North Balti Zen

Here is something that I am hoping someone can explain in more layman's terms...I have read on the Jeff Haby site the definitions of a "Vort" and "Shortwave" and "Trough" (and read explanations of those terms elsewhere) but was wondering if a red tagger (or learned non-red tagger) could generally sum them up with relation to developing storms. For instance, it used to be, before discovering eastern, I would look at a map and only focus on the "L" with regard to a developing storm. It is clear now that how strong the "L" (or weak or if it forms) is dependent, maybe, on the above concepts, do I have that right? So, for example, the issues with the modeling of the storm last week were that there were a number of potential different energies (vorts?) that might lead to the development of the "L" that became the storm that got the southern VA folks snow. Is that generally right? A related question...when I look at the 500 heights/vort maps, what should I be gleaning from where the "X" is placed with regard to the various vorts on the map? I apologize ahead of time if this question was too disorganized (or stupid), but it is stuff that I am having trouble sorting out and, despite plenty of reading on it, have not been able to sort it out satisfactorily yet.

The 1st person reports that CNN is taking right now from NY and DC are high comedy. Apparently people felt "shaking".

No such luck. Was working in the Towson office today (next to courthouse). 7 floors up, rather than 20. And, um, 7 was plenty high up. Talking to clients, dawning realization that it was an earthquake, mostly when the large table began to move. None of my co-workers at my usual office are answering the phone, so I am guessing they are outside at the moment. Will be curious myself how that felt.

Good **** that was surprising. Working in the Towson office today, which was 7 stories up, rather than 20 stories up as usual. And, well, kinda unsettling, to say the least.

They have pared the missing list down to a more reasonable 232. That said, that still seems high for this late as they cross off the inevitable names that were elsewhere when it hit. The article: http://www.msnbc.msn...191/ns/weather/ Pic to lead it is of a truck with a family that has painted the name of a missing 12-year-old on it. So I am guessing that there are still an additional number unaccounted for who are truly missing as a result of the storm. A similar cnn article: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/05/26/missouri.tornado/index.html?hpt=C1

Re: big box stores, there were seven bodies found under a cement slab at the Home Depot that was hit. Read that in one of the stories, I think on msnbc, in the same story that noted they managed to find one person alive in that store's rubble.

yeah. Just amazing. And a nice reminder for non-mets and non-weather geeks that a storm with a funnel cloud properly warned has to be taken seriously. Not sure from some of the discussion in this thread what more people want. This was a warned storm, and while there wasn't time to add "large and dangerous tornado on ground" to the warning, there was still a warning that a cell capable of producing a tornado was on the way. That's enough, if people were near a TV or radio to hear that bit of information, to seek some sort of shelter. If folks wait to hear "tornado emergency" before acting, that is too late (and always has been) in my opinion. I grew up in Ohio in the 70s not far from Xenia, and was always pretty clear that if a storm was bearing down on your area that was funnel cloud warned, you took shelter, whether a tornado was reported on ground or not.

Sounds like, anecdotally, this one caught a lot of folks there off guard. Makes sense, Sunday night, people maybe less likely to be near a TV or the internet, family stuff going on, just not clued in to the approaching danger. Sounded like that from at least a few of the interviews I caught this morning while flipping around the dial. Saw one mention that this cell kind of "blew up" from not much to that over a short time period. If so, maybe that added to the surprise factor. Have not had a chance to go back and look at the maps of it as it developed yet and god knows how reliable the reports are on the major news stations, but that was some of the soundbites I caught.

Just glancing at headlines on msnbc and they are noting the current death toll at 89. Which is, obviously, horrifying. Not a religious person, but will hold a thought for JoMo and all others there.

The pictures coming out of Cullman, Alabama are stomach-churning. More of a population there in that small city than I thought, just under 14,000 people.

This. Even with warnings, and even if people heeded them, if there was no basement to go to, and if that was an EF-5 storm, there's only so much protection you are going to get in an interior room.