Early-Season Oubreak

As you can see, yesterday saw one of the largest severe weather outbreaks we have seen in some time. Over 50 reported tornadoes traversed through the Lower and Mid-Mississippi Valley yesterday and into last evening. And while this number will likely dwindle some as analysis may indicate redundant tornado tracks, I am sure it will still rank very high as one of the largest outbreaks ever for this early in the year. It, unfortunately, will rank as one of the deadliest 24-hour outbreaks this country has experienced in history. With over 50 fatalities confirmed thus far (26 alone, in Tennessee), it now exceeds the outbreak in Oklahoma of May 3rd, 1999.

The time of year and the late hour that many of these tornadoes hit are both contributing factors to the number of fatalities. But, also because these tornadoes hit largely populated areas. Tornadoes affected many large cities, including areas around Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee, as well as Fairview, Arkansas. Jackson, TN also was hit particularly hard, especially around Union University on the northwest side of the city. It is amazing no lives were lost here, as there were numerous students in dormitories at the time.

For more news coverage on the outbreak and updates on the situation at Union University, follow the links below:

http://www.wmctv.com/
http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage

Also, Red Cross Chapters across West-Tennessee can be found here:

http://www.redcross.org/where/chapts.asp#TN

My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those that have been affected by this terrible outbreak.

Dodge City, KS radar loop

For those of you curious about the parent supercell that went on to produce the devastating and deadly Greensburg, KS tornado, I've put together a rather extensive radar loop from the Dodge City radar.

To view the loop, simply click on the following link:
http://www.mhartman-wx.com/mwx_eventList.html

The loop begins around 5:13pm CDT on May 4th, when the first storm echoes were picked up by the radar over far northeastern portions of the Texas panhandle. It continues through late that evening, until 4:31am on May 5th, when convection finally departed the radar coverage area.

The storm chaser in me wants to say, "what a beautiful storm..." Yet, knowing now what kind of damage this monster tornado brought to the tiny town of Greensburg is very sobering. It's truly amazing that no more were killed. Folks, this tornado 25 years ago very likely could have killed a hundred or more. Adequate warning systems helped tremendously that night and those people in Greensburg, having a plan, knew what to do and where to go.

Have a plan, folks... This can and will happen again. If we all do our part, we can also keep death tolls to a minimum!

First thunder!

That's right, I'm here to report the first thunder of the year. We had widespread rain and embedded thunderstorms around the area this past Saturday evening and even though it occurred late, I pulled myself out of bed and sat waiting impatiently for that perfect CG to capture on the camera. It took nearly an hour of waiting! Most of the lightning came in the IC (in-cloud) variety, however I did count a grand total of two CG bolts. Luckily, I was able to capture one of them. If you are curious, head over to my PhotoBlog to view the picture.

In other news, widespread severe weather was reported throughout the weekend over the central and southern Plains and my heart, especially, goes out to those folks in Greensburg, Kansas. The small town was nearly wiped off the map from a massive tornado Friday evening, killing 10 people. Officials have estimated that 95% of the town was destroyed with the other 5% still suffering from moderate to severe damage. Please keep your thoughts and prayers with those people affected with this latest round of severe weather and tornadoes.