"That's the Hanger at the high school.... And that's a tornado," tweeted mcaroline0414. The photo is from Cookeville High School in Cookeville, Tenn., on March 2, 2012.
Image: Accuweather
Storms are pushing into the southern Appalachians, bringing the potential for large hail and devastating tornadoes.
Severe storms hammered an area from Missouri into Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama with dozens of tornadoes and hail to the size of baseballs.
Current situation:
The threat for damaging winds and tornadoes is diminishing across the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys, but the risk remains high farther to the southeast. Stay alert of the dangerous storm situation.
A Potentially Dangerous Situation Tornado Watch was issued for southeastern Missouri, southern and central Illinois, central and southern Indiana and western Kentucky before midday. The National Weather Service issues a PDS Tornado Watch less than a handful of times a year.
A line of nasty thunderstorms capable of spawning tornadoes is pushing from eastern Tennessee to central Alabama and Mississippi.
Southern Indiana has been hit very hard by large tornadoes. Major Chuck Adams of the Clark County Sheriff's Department says the town of Marysville, Ind. is "completely gone," according to local news.
"We are trying to gather info from across the state from ambulance crews and hospitals at this time. Reports of injuries are coming in and we are trying to confirm them," Dean Foener, spokesperson of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, said.
According to Hamilton County Emergency Operations Center in Tennessee, 6-10 patients have been transported to the hospital.
Many schools closed early across the Tennessee Valley due to the dangerous severe weather situation.
Thunderstorms are firing across portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and northern Georgia. Large hail, strong winds and tornadoes could all be threats.
3:55 p.m. CST: A tornado was reported on the ground 6 miles south of Bethel, Ohio.
3:35 p.m. CST: Several damage reports by possible tornado in New Liberty, Ky., including a trailer destroyed and damage to a silo and barns.
3:25 p.m. CST: A tornado in Dickson, Tenn., south of Highway 48, was reported by Emergency Management.
3:07 p.m. CST: Several homes were destroyed, one person was injured and a car was flipped several times in Holton, Ind.
2:51 p.m. CST: A funnel cloud was spotted in Bremen, Ky., and a wall cloud was reported 2 miles west of Lincoln, Tenn.
2:25 p.m. CST: Softball-sized hail hammered Florence, Ala.
2:25 p.m. CST: Two large tornadoes were pushing across small towns in southern Indiana, north of Louisville, Ky. Henryville, Nabb, Owensboro and Marysville are some of the towns that were hit very hard. There are reports about Henryville High School being demolished by one of the twisters.
2:06 p.m. CST: A tornado touched down with a large debris cloud spotted on radar in Daisy Hill, Ind.
2:00 p.m. CST: A funnel cloud was spotted in west Louisville, Ky.
1:52 p.m. CST: A tornado was on the ground 7 miles south of Sturgis, Ky. The report was made by local law enforcement.
1:41 p.m. CST: A funnel cloud was observed in Paducah, Ky., while quarter-sized hail fell in the downtown area and southern side of town.
2:06 p.m. EST: Rotation and small funnel cloud was observed with a severe storm in Lebanon, Ind.
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9 Comments
Add CommentDo these types of tornado occur on the Asian landmass?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHaving grown up in 'Tornado Alley' - that's a very interesting question! Please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Tornadoes have been observed on every continent except Antarctica. However, the vast majority of tornadoes in the world occur in the Tornado Alley region of the United States, although they can occur nearly anywhere in North America. They also occasionally occur in south-central and eastern Asia, the Philippines, south east Asia, like Malaysia, northern and east-central South America, Southern Africa, northwestern and southeast Europe, western and southeastern Australia, and New Zealand."
The wiki entry includes references:
Sid Perkins (2002-05-11). "Tornado Alley, USA". Science News. pp. 296–298.
http://web.archive.org/web/20060825011156/http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020511/bob9.asp
utusan.com.my,
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2010&dt=0614&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Kota&pg=wk_01.htm
[I was unable to retrieve the English version]
"Tornado: Global occurrence". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2009.
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-218357/tornado
While your comments about over-population being at the root of climate issues is, in the end, a correct assessment, I personally find your bluntly stating that extreme outcome as chilling. I hope this old Earth doesn't suffocate under the unrelenting biomass of human population, but our industrial processes as well as our very bodies are pumping heat and green house gases into the closed system of our planet's environment.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt makes an old man like me feel very tired and very small, and I hate it but you may be right about the last part of your statement; but first the Eugenics wars and resultant committee hearings on whom is fit to live will come. It makes me wonder what the criteria for selection will be.
I also agree that population is at the very least a critical factor in the production of all environmental consequences of human industrial activities.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere is still some opportunity to change the situation, at least to some extent, but it must begin by addressing the critical issues. The impact of population growth has been ignored for far too long.
I'm also concerned by those who simply advocate taking any action to address climate change, typically ignoring the root causes, especially population growth. I simply can't foresee how wind or solar power, for example, will compensate for the additional demands of >2 billion additional people expected by 2050. Even the U.S. population is expected to increase by > 33% according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The root causes must somehow be addressed effectively, no matter how distasteful that might be. The alternatives may be much worse...
Well, I think that the immediate questions to ask are:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this1. Is the tornado outbreak a result of global warming and if so, can we expect this trend to continue from year to year.
2. Assuming a continuing trend, What technologies can be developed / exploited to harden the structures in which we live and work to protect us from the increasing threat.
3. And the GREAT CHALLENGE !! How do we bridge the divide along political, moral and economic interests to work towards policies that will both protect us from the threat of an increasingly hostile environment and mitigate the impact of our increasing demand on the planet's limited resources.
Playing the blame game is futile. We need to fix the problem. Blaming Republicans and the Koch brothers for our current situation is ridiculous. We are all the victims of our own success.
I generally agree - I don't think there's any real evidence yet that the incidence of tornado outbreaks are related to any global warming, although their occurrence unusually early in the season could be somewhat related. I think it's premature to draw conclusions about any long term trends of sporadic events. As described in the references of preceding comments, "the vast majority of tornadoes in the world occur in the Tornado Alley region of the United States, although they can occur nearly anywhere in North America."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlthough I have had more clashes with sault than anyone else on this site, he has recently been the victim of a hacker posting under his screen name. I suspect the post above is not genuine. The hacker uses saults known green position & exaggerates it from the ridiculous to the extreme left. This is ironic but I do have some sympathy for him.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThanks for explaining - I was somewhat concerned...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt actually looks like the phrasing & views of another poster we frequently see here who is definitely not a sceptic. Someone well to the left of you. There might be a programme that you can run that will recognise the style. I do not know. I do not like it at all. The first time was amusing but it is not any more. It is dishonest. It is ironic however. Your defence of people who fudge data as shown in the emails & the latest Gleick affair makes it harder for you to complain too loudly when you are on the receiving end of unethical behaviour.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this