Windspeed

Looking at the structural failures in that imagery above, I can only say I hope the residents there evacuated. That looks pretty grim.

Images via International Federation of Red Cross:

Idai's remnant low continues to sit and spin over Mozambique and Zimbabwe, pulling a strong moisture feed off the Mozambique Channel and Indian Ocean; daytime heating adding to atmospheric instabilty supporting intense convective plumes over the same locations, essentially firehose band precipation moving over the interior. Not to sound dreary, but I would be surprised if conditions in both countries do not escalate into an humanitarian crisis at this point. A trailing surface trough and unstable boundary appears to hold between the highlands and coastal region through Wednesday until Idai's remnant low completely dissipates/precipitates out. On top of what has already fallen, here is the modeled ECMWF totals, the bulk which falls over the next 72 hours:

The INGC, Mozambique's governmental natural hazards and disaster mitigation agency is on the ground evaluating damage. There has been very little word out of there.

ADT for Idai rebounded somewhat prior to landfall. JTWC dropped to 95 kts on the last advisory. However, the core may have regained some of that intensity as cloudtops cooled and the eye appeared less ragged. Though 95 or 105 kts isn't a huge difference, increasing convection in the eyewall versus eroding convection may have helped transport destructive gusts to surface.

Sorry, the watch area image did not load. I'll just post it here.

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 25 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 1210 PM CDT Thu Mar 14 2019 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Northwestern Alabama Northeastern Mississippi Parts of western and middle Tennessee * Effective this Thursday afternoon and evening from 1210 PM until 700 PM CDT. * Primary threats include... Several tornadoes likely with a couple intense tornadoes possible Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely Isolated large hail events to 1 inch in diameter possible SUMMARY...Scattered thunderstorms will likely intensify in a broken band through the afternoon from northeastern Mississippi into northwestern Alabama and middle Tennessee. The storm environment will be favorable for supercells capable of producing a couple of strong tornadoes, along with damaging winds and isolated large hail. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 55 statute miles east and west of a line from 10 miles east northeast of Clarksville TN to 35 miles south southeast of Columbus MS. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5). PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... REMEMBER...A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible warnings. && OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 24... AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 1 inch. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector 24045. ...Thompson

Mesoscale Discussion 0208 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 1147 AM CDT Thu Mar 14 2019 Areas affected...Northeast Mississippi...Northwest Alabama...and southern Tennessee Concerning...Severe potential...Tornado Watch likely Valid 141647Z - 141815Z Probability of Watch Issuance...80 percent SUMMARY...A gradual increase in storms is expected through the afternoon. A tornado watch will likely be needed soon. DISCUSSION...16Z surface analysis shows much of northeast Mississippi and northwest Alabama has warmed 4 to 5 F in the last hour despite some cloud cover across the area. This has led to an increase in low-level instability to around 750 to 1000 J/kg of MLCAPE. Warming is expected to continue with low-level moisture advection which will lead to moderate instability by mid-afternoon. The recent heating in this area has provided enough instability for a reinvigoration of lightning from some of the convection in northern Mississippi. Therefore, expect more widespread storm coverage within the next hour or two as surface destabilization continues to increase. Deep-layer shear in this area is very favorable for supercell and low-level mesocyclone development with deep layer effective shear around 55 to 60 knots and 0-1 SRH around 350 m2/s2 per GWX VWP. Therefore, these storms will pose a tornado threat with the potential for strong tornadoes, especially as supercells mature into northwest Alabama. ..Bentley/Thompson.. 03/14/2019

Cyclone Idai, moving across the Mozambique Channel has completed an ERC and slightly reintensified to Cat 3. The internal structure of the cyclone has taken on annular characteristics. It is forecast to make landfall near the city of Beira in Mozambique. Despite Idai's intensity, flash flooding will be the greatest threat to the city and surrounding region. Certainly storm surge up the Pungwe River also poses a dangerous threat to life and property.

Auburn played well and Tennessee gave up on too many plays. Sloppy in the paint. That is not the Tennessee team you want in tournament play. Disappointing. They can be a great team but they have got to get it together.

SPC AC 080700 Day 2 Convective Outlook NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 0100 AM CST Fri Mar 08 2019 Valid 091200Z - 101200Z ...THERE IS AN ENHANCED RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS PARTS OF THE ARKLAMISS INTO NORTHERN MS AND SOUTHWESTERN TN... ...SUMMARY... Severe thunderstorms may occur Saturday from parts of eastern Oklahoma and Texas into the lower/mid Mississippi Valleys, lower Ohio Valley, and Southeast. The best potential for scattered damaging winds and a few tornadoes appears to be across parts of the ArkLaMiss into northern Mississippi and southwestern Tennessee. A couple of these tornadoes could be strong. ...Synopsis... A negatively tilted shortwave trough initially over the southern and central Plains will move rapidly northeastward to the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, and OH Valley regions by Saturday evening. An associated surface low over central KS should develop northeastward in the same time frame to the vicinity of eastern IA/northern IL while deepening slightly. A cold front attendant to this surface low will sweep eastward across much of the lower/mid MS Valley into the lower OH Valley and Mid-South through the day. The trailing portion of this front should stall over parts of the Southeast Saturday night as this boundary becomes increasingly aligned parallel to the mid-level flow. ...East TX/OK into the Lower/Mid MS Valleys, lower OH Valley, TN Valley, and Southeast... Increasing ascent associated with the approaching shortwave trough and a strengthening low-level jet will likely foster an increase in convective coverage and intensity across parts of eastern OK/TX into the ArkLaTex region early Saturday morning. These thunderstorms will have some potential to be surface-based, especially along and south I-40 in central AR where surface dewpoints should reach into the mid 60s to the south of a warm front. A couple tornadoes and isolated damaging winds should be the main threat given the strong low-level shear that will be present, although some large hail could also occur as far northward as the Ozarks in southern MO with any elevated supercells that develop. The main uncertainty regarding the overall magnitude of the severe threat across the lower MS Valley into the Mid South remains the northward extent of potential destabilization. The early morning convection should move quickly east-northeastward in tandem with the low-level jet and surface cold front. It appears that a greater chance for surface-based thunderstorms should occur from parts of the ArkLaMiss region into northern MS and southwestern TN from late Saturday morning into the early afternoon, where MLCAPE of 500-1000 J/kg could develop. Low-level shear is forecast to be very strong through 18-21Z as a 50-65 kt southwesterly low-level jet overlies this region. Forecast soundings show ample effective SRH to support rotating updrafts, and a few tornadoes could occur, particularly if convection can remain semi-discrete. There is some concern that a couple of these tornadoes could be strong given the very favorable kinematic environment. Scattered damaging winds may also be possible across this region. By late afternoon into the evening, the shortwave trough and strongest mid-level flow will become increasingly displaced to the north of the greater low-level moisture across the TN Valley and Southeast. Still, some severe threat may persist into parts of middle TN and northern/central AL. Farther north into the mid MS Valley and lower OH Valley, confidence in sufficient destabilization to support surface-based convection is even more questionable. Regardless, there will be very strong low- and mid-level flow present which could support isolated damaging winds and perhaps a tornado. This threat should wane with eastward extent across southern IN and central KY by Saturday evening as low-level moisture and related instability become increasingly marginal. ...MAXIMUM RISK BY HAZARD... Tornado: 10% SIG - Enhanced Wind: 30% - Enhanced Hail: 15% - Slight ..Gleason.. 03/08/2019 CLICK TO GET WUUS02 PTSDY2 PRODUCT NOTE: THE NEXT DAY 2 OUTLOOK IS SCHEDULED BY 1730Z CURRENT UTC TIME: 0928Z (4:28AM), RELOAD THIS PAGE TO UPDATE THE TIME

lol...Yeah, this is definitely looking impossible now. I should have known better!

This is the best footage so far of the Lee County wedge as it crossed US 280 near Smiths Station. The autofocus missed but you can clearly see the violent upward motion at the beginning.

Unfortunately today's event is already the deadliest tornado outbreak since the April 27th-28th outbreak in 2014. I believe there were 34 deaths as a result of that event, though that outbreak covered a much larger region of the country. Of course it only takes one strong EF3+ tornado tracking through a residential area to have a significant number of fatalities. The toll in Lee County, Ala. alone stands at 22 and may rise further unfortunately. Datasets located here: http://spc.noaa.gov/climo/torn/fatalmap.php

Unfortunately today's event is already the deadliest tornado outbreak since the April 27th-28th outbreak in 2014. I believe there were 34 deaths as a result of that event, though that outbreak covered a much larger region of the country. Of course it only takes one strong EF3+ tornado tracking through a residential area to have a significant number of deaths. The toll in Lee County, Ala. alone stands at 22 and may rise further unfortunately. Datasets located here: http://spc.noaa.gov/climo/torn/fatalmap.php

I know it's not our area, but portions of Alabama and southern GA are getting rocked this evening. Significant long track tornadoes, some strong and some unfortunately deadly with multiple fatalities. https://www.americanwx.com/bb/topic/52142-march-3-2019-severe-threat/

Bristol to Abingdon may be just cold enough to change over and steal 2-3 inches in Holston Valley. Obviously higher elevations should do better. 5-6 inches doesn't seem impossible above 2000 ft.

I feel like Tennessee had a bad stretch of games and played their worst basketball of the season. They appear to have got it out of their system and put that stretch behind them. The LSU game still stings, but I think they'll still earn a No.1 seed.

Speaking of Spring/Summer, I just noticed this article from the Brisbane Times in Australia. Their above normal mean temperature anomalies nationally were off the charts during their meteorological Summer: Yowza! I knew it was a scorcher down there and an above normal anomaly, but a full degree above the previous record is shocking. https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/australia-s-hottest-summer-beats-previous-record-by-large-margin-20190301-p5119e.html I love Spring and Fall weather. I am also fascinated by all precipation types. But I've never been a big fan of scorching summer time heat. I enjoy cool days and mild days with low humidity and can certainly tolerate the cold without much fuss. So therefore I'm afraid this article already has me dreading our upcoming Summer; and I stress that without any intended correlation to what Australia endured the past four months.

Yeah today hurt. I am thankful we got a 72-96 hour break this week, but I thought today's rain would remain light and rather insignificant. Nope, a rather large area will finish around .8 to 1.25 for the upper TVA watershed.

So I think it is safe to say that AccuWeather's seasonal tornado outlook and forecast this week was an embarrassment to the meteorological community. Personally I think the bullshit at AW needs to stop. There is nothing remotely scientific about such a prediction and it just misleads the general public. It's a pseudo-statistical charade of gimmicks and spectacle that is unjustifiable for providing any kind of helpful, much less realistic accuracy. It is also crap such as this that leads to people losing faith in what is probable outcome and scientific methodology in general. They may as well hire psychics and let them write seasonal forecasts. I feel bad for the meteorologists that work there who had to go along with what appears more like an executive marketing/media decision than one based on actual good forecast reasoning.

Same video but on KnoxNews Sentinel's YT channel:

The Columbus, MS tornado has been rated an EF3.

Super Typhoon Wutip was upgraded to Cat 5. No, not unusual to see those in the WPAC, but it's a first for February. In fact, this is the first classified Cat 5 ever in the northern hemisphere for the month. 28°C SSTs around the Marinas are still warm enough to support the intensity, but atmospheric favorability and outflow for this cyclone is textbook.