Free Republic

Engineer spins up plan to generate electricity from sucked-up air Coiled up in a tornado is as much energy as an entire power plant. So a Canadian engineer has a plan to spin up his own twister and extract energy from its tethered tail. It all depends on heating the air near the surface so that it is much warmer than the air above. "You can generate energy whenever you have a temperature gradient," said Louis Michaud. "The source of the energy here is the natural movement of warm and cold air currents." These so-called convective air currents are only...

PUBLIC SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 0354 AM CDT THU JUN 05 2008 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OUTBREAK EXPECTED FROM THE EASTERN HALF OF THE PLAINS INTO THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OK IS FORECASTING WIDESPREAD DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS...STRONG TORNADOES AND LARGE HAIL OVER A LARGE PART OF THE EASTERN PLAINS AND THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. THE AREAS MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE THIS ACTIVITY INCLUDE MUCH OF IOWA CENTRAL AND EASTERN KANSAS SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL MINNESOTA WESTERN AND NORTHERN MISSOURI CENTRAL AND EASTERN NEBRASKA...

PUBLIC SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 0938 AM CDT THU MAY 29 2008 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED OVER PARTS OF THE CENTRAL PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OK IS FORECASTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FEW STRONG TORNADOES OVER PARTS OF THE CENTRAL PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THE AREAS MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE THIS ACTIVITY INCLUDE WESTERN IOWA EASTERN HALF OF NEBRASKA FAR SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA ELSEWHERE...ORGANIZED SEVERE STORMS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE SURROUNDING THE HIGH RISK FROM WESTERN KANSAS TO SOUTHERN WI. VERY WARM...MOIST AND BUOYANT AIRMASS IS SPREADING NORTHWARD...

NEOSHO, Mo. -- Missouri's two U.S. senators toured tornado-damaged areas of Newton County on Friday. A reporter asked about the possibility of federal aid to help people install tornado shelters or buy weather alert radios for their homes. "At some point, you've got to take some responsibility. The federal federal government, unless you're in need, is not going to buy your lunch for you; it's not going to buy your TV set, and a weather radio is probably something a provident, responsible family should do," said Sen. Kit Bond. "The important thing is to make sure they have the accurate...

Excerpt - Here is the video of several tornadoes that touched down today in Pawnee/Osage County, OK, shot by the TVN stream #1 team of Matt Chatelain, Daniel Betten, Matt Van Every, and Curtis McDonald. We made it to the storm in time for the last tornado, which was completely illuminated by several power flashes in succession. However, we missed the first few high-contrast tornadoes that TVN stream 1 intercepted. AMAZING supercell! When we punched the core there was barely anything left of the hail shaft, but the tornado was still violent and a strong stovepipe. Now we're headed to...

Mother Nature pulls plug on Earth Day concert in WashingtonPosted : Mon, 21 Apr 2008 01:12:01 GMT Author : DPA Category : Environment Washington - Environmental activists tried to rally Sunday in Washington to encourage action on climate change, but they couldn't get the weather to cooperate. Green Apple Festival, a group seeking to raise environmental awareness through live music events, was the organizer of concerts across the country ahead of the annual Earth Day observance, which is Tuesday. Concerts with diverse performances were held in New York, Miami, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. An eighth show...

As a strong vort max begins to move out of the Rocky Mountain region today, wind shear and instability will be sufficient for intense supercells with the likelihood of producing tornadoes. 40 knots at 850 mb, and ENE-ly storm motions will combine to create perfect storm relative winds for strong tornadoes. The Storm Prediction Center has issued a moderate risk for today, with a hatched area for EF2-EF5 tornadoes. Tomorrow looks like a historic outbreak, so we'll be making a two-day chase out of this. We'll be using three live streaming vehicles today, and we're continue improving our setup,...

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 8, 2008 – Nearly 300 members of the National Guard responded to call-ups from governors in seven states over the last week after tornadoes hit the South and snowstorms blanketed the West. Idaho Army National Guard soldiers of the 145th Brigade Support Battalion shovel snow off Timberlake High School Feb. 2 in Spirit Lake, Idaho. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Bill Muthiora  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. National Guard units responded in Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee after an unseasonable string of winter thunderstorms and tornadoes charged through communities Feb. 5 and left large swaths of...

ATKINS, Ark. — Residents in five Southern states rose Wednesday to widespread clusters of destruction caused by an unusually ferocious winter tornado system. At least 54 people were killed, and scores more were injured. Many had spent a harrowing Tuesday night punctuated by breaking glass and warning sirens as the tornadoes tossed trailer homes into the air, collapsed the roof of a Sears store in Memphis, whittled away half a Caterpillar plant near Oxford, Miss., and shredded dorms at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., where crews rescued nine students trapped in the rubble. Arkansas and Tennessee were the hardest hit,...

Reports that Jackson, TN have been devastated by a large tornado. Several people have been killed. 100+ injured. Also a LARGE fire near Nashville. Reports of tornado damage in numerous towns. Image of fire near Nashville http://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc8475wg3.jpg

PUBLIC SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER 1041 AM CST TUE FEB 05 2008 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED OVER PARTS OF THE PARTS OF THE MID SOUTH THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OK IS FORECASTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FEW STRONG...LONG-TRACK TORNADOES OVER PARTS OF THE PARTS OF THE MID SOUTH THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THE AREAS MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE THIS ACTIVITY INCLUDE A LARGE PORTION OF ARKANSAS A SMALL PART OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS PARTS OF WESTERN KENTUCKY SMALL PART OF SOUTHEASTERN MISSOURI NORTHWESTERN MISSISSIPPI WESTERN TENNESSEE SURROUNDING THE HIGH RISK AREA...THERE IS...

Excerpt - A severe weather outbreak is likely tonight through tomorrow from the eastern Southern Plains east to the Mississippi River Valley (Southern IL southward). The models have been trending slower and slower with this system with each consecutive run, with the WRF now forecasting the dryline to cross the I-35 corridor late tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. Therefore, the severe weather threat for today will hold off until after dark when the upper-level support arrives. Beginning early tomorrow afternoon, or even late tonight, the threat for tornadoes will increase dramatically over Northeast TX, East OK, and AR as supercells become surface-based....

Local news has been reporting all evening on a system of tornado producing storms moving through SW Missouri. There is at least one reported fatality and significant damage. Tornado warnings continue to be issued every few minutes. Anyone else in the area have any information?

I've been thinking about my criticism of a U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) study of tornadoes and hail in the previous post. I realize now that I was far too leniet on those who conducted the study. The study should never have been funded. It should never have passed the peer review process and it should never have been pubished in any scientific journal. The authors apparently are ignorant of the fact temperatures in most of the U.S. change drastically over a year's time. Seasonal changes are particularly drastic in "tornado alley" in the central U.S.. A mere...

Source: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Date: August 31, 2007 Global Warming Will Bring Violent Storms And Tornadoes, NASA Predicts Science Daily — NASA scientists have developed a new climate model that indicates that the most violent severe storms and tornadoes may become more common as Earth's climate warms. Clouds over North America on August 2, 2000, as measured by GOES-11. (Credit: NASA/NOAA)Previous climate model studies have shown that heavy rainstorms will be more common in a warmer climate, but few global models have attempted to simulate the strength of updrafts in these storms. The model developed at NASA's Goddard Institute...

Global warming will make severe thunderstorms and tornadoes a more common feature of U.S. weather, NASA scientists said today. Climate models have previously shown that Earth will see more heavy rainstorms as the atmosphere warms, but a new climate model developed by NASA researchers is the first to show the difference in strength between storms that occur over land and those over the ocean and how storms strengths will change in general. The models don't directly simulate thunderstorms and lightning, but look for conditions that are ripe for severe storms to form. The model was tested against current climate conditions...

April 3-4, 1974 marked the largest outbreak of tornadoes ever recorded in the United States. During an 18-hour period stretching from the afternoon of April 3 thru the morning of April 4, 148 tornadoes were reported in a 13-state area. Among the 148 tornadoes reported, 5 reached F5 status and 24 reached F4 status. One tornado (an F4) had an estimated path of 121 miles! The worst of the tornadoes hit during the hours of 4:00PM - 7:00PM on April 3rd. Hardest hit was the city of Xenia Ohio. It killed 34, injured 1150 destroyed about 1/4 of the city...

Tornadoes have killed at least four people as they cut a swathe through a number of US states, including Texas.

The tornadoes that tore across the south-eastern US on Thursday, killing at least 19 people, were devastating but not unprecedented, say tornado experts. However, the twisters did strike unusually early in the year. The tornado season in the US normally reaches its peak between mid-April and June. The tornadoes tend to get stronger as the year progresses because warming temperatures increase the amount of energy in the atmosphere. "Early March is a bit early for a severe tornado," says Nigel Bolton, national forecaster at the UK Met Office and member of the UK-based Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO). But...

ZCZC SPCPWOSPC ALL WOUS40 KWNS 010834 ALZ000-MSZ000-011630- PUBLIC SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 0234 AM CST THU MAR 01 2007 ...A MAJOR SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK IS LIKELY ACROSS THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY...LOWER AND MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY...EASTWARD ACROSS THE GULF AND SOUTH ATLANTIC COASTAL STATES. THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OK IS ALSO FORECASTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TORNADOES...SOME WHICH MAY BE STRONG AND LONG TRACKED...ESPECIALLY ACROSS EASTERN MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA. THIS AREA IS IN A HIGH RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER. THE AREAS MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE THIS ACTIVITY INCLUDE ALABAMA EASTERN MISSISSIPPI SURROUNDING THE...

SPC AC 231619 DAY 1 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 1019 AM CST FRI FEB 23 2007 VALID 231630Z - 241200Z ...THERE IS A MDT RISK OF SVR TSTMS THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT ACROSS PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL KS...WESTERN AND CENTRAL OK...AND NORTHWEST TX...... ...THERE IS A SLGT RISK OF SVR TSTMS CENTRAL NEB INTO CENTRAL TX... VIGOROUS TROUGH INLAND THIS AM SWRN U.S. ON TRACK TO IMPACT THE SRN PLAINS...PARTICULARLY TONIGHT. MODELS ARE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TIMING AND LOCATION OF SURFACE CYCLOGENESIS WITH LOW DEVELOPING SERN CO THIS AFTERNOON AND THEN DEEPENING RAPIDLY TONIGHT...

   A powerful early spring-like storm system will move across the southern U.S. this weekend, pumping unseasonable moisture northward from the Gulf of Mexico.  The stage will be set for possible tornadoes, maybe an outbreak, on Friday and/or Saturday across the Southern Plains and south-central U.S respectively.  Shown above is the WRF forecast CAPE and 850 mb flow for Friday afternoon.  We'll definitely be chasing this event all the way to the Atlantic Ocean...so stay tuned!

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2007 – Florida National Guard soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, will deploy from Orlando to help Central Floridians recover from Feb. 2 tornadoes that left widespread devastation in several Florida counties week and killed 19 people. In the storm’s wake, thousands have no power, and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has declared a state of emergency in Lake, Sumter, Seminole and Volusia counties. Guard officials report that initially around 50 soldiers will help distribute water and ice and provide support as needed. Florida National Guard aircraft flew Crist, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Florida...

can someone tell me please if Mount Dora or Hasting was affected by the tornadoes in florida

For the MSM, there's nothing like the occasion of a natural disaster to challenge the faith of religious believers. On today's Good Morning America, Kate Snow interviewed the Rev. Larry Lynn, Pastor of the Lady Lake Church of God, whose buildings were totally levelled by the tornadoes that recently struck central Florida. A minute or so into the interview, Snow asked a question that challenged the core of the pastor's religious belief: "How do you reconcile your faith with the enormity of this tragedy?" Pastor Lynn answered in a manner consistent with the most basic Christian principles: "This is just...

Excerpt - ORLANDO, Fla., Feb 2 (Reuters) - Fourteen people were killed and dozens of homes were damaged or destroyed when tornadoes ripped through central Florida on Friday, an official said. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes struck a wide area north of Florida's key tourism region of Orlando, reducing homes to rubble and splintered wood. Search and rescue teams fanned out to search for survivors and victims. "I have 14," Christopher Patton, spokesman for the Lake County emergency operations center, told Reuters, citing reports of fatalities from the county medical examiner's office. "I can confirm that number." Patton said three people...

LADY LAKE, Florida (CNN) -- Deadly storms swept across central Florida on Friday morning, damaging homes, toppling trees and sending trucks careening off Interstate 4, police said. The Lake County Sheriff's Office said there were "several" fatalities in Lady Lake, where at least two mobile home parks were hit. Authorities could not say how many deaths there were.

developing...the river may go into record flood and top the levees at Wilkes-Barre and other towns/cities ..at this time the NWS is saying the river will rise to 38-40 feet by thursday(which would be the 2nd highest crest)...the levee is at 41..however the crest may be higher then that and the NWS has been raising the crest forecast all day. getting 2nd hand reports of local offcials saying the river may crest at 43 feet which would top the levee built after Agnes which crested at 40.9 feet .. it all depends on how much rain they get upstream and...

TORNADO WATCHES 185/187 CONTINUE UNTIL 05Z. PRIMARY TORNADO THREAT /INCLUDING THE POTENTIAL FOR A FEW STRONG TORNADOES/ CONTINUES FROM NORTHEAST IL/FAR EAST CENTRAL IL INTO CENTRAL INDIANA. A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATION MAY DEVELOP INTO THE INDIANAPOLIS METRO AREA BY 02Z/10 PM LOCAL TIME. SCATTERED SUPERCELLS /WITH HISTORY OF TORNADOES/ CONTINUE FROM NORTHEAST IL INTO CENTRAL INDIANA AT THIS TIME. PRIMARY TORNADO POTENTIAL...INCLUDING THE POSSIBILITY FOR A STRONG TORNADO OR TWO...OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS WILL REMAIN IN AREAS ALONG/JUST NORTH OF QUASI-STATIONARY OUTFLOW BOUNDARY/EFFECTIVE BAROCLINIC ZONE THAT IS ROUGHLY ORIENTED NW-SE FROM NEAR KANKAKEE IL INTO CENTRAL INDIANA NEAR LAFAYETTE...

0545 - 04082006 - We're ok here in Oak Ridge as far as I can tell. Warnings and Watches through the night, lots of heavy lightning, thunder, heavy rain. Stepped outside the school during my daughter's play to keep an eye on the weather, and it was constant lighting across the horizon. My daughter slept in the living room with ear plugs, the Sheltie kept running back and forth between the two of us. Still dark out there, so I don't know if we sustained any external damage, but no leaks here in the house, and power was never lost....

11 tornado warnings issued. Super cells heading towards Nashville. Electric out in many areas. Softball sized hail reported.

...OUTBREAK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES EXPECTED OVER PARTS OF THE TENNESSEE AND LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEYS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OK IS FORECASTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF WIDESPREAD SEVERE STORMS INCLUDING A FEW STRONG...LONG-TRACK TORNADOES OVER PARTS OF ALABAMA...MISSISSIPPI AND TENNESSEE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THE AREAS MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE THIS ACTIVITY INCLUDE NORTHERN ALABAMA NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI WESTERN AND MIDDLE TENNESSEE SURROUNDING THE HIGH RISK AREA...THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY NORTHEASTWARD INTO OHIO VALLEY AND THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS

SEL9 URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 159 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 555 PM CDT THU APR 6 2006 THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEASTERN KANSAS SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL MISSOURI EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND FRIDAY MORNING FROM 555 PM UNTIL 100 AM CDT. ...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION... DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL TO 2.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER... THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 90 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE...

...AN OUTBREAK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING VERY LARGE HAIL AND TORNADOES IS EXPECTED OVER PARTS OF THE EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PLAINS TODAY AND TONIGHT... THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OK IS FORECASTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF TORNADOES...VERY LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS OVER PARTS OF THE EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PLAINS TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE AREAS MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE THIS ACTIVITY INCLUDE EASTERN KANSAS FAR NORTHWEST MISSOURI SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA

Daily Journal, wire reports Tornadic storms slammed into the Mid-South on Sunday, killing at least 19 people in northwest Tennessee, authorities said. Tornadoes killed three more people in Missouri and Illinois. In Tennessee, eight people died near Newbern in Dyer County and seven in neighboring Gibson County, local emergency officials said.

Associated PressR ENICK, Mo. - As the winds howled and the tornado sirens blared, friends and family begged Billy and Penny Briscoe to leave their southern Randolph County mobile home. Then the explosion hit. The couple are among at least nine people, including two more in and near the north-central town of Redick, killed by a series of powerful weekend storms that produced tornadoes and damaging hail across Missouri. Nearly 12 hours after the funnel cloud touched down, signs of devastation were widespread Monday morning. The powerful winds blew out car windows, bent telephone poles sideways, uprooted trees and destroyed...

Currently there are Tornado warnings in Missouri.... Head's up everyone.... TORNADO WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE FOR WT 73 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 603 PM CST SUN MAR 12 2006 TORNADO WATCH 73 REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM CST FOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS ILC001-005-009-013-017-021-027-039-051-057-061-067-083-107-109- 113-115-117-119-121-125-129-133-135-137-143-149-157-163-167-169- 171-173-179-189-203-130400- /O.CON.KWNS.TO.A.0073.000000T0000Z-060313T0400Z/ IL . ILLINOIS COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE ADAMS BOND BROWN CALHOUN CASS CHRISTIAN CLINTON DE WITT FAYETTE FULTON GREENE HANCOCK JERSEY LOGAN MCDONOUGH MCLEAN MACON MACOUPIN MADISON MARION MASON MENARD MONROE MONTGOMERY MORGAN PEORIA PIKE RANDOLPH ST. CLAIR SANGAMON SCHUYLER SCOTT SHELBY TAZEWELL WASHINGTON WOODFORD $$ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TORNADO WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE FOR WT...

ST. MARY, Mo. - Tornadoes in southern Missouri and southern Illinois killed two people whose pickup truck was blown into a propane tank as the twisters flattened homes along a 20-mile path, officials said Sunday. Several others were injured. The worst damage was along a rural stretch Highway 61 in Perry County, about 80 miles south of St. Louis, where the victims had been driving late Saturday, emergency management director Jack Lakenan said. The force of the wind wedged the truck beneath the propane tank, he said. The tornado also split a brick ranch home in half, tossed mobile homes,...

KENNER, La. - Tornadoes early Thursday tore through New Orleans neighborhoods that were hit hard by Hurricane Katrina just five months earlier, collapsing at least one previously damaged house and battering the airport, authorities said. Roofs were ripped off and utility poles came down, but no serious injuries were reported. "Don't ever ask the question, `What else could happen?'" said Marcia Paul Leone, a mortgage banker who was surveying the new damage to her Katrina-flooded home. She would go no farther than the front porch of her house Thursday morning. Windows were blown out, and the building appeared to be...

Large tornadoes are on the ground southwest/west/and northwest of Little Rock. MAJOR damage reported across numerous counties in Kansas and Arkansas. Tornadoes expected to continue into Little Rock over the next few hours. This is a major outbreak.

11/2/2005 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- The British Royal Air Force and its aircraft have been heavily used by ground forces in Iraq. The RAF flies the Tornado GR4, a supersonic, twin-engined, swing-wing jet bomber. “We have supported both British and American operations by giving an eye-in-the-sky airborne commentary so the troops on the ground have more situational awareness of their surrounding area,” said Wing Commander Terry Jones, RAF commander here. The focus of the Tornado sorties is to collect imagery with the option of conducting close air support if needed. The flyers inspect the main supply routes and the...

WASHINGTON -- For the first time since record-keeping started in 1950 no one was killed by a tornado in April, May or June. Normally those are the top months for tornadoes with an average of 52 fatalities, sometimes many more. "That is prime tornado time, so it's amazing," said Joe Schaefer, director of NOAA's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. It was an unusual tornado season, when the storms never really formed over the major cities in the area known as Tornado Alley, Schaefer said. Tornado Alley starts in central and northern Texas and stretches north into Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska...

New Weather Service Radars Saving Lives By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, Associated Press Writer Tue Jun 28, 3:23 AM ET WASHINGTON - New radars installed by the National Weather Service in the 1990s are saving nearly 80 lives a year that would otherwise be lost to tornadoes, a study concludes. The radars allowed forecasters to issue warnings for 60 percent of tornadoes, up from 35 percent before the instruments were installed, and the average lead time rose from 5.3 minutes to 9.5 minutes, according to a study published in the June issue of the journal Weather and Forecasting. Kevin M. Simmons...

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 391 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 205 PM CDT SAT JUN 4 2005 THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN IOWA CENTRAL AND EASTERN KANSAS NORTHERN AND WESTERN MISSOURI SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 205 PM UNTIL 1100 PM CDT. ...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION... DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL TO 4 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 95 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND...

PUBLIC SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 1100 AM CDT SAT JUN 04 2005 VALID 041600Z - 050000Z ...OUTBREAK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED OVER PARTS OF THE CENTRAL PLAINS AND MISSOURI VALLEY TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OK IS FORECASTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FEW STRONG TORNADOES AND VERY LARGE DAMAGING HAIL OVER PARTS OF THE CENTRAL PLAINS AND MISSOURI VALLEY LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE AREAS MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE THIS ACTIVITY INCLUDE SOUTHWEST IOWA EASTERN KANSAS WESTERN MISSOURI SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA SURROUNDING THE HIGH RISK AREA...THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF...

ATWOOD, Kan. - A hundred and forty years after the Homestead Act helped populate the American West, small towns in Kansas are turning to it again, to draw new residents and new economic development. Three hours east of Denver, Atwood, Kansas is losing ground. Census figures from 2000 showed 1,279 people living there, about a hundred fewer than in 1994. So, back in November, city leaders decided to offer home-sized lots for free to anyone willing to build. "I'm getting interest from every state of the union and Mexico," said Arlene Bliss, director of economic development for Rawlins County, KS....

Tornado warnings are presently up for counties around Birmingham, Huntsville & Montgomery, AL; this system has spawned tornadoes in parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas on it's way eastward. Birmingham is under the gun now, and the system will be approaching Chattanooga, Atlanta and points eastward over the afternoon and evening. WVTM-TV (NBC 13) Birmingham is presently streaming live coverage at http://nbc13.com/ - I expect local stations in Chattanooga and Atlanta to join in within the next couple of hours.

Numererous deaths and injuries reported across Indiana and Kentucky. Numerous towns have been hit.... Major damage reports coming in across many areas....from Missouri to Indiana. Freepers report in?

Tornadoes Rip Through Northwest Missouri and Nebraska, Killing Three People The Associated Press May 30, 2004 SANTA ROSA, Mo. (AP) - Tornadoes ripped through northwest Missouri and parts of Nebraska, including a twister that killed three people and injured at least eight others in one town, authorities said. The fatal twister in Santa Rosa struck around 11 p.m. Saturday, said Brad Hyman, a dispatcher for the De Kalb County Sheriff's Department. The victims' names were not released, but four children were among the injured. Three children were in critical condition and one was in serious condition Sunday, said Jennifer Benz,...

Numerous damaging tornadoes across Missouri and Kansas. Several reports of multiple homes destroyed. 40 plus tornadoes reported tonight so far... Anyone in the Kansas City area? Or in Missouri?