dohboi wrote:Was it a derecho (straight-line wind storm), by any chance?
Just a really strong thunderstorm frontal boundary, not up to Derecho levels but high winds with variable direction.
dohboi wrote:Was it a derecho (straight-line wind storm), by any chance?
Increased tornadic activity is indeed the among the hardest to connect conclusively to gw of the various weather extremes. But that is exactly why it is is so concerning that latest research does suggest just such a shift.
Of course, if one wants to just accept the most comforting data, that, I guess, is one's own choice.
New research by a Florida State University geography professor shows that climate change may be playing a key role in the strength and frequency of tornadoes hitting the United States.
Published Wednesday in the journal Climate Dynamics, Professor James Elsner writes that though tornadoes are forming fewer days per year, they are forming at a greater density and strength than ever before. So, for example, instead of one or two forming on a given day in an area, there might be three or four occurring.
"We may be less threatened by tornadoes on a day-to-day basis, but when they do come, they come like there's no tomorrow," Elsner said.
Elsner, an expert in climate and weather trends, said in the past, many researchers dismissed the impact of climate change on tornadoes because there was no distinct pattern in the number of tornado days per year. In 1971, there were 187 tornado days, but in 2013 there were only 79 days with tornadoes.
But a deeper dive into the data showed more severity in the types of storms and that more were happening on a given day than in previous years.
"I think it's important for forecasters and the public to know this," Elsner said. "It's a matter of making sure the public is aware that if there is a higher risk of a storm, there may actually be multiple storms in a day."
The study looked at tornadoes from 1954 to 2014, applying some statistical analysis to the number and strength of each. What they found is interesting, and a little bit non-intuitive, and also may have implications for the effects of climate change.
First off, they found that the total number of outbreaks per year is fairly steady across the date range, at roughly 20 per year (with lots of fluctuations year to year). The total number of individual tornadoes is also steady, roughly 500 per year (again, with lots of variation).
But that’s not the whole story. The researchers looked at the outbreaks themselves, and found that the number of tornadoes that occur in outbreaks is increasing. It’s going up by about 0.66 percent per year, from about 10 per outbreak in the 1950s to 15 today. That rise is statistically significant (that is, very unlikely to be from random chance).
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
At least 19 people have died over the last 48 hours due to tornadoes, as a violent system of storms made its way across the South from Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle and parts of Alabama and Georgia.
At least 15 people died and around two dozen were injured in Georgia from tornadoes early Sunday morning, following four tornado-related deaths that occurred in Mississippi on Saturday morning.
According to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, four people died in Dougherty County near Albany, seven in Cook County near Adel, and two people died in both Berrien and Brooks counties.
After storms ripped through the region overnight, more tornado watches were issued today for the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama, and the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency has issued a state of emergency for the seven south central Georgia counties impacted by the storm.
"The National Weather Service predicts a third wave of severe weather today, which may reach as far north as metro Atlanta. I urge all Georgians to exercise caution and vigilance in order to remain safe and prevent further loss of life or injuries," Nathan Deal, the governor of Georgia, said in a statement.
President Trump expressed condolences to the people of Georgia affected by the tornadoes.
"I want to start off by telling you I just spoke with Gov. Nathan Deal of Georgia, great state, great people," Trump said. "Florida affected, Alabama affected by the tornadoes, and just expressed our sincere condolences for the lives taken."
Trump added that the tornadoes "were vicious and powerful and strong," and said that people suffered as a result of them.
"So we'll be helping out the state of Georgia," Trump added.
Images on social media showed telephone poles cracked in half. Entire streets looked as if they had been torn apart by the storms.
"There are houses just demolished," Norma Ford, a resident of Albany, Georgia, who rushed out with other relatives Sunday evening after hearing a reported twister had overturned her nephew's mobile home, told the Associated Press.
Ford told the AP that downed trees and powerlines blocked roads. Many in the region went without power overnight.
Michael Miller, coroner in Brooks County, Georgia, told ABC News that two deaths were confirmed in his county with five more fatalities in Cook County and four more in nearby Berrien County.
At least 23 other people in the state are injured.
In the area of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where at least four people died, a large tornado leveled homes and buildings, trapping residents in their homes, authorities said.
Further north in Choctaw County, Mississippi, on Saturday at least four people were injured and at least 20 homes damaged from a possible tornado, according to the National Weather Service.
ABC News' David Caplan, Brendan Rand and Matt Foster contributed to this report.
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
baha wrote:Have you ever heard of people dying from tornadoes in January? It's headed my way tonight. What happens next summer?
dohboi wrote:And...where is tRump?
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Officials Beg Trump to Send Help After Storms Kill 20 Across South
Desperate officials pleaded with President Donald Trump to send federal assistance Monday after at least 20 people were killed by storms and tornadoes that caused devastation authorities likened to the impact of a nuclear blast.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said he had dispatched a letter to Trump pleading for help after four people were killed in his state. He said more 1,000 homes were damaged in Hattiesburg and surrounding Forrest County alone — 239 of which were obliterated.
In Dougherty County, Georgia, where four people were killed, county commission Chairman Chris Cohilas said Monday that he has been "begging FEMA for boots on the ground," referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"I'm asking President Trump to cut through the red tape and get people on the damned ground here," he said.
In addition to the 19 people confirmed to have died in central and south Georgia and in Mississippi, a 20th person was confirmed Monday to have been killed in northern Florida over the weekend.Officials Beg Trump to Send Help After Storms Kill 20 Across South
Desperate officials pleaded with President Donald Trump to send federal assistance Monday after at least 20 people were killed by storms and tornadoes that caused devastation authorities likened to the impact of a nuclear blast.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said he had dispatched a letter to Trump pleading for help after four people were killed in his state. He said more 1,000 homes were damaged in Hattiesburg and surrounding Forrest County alone — 239 of which were obliterated.
In Dougherty County, Georgia, where four people were killed, county commission Chairman Chris Cohilas said Monday that he has been "begging FEMA for boots on the ground," referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"I'm asking President Trump to cut through the red tape and get people on the damned ground here," he said.
In addition to the 19 people confirmed to have died in central and south Georgia and in Mississippi, a 20th person was confirmed Monday to have been killed in northern Florida over the weekend.
The increase in billion-dollar disasters is due, in part, to the increase in population and material weather over the last several decades. NCEI notes many population centers exist in vulnerable areas where "building codes are often insufficient in reducing damage from extreme events." The increasing frequency of some types of extreme weather due to climate change is also a factor, according to the report from NCEI.
Since 1980, there have been 218 weather and climate disasters in the U.S. that have reached at least $1 billion in damage or cost. The total cost of these 218 events exceeds $1.2 trillion. This cost, however, does not include Harvey, Irma and Maria.
Fifteen billion-dollar disasters have occurred this year in the U.S. through September.
This number will likely rise through the end of the year and might set a record.
Tornado and severe thunderstorm events have made up the largest share and have added seven billion-dollar weather disasters to the list.
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
MUNCIE, Ind. (WTHR) — The Muncie Community School Board has authorized emergency repairs to the Fieldhouse.
A severe thunderstorm on November 5 ripped a hole in the roof of the Fieldhouse and ruptured water pipes, turning the bleachers into a waterfall and flooding the hardwood basketball floor.
On Tuesday, the board approved getting bids to make repairs.
The money to do it will come from insurance. The district already received $900,000 and will get another $340,000 once repair work begins.
The plan is to present bids to the board at an August 28 meeting.
These repairs will only cover damage from the storm and not include fixing other issues that exist at the fieldhouse.
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
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