Tornado Watch 2011

reply to post by TrueAmerican


I live here in NW Atlanta, GA suburbs and have gotten use to tornado's blowing through. While we keep the local weather on, both my wife and I have gotten good at seeing hook-echo's on the online radars. We called a potential tornado about 5 minutes before they issued the warning and bugged out to our basement.

Good site for photos of the damage in Ringgold, GA, near Chattanooga, TN: Ringgold, GA Tornado Photos.

Bad thing about Ringgold, it happened later in the evening than Tuscaloosa.

Couple of other videos, bad language in the first:





Videos of Ringgold tornado:

I grew up in this area. I lived near here, went to high school near here, and used to run with my dog in Black Creek park which is within shouting distance of the subdivision in the picture.

This is beyond words to me. I have lots of family and friends that are still in this and the surrounding areas. I spoke to my sister today and she said that everyone and their families is ok thank God.

When we were watching the weather channel last night I knew this was going to be catastrophic because of the early death tolls. In Birmingham, the tv channels stay on air if there is any tornado. Usually, this prevents many deaths because people have good fore-warning of exactly where the tornadoes are, almost down to the name of the street. People get to safety, even in their own basements. It appears that this was the type of tornado where the ONLY place you are safe is underground in a tornado shelter...not your basement. This is absolutely devastating. I wish I was there to help.

Some tornadoes may appear as just a single wedge funnel, but inside it can be multiple vortexes. It is theorized that this is why some houses can get flattened and another right next door remain intact- almost untouched. Here is video of a multiple vortex tornado in which the vortexes rise and fall from the cloud at random:



So the only defense if you are close and outside with no access to news is to recognize when the cloud structure is dark, low and dangerous. A funnel can drop down unexpectedly and very fast.

I am awestruck at the sheer power and ferocity of these tornadoes. We hear about this type of weather from time to time in Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, and Texas. However, very rarely have we seen so many category 5 tornadoes hitting at once and across a wide area. This situation is one for the record books. I can recall one such instance of tornado of similar impact and devastation in my neck of the woods. It was the Plainfield, IL Tornado, and killed some 29 people. It was unnoticeable to spotters and even forecasters.The conditions were ripe for a tornado, but they didn't want to issue to many warnings. It was a rain wrapped tornado. This storm even shocked Dr. Ted Fujita and father of the Fujita devastation scale.

The Plainfield tornado, 20 years later

Fujita--a meticulous researcher who measured every word he spoke---told me, without the slightest hesitation, that he was certain the Plainfield twister was the worst August tornado he had ever seen over his decades of study ANYWHERE in the U.S. And that wasn't all. He was quick to add that it was his initial impression it may well have been among the most devastating twisters he had seen at ANY time of the year and ANYWHERE in all of his years of work across the country. What clearly amazed him, beyond the storm's shear strength, were characteristics of the storm's damaging capability. I remember him recounting seeing corn plants which had been sheared off by the force of the storm's winds at the ground and of seeing asphalt stripped from road surfaces.

This things can happen anywhere and at any time. Technology is better than it was then to pinpoint dangerous weather patterns, but still judging by the scope and devastating of the recent storm systems hitting the South; we still have so much more to learn. People will be talking about these disasters for years to come. Furthermore, it is not just tornadoes, but there is severe flooding taking place in those regions as well. I am shocked by the casualty figures and the widespread devastation. Hopefully, this is the end of it for the rest of the season? With spring being so young and the summer upon us, chances are this is only a precursor of what it is to come? Thoughts with the people affected by these disasters, and godspeed to the rescue and recovery efforts. Thanks for the coverage!

OMG. You guys have got to see this. For the first time I think this shows the SCALE of the utter devastation of these tornadoes near Tuscaloosa. If the high death reports seem unfounded or confusing because no video really showed it, these videos will finally make it sink in. It is footage from the air of the damage. And it just keeps going. And going. And.... My GOD!



and



Whoa. I mean that's almost as bad as a nuclear warhead without the heat and radiation. I am still trying to process this.


Also, from Alabama FEMA office on casualties:

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE ALABAMA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, April 28, 2011, 8pm 
Number of weather related fatalities climbs
Clanton – The Alabama Emergency Management Agency has confirmed 204 fatalities in Alabama
from the tornadoes and severe weather yesterday.  The fatalities are as follows (listed by county): 
• Marshall-5 
• DeKalb-32 
• Cullman-2 
• Jefferson-14 
• Bibb-1 
• Calhoun-9 
• Elmore-5 
• Fayette-4 
• Franklin27 
• Hale-4 
• Jackson-8 
• Lawrence-14 
• Limestone-3 
• Madison-7 
• Marion-3 
• St. Clair-13 
• Tallapoose-3 
• Tuscaloosa-36 

1.usa.gov...

reply to post by TrueAmerican


Wow...just unbelievable. My brother is a lineman and he & his crew are now working in Tuscaloosa

So this is nothing in comparison, but I think it just adds to the extreme wierd weather we are having.

This is video from just a few miles from my house in Skagit County up in the NW part of Washington State. Severe storm cell passed by (skirted my house), producing 1 inch sized hail and a funnel cloud. VERY rare for this area!




Storm cell as seen from my house

The videos and images are almost surreal. So many lives lost, disrupted and misplaced. I do
hope help is getting into this area and that missing people are being found. I feel as if this
is just the beginning - keeping a watch on the weather hoping we don't get another system
such as the last - it seems to be one after the other this season.

My GOD, how many miles did this track?!?!? They say 'millions of dollars' in damages?!? Try Billions...

It looks like on Ax Men, the way some of the trees were laid down. Hope they recover that timber, it can help rebuild their homes with it... be a waste to let it rot. (I was shocked to see that train bridge destroyed!!).

This could be the straw that collapses the economy--along with gas prices.. just like the great depression, the '1-2 punch'.. the second part was the worst. If oil hits $120 a barrel and stays there for just 1 month, that's it folks. That will be the end of the 'economy'..

Starting to believe in '2012 stuff' when I see this, and the tragedy in Japan, New Zealand, S. America... And I don't believe in that stuff.

I fear its only going to get worse. IMO, by looking at models, and historical data, we could have a very deadly Hurricane season.

This may be reaching, but with those massive 9.0 quakes (Japan, and the 2004 event), it changed the speed of the rotation of the planet by a few 0.xxx microseconds. I wonder... could this effect the weather? I doubt such tiny change would, but we don't know.

Originally posted by TrueAmerican

Last time I saw trees felled that way was after the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980....
That was for SURE, an EF5 at times. 200+mph.

Why isn't this the main topic on this site? Everyone's worried about Obamas birth cert.? Since we supported other countries during disasters, who is going to help all those Tornado victims here in the U.S.? Anybody? Any country out there, want to lend us a helping hand?...To be continued.

Originally posted by KonquestAbySS
Why isn't this the main topic on this site? Everyone's worried about Obamas birth cert.? Since we supported other countries during disasters, who is going to help all those Tornado victims here in the U.S.? Anybody? Any country out there, want to lend us a helping hand?...To be continued.

Well hey, we just made some new friends down in Libya...Ask them. Or maybe the people of Iraq. Or Afghanistan. Or hey, maybe they could ask Chavez- he's got plenty of oil. If you ask Mexico, maybe they'll send us some more bullets. Or how about Castro? Think he'd help? Then of course there is always Putin. Yeah, right. Haven't tapped Taiwan for much lately, there's a thought. Of course they blew their wad already on weapons from US. My my, it seems we are running out of friends. And of course asking Israel would be just downright absurd. China? HA.

Originally posted by TrueAmerican

Originally posted by KonquestAbySS
Why isn't this the main topic on this site? Everyone's worried about Obamas birth cert.? Since we supported other countries during disasters, who is going to help all those Tornado victims here in the U.S.? Anybody? Any country out there, want to lend us a helping hand?...To be continued.

Well hey, we just made some new friends down in Libya...Ask them. Or maybe the people of Iraq. Or Afghanistan. Or hey, maybe they could ask Chavez- he's got plenty of oil. If you ask Mexico, maybe they'll send us some more bullets. Or how about Castro? Think he'd help? Then of course there is always Putin. Yeah, right. Haven't tapped Taiwan for much lately, there's a thought. Of course they blew their wad already on weapons from US. My my, it seems we are running out of friends. And of course asking Israel would be just downright absurd. China? HA.

When did I say anything about countries whom we have beef with? You just misinterpreted this subject...

www2.wspa.com...

This is in the extreme North East corner of Georgia.

My son was at his father's house Wednesday night, which is only about 2 miles away from where the twister hit Lake Burton.
My step-daughter was at her mother's house, located within the impact zone.

Due to power outages, cell towers being destroyed, and roads closed for several miles, communication in the area was extremely difficult.

It took me about 2 hours to get through to my son this morning. He and his father's family are safe, and report no damage, despite seeing golf ball sized hail.
It was 3 in the afternoon before we managed to receive word that my step-daughter was safe. The damage around the lake surrounds their home, and they were somehow spared any damage.

There is very little being reported about this area on any news source. Even the local news stations are only mentioning that they were hit.

With the number of homeless in the hundreds of thousands, if not even millions, across the south, and the thousands of people effected by the deaths of the nearly 300 dead, today I count my blessings. This is the worst tornado outbreak I have ever lived to see. North Georgia is a common area for tornadoes, but never have we seen 14 come out of one storm like this.

My family and ALL of my loved ones are safe, and were able to sleep in their own beds, within their own homes last night. For that I know we have been blessed to have been spared from this tragedy.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those who have not been so fortunate.

Yesterday will be forever etched into my memory as one of the scariest days of my life.

I have not seen this video until today, this is the same storm system that caused tornadoes in AL/GA.... this one is in Mississippi:

reply to post by KonquestAbySS


My thoughts exactly! The reason this is not headlining on ATS.... the majority would rather be drawn into an arguement about who is right and wrong than go beyond our differences and to the place inside where we are all one people, where empathy and compassion are found.

reply to post by 1curious1


Hello ATS. Just wanted to check in as my last post was prior to the destruction. As I left my house this morning driving to Tennessee, I saw such comlete devastation. I received no damage miraculously. Although, there are almost no houses in my subdivision that didn't have some form of damage. What I suspect to be an F-3 or F-4 Tornado went a few miles north of my home around 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. which followed an earlier hit of straight line wind damage around Noon. The Church I attend was hit, the pharmacy and grocery store I visited the day before, gone... Pile of metal and wood. The high school my son will graduate from in a few weeks was just missed. The worst part is there are so many areas that have been flattened. A friend of a friend pulled the bodies of his mom, grandmother, and cousins out of houses and personally took them to a funeral home in a neighboring town. So much loss of life and secondly, property.

Thanks to reading ATS, I was semi-prepared. I stopped and filled up the gas tanks prior to the storm, I have a small stockpile of canned foods, I had a full propane tank. But I can't help but think of all the survival threads where I thought to myself, I am really NOT prepared. Someone said our public schools would not be in operation shortly. And this is true here. (albiet for a short time, I hope!) I would never have guessed that all of North Alabama would be without power, but it is. I understand there is severe damage to our South in Birminham and Tuscaloosa, AL as well. My thoughts are with them as they being the daunting task of clean up.

I'm showering and charging equipment in TN then heading home before the curfew goes into effect. Supposed to have 1,000 National Guard troops patrolling our streets tonight. Definitely don't want to get home late! Hope my other fellow ATS'ers are okay. Will be glad when power is restored and life returns to normal.

My neice just brought me a piece of a picture of a little girl from the "BobCats". Yellow shirt, with purple writing on front. Who knows what part of the area this came from. (Again, I'm in Tennessee approximately 40 miles from my home.) Sorry, I'm rambling so. My mind has been on overdrive for a few days. I have pictures and video on my camera and Video Camera I would love to share, but I have no way to upload them at this time.

Anyways... I'm shutting this slow dial up down. Can't wait for the warm shower I'm about to get in.

Going to borrow a chain saw and head home to volunteer. Kudo's to our weather people, as they had this one forecasted dead on. It was one tornado warning after another the entire day. It was insane truly.

P.S... I'm sure you all know the above information, but as this dial up is so slow, I didn't take the 30 mins needed to read other posts...

reply to post by 1curious1


Glad you are okay, that was quite a storm.

What has happened is just horrible and just TO much to process.....To much happening all over the world and its hard to take it ALL in.

I hope this does not contribute to the USA economy collapse...Its already bad...

I had no idea this thread was here.

I run a weather station and am with a meteorology / chase group and I posted this warning the morning before the outbreak started. I posted this in current breaking news.

ATS Link

I was concerned about southern-eastern ATS members. I guess I posted in the wrong place.