26 April 2010

High Risk- The Day After

Posted by Dan Satterfield

Church in Dekalb County Alabama after the EF3 tornado Saturday. Pic taken by Katie Johnson.

The last several posts have been about the high risk of tornadoes over the Southeastern United States on Saturday.

Library in Albertville, AL. Image from Teresa Reno.

You probably have already heard of the tornado that hit Yazoo City in Mississippi . It left 10 dead and horrible damage.

Later Saturday night, the tornadoes dropped again from new thunderstorms. These were much closer to home. We were on the air many hours as the storms moved across North Alabama into NW Georgia.

There were three EF 3 tornadoes across North Alabama. Storm survey teams from the national Weather Service in Huntsville estimated the winds were at around 140 mph.

The twister that hit Albertville was at one point over  1 km wide!

Image courtesy Teresa Reno in Albertville.

The Albertville Tornado was on the ground for nearly 30 km. It caused major damage in Albertville, and in the Dekalb County town of Geraldine.

I know a lot of people have had their lives turned upside down by these storms. There were 30+ injuries, but thankfully no deaths!

I cannot begin to tell you how happy that makes those of us who forecast them. I include those of us on TV and the meteorologists who work for NOAA.