Tornado outbreak

[niremetal]

I've never seen so many tornado emergencies issued in such a short period of time. It looks like large tornadoes have hit Tuscaloosa, Huntsville, and the north Birmingham suburbs. That's headed toward NW Georgia tonight. Be safe.

Edited April 27, 2011 by niremetal

[GST]

Ringgold/Catoosa county was devastated. A Motel 8 at the I-75/Ringgold exit was hit, and they are still digging bodies out. The same cell that hit Tuscaloosa ran through Rome, haven't heard anything about damage there, yet.

[DJlaysitup]

Wow - what a sad deal...it looks like 200+ killed across the south...mostly in Alabama. I heard the same (nearly mile wide) tornado hit both Tuscaloosa and Birmingham...the way they knew it was the same one was that there were debris in Birmingham that they could trace back to to Tuscaloosa.

Sadly, these were huge F4/F5 storms, 200+ mph winds. Even a solid brick house stands no chance against a direct hit from an F5.

When I was a youngster my Grandpa told me about the tri-state tornado - a mile wide F5 (they estimate) that went through Missouri, crossed the Mississippi river, went through Southern Illinois, crossed the Wabash river, and even killed folks in Indiana. The tornado was so strong that it even took the grass (along with farmhouses and barns down to the foundation). Grandpa told me about a farmer he knew who was outside the destruction area but found a barber's chair in his field. He packed it on a wagon and took it into town figuring the local barbershop had been hit...but the local barbershop was intact. After checking around (took awhile in those days) they found that it was from Murphysboro - a small town that the storm basically blew off the map. That heavy old barbers chair had been sucked up in that tornado and stayed up for over 20 miles before it came down.

Tornado sirens are important and save many lives - but if it's a mile wide F5 and you are in it's path? :kickcan:

[NJHAWK]

Joplin MO was destroyed. It looks like Hiroshima. 120 dead as many as 1500 missing, folks looking for the children that were ripped from their arms. I couldnt even imagine.

[niremetal]

Joplin MO was destroyed. It looks like Hiroshima. 120 dead as many as 1500 missing, folks looking for the children that were ripped from their arms. I couldnt even imagine.

It's remarkable how many tornadoes have hit population centers this year. Usually, most of the strong tornadoes go through open fields and don't affect any towns or cities. This year, they all seem to be hitting cities and towns. Scary.

[capstone21]

It's remarkable how many tornadoes have hit population centers this year. Usually, most of the strong tornadoes go through open fields and don't affect any towns or cities. This year, they all seem to be hitting cities and towns. Scary.

Joplin is about an hour and a half from where I live. It is pretty crazy what happened to that town. Really sad.

[DJlaysitup]

It's remarkable how many tornadoes have hit population centers this year. Usually, most of the strong tornadoes go through open fields and don't affect any towns or cities. This year, they all seem to be hitting cities and towns. Scary.

Exactly right nir...these type storms have been hitting the ground year after year. Sometimes more, sometimes less. But as a rule the big ones smash down a few dozen acres of National forrest land...or hit a farm where they kill a few cows and knock down trees and fences...most of those were only reported in the local newspapers. "Farmer Fred said he lost seven cows and had tree limbs scattered all over his back forty acres due to the storm front we had last night".

F4/F5 tornados are simply killers...the big ones...with a ground width of 1/2 mile or more really make warnings useless. Sad to say but if you are even in a quality brick house and you get into the interior part of the house (as is recomended) it will wipe your house slick and kill you...the destruction will be right down to the dirt. There will be NOTHING left of your house - at all. period. and you will likely end up in a pond or a tree somewhere. That's just reality.

Sadly, there will likely be more fatalities found from the Joplin F5 around the area...many will be miles from where they were to begin with.

Edited May 27, 2011 by DJlaysitup

[DrReality]

Talked to someone close to Joplin who "saw people sucked up by the tornado." Bet they never are able to shake that image.