The first billion-dollar weather disaster of 2012 for the U.S. was the March 2 - 3 tornado outbreak in the Midwest and Southeast, said NOAA today. They put the total cost of the tornadoes that killed 41 people in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and Alabama at 1.5 billion. Global reinsurance company AON Benfield, in their latest monthly Global Catastrophe Recap Report, put the damage at $2 billion. The outbreak spawned two EF-4 tornadoes, one which devastated Henryville, Indiana, and another that plowed through Crittenden, Kentucky. The two other tornado outbreaks of note that occurred in February and March had damages less than $1 billion: the Leap Day tornadoes in Illinois and surrounding states ($475 million), and the Dexter, Michigan tornado EF-3 tornado of March 15 ($275 million.) I expect that the tornadoes that swept through the Dallas, Texas region last week will likely have a damage tally in the hundreds of millions, but fall short of the billion-dollar mark. In 2011, we already had two billion-dollar weather-related disasters by the first week of April, so we are behind last year's pace. NOAA's National Climatic Data Center logged a record fourteen billion-dollar weather disasters in 2011. There has been just one other billion-dollar disaster in the world this year, according to AON Benfield--severe flooding in Australia's New South Wales and Victoria states in late February and early March that caused $1.58 billion in damage. A separate flooding episode in late January and early February caused an additional $920 million in damage in Australia.
Figure 1. A school bus mangled by the EF-4 Henryville, Indiana tornado of March 2, 2012. Image credit: NWS Louisville, Kentucky.
A week for severe severe weather across the Plains and Midwest
Expect severe weather and tornadoes every day this week across the Plains and Midwest U.S., says NOAA's Storm Prediction Center (SPC). A warm, unstable airmass will collide with cold air funneling down from Canada most of the week, creating conditions ripe for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes all week. The main focus of severe weather today will be over Western Oklahoma and portions of the Texas Panhandle, where SPC has issued their lowest highest level of alert, a "Slight Risk."
Figure 2. Severe weather threat for Monday, April 9, 2012.
Video 1. Wunderground tornado expert Dr. Rob Carver alerted me to this remarkable railroad surveillance video recently posted to YouTube that captures a train derailed by a Tornado January 7, 2008 in Harvard, IL. The tornado moved across the Chicago and Northwestern railroad where it blew 12 railroad freight cars off the track. The train was moving at the time the tornado hit it, so as the main engine stopped, the remaining cars on the track continued along it and slammed into the front part of the train. No one was injured, but 500 residents in the nearby unincorporated town of Lawrence were evacuated because of the potential for a hazardous materials situation.
Jeff Masters
3/2/12 tornado damage to a business I pass on my way to and from work. This was a beautiful brick building.
Beginning of Tornado in Franklin, NC. Taken by a local Wal Mart Worker and was uploaded to Weather Channel on March 2, 2012
This picture of a small tornado was taken on Friday March 02, 2012 in southern Lincoln County, Tennessee about 7 miles south of Fayetteville.
Photographer: Angela Currey-Echols
This pic was taken last night near Lumberton Mississippi
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Yeah saw that on TWC this morning. unreal almost the whole US was covered in red dots.
It's Official... Warmest March!
Seen a lot of tornados, have you?
Didn't see that one coming :P
State of the Climate
Some dots are full and others are just rings
Do you have the fishing tackle ready?
BUTTT... sounds like this might be upgraded to Moderate risk by the 3 pm outlook time. From today's late morning outlook: SUPERCELL STORMS CAPABLE OF VERY LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. LOW LEVEL WINDS ARE FORECAST TO STRENGTHEN THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING... WHICH MAY ALSO SUPPORT A RISK OF A FEW TORNADOES AS THE STORMS TRACK SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS WESTERN OK.
Was a moderate risk area delineated over Western OK in the 1 am convective outlook that had been reduced to slight at 0800 cdt.
If you are in these areas, Stay tuned to your favorite weather info source...
Agreed. The SPC map is an indicator of where weather may become a concern. It should be used along with other tools to determine an area's potential for moderate or severe weather IMO
Perhaps, although many of the colder areas did not experience the cold for quite as long. The global March analysis from NOAA will come out later this month, then it might be easier to compare.
Just remember that it works both ways... when we had our cold winters the past few years, other parts of the world were very warm. Globally averaged, we were warmer than average and still near the record. I would imagine that that will still be the case this year, as well.
300foot(90metre) tall spikes caused by limestone weathering in the
~600sq.kilometre(~230sq.mile) stone forest of Tsingy de Bemaraha
Love the extreme weather animation from NOAA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embed ded&v=JAjjjtDY8UU
However, global temperature remains below 30 years average line. It will go above when El Nino returns.
Mean temperatures over the UK were 0.6 C above average during December, 1.3 C above in January and 0.7 C above in February. The UK mean temperature for the winter was 4.5 C, much milder than the last three winters, and comparable with several other mild winters since 2000. December was generally mild, especially across southern areas. After a mostly mild January, the last few days saw the onset of a cold spell that lasted 2 weeks with some sharp frosts and snowfalls, especially over England. Mild weather then returned until the end of February. Over Scotland and Northern Ireland, it was the mildest February since 1998, and one of the mildest on record.
Well, it already is above--but, yes, it will go considerably higher as we transition to an El Nino.
Nah, just don't like general statements like that. Now if he says he's seen a few, I can take his statement as it stands (I'm at 16 or so within a mile or two; certainly not a lot, but more than most) and both those photos looked pretty familiar from here...
There are others who can interpret the signs also, but the SPC has the best tools available to others, and then some. And, of course, when it comes to tornadoes, the best tools are radar and watching the sky. That's why storm spotters, and I don't mean only storm chasers, are key for NWS and emergency management in areas like the Plains this time of year.
Means a lot if you're living under it.
You and others might want to review the SPC's FAQ section on convective outlooks and the notations on the convective outlooks regarding what a 2% probability means.
Thanks for the global info. I remember hearing about the cold snap, but got the impression from some "other" sources that it lasted for more than a couple weeks.
This is one reason I like to stick with WUbloggers... I get a lot more info that way.
Transition is underway.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
1110 AM EDT MON APR 9 2012
...FREEZING TEMPERATURES POSSIBLE TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY
MORNING FOR SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA...NORTHEAST TENNESSEE...AND THE
SMOKY MOUNTAINS...
.A CANADIAN RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO THE SOUTHERN
APPALACHIANS TUESDAY NIGHT USHERING IN CHILLY TEMPERATURES ACROSS
THE AREA. TEMPERATURES MAY DROP AT OR BELOW FREEZING ACROSS THE
WATCH AREA BY EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING.
TNZ015>018-041>047-072-074-VAZ001-002-005-006-008 -092315-
/O.CON.KMRX.FZ.A.0001.120411T0600Z-120411T1300Z/
HANCOCK-HAWKINS-SULLIVAN-JOHNSON-COCKE SMOKY MOUNTAINS-
NORTHWEST GREENE-SOUTHEAST GREENE-WASHINGTON TN-UNICOI-
NORTHWEST CARTER-SOUTHEAST CARTER-BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS-
SEVIER SMOKY MOUNTAINS-LEE-WISE-SCOTT-RUSSELL-WASHINGTON-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...SNEEDVILLE...ROGERSVILLE...KINGSPORT...
BRISTOL...MOUNTAIN CITY...COSBY...GREENEVILLE...CEDAR CREEK...
JOHNSON CITY...ERWIN...ELIZABETHTON...ROAN MOUNTAIN...
CADES COVE...GATLINBURG...JONESVILLE...WISE...NORTON...
GATE CITY...LEBANON...ABINGDON
1110 AM EDT MON APR 9 2012
...FREEZE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM LATE TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH
WEDNESDAY MORNING...
* EVENT...A LIGHT FREEZE IS POSSIBLE EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING
WITH TEMPERATURES DROPPING TO THE UPPER 20S AND LOWER 30S.
* TIMING...TEMPERATURES AT OR BELOW FREEZING ARE EXPECTED BY
EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING WITH FREEZE CONDITIONS LASTING BETWEEN
1 AND 3 HOURS.
* IMPACTS...FREEZING TEMPERATURES COULD CAUSE DAMAGE TO
SENSITIVE VEGETATION.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A FREEZE WATCH MEANS SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES ARE POSSIBLE.
THESE CONDITIONS COULD KILL CROPS AND OTHER SENSITIVE VEGETATION
THAT ARE LEFT UNPROTECTED.
&&
$$
Awesome.
Looking through your multi colored glasses will make any cloud look like a tornado
in the ~600sq.kilometre(~230sq.mile) stone forest of Tsingy de Bemaraha
77 LargoFl: Now That is quite an interesting place, so unusual...great pics there...
So close to "That's impossible!" looking that I had to (use the excuse of weathering to) share.
Link
It's not August 9th, please return back to the current time and get back to the time machine immediately
I know
yo rita ya I know its not aug 9 I know what day it is I know what time of year this is you don't need to go on as if I was a crazy idiot ya read me
BLOB
Let's see how good you guys are... Here are a couple images from my personal collection... Which ones are tornadoes and which are not.
Me speak no espaniol
Ahh, those are just for photo opportunities...how you doing, my Yankee friend?
Top one only
Pic one and three.
Viewing: 51 - 101
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