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North Carolina 4-16-2011 Tornado Outbreak Pics, Vids, Personal Accounts Thread

eyewall

By eyewall,
in Southeastern States

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dwagner88

dwagner88

Posted
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just noticed how close the Sanford tornado was to the nuclear power plant. i'm sure that its capable of surviving a EF-3 with no problems though.

I believe that all US nuclear power plants have been designed to withstand a direct hit from an F5. 325 mph winds if I remember correctly. The outer buildings would certainly be damaged, but in theory the inner containment would not be breached.

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LithiaWx

LithiaWx

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I believe superstrm 93 posted this volume scan of the Raleigh tornado as it was overhead.( sorry if i handed out missed who posted this) I think this pic is extremely impressive and clearly shows the tornadic supercell's impressive structure. You can see the tornado/meso cyclone itself extending up to about 17k/ft..

does anyone know where I can get access to radar images like this that are interactive?

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Jon

Jon

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My account with about 20 pics

http://www.examiner....raleigh-tornado

Unreal account Allan. I'm glad you and your family made it out ok, that's definitely too close for comfort. At RDU I just watched all the TVS's pop up below me or to the right of me, never in harms way..hardly a tree limb on the ground here. Much like a lot of people I was calling friends and family members making sure they knew there was a tornado near them. I got a scare as I lost my grandparents on the phone in Rolesville, but luckily it missed them. Some of my friends were laughing with disbelief at NC State until alarms went off and they were told to get into hallways. People just don't believe it until they see it sometimes and then it's too late.

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Ketch

Ketch

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My account with about 20 pics

http://www.examiner....raleigh-tornado

Wow Allan. Or should I say, neighbor. (I've been a casual lurker on these forums since the winter). Allan, I actually live up the street more towards the end of Cashew Drive...closest to Massey Preserve. I was tuned into Mike Maze on WRAL and I lost cable right at the moment he or one of the guys said something like, "This tornado will be heading up 401 towards Mitchell Mill." I think he called it either, "Mitchell's Mill" or "Mitchell Mills"...hehe. Now, this was after they had mentioned that this was a very large tornado...it obliterated a Lowes Home Improvement....and it was taking out brick structures. Now, it's barreling towards my home. It was a feeling of dread that I hope I never have again.

I was glued to the front window from that point on...listening and watching. And I believe I did hear the dreaded sound (I think I was a little closer to it than you by, maybe a little over a tenth of a mile). It wasn't overbearingly loud though, but it was a roar and it got my heart pounding. It got a little louder and I just focused my eyes at the tall pine trees at the end of Cashew. I saw, almost like a swirling mist engulf the trees and it kinda tugged them the other direction quite violently. That's when I yelled for my wife and we had our two boys and made a break for the closet (center of the house) and all this time I'm thinking..."Ohmigod...this is it...this behemoth is coming right up Cashew." Thankfully (for us at least), it went just behind my house...but hit Massey Preserve and Wheatleigh, which is one 150-yard tree barrier away from my house. I was just waiting to hear crashing and creaking and tearing...etc. But thankfully, the sound stopped...in fact, it got eerily quiet. I came out (of the closet) :rolleyes: and I didn't know what to expect. There was alot of debris, but it really wasn't all that bad. I had some loose siding, loose shingles, and some trim that had broken off. Alot of my shingles were kinda sticking upward a little, which I'm guessing the tornado came close enough that it started "draw" my house into it, almost like a vacuum. Perhaps it was too quick and it was just far enough that it didn't really cause much damage. It does however mean that I will have someone come out and do an inspection, just to make sure there's no damage I'm not seeing.

Now I didn't expect to see what I did when I decided to take a drive up Cashew and over to Medlar right after the storm. Then I didn't realize until Sunday just how close the swath of destruction was to my own house. There's a house in Massey Preserve, back in the corner all by itself, that had a huge chunk taken out of it. And I could probably hit my house from there with a 7 iron. It's just unbelievable how close this thing came. And huge props to emergency personnel. They were EVERYWHERE and it made me feel very comforting. When I was outside assessing damage, 3 different emergency vehicles pulled up throughout the whole time I was out there...and each one of them yelled to me to make sure me and my family were ok and they were asking about the back of my house and if it was still there. It felt good knowing there were alot of people ready to help if I needed it. But thankfully, we lucked out. Can't say the same for our neighbors closer to Forestville Rd. Just an absolute war zone.

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Jon

Jon

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Picked up a copy of the Technician on campus today, and there is a big front page article entitled "STORM CHASERS: Trio tracks down tornadoes for service" and I was like, "hmm wonder who that can be?"

"Storm chasing can be an extremely dangerous activity if you do not know what you are doing. We've been through SKYWARN Spotter classes, and had years of experience learning about meteorology and how storms behave. Without this type of knowledge, you shouldn't be out in the field during severe weather outbreaks," said North Carolina State University alumni Jeremy Gilchrist, also recognizing the danger involved.

Quite the local celeb! :thumbsup: Pick up a copy if you can, if you can't, here is the online link: http://www.technicia...ports-1.2545954

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Jon

Jon

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Also as this is personal accounts, here is the location of my Dad's house in perspective of the basic tornado path per the NWS RAH document. He's ok, house wasn't damaged just the fence, deck, and about 6 very large oak and pine trees down in the backyard. Neighbors homes can't say the same for. He's lucky. He ran inside before it hit, he was on his way home and saw the funnel cloud and telephone blones collapse like dominos.

Blue = Dad's house

Green = Cardinal Grove, hit hard.

Yellow = Stoney Brook Trailer Park w/ fatalities.

gfVZ0.jpg

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eyewall

eyewall

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Picked up a copy of the Technician on campus today, and there is a big front page article entitled "STORM CHASERS: Trio tracks down tornadoes for service" and I was like, "hmm wonder who that can be?"

Quite the local celeb! :thumbsup: Pick up a copy if you can, if you can't, here is the online link: http://www.technicia...ports-1.2545954

Hahah well the funny thing is that quote is actually my chase partner Kevin's not mine. They made a mistake.

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downeastnc

downeastnc

Posted
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I know that Eyewall's already posted one of the following maps, but just for quick comparison here's this event to the 1984 Outbreak.

23jo8rc.jpg

I suspect there will be alot of which was worse etc....of course this is gonna boil down to a lot of factors I cant wait to see the case studies that come about from this. Perhaps this is best left to another thread however.

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Moose4

Moose4

Posted
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I know that Eyewall's already posted one of the following maps, but just for quick comparison here's this event to the 1984 Outbreak.

23jo8rc.jpg

So by those maps, the 1984 outbreak had fewer tornadoes in a more concentrated area; the 2011 outbreak had more tornadoes, over a wider area, with longer distance on the ground, but individually none may have been as strong as the worst ones in 1984. I wonder if some of the difference in the number of confirmed tornadoes can be traced to better radar technology and better spotting?

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kennedy

kennedy

Posted
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I look at these videos and I feel so helpless for these people. I felt compelled to donate money to N.C chapter of the Red Cross, does anyone have ideas/suggestions as to organizations that would use money in those directly affected ares?

Thanks

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NCStateMMY

NCStateMMY

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So by those maps, the 1984 outbreak had fewer tornadoes in a more concentrated area; the 2011 outbreak had more tornadoes, over a wider area, with longer distance on the ground, but individually none may have been as strong as the worst ones in 1984. I wonder if some of the difference in the number of confirmed tornadoes can be traced to better radar technology and better spotting?

Keep in mind, the Fujitta scale was updated a few years ago to the Enhanced Fujita scale. Here is the SPC breakdown of the difference: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/ef-scale.html

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tazaroo

tazaroo

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Also as this is personal accounts, here is the location of my Dad's house in perspective of the basic tornado path per the NWS RAH document. He's ok, house wasn't damaged just the fence, deck, and about 6 very large oak and pine trees down in the backyard. Neighbors homes can't say the same for. He's lucky. He ran inside before it hit, he was on his way home and saw the funnel cloud and telephone blones collapse like dominos.

Blue = Dad's house

Green = Cardinal Grove, hit hard.

Yellow = Stoney Brook Trailer Park w/ fatalities.

gfVZ0.jpg

Where can I get the link for this interactive map? I searched on the NWS website and could only find the basic version. I guess I didn't look too good. Thanks

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Jon

Jon

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Where can I get the link for this interactive map? I searched on the NWS website and could only find the basic version. I guess I didn't look too good. Thanks

The most interactive map is this one: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/rah/news/content/110416_Tornado_Tracks.htm

I just read the PDF survey and made that map myself in paint based on "point A to point B to point C" type of info.

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