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Topic: TORNADO ALERTS! (Read 322 times)

MzWings
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TORNADO ALERTS!
« on: May 4^th, 2003, 5:03pm »

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I'm seeing all sorts of severe weather issued in the center of the nation. Rhune - you look like you're in the middle of it right now! Shocked

Are you ok?

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Rhune
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Re: TORNADO ALERTS!
« Reply #1 on: May 4^th, 2003, 7:06pm »

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Doing just fine.

Usually that kinda stuff hits all around us, but passes right by us. We've had some major rain and hail, but other than that we're ok. Right now where I'm at, it's humid as hell, but very sunny.

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east
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Re: TORNADO ALERTS!
« Reply #2 on: May 4^th, 2003, 11:33pm »

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phew...i am glad that you are okay and hope that no one else is adversely affected either.

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Rhune
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Re: TORNADO ALERTS!
« Reply #3 on: May 5^th, 2003, 8:38am »

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At least 37 feared dead in tornadoes
Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Tennessee hardest hit
Monday, May 5, 2003 Posted: 9:04 AM EDT (1304 GMT)

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (CNN) -- Residents and authorities were assessing damage Monday from a deadly swarm of tornadoes that ripped through eastern Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Tennessee, killing at least 37 people, emergency management officials said.

Officials said seven people died in Kansas, about 20 in Missouri and at least 10 in Tennessee. Other people thought to be in the storm's path were reported missing. No deaths were reported in Arkansas.

Lawrence County, Missouri, appeared to be the hardest hit with an estimated 12 fatalities and extensive damage, according to Sheriff Doug Seneker. The tornado cut across the southeastern corner of the county Sunday at 6:25 p.m. CDT (7:25 p.m. EDT) and stayed on the ground half an hour, passing through the heart of Pierce City.

"Our downtown area was pretty much leveled," said Shelly Yonker, a Pierce City, Missouri, utilities clerk. "It was a beautiful little town."

Two of the county's fatalities were at the National Guard Armory in Pierce City, where people had gone to seek shelter, Yonker said. Several people remain missing. A police officer said the downtown area was "wiped out."

From Kansas and Missouri, the line of storms moved east through Arkansas and into Tennessee, leaving a swath of destruction, deaths and injuries. "This is all one big storm system," said Rich Thompson, a lead forecaster with the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma.

Thompson said the storms were caused by dry air from the Rocky Mountains hitting moist air from the Gulf of Mexico.

"There have been multiple supercell thunderstorms coming off of that, and may have been producing tornadoes," Thompson said.

The storm was likely to churn up more dangerous weather on Monday, experts said.

"No tornado warnings are currently issued for the storm," said CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers. "But there are still four tornado watches stretching from northern Mississippi east to northern Alabama and northern Georgia." Tornado watches are issued by the National Weather Service when conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms.

Weather Service officials will not know the category of the storms until they do a site survey, said Ryan Jewell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. "But just unofficially, views of the storm damage appear to be in the range of F3 or higher," he said, referring to the scientific Fujita scale that measures tornado strength.

F3 tornadoes have winds of between 158 and 206 miles per hour and are capable of severe damage, with roofs and some walls torn off well-constructed houses, and most trees uprooted. F5 is the highest on the scale. (Fujita scale)

Missouri
Much of the storm damage appeared to be across the Kansas state line in Missouri, where severe storm damage was reported in 16 counties, according to Jim Charrier with the Missouri Emergency Management Agency.

In Barton County -- on the state line -- a man died when a tornado destroyed his house, said Deputy John Simpson of the Barton County Sheriff's Office. At least 15 homes were destroyed in Barton, he said.

From there, the tornado ran through the counties of Cedar, Polk, Dallas and Camden, according to officials with the sheriff's departments in those counties.

The Missouri Emergency Management Agency said local officials reported two deaths in Christian County and two deaths in Cedar County.

In Greene County, one person was killed in Battlefield, just southwest of Springfield, said Joye McEllwee with the Springfield-Greene County Emergency Management Office. According to McEllwee, up to 400 homes were destroyed or damaged there.

Dallas County's emergency management director said the northern part of his county bore the brunt of it, with 10 people injured and several homes destroyed. "We've got power lines down, a couple of propane tanks punctured, so we've got propane leaking into the area," said director Terry Lane. "All the major roads [into Dallas County] are blocked by debris and power lines and cars on their roofs."

The courthouse in Stockton, the county seat of Cedar County, sustained major damage and all communication to the town was cut, said Jim Wakeman, operations chief of the state emergency management agency. He said Missouri Gov. Bob Holden would probably fly over Stockton on Monday to survey the damage. A fire station in Battlefield, just south of Springfield, was destroyed, Wakeman said.

In Polk County, sheriff's dispatcher Bevin Arnett described "extensive" damage in two towns, Humansville and Dunnegan. "We have had trees in the road, power lines down, houses in the road, a bunch of rescues and injuries," she said.

Two people were killed in Jasper County, said Lt. Gail Bass of the sheriff's department. They were an elderly couple who were in their home when the tornado destroyed the house, Bass said. The couple lived just outside Carl Junction, a town of about 5,000 that was hit hard, he said. "It looks like most of the homes are at least substantially damaged or destroyed, and there appears to be quite a bit of damage outside the city of Carl Junction, out in the county," Bass said. An electrical substation in Carl Junction was destroyed, he said, cutting power to the town.

Kansas
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius declared a state of emergency for southeastern Kansas, where the storm caused major damage in the counties of Lawrence, Crawford and Cherokee.

An 81-year-old man was killed in Wyandotte County when he was struck in the head by debris, said Don Denney, a spokesman with the unified government of Wyandotte County-Kansas City, Kansas.

Another 21 people were injured in the city and county, he said, but "it's a miracle" that the toll wasn't higher. "We've sustained significant damage in the northwest section of our city," Denney said. "Dozens and dozens of homes have been leveled and scores of others have been significantly damaged."

Micky Davis, director of emergency management for Wyandotte, said one shelter has already been opened. "We're still doing search and rescue and trying to open up the highways for emergency vehicles," Davis said.

In Crawford County, three people were killed in the towns of Girard and Franklin, with at least 25 homes either destroyed or damaged, said Col. Joy Moser, spokeswoman for the Kansas Emergency Management Agency. A "large part" of the town of Franklin was destroyed, a dispatcher said, and power lines were down "all over the county." Moser said three people also were killed in Cherokee County, Kansas.

Pat Atkins, with the Leavenworth County Emergency Management Office, said nine homes were destroyed, eight had major damage and 30 suffered some damage. Two people were injured. According to Atkins, most of the storm damage occurred between the towns of Linwood and Basehor. Damage assessment teams are scheduled to go out in the morning. Paul Backs, also with the emergency office, said the twister "tore up barns, grain silos, ripped up a lot of trees."

Tennessee
The storm also rumbled into western Tennessee, where tornadoes damaged houses, trailers and buildings. At least 10 people died when a tornado slammed into the Madison County law enforcement center, according to Tennessee Emergency Management spokesman Kurt Pickering.

Tornado damage to buildings and homes was also reported in Obion and Weakly counties in western Tennessee, Pickering said. An earlier report of a death in Dyer County, proved to be erroneous, he said, although tornado damage to buildings there was reported.

Arkansas
A tornado cut through the northeast part of the state, damaging homes and buildings. One serious injury was reported, officials in the area said.

In Woodruff County, the storm caused "a lot of structural damage," but the full extent of damage is not yet known, according to the Woodruff County Sheriff's Department.

According to the Arkansas Emergency Management Agency, 10 to 15 houses were destroyed between the towns of Patterson and McCrory in Woodruff County. A fire station in McCrory was also reportedly destroyed, the EMA said.

One serious injury from a tornado was reported in the White County town of El Paso, about 25 miles north of Little Rock, according to Arkansas Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Jennifer Gordon.

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