Topic: Tornado Alley 2009 - Tornado season across the Mid-West has begun

[Colin Maitland]

The headlines from Accu weather as they appeared.

High Risk: 50 Tornado Warnings In One Hour!

UPDATE 11 PM: 38 tornado reports today, the biggest outbreak in nearly a year (I think - more stats tomorrow). Check the StormMatrix below for details.    ( http://www.accuweather.com/mt-news-blogs.asp?blog=weathermatrix&partner=accuweather&pgUrl=/mtweb/content/weathermatrix/archives/2009/04/severe_weather_outbreak_stats_comparison.asp)

AccuWeather has a reported 71 tornadoes for 09 & 10 of April storm system while NOAA has it reported at 72 (30 for 09/04/09 & 42for the 10/04/09)
5 people died in the tornadoes over the 2 days as Harley Pearman referred to in his posts.


The QLD Sunday Mail stated,

At least eight people died, dozens injured and hundreds of homes and business destroyed as storms, winds and wildfires raged from Texas to Tennessee.

As a family member and I were discussing regarding the storms, this is still the early part of the US storm season, what are they in for this storm season? 
 

[Colin Maitland]

South Central USA appears to have had a bit of a reprieve from the severe storms that have savaged them over the last few days. NOAA has only the one reported tornado for SAT/ SUN the 11th & 12 th of April 2009.

You can see from the posted NOAA sat image ( April 10th 2009 12.15 pm) the strong low pressure system over the Mississippi valley that caused the severe storms.

A list of the tornadoes and their EF ratings can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_tornadoes_in_2009

Col

   

[Colin Maitland]

Of the many tornadoes over the easter weekend in the US, the Murfreesboro tornado has been recorded by the National Weather Service in Nashville, Tennessee, as the most powerful at an EF4.

The tornado itself travelled for 37.42 KM or 23.25 miles. It claimed the lives of 2 people.

According to the "Good Friday Tornado Outbreak- 04/10/09 Damage Surveys" report by the National Weather Service in Nashville,

It was the 28th tornado to hit Rutherford County since the National Weather Service began keeping records in 1950 and the first killer tornado to hit the county during that period.

[nzstorm]

This photo of a tornado over water in Alabama a few days back looks cool.

 Fwd: Picture Of Tornado April 10th.

[Harley Pearman]

Tornadoes and severe thunderstorms hit western Texas 16/4/2009

Viewing the Storm Prediction Centre 16/4/2009, parts of Western Texas from Midland - Odessa region north to Lubbock and Plainview region have been hit by severe thunderstorms. There have been:-

- 11 Tornado reports.
- 57 Hail reports.

to date from the event. The plot below from the National Weather Service is provided from:-

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/today.html

There are several tornado reports from Crosby, Swisher, Howard, Hale, Kent, Lubbock, Dickens and King Counties (Texas). These areas are in close proximity to the city of Lubbock and Plainview. In particular:-

2045 - 2 North Kress in Swisher County Texas - A tornado was reported on the ground near the intersection of Z and 16.

2330 - 1 West Ralls in Crosby County Texas - A tornado was reported on Co Road 131 between Lorenzo and Ralls. This is approximately 24 miles east of Lubbock.

2345 - 2 west south west Ralls County Crosby Texas - A brief touchdown was reported. This is approximately 26 miles east of Lubbock.

0221 - 10 North Shallowater in Hale County Texas - A tornado of approximately 4 south of the community of County line was reported.

Of the hail reports, the most significant were Reports at 2345 and 0230 being:-

2345 - 5 Miles North Waco MCLennan County Texas in which golfball hail fell 5 miles north of Waco Airport.
0230 - Forestburg in Montague County Texas in which golf ball size hail was observed covering the ground.

The majority of hail reports range from penny size to quarter size hail.

Having a look at the Lubbock News "Lubbock on Line" following the thunderstorms, the following news storey is available "Severe storms spawn hail, tornado threats" 17/4/09 by Joshua Hall:-

http://lubbockonline.com/stories/041709/loc_430106586.shtml

Some photos of the storms are also available. Included in this:-

- Lubbock was hit by a storm producing quarter size hail in some areas and in Tulia, snowploughs had to be called in to clear roads following a large hail fall on Interstate 27.

- Rotating storm clouds were observed across Lubbock during the event.

- A tornado was reported near Abernathy.

- A few people were struck by hailstones and required medical attention.

- The storm caused some flooding.

- There was flash flooding in Tulia following 3.66 inches of rain.

- The most serious storms occurred around Lubbock, Post, Plainview and east to Crosbyton.

Severe thunderstorms including rotating storms were also observed near Midland (Texas). A good summary of these plus the warnings issued is found in a local news article at "Severe Storms Return to West Texas 4/16/09" at:-

http://www.cbs7.com/news/details.asp?ID=11885

In particular, a tornado was observed near Fairview at 9.10 pm.

The National Weather Service issued Tornado Watch 157 to cover these storms which was valid from 445 PM to 1200 AM CDT. The alert was issued for:-

- Tornadoes.
- Hail to 3 inches in diameter.
- Thunderstorm wind gusts to 70 miles per hour.
- Dangerous lightning.

The Tornado Watch Box covered towns and cities including Plainview, San Angelo and Lubbock.

In addition "A Tornado Warning" was issued at 9.43 pm CDT for Dickens and Tent Counties Texas by the National Weather Service. Specific to a storm 4 miles south east of Spur, a thunderstorm was detected at the time that was capable of producing a tornado. A second storm was detected showing very strong rotation with a tornado likely 10 miles south east of Clairemont at the time. Affected towns by this one included Spur, Girrard, Afton and Dickens.

The latest Storm report plot for the event is provided below from the National Weather Service but it may change due to the number of storms that occurred.

Harley Pearman

[Harley Pearman]

Tornadoes and storms across Kansas 18 April 2009

Viewing the Storm Prediction Centre (National Weather Service) and Accuweather, it is apparent that another round of severe weather and tornadoes have struck two USA states being Texas and Kansas. In particular there are:-

- 8 Tornado reports.
- 50 Hail reports.
- 14 wind reports.

This is shown in the plot below:-

However when viewing this, some of the tornado reports may in fact be from the one storm system or one or two tornadoes spawned by the same storm that have tracked across a reasonable distance of country across south west Kansas. Some of the reports are from an area from just north of a town called Ingalls to east of Kalvesta. The nearest large town to Ingalls is Garden City some 26 miles to the north west on Highway 50/400. The Counties referred to are Gray and Finney.

In particular:-

1758 - 5 Miles NE of Ingalls in Gray County Kansas, a tornado was observed on the ground.
1832 - 9 Miles north of Cimmaron in Gray County Kansas, a spotter reported a tornado on the ground.
1910 - 1 Mile SE of Kalvesta in Finney County Kansas - 2 tornadoes were observed close to town.
1915 - 2 miles east of Kalvesta in Finney County, a tornado was observed.

Damage has been reported mainly to rural properties. However when viewed on a map, reports were made across some 20 miles or 32 km of countryside in Gray and Finney Counties (Kansas) from a SW to NE direction. If it is one tornado, then it would have crossed Route 23 as well. It appears to be a significant storm that went through this area.

I have not been able to find anything about this storm in the local news from Garden City or Dodge City Kansas however I found this story on Accuweather "Damaging Thunderstorms Threatening Southern Plains" 4/18/2009 at http://www.accuweather.com/regional-news-story.asp?region=southusnews concerning thunderstorms in this area.

The plot for 18/4/2009 is from the National Weather Service (Storm Prediction Centre) at:-

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/090418_rpts.html  JD Edited changing today link to permanent date link

Harley Pearman

[Harley Pearman]

Tornadoes / Storms and Hail hit 3 US States 19/4/2009

The same weather system that brought tornadoes and hail storms over the past few days to Texas and Oklahoma entered the south east of the country 19/4/2009. A total of three US states were hit being Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. In particular there were:-

- 9 tornado reports.
- 26 hail reports.
- 19 wind reports.

However, there have been 2 fatalities and 1 known injury from the weather event. The most serious storms and tornadoes are:-

2255 - 5 miles west of Newbern in Hale County Alabama, a tornado was reported on the ground near Cedarville.
2300 - 2 miles NE of Newbern in Perry County Alabama, significant damage to 2 barns, 1 home damaged and hundreds of trees down north of County Road 16 along Highway 25 in Whitsitt.
2325 - 2 miles north of Marion in Perry County Alabama - numerous trees down along County Road 7, 48, 24 and Highway 5. Minor roof damage to 2 homes on Highway 5, 2 miles north of Marion.

This is possibly 3 reports of the same tornado at different times. It appears that this is one tornado that has tracked across at least 20 miles or 32 km of countryside narrowly missing towns and coming close to Newbern and Marion along the way.

0002 - At Alabaster in Shelby County Alabama, a tornado was observed near a shopping centre at Exit Number 238 off Interstate 65. Alabaster is located some 26 miles south of the city of Birmingham off Interstate 65.

0350 - Columbus in Muscogee County Georgia. Several buildings damaged near Macon Road and Preston Drive. Trees and powerlines are down. Columbus is a city of some 190,000 that straddles the states boundary with Alabama. This city has taken a hit but the tornado affected area appears to be east of 185.

Looking at the hail reports the most significant ones that stand out are:-

2213 at Red Bay in Franklin County Alabama - Golf ball to baseball hail occurred in downtown Red Bay. Red Bay is located in north west Alabama on Route 24 and Russellville is the nearest major town/city.

Large hail was also reported at Hamilton in Marion County and 2 inch size hail fell 3 miles east of Baldwyn in Lee County Mississippi. Golf ball size hail fell at Blair and Nettleton both in Lee county (Reports 2114 and 2130) Mississippi.

Golf ball size hail was also observed 8 Miles south of Holly Springs in Marshall County Mississippi (2018) off Highway 7 and Hartselle in Morgan County Alabama (2352).

There have been 2 fatalities with one in Priceville (Morgan County) Alabama from a possible tornado strike and the other, 4 miles north of Hustleville in Marshall County Alabama. This may also be from a tornado striking a mobile home. Another is critically injured.

The National Weather Service had issued Tornado Watch 176 for south central Calhoun, southern Cleburne, north eastern Talladega, northern Randolph and north east Clay Counties 1007 pm CDT Sun April 19 2009. At 1005 pm CDT Doppler radar indicated a tornado located near Mount Cheaha or 6 miles south west of Oxford moving east at 40 miles per hour (64 km/h). The tornado watch remained in effect until 100 AM CDT Monday morning for Eastern Alabama.

The SPC Storm plot for 19 April 2009 is provided below from the Storm Prediction Centre.
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/090419_rpts.html  JD Edited changing today link to permanent date link

A summary of the tornadoes and thunderstorms for 19/4/2009 can be found at Accuweather "Severe Weather Igniting Across the South" 19/4/09 at:-

http://www.accuweather.com/regional-news-story.asp?partner=accuweather&traveller=0&region=southusnews&date=2009-04-19_20:05


Harley Pearman

[nzstorm]

Looks like something shaping up for this coming weekend with fairly strong looking upper system and forecast GFS 850mb winds S 40kts+ over Oklahoma Saturday CDT.

[David C]

Yes GFS sure does look very interesting from Sat pm on, NZ.

NAM's current solution is less appealing in that it keep the upper trough and associated belt of strong mid-level flow too far west and also plunges the cold front to the OK border by early evening. The best thing is that both models, finally, have good deep moisture over the southern plains, which has until now thwarted what could have been some pretty intense weather in previous weeks. Let the season really begin

[Michael Thomas]

Latest GFS looks very nice to me. 2000+ CAPE with 40knot S'ly winds at 850mb and 50 knots winds from the SW at 500mb. What happens after Saturday is questionable, GFS has been all over the place.

[nzstorm]

If you were over there chasing you would have to be very happy with they way the latest 12Z GFS is looking for both Saturday/Sunday. And the GFS has been consistent with the same story for the past 5 days with a triple point over NW Oklahoma.

[Michael Thomas]

Looking very nice for parts of OK and TX. As David mentioned before, the stronger mid- and upper level winds will be further west than the warm sector. 500mbar winds though still look to be a respectable 40 knots. The big stand out feature though is very strong low level flow contributing to large, curved hodographs, especially after sunset. There is mention of the possibility of significant tornadoes for tomorrow if things come together. With reasonable slow storm motions, due to excellent direction shear and moderate mid-level winds, storms may well be very chasable.

Should be worth watching the event unfold tomorrow morning.

[Mike]

OK KS TX MO IA IL MI all in the firing line now. Iowa, Kansas and Missouri all reported tornadoes today.  One chaser got caught in cricket ball sizes hail which destroyed his vehicle - all the windows were smashed and the interior damaged as well. He had caught the hail in Oklahoma during a chase.  A line of storms swept through Iowa with all storms producing golf ball hail!  Warnings are going through the roof with a 45% risk in Oklahoma (moderate) and slight risks covering most of the Alley.  There are videos of damaged farm houses etc already...the system is producing so many tornado warned storms that even I can't keep up with what's happening.  I looked at the radar this morning for the area over there and it was just covered with storms but they expect the more serious supercells to form late afternoon and into the night. 

[Harley Pearman]

Mid west tornado reports 25/4/09

Looking at the Storm Prediction Centre, up to 7 tornadoes were reported for 25/4/2009 as shown below for the affected states. The most significant tornado reports to note are:-

2358 - 4 Miles NNW of Linwood in Leavenworth County Kansas. A tornado was reported to have caused destruction to barns, cars were turned upside down, homes have been damaged with the location near 206th Street and I70.

Leavenworth County is just to the west of Kansas City with the town of Linwood located close to the Kansas River roughly halfway between I70 to the North and Route 10 to the south. This tornado approached the western suburbs of Kansas City.

0312 - Enid in Garfield County Oklahoma. A tornado was reported to have affected the north side of town. Damage to the Expo Centre and to trees and powerlines and other structures has occurred.

Enid is home to around 46,000 to 47,000 residents on Route 81 some 62 miles NNW of Oklahoma City. The tornado has hit a reasonable sized service centre.

0332 - 2 Miles SE of Kremlin in Garfield County Oklahoma. A second tornado was reported SE of town.

0638 - 1 Mile west of Kremlin in Garfield County Oklahoma. A large tornado was reported by KWTV-TV Storm Trackers.

Kremlin is just to the NE of Enid off Route 60/64. The 0312 report from Enid and the 0332 Report from near Kremlin could in fact be the same tornado tracking in a NE direction.

The plot from the National Weather Service - Storm Prediction Centre for 25/4/2009 is provided below.

There are a significant number of hail reports as well from the affected region.

Harley Pearman

[Mike]

Newslink with videos of the day's tornado damage http://www.kmbc.com/video/19291684/index.html





Insane rotation video!  Credit to Brian Emfinger.

April 25, 2009 - Wall Cloud Crazy Rotation