MIssissippi tornado rated a violent EF-4
The devastating tornado that ripped through Mississippi on Saturday April 24, killing ten, was a violent EF-4 twister with 170 mph winds when it hit Yazoo City, according to a preliminary damage survey by the National Weather Service in Jackson, Mississippi. The tornado touched down near Tallulah, Louisiana, crossed the Mississippi River into Mississippi, and traversed nearly the entire state of Mississippi, carving a 149-mile long path of destruction. It is extremely rare for a tornado to stay on the ground this long. The world record longest path by a tornado is the 219-mile long path of the deadliest tornado in U.S. history, the violent F-5 Tri-State Tornado of 1925, which killed 695 people in Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana.
Figure 1. A church in Yazoo City works to restore its toppled steeple after Saturday's tornado. Image credit: J.A.
Saturday's tornado was strong almost from its initial stage of development in northeast Louisiana. EF-2 and EF-3 damage was common all along the tornado's path into central Mississippi with areas of EF-4 damage observed in both Yazoo and Holmes counties. After crossing Interstate 55, the tornado weakened with EF-1 and occasional EF-2 damage being common as the tornado moved across Attala County. The tornado re-intensified as it moved into Choctaw County, with at least high end EF-3 damage occurring northwest of the Weir community. The tornado remained strong before rapidly weakening and then dissipating just after moving into Oktibbeha County. It was the first violent EF-4 tornado of 2010. Over the past decade, the U.S. has averaged five violent EF-4 or EF-5 tornadoes per year. Our severe weather expert, Dr. Rob Carver, has a more detailed analysis of Saturday's tornado.
Figure 2. One mile wide wedge tornado from near Yazoo City, Mississippi on April 24, 2010. Tornadovideos.net intercepted the tornado near Holly Bluff just east of the Mississippi River, and tracked the huge wedge to the damage path in Yazoo City, after which they assisted with the rescue effort until emergency personnel gained control of the situation.
Portlight assesses needs after the Mississippi tornado
Portlight.org volunteer Riki Chomsky (AKA "kitchengypsy") paid a visit to tornado-ravaged Yazoo City, Mississippi on Sunday to assess whether or not Portlight should mount a response effort. Her report:
At this time, Portlight has decided not to deploy an emergency feeding unit to Yazoo City. We base this decision on 3 factors:
1) Scope. Although the scenes of devastation are terrible, by our estimate, more than half the city is relatively unharmed. With several restaurants, gas stations and other services open for business in such close proximity to the command center, we have faith that continuity of operations will soon be established for the whole city.
2) Current efforts: All current relief teams, with special emphasis on the Red Cross and Salvation Army, are doing an excellent job of handling the situation. They have taken pains to ensure food distribution across the affected areas, and we have confidence that they are truly the best organizations for this type of situation.
3) Anticipated Need / Speed of Recovery: although the extent of the damage will most likely require outside work crews, we saw very encouraging signs of progress. Work crews were active at almost every damaged site, which is highly impressive for less than 24 hours after the storm. Even when volunteer crews are brought in, we anticipate their needs being more than adequately met by the existing local churches, who have already started feeding work crews and rescue personnel. In addition to the Red Cross and Salvation Army, Portlight extends our appreciation to all members of this exemplary community response. While the damage is significant, the Salvation Army and local Red Cross seem to be doing a great job meeting the needs there, and Portlight recommends supporting one of these organizations.
Portlight continues aid efforts in Haiti
Portlight continues to focus its energy and funds on the situation in Haiti, where the rainy season is fast approaching the needs for shelter, medical supplies, food and water remain urgent. Their latest effort is a shipment of 10 pallets of Durable Medical Equipment, 30 pallets of water, 7,000 pounds of rice, a number of tents, tarps and various building supplies totaling some 14,000 pounds of goods. The supplies were loaded onto the schooner Halie and Mathew. The schooner was slowed by bad weather on its way to Haiti, and was forced to dock in Jamaica to make repairs. The ship is expected to land in Haiti later this week to deliver its supplies. Please visit the Portlight.org web site or the Portlight blog to learn more and to donate to this worthy cause.
Figure 3. Relief supplies for Haiti earthquake victims being loaded onto the schooner Halie and Mathew.
Jeff Masters
Reader Comments
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water temps have risen rapidly though since the warm weather, trust me, come june, water temps will be plenty warm enough to support tropical cyclones, I'll be willing to bet they'll be well into the 80's by the time May comes to a close...
Dr. Greg Forbes of The Weather Channel said that the severe outbreak, that you're showing in a chart could last from tomorrow all the way to next Wednesday. He also said that the least amount of activity should occur tomorrow. That doesn't mean that activity won't occur at all!
sounds like a dangerous rest of the week
Yeah they're starting to get toasty already in the 70's in NW GOM. And looking at some of the models they show monster ridges and little more fronts. It won't take long.
WOW. I hope not too. They've been through enough.
:(
you mean excluding us though... with a building upper ridge by friday, I highly doubt we'll see a repeat of what we had sunday overnight into monday across central and south Florida...
But, it may be a repeat for other parts of the south, that is true...
Clouds build as instability rises in that area. As the thunderstorm air parcel rises to the Jet Nose, it will vent the storm, pulling in even more warm, moist air, literally tons of moisture. Looking at large hail, very strong wind gusts and if there is enough shear, one nasty group of tornadic supercells.
Yup..dat be Spring Deep in Dixie.
I would venture to say most of the Northern Gulf will be in the 75-80F range by early June.
By late June, early July, the Gulf will be at its normal "bathtub temperature".
Associated Press
Fire-resistant containment booms will be used to corral some of the thickest oil on the water's surface, which will then be ignited.
NEW ORLEANS -- A massive oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico was set on fire Wednesday evening.
The Coast Guard uses hand-held flares to set fire to sections of the massive spill. Crews turned to the technique after failing to stop a 1,000-barrel-a-day leak at the spot where a deepwater oil platform exploded and sank.
A 500-foot boom was to be used to corral several thousand gallons of the thickest oil on the surface, which will then be towed to a more remote area, set on fire, and allowed to burn for about an hour.
The Coast Guard initially said the fires would be started by midday, but officials later postponed the operation until early evening.
About 42,000 gallons of oil a day are leaking into the Gulf from the blown-out well drilled by the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. Eleven workers are missing and presumed dead. The cause of the explosion has not been determined.
Greg Pollock, head of the oil spill division of the Texas General Land Office, which is providing equipment for crews in the Gulf, said he is not aware of a similar burn ever being done off the U.S. coast. The last time crews with his agency used fire booms to burn oil was a 1995 spill on the San Jacinto River.
"When you can get oil ignited, it is an absolutely effective way of getting rid of a huge percentage of the oil," he said. "I can't overstate how important it is to get the oil off the surface of the water."
The oil has the consistency of thick roofing tar.
When the flames goes out, Pollock said, the material that is left resembles a hardened ball of tar that can be removed from the water with nets or skimmers.
"I would say there is little threat to the environment because it won't coat an animal, and because all the volatiles have been consumed if it gets on a shore it can be simply picked up," he said.
Authorities also said they expect minimal impact on sea turtles and marine mammals in the burn area.
A graphic posted by the Coast Guard and the industry task force fighting the slick showed it covering an area about 100 miles long and 45 miles across at its widest point.
"It's premature to say this is catastrophic. I will say this is very serious," said Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry.
From the air, the thickest parts of the spill resembled rust-colored tentacles of various thickness. The air was thick with the acrid smell of petroleum.
Amid several of the thicker streaks, four gray whales could be seen swimming, and one of them appeared to be rolling and curling as if struggling or disoriented. It was not clear if the whale was in danger.
More than two dozen vessels moved about in the heart of the slick pulling oil-sopping booms.
Earlier Wednesday, Louisiana State Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham told lawmakers that federal government projections show a "high probability" oil could reach the Pass a Loutre wildlife area Friday night, Breton Sound on Saturday and the Chandeleur Islands on Sunday.
As the task force worked far offshore, local officials prepared for the worst in case the oil reaches land.
In Plaquemines Parish, a sliver of Louisiana that juts into the Gulf and is home to Pass a Loutre, officials hoped to deploy a fleet of volunteers in fishing boats to spread booms that could block oil from entering inlets.
"We've got oystermen and shrimpers who know this water better than anyone," said Plaquemines Paris President Billy Nungesser. "Hopefully the Coast Guard will embrace the idea."
But there was anxiety that the Gulf Coast was not prepared for the onslaught of oil.
"Our ability to deal with this would be like us having a foot of snow falling in Biloxi tomorrow," said Vincent Creel, a spokesman for the city government in Biloxi, Miss. "We don't have snow plows, and we're not equipped to deal with this."
The parish's emergency manager planned to meet in Houma on Thursday with a Coast Guard official to discuss whether volunteers can help, Nungesser said.
"We don't want to just sit by and hope this (oil) doesn't come ashore," Nungesser said.
The decision to burn some of the oil came after crews operating submersible robots failed to activate a shut-off device that would halt the flow of oil on the sea bottom 5,000 feet below.
Rig operator BP PLC says work will begin as early as Thursday to drill a relief well to relieve pressure at the blowout site, but that could take months.
Another option is a dome-like device to cover oil rising to the surface and pump it to container vessels, but that will take two weeks to put in place, BP said.
Winds and currents in the Gulf have helped crews in recent days as they try to contain the leak. The immediate threat to sandy beaches in coastal Alabama and Mississippi has eased. But the spill has moved steadily toward the mouth of the Mississippi River, home to hundreds of species of wildlife and near some rich oyster grounds.
The cost of the disaster continues to rise and could easily top $1 billion.
Industry officials say replacing the Deepwater Horizon, owned by Transocean Ltd. and operated by BP, would cost up to $700 million. BP has said its costs for containing the spill are running at $6 million a day. The company said it will spend $100 million to drill the relief well. The Coast Guard has not yet reported its expenses.
all 5130 news articles »
FACTBOX-Possible environmental impact of Gulf oil spill
Reuters - 45 minutes ago
A number of fisheries could suffer as a result of the spill. The Gulf menhaden fishery -- a species harvested mostly for fish meal and fish oil -- is ...
Video: Coast Guard Will Start Burning Gulf Slick Oil
YouTube The Associated Press
Weather delays Coast Guard plan to burn oil slick in Gulf - CNN (blog)
Gulf of Mexico oil spill: How bad is it? - Christian Science Monitor
ABC News - USA Today
Cyclonic Voyage posted a article addressing that and other things a few pages ago. According to the article the ambient heat would not do much to raise the SSTs
Portable TV's are available,but a Good AM/FM Weather Alert Radio is a Much better device for info as TV ,Local TV isnt usually available in a Disaster as a Large Cane.
I actually do not think it is as bad as people think. They have a large part of it block off with barriers to help slow down the spreading. Yes it could take weeks to shut it off but they are burning small sections so I do not think the smoke impact will be that bad. No worse than the smoke we deal with here in southern MS will all the burning they do all summer long anyway. They are only buring it for one hour also which makes the oil real easy to pick up out of the water.
Good to see preparation for the Upcoming season,so thank you as well.
Booms only do so much and the burning will have to be sustained to have an effect on this amount of oil. I know enough about this stuff to know this will be bad and shorelines will be impacted. It's just a question of how badly and the weather will be an interesting variable in who, what, where and how so my eyes are peeled and my ears are perked.
Oil Spill Floater 4 - Infrared Channel 2 Loop
ALL NOAA Floater Imagery
RGB Still
A strong frontal system is expected to move into the area by this weekend, resulting in an increased threat for showers and thunderstorms by that time. At this point, the weather pattern looks favorable for severe storms on Saturday, and heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday. Temperatures will remain quite mild for this time year, with highs in the lower 70s to lower 80s. Lows temperatures over the weekend will be in the upper 50s to middle 60s.
20100329,20100427,15.5
Scratch that off, as a matter a fact it has an area of low pressure (1009 MB) at just 36 hours away:
Hey Pat, wouldn't that be closer to 50%. LOL
lol XD
so is the oil spill 50% below sea level?
NOUS41 KBTV 282236
PNSBTV
NYZ026>031-034-035-087-VTZ001>012-016>019-291033-
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
SPOTTER REPORTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT
633 PM EDT WED APR 28 2010
THE FOLLOWING ARE UNOFFICIAL OBSERVATIONS TAKEN DURING THE PAST 24
HOURS FOR THE STORM THAT HAS BEEN AFFECTING OUR REGION. APPRECIATION
IS EXTENDED TO HIGHWAY DEPARTMENTS...COOPERATIVE OBSERVERS...SKYWARN
SPOTTERS AND MEDIA FOR THESE REPORTS. THIS SUMMARY IS ALSO
AVAILABLE ON OUR HOME PAGE AT WEATHER.GOV/BURLINGTON
********************STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL********************
LOCATION STORM TOTAL TIME/DATE COMMENTS
SNOWFALL OF
(INCHES) MEASUREMENT
NEW YORK
...CLINTON COUNTY...
DANNEMORA 19.5 1115 AM 4/28 PUBLIC
LYON MOUNTAIN 15.5 747 AM 4/28 MEDIA
CHAMPLAIN 7.0 624 PM 4/28 SPOTTER
ROUSES POINT 5.0 625 PM 4/28 SPOTTER
PERU 4.1 ESE 3.6 700 AM 4/28 COCORAHS
...ESSEX COUNTY...
WHITEFACE MTN 13.0 619 PM 4/28 SPOTTER
LAKE PLACID 2 S 9.0 618 PM 4/28 COOP
NEWCOMB 3.6 905 AM 4/28 COOP
MORIAH 3.0 553 AM 4/28 PUBLIC
...FRANKLIN COUNTY...
CHASM FALLS 18.3 744 AM 4/28 MEDIA
MALONE 14.0 550 AM 4/28 COOP
WHIPPLEVILLE 11.6 635 AM 4/28 SPOTTER
ONCHIOTA 0.3 ENE 3.0 700 AM 4/28 COCORAHS
SARANAC LAKE 2.5 621 PM 4/28 SPOTTER
...ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY...
SOUTH COLTON 14.0 730 AM 4/28 AMATEUR RADIO
HANNAWA FALLS 0.1 SW 7.5 700 AM 4/28 COCORAHS
CHILDWOLD 7.0 621 PM 4/28 SPOTTER
OSWEGATCHIE 5.5 621 PM 4/28 SPOTTER
POTSDAM 5.0 606 AM 4/28
NORFOLK 2.0 730 AM 4/28 AMATEUR RADIO
EDWARDS 1.5 730 AM 4/28 AMATEUR RADIO
OGDENSBURG 0.5 622 PM 4/28 SPOTTER
VERMONT
...ADDISON COUNTY...
SOUTH LINCOLN 12.0 623 PM 4/28 SPOTTER
CORNWALL 4.0 816 AM 4/28 SPOTTER
SALISBURY 2 N 4.0 400 PM 4/28 COOP
...CALEDONIA COUNTY...
WALDEN 20.0 300 PM 4/28 SPOTTER
WATERFORD 18.0 1033 AM 4/28 SPOTTER
HARDWICK 0.1 ENE 16.0 700 AM 4/28 COCORAHS
STANNARD 14.3 1059 AM 4/28 SPOTTER
WALDEN 13.6 700 AM 4/28 COOP
WATERFORD 13.0 1130 AM 4/28 PUBLIC
LYNDONVILLE 11.5 930 AM 4/28 SPOTTER
SUTTON 11.1 705 AM 4/28 COOP
SHEFFIELD 2.8 NNW 11.0 700 AM 4/28 COCORAHS
SAINT JOHNSBURY 10.2 400 PM 4/28 COOP
PEACHAM 10.0 635 AM 4/28 SPOTTER
LYNDONVILLE 1.1 W 8.5 700 AM 4/28 COCORAHS
GROTON 4.4 WSW 4.5 700 AM 4/28 COCORAHS
...CHITTENDEN COUNTY...
NASHVILLE 1 E 23.5 200 PM 4/28 NWS EMPLOYEE
NORTH UNDERHILL 23.5 317 PM 4/28 NWS EMPLOYEE
JERICHO 17.0 805 AM 4/28 SPOTTER
HUNTINGTON 1.1 E 14.8 700 AM 4/28 COCORAHS
WESTFORD 14.7 626 AM 4/28 NWS EMPLOYEE
HANKSVILLE 10.3 700 AM 4/28 COOP
WILLISTON VILLAGE 10.0 726 AM 4/28 SPOTTER
WILLISTON 8.5 821 AM 4/28 NWS EMPLOYEE
ESSEX JUNCTION 1 N 7.5 800 PM 4/28 COOP
ESSEX CENTER 7.0 940 AM 4/28 NWS EMPLOYEE
ESSEX CENTER 6.8 720 AM 4/28 NWS EMPLOYEE
SOUTH BURLINGTON 5.5 150 PM 4/28 NWS OFFICE
CHARLOTTE 2.9 NNE 2.7 700 AM 4/28 COCORAHS
...ESSEX COUNTY...
ISLAND POND 4.0 850 AM 4/28 COOP
...FRANKLIN COUNTY...
SHELDON SPRINGS 16.5 730 AM 4/28 AMATEUR RADIO
RICHFORD 14.5 730 AM 4/28 SPOTTER
SAINT ALBANS 13.0 541 AM 4/28 NWS EMPLOYEE
ENOSBURG FALLS 2 12.0 700 AM 4/28 COOP
HIGHGATE 10.0 650 AM 4/28 SPOTTER
SWANTON 6.1 700 AM 4/28 SPOTTER
...GRAND ISLE COUNTY...
ISLE LA MOTTE 3.5 625 PM 4/28 SPOTTER
SOUTH HERO 2.0 624 PM 4/28 SPOTTER
...LAMOILLE COUNTY...
JEFFERSONVILLE 24.3 148 PM 4/28 SPOTTER
EDEN 2 S 21.0 1240 PM 4/28 COOP
MOUNT MANSFIELD 21.0 400 PM 4/28 COOP
PLEASANT VALLEY 20.0 1135 AM 4/28 SPOTTER
JEFFERSONVILLE 19.0 832 AM 4/28 COOP
STOWE 0.2 SW 7.4 700 AM 4/28 COCORAHS
STOWE 6.5 830 AM 4/28 SPOTTER
Parts of the US Northeast, especially Vermont received up to 2 ft of snow Tuesday and today. Parts of eastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec got a few cm on Tuesday.
Did you get any?
Dem folks are good.
For more information about the solar system:
Nope, only clear skies and windy winter jacket weather.
POSTED: 11:24 AM Wednesday, April 28, 2010
BY: Ben Myers, Staff Writer
TAGS: Coast Guard, Southwest Pass
Southwest Pass, the primary shipping connection between the Gulf of Mexico and the Port of New Orleans, is not affected by an oil spill off the Louisiana coast, U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Chris Woodle said today.
But the Coast Guard and port officials continue to monitor the trajectory of the spill, which could change because of weather patterns, Woodle said.
As of this morning, the westernmost reach of the spill zone was 35 miles from the pass, Woodle said.
Although the pass itself is not currently expected to close, shippers will need to alter routes in arriving there, Woodle said. The Coast Guard is working to gather information about impacts to routes and will distribute it directly to shippers as soon as it is available.
“The size of the cleanup operation out there is getting bigger by the day, we need to get that information to the shippers and agents so they can make property routing decisions,” Woodle said.•
the sun can only illuminate one half of the moon.. it is a sphere..
oh alright
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