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Tag Archives: Oklahoma
Severe weather tears across the south, nine killed
Two days of severe weather have spawned more than two dozen tornadoes, dropped softball size hail and unleashed damaging winds. The storms which have affected five states turned deadly and claimed the lives of nine people.
- Update – The death toll from the severe weather outbreak is now at 16. Get the latest from the Natural Disasters Examiner.
Yesterday a massive line of storms stretching from northern Kansas down to southern Oklahoma struck. The town of Tushka, Oklahoma took a direct strike from the storm destroying many homes and as many as five school buildings. Two elderly women were killed.
Early this morning the same storm system moved to the east bringing powerful winds to 80mph. Seven people were killed including a six-year-old boy and an 18-month-old girl. The boy’s life was claimed when a tree six feet in diameter fell on the family home.
Today the severe weather has continued as the storms continue their terrifying rampage. More than 40 tornadoes have been reported, most in Mississippi and Alabama, and as of this writing they continue their movement east.
Extensive damage has been seen in both states. In Talladega, Alabama, NASCAR officials were warning fans to be ready to evacuate as the racetrack is under a tornado watch until 9:00pm. With tens of thousands of fans on site, officials prepared evacuation routes should the need arise.
Below is video from storm chasers as one tornado crosses a highway in Jackson, Mississippi.
Slideshow – Amazing images captured by Storm Chase 2010
Certainly the highlight of storm chasing is tornadoes and ThorntonWeather.com’s Storm Chase 2010 had plenty of those – five in one day in fact. However, as great of satisfaction can be derived from simpler, less violent storms. The images from a week of chasing on the Great Plains show the fury and the beauty of Mother Nature.
Storm chasing is as much an art as a science – there are no guarantees that tornadoes will appear as forecast. Other types of severe weather and the amazing structure they display can bu just as impressive.
Scud clouds hovering over a coal train in Nebraska, egg sized hail pummeling storm chaser vehicles, the sun setting on the Oklahoma plains and the now infamous Baca County, Colorado tornado ripping through ranchland all were highlights of Storm Chase 2010.
The images in the slideshow below represent some of the most stunning and beautiful images captured during the week.
Storm Chase 2010 wraps up – Chasers experience it all from sunsets to tornadoes
We have said before that storm chasing is as much an art as a science and it can very much be feast or famine. Both extremes were seen over the course of a week of storm chasing on the Great Plains by ThorntonWeather.com.
We hope our site visitors were checking out the Storm Chase 2010 Examiner where we were documenting our chase across America’s heartland. With stories, photos and video, the entire incredible week has been described in detail.
Two ‘busted’ storm chase days started out the week – one with a round trip from Denver to Nebraska and another one-way to Amarillo, Texas. Those certainly fulfilled the ‘famine’ part of storm chasing.
The third day however brought a ‘feast’ in the form of a bounty of five tornadoes in one day. Chasing storms in southeastern Colorado, ThorntonWeather.com witnessed the entire gamut of severe weather from drenching rain and damaging hail to gale force winds and of course tornadoes.
The first tornado of that day near Pritchett, Colorado allowed chasers to witness the complete tornado genesis. As massive amounts of air were sucked into a storm cell and the clouds swirled menacingly above, a small funnel cloud soon grew into a powerful tornado.
Two other tornadoes and an incredible hail storm on the virtually barren ranchland followed. The main event was yet to come however.
About eight miles south of Campo, Colorado, a massive supercell seemed poised to generate a tornado. Chasers waited anxiously as the sky grew darker on the plains. A funnel cloud formed and was cheered on as it grew closer to the ground.
Before long the tornado was on the ground moving at a leisurely 10 mph – its slow pace allowing for plenty of time to capture amazing photos and video of the event. The Baca County tornado would draw national media attention and will possibly go down as the most picturesque of all twisters during the 2010 tornado season.
While the Memorial Day tornadoes would be the last seen during the week, they were not the last extraordinary weather event witnessed by the storm chasers.
Two days after the southeastern Colorado tornadoes, chasers witnessed an extraordinary ‘mothership’ supercell near Goodland, Kansas. The sight of the ‘flying saucer’ slowly moving across the Kansas wheat fields was extraordinary.
Central Nebraska proved to be the backdrop for another day of weather beauty. Waiting patiently at a small town gas station, multiple super cells moved across the area and chasers were on the move. From highways to dirt roads, the chasers saw the storms generate amazing shelf clouds and funnel clouds.
In the end, the group of storm chasers covered over 2,500 miles across five states. They witnessed many funnel clouds and amazing storm structures and of course five tornadoes, two of which were at close range. For many it was truly a once in a lifetime experience that allowed them to see Mother Nature’s fury up close and personal.
Complete stories, photos and video from Storm Chase 2010:
- Storm Chase 2010 intercepts tornadoes in southeastern Colorado
- Amazing time lapse video captures tornado genesis near Pritchett, Colorado
- Chasers intercept flying saucer over Kansas
- Time lapse video of Campo, Colorado tornado released
- Top shots – Best photos from a week of storm chasing on the Great Plains
Tornadoes kill 5 in Oklahoma – Video from storm chasers
It is a little known but amazing phenomenon that sometimes accompanies tornadoes – multiple vortices coming from one larger twister. Storm chasers descended on the area of yesterday’s deadly tornado outbreak and two were able to capture amazing video of what looks like small tornadoes circling a larger twister.
When witnessed from the ground, multiple vortex tornadoes are an amazing sight. The larger twister will appear no different than what one might expect, but smaller vortices will be seen rapidly circling around and through the main funnel.
These suction vortexes are usually short-lived and will die out as the main funnel moves and then new satellites will reappear. These satellite vortices are oftentimes present but not visible due to debris and clouds.
Storm chaser team Scott Weberpal and Ryan Wichman captured amazing video of a multiple vortex tornado as it tore through the Oklahoma countryside. Watch the video below.
- News & photos from the Natural Disasters Examiner: 5 dead and dozens injured as tornadoes tear through Kansas and Oklahoma