For those of you who haven't heard, several deadly tornadoes struck along the Gulf Coast yesterday:

03.01.2007 Storm Reports

A lot of damage being reported and unfortunately, several fatalities have been confirmed with tornadoes in Alabama and Georgia. Storms in Missouri also caused a death there and damage is widespread over the southeast in the wake of the storms.

Thus far, it appears that Enterprise, Alabama was the hardest hit as a particularly large, violent tornado struck the downtown area. The high school was also struck and I've heard up to 8 deaths may have occured in the school alone. A hospital in Georgia was also struck late last evening and this further proves that tornadoes can hit anywhere and anything.

A very sad and tragic day indeed across these areas. If anyone is willing to donate to the Coffee County Red Cross (the local chapter), donations are being accepted on their web-site here:

http://www.coffeecountyredcross.org/

My prayers and thoughts go out to everyone affected by the storms...


This is a view of the storm as it entered the Enterprise area. Note the pendant hook echo indicating the tornado, as well as, the debris bulb near the tip of the hook. Amazing storm, but sad that it has caused so much death and destruction.

Sunday, March 12th certainly was a day for "march madness..." Selection Sunday was yesterday. It's the college basketball fan's favorite day of the year - a day when college teams celebrate, console, and cry over who makes it to the "big dance..." But, this year, this great day for sports fans was overshadowed by something no one could ever expect. Something that no one could control...

The largest and likely, one of the most destructive severe weather outbreaks struck the Midwest, the Missouri Valley, and parts of the South Sunday, resulting in widespread damage. Unfortunately, 2 fatalites were reported in Missouri Sunday evening as twisters ripped across the landscape there... and more than 20 injuries have been associated to other tornadoes that struck communities in 4 states.

For more information on the deadly outbreak that struck Sunday, head on over to my Weather Blog. I have provided more details there.

Here, on the other hand, I have to express my excitement to see Indiana in the NCAA tournament this year. They've missed out the past couple of years, so it's about time for the Hoosiers to make a little noise. Even though they lost to Ohio State in the Big 10 Tournament Semi-Finals, Saturday, they have still won 5 out of their last 6 games - and Marco Killingsworth, along with a few other Hoosiers' has been playing well of late. While I don't think they'll quite make the Elite Eight, they definitely have an opportunity to, at least, make it into the Sweet 16... Which is something they haven't done since their run in 2002 when they reached the National Title game against Maryland. Even though, I figured they would make it into the pool of 65 teams, I was still surprised to learn of their #6 seed. With an 18-11 record, is a #6 appropriate? I guess, when you look at several of their losses, they were close ones - and were to teams they played tough. The game with Duke early in the season, for instance... the Hoosiers made that a game, and Marco Killingsworth simply dominated his showdown with Sheldon Williams, lighting it up for 36 points. And their game with Connecticut; where the Hoosiers came back in the second half and made UCONN scrap for that win... The #6 seed may not be appropriate given the record, but I think it's deserved for the way they've played tough teams this year. They really slumped in Big Ten play, but finishing the conference season with 5 straight wins can certainly garner some attention from the selection committee. And... it seemed to have worked!

The Hoosiers will face their first-round opponent, 11th seeded San Diego State, at 9:40pm EST Thursday night in Salt Lake City in the Oakland Regional. Go Hoosiers!

Edit: 03.14.2006 at 10:35pm CST

God, I love people's continued misperception of what the difference is between a tornado and a funnel cloud... This just in from the CNN article provided in my previous post:

"Funnel clouds were also sighted in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky, but it was unclear how many remained aloft or touched the ground."

Hrmmm... Let me spell this out for everyone right now. Funnel clouds DO NOT touch the ground... tornadoes DO. It's one of the easiest fundamentals to understand in science... and is a very distiguishable difference.

How many funnel clouds remained aloft? I'd guess all of them... *Sigh...

Tornado and Severe Thunderstorm warnings continue to be issued at a rapid rate this evening. A potent low-pressure system, now centered near Chicago, IL and it's associated warm and cold fronts have been responsible for much of the severe weather today. Temperatures well above average and dewpoints in the 50's and 60's added fuel and instability to the atmosphere this afternoon, as well as helicities (a measurement of horizontal "spin" in the atmosphere) sufficient for tornadoes, have been hovering over southern and central parts of Illinois and Indiana all day, as well as parts of the Missouri Valley.

To keep up on current warnings:
http://kamala.cod.edu/svr/

I'm working on archiving some imagery and text and if you would like to view what I have so far, you may access this in my Event Archives.

For more information on today's incredible outbreak, please visit the following links:

» WISH-TV Indianapolis CBS Affiliate
» WFIE Evansville NBC Affiliate
» CNN -- or -- FoxNews

Unfortunately, it appears that one person was killed and 8 injured in Benton, KY. NWS officials are expected to be on-site tomorrow to determine if damage was indeed from a tornado. A tornado warning was valid at the time, however no confirmation has been set as of this writing. I currently have no fatality or injury reports from elsewhere as of now. However, I'll post numbers as I get them.

My thoughts and prayers go out to those affected to today's severe weather.

(Edit: 7:42pm CST)

A major severe weather outbreak early this afternoon is continuing over much of the Missouri and Ohio Valleys. Many tornadoes have been reported across the region, with many of these in my native Indiana:



I've been able to save many radar and satellite images and loops from this afternoon and will upload these to the Event Archive on my web-site when my shift is over at 6:00 PM CST.

I haven't had a lot of time today, since I've been busy at work to stay on top of everything, but from the reports I've seen, there has been damage reported across parts of Southern Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee from not only tornadoes, but also high winds and large hail.

I'll write more later, when I have more time...

(Edit: 11:17 AM CST on 16 NOV 2005)

Well, folks this will be my last post concerning the devastating tornado that struck the Evansville area early Sunday morning (NOV 6). I just wanted to let you all know that as of Tuesday afternoon, Vanderburgh officials had announced that all those in the Eastbrook Mobile Home Park had been accounted for. Fortunately, no other victims were found amid the rubble.

Looking back at this, even though 23 deaths were attributed to this tornado, making it the deadliest tornado since 1998, it truly could have been much worse. I understand that could be nearly an impossible concept to those that lost property and/or loved ones... however, had this tornado struck just a few miles to the north, it would have moved right through downtown Evansville - a much more populated area than the area that was affected. Many more deaths would have likely occurred, had that happened.

In addition, I also wanted to thank those of you who have supported the blog. While no comments were shared, I've been monitoring the traffic on the site here and I can see many, many of you have been following the story. And really, that's enough for me to keep posting updates.

Thanks again! And once again, my thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by this event...

Hi folks,

I'm at work, so this will be a quick post. Just wanted to let you all know I've posted some archived data, including a radar loop from early Sunday morning. The loop extends from 1:17 AM CST (0717z) to 4:03 AM CST (1003z).

I have posted links to the products and to the loop on my Event Archives page.

National Weather Service officials have completed their damage assessment from Sunday morning's deadly and devastating tornado. You can access the full report here:

Public Information Statement (4:35 CST Monday, November 7, 2005)

NWS officials from the Paducah Office have also posted a post-mortem (including the damage assessment, a map showing the track of the tornado, as well as a select number of damage photos) on the event on their web-site:

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/pah/

The final death toll has been set at 23 with injuries numbering near 260 persons. Please join me in sending prayers and condolences to those that have lost loved ones and/or property in this disaster.

Any donations can be sent to the Southwestern Indiana Chapter of the Red Cross here:
http://www.evansvilleredcross.org

Unconfirmed reports continue to increase the death toll from this morning's tornado across Vanderburgh and Warrick Counties. The number has now increased to 23, however please keep in mind this is unconfirmed and that it is subject to change.

Some names from the confirmed dead have been released from the Vanderburgh County Coronor's Office. Out of respect, I will not list them here, however if you are looking for those that have been released, you can get them here: http://www.wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=4080798

WFIE (the NBC Evansville affiliate) has excellent coverage and has posted an extensive photo gallery as well.

Also, not that it really matters, but the death count has now risen to 22 in Vanderburgh and Warrick counties - with many of them occuring within the Eastbrook Mobile Home Park located on the southeastern edge of Evansville proper. Approximately 200 injuries have also been reported throughout the area.

Hey folks,

I had a friend of mine sent me some SRM (storm-relative motion) radar imagery he had from early this morning. Figured I would upload it here so that you can view it. You can clearly see where the tornadic circulation is and it's location relative to Evansville and Newburgh.


Time: 0758z (1:58 AM EST)


Time: 0804z (2:04 AM EST)

Well, folks I've got a heavy heart this morning after learning of the devestating tornado that hit near Evansville, IN. A strong and evidently, large tornado touched down south of Evansville around 2:00am EST, moving quickly northeast into Vanderburgh and Warrick counties in far southern Indiana. Many reports that have trickled in early this morning have reported multiple fatalities and many injuries. Numbers are sketchy right now, but unconfirmed reports have the death count at 15 with near 160 injuries, all reported in Indiana. Damage is extensive and from what I've seen pictured on TV, may exceed F-2 damage assessments, possibly reaching as high as F-4 if reports are confirmed. Many homes have reportedly been leveled near Newburgh, IN just east of Evansville. I'll update details as I get them, but for a more complete story see: MS-NBC or CNN.

Other details:

» Paducah, KY NWS Office
» Local Storm Reports

Storm Reports Graphics:

» SPC Reports
» StormReportMap.com