Year's first deadly tornado kills eight in Oklahoma
The first killer tornado of 2009 swept through Lone Grove, Oklahoma yesterday, killing eight people and seriously injuring 14 more. Lone Grove is a town of 4,600 about 100 miles south of Oklahoma City. The large, 1/2 mile wide twister dropped down from an isolated supercell thunderstorm that formed in advance of a strong cold front that swept through the Great Plains yesterday afternoon. Three other tornadoes were also reported yesterday, two in Oklahoma and one in Texas. It was the first significant severe weather outbreak of the year in the U.S., and it spawned the first tornadoes of the year in Texas and Oklahoma. This year is a far cry from 2008, which had one of the most severe and deadly early tornado seasons on record, and ended up as the second busiest tornado year since record keeping began in 1950. In January of 2008, 84 tornadoes were observed, compared to the 10 (preliminary) observed in 2009. The slower start to tornado season this year reflects the very dry January we had. January 2009 ranked as the 5th driest and 59 warmest in the 114-year record, according to the National Climatic Data Center. It was the record driest January in portions of Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Missouri, and upstate New York.
The storm that spawned yesterday's tornadoes will drag a cold front across much of the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys today. NOAA's Storm Prediction Center is giving a Slight Risk of severe weather over these regions today. The main threat will be severe thunderstorms with high winds and hail, rather than tornadoes.
Figure 1. Severe weather reports for February 10, 2009. Image credit: NOAA/SPC.
Figure 2. January 2009 precipitation was the 5th lowest on record for the contiguous U.S. Image credit: NOAA/NCDC.
Weather Underground Becomes National Sponsor of Portlight Relief Walks
Charleston, SC - Portlight Strategies, Inc., - a national grassroots non-profit organization--announced this week that Weather Underground, Inc., will be National Sponsor of the First Annual Portlight Relief Walk series of national awareness and fund raising events. Hundreds of members of the Weather Underground blog community teamed with Portlight Strategies, Inc., throughout the Fall of 2008 to provide much need relief services and supplies to victims of Hurricane Ike along the Texas coast.
These relief efforts focused on helping people with disabilities, as well as people in small towns and rural areas often marginalized by the larger institutional relief infrastructure.
Portlight Strategies, Inc., has committed to building on the stunning success of this collaborative, grassroots initiative.
In order to expand our community of supporters - and to create a financial reserve to enable strategic, proactive response in the future--Portlight is organizing walk-a-thon style events in 40 U S cities. Organizing committees have already begun meeting to plan these events in their hometowns and communities. Relief Walks will be held on weekends through the Spring and early Summer.
"Weather Underground stepping up to be our National Sponsor is a huge honor" said Paul Timmons, Jr., Portlight Strategies, Inc., Board Chair. "Our Ike efforts were born of hundreds of weather lovers coming together on the www.wunderground.com site. It's a perfect fit that Weather Underground will sponsor our first national event."
"Weather Underground is proud to have facilitated Portlight's initial success"' said Toby Skinner, of Weather Underground, Inc. "And we are pleased to be National Sponsor of Portlight's First Annual National Relief Walk event.
"The Weather Underground community was the Genesis of our post Ike success," said Timmons, "By agreeing to be National Sponsor of our First Annual National Relief Walk event, Weather Underground, Inc., becomes equally integral to our future ability to serve. We are grateful for their support and confidence."
For more information on Portlight Strategies, Inc., including the story of their Ike relief efforts and information on our Relief Walk, please visit: www.portlight.org or their Featured Blog.
I'll have a new blog post on Thursday.
Jeff Masters
Reader Comments
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Here is a weather related Darwin Award:
getting away with pet projects while 53% of americans think, this should be a stimulis bill, not a home pet project bill.
I won't comment anymore on the issue.
Now lets get on with the weather!
MLC's a dude. He has my stamp of approval. (If that counts for anything.)
From my experience, even if he has his set of opinions, he'll respect yours even if they differ.
People here still under heavy snow warnings... I haven't seen snow for a little while though. And *finally* the ice is beginning to melt.
Tropical Depression "BISING" continues to move west towards the southern coast of Southern Leyte.
Tropical Cyclone Bulletin #2 (1500z 12FEB)
============================================
At 11:00 p.m. PhST, Tropical Depression Bising located at 9.9°N 126.0°E or 50 kms east of Surigao City has 10 minute sustained winds of 25 knots.
Warning Signals
Warning Signals #1 (30-60 km/h)
---------------------
Visayas Region
1.Eastern Samar
2.Western Samar
3.Biliran
4.Leyte Provinces
5.Cebu
6.Bohol
7.Negros Oriental
8.Siquijor Island
Mindanao Region
1.Dinagat Province
2.Siargao Island
3.Surigao del Norte
4.Surigao del Sur
5.Agusan del Norte
6.Camiguin
7.Misamis Oriental
Additional Information
-------------------
Residents living in low lying and mountainous areas under signal #1 are alerted against possible flashfloods and landslides.
The public and the disaster coordinating councils concerned are advised to take appropriate actions and watch for the next bulletin to be issued at 5 AM tomorrow.
"...a Southern man don't need him around, anyhow..."
First, you are correct on the line item veto. It was split. Rhenquist, O'Conner and Breyer dissenting... which leaves one to believe it was an apolitical decision.
Seems clear who doesn't have a clue as far as earmarks and pork. Just using your language. ;)
"Earmark" is a misleading term. Earmarks are pork, yes. And so is other spending that is not considered an "earmark." It's purely symantics.
Only difference? Slated for a specific project.
As examples:
Pork that is an earmark is "Here's $X to be used specifically to build this bridge."
Pork that is not an earmark is "Here's $X to be spent on infrastructure."
No difference. Only difference is who decides on the project the $$$ is used for.
Pork is pork no matter what you call it.
Just saw that. Will move it over there as it should be.
Earthquake Hazards Program Link
Atom Feed:USGS M2.5 Earthquakes Link
No news is generally good news and I haven't seen anything.
Fun site if you all get bored.
http://www.osei.noaa.gov/
not for us up here anytime soon!
was it raelly foggy this morning up there too tampa????..and about spring,I do believe fishing should start to pick up a bit by the middle to end of next month and I can't wait!!!!
Guess its ok to do Fish Talk....but, if you ever make it up to Ocala to the Power Plant....where warm water is released in the GOM.....WOW....the fishing is unreal. My Brother lives there and this time of year is crazy in that area...
that means we got 37 days of winter left
The last Red Tide was believed caused by an overflow of Phosphate from a mine that leaked into the GOM.....and the added Phosphate caused the Bloom that was so bad i believe 3 years ago......
How could that be, the mine is 20-30 miles inland with no direct connection to the gulf?
Happened during Hurricane Season of 2004 i believe and it did leak somehow into the GOM..
A new harmful algal bloom forecast system is now in place along the Gulf coast of Texas. The announcement of the ecological forecast program was made at today’s meeting of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, a federal-state partnership to address critical coastal issues facing the Gulf states. The system will generate forecasts weekly to determine the current and future location and intensity of blooms, and the likely impacts to the environment.
Daily News staff
Thursday, July 26, 2007 Link
In the Gulf of Mexico, harmful algal blooms (HABs) can cause massive fish kills, animal mortality, and neurotoxic shellfish poisoning and respiratory irritation in humans. At least 40 species of toxic, or potentially toxic, marine microalgae have been identified in Gulf of Mexico waters. Because HAB events appear to be increasing in number, extent, and severity, the need to understand their causes and to predict their occurrence is growing more urgent (see National Assessment of Harmful Algal Blooms in US Waters, 2000). The most common algae blooms in Gulf of Mexico's coastal regions are caused by the microalgae Karenia brevis and are known as red tides (a consequence of the color imparted by the algae which observers can see floating towards the coast during high tides).
Your kinda on target.. See this link -- No leak, nitrogen runoff referenced as culprit from 4 hurricanes. Link
Heil said there is compelling evidence of blooms that originate out at sea, far from coastal concentrations of man-made pollutants.
She and a team of university scientists in Florida have published a study theorizing that iron-rich dust from Africa's Sahara Desert drifts across the Atlantic and triggers a natural process that stimulates harmful algae blooms off Florida's Gulf Coast.
"The timing sure matches up with blooms," Heil said. "We know it has to contribute to enriching seawater with iron and nitrogen."
Link
Would not be a surprise to me. You can actually see the dust sometimes here in the atmosphere. It typically has a negative affect on hurrican intesification I believe.
Up in heaven playing a rousing game of croquet and eating something exotic. (I dunno if Lincoln ever did; but Darwin had a penchant for 'exotic' foods... yes discover them, theorise them... and then eat them.)
A serious SELL OFF appears to be occuring...
For me its on the upper end of comfortable. Pool's warming up now at 70 Degrees. Was 60 yesterday.
Looks like the markets are making a comeback.. DOW only down 39 points now.
Today is the halfway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox on the analema.
If this is the "heart" of Winter I'll take it! 70s and beautiful here in PCB today.
I envy your pool temps CyberTeddy. Mine is finally above 60 at least.
Agreed!! We're in the 70's up here in North Carolina too!! Actually, the pagans considered this to now be the "solar spring". Solar winter is from Halloween to Imbolc or what we now celebrate as groundhog day.
Mirror Site
New Section includes Mt Redoubt
I am now using Google Earth Version 5 (Thank you SF)
Tropical Depression "BISING " has slowed down as it moves closer to the eastern coast of Surigao Del Norte
Tropical Cyclone Bulletin #3 (2100z 12FEB)
============================================
At 5:00 a.m. PhST, Tropical Depression Bising located at 9.6°N 126.0°E or 45 kms east-southeast of Surigao City has 10 minute sustained winds of 25 knots.
Warning Signals
Warning Signals #1 (30-60 km/h)
---------------------
Visayas Region
1.Eastern Samar
2.Western Samar
3.Biliran Island
4.Leyte Provinces
5.Cebu
6.Bohol
7.Negros Oriental
8.Siquijor Island
Mindanao Region
1.Dinagat Province
2.Siargao Island
3.Surigao del Norte
4.Surigao del Sur
5.Agusan del Norte
6.Camiguin
7.Misamis Oriental
Additional Information
-------------------
Residents living in low lying and mountainous areas under signal #1 are alerted against possible flashfloods and landslides.
The public and the disaster coordinating councils concerned are advised to take appropriate actions and watch for the next bulletin to be issued at 11 AM today.
I will take a bit of red tide over hurricane hit any day of the week. come on dust!
Yes. It raises the price of corn.
I was a backer until I had to start fixing everything that I put the stuff in because of water or destroyed lines. Then I did a bit of research and was astounded by what I found. The Paul Harvey rest of the story if you will. I just ran across this little ditty a few minutes ago. Frankly, I feel used by the propaganda. Consider it informational and not political.
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