Storms
S

Bizarro Earth

US: Historic Tornado Outbreak: 3 Days, 241 Tornadoes, 14 States

Meghan Evans
AccuWeather
Sun, 17 Apr 2011 12:50 UTC
Tornadoes
© 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.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

US: At least 25 dead in 6 states after storm's rampage

Tom Breen and Mike Baker
Associated Press
Sat, 16 Apr 2011 16:57 UTC
Mississippi storm
© Associated PressThe remains of a wooden swing dangles in a tornado damaged neighborhood of Clinton, Mississippi, Friday, April 15, 2011. The state was hit by a line of severe storms that spawned at least one tornado causing extensive damage and multiple injuries.
A furious storm system that kicked up tornadoes, flash floods and hail as big as softballs has claimed at least 25 lives on a rampage that began in Oklahoma days ago, then smashed across several Southern states as it reached a new and deadly pitch in North Carolina and Virginia.

Emergency crews searched for victims in hard-hit swaths of North Carolina, where 62 tornadoes were reported from the worst spring storm in two decades to hit the state. At least a half dozen people died just in the Carolinas and Virginia and authorities warned the toll was likely to rise further Sunday as searchers probed shattered homes and businesses.

Authorities said at least five people were killed in North Carolina and at least three more in neighboring Virginia during the storm's passage Saturday before the sprawling, potent storm bands moved eastward over the Atlantic.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

India: Rain worries wheat growers in Punjab, Haryana


Daily News & Analysis
Sat, 16 Apr 2011 16:10 UTC
As wheat harvesting picks up in Punjab and Haryana, recent rain and windy weather has left farmers in the states worried.

Hailstorm lashed Jalandhar yesterday, while Amritsar, Phagwara, Nawanshahr and Balachaur received showers, which was accompanied by strong winds. Showers also lashed isolated places in Haryana, while windy weather prevailed in Chandigarh.

The Meteorological Department has forecast light to moderate rains or thunder showers are likely to occur in parts of Punjab and Haryana over the next two days.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

100 twisters spotted U.S. storms kill more than 40


CNN
Sun, 17 Apr 2011 14:56 UTC
Powerful storms that have ripped across the Southeast killed more than 40 people over the past three days, according to the National Weather Service and reports from several states.


A CNN meteorologist called the storms' impact on North Carolina "epic."

Among the worst hit areas was Bertie County, North Carolina, a rural area in the northeast part of the state. The weather service reported 14 deaths in the county. Zee Lamb, county manager, said there were 11 fatalities.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

US: Red River Crests at Grand Forks; Snow Falls


Reuters
Fri, 15 Apr 2011 18:56 UTC
Grand Forks
© Reuters / Eric ThayerA roadside sign is seen with its base submerged near Great Bend, North Dakota April 12, 2011. The Red River was spreading out in a record swath across broad stretches of rural North Dakota and Minnesota on Tuesday and swelling toward a near-record crest in Grand Forks expected within three days.
The swollen Red River crested at the third highest level on record at Grand Forks, and flood conditions were complicated by forecasts for snow and freezing temperatures, forecasters said on Friday.

The Red River reached a preliminary crest at 49.87 feet on Thursday at Grand Forks and continues to spread out across regions north of the city, reaching eight miles wide or more at Oslo, Minnesota, which has become an island amid the swells, the National Weather Service said on Friday.

The Red River forms the North Dakota-Minnesota border, flowing north into Canada. A tributary system stretching from southern Canada and South Dakota feeds into the main Red River as it reaches toward Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba.

"We will be dealing with flood issues throughout April and well into May," said Greg Gust, a U.S. National Weather Service warning coordination meteorologist. "It will be a long time before we push the last of the flood waters across the Canadian border."

At just under 50 feet, the Red River crest at Grand Forks was the third highest on record and three of four bridges are expected to stay closed at least well into next week.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Tornadoes, Storms Kill 19 in United States


United Press International
Sat, 16 Apr 2011 18:12 UTC
Image
© WRALRaleigh, N.C. was hit by a tornado that caused substantial damage.
Two days of violent weather and tornadoes killed 19 people and left others homeless as storms ripped across the southern United States, officials said.

The National Weather Service said more than 100 twisters were spotted through the region, CNN reported.

North Carolina was hit by severe storms Saturday afternoon with Wilmington's WWAY-TV reporting two people were killed in Bladen County. The TV station said law enforcement confirmed one person was dead in Ammon and a civilian report by amateur radio said one person was killed in a car wreck due to wind on state Highway 242 between Elizabethtown and Bladenboro.

The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., reported the city was hit by a tornado that caused substantial damage. The newspaper said the storm system downed power lines, toppled trees and damaged buildings in the Triangle region.

A Progress Energy spokesman said at least 70,000 customers were without power.

"It's really bad," Raleigh Fire Department Lt. Adam Stanley said.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

US: Storms Cause Flooding On Way East

Steve Lyttle
The Charlotte Observer
Sat, 16 Apr 2011 00:00 UTC
Image
© WCNC.com PhotoPolice in Boone report the parking lot at the Boone Mall, next to Kraut Creek, is flooded.
The immediate Charlotte area is in the clear for severe weather, but big problems were expected this afternoon to the east, where meteorologists are predicting the possibility of a major tornado outbreak.

Earlier Saturday, rescue crews worked in Caldwell County to help campers trapped by flood waters this morning.

A line of gusty thunderstorms raced through Charlotte at midday, and the storms intensified as they moved east.

Authorities in Rowan County report trees and power lines down, and there are reports that strong winds damaged several houses in the Farrington Meadows area along Old Mocksville Road, north of Salisbury. A funnel cloud was spotted in Davie County, but there is no report of a tornado touching down.

A tornado warning was issued for parts of Union, Anson and Stanly counties after the storms moved east of Charlotte, but there are no immediate reports of damage.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

US: Death Toll From Severe Storms Rises to 17

Phillip Rawls
Associated Press
Sat, 16 Apr 2011 11:40 UTC
Image
© AP Photo/Sue OgrockiA vehicle rests on a tree after an overnight tornado in Tushka, Okla., Friday, April 15, 2011.
Boone's Chapel, Alabama - Vicious storms and howling winds smacked the Deep South, killing at least seven people in Alabama including three family members whose homes were tossed into nearby woods.

In Alabama's Washington County, about 50 miles north of Mobile, a mother and her two children were among those killed, said state emergency management agency director Art Faulkner. One person was reported dead in Mississippi's Greene County.

Combined with earlier reported fatalities in Arkansas and Oklahoma, the confirmed death toll had risen to 17 by early Saturday - the nation's deadliest storm of the season.

Henley Hollon said Saturday that his 65-year-old brother, Willard Hollon, lived across the street from him in the Boone's Chapel community about 25 miles from Montgomery. Henley Hollon said Willard Hollon and Willard's two adult children, Steve and Cheryl, were killed when the storms roared through.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

US: 7 killed as storms roar across Alabama; death toll from tornadoes, winds now at 16

Phillip Rawls
The Associated Press
Sat, 16 Apr 2011 10:07 UTC
Image
© The Associated Press/The Clarioni-Ledger, Brian Albert BroomVehicles sit destroyed by wind and debris, Friday, April 15, 2011 in Clinton, Miss. A state of emergency has been declared for 14 Mississippi counties after spring storms swept across the state, spawning suspected tornadoes that left many homes and businesses destroyed and at least three people critically injured.
Vicious storms and howling winds smacked the U.S. South, killing at least seven people in Alabama including three family members whose homes were tossed into nearby woods.

In Alabama's Washington County, about 50 miles (80 kilometres) north of Mobile, a mother and her two children were among those killed, said state emergency management agency director Art Faulkner.

Combined with earlier reported fatalities in Arkansas and Oklahoma, the confirmed death toll had risen to 16 by early Saturday - the nation's deadliest storm of the season.

Henley Hollon said Saturday that his 65-year-old brother, Willard Hollon, lived across the street from him in the Boone's Chapel community about 25 miles (40 kilometres) from Montgomery. Henley Hollon said Willard Hollon and Willard's two adult children, Steve and Cheryl, were killed when the storms roared through.

Henley Hollon said he had been watching the weather forecast on television - and thought the worst was over when the winds started to pick up.

"It got up real fast. The lights went out," he said. "We had to feel our way into the hall. It lasted less than a minute."
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

US: Tornadoes, storms across South kill at least 10

Suzi Parker
Reuters
Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:36 UTC
Image
© EPAStudents look at what is left of their school after the tornado hit the town of Tushka, Oklahoma
Violent storms ripped across the southern U.S. overnight and Friday, killing at least 10 people including three children, and cutting a path of destruction through Little Rock, Ark. and Jackson, Miss., authorities said.

Six of the seven fatalities in Arkansas were caused when uprooted trees smashed into houses, National Weather Service meteorologist John Robinson said.

The trees were falling through houses, Robinson said, adding that he could not recall a time in recent memory when so many fatalities occurred because of fallen trees in Arkansas.

In Oklahoma, two elderly sisters were killed when a tornado hit the double-wide mobile home they occupied, according to school board President Bennie Evans.

Among the dead in Arkansas Friday were two boys, ages 6 and 7, and an 18-month-old girl. The seven-year-old and his mother were killed after a tree fell on their house in Little Rock.

"All I heard was a boom boom," said a neighbor, Jennifer McShane, while surveying the destruction.
Read More...