Storms Batter 8 States, Leave 23 Dead

[phantom power]

Jeff Masters says one of these tornados was likely an F4 or possibly even F5. The last F5 tornado was in 1999, with winds of 300mph.

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=332&tstamp=200604

April 03,2006 | NEWBERN, Tenn. -- Thunderstorms battered eight states across the Midwest with tornadoes and hail as big as softballs, killing at least 23 people, injuring scores and destroying hundreds of homes.

Tennessee was hardest hit, with tornadoes striking five counties and killing 19 people along one 25-mile path Sunday, the National Weather Service said. The Highway Patrol sent teams to the area Monday with search dogs.

(...)

Severe thunderstorms, many producing tornadoes, also struck parts of Iowa, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. Strong wind was blamed or at least three deaths in Missouri. A clothing store collapsed in southern Illinois, killing one man.

The weather service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said it had preliminary reports of 63 tornadoes.

http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8GOIJ903.html

[Dogmudgeon]

1. Spring is Sprung

Spring is Sprung
The Grass is Riz
I wonders where
The Climate is.

--p!

[intheflow]

2. K&R. Up to 27 dead, according to Yahoo/AP.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&u=/ap/20060403/ap_on_re_us/severe_storms_23

Newbern (NC) alderman Robert Hart said witnesses described the tornado that hit his town as being "almost a mile wide."

(snip)

"We stood in the parking lot and watched the clouds spin, coming from two different directions," Rollings told The Jonesboro Sun. "Then, we could hear the roaring sound. As we stood in the door, the winds picked up debris, and we saw the other one come in another direction within minutes."

Hail 4 inches in diameter slammed right through the roof of one mobile home in Arkansas, weather service meteorologist Newton Skiles said.

(snip)

"We've got a damage path (in a Missouri town) about a half mile wide," Pippins said.

One Kentucky county declared a state of emergency early Monday as rescue workers struggled to get to rural areas where roads were blocked by power lines and trees.

I know we've had bad tornadoes in these states for years, but looking at the entirety of the planet these days, these storms seem particularly violent and ominous. Not that I'm surprised. My Environmental Science prof was saying this all was coming down the pike 15 years ago in class.


*Edited for typo.