Recent Chicago Wind Storm
Fifth tornado confirmed for Chicago area (Orland Park).
A lot of damage in the area, however, was caused by a derecho.
A lot of damage in the area, however, was caused by a derecho.
"What he meant is that 'Monster Island' is actually a peninsula."
'Tornado Alley' inclusion may stave off storm complacency
I know from statistics my mesoscale prof put together a few years ago that Indiana gets more squall-line origin tornadoes than any other state, with total numbers as high as the Great Plains states that commonly included in 'Tornado Alley' get from supercell storms. Who cares what we call it? Florida gets a high number of twisters as well, should they be included? On a map, we'd end up with a 'Tornado Quilt'. :-)
I know from statistics my mesoscale prof put together a few years ago that Indiana gets more squall-line origin tornadoes than any other state, with total numbers as high as the Great Plains states that commonly included in 'Tornado Alley' get from supercell storms. Who cares what we call it? Florida gets a high number of twisters as well, should they be included? On a map, we'd end up with a 'Tornado Quilt'. :-)
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Nappanee Tornado Update
Northern Indiana NWS website posts tornado track maps and more damage photos.
Weather Radio Recall, Nappanee Tornado of 10/18
Weather Radios Recalled by Oregon Scientific Due to Failure to Receive National Weather Service Alerts - Photos and specific model #s at the link. They're all variations of handheld/portable models.
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Apparently the Nappanee, IN tornado of Thursday night was ~1/2 mile wide, was down for ~20 miles, and was an EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale (winds 136-165 mph).
From The Indianapolis Star:
- 160 mph winds rake Nappanee, damage hundreds of structures
- Damage Photos
Where the hell is Nappanee, IN?
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Apparently the Nappanee, IN tornado of Thursday night was ~1/2 mile wide, was down for ~20 miles, and was an EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale (winds 136-165 mph).
From The Indianapolis Star:
- 160 mph winds rake Nappanee, damage hundreds of structures
- Damage Photos
Where the hell is Nappanee, IN?
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Clockwise Tornado
Nothing posted anywhere yet that I can find, but I just saw some video on The Weather Channel of it, and they were talking about it - a clockwise-rotating tornado in Oklahoma today.
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mactavish has a user pic of one of these rarities. According to TWC's severe weather expert, the odds are ~ 1:1000.
mactavish has a user pic of one of these rarities. According to TWC's severe weather expert, the odds are ~ 1:1000.
Aye Carumba!
Here we go again!
( 4 tornado warnings on the IL/IN border - 7:06pm EDT IND Radar )
(And from the storms that brought the hail here Friday evening, the local NWS folks confirmed 2 tornadoes, and an east side Indy spotter got a photo of some huge hail.)
( 4 tornado warnings on the IL/IN border - 7:06pm EDT IND Radar )
(And from the storms that brought the hail here Friday evening, the local NWS folks confirmed 2 tornadoes, and an east side Indy spotter got a photo of some huge hail.)
Confirmed TVS (Tornado Vortex Signature) in the Worst Possible Place
Right in Downtown Indy - look for the little funnel-shaped symbol right in the middle of Indianapolis
The local AM radio is talking about debris around the streets and such. And the Mellencamp Final Four concert just let out on the Circle downtown about 45 minutes ago.
The local AM radio is talking about debris around the streets and such. And the Mellencamp Final Four concert just let out on the Circle downtown about 45 minutes ago.
Don't Try This at Home
Sheesh.
On the way down to Louisville yesterday, I was perusing the National Audubon Society's Field Guide to Weather I had picked up a Half Price Books a while back, thinking it might be a nice little reference to keep in the car. In the How to Use This Book section, though, I was rather amused at an example set of instructions:
You are visiting friends in Kansas who live just a few miles from your house, and you have heard on the radio that a tornado watch has been issued. You scan the sky and notice that a small funnel has formed at the base of a thick thunderstorm cloud overhead.
1. Turn to the Thumb Tab Guide. There you find a vortex-shaped silhouette standing for the group "Tornadoes and Other Whirls". The symbol refers you a particular group of the Color Plates.
2. You look at the color plates and quickly surmise that the funnel shape in the sky overhead may be the beginning stage of a tornado. The captions refer you to a particular text section.
3. Reading the text, you become convinced that there is a tornado forming. You and your friends immediately seek the storm shelter and wait for the threat to pass.
Uh... yeah. Sure, I'm going to do all that reading when I know there's a tornado watch and I see a funnel forming overhead. Riiiight. Here's my version:
You scan the sky and notice that a small funnel has formed at the base of a thick thunderstorm cloud overhead.
1. You gasp and shout, "Gah!!"
2. You immediately seek the storm shelter and wait for the threat to pass.
Much better. :-)
On the way down to Louisville yesterday, I was perusing the National Audubon Society's Field Guide to Weather I had picked up a Half Price Books a while back, thinking it might be a nice little reference to keep in the car. In the How to Use This Book section, though, I was rather amused at an example set of instructions:
You are visiting friends in Kansas who live just a few miles from your house, and you have heard on the radio that a tornado watch has been issued. You scan the sky and notice that a small funnel has formed at the base of a thick thunderstorm cloud overhead.
1. Turn to the Thumb Tab Guide. There you find a vortex-shaped silhouette standing for the group "Tornadoes and Other Whirls". The symbol refers you a particular group of the Color Plates.
2. You look at the color plates and quickly surmise that the funnel shape in the sky overhead may be the beginning stage of a tornado. The captions refer you to a particular text section.
3. Reading the text, you become convinced that there is a tornado forming. You and your friends immediately seek the storm shelter and wait for the threat to pass.
Uh... yeah. Sure, I'm going to do all that reading when I know there's a tornado watch and I see a funnel forming overhead. Riiiight. Here's my version:
You scan the sky and notice that a small funnel has formed at the base of a thick thunderstorm cloud overhead.
1. You gasp and shout, "Gah!!"
2. You immediately seek the storm shelter and wait for the threat to pass.
Much better. :-)
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Ooooooohh...
Combining several of my interests (tornadoes and aerial photography (the latter of which combines my interests in photography and flight)), Iowa State University posts aerial analysis of last weekend's tornado outbreak here.
*drool*
The weird curlicue patterns in the fields and grasses in some of the shots are very cool.
*drool*
The weird curlicue patterns in the fields and grasses in some of the shots are very cool.
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Tornado Updates
From this morning's The Indianapolis Star headline: Tornado kills 22 in southern Indiana - Sunday's twister is state's deadliest in 30 years
Here's the accompanying photo gallery.
Apparently the tornado, an F3 (winds of 158-206 mph) on the Fujita scale, which was reported to be nearly 1/4 of a mile wide by a couple of witnesses, busted three common myths:
1 - It struck in the middle of the night.
2 - It struck in November.
3 - It crossed the Ohio River.
Evansville is just under 200 miles (as the crow flies) south-southwest of where we live (it's in the toe in the SW corner of the state, and we're right about in the middle), so, even if we'd have been home, we weren't threatened by that particular tornado (although there is a recorded incident of one crossing from Missouri, through Illinois, and well into Indiana back in the 1920s).
Here's the accompanying photo gallery.
Apparently the tornado, an F3 (winds of 158-206 mph) on the Fujita scale, which was reported to be nearly 1/4 of a mile wide by a couple of witnesses, busted three common myths:
1 - It struck in the middle of the night.
2 - It struck in November.
3 - It crossed the Ohio River.
Evansville is just under 200 miles (as the crow flies) south-southwest of where we live (it's in the toe in the SW corner of the state, and we're right about in the middle), so, even if we'd have been home, we weren't threatened by that particular tornado (although there is a recorded incident of one crossing from Missouri, through Illinois, and well into Indiana back in the 1920s).