stormdigest

Snow in central U.S.; tornadoes hit Fla. - Weather- msnbc.com

Snow, tornadoes and it's March 7th. What's next locusts?

DALLAS - Snow started falling in a band stretching from central Texas to southern Ohio on Friday, while severe storms rolling through Florida spawned two tornadoes.

Up to a foot of snow was possible in several areas in the nation's midsection.

"It could get real nasty," said Dusty Harbage, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Jackson in eastern Kentucky, a region expected to be on the tail end of the wintry blast.

Link: Snow in central U.S.; tornadoes hit Fla. - Weather- msnbc.com.

Tornado pounds eastern Iowa towns - CNN.com

Similar scenes of destruction were visible across Muscatine County and surrounding areas, where a tornado Friday tore through businesses and homes, knocked down trees and power lines but caused only minor injuries. Heavy rains also poured across the region, causing flooding and several traffic accidents, including one fatal wreck near Coralville.

The tornado, with winds between 136 to 140 mph, struck the town of Grandview, went north through Fruitland and dissipated in the Muscatine area about 10 minutes later, said Jeff Zogg, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Davenport.

Link: Tornado pounds eastern Iowa towns - CNN.com.

No tornadoes and maybe a tropical storm

A tropical storm may form over Florida in the next several days.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A tropical storm could form around Florida over the next day or two, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Wednesday in an Atlantic tropical weather outlook at 5:30 a.m. EDT. The NHC said showers and thunderstorms were currently located over the Bahamas, central and eastern Cuba and southeastern Florida. Over the next couple of days, the system could drift slowly westward over the Florida Peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico where several of the key U.S. oil and natural gas fields and refineries are located.

Tropical storm could form around Florida: NHC

In other weather news. No tornadoes confirmed in the first 6 months of 2006 in the northern part of tornado alley.

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Meteorologists at the National Weather Service office in Hastings are feeling lucky this year. The 30-county area they serve in central Nebraska and north-central Kansas hasn’t had a confirmed tornado for the first six months of this year. That hasn’t happened since 1950. local6.com - Weather - No Tornadoes Confirmed In Nebraska-Kansas Area This Year

(via local6.com - Home)

Tornado touches down in Wisconsin; damage reported, but no injuries

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A tornado touched down in Hartford, Wisc., on Sunday afternoon, knocking down trees and utility lines and ripping roofs off of homes, officials said.

Scanner reports said that there was a fully engulfed structure fire in the city in Washington County.

The tornado hit the south side of the city at about 2:35 p.m., the National Weather Service said. A hotel was reported to be heavily damaged and many other buildings on that side of town were also damaged, the service reported.

Link: USATODAY.com - Tornado touches down in Wisconsin; damage reported, but no injuries.

LubbockOnline.com

Tornadoes hit towns in Iowa, forcing evacuations.

Tornadoes rip up central Iowa, chasing football fans out of stadium and prompting town's evacuation

CNN.com - Tornado kills 7 in Indiana mobile home park - Nov 6, 2005

We just got this in as a breaking weather news update from CNN. Deadly tornado in Evansville, Indiana, touches down overnight.

CNN.com - Tornado kills 7 in Indiana mobile home park - Nov 6, 2005 (CNN) -- An overnight tornado killed at least seven people at an Evansville, Indiana, mobile home park, officials said Sunday.

A dispatcher for the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office confirmed the fatalities and she said officials were planning to activate the National Guard to assist with the disaster.

Adam Groupey, deputy director of emergency management for Evansville and Vanderburgh County, said officials had declared a local state of emergency, the first step toward requesting state assistance.

Groupey said the tornado touched down about 2 a.m. in Henderson County, Kentucky, then hit the Evansville mobile home park before moving into Warrick County. Groupey said there were injuries, but he had no further details. More.......

More on the Wisconsin tornadoes

From the Red Cross website they are reporting an unconfirmed 18 tornadoes ripped and tore through southern Wisconsin. The Red Cross has set up a shelter at River Bluff Campus Community Building in Stoughton, and is expected to open a service center as well. There are many more details in this release from the Red Cross.

Red Cross Responds to Series of Tornadoes in Southern Wisconsin Written by Leigh-Anne Dennison , Redcross.org Staff

Saturday, August 20, 2005 — Severe weather conditions, including torrential rain, hail and high winds, spurred a series of tornadoes that ripped through the southern portion of Wisconsin Thursday night resulting in one confirmed fatality with dozens of other injuries.

Although a final number has not been confirmed, early reports suggest that 18 or more tornadoes hit southern Wisconsin, destroying property, damaging homes and scattering debris across several counties. The towns of Stoughton, in Dane County, and Viola, in the adjacent county of Richland and bordering Vernon County, sustained significant damage.

On Friday Gov. Jim Doyle signed a state proclamation declaring a State of Emergency for Dane and Richland Counties, which are two of the hardest hit areas. Electric utilities in both counties received damage and power is expected to be out for 48 hours in Stoughton. The city’s water utility has sustained damage as well.

A Tornado in Wisconsin: It was "Pandelerium"

Good country folk of south-central Wisconsin are breathing a little easy today after weathering violent thurderstorms which sparked off some tornadoes in the area. One was killed and eight injured around Stoughton and in Viola . They took it all in stride as good folks do, one was quoted as saying "We had beer, anyway."

Wisconsin tornado kills one

Friday, August 19, 2005; Posted: 1:21 p.m. EDT (17:21 GMT)
STOUGHTON, Wisconsin (AP) -- A man who witnessed the tornado that swept through a Wisconsin neighborhood, flattening homes and leaving one man dead, said "the sky just exploded" as the twister moved in.

Fifteen homes were leveled Thursday and 30 others had moderate to severe damage in the town of 12,500 near Madison in south-central Wisconsin, state emergency management spokeswoman Lori Getter said.

The line of storms also caused extensive damage in the village of Viola, in the southwestern part of the state.

Couple says-They can remember flying through the air

Is it the law of averages or something kinetic? Tornadoes seem to hit mobile home parks the most. 2 lives lost, 12 injured and thousands in damages in Wyoming. One couple has memories not many others can say they have: they flew threw the air under the power of the tornado.

Tornado strikes Wyoming town'They can remember flying through the air'-From CNN

Sunday, August 14, 2005; Posted: 11:19 a.m. EDT (15:19 GMT)

WRIGHT, Wyoming (AP) -- Residents had just five minutes warning before a tornado tore into a mobile home park, killing two people and destroying dozens of homes.

About a dozen people were injured, but only one remained hospitalized Saturday. Three people who had been listed as missing Friday night were found safe.

The twister touched down Friday afternoon in this coal-mining town of 1,500 people and was on the ground an estimated 10 to 15 minutes, destroying 40 to 50 mobile homes, scattering metal siding, insulation, home furnishings and debris throughout the town.