sweeping much of the Midwest left at least three people dead elsewhere in the state.

Emergency crews are preparing to search for dozens of people still missing early Tuesday before more forecast storms strike the area in the afternoon.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe declared a state of emergency Monday night. So far this month, 14 people have died in storm-related incidents in the state.

Get the latest on this story, including user photos, on breakingnews.com

The suspected tornado that hit Vilonia left a path of damage three miles wide and 15 miles long, officials said. Between 50 to 80 houses were destroyed, according to Faulkner County emergency management.
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