F-5 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Finally touched base with my employee who was in the path of the Birmingham tornado. Says it came within half a mile of them. In his words, "Fultondale has been leveled." Take that for what it's worth, but even after hours and hours of non-stop storm coverage from local TV media, not a lot of information or post-storm footage has really come out of the affected areas. That could be a very bad sign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersnow12 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 not good...180kt delta v with a velocity hole...looks like the tornado will go between all 3 towns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosier Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Evacuate! All comes down to whether you want to take the chance that you're impacted by violent enough winds to kill you. In an extreme case like this, I'm getting the heck out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICEHOCEY77 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Finally touched base with my employee who was in the path of the Birmingham tornado. Says it came within half a mile of them. In his words, "Fultondale has been leveled." Take that for what it's worth, but even after hours and hours of non-stop storm coverage from local TV media, not a lot of information or post-storm footage has really come out of the affected areas. That could be a very bad sign. Interstate was shut down in both directions in town due to downed power lines....could be part of the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
on_wx Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Calling all SEMI folks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k*** Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 not good...180kt delta v with a velocity hole...looks like the tornado will go between all 3 towns. there was a large industrial park right under that debris ball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICEHOCEY77 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 not good...180kt delta v with a velocity hole...looks like the tornado will go between all 3 towns. If it holds together, next town in line to take a direct hit is Monticello, GA. Pop: 2428 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mempho Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 All comes down to whether you want to take the chance that you're impacted by violent enough winds to kill you. In an extreme case like this, I'm getting the heck out. That's what I'm saying. If you have a long-track heading towards you and you have both the time and a clear path out of harm's way, you should definitely take it if you know what you're doing. I remember reading the 1974 superoutbreak transcripts and read about the Guin tornado which tracked all the way to HSV where it hit the airport. The transcript from BMX reads something like HSV WFO ABANDONED or something like that when BMX took operational control for the HSV CWA. It is stupid to just sit there if you can clearly get out. If I had been in Tuscaloosa today, there's probably not much I could have done since it's formation was so close, but if I'd been in Birmingham and I had a clear path out (checking traffic cams), I'm definately leaving. If worse comes to worse and I get unexpectedly stuck, I would leave myself enough time to be able to pick a building to shelter in and I guarantee the building I pick is going to be better than the wood-frame house I just left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersnow12 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SluggerWx Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 There were more textbook strong tornadoes on RADAR today that lived FOREVER, in my opinion, than one can imagine. It's like there were 8-12 'Yazoo City' tornadoes in one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosier Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 138 preliminary tornado reports for today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k*** Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 138 preliminary tornado reports for today. ...and that doesn't even include many of the GA twisters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclone77 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 138 preliminary tornado reports for today. The last one they have listed is from 0300. There's surely been more since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersnow12 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 unconfirmed report of a school gone along with houses leveled around it in the Manchester/Warm Springs, GA area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witness Protection Program Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 http://wdef.com/news..._medium=twitter Chattanooga: 41-year-old Mai Crumley was killed in the Shepherd community. While her family huddled in her home, she stuck her head out to what was happening, just as a tree fell on her mobile home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wi_fl_wx Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 It should also be mentioned that thunderstorms are known to send up vertically propagating waves well into the stratosphere and even above that into the mesosphere. I believe they are mixed gravity/acoustic waves but I can't remember exactly. NASA will not even fly its Global Hawk above thunderstorms because of concerns about turbulence--and it flies at 80,000 feet, well above even the highest overshooting top. It goes over hurricanes but they stay away from lightning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chargers09 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Hello, all. New poster. Unbelieveable outbreak today. I'm thinking, in terms of devastation and deaths, it could rival or equal 74. Unbelievable to see all the coverage and videos of the tornado that treked through Tuscaloosa and Birmingham proper as well. Very scary day, and its continuing into the night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICEHOCEY77 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baroclinic_instability Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Hello, all. New poster. Unbelieveable outbreak today. I'm thinking, in terms of devastation and deaths, it could rival or equal 74. Unbelievable to see all the coverage and videos of the tornado that treked through Tuscaloosa and Birmingham proper as well. Very scary day, and its continuing into the night. Welcome to the board. It was/is a historic outbreak. I will never forget this one. It reminds me how important the job of a meteorologist truly is. Kudos to the NWS offices, SPC, emergency managers, news outlets, etc for saving countless lives today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witness Protection Program Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Video of some of the Ringgold damage: http://www.newschannel9.com/articles/reports-1000662-ringgold-hit.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICEHOCEY77 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowlord81 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Welcome to the board. It was/is a historic outbreak. I will never forget this one. It reminds me how important the job of a meteorologist truly is. Kudos to the NWS offices, SPC, emergency managers, news outlets, etc for saving countless lives today. I agree, as much as we all love extreme weather, these days just make us have to stop and think. I mean, extreme to me is an 80mph gust of wind in a squall line. I cant fathom some of the numerous events that have taken place today. Thankfully there was lots of warning, but with the warning, what can you really do to protect yourself when theres an F4 or F5 bearing down on you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witness Protection Program Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Tornado warning for Ithaca, NY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmichweather Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Welcome to the board. It was/is a historic outbreak. I will never forget this one. It reminds me how important the job of a meteorologist truly is. Kudos to the NWS offices, SPC, emergency managers, news outlets, etc for saving countless lives today. The reports coming out almost make you wonder what more could have been done..... I mean yes these were insanely strong storms, but you wonder how many of those deaths were attributed to people in the center of their houses/basements, I mean I hope ppl weren't killed trying to video these storms or tape them or didn't take the warnings seriously. Really nothing "popped up" but it is also what you hear that it's just a cultural issue down there, and also the sirens being damaged/out from the previous night. It certainly is going to be an interesting sociological study as well as what can be found from the meteorology side. It wasn't really that huge of an area affected and it certainly wasn't a suprise I mean at the end of the day you can warn millions of people and no matter what you do not every single one of those people will listen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmichweather Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 The reports coming out almost make you wonder what more could have been done..... I mean yes these were insanely strong storms, but you wonder how many of those deaths were attributed to people in the center of their houses/basements, I mean I hope ppl weren't killed trying to video these storms or tape them or didn't take the warnings seriously. Really nothing "popped up" but it is also what you hear that it's just a cultural issue down there, and also the sirens being damaged/out from the previous night. It certainly is going to be an interesting sociological study as well as what can be found from the meteorology side. It wasn't really that huge of an area affected and it certainly wasn't a suprise I mean at the end of the day you can warn millions of people and no matter what you do not every single one of those people will listen. really I don't want to be making a snap decision, these were strong tornadoes that hit populated areas, I just wonder if all the lose of life were attributed to ppl being in the safest position and taking the warnings seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoMo Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 I agree, as much as we all love extreme weather, these days just make us have to stop and think. I mean, extreme to me is an 80mph gust of wind in a squall line. I cant fathom some of the numerous events that have taken place today. Thankfully there was lots of warning, but with the warning, what can you really do to protect yourself when theres an F4 or F5 bearing down on you? Find a sturdy shelter that can take an EF-5 Drive away. It worked during the Picher, OK EF4 tornado. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baroclinic_instability Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 The images of destruction are mind blowing and sad. http://www.hamwx.com/?page_id=3969 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baroclinic_instability Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 I agree, as much as we all love extreme weather, these days just make us have to stop and think. I mean, extreme to me is an 80mph gust of wind in a squall line. I cant fathom some of the numerous events that have taken place today. Thankfully there was lots of warning, but with the warning, what can you really do to protect yourself when theres an F4 or F5 bearing down on you? I agree. I love meteorology and I am fascinated by it--but an event like this is so sobering. really I don't want to be making a snap decision, these were strong tornadoes that hit populated areas, I just wonder if all the lose of life were attributed to ppl being in the safest position and taking the warnings seriously. Just think how bad it would have been before the advent of warning systems, etc. I agree a large majority of lives lost were likely folks who couldn't do anything about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmichweather Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 ] The images of destruction are mind blowing and sad. http://www.hamwx.com/?page_id=3969 You can clearly tell that this was a strong ef-4/ef-5 tornado, similar to the Moore, OK tornado, alot of the pictures were just rubble and destroyed neighborhoods from the Moore, OK storm compared to the current damage photos. I grabbed an image from the '99 destruction compared to what happened today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackjack123 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 ] You can clearly tell that this was a strong ef-4/ef-5 tornado, similar to the Moore, OK tornado, alot of the pictures were just rubble and destroyed neighborhoods from the Moore, OK storm compared to the current damag] photos. I grabbed an image from the '99 destruction compared to what happened today. Yeah that is really bad but I dont know if it is as the one above. The trees are completely debarked in the photo above in Moore, OK. There could very well be areas like that in Tuscaloosa although. I am sure that was probably at least an EF4 tornado and if not that it was an EF5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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