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EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON FROM 520 PM UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST. ...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION... DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER... THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 85 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF DYERSBURG TENNESSEE TO 25 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF GREENVILLE MISSISSIPPI. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5). REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND...

The "meat horns" (air raid sirens) just went off.

A strong storm system that produced several suspected tornadoes hit the Southeast on Wednesday, damaging dozens of homes and buildings. At least 15 people were injured in Mississippi. Suspected tornadoes were reported in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Four homes were damaged in western Alabama, about 60 miles southwest of Tuscaloosa. It was the worst bout of weather for that state since about 250 people were killed during a tornado outbreak in April. < SNIP >

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — By all accounts, Mark Lindquist is a hero, an underpaid social worker who nearly gave his life trying to save three developmentally disabled adults from the Joplin tornado. Both houses of the Missouri legislature honored Lindquist, the Senate resolution calling him "a true hero and inspiration to others." But heroism doesn't pay the bills. The tornado's 200 mph winds tossed Lindquist nearly a block, broke every rib, obliterated his shoulder, knocked out most of his teeth and put him in a coma for about two months. Lindquist, 51, ran up medical expenses that exceed $2.5 million,...

Man-o-man...this is getting annoying. Here in North Georgia we are having some weather. Basically it's sprinkling with an occasional light breeze. Apparently there are some localized storms with heavy rain and strong winds. So instead of the usual approach of streaming the watches/warnings below the normal programming (with the occasional beep-beep-beep attention getter) - the weather dudes have taken over the channels and are making it out to be Weather WWIII. I am the last guy to diminish the danger of a tornado (lived through one) - but this weather paranoia is getting annoying. They are "urgently" reporting rain and...

They mocked the Wright Brothers, too. So if Laura Nell Britton’s latest invention, the Trash Can Storm Shelter, catches on, she’ll stand in good company. Britton recently sunk two large plastic trash cans into the ground outside her Rolling Greens home, then installed rebar and poured cement around it and, voila! — instant, inexpensive shelter against the power of a tornado. Now she’s hoping the idea will gain momentum and that the trash can manufacturer, Toter, will help her market this novel use for their product.

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A possible tornado damaged several horse barns at Churchill Downs, prompting track officials to temporarily halt races Thursday at the famed Kentucky Derby horse track. Some horses have been moved to private farms, Keeneland racetrack in Lexington and to different barns at the facility, track president Kevin Flanery said. Flanery said multiple barns sustained damage after 8 p.m. EDT Wednesday when the storms blew through the area, knocking down poles, trees and power to thousands in Louisville. Flanery called off Thursday's racing card while workers assess damage and do repairs, but said he was optimistic racing can resume Friday and...

A tornado is currently tearing through Louisville, Kentucky. Early reports indicate that Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, has suffered damage.

The National Weather Service said Tuesday that a small tornado touched down briefly in the area of 140 Great Hollow Road on June 9. The bulk of the damage in the area was caused by a microburst, which had strong straight line winds moving from southwest to northeast. A tornado has rotating wind. ... The tornado left a path about 30 yards wide and moved about 100 yards before breaking up. A National Weather Service spokesman said it was on the ground less than a minute. The estimated maximum wind speed was 100 mph.

Jefferson County resident Jonathan Stewart said he laughed in shock after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) claimed the house his family lost in the deadly April 27 twister was ‘not unsafe to live in’. Displaced families in tornado-ravaged Alabama are outraged after being denied federal aide to rebuild their flattened homes – due to ‘insufficient damage’. The devastating reality is the house is now a concrete slab surrounded by rubble. Mr Stewart told AL.com a FEMA inspector saw first-hand the Pleasant Grove residence he shared with his wife, Lisa, and their two children was ripped from the ground....

JOPLIN, Mo. -- A Joplin doctor said Thursday his hospital treated five Joplin tornado victims for a rare, aggressive fungal infection sometimes found in survivors of other natural disasters. Dr. Uwe Schmidt, an infectious disease specialist at Freeman Health System in Joplin, said three of those patients who contracted zygomycosis have since died, but he stopped short of blaming their deaths specifically on the infections. "These people had multiple traumas, pneumonia, all kinds of problems," Schmidt said. "It's difficult to say how much the fungal infections contributed to their demise." Jacqueline Lapine, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Health...

Until alerted to the problem, city of Minneapolis posted a list of suggested tornado-repair contractors that included 22 that were unlicensed. After warning North Side tornado victims to avoid "unlicensed, unscrupulous contractors," Minneapolis officials failed to take their own advice and circulated a list that included 22 companies that were not licensed to perform home repairs

Ryan Donovan knows what everyone else with a daily commute out of Springfield knows well. If you're just a few minutes behind schedule, you might as well not even try the South End bridge. The way traffic jams from Columbus Ave onto the bridge and moves slowly off to Route 5 or the Agawam rotary, you're much better off heading to the Memorial Ave bridge and taking your chances there. That is, unless an F-3 tornado is barreling down that stretch of Route 5 and heading directly for the bridge. Donovan, a 25-year-old chemist from Westfield, learned that lesson the...

SPRINGFIELD - The tornado that ripped through Springfield was the second strongest ever recorded in Massachusetts, with wind speeds estimated at 136 to 165 mph, an official with the National Weather Service said Friday. Meteorologist Eleanor Vallier-Talbot said preliminary investigations show that in areas hardest hit, the tornado was estimated as an EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita Damage Classification Scale. The scale classifies tornadoes on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the most intense. The tornado that flattened Joplin, Mo., last month was considered an EF-5, with winds in excess of 200 mph. The highest rating recorded for a...

SPRINGFIELD (CBS/AP) – Two people have been shot by police in a tornado-ravaged area of Springfield. Originally a police source told WBZ-TV that one person was killed. Police later stated that was not the case and the injuries are non-life threatening.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - The National Weather Service in Taunton is now able to confirm some information regarding the tornado that passed from Westfield through Springfield and eastward into Monson. Some of the hardest hit areas will be classified with a rating of EF3 or higher on the Enhanced Fujita damage classification scale.

WESTFIELD — City officials say no one was killed, and no injuries attributed to yesterday’s tornado have been reported. Mayor Daniel M. Knapik said in a briefing this morning that despite national news service reports that two people were killed in Westfield, no one suffered bodily injury from the storm. Knapik said the city is receiving help from a variety of state and regional resources, including the Army National Guard’s 357th Engineers from Pittsfield, the State Police and the Southampton Fire Department, and a caravan of state workers is on its way from Boston, he said, to assist local residents...

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) -- At least two tornadoes swept through western and central Massachusetts Wednesday, sending debris slamming into buildings and killing four people, Massachusetts' governor said. Gov. Deval Patrick said two people died in Westfield, one in West Springfield, and one in Brimfield in the central part of the state. He had no details about those killed. The storms did extensive damage in Springfield, the state's third largest city. State police report 33 injuries in Springfield. Police said five of the injuries were reported serious and required surgery. Patrick said the path of damage from the first and more...

LAQUEY, Mo. (May 23, 2011) — Just one day after a tornado struck Joplin and destroyed thousands of homes, the 287 students of Laquey Elementary School began a fundraising project that they hope will help a fellow southwest Missouri community. The Laquey R-V School District is located to the west and southwest of Fort Leonard Wood, and the New Years Eve tornado which struck Fort Leonard Wood tore through the far southern end of the Laquey district on its way to the post. While nobody was hurt and the affected parts of the Laquey district were mostly unpopulated forested land,...

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (June 1, 2011) — Fort Leonard Wood personnel sent several 3 1/2-ton trucks packed full of donated items to Joplin last week to help local tornado victims. Personnel at the post, which was hit by an EF-3 tornado just five months ago in which 47 homes were destroyed and 97 damaged, started collecting donated items the day after the tornado hit Joplin. Lynn Morgan, Fort Leonard Wood Army Community Services director, said that after the tornado struck Fort Leonard Wood, donations poured in from all over the country and the magnitude of the amount of items...

A great first person report of tornado damage in Brimfield Massachusetts by a guy at a towing/used car dealership. He's literally coming out to discover the destruction and filming and commenting as he goes. The language is coarse, but some of the comments are pretty funny. It is clear that there was a strong tornado there, luckily they were not injured.

“An apparent tornado struck the downtown of one of Massachusetts’ largest cities Wednesday afternoon, scattering debris, toppling trees, and frightening workers and residents. No injuries were immediately reported. (June 1)” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj5uvC9cLO4&feature=player_embedded

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Thomas Walsh, aide to Mayor Domenic Sarno told 22News that the City of Springfield has requested that the National Guard come to the city, where there has been damage from a tornado. Walsh said that all motorists are advised to stay at home and not venture out onto the roads, in order to give emergency workers time to get to where they need to go. Walsh said that the National Guard is on its way. The State Police Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) has been called in to help search damaged buildings for the possibility that...

Wow, you can see the cars lined up in the right lane as the tornado follows the river south, then as it crosses the bridge, look at the lanes, the far side, as the tornado exits the bridge, there is a semi laying down in the left lane

NECN is doing a stellar job of tracking two or three "historic" tornado storms.

What happened in Joplin, MO was not an Act of God.  It was a natural act of nature.  The storm came about because the weather patterns were right, but it would have happened there with or without the town of Joplin in its path.  The Act of God is was what came later. Joplin will never be the same.  Our hearts are broken, but not our spirit.  I am standing on Range Line road looking at what was my town.  I see where the Academy Sports used to stand and near it our favorite pizza place, Pizza By Stout.  Behind...

JOPLIN, Mo. (May 28, 2011) — With the twisted husk of St. John’s Hospital reminding them of the importance of their mission, a group of Missouri National Guardsmen erected a mobile hospital unit in a fraction of the time they were given. Because they were conducting annual training nearby, soldiers of the 117th Engineer Team (Asphalt), of Monett, were on duty conducting search and rescue missions within hours of the tornado hitting Joplin, said Sgt 1st Class Steve White. “We’re here to help relieve the pain,” White said. “We bring a lot of heavy equipment and can get to things...

JOPLIN, Mo. (May 27, 2011) — Gov. Jay Nixon has ordered the Missouri National Guard to supervise the cleanup and debris removal process in Joplin. Citizen-soldiers and airmen were activated immediately following the May 22 tornado and are ready for their new mission, said Maj. Gen. Stephen L. Danner, adjutant general of Missouri. “We are ready for the new mission Gov. Nixon has given us and are prepared to help our friends and family in Joplin in every way we can,” Danner said.

JOPLIN, Mo. (May 27, 2011) — A year ago, the 203rd Engineer Battalion of the Missouri Army National Guard woke up every day in a war zone. That changed Sunday when one of the season’s deadliest tornados blew through this southwest Missouri community of 46,000, leaving behind a path of devastation worse than most of these combat engineers experienced in Afghanistan. Charged with clearing improvised explosive devices from hundreds of kilometers of bumpy, dusty — and dangerous — roads in the war-torn country’s restive east, members of the 203rd served their nation doing one of the hardest jobs in theater....

JOPLIN, Mo. (May 26, 2011) — Some people would call him a hero, but to hear Spc. Jeffrey Price tell it, he was just doing his job. Price, a heavy equipment operator for the Carthage-based 294th Engineer Company of the Missouri Army National Guard, helped rescue dozens of people following Sunday’s deadly storm that left hundreds dead, hundreds more injured and much of this city of about 50,000 people in ruins. Price, 22, was on duty at his job in the automotive department at a local Wal-Mart SuperCenter Sunday as the deadly tornado that flattened area homes, destroyed businesses and...

JOPLIN, Mo. (May 24, 2011) — U.S. Senator Roy Blunt toured the devastating damage today resulting from the recent deadly tornado in Joplin and met with federal and local authorities to ensure that there is a speedy and comprehensive recovery and rebuilding effort under way. "I live about 60 miles from Joplin and have been here hundreds of times. This was a huge path of destruction in one of Missouri's major cities, and I've never seen anything like it. I applaud the federal and local officials for their recovery efforts, and I thank the volunteers who are generously dedicating their...

........Connie is a spiritual person and put the Bible verse from Psalms 121 on the bathroom mirror when Kent first moved into the house. She wanted to remind her son while he was off at college to stay close to God and to remember that God would always be there for him. "The Lord will protect you from all harm. He will protect your life. The Lord will protect your coming and going both now and forever more." "I believe those words with all my heart," Connie says. Now more than ever. ......They turned on the TV, saw the storm...

In predictable, yet despicable fashion, members of Westboro Baptist Church of Kansas are spreading their hate around for recent tornado victims. Fred Phelps and company have allegedly been trolling the Facebook pages of missing tornado victims, leaving hateful and taunting comments. While most of those comments have been deleted, they have left family members and supporters shaken and angry. On Monday, when only 89 deaths had been confirmed, WBC posted a scathing and gleeful document on its website, celebrating the deaths as proof of God's anger over rampant homosexuality. The most recent flier, dated May 25, begins by thanking God...

45 Seconds: Memoirs of an ER Doctor from May 22, 2011. My name is Dr. Kevin Kikta, and I was one of two emergency room doctors who were on duty at St. John’s Regional MedicalCenter in Joplin, MO on Sunday May 22,2011. You never know that it will be the most important day of your life until the day is over. The day started like any other day for me: waking up, eating, going to the gym, showering, and going to my 400pm ER shift. As I drove to the hospital I mentally prepared for my shift as I always...

As a tornado tore his Joplin, Mo., home apart, Don Lansaw did what came naturally: He threw himself on top of his wife Bethany to protect her. And in doing so, he gave his life for her. Lansaw's is just one of several tales of heroism, heartbreak, and amazing escapes that have emerged from the spate of violent weather events that swept the center of the country this week. As many as 125 people are thought to have been killed by the Joplin tornado alone. "The house was ripping apart, it all happened so fast," Bethany Lansaw told NBC News....

CHICKASHA, Okla. -- Laron Short returned to her family home in Chickasha Monday night after a five-month trip to Australia ready to tell her friends and family about her new love, a man she met while abroad. Short, 24, never got the chance. She died Tuesday when a tornado destroyed her mother's mobile home. Her death has been “shattering” to the small close-knit college in Chickasha where Short graduated in December, said J.C. Casey, a communications professor at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. “I loved her very much,” said Casey, who was Short's professor, adviser and friend....

NORMAN, Okla. — The power generated by a tornado is hard to wrap the mind around. They can scoop up entire houses and fling them thousands of feet. Big rigs are blown apart like papier mâché toy trucks, and even cows have been known to take a ride they didn’t sign up for. And with at least 10 souls lost to the tornadoes that ripped through central Oklahoma on Tuesday, they can be — and often are — deadly. Even though Norman and much of Cleveland County was spared during the outbreak Tuesday, it was affected in a different way....

Missouri Senator Roy Blunt says he’s asking the federal government to reimburse 100 percent of the cost to local governments dealing with the Joplin tornado aftermath.

A scruffy Alabama terrier mix named Mason was whisked away by fierce twisters last month, prompting his owners, who lost their home in the storm, to fear the worst. But the redoubtable mutt apparently crawled back to his home days later with two broken legs in a remarkable tale of survival. Local news outlet WBRC reports that Mason was blown away by the storm from the garage in Birmingham where he was hiding on April 27. His owners looked for him everywhere but couldn't find him. Two and a half weeks later, though, they found Mason waiting for them on...

excerpt- The death toll rose Wednesday to 125 people, not all of them identified, and officials have estimated more than 900 were injured.

When Cameron Paul, a Walmart employee in Joplin, Mo., was growing up, he and his father would go storm-chasing. From what seemed to be a safe distance, Mr. Paul’s father, a freelance photographer, would shoot pictures of funnel clouds. In southwest Missouri, there were plenty to keep them busy. “When other people might have fire drills, we’d have tornado drills,” Mr. Paul said. Many residents had storm shelters in their yards, and tornado warnings happened so often, “it was almost like crying wolf,” he said. None of that prepared him for Sunday evening, when Mr. Paul, 19 years old, was...

Minneapolis Police are adding patrols to the northside to prevent looting. Broadway Liquor Outlet lost thousands of dollars in inventory because of looters right after the storm hit Sunday. Police say they've had a few reports of looting at homes and businesses.

The remains of Skyular Logsdon, a 16-month-old who disappeared during the tornado Sunday in Joplin, were identified at a morgue there on Wednesday evening, a family member said.The search for Skyular, who was ripped from his mother’s arms by the storm, attracted national attention. The little boy’s great-uncle made the identification, said Rhonda Brewer, the stepmother of the child’s uncle. Skyular’s father was recently released from the hospital, and his mother is still being treated. Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/05/25/2904023/remains-of-missing-baby-skyular.html#ixzz1NPs11BhT

A 54-year-old Missouri woman has died after suffering a heart attack when told of her father's death in the Joplin tornado. The grieving woman collapsed after being told that her father was among the dead after the tornado hit. Newton County Coroner Mark Bridges said the woman who died on Tuesday didn't immediately learn of her father's death in the historic storm that has killed more than 120 people.

Ella Rogers saw the piece of paper in her yard and couldn't quite figure it out, at first. It was a canceled check, dated 1996 and written to a water company. Just a slip of paper, signifying a payment on a long-ago utility bill. The check was written by a woman in Joplin, whose house was destroyed in Sunday's storm. "She lost everything," a colleague of the Joplin woman told KSPR News on Tuesday. "We just collected money in the office for her because she doesn't have anything left." Save for her life, of course -- and her connection to...

JOPLIN, MO. • They had to find Skyular. They wanted the baby boy home. The 16-month-old disappeared from his mother's arms and into the massive tornado that two days earlier had destroyed so much of this city. His mother and father had been taken to a hospital, severely injured. Skyular, a small boy with light brown hair and big brown eyes, was gone. His relatives were going to try to find him. It would be a frantic day of false starts and conflicting reports, of searching hospitals, online message boards and missing person rolls — all to try to solve...

Many of you have probably seen the first video by now of the 20 people who sought shelter in a Fastrip Store/Gas Station during the Joplin MO Tornado on 5/22/11. As many of you know one person that was there was recording the whole thing while the EF-5 tornado was bearing down on them. All of them survived. The first video is here... First Person video of Joplin MO tornado 5/22/11http://youtu.be/cQnvxJZucds It is mostly audio as it was too dark inside the building. I must warn those who have not heard it yet, that it is very terrifying and it...

National Weather Service: Denning, Ark., Destroyed By Tornado POSTED: 12:29 am CDT May 25, 2011 UPDATED: 12:43 am CDT May 25, 2011 FORT SMITH, Ark. -- The National Weather Service is reporting that a large, dangerous tornado has destroyed the town of Denning, Arkansas, in Franklin County, just south of Altus. The tornado hit the area about 12:15 a.m., and it continued to the northeast. Spotters reported that this large tornado was up to a mile wide at one point just before it struck Denning. 40/29 News reporter Kelly Johnson said there was lots of structural damage in the Denning...