On Tornados

Yesterday, the United States had a massive weather event.  Or maybe I should say events.  I feel certain that most of you have heard about the tornados that roared through the night leaving death and destruction in their wake.  It did not affect me or any of my family.

A tornado forms when a cold air front hits a mass of warm, wet air.  The colder air is driven above the warm and sort of puts a lid on it. As the warm air continues to rise it creates a downdraft and sometimes a rotating air mass which drops out of the clouds and forms a funnel cloud.  The National Weather Service issues a Tornado WATCH when conditions are ripe for the formation of tornados, they issue a WARNING when one is sited either aloft or on the ground and give a projected "Fan" of where it might go.  Last night they issued a TORNADO EMERGENCY.  I have never heard of that.

Yesterday, tornados touched down in Nebraska and Oklahoma in the afternoon, Nebraska had one of two twin tornados on the ground.  Then after dark a BIG storm set up and the warnings came of radar  or ground sighted funnel clouds around Little Rock, Arkansas (that's about the middle of the state of Arkansas) then moved Northwest across Arkansas, Southeast Missouri, Northwestern Tennessee and into Kentucky. I read today that this large wedge tornado may have stayed on the ground for 100 miles-that's pretty unusual. I think the watches and warnings from that storm went into Ohio last night and then today dropped East and South through Tennessee, Northern Alabama and Mississippi and then to Atlanta, Georgia. I read that there was a watch from this same storm issued for the New Jersey area as well. 

At the same time a second storm set up near Columbia, Missouri (in the middle the state) and tornado warnings went flying out like crazy.  That one traveled Northeast, hit parts of St Louis (the National Weather Service people had to take cover as it was directly over them) then continued on into Illinois where it took out the Amazon Fulfillment Center.  I think the watches from that one went as far north as Southern Chicago.

Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky and Illinois all reported fatalities.  Kentucky seems to be the worst hit from the southern storm as it hit a couple of towns straight on, they are anticipating 100 deaths (or more).  The storm that hit Kentucky has been rated an EF-5.

I have lived in Missouri most of my life.  One of my earliest memories of tornados is of the EF-5 that hit Ruskin Heights.  My Father sold lumber and so he was allowed into the area and he took us to see it.  I have never forgotten it and tornados terrify me still.  I can read a hook echo on radar almost as well as the weather man!  The most terrifying of tornados come in the dark when you can't see them until it's too late.

You can read more about this set of storms and tornados in general at The Weather Channel and if you want to see photos/videos of the destruction just ask YouTube.