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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Wow! That's a monster wall cloud! Very incredible.
Beautiful wall cloud
Edit: Ball signature is gone, but not the hook.
Good evening Mississippiwx...how are you?
Doing well, nigel. Hope all is well with you too!
That storm should have been tornado warned a while ago. It had some very strong rotation when it was north east of Childress, but wasn't tornado warned.
You're right, however the pros must see something that shows it's not worthy of a tornado warning.
LOADED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX
823 PM CDT MON APR 9 2012
TXC389-475-100130-
/O.CON.KMAF.TO.W.0005.000000T0000Z-120410T0130Z/
WARD TX-REEVES TX-
823 PM CDT MON APR 9 2012
...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 830 PM CDT FOR CENTRAL
REEVES AND WEST CENTRAL WARD COUNTIES...
AT 815 PM CDT...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS 12 MILES NORTHWEST OF PECOS
ON U.S. HIGHWAY 285 REPORTED A WALL CLOUD WITH ROTATION. A TORNADO
MAY FORM AT ANY TIME.
AT 818 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS CONTINUED TO
DETECT A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO LOCATED
12 MILES NORTHWEST OF PECOS...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.
SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED BY THE TORNADO INCLUDE...PECOS.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A TORNADO MAY FORM AT ANY TIME... TAKE COVER NOW. ABANDON MOBILE
HOMES AND VEHICLES FOR MORE SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. AVOID WINDOWS.
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE... SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT... SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT... DITCH OR
LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 100 AM CDT
TUESDAY MORNING FOR SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO AND SOUTHWESTERN TEXAS.
&&
LAT...LON 3161 10364 3152 10336 3133 10355 3153 10371
TIME...MOT...LOC 0120Z 292DEG 15KT 3155 10359
$$
but we do get large cat 5s as well...Katrina, Mitch, Gilbert..etc
451
WFUS54 KMAF 100128
TORMAF
TXC389-475-100200-
/O.NEW.KMAF.TO.W.0006.120410T0128Z-120410T0200Z/
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX
828 PM CDT MON APR 9 2012
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIDLAND HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
WEST CENTRAL WARD COUNTY IN WEST TEXAS...
CENTRAL REEVES COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS...
* UNTIL 900 PM CDT
* AT 826 PM CDT...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD 7
MILES NORTH OF PECOS...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.
* THE TORNADO WILL AFFECT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
PECOS...
BARSTOW...
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A TORNADO MAY FORM AT ANY TIME... TAKE COVER NOW. ABANDON MOBILE
HOMES AND VEHICLES FOR MORE SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. AVOID WINDOWS.
TORNADOES AT NIGHT ARE ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU
SEE OR HEAR THE TORNADO...IT MAY BE TOO LATE. TAKE COVER NOW.
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 100 AM CDT
TUESDAY MORNING FOR SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO AND SOUTHWESTERN TEXAS.
LAT...LON 3149 10327 3129 10349 3151 10362 3157 10353
TIME...MOT...LOC 0128Z 313DEG 19KT 3150 10353
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX
813 PM CDT MON APR 9 2012
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIDLAND HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
SOUTHEASTERN LOVING COUNTY IN WEST TEXAS...
WESTERN WARD COUNTY IN WEST TEXAS...
CENTRAL REEVES COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST TEXAS...
* UNTIL 915 PM CDT
* AT 809 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING VERY LARGE AND DESTRUCTIVE
HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF BASEBALLS...AND DESTRUCTIVE WINDS IN EXCESS
OF 70 MPH. THIS STORM WAS LOCATED 7 MILES SOUTH OF MENTONE...
MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.
* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
PECOS...
BARSTOW...
U.S. HIGHWAY 285 SOUTH OF STATE HIGHWAY 302...
Yeah, thanks for asking
good weather reporting folks, this sure beats all the blah, blah, blah, about GW!
Ya, ALL keep up the great work, like I said, your all awesome!
Interesting looking cell west of me, it has showed weak rotation at times earlier.
March 2012 and Last 12 Months Were Warmest On Record in U.S.
Dan's Wild Wild Science Journal
blogs.agu.org
The 12-month period (April 2011-March 2012), which includes the second hottest summer (June-August) and fourth warmest winter (December-February), was thewarmest such period for the contiguous United States. Twenty-eight states were record warm for the 12-month period, and an additional eleven state...
Maybe it was a large bird that the hail took out of the sky.
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO... SEEK SAFETY IN A CULVERT...DITCH... OR A LOW LYING AREA AWAY FROM YOUR VEHICLE. LIE FLAT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
I know the ditch is a last resort, but this phrasing is better:
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE... SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT... SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT... DITCH OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
wow!
I think we need to stick with softball size as a maximum for now.
How ya doing Keep....
Look at the difference since March 30
starting sunday april 15th 30 days from epac start date
i will be posting my full tropical blog
and start to activly watch east pacific for dev of Tropical Cyclones
the epac should run high if in fact the atlantic is to be low
so things should start up in the epac over the next couple of weeks
I see 20 or more storms for epac this season
half of which will become canes
if it plays out that way
as always we watch and see
16-10-6 EPAC
he can't even remember who he is
he is looking at that going who's grothar
give him five minutes or so and then he will realize o ya thats right thats me
This is all we got to work with.
Sir, your facts are mixed up. The peninsula on the left hand side is Korea. That is nowhere NEAR the size of the USA. And Gobi desert dust storms happen all the time, so it isn't smog or anything...
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