andyhb

Series of tstms blowing through here currently, torrential rain, probably 30-50 mph winds, frequent lightning...nice.

I just hope Joplin doesn't have to deal with another tornadic event any time soon (ala Tuscaloosa, Yazoo City or Moore)...that would be absolute hell on the residents of town.

Yeah I noticed that in that video and thought it was a bit of a fail on their part, and they also seemed to not be urgent enough regarding the wording initially about what was/is obviously a huge wedge on the ground...

Got a feeling that may be taken the wrong way...

That said, everyone knows about SGF's over-warning problem, its been highlighted several times over the past number of years. Then again, they have had several major events there since 2000; 5/4/03, 3/12/06, 1/7/08, 5/10/08, Joplin, etc...

What a contrast in the weather...

Here it is, as it was happening...

http://www.americanw...t/page__st__455

And the thread on alabamawx:

http://www.alabamawx.com/?p=47919#comments

Can't believe it's been a year, although once it is around 5:30 PM central, it'll really start to hit...

At the time of the tornado, I was watching the supercell on radar over Joplin and I posted on the alabamawx blog, "Very strong hook echo with debris ball over the Joplin, Missouri area right now, hopefully everyone is alright."

Little did I know how bad it really was...although the signature on radar made my heart sink.

Good lord, there were some brutal images going through my head reading that, horrifying...

Terrific video.

Of note, the three fatalities added to the 4/27 event now make 2011 the second deadliest tornadic year on record in the United States.

The second video I posted is a great look at the incredible structure of the parent supercell of the Rainsville tornado (and also 3 other violent tornadoes).

Excellent posts there.

From the Rainsville/Sylvania tornado?

Well, it's now officially the morning of 4/27, hard to believe that just last year we were watching the overnight convection, along with the SPC's 06z Day 1 High Risk, that in about 12 hours, one of the worst tornado outbreaks in US history was about to unleash its full fury.

It does make sense, I can't see anything less than an EF5 causing that kind of scouring.

It wouldn't be the asphalt scouring, the EF3 in Americus, GA on March 1st, 2007 scoured the pavement. I remember seeing something in the survey for the Philadelphia tornado that said that a mobile home was thrown 300+ yards without any sign of a ground impact in between, after which it was obliterated, with the fatalities occurring here as well.

I've gone through this thread multiple times since I joined the site and it is always a worthwhile read.

The Philidelphia tornado was a very fast mover, and was rated EF5 for hitting an open field. Incredible.

The Philadelphia tornado was rated EF5 for more than just the ground scouring.

Also, the damage to the Wrangler Plant in Hackleburg was incredible.

For the record...over on page 50 I said EC's F5 rating for Elie, MB was suspicious. Just recently saw the video of the anchored house being torn off its foundation and thrown hundreds of feet as it explodes. Also saw photos of empty basements left where houses once were. There is surprisinly not a lot of damage photos and videos from that tornado. Sorry EC!

That video also shows a Pampa-like event where a van is picked up and hurled hundreds of yards from its original location, shortly after the F5 damage to the home. This tornado was one of the kings of the "drill-bit".

I can easily say that the EF5s in this outbreak were certainly among the strongest ever from a damage perspective...

Found this on my computer.

Two of those overshooting tops are easily identifiable. The one North Central/Central AL is Tuscaloosa/Birmingham and I believe the one in NE AL is Cordova/Rainsville.

And also how the event progressed from a more linear look on Wednesday to "holy crap this is gonna be a discrete supercell bonanza"...

This thread is brilliant.

So some good signs were on the HRRR but not the whole package I assume. The other thing I have noticed is that sig. tornadoes have affected some portion of the Joplin metro area not only in 2011 but also in 2003 and in 1971. Three times in forty years sure seems like an awful lot. I would imagine there have been numerous other funnel clouds and a few F0s in the mix as well over the years.

Compare that to areas like the Oklahoma City, Birmingham/Tuscaloosa and Little Rock metros and it doesn't seem like a lot, although what matters is that Joplin got the big one just like Birmingham and OKC have gotten...

The sound from 3:25 on is just ferocious...