1 May 2010

Arkansas Tornados, Nashville Floods and Oil Slick Growing

Posted by Dan Satterfield

Image of Gulf oil slick at 1640 GMT today. It's much bigger. The mouth of the Mississippi is on the left. NASA image.

Tornadoes hit Arkansas last night and today and have also done damage in Miss. and Tennessee. Incredible rainfall totals of near or over 10 inches have ben reported across a wide swath of Tennessee. I just saw a recent report of a destroyed mobile home seen FLOATING down I-24 near Nashville.

Estimated rainfall from the Doppler radar in Nashville. Over 8 inches have fallen just SW of Nashville. I-40 is covered by water and closed in sections. Image from NWS Nexrad 88D NE of Nashville.

A pass by one of NASA’s MODIS satellites at 11:40am (1640GMT) shows the oil slick in the Gulf has gotten much larger.

A wider view of Gulf oil slick from NASA MODIS. Click for larger image.

NOAA has now issued a rare PDS Tornado Watch for Arkansas and Louisiana. PDS stands for Particularly Dangerous Situation. More flooding rains along with tornadoes are likely overnight.

Please remember if you know someone who lives in a mobile home, tell them to NEVER stay in it during a tornado warning. It’s also a good idea to keep in mind that more people die each year driving into a flooded road than are killed by tornadoes.

Dan